At the ugly hour (three o'clock in the morning), Xiao Ran was woken up from his nap in the south city gate tower. A subordinate whispered a few words in his ear. Xiao Ran quickly got up and left the tower. The soft snow and cold wind were still raging outside.
"Master Xiao, look." Shen Jianghu, who was on duty, was standing at the top of the city with a few soldiers. When he saw Xiao Ran coming out, he pointed to the south. There seemed to be vague lights, exactly three of them, no more, no less.
Xiao Ran squinted his eyes and frowned: "I'm sure it's true, but it can't be a trap set by the Tatars."
Shen Jianghu said with certainty: "Don't worry, Mr. Xiao, this matter is not a trivial matter. The general will not dare to entrust it to you. After half time last night (ten o'clock in the evening), the Tatar brigade had withdrawn north to avoid the wind and cold, and only a few spies were left." They were scurrying around, and the wind and cold were so severe that they didn’t know where to hide. Even if they were to notice, there would be nothing to be afraid of with just a few Tatars looking for the horse!”
Xiao Ran chuckled: "Ningyuan's army has been very murderous recently. I heard in the past that the Tatars have changed their minds, but now they are eager to try. I heard that the army's lieutenants are busy forming groups and waiting to leave the city at dawn to make money."
Shen Jianghu laughed loudly: "Who would give me money to make it difficult, not to mention that killing Tatars is my duty!"
Xiao Ran stopped talking about this and looked at the three or two looming points in the south.
Ningyuan's army owes a huge salary of two hundred thousand yuan. The five taels of silver brought by Chang Yu are only twenty thousand taels of salary after throwing away the bounty. Now that the war is about to begin, silver is the most direct way to boost morale and inspire the morale of the army. Two magic weapons.
He won the first battle and killed nearly 6,000 enemies in one fell swoop. The government and the public were shocked. The emperor was overjoyed. Chang Yu's victory report came with a white note asking for silver. No matter how poor Chongzhen was, he would squeeze some money out for him. He knew better how important money was to morale at this time. Morale directly determines the importance of the next tough battle.
It's just a thousand miles away, and the fastest way to get things done by the imperial court is ten days. It's hard to quench the thirst of a person from afar. Just then, Li Yan's advance support force arrived and brought over some of the little eunuch's private money. It was just the right moment. Bring it and pay it in advance.
But when Li Yan arrived, the young eunuch joined forces with Wu Sangui to ambush the Qing army vanguard in Abatai. When he arrived at the Zhonghou Post, Wu Sangui ordered him to station himself on the spot and go to Ningyuan in light equipment to watch the battle.
When he left the day before yesterday, Chang Yu had secretly ordered him to send the 100,000 taels of silver from the Zhonghou Army to Ningyuan City as quickly as possible after returning. At that time, the two of them estimated that the time they would return to Ningyuan would most likely be late at night. , it has been uneasy outside the city recently, so they set up three torch signals, and the city guards went to greet them.
Xiao Ran was ordered to handle this matter and waited at the top of the city until early in the morning.
After confirming that everything was correct, Shen Jianghu led a thousand men and horses and quietly went out of the city to pick him up without lighting any lights.
After half a stick of incense, Chang Yu, whose body bruises and pain gradually subsided, got up after receiving Xiao Ran's secret report. He asked Li Tiezhu and others to pack their luggage and go to the Bell and Drum Tower to wait for him. Then he took Wuzhong, Kuang Ren and others to the main office. Military Mansion.
The young eunuch knocked on the door early in the morning. Wu Sangui hurriedly got up and asked if there was a military situation or if he wanted to leave the city.
Several people had discussed the tactics earlier, with Chang Yu in charge outside and Wu Sangui in charge. Now Dorgon's army is close at hand and can attack the city at any time. The little eunuch must leave the city and enter the mountain without anyone noticing before his arrival. This is the best time.
Chang Yu nodded and was about to leave the city. The silver has arrived. One hundred thousand taels will be handed over to you!
Where did the one hundred thousand taels come from? Wu Sangui was shocked. He only knew that his subordinates were going to escort Li Yan's people into the city, but he didn't know that it was to send money. Even Tang Tong, who came after hearing the news, looked confused. Even if the capital allocated funds Not so soon. Robbery? There aren’t many big houses within a hundred miles.
The little eunuch couldn't tell, leaving the suspense for the two of them to think wildly.
It's just that this silver is not payment silver, but reward silver. It is used to stimulate military morale and buy the heads of Qing soldiers. This is also the consensus reached by the three of them.
While they were talking, Xiao Ran came to report that the money had entered the city, and there was also an unexpected surprise: Chongzhen's messenger had arrived.
So fast!
This surprised Wu Sangui and Tang Tong. Normally, a eunuch who delivers a message would have to travel a thousand miles. Even if an urgent military intelligence report is sent to the inn, it would take three, four, five, or six days. However, since childhood, the eunuch has been delivering good news out of the city.
It had only been one day and two nights so far, and how could they get out of the Shanhaiguan retreat after dark.
How did they know that Chang Yu had formed a special communication team with Xiao Ran before he arrived in Ningyuan? One post a hundred miles away, one person and many horses, non-stop. Back then, he could arrive in Taiyuan in the morning and arrive in the evening even though he was thousands of miles away in Taiyuan.
The capital is a piece of cake. As for Shanhaiguan, whoever dares to stop Dongchang's horseshoes? Their boss is outside the customs. You have to open the door whenever he says.
The two Jin Yiwei, who were tired from work and had frosty faces, hurried into the hall to pay their respects. When they were approaching Ningyuan after passing through the Shanhai Pass, they happened to encounter Li Yan's escort car and horses, and they entered the city together.
Seeing the hard work of the two of them, Chang Yu took out a reward of ten taels of silver without saying a word. The two guards in Jinyi were so grateful that they couldn't hide their joy and thanked them repeatedly.
Wu Sangui and Tang Tong looked at each other. No wonder all the young eunuch's subordinates supported him so wholeheartedly. He never hesitated to win people's hearts.
But now Wu Sangui is more concerned about what good news the emperor asked the messenger to deliver and what reward he got!
A guard in Jin Yi took off the long package from behind and presented it with both hands. Chang Yu looked sideways, and Wu Zhong took a step forward and put it on the table to untie it. He saw a long object about three feet long wrapped in yellow satin. After untying it, there was a
The wooden box made of chicken blood sandalwood is simple and heavy, with carvings on it.
Everyone was amazed when they saw the extraordinary wooden box, and came over one after another.
Chang Yu raised his eyebrows and opened the wooden box himself. Everyone couldn't help but utter a cry of surprise. There was a long knife inside the wooden box, and the entire blade glowed with a green light and was very cold.
Chang Yu stretched out his hand to grab it, and waved the knife in the air a few times. There was a faint sound of phoenixes, and he couldn't help but chop it down at the corner of the table, and with a bang, the corner of the table fell to the ground. Everyone exclaimed that the knife was good.
"Back then, Qi Shaobao made five swords made by the famous craftsman Han Xichen to reward his generals with outstanding military achievements. This sword is called Qingque, which is the first of the five swords. He didn't want to live in the palace anymore." Wu Zhong stared at the hands of the young eunuch.
holding the knife, trying his best to restrain his excitement.
Everyone was attracted by his words, and Chang Yu handed the sword to him: "Qi Shaobao is a master of Jingwei Tiandi Wencheng Military Strategy. He is a genius born once in a thousand years. His sword is extraordinary. They say you are a sword sage. Come and taste it."
How is it?"
Wu Zhong took it, stretched out his hand and touched the blade gently, with a look of admiration on his face. He kept whispering "Good knife, good knife" in his mouth. He flicked the blade with his fingers and made a crisp sound, like the orioles chirping in the green willows.
"Han Xichen is truly a master of sword-making. This sword is the result of his lifelong efforts and has become a holy sword. It is a second-class sword and is almost a first-class sword." Wuzhong praised it.
But the little eunuch was confused and asked him to fart. Wu Zhong then explained that there are ten grades of swords. Ordinary rangers have many knives and are not of the highest grade. The standard military saber is only the lowest grade, but the Jinyiwei sword is of the lowest grade.
All the Xiuchun knives are extraordinary. They are in the seventh or eighth grade, and some can reach the fifth or sixth grade...Those above the third grade can be called holy grade, and there are divine grade above the first grade! But he has only heard of it and has never seen it.
Those of the first grade have no fate yet.
Pretending! What the little eunuch said was true, so he sent him two words, and then asked Wuzhong what grade the long sword he always carried with him was?
"A family heirloom, not of high quality but priceless" Master Wu is very arrogant. (To be continued)