The wind rises at the end of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 237
Outside the tent of the Chinese army, the wind and snow were blowing, and the icy snowflakes were blowing endlessly in the bitter and violent cold wind.

Under the night, there is a gloomy and desolate scene between the sky and the earth, and the little lights are almost inaudible in the wind and rain.

The soldiers guarding outside the tent opened the curtain, and an old man wearing a Lingyun scarf and a Haiqing cloak stepped into the tent with some hesitation.

The old man walked into the tent, stopped at three steps, seemed a little hesitant and frightened.

Lu Xiangsheng stood up and turned his eyes to the old man who had entered the account, which happened to meet his eyes.

The old man's body froze, his eyes were full of surprise and a little unbelievable, and his expression changed a lot for a while.

The old man was holding a cane in his hand, as if he wanted to see more clearly, he took another step forward, he looked at Lu Xiangsheng who was not far in front of him, then trembled all over, and then knelt down on the ground leaning on the cane , trembled.

"Crassman Yang Qi, kowtow to... Duke Ming..."

Lu Xiangsheng stood up, raised his hand slightly, and said in a warm voice.

"You don't need to be polite, old man, it's cold, please get up and talk."

"I heard that the old man came from Guangping Mansion. Right now, there are wars everywhere. Why did you take the risk to come here? Could it be that you have some grievances and want me to avenge them?"

Lu Xiangsheng signaled the guards to come forward, brought the old man a chair, and let him sit down.

"Thank you Minggong for your pity, the grass people are not bothered by grievances."

Yang Qi shook his head, looked at Lu Xiangsheng who was sitting above him, and said with emotion.

"Five years apart, Duke Ming is still as upright as ever."

Lu Xiangsheng's expression was slightly trembling, and the old man in front of him overlapped with the figure of a person in his memory.

That was the person he had met five years ago when he was serving as a daimyo soldier.

At that time, the rogues rushed into Beizhili. In order to resist the invasion of the rogues, he recruited young men from Shunde, Guangping, and Daming to form an army. At that time, gentry from all over the country donated food and materials.

Yang Qi was among those representatives of the gentry at that time, the money donated by the Yang family was not small at that time, and many children of the clan even joined the army.

Lu Xiangsheng remembered that there is now a general in his army who seems to be from the Yang family in Guangping.

"It seems that Duke Ming has remembered Caomin, and it is the luck of Caomin's life to be remembered by Duke Ming."

Yang Qi was quite excited when he saw Lu Xiangsheng's eyes gradually becoming clear.

"The reason why the Three Daming Houses can be stable is precisely because there are Mr. Yang and other gentry who are willing to donate and lose money to serve the country."

Lu Xiangsheng's attitude slowed down a lot again, and the desolation in his heart dissipated a lot when he met his old friend.

"Since there is no grievance, why did Mr. Yang take the risk and rush all the way here?"

Yang Qi let out a long sigh, with a complicated expression, and met Mr. Lu's suspicious gaze, and said.

"Jiannu is vicious. I've heard a lot about it these days. Right now, people are panicking. No one dares to go out of the city."

"However, I heard that Duke Ming is leading the army. Even if we take risks, we must come to meet him. I was pushed by everyone, so I came here to look for Duke Ming."

"Duke Ming used to serve as a famous soldier to prepare the Dao, drive out bandits, wipe out bandits, protect the peace of the people in our three prefectures, and benefit the local people. How dare we forget him?"

Lu Xiangsheng's expression was slightly moved, and his originally cold heart also throbbed a little.

"The world has been in turmoil for ten years. Bandits have caused chaos in the world, and the northern captives are rampant. Duke Ming's life plan is the first in the world."

"Duke Ming led the army all the way to help, but the county town refused to help. These things have already spread throughout the three prefectures, and we have all heard of them."

"The treacherous ministers are in the court, and they are jealous of Zhongliang. The Duke of Ming is hated because of his loneliness. The three armies hold out the pass, but the soldiers have the heart of returning from the west."

Yang Qi didn't sit down, but was still kneeling on the ground, with a sad look and tears.

It's not that they haven't heard about the affairs in the court, and they also know the treatment of the soldiers and horses who rush to help from all over the place.

"Ming Gong's army is stationed in the wilderness like this, sleeping in the open air, but it is difficult to eat a full meal. All the soldiers along the road have pale faces and pale lips."

"Jiannu is vicious and has a large number of people, but the soldiers under Duke Ming can't even get enough to eat, so how can they go to battle and kill the enemy?!"

Every word Yang Qi said pierced Lu Xiangsheng's heart like a sharp knife.

Lu Xiangsheng clenched his fists unconsciously, and his eyes gradually became colder, but in the end, all the emotions and thousands of words he had accumulated were just a sigh and dissipated in the tent.

"The country is in danger, can An Neng stay out of it?"

"An Neng just sit back and watch the people suffer?"

Lu Xiangsheng knew the meaning hidden in Yang Qi's words. Yang Qi wanted to avoid the main force of Jiannu like other troops.

He knew that this was the best choice right now, but he couldn't do it, and his answer was only two sentences.

He had no way to persuade Yang Sichang, nor could he agree with Yang Sichang.

He is not Yang Sichang, and he will never become Yang Sichang, let alone want to be Yang Sichang.

He has no way to watch all this happen, and regard it as something that must be experienced on the road to success.

Regarding Lu Xiangsheng's answer, Yang Qi was not surprised at all, he had already expected that Lu Xiangsheng would reject his proposal.

Yang Qi bowed down and fell to the ground, sincerely begging.

"If there is no Minggong, our three houses have already been killed by bandits, how could there be so many years of peace and stability."

"Now Jiannu has gone south to plunder and invaded the three prefectures. Although we are full of resentment, we intend to kill thieves, but we suffer from the fact that there is no one to lead us."

"Jiannu has an army of tens of thousands, but now Duke Ming is weak and helpless."

"Caomin, I implore Minggong to move his army to Guangping and summon volunteers. The children of the three residences must flock here when they hear that Minggong is coming. If they want to follow, they can also help Minggong, so that they will not build slaves alone."

Outside the tent, the wind howled.

Inside the tent, candles flickered.

Lu Xiangsheng's figure was constantly changing with the flickering candle, and the expression on his face was hard to see because of the shadow.

The atmosphere is terrifyingly silent...

I don't know how long it took.

Lu Xiangsheng walked down the first seat slowly, helped up Yang Qi who was kneeling on the ground, and sighed.

"How can I, Lu Xiangsheng, be so caring for the elders of the Three Houses?"

"The enemy rushed to the west, and the reinforcements were separated from the east. But even so, in the face of the Jiannu ravages, how can I, as a governor, stay out of it?"

"What's more, this matter is an order of the court, how can it be violated?"

Lu Xiangsheng helped Yang Qi up, took a step back, and shook his head.

"Please forgive me for refusing the request of the elders of the Three Houses."

"Now I have only [-] exhausted soldiers under my command. I have been trapped in Jiannu's camp. I am alone and helpless. I have no food to eat. I will die sooner or later. I will go to Guangping, but it will be in vain that the people of the three prefectures will suffer together with me."

"Dawei, send a team of cavalry to send Mr. Yang back to Guangping Mansion..."

Lu Xiangsheng didn't give Yang Qi a chance to refuse, and directly gave orders to Hu Dawei.

Yang Qi wanted to say more, but seeing Lu Xiangsheng's expression, he still didn't say any persuasive words in the end.

Hu Dawei stood up and led Yang Qi to walk out of the tent.

After Hu Dawei left, the tent regained its tranquility.

Lu Xiangsheng sat back on the top seat again.

Du Wenhuan and Yang Guozhu didn't speak a word from the beginning to the end, they just sat quietly on the chairs.

However, Lu Xiangsheng did not intend to continue to remain silent.

"The giant deer is dead, you don't need to follow me to die..."

"If you want to leave, now is the last chance. I can give you a military order. You go to Quang Binh and defend Quang Binh."

Lu Xiangsheng didn't raise his head, and Du Wenhuan and Yang Guozhu who were sitting at the bottom were still silent.

"You followed me from Bianzhen all the way to the capital, and then from the capital all the way to Nangong. It's the utmost benevolence. I know it in my heart and I won't blame you."

Lu Xiangsheng raised his hand and waved it.

"Go back to the base camp first. I have already signed the military order and sent it to your tent. If you want to leave, you can leave the camp and head east at Pingdan tomorrow, and don't come back..."

Du Wenhuan and Yang Guozhu looked at Lu Xiangsheng who was sitting on the head. Lu Xiangsheng's voice fell, but neither of them moved or left the tent.

"Let's go."

When Lu Xiangsheng spoke again, Du Wenhuan stood up slowly, and then Yang Guozhu also stood up.

The two bowed respectfully to Lu Xiangsheng, and facing Lu Xiangsheng behind them, they slowly backed out of the tent.

The curtain was lowered, and Lu Xiangsheng finally raised his head.

Listening to the roar of the wind outside, Lu Xiangsheng's mood fluctuated constantly.

No one knows his current situation, Du Wenhuan doesn't know, Yang Guozhu doesn't know, Hu Dawei doesn't know...

For Hu Dawei, let him make a decision when he comes back.

Jiannu is not the only one who wants him to die now... Yang Sichang is also...

Now Lu Xiangsheng has figured everything out.

Since he took over the duties of the governor again, his end was doomed when the main battle of the platform was spoken.

Jiannu went all the way south to plunder wantonly, soldiers came to the capital, tanned the capital, spread poison for thousands of miles, there must be someone to take this responsibility.

And he also confronted Yang Sichang tit for tat, so he was hit mercilessly by Yang Sichang.

Yang Sichang first continuously weakened the army under his command, and then placed various trumped-up charges on his head.

His title of minister of the Ministry of War has been seized by the emperor's decree, and now he is serving as a minister with the title of supervisor, and he has committed crimes and made meritorious service.

It is obvious that Yang Sichang sent someone to cut off his food and pay, and distributed the soldiers under his command, which made him unable to rush to help everywhere.

But the public opinion in the court is that he stands still, afraid of fighting, and sits and watches the prefecture fall.

The responsibility for Sun Chengzong's martyrdom was also pushed on him. The edicts issued by the imperial court became stricter and stricter, and even the emperor sent letters of reprimand.

All the crimes are now being pushed on him, the crimes of the fall of the various prefectures are also because of him, the successive defeats of the soldiers in various places are also because of him, and everything is because of him.

He led the army outside and was constrained. He had obviously tried his best, but in the end he was required to bear these unwarranted responsibilities.

Lu Xiangsheng's heart was freezing right now, and wearing a cloak on his body could not bring him the slightest warmth, because the chill came from the bottom of his heart and was hidden in the veins, not the cold outside.

If you stand still, you will be accused of being afraid of the battle and sitting by and watching the country fall.

When Jiannu leaves the customs, he is a sinner of history and a sinner of the country.

At that time, what he was waiting for would not be the imperial edict, but the Tiqi of Jinyiwei.

It seems that there are countless choices, but in fact he has no choice.

At this moment, only death can prove his innocence and clarify his grievances...

Lu Xiangsheng looked down at the map on the desktop.

He didn't know Jiannu's strategy, and he didn't know Jiannu's movements.

Everything depends on Julu.

Jiannu set up heavy nets in Shunde, Guangping, and Zhending just to surround him in Julu, waiting for him to plunge into the encirclement net.

Lu Xiangsheng's eyes kept moving on the map, observing the surrounding situation.

On the side of Shunde Mansion, he sent two generals Liu Shijue and Li Yougong from Xuanzhen to rescue. Chen Zhenyi also led the reinforcement battalion from the headquarters to help. There are about 7000 to [-] people, which may be used as a help.

But now the main force of the Qing army is in Shunde Prefecture, and there are only six to seven thousand officers and soldiers in Shunde Prefecture. After the siege of Shunde Prefecture is relieved, do they really have the strength to rush to help?
What's more, Chen Zhenyi and Gao Qiqian have an extraordinary relationship, both of them are military supervisors, and they come from the same school.

Gao Qiqian seemed to have boycotted the territory of Daming Mansion a few days ago, and is now stationed in Daming Mansion south of Shunde Mansion to defend against the enemy.

However, Gao Qiqian and Yang Sichang worked together to prevent him from sending troops several times, this time it might be...

Lu Xiangsheng's eyes were gloomy, and he seemed to be at the end of his rope.

Lu Xiangsheng's gaze followed Nangong all the way up, and there was the Qing army that had already blocked their way, and there seemed to be tens of thousands of people.

just... maybe...

Lu Xiangsheng slowly clenched his fists. This battle may not be inevitable, and there may be a glimmer of hope...

It's not really the end of the day yet...

……

Chongzhen 11th year, November [-]th, Pingdan.

The noise outside the tent awakened Lu Xiangsheng from his sleep.

Lu Xiangsheng's expression was calm, and the noise that rose up was probably the sound made by Du Wenhuan and the others leading the troops to retreat.

Lu Xiangsheng thought this way, he didn't take off his armor while sleeping, he stood up directly, and walked out of the military tent.

It's just that after he stepped out of the tent, he couldn't take another step.

Outside the tent, Du Wenhuan, Yang Guozhu, and Hu Dawei put on their helmets and armor, and stood on both sides of the corridor with a group of military academies. None of them left...

Lu Xiangsheng noticed that standing beside Hu Dawei was a person he was familiar with, a person who should have been sent away yesterday - Yang Qi.

The barracks, which were originally empty, were now filled with all kinds of rice and food.

On the road in the camp there were people coming and going. Among the crowds, some people were pushing small carts, while others were driving donkeys and horses in trucks and grain carts, and cart after cart of food was transported to the camp.

In addition to those people, there were more people, carrying pockets and cloth bags, lining up along the road in the camp.

They went to the place where the grain was stored, opened their pockets, opened the cloth bag, and poured all the few grains in the bag into it.

The bodies of those common people were thin and thin, and many of them wore extremely thin clothes.

Most of the food they fell down was very little, some were two buckets, some were one bucket, and some were even only half a bucket
Lu Xiangsheng stood on the spot, staring ahead, silent.

Looking at the people in front of him one after another, why didn't he know what happened.

"Ming Gong didn't want to implicate us, so he moved to Guangping."

Yang Qi took a step forward, bowed to Lu Xiangsheng, and said with tears.

"Duke Ming is so kind, we have nothing to repay, we can only use our food reserves to help Duke Ming."

"I am weak, please forgive me, please cook these grains as army rations, so that the soldiers under his command can fight with food."

"It's windy and rainy ahead, be careful on Ming Road..."

Lu Xiangsheng's hands trembled slightly, looking at the scene in front of him, for some reason, the fog lingered in front of his eyes, covering his sight.

If a country has a way, it will not change; if a country has no way, it will not change until death...

Lu Xiangsheng slowly closed his eyes and clenched his fists.

Yang Sichang... In this world, perhaps as you said, those who can disregard any morality in order to win can have the last laugh.

But even so, I still have to stick to my morality.

As a human being, you can't change your integrity when you are in trouble, and you can't change your ambition even if you die!
There are some things that cannot be compromised.

Jade can be broken, but its whiteness cannot be changed.

Bamboo can be burned, but its joints cannot be destroyed.

Although the body is dead, the name can hang down on bamboo and silk, so why be afraid? !
……

Chronicle of Duke Sima Lu of the Ming Dynasty:
In the seventh year of Jiaxu, he was 35 years old and had outstanding performance.In March, when he entered the imperial censor of the Qin capital and ruled Yunyang, the scholars and people of the three southern counties wept bitterly at each other.

The public comforted him for a long time, but the scholars and people fell to the ground and cried, unable to get up.

"History of Ming Dynasty Volume 260 Biography 140 Biography of Lu Xiangsheng"

All the people were weeping and thundering, and each brought a bedside bucket of millet to pay the army, or a liter of jujube, and said: "The public cooks for food!"

(End of this chapter)