The situation in the northwest has calmed down again, and nothing seems to have happened.

The gathering of troops does not mean that there will be a fierce battle. At least for several consecutive days, there will be no news of Tatars invading the territory. The battle between the Tatars and the Ming army at Zhangjiakou Fort was also the only battle report that there was a head-on battle between Zhu Houzhao, except for Yansui, since the command of the imperial army, has begun to become unpredictable.

Today, news came that the Tatars were wandering around thirty miles north of Zhangjiakou Fort, and they might retreat a hundred miles away tomorrow, and some other news came out the day after tomorrow.

Zhu Houzhao issued an imperial decree that he would not be allowed to send troops, which means that unless he issued a new imperial decree to start the war, all the troops would be kept in the pass and remained unmoved, and even the number of scouts sent outside the Beiguan was significantly reduced... The Tatars intended to target Ming army scouts. In just a few days, the number of scouts affiliated with Xuanfu Town was more than 300, so that the scouts did not dare to leave the Great Wall too far, and the news they brought back was contradictory.

Even when Lu Wan and Wang Chang, two ministers of the Ministry of War, arrived at Zhangjiakou Fort, they did not change or promote the current chaotic situation at all.

Zhu Houzhao's failure to receive officials and generals means that the following opinions cannot be faithfully conveyed to him. Even if he can learn some information from other channels, Zhu Houzhao's conceit did not think that outside Zhangjiakou Fort was just a scattered soldier sent by the Tatars.

My dignified Emperor of Ming Dynasty is destined to be a wise lord who has made great contributions to the future. He was just defeated by a few shrimp soldiers and crab generals? This is absolutely impossible!

The huge psychological contrast made Zhu Houzhao unable to accept the fact that the Tatars never regarded Xuanfu as the main battlefield. After he personally planned to send troops to the army, he said that he would wait for the subsequent troops to avenge him before avenging him. But in fact, it was just a way of self-evasion. He felt that meeting officials and generals would embarrass him, so he simply used the same trick again and hid himself and entertained himself.

At the same time, in the Yansui Town, Yulin Weicheng, Wang Qiong has discussed the war in Xuanfu Town with his staff and generals many times. Because the Xuanfu information that Wang Qiong could learn was just a few words, he could not determine whether the Battle of Zhangjiakou Fort was as great as the imperial court's propaganda.

“…The situation is still not optimistic.”

At the daily meeting, Wang Qiong expressed his views to many generals and officials in Yansui Town, "If all the troops were transferred to Xuanfu, it would be okay if the main force of the Tatars was there, they were afraid that the Tatars would just send a small number of troops to harass them. When our army went out of the frontier, they would suddenly withdraw and attack our border fortress elsewhere. At that time, they would be afraid that the local army would be empty and that the city would be damaged."

Yansui guerrilla general Zhang Ting said: "Even if the main Tatar force withdraws from Xuanfu, the subsequent attacks will only be in Datong Town or the front line of Panguan. If you cannot reach Yansui for the time being, the three sides can maintain peace, so we don't have to worry too much."

"right!"

There were many people present to echo.

Wang Qionghuan looked at the generals present and felt a little uncomfortable, thinking to himself: "No of these generals has the idea of ​​charging forward and killing the enemy and making meritorious contributions. He only hopes that the Tatars will not go to their own defense zone to act wildly... Even the generals who most long for military merits have such a mentality. It is no wonder that the Ming Dynasty has been winning battles in the past few years, but they have always been unable to expand the results. It also explains why the Tatars fought repeatedly because the Tatars knew that the Ming Dynasty's generals were timid before they fought, so they came to provoke repeatedly."

Deputy General Hou Xun asked: "Sir, do you need to recruit troops from the local inspection department to the border to make up for defense?"

Wang Qiong shook his head: "For the time being, the city blocks and fortresses are enough to defend people. If the officers and soldiers of the inspection department are transferred to the war, they will have problems due to poor communication. For the time being, there is no news of the Tatars invasion in the three sides. So, we will keep it the same, guard their respective defense areas, and do not have any problems!"

Hou Xun wanted to say something, but he stopped talking.

This scene fell into Wang Qiong's eyes.

After the meeting, Wang Qiong specially kept Hou Xun, called him to the back hall of the Governor's Office, and asked in a whispering voice: "Do you have something to say before?"

"Well……"

Hou Xun's expression was a little hesitant and said cautiously, "Mr. Wang asked Bei Zhi to investigate the sudden death of the Tatar prince. It probably has resulted... I heard from people passing through the north that a large number of Tatars drove westward, as if they were going to the territory of Yongshebu's troops, but this does not match the direction of the attack of the main Tatar soldiers as mentioned by the court."

Wang Qiong had already sat down, but after hearing the news, he stood up suddenly and asked nervously: "Did you find out that there are Tatars... that is, the main force of the Dayan tribe is coming west? But is it in the north of Yansui?"

Hou Xun still seemed very embarrassed and smiled bitterly: "Sir, I didn't find out clearly, so I dare not speak nonsense. I have obtained very little information now. I just heard from the herdsmen who migrated outside Yansui Beiguan that there was a Ming army operating on the grassland, not one, but many people said so, so I felt it was impossible for everyone to lie."

"The Ming army marched on the grassland... aren't that the troops led by Shen Shangshu?" Wang Qiong looked excited and sighed, "As expected, Shen Shangshu has completed the established task of luring Tatar troops into depth, and the next step is to come to Yansui."

Hou Xun shook his head and said, "Many things have not been found out. I have heard that... the main force of the Tatars followed my Ming army, but those who say this often contradict themselves. Some say that the two sides have no wars but have not fought. Some say that the two sides have experienced a fierce battle in the area east of the Yellow River, so I am confused and don't know who should believe in."

Wang Qiong said: "What else?"

Hou Xun frowned and thought hard: "The news that Bei Zhi learned was provided by herdsmen. Some of them were forced to ask for the proceeds of confessions after they were captured by the border army. It is not ruled out that the possibility of a nonsense is open... Some people said that our Ming army formed an alliance with a certain tribe on the grassland, and then joined forces to fight with the pursuers. They said that they had been killed for several days and nights, and even the river was dyed red, but when asked about the details, they could not tell the reason."

Hearing this, Wang Qiong's face became extremely deep.

Wang Qiong wanted to connect these scattered news into a line in his mind, so that he could organize a clear context to explain those unknown things.

Hou Xun continued: "I had thought of sending people to cross the Yuxi River to investigate. Unexpectedly, the Yuxi River is in the water rise period, and it is very troublesome to cross the river once. Recently, a large number of Tatar scouts were found in Yuxi River. They came and went without a trace. It seemed that they were not here to provoke Yansui. They could not do it if they wanted to catch a living question... Yesterday, a famous archer finally shot one to death, and when they pulled back the body, they found that it was the elite of the Qiexue army of Dayan Khan's army."

"Qixue Army? Dayan Khan's Imperial Guard?"

Wang Qiong said to himself, suddenly looked at Hou Xun with cold eyes and asked, "You know so much news, why don't you come to inform me earlier?"

When Hou Xun saw Wang Qiong's aggressive attitude, he thought he was going to seek an army to question him, so he quickly explained: "Sir, these are not detailed war reports, just some... rumor, what dares to report to you before you find out the job? I'm afraid that these news will cause uneasiness in the army, so I want to investigate it further before talking about it."

Wang Qiong nodded and said, "You are better than General Wu. At least you can find something, which is pretty good... Alas!"

At the end, Wang Qiong couldn't help but sigh, as if he was dissatisfied with Wu Jiang and Hou Xun.

Hou Xun knew that he was not a capable person, his face turned red and said embarrassedly: "It is a duty of humble duty to do things for the court... Huyi has always served as a deputy, and he has little experience in taking on practical work. He has not even found out the sudden death of the Tatar prince in the past few days... Oh, it seems that some people say that the Tatar prince is the second prince of the Dayan Khan tribe. As for the name of the subordinate official, it is very difficult to remember it."

Wang Qiong looked at Hou Xun and said, "If the second prince of the Dayan Khan tribe is really dead... this problem will be complicated. This second prince is Jinong appointed by Dayan Khan himself. It is said that he will take over the right-wing tribes in Mongolia in the future. In this way, the Ming army and the right-wing tribes united to fight with the Dayan tribes, and it will be explained clearly. But you must find out what the result of this war is."

Hou Xun looked very embarrassed: "Sir, there is too little news now. The herdsman who conveyed the news also said that he had never approached the Dayan tribe and the Ming army camp. He only saw the river water in the near Black Mountain and the blood-red and many corpses. He thought that a war had occurred, so he quickly fled south of the Yellow River. Some people said that he had not seen any bloody rivers at all..."

"well!"

Wang Qiong sighed again and said, "That means, there are many different opinions? But since the herdsmen on the grassland can break through the blockade and come to the south, why can't we have scouts to the north to spy on the news? If there are officers and soldiers who can bring back valuable intelligence, no matter who they are, I will be promoted to him five levels in a row!"

"Yes, sir."

Hou Xun bowed his fists and said, "What I know about is already clear to the adults. I wonder if he has anything else to give?"

"Go down, hurry up and check it. Report any news as soon as possible. Don't wait for the official to ask you before telling me!" Wang Qiong hurriedly finished talking to Hou Xun, and didn't bother to do anything else, so he hurried to see Xie Qian.

...

...

Wang Qiong told the emperor that he had won a "great victory" in Zhangjiakou Fort and did not see Xie Qian again.

Xie Qian's illness has not yet been cured. In addition, the Prime Minister obviously has a slack attitude towards military affairs, so Wang Qiong dared not disturb him rashly. But in the past two days, he suddenly felt that if he had something to discuss with Xie Qian, the other party would lose his trust in him over time. Even if he is the head coach of the three sides, he should take the initiative to ask for instructions when encountering things that are difficult to make decisions, which also makes him feel respectful.

Xie Qian's attitude of not meeting him was extremely firm, so he asked someone to come out to say hello to Wang Qiong, which meant that he would make decisions on his own.

But after Wang Qiong insisted, Xie Qian did not turn people away thousands of miles away, and dragged his sick body to meet Wang Qiong in the study in the east wing.

After seeing the ceremony, Wang Qiong told Xie Qian in detail what Hou Xun had reported to him.

After hearing this, Xie Qian coughed a few times and said, "Dehua, do you want to say that Zhihou is about to arrive in Yansui now. Do you want to send troops out of the frontier to cooperate with his military plan?"

Wang Qiong did not answer, but the meaning was actually very clear. According to the established plan, now when Yansui Town sends troops, it is only expected that the remaining troops from the military towns will not arrive.

When Xie Qian saw Wang Qiong, he refused to answer and said, "How can you be sure now that the rumors are facts, not illusions deliberately created by the Tatars?"

Suddenly, Wang Qiong seemed to have clarified his thoughts and asked: "Did Mr. Xie feel that this situation is intentionally created by the Tatars, so let us associate it in this regard?"

"Ahem!"

Xie Qian coughed a few more times and said, "What's going on? At least there is no clear letter now. Then you can't send troops rashly... Don't talk about the military plan issued by the court when the imperial court just sent troops. Now your Majesty has changed it back and moved the main battlefield to Xuanfu? Just do things according to Your Majesty's latest intention! At least at this moment, the main force of the Tatars did not come, and Shen Zhihou's troops did not come... After confirming, it would be too late to prove that Shen Zhihou had really arrived in Yansui, and it would not be too late to discuss countermeasures."

Xie Qian's attitude was clear, that is, he still insisted on sticking before the truth was clear. Although Wang Qiong disagreed, he could not skip Xie Qian to make his own decision, so he gave up and said goodbye to leave.

Xie Qian did not go out to see Wang Qiong. This place was originally in the Sanbian Governor's Office, so there was no need to send it to him. The scale of this yamen is larger than that of ordinary government offices. The military affairs in the northwest have always been heavy. The court has repaired the three-bian Governor's Office that coordinates the military affairs in the northwest, and even if there are distinguished guests, they will have free time.

"Mr. Xie Ge, Lord Wang has left. Do you want to have a meal? It's not too early, and it's time for you to rest..."

Wang Qiong took care of Xie Qian's life in Yansui "meticulously", especially after Xie Qian fell ill, he treated him with a more tight attitude than his subordinates and friends, and even compared to his students. Xie Qian fully felt Wang Qiong's respect for him and thought to himself: "It is much easier to do things with Dehua than that boy Zhihou. If Zhihou is now a three-sided general system, he might be angry with him by that boy."

Xie Qian coughed twice and said, "Take dinner in, you will have nothing to do here... I will send you a pot of hot tea and the mountain spring water I went to the south of the city earlier. I want to decoct the medicine tonight..."

It is said that he is self-reliant, but in fact, Xie Qian has long been used to this kind of comfort of being taken care of by others.

In official affairs, Wang Qiong asked someone to help him handle private affairs, and Wang Qiong helped him handle private affairs. Xie Qian was like an emperor in Yansui, and even the local affairs of Yansui had to obey his orders. Xie Qian had long forgotten that he was sent to Yansui to serve as a servant because he offended the emperor.

After dinner, Xie Qian was about to drink tea for a while, then took the medicine and went to rest. Suddenly, the servant ran in and reported: "Gei Xie, someone outside the Governor's Office asked for a meeting, saying that it was an old friend of yours. Lord Wang asked the young man to come in and communicate with you."

"I have no old friends here, let them leave!" Xie Qian seemed very impatient.

After Xie Qian arrived in Yansui, countless people came to visit him. He usually kept a low profile and only negotiated with Wang Qiong when speaking. He realized that as long as Wang Qiong listened to him, there would be no chaos in the entire three sides. Those middle and lower-level officials came to meet him, but they were just asking for gifts, which made people tirelessly... With his identity and status, there was no need to be polite to these people.

Now that someone is visiting, he naturally doesn't want to see him.

The servant completely obeyed Xie Qian's instructions and was about to turn around and leave when Xie Qian suddenly shouted: "Wait!"

"Is there anything wrong with Ge Lao Xie?" The servant didn't understand very much.

Xie Qian's old face wrinkled and thought to himself: "If the officials from three sides come to pay a visit, if I don't have to speak, Dehua will block the person, or when the servant comes over, he will tell who it is and why it is. Now Dehua actually asks me to ask for instructions, who is the visitor?"

Xie Qian looked at the servant and asked, "Who is coming outside...?"

"have no idea."

The servant replied, "But it seems that he is a military person, with a public official disc from the Ministry of War. The Governor's Office only learned about the situation after entering the city by the northern gate of Yulin. Lord Wang didn't know who the visitor was, so I came first to ask Mr. Xie for advice."

Xie Qian's face was gloomy and waved his hand and said, "Then let's ask the identity of the visitor first, and then reply to me."

"Yes, yes!" The servant left in a hurry.

Xie Qian was in a relaxed mood, but for some reason, as his thoughts were moved, he seemed to be hesitant, as if he had expected that big trouble was approaching.

...

...

When the people brought the tokens in the army to Xie Qian and then brought the person to Xie Qian, Xie Qian's eyes were filled with a puzzled and complicated emotion. After staring at the visitor for a long time, he waved his hand to ask the servant to retreat, and even went over and closed the door himself.

The visitor Xie Qian met. In the big incident of the nearly palace coup in the overthrow of Liu Jin, this man went to the capital city first to discuss countermeasures with him and told Shen Xi to the original decision.

But it is Yun Liu.

"Guard Cloud?"

Although Xie Qian and Yunliu are old acquaintances, he did not know what Yunliu was, so he just thought it was a close friend of Shen Xi.

Xie Qian’s biggest impression of Yunliu is that this person is not simple, and he hides dragons and tigers around him.

Yun Liu bowed and said, "I have met Mr. Xie."

Xie Qian raised his hand and seemed very decisive: "Where did you come from? Where did Shen Zhihou show up? Whose order did you come here?"

Yun Liu replied truthfully: "It was Lord Shen who sent Beiye to meet Mr. Xie... Lord Shen is on the grassland and will be about five days to arrive in Yansui, so he first sent Beiye to the city to request troops to cooperate and fight to the death with the Tatars."
To be continued...