weaving

Outside the southern suburbs of Kaifeng, hundreds of thousands of troops from the Yongyi Army and the Chuang Army have been in a tense confrontation. Although a war is on the verge of breaking out at any time, it seems that the commanders of both sides are very restrained, and no large-scale fighting has occurred so far.

However, in this area of ​​dozens of miles, people felt a very depressing feeling. This atmosphere was extremely demanding on people's will. Some soldiers of both the Ming army and the Chuang army had mental breakdowns and showed signs of madness.

As for these people, most of them were taken away by the pacification sergeants of the Yongyi Army and handed over to the pacification officers of each battalion for education and guidance. Many soldiers were able to return to the battlefield. Even if some of them were not suitable to return to the combat sequence, they were mostly transferred to the logistics battalion to engage in support work.

Moreover, most of the people who encountered such situations in the Yongyi Army were new recruits from Datong and Shanxi Town. Even the soldiers under the command of Kaifeng General Chen Yongfu rarely encountered such situations, not to mention the soldiers in various battalions of the Yongyi Army.

But on the contrary, those soldiers and servants in the rebel army who had suffered mental breakdown were caught and beheaded on the spot as a public display to restore morale and serve as a warning to others!

This extremely depressing battlefield atmosphere continued endlessly. Ten days passed, and then another ten days. There was no telling when it would end...

Hundreds of thousands of troops from both sides were waiting for the upcoming life-and-death fight, but the fight was not scary, and even life and death were not that scary...

Only waiting quietly... waiting endlessly... waiting without knowing what tomorrow will be like... is the most terrifying!

…………

During this period of time, Yongning Earl's headquarters welcomed a very mysterious guest.

He passed the Kaifeng city without entering, and went straight to the central camp of the Yongyi Army in Xinchengji. He asked to see Zhang Cheng, the Earl of Yongning, in front of the Yongyi Army scouts he met.

The scouts looked at the official documents he carried with him and knew that he had come from the capital. They did not dare to neglect him and escorted him back to the camp while rushing back to report the news.

"Butler Chen, why did you suddenly come here instead of serving my master in the capital?" Although Zhang Cheng had already guessed the purpose of his visit in his mind, he still had a very surprised expression on his face.

"Lord Yongning, please save my master!"

Although Chen Shi and Zhang Cheng were old acquaintances and he had often taken advantage of Zhang Cheng in the past, at this moment he was like a dying man. He knelt down in front of Zhang Cheng with a plop and begged bitterly.

Zhang Cheng, the Earl of Yongning, looked at Chen Shi, who was crying and sobbing, and couldn't help but admire him in his heart: "What a loyal servant!"

He stood up and helped the already very weak Chen Shi up, then pulled him to sit on a chair. He turned to the middle officer Zhang Mingyuan and ordered, "Quick, go get some rice soup and pickled vegetables."

"Sir, please save my master!" Although Chen Shi's voice was weak, every word could be heard clearly.

Zhang Cheng hurriedly asked him, "Butler Chen, I am in the capital, and I hold a high position, in charge of the military affairs of the Ming Dynasty. I wonder what kind of danger I am in, and why I need a warrior to rescue me?"

Chen Shi's pale face had a pair of big black eyes, staring at Zhang Cheng intently. His cold hands tightly grasped Zhang Cheng's hands and said, "Your Majesty... Your Majesty... He... He wants to punish my master... He is in imminent danger... Earl Yongning, please... please save my master!"

Seeing that he was expressing his true feelings, Zhang Cheng stopped making excuses and asked directly, "Butler Chen, what happened in the capital? Please tell me quickly."

"The negotiation... the matter has been leaked!"

Chen Shi naturally did not dare to hide anything, and he told everything that happened before he left Beijing. Finally, he took out a sealed wax letter from his pocket, held it in his hands and handed it to the Earl of Yongning, saying, "My Lord, this is written by the master himself..."

Just at this moment, the military officer Zhang Mingyuan also walked in with two personal soldiers, carrying a bowl of rice soup and a plate of pickled vegetables.

Before Chen Shi could finish his words, Yongning Bo took the letter and waved his hand to stop him, saying, "Butler Chen, drink some hot porridge first. The matter entrusted to me is not urgent. Let me read the letter first."

Chen Shi had rushed all the way here and did not dare to delay for a moment. He was exhausted and extremely hungry and thirsty. He stopped talking, took the big bowl of rice soup and drank it while it was hot.

After a moment, Zhang Cheng put down the letter and waved his hand to signal the two bodyguards to retreat.

Then he said, "I support the negotiation with you."

Chen Shi seemed to have grasped a life-saving straw. He knelt down in front of the Earl of Yongning again with a plop and begged, "My Lord, when I left Beijing, I heard that my master was arrested by the Jinyiwei and imprisoned. Now... I'm afraid he has already..."

He didn't dare to say anything more. He knelt on the ground and looked at Zhang Cheng eagerly. Suddenly he kowtowed and begged: "Lord Yongning, please save my master. If you delay any longer, it will be too late!"

Zhang Cheng wanted to help him up first, but when he stretched out his hand halfway, he abruptly pulled it back.

He slowly walked back to his seat, sat down gently, raised his hand to his chin, which had few beards, and kept stroking it, and fell into deep thought...

After a while, Earl Yongning seemed to have made up his mind. A strange light flashed in his eyes. He said to Chen Shi, who was still kowtowing, "Butler Chen, you get up first."

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Zhang Cheng's tone was much more stern than before, and it sounded like an imperial decree to Chen Shi. His crying stopped abruptly, and he stood up with a dazed look on his face. Tears were still pouring out of his eyes, running across his wrinkled old face and dripping onto the ground.

"I have been very kind to you, and I will never forget it for a single day."

Zhang Cheng first affirmed the relationship between Chen Xinjia and himself, and then said: "What's more, what I am doing is beneficial to the country. Unfortunately, those short-sighted villains in the court only see party struggles and power struggles. Even if they know the interests involved, they will certainly obstruct it in every possible way for the sake of their reputation after death.

Now, I have been convicted for this, so I will not sit idly by and watch me suffer."

After hearing these two sentences, Chen Shi felt relieved and slowly retreated to his seat. However, he was frightened by the aura of Earl Yongning and did not dare to sit back in his seat. He just stood in front of the chair with his back hunched.

"However, I have the heavy responsibility of suppressing the bandits on my shoulders, and this place is more than a thousand miles away from the capital. I am willing but unable to do anything!"

Chen Shi's heart, which had just been slightly relieved, suddenly became tense again. He was about to kneel down and beg again...

"However, I am grateful for this soldier's concern for the country and his courage to take on tasks. I admire him in my heart."

Zhang Cheng looked at Chen Shi and said to him, "Chen Shi, you can stay here for two days. I will give you some gold, silver, pearls and jade. You can go back to Beijing and make arrangements so that my soldiers will suffer less.

In addition, please tell me that I will secretly report to the emperor and explain the necessity of negotiating with me. I will also plead for me in front of the emperor, asking him not to be anxious, take care of himself, and wait for good news. "(End of this chapter)