Hundreds of households in Liaodong, covering the light with one hand

Chapter 252 Cold winter, a murder case

These past few days have been the coldest days in the history of Beijing.

The cold wind in winter is fierce and unreasonable, blowing all the bitter cold wind and frost from the north into the Ming Dynasty.

The city gates of Beijing are full of traces of wind and frost. Chaoyang Gate in the east has witnessed too much history and glory, as well as experienced too much humiliation, blood and tears.

For some reason, the city of Beijing, no, not just the city of Beijing, but the entire northern land, is too cold this winter.

Boom!
  As the orders of the nine captains were passed on, the bells sounded heavy and long. In the blink of an eye, the last light in the clouds disappeared. At the same time, the city of Beijing was under curfew.

In the entire Chaoyang Gate, except for the soldiers at the top of the city who were hiding in the building gate, drinking and sleeping, most of the soldiers guarding the city had returned to their wives' warm beds, or else they were the masters of Goulan House, and they would have been drunk for a long time. .

Gududu.
  Under the Chaoyang Gate, Old Sun, a veteran city guard who was used to being lonely, wrapped his head tightly in a cotton-padded jacket full of oil stains, nestled his body under the base of the city wall, and put his body closer to the fire to avoid the cold wind and snow. In the pot, pickles, cabbage roots and noodles were kneaded together. A few pieces of blood and pig intestines saved from Butcher Zhang during the day were also put into the pot. They kept rolling in the boiling water, and the flames were already burning. Licking the edge of the earthenware pot, the steaming stewed vegetable hot pot in winter makes people move their index fingers.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, it's so delicious. I wonder if Duke Lang, who is far away in Liaodong, can eat it?" Old Suntou shook his head with regret, as if he felt that Wang Qi had not known about this delicious delicacy. It's a pity.

The report of the Liaodong victory arrived in Beijing three days ago. It spread throughout Beijing in almost half an hour, and then went to all directions.
  When Lao Suntou heard that the emperor in the Qianqing Palace who loved to do carpentry work heard the news of the great victory, he jumped up from the dragon throne, and then ran around the hall three times with a maniacal laugh, attracting all the eunuchs and maids in the hall. They all ran along until they were exhausted, then they lay down on the ground and read the memorial over and over dozens of times. Now every night when I go to bed, I have to open it and read it several times before I can sleep peacefully.

After hearing about the great victory, the civil and military officials of the imperial court, whether they were surprised, ecstatic, or both, gathered collectively at the gate of the imperial city to congratulate the emperor and Duke Lang.

After all, since Donglin's faction moved away from the capital, the entire imperial court was composed of officials who were neutral or close to Wang Qi. This great victory could be said to be the first achievement of the Ming Dynasty in more than a hundred years, and it was reasonable to congratulate Duke Lang.

In the past few days, the incense in Langguo Gongsheng Temple has spread from the entire capital to the capital.

Even Lao Suntou donated thirty cash for incense to the Langguogong Temple in the outer city yesterday.

Nowadays, the entire Ming Dynasty is praising the achievements and achievements of Duke Lang.

Of course, in addition to the Donglin Party, just yesterday, four officials of the Donglin Party who did not know whether to live or die jointly signed a letter saying that Duke Lang had too many troops and risked threatening the imperial court.

Although these four officials had been dismissed by the emperor in the afternoon, they still made people feel disgusting and despicable.

At this time, who dares to say that Duke Lang is at fault!
  Lao Suntou was the first to refuse!

But Lao Suntou was sitting in the corner, with a trace of thought on his old face: I have always heard the storyteller say that he is the master of great power and shock. Isn't that what the Duke of the country is now?

Hey!
  As soon as he slapped his thigh, Lao Suntou felt that he was too lenient. This was not a question he should think about!
  What do you care about the old, toothless, crippled soldiers guarding the city?
  The Duke of Guo is the pillar of the dynasty, so how can he be in danger of shocking his master with his great achievements?

Old Suntou decided to throw away the random thoughts that had nothing to do with him, wiped his unkempt beard, sniffed his nose, and was quite intoxicated, and then smacked his lips: "Xiao Sanqiao comes to see my brother in the winter, and his heavy breasts make him dream. .”

Picking up the chopsticks, Lao Suntou is about to try his handiwork.

Ok?
  Old Suntou's eyes fell on the earthen pot. For some reason, the slightly boiling water surface suddenly started to vibrate, and circles of ripples spread out, along with the bright yellow flames on the firewood pile that were trembling and beating.

Following the sound, Lao Sun stood up and walked to the city gate, looking through the gap in the gate into the distance.

I saw not far away, under the moonlight, seven or eight cavalry on horseback were stationed there, all wearing black armor, carrying scimitars on their waists, long bows on their backs, and a quiver with a quiver on the right side of the horse's belly. Fully loaded.

Perhaps they were traveling a long distance, but the horses were all covered in white breath. They were wheezing and breathing out from their noses, like long dragons tumbling in the night. It was really strange.

In the crack of the door, Old Suntou was shocked when he saw this scene. He almost collapsed on the ground. He thought it was the Jianzhou cavalry who had arrived.
  Bah bah bah! ! Jian Nu had long been killed by the Duke, so how could there be Jian Nu? Such momentum may only be possessed by Liaodong soldiers and horses.

Just when he was about to take a closer look, the next second, Old Sun's eyes suddenly shrank, and he almost screamed. His rickety body behind the giant door stiffened, as if he had seen something terrible.

----

It is November 30th, the second year of the Great Ming Dynasty.

The carnival of extermination of the Jian slaves has not yet passed, but dark clouds have already enveloped the sky over Beijing.

Yin Wenling of Shuntian Prefecture was originally at home with Xiu Mu, but a case in the early hours of last night made this parent official in Beijing almost grow old overnight.

At 3:30 a.m. this morning, the defenders who went to the base of the city wall to drain water found the old soldier, Old Sun, with his head stuck to the gap in the city gate, his body trembling as if he had fainted.

He hurriedly called someone to help check, but it didn't matter. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw four corpses hanging at the top of the city outside Beijing's Chaoyang Gate.

Moreover, after the bodies were put down, everyone saw clearly that all four of them were officials serving in the government, and they all had the same identity - the Donglin Party.

And the first thing Lao Suntou said after he woke up was: Liaodong Cavalry, Liaodong Cavalry.

Everyone thought that Lao Suntou was crazy, and Wenling thought so too, but at the critical moment of the Liaodong victory, four Donglin Party members died at the top of Chaoyangmen City.

And he was killed by Liaodong cavalry.

What's even more terrible is that these four officials were impeaching Duke Lang the day before.

At this moment, Wen Ling felt that it was best for him to pass out and avoid this disaster.

Was it Duke Lang who sent someone to do this?
  Wenling is certain that it is not, and the people and officials in Beijing are also certain that it is not.

Duke Lang is far away in Liaoyang City, so how can he care about such a trivial matter?
  But everyone knows in their hearts that if Duke Lang doesn’t do some things himself, there’s no guarantee that his subordinates won’t do them!
  Those arrogant soldiers in Liaodong.

Gee tut.

"Sir, someone from the palace is here to summon you to the palace to meet the Holy Spirit."

The clerk's voice rang in his ears, but it seemed very far away. Wenling didn't react for a long time.

"Master Wen, the Emperor invites you to enter the palace."

With a bang, Wenling's forehead was covered with sweat, and he woke up from the sound.

Liu Ruoyu, the director of the inner palace's catering department, stood there with a bad look on his face.

"Eunuch Liu" Wen Ling wiped the sweat from his forehead and stood up hurriedly.

"Put yourself together and follow me into the palace." Liu Ruoyu glanced at Wen Ling, with a hint of warning in his eyes.

(End of this chapter)