Emperor Ming Dynasty

Chapter 47 Letters
With the decision to go east out of Tongguan, the city of Xi'an settled down in an instant.

The undercurrent of the past was surging, dissatisfaction, and it also drifted away. The gentry, the powerful, kept themselves safe and did their best to serve the Qin army.

Food purchases, pig iron, wood, sulfur, nitrate and other production materials poured into the barracks continuously.

For a while, the whole of Xi'an seemed to be at peace, and only Governor Sun followed suit.

However, Sun Chuanting knew that this was an illusion, this was the last calm before the decisive battle.

The promotion of the imperial court and the death of the king of Chu, it seemed that most of the pressure was gathered on his shoulders, and he could only resist it forcefully.

"Duxian, there is a letter—"

"Mr. Zhao, send it in!"

Sun Chuanting rubbed his temples and said tiredly.

Suddenly, a middle-aged man in his forties walked in.

He had a long beard, was tall and thin, and had a regular appearance, with bright eyes.

It is Sun Chuanting's best friend, Shanxi scholar Zhao Shu, with the word Shizhi, which is mostly used for logistics and planning.

"Why?" Sun Chuanting raised his head, looked at the military adviser, and said with a smile, "At this time, who else will write to me?"

"There are three letters!" Zhao Shu rubbed his neck, sat down, and said with a light smile, "The first letter came from the capital, it was written in early May, and it was delivered in two days."

"Oh?" Sun Chuanting was stunned for a moment, and said in confusion, "I don't have many friends in Jingzhong, and there are quite a few people who slander me."

"Zhou Shoufu was imprisoned, and the capital is in turmoil!"

Zhao Shu sighed, and said, "The one who wrote you the letter was the cabinet secretary, Wu Chen, who was also arrested last month."

"Oh?" Sun Chuanting was surprised, and quickly took it over to look at it.

I saw that there were not many words in the letter, about a hundred or so, and the main content was to persuade myself not to send troops lightly.

"Wu Cifu, it can be considered difficult."

Sun Chuanting said with a wry smile: "The imperial court is exhausted, so it is difficult for him to lead the army. Your Majesty, this is a difficult situation for a strong man!"

Zhao Shu nodded in agreement, and then said softly: "So, Your Majesty hangs half of the country on your body, it can be said to be a last stand!"

Sun Chuanting was silent.

Of course he could hear the advice in it, but given the sword above, what can he do?
"The other letter was written by Zuo Yunzhong and Liu Lishun, and it is also an admonition. Please don't send troops."

Seeing his expression, Zhao Shu couldn't help but took out another letter and said.

"There are quite a lot of people who are sensible in the court."

"So what?" Sun Chuanting said helplessly, "Who made us so eager for success today? We wish we could lead the army today and wipe out the thieves tomorrow."

After finishing speaking, Sun Chuanting said rather annoyedly: "Brother Shi, you'd better take it out directly, if it's still for persuasion, then that's all."

"This letter is not from Beijing, but from Huguang."

"Huguang? Isn't that being ravaged by intruders?"

Sun Chuanting stood up directly, looked directly at Zhao Shu, and said seriously: "Aren't you cheating on me with the traitor?"

"Who do you think I am, Zhao Shu?"

Zhao Shu was so angry at these words, he stood up directly, looked at each other and said, "This letter is from Xiangyang, and it is Qiu Zhitao, the son of Grand Scholar Qiu Yu."

"Qiu Zhitao?" Sun Chuanting was surprised, and then said: "I heard that his grandfather died of scolding Luo Rucai, why did he go to the intruder's place again?"

"Luo Rucai was killed by Li Zicheng and swallowed up his people. Qiu Zhitao entered Xiangyang and served as a servant, stationed in Xiangyang City."

"Really?" Sun Chuanting quickly took the letter and read it at a glance.

Half a quarter of an hour later, he sighed heavily, and said with joy, "With his internal response, I'm afraid I'm [-]% sure of this battle."

Qiu Zhitao said in the letter that when he was fighting Li Zicheng, he would spread rumors in Xiangyang City, saying that Zuo Liangyu's elite soldiers had arrived, shaking the morale of the intruders and forcing them to retreat to rescue them.

When the time comes, the Qin army will be in hot pursuit, enough to find flaws and defeat the intruders.

"Du Xian, Qiu Zhitao, are just a scholar, this plan is very immature, and the effect may not be as good as expected."

Zhao Shu questioned.

"At this point, do we still have a choice?"

Sun Chuanting asked back.

Now, Zhao Shu had nothing to say.

"Brother Shi, I have to go now!"

Sun Chuanting said in a deep voice.

Seeing this, Zhao Shu saw that there was no possibility of change, so he couldn't help but said: "The elite from the three sides cannot be drawn out. If they are defeated, they can be regarded as the last capital left."

"exactly."

Sun Chuanting nodded and agreed: "Besides, the three sides are already empty, and they are being transferred. I am afraid that the Tartars will invade the side, and their soldiers do not know each other with our army, and there is no cooperation. It is not appropriate to act together."

"Then, until now, the only ones who can have some elite soldiers are Qin Liangyu's white soldiers."

"White soldiers?"

Recalling the past, Sun Chuanting thought of Qin Liangyu's silver hair and unyielding face, and couldn't help saying: "Sichuan is generally stable, and white soldiers can be deployed to fight together."

"Qin Gaoming is a heroine, with her around, the chances of winning are greatly increased."

For nearly 30 years, Qin Liangyu followed the officers and soldiers and fought in the South and the North. It can be said that he has made outstanding achievements. It was because of his four thousand Sichuan soldiers that Sun Chuanting defeated Gao Yingxiang and wiped out the thieves in Shaanxi.

"Okay, then I'll write a letter and ask her to lead the troops."

"Ask someone to bring 5000 taels of silver. She, her family, will destroy the house and relieve the hardship. I'm afraid they will run out of food and grass."

Sun Chuanting recalled the pair of bare feet, the simple white poles, and the velvet robe that didn't cover his body, and he felt admiration in his heart.

"Yes!" Zhao Shu agreed.

"In addition, you go to the Shu court to ask for a fight on my behalf."

Sun Chuanting said in a deep voice.

"Duxian, there is no turning back when you shoot the bow."

Zhao Shuyan sincerely persuaded him again.

"I, have no choice."

Sun Chuanting closed his eyes, shook his head, and sighed deeply.

"Hey—" Zhao Shu had no choice but to pick up a pen and make a draft.

Sun Chuanting read it, deleted and changed some, and added Qiu Zhitao Neiying's story, bragging about our strength, saying that one month can defeat the thief.

Zhao Shu retouched the pen again, and it was almost finished.

Holding this memorandum, he felt heavy and inexplicably sad.

Even Sun Chuanting, such a decisive and upright Confucian general, needs to boast and express his confidence to the court.

"Brother Shi, Your Majesty, I like to read this kind of thing. What you wrote just now is too restrictive."

Sun Chuanting said softly: "Exaggeration, publicity, and the accomplishment of one battle, this is what I like today."

Zhao Shu couldn't help but laugh when he heard this.

At this moment, a messenger soldier came rushing over, panting, and said, "Report to the governor, an urgent report from Tongguan."

"Tongguan?"

Surprised, Sun Chuanting took three steps at a time and picked up the letter directly, looking to get up.

Zhao Shu was also full of astonishment, he said: "Isn't the intruder in Xiangyang? The spies have no news, why did they suddenly invade Tongguan?"

(End of this chapter)