This is an urgent telegram from Yuan Chonghuan, sent this morning, asking him to quickly mobilize his troops south to block the Tongguan front line.
The telegram was very short, just a few words, but the words were so heavy that Yuan Chengzhi couldn't breathe. He knew his father's character very well. He was absolutely proud and would not tell anyone else unless he had to.
He who bowed his head, let alone asked for help from his own son, suddenly came to ask for help, which can only explain one problem, and that is - a tragic defeat on the Western Front!
It stands to reason that mobilizing troops must be approved by the court, drafted by the cabinet, approved by the emperor, and issued by the Ministry of War before action can be taken. To mobilize troops without permission is tantamount to rebellion. However, the system has almost collapsed in recent years, especially in the northern provinces, which are simply divided by warlords.
Transferring privately is not a big deal.
What's more important is that Yuan Chengzhi understands that his father is a face-saving person. He always reports good things to the court but not bad things.
Henan, at that time, could not contain the fire, so he bypassed the complicated official document procedures, asked his son to send troops to help, and stabilized the situation first.
This was a serious matter, and it would not be good if outsiders knew about it, so Yuan Chengzhi asked the general if anyone else had seen it, and the general quickly said: "Except for the people in the translation room, only the little ones took a look, um, maid.
Chunxiang seems to have come in."
"It's all been dealt with. If there are no traces left, go ahead and do it." After Yuan Chengzhi finished speaking, he hid the telegram in his arms and went out to drink again.
After the banquet, Yuan Chengzhi kept several of his father's old subordinates, including Zu Dashou, Man Gui, He Kegang, Zhao Lejiao, etc., and told them that he would mobilize his troops to go south to carry out secret missions, and the security of the north would be entrusted to them.
Yuan Chengzhi said whatever he said, and others naturally did not dare to question it. However, how many troops should be mobilized to go south was a problem, because everyone was afraid that Zhamuhe from the north would come over, and Li Yan from Goryeo would make a comeback.
Yuan Chengzhi said: "As long as we stick to Gubeikou, Zhangjiakou, Shanhaiguan, and Dagukou forts, no matter where the enemy comes from, it won't be a concern. It's good that Shanxi can protect itself and won't take the initiative to attack, so you guys
You can rest assured that I will only take away 80,000 troops from Hebei, leaving you with enough troops, so be it."
Everyone was complaining endlessly. There were only one hundred thousand Hebei soldiers who could fight. Marshal Xiong took away eighty thousand. Who could fight the remaining twenty thousand? But no one dared to say anything. They could only wait for Yuan Chengzhi to leave.
After that, they quickly grabbed some masters from the private sector to fill the vacancies.
In Nanjing, wine is being served at the house of Lord Wu Sangui, the admiral of Shaanxi Military Affairs. This is the full moon wine for Wu Yingxiong, the third generation of the Wu family. Wu Yingxiong is the love child of Wu Sangui and Chen Yuanyuan, and is also the first son. Chen Yuanyuan also gave birth to a child before.
The daughter, named Wu Ke, is three years old this year.
With Yuan Chonghuan in charge in the west, I hope nothing will happen to him, so Wu Sangui traveled all the way back to the capital to serve his son full moon wine. Wu Sangui was away at war in these years and rarely came home. His father Wu Xiang had passed away, and only Chen Yuanyuan took care of him at home. Wu Sangui
My heart is filled with guilt for my beloved wife.
But looking at his son who was just one month old, Wu Sangui couldn't be happy. Although Wu Sangui was a warrior, he was very careful. His son Wu Yingxiong was born eleven months after he last went home to visit relatives. Everyone said
She was ten months pregnant, so why was Chen Yuanyuan one month longer than others? She was very good at justifying herself, and she made a lot of excuses. She invited several experienced women to tell Wu Sangui, not to mention that she was already eleven months pregnant.
It is not uncommon for children to be born in twenty months. The more mature the child is, the later he will be born. This is a blessing.
Even though he said this, Wu Sangui still couldn't let go. This child is indeed handsome, with a pair of big dark eyes and a head of soft black hair. He is only one month old and has an indescribable elegant and melancholy temperament. Handsome is handsome.
But it's not like me or Chen Yuanyuan at all. This incident has caused knots in my heart that I can't get rid of.
There were many guests coming to have a drink. Wu Sangui was a pillar of the country, and who in the court would not give him face? Moreover, Chen Yuanyuan was also well-known in the social circles of the capital. He knew many ladies and ladies, and at that time more than half of the guests gathered.
But Wu Sangui didn't know him.
But the appearance of a guest made Wu Sangui's heart tremble. He casually wore a handkerchief on his head, and a trace of unruly black hair was blocked in front of his eyes. From time to time, he would shake his head coolly and throw up the ends of his hair that covered his eyes. It was really indescribable.
Elegant, with an unknown melancholy, this person looked so familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had seen it before. After racking his brains, Wu Sangui finally figured it out, and it hit him like a thunder. It turned out that this guest was actually with his son.
Wu Yingxiong looks very similar!
Wu Sangui hurriedly asked who the visitor was. After checking the gift list, the waiter told him that this was a newcomer in the officialdom of the capital, a pen holder of the Ming Dynasty, a member of the Ministry of Rites and a foreign minister who took the initiative to break up the impasse.
They are all the work of this brother, and Mr. Mao has a very strong backing. He is a protégé of the current cabinet chief, Hou Xun, and Hou Xun is a staunch ally of Wei Zhongxian.
It turned out to be him. Mao Pizhang, one of the four young masters in the south of the Yangtze River, finally surfaced after many years of silence. Wu Sangui knew this man. Five years ago, Wu Sangui and Liu Ziguang rescued him from the bully Xue Pan when they were drinking wine on the Qinhuai River.
Chen Yuanyuan, at that time Chen Yuanyuan was preparing to elope with Mao Pizhang. Later, Chen Yuanyuan married Wu Sangui. Hou Fangyu, the leader of the four young masters in Jiangnan, was overthrown by Liu Ziguang. Mao Pizhang also returned to his hometown in Suzhou in disgrace. Unexpectedly, he would come back after many years.
He even got into a relationship with his old lover and gave birth to the wild beast Wu Yingxiong.
"Adulterer and adulterer! You have bullied me into having no one in the Wu family!" Wu Sangui was furious, but the calm temperament he had developed through years of fighting prevented him from breaking out on the spot. Instead, he watched with cold eyes. The mother-in-law took out the little Ying Xiong for everyone to watch.
, the guests all praised the child's beauty, but Mao Bizheng's eyes were different from others, full of love and satisfaction. Wu Sangui knew that kind of eyes very well, only his father's eyes could be like this.
Wu Sangui suddenly separated from everyone, snatched the swaddling clothes from the mother-in-law's hand, and shouted sternly: "This child is not a descendant of the Wu family, why should the evil son stay in the world to be embarrassed!" After saying this, he slapped the child head down on the ground, and his head was immediately broken and bleeding.
The brains were all over the floor, and the poor baby who had just turned one month old had to pay the price for the sins of his biological parents.
The whole audience was shocked, and no one said a word. After a moment, the first person to react was Mao Bizhang. With tears in his eyes, he suppressed his grief and anger and asked Wu Sangui: "What crime is this child guilty of? What ability do you have to point at me?"
Come!"
Wu Sangui shouted: "Thief, do you think I will let you go?" As he said that, he jumped forward. He didn't bring a knife to the wedding banquet at home, so he casually took a blue and white porcelain vase nearby and smashed it on Mao Pizhang's head.
Blood flowed out from under the soft black hair, blinding his eyes. He shook his head twice and fell next to his biological son. Wu Sangui picked up a rosewood chair and was about to throw it over, but suddenly a figure flashed past,
Chen Yuanyuan, with disheveled hair, pounced on Maopizhang, her face turned gray, and said, "If you want to kill, kill me first, then kill our whole family."
You are a family! What about me, who am I? I am the queen of the generals, young and handsome, with great military exploits. In terms of character and family background, how can I be sorry for you, Chen Yuanyuan, you are just a brothel girl, not a perfect body, I
Has Wu Sangui ever complained? Didn't he resist the pressure and marry you as the first wife? All these years of fighting abroad, blood staining his robes, going through wind and rain, why? Isn't it just to make people look up to you?
This lady who was born in prostitution, it’s a pity that all this has done is for you to steal people and support men. Now, not only do you not want to repent, but you also threaten me with righteous words. What on earth is going on in this world!
These were just Wu Sangui's inner monologues. He was no longer in the mood to say anything. Looking at Chen Yuanyuan's beautiful big eyes, scenes of tenderness from the past came to mind. Wu Sangui closed his eyes and a drop of turbid tears flowed down. The man did not shed tears lightly, but
Because he hadn't reached the point where he was sad, Wu Sangui was really sad this time.
The hard huanghuali chair smashed down with a sound of wind, grazing Chen Yuanyuan's scalp and falling to the ground next to it, smashing the floor tiles. Wu Sangui turned around and said, "Go away! I never want to see you again!"
Chen Yuanyuan, who was weak after giving birth, helped up Mao Bizhuang, who was covered in blood. The two picked up the child's body, carried it in a small bag, and supported each other step by step out of the Wu Mansion. Chen Yuanyuan took off the jewelry as he walked.
Throw it on the ground, as the saying goes, you come empty-handed and leave empty-handed. From now on, you and Wu Jiaen will be separated from each other, and there will be no more worries.
The guests stared at this scene in stunned silence. This show was so wonderful that even a storyteller couldn't make it up. Watching the two people disappear at the door, Wu Sangui looked up to the sky and said nothing. The guests did not dare to say anything and left one after another.
Wait until tomorrow, this explosive news will spread throughout the capital and even Jiangnan.
In the suburbs, there was drizzle. Maopizhan and Chen Yuanyuan, who had gauze wrapped around their heads, were cuddling together. In front of them was a small tomb. In front of the tomb were incense candles and some toys and cakes. Looking at her son's tomb, Chen Yuanyuan couldn't help but
Starting to sob, Mao Bizhang held back his tears and whispered: "Our child can't be called Wu Yingxiong. He has to have his own name. I picked one for him, and he's called Fengyun Ruffian. What do you think?"