The autumn air is crisp, the sky is clear and the clouds are clear, and the sky is blue. The weather in early autumn is so good that I feel comfortable every time I take a breath.

Today's Shanhaiguan is particularly lively. It can be said that the gongs and drums alley are blasting firecrackers, colorful flags are fluttering, and there are huge crowds of people. Two rows of soldiers wearing new uniforms stand on both sides of the gate, new muskets are held on their chests, and the bayonets above are shining in the sun.

.

"Brother Xiao, is Mr. Sun really that powerful? Is it worth it for you to go to war like this and fire out all the salutes?" Ao Changhai saw this scene and looked at Li Xiao with some doubts.

He has never seen Li Xiao respect an official of the Ming Dynasty so much, even when facing the emperor. Li Xiao also has a kind of rebelliousness in his bones. What kind of background does this Master Sun have that can make Li Xiao look at him in such a special light?

"It's worth it!" Li Xiao stood in front of the pass, looking into the distance with his eyes. This scene was like a child at home looking at his father returning from afar.

Others are not worth it, but this big man is definitely worth it.

This big shot is called Sun Chengzong. He is a bachelor of Dongge University, Prince's Young Master, and has the title of Minister of the Ministry of War. In the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty, this brother can be regarded as a well-known figure. When the emperor saw him, he still bows to him as a disciple to this day.

Although his power was not as great as that of Ye Xianggao and Wei Zhongxian, his prestige slightly overshadowed the two of them.

The reason why Li Xiao respects him is definitely not because of his official position. People like Ye Xianggao and Wei Zhongxian cannot arouse the respect of Li Xiao, let alone an imperial division commander with the title of Minister of War.

We respect him because he is a man who is absolutely loyal to the Ming Dynasty and the Han nation. When his hometown was invaded by the Tatars, nearly two hundred members of his family, young and old, died collectively for the country and no one survived.

On the other hand, among those heroes from the East, Qian Qianyi committed suicide by drowning himself. After going down, he climbed up again. It is said that he disliked the water being too cold. Wen Tiren defected to the Manchus and pursued the Ming army too hard, leading to his death from a heart attack.

Too many to count.

Li Xiao just wanted to ask, why is there such a big gap among the same Donglin Party members?

Sun Chengzong was not only loyal, but also an excellent commander. Governor Yuan, who was so powerful in history, was just his assistant.

The Guan Ning cavalry he trained with his own hands created the Guan Ning Jin line of defense. The Ming Dynasty, which was in the midst of party strife, relied on this line of defense for more than ten years. Nurhachi and his descendants, no matter what method they used, ten

For several years, they failed to break through this line of defense.

Without this Guan Ning Jin line of defense, the Ming Dynasty might have been wiped out long ago.

Ao Canghai next to him looked confused, and Li Xiao didn't say anything to him. After all, this is a record in the history of later generations. Because of his appearance, this situation will never happen again.

Everyone stretched their necks and looked into the distance, wanting to see what this high-ranking official who had commanded the commander-in-chief looked like. Mao Wenlong pulled Yuan Chonghuan, and the two guys murmured to each other. One of them was talking.

Instructions, one of them seemed to suddenly realize it, and he didn’t know what the two old glasses were talking about.

"Brother, we're here!" Li Hu rode a tall horse and galloped over from the road with little smoke and dust. He came to a place two or three feet away from Li Xiao, with the horse's reins. The front hooves of the war horse were raised high and kicked twice.

Only then did it fall to the ground.

I know this guy is showing off his horse skills, but this is not the time to talk about him. Playing with horses like this, if something goes wrong is not a joke. Why can't this third child be as steady as the second child?

Before the injury was completely healed, he actually got a boat to Shanhaiguan.

Li Xiao had nothing to do with his younger brother.

A team appeared on the road in the distance. There were not many people, only twenty or thirty people. This surprised Li Xiao. When officials of the Ming Dynasty traveled, they were as big as the official.

Zhang Juzheng's sedan chair requires thirty-six people to lift it, and even one less person can't lift it. The honor guard of this Dongge bachelor is not as many as Zhang Juzheng's sedan chair lady. Just these twenty or thirty people, and a dozen more are

Li Xiao sent the guards to accompany Li Hu to welcome him.

When the team arrived in front of Shanhaiguan, Li Xiao hurriedly greeted them personally.

"Brother! This is Mr. Sun." Li Hu, who was ten miles away to greet him, introduced Li Xiao in a low voice.

Li Xiao looked at the old man riding on the horse in front of him. He had sword-shaped eyebrows, almond-shaped eyes, a nose like a hanging gallbladder, and a mouth like a red vermillion. His ears were not only big but also had wheels, and his big earlobes could be compared with the Sakyamuni Buddha in the temple.

His slightly gray beard was combed very delicately. It swayed naturally in the wind. He was wearing a scarlet robe that only second-grade officials were qualified to wear. He had a swallow-wing official hat on his head and a jade belt around his waist. He was sitting upright.

The majestic appearance on the horse makes people naturally feel a sense of respect.

"Li Xiao, the commander-in-chief of Shanhaiguan, comes to see Mr. Sun." Li Xiao bowed and saluted Sun Chengzong.

"It turns out to be Mr. Li, I've heard of you. I heard people said you were a young talent, and I was thinking about how to be a young man. Now that I've actually seen it, it really opened my eyes." Sun Chengzong also looked up and down.

Li Xiao again.

It's no wonder that Sun Chengzong spoke like this. If Li Xiao hadn't been causing trouble in the capital, he might have become the governor of Jiliao now, commanding the most elite army in the entire Ming Dynasty, fighting to the death with the Tatars to restore Liaodong.

But now, he can only inspect Shanhaiguan as the emperor's special envoy to evaluate Shanhaiguan's defense capabilities. If the Tatars tear up the secret agreement and launch an attack brazenly, whether Shanhaiguan can stop the Tatar cavalry.

Although major disarmament was carried out, the senior officials of the Ming Dynasty were still worried. If Sun Chengzong went back, they were sure that Li Xiao would be defeated by the Tatar attack.

Those Machiavellian Ye Xianggao will never support Li Xiao again.

After all, although everyone feels sorry for spending money, if the Tatars really rush in to grab such a vote, then the good life will not be possible.

Zhao Nanxing and Ye Xianggao argued for a long time, and finally agreed to let Sun Chengzong come and take a look first. Mr. Sun's credibility and vision, which he spent a long time building, are still impressive.

"Sir, please!" Li Xiao did not answer Sun Chengzong's words. With a wave of his hand, Li Hu walked up and personally led Sun Chengzong's horse to the dismounting stone.

Sun Chengzong dismounted, and Li Xiao cupped his hands and said, "Your Excellency, please review the new army trained by your subordinates."

"Oh! I've heard for a long time that General Li is good at training soldiers and is good at firearms. Today we want to see what kind of person he is who can turn Shuntian Mansion into chaos." There was a hint of thorn in Sun Chengzong's words, but there was something in his eyes.

appreciate.

The old guy had a lot on his mind, and Li Xiao couldn't figure out what he was thinking about for a while.

"Stand at attention! Salute!" Seeing Li Xiao leading Sun Chengzong over, Ao Canghai immediately shouted the order.

The soldiers wearing new military uniforms, holding firecrackers in their hands, saluted Sun Chengzong with attention. Ao Canghai raised his right hand high to the level of his eyebrows, with his fingertips on the brim of his hat, saluting Sun Chengzong with attention.

.The sound of drum music also started to sound.

Sun Chengzong looked at Ao Canghai with some surprise. This was the first time he had seen such courtesy. Although it was a bit strange, there was an air of heroism about him.

This was inconsistent with the court etiquette, but Sun Chengzong didn't say anything.

"Please!" Li Xiao was in front, leading Sun Chengzong onto the red carpet.

Wherever Sun Chengzong went, the eyes of the soldiers followed him. He held the musket tightly in his hand, and the gleaming bayonets stood like a forest. The murderous atmosphere made people shudder. Those who are timid are watched by so many people.

, it’s common to walk on the right side of the road.

Li Xiao turned around and glanced at Sun Chengzong. This old gentleman was actually inspecting the soldiers leisurely under the attention of so many soldiers. A pair of eagle-like eyes scanned the faces of every soldier.

These soldiers were carefully selected by Li Xiao. They are all about 1.8 meters tall. They are all strong young men with strong bodies. Before Sun Chengzong came, they had also specially trained their eyes. According to Li Xiao's requirements, their eyes

It must be so fierce that you can't wait to peel off its skin and eat its flesh!

Under Ao Canghai's supervision, the look in his eyes made Li Xiao a little scared. Sun Chengzong was actually able to walk leisurely. Sure enough, none of the great figures who left their names in history were easy people.

After reviewing the team, Mao Wenlong came up with Yuan Chonghuan.

Li Xiao is just the commander-in-chief of Shanhaiguan, and Mao Wenlong is the governor of Jiliao. The only one here who is qualified to speak to Sun Chengzong on an equal footing is this governor.

"Ha! Ha! Ha! Wenlong has met Master Sun. You have worked hard all the way." Mao Wenlong cupped his hands at Sun Chengzong and greeted him with a smile.

"Inspector Mao, I have an imperial mandate. Inspecting the defense of Jiliao, Shanhaiguan is naturally the top priority. I hope you will not send me away because of the unwanted guests."

"Master Sun is joking. The defense of Shanhaiguan is quite reasonable. As long as Brother Xiao is here, I can rest assured. If the Tatars come to attack, something will really go wrong. I, the leader of the Six Suns, will not hesitate to attack Caishikou

One knife."

Mao Wenlong didn't have the same respect for Sun Chengzong as Li Xiao did in his heart. After the two old guys met, they started to pinch each other fiercely, which made Li Xiao very worried that the two old guys would fight.

"Brother Xiao? Oh, it turns out to be Commander-in-Chief Li. This soldier is well led. The Shenji Battalion in the Beijing camp does not have such sharp eyes. You can tell a boss by his appearance. There are hidden dragons and crouching tigers under Commander-in-Chief Li.

"When Sun Chengzong spoke, he looked at Ao Canghai who was standing at the front of the team.

"That is Lieutenant Ao. He has fought with the Tatars many times and won them all. Master Mao really has extraordinary vision!"

"Yuan Chonghuan, the head of the Staff Department of the Ministry of War, has met your Excellency." Yuan Chonghuan is from the Ministry of War. Now that a senior official from Beijing has arrived, he naturally wants to go over and pay his respects!

"Thank you for your hard work, Master Yuan!" Sun Chengzong said lightly, and Yuan Chonghuan immediately withdrew.

"Master Sun, please!" Mao Wenlong made a gesture of invitation, and Sun Chengzong entered Shanhaiguan surrounded by Li Xiao and others.

Entering the Chinese army camp in the Governor's Mansion, Sun Chengzong immediately saw the sand table that Li Xiao had made.

"This is...! This is Liao River, this is Daling River. This is Jinzhou, this is Ningyuan, this is... Liaoyang. Who made this thing? It's so good." Sun Chengzong also came here back then.

Liaodong, relying on the memory in his mind, he quickly recognized that this was the terrain of Liaodong.

"Sir, this is what General Li ordered his men to make. The topography of Liaodong, especially Shanhaiguan, and Liaoyang is laid out here. Where there are mountains, where there is water, where there are bridges to cross rivers, and where there are roads to cross mountains. It's all marked in detail!" Yuan Chonghuan immediately came out to explain, saying that he was extremely envious of this thing.

"I am in the tent, but I can see the entire battlefield clearly. Very good! Very good!" Sun Chengzong nodded with satisfaction, and his eyes when he looked at Li Xiao softened a lot, and Li Xiao even felt kind inside.

"This is...!" Seeing that Sun Chengzong was happy, Yuan Chonghuan wanted to continue explaining, but was stopped by Sun Chengzong. He pointed at Li Xiao's nose and said, "Tell me."

"Promise!" Li Xiao agreed and walked to the sand table.

"These red flags represent our army of the Ming Dynasty, and those white flags represent the Houjin Tartars. Look carefully, those white flags are painted with different colors. These represent the Eight Banners of the Jurchens!"

"Oh, that's interesting. Go on, I want to see how you arrange your troops." Sun Chengzong glanced at the pile of red flags stretched out in the distance, looked at Li Xiao and asked.

"This is what the official thinks. Instead of waiting in Shanhaiguan, we should take the initiative and get right under the enemy's nose. This is Jinzhou.

Jinzhou's city defense has been initially stabilized, and barbicans have been urgently built at the four city gates. Several forts are also protruding from the city wall, so that when the Tatars attack the city wall, they will be hit from behind, which has a great impact on the morale of the army. "

"Oh! What if people don't attack your city wall first, but instead chip away at your broken stone wall first?" Mao Wenlong asked, pointing to the sand table.

"Haha! Sir, this fort is solid. It is just for the Tatars to attack. In this way, ammunition can be poured on their heads on the top of the city."

"You really have some ideas." Sun Chengzong carefully looked at the strange-looking Jinzhou City Wall.

"Xiaguan is going to send 30,000 people over to help defend Jinzhou City. As long as Nurhaci is under Jinzhou City, Xiaguan is 90% sure to kill him."

"Hmph!" Sun Chengzong snorted heavily through his nose.

Ever since Nurhaci started his army, there have been countless people who want to eat his flesh, drink his blood and draw his tendons. But now they are still living well in Liaoyang City. It is said that the longer the body is, the stronger it will be. The Jurchen wizard said , this Nurhaci can live a thousand years.

If the Jurchen wizard knew Chinese, he would definitely be depressed to death. Because just now, Li Xiao had a strange expression on his face.

If someone wants to be a tortoise for a thousand years or a tortoise for ten thousand years, let him make the decision.
Chapter completed!