After hearing Tan Dingfang's words, Gu Chongyi couldn't help but be stunned, as if he could not figure out these words thoroughly.

"Mrs. Tan isn't your benefactor's sister?" Gu Chongyi said as he went to see the portrait again, "How could there be... another one?"

Tan Dingfang sat down at the portrait, his eyes never left the cheek of the woman in the painting: "After Miss Bai's death, I was hit hard, and I was seriously injured in the northern border, so I couldn't afford to get sick. My wife and brother came to see me and immediately helped me buy medicine when I saw me like this, and took good care of me.

After getting along like this for a long time, the elders of the wife's family had the intention of getting married. I only had Miss Bai in my heart, so I pushed this marriage. Later, the elders of the wife's family died one after another due to illness. The brother and brother were helpless. The wife brought up the old story again, fearing that I would refuse in a hurry, so she said she didn't care about those things and hoped to take care of me by her side in the future. So three years after her elders passed away, I married her into the house."

Tan Dingfang sighed: "My wife is open-minded and has never asked Miss Bai about this for years. I really owe her a lot."

Gu Chongyi was silent for a moment: "Even if Miss Bai has such a relationship with you, that's nothing?"

Tan Dingfang looked at Gu Chongyi: "Don't you know what was criticized for the battle between Old General Zhao?"

Gu Chongyi said: "In order to rescue tens of thousands of people, the old general Zhao abandoned the city in Daning. As a result, the people were not rescued and all the food and grass were stolen by the Tatars. Therefore, the old general Zhao would be impeached by the censor after he returned to the capital."

Tan Dingfang nodded: "Victory and defeat are common among military strategists, and it is not the one who defeated the war. The Censorate questioned why General Zhao left the strongest city in Daning without defending and wanted to leave? Previously, the imperial court clearly ordered the old general to defend the city. The censor who followed the army to war reminded General Zhao several times, but General Zhao insisted on his own actions to cause such a situation.

But the old general Zhao's secret memorial had already entered Beijing. The memorial stated that he did not abandon the city and fled. The old general led his troops to rescue the people. The important task of defending the city was handed over to the deputy general. When the deputy general was guarding the city, he found that the red cannon was not a problem, and he loaded gunpowder and ignition materials but could not be fired. This lost the opportunity. The deputy general had to respond hastily. Who spread rumors in the city that the old general Zhao led his troops to escape? Leave them to death. A general in the city led his people to flee? So he was hurt. The city gate was broken."

Gu Chongyi knows more or less about these things: "It turns out that there is a problem with the red cannon, and it's no wonder that the Old General Zhao is the wrong decision. At most, the Old General Zhao made the wrong decision and did not leave many troops to defend the city."

Tan Dingfang said: "But the Ministry of War said that the cannons are not a problem? And the front city of Old General Zhao was breached? When we defended Beigukou, we also used the red cannons and gunpowder issued by the court. In addition, we also used some damaged cannons in the warehouse, and it was with these firearms that we defended the city."

Tan Dingfang sighed after saying this: "And the Ministry of War and the officials who went to manage the weapons met with the old general Zhao after the city was broken? Many deputy generals heard that the officials of the Ministry of War quarreled with the old general Zhao in the camp, and then the officials of the Ministry of War were killed in the camp? Although it was later found that the person who killed the official of the Ministry of War was a centurion, who instructed the centurion?

The censor suspected that the old general Zhao was afraid of being impeached by officials of the Ministry of War? He ordered people to attack the officials of the Ministry of War."

Tan Dingfang thought carefully: "Since the old general has received the news from the deputy general, there is something wrong with those artillery? After taking back Daning, can someone go and check it?"

Tan Dingfang nodded: "But? The artillery has been taken away by the Tatars? After that, we fought with the Tatars several times, and the Tatars also used those firearms, and so what if they found the artillery? The problem may be in gunpowder. The deputy general did not check carefully in a hurry at that time, and the deputy general was later killed in battle, which made it even more difficult to explain.

Although I had doubts about this at that time, I could not find any evidence. Moreover, the fact that I used firearms to fight the enemy was proved that Old General Zhao was wrong, and the Ministry of War also used this to question Old General Zhao."

Gu Chongyi said: "The few bad cannons you used at that time were all damaged by the gun ears. It was really not easy for you to win the battle with these cannons."

Tan Dingfang's eyes fell on the painting again. After seeing the face on the painting, his expression suddenly became very gentle: "That's all because of Achan. I can use those firearms to understand its structure clearly. Even if the gun ears are damaged, I can try every means to repair them.

In addition, it is also important to quickly recharge gunpowder. Achan made something that could quickly clean the cannon barrels... In short, only by having a special understanding of the firearms can they exert their power. Without Achan teaching me these, how could I defend the city? I was afraid I would have died long ago.

So I have been promoting firearms in Dazhou and practicing soldiers who specialize in firearms. I want to do everything that Achan has not done."

The room was in silence for a moment. Gu Chongyi looked at Tan Dingfang. There were many complicated emotions in Tan Dingfang's eyes, which kept surging like a sea of ​​clouds.

After a while, Tan Ding came to his senses: "I will explain this to you. How do you think about it? If there is something strange about the battle between Old General Zhao in the Northern Xinjiang, what do you think is the problem?"

Gu Chongyi said: "It's artillery. Some people may have deliberately mixed things in gunpowder, so they cannot ignite them. These are not enough. Obviously, someone secretly colluded with the Tatars in advance, allowing the Tatars to bring a large number of troops. Before the deputy general defending the city could react, he directly broke through the city. After the city was broken, the old general Zhao lost the barrier and was attacked by the Tatars."

Tan Dingfang nodded: "It is not easy to destroy artillery, you need to have a special understanding of the firearms. At that time, the Great Zhou Dynasty had just used the Red Barbarian cannons, and even the skilled craftsmen in the Ministry of War had initially explored the mystery. Because Achan was very familiar with these firearms. Once I exposed my relationship with Achan, I would be the most suspicious person."

Gu Chongyi looked at Tan Dingfang steadily: "That's true, and if it weren't for that battle, you wouldn't have been appreciated by the Ministry of War. Over the years, you have been showing off your skills in the court, which is closely related to firearms."

Tan Dingfang's expression was calm: "So I said that this matter was for me. They had already found out about my relationship with A Chan. When this matter could not be concealed, it was brought to my head step by step. There was so much evidence in my opinion, and I couldn't argue."

Gu Chongyi frowned: "Then do you...have..."

"Of course not," said Tan Dingfang. "If this was what I did, I should cover up when Zhengu died. Why did I keep Zhengu in Anjiyuan?"

This made sense. Gu Chongyi picked up the tea and wanted to drink it, but stopped there, raised his head and looked at Tan Dingfang: "Did you think of these strange things until now? Then why didn't you mention your relationship with Miss Bai to others before?"
Chapter completed!