From a son-in-law to a favorite of the empress

Chapter 488

The next morning, Zhou Yuan finally set out on his way home.

They came with a full load of carts, but returned empty. Everyone sat in the carriages to hurry on. In addition, the weather had cleared up and the strong wind had passed, so the speed was simply incomparable.

It took them more than 30 days to walk from Xuanfu to the Yehe grassland, which was already the edge of the Horqin grassland.

On the way back, they only took 16 days to reach Xuanfu.

Xue Changyue was filled with emotion when he saw Zhou Yuan returning from the journey.

"Ziyi, you are finally back. Everyone in the world is looking for you!"

Without any greetings, he went straight to the point and said, "Your Majesty has returned to the capital, Prince Fu's property has been confiscated, and everything is peaceful in the capital."

"Now the whole Jin Dynasty is united in a decisive battle with Nurhaci at Shanhaiguan. The battle is in full swing and difficult to resolve."

Zhou Yuan asked in confusion, "In full swing, difficult to resolve?"

Xue Changyue said, "This is of course a statement to appease the people. In fact, we have been filling it with human lives, and we can't hold on any longer."

Zhou Yuan walked into the house and said, "Tell me about the specific situation."

Xue Changyue said, "After the fall of Jizhou, Wu Dingzhong and Pang Lixing led the Leiden Army and the Jizhou Army to support Shanhaiguan, and together with the 40,000 remnants of Qiu Huan, they gathered an army of 200,000."

"They held out for thirty days, with more than 80,000 casualties, and this was because the heavy snow blocked the mountains and delayed Nurhaci's attack."

"On the third day after your majesty returned to Beijing, he and the Duke of Zhenguo went to Shanhaiguan to express their condolences. Then your majesty returned to Beijing, and the old master guarded Shanhaiguan."

"With him, the morale of my Great Jin army is there."

Speaking of this, Xue Changyue sighed and said, "The old Duke is good at fighting, but it is difficult for a good cook to cook without rice. There are only about 100,000 people left. It is impossible to organize a counterattack and has been struggling to hold on."

"Until now, on the 19th day of the first lunar month, Shanhaiguan is a river of blood. There are only more than 50,000 people left in the 200,000-man army fighting for life and death. It is almost impossible to hold on."

Zhou Yuan said: "What about the reinforcements?"

Xue Changyue said: "I wrote to your majesty twice, requesting to send more The 50,000-man army support was rejected by His Majesty. Xuanfu's location is too critical. It must maintain a staff of at least 60,000 to 70,000 people at all times. We dare not move it anymore. "

"The three borders cannot be moved, because Mongolia has gathered in the north of Hetao and is about to invade the south."

"The soldiers in Shanxi and Shaanxi cannot be moved. The soldiers in Shandong and Jizhou are empty. The troops in the Central Plains have not yet recovered. At present, we can only transfer troops from Huguang and Jinling."

Zhou Yuan shook his head and said, "Huguang cannot be moved. The two Jiangs have not yet recovered. The position of Huguang is to control the entire southwest. Once it moves, the ambitions of the chieftains cannot be suppressed."

Xue Changyue said, "So we can only mobilize the soldiers in Jinling, but the road there is far and the cycle is long, so it may not be possible to mobilize!"

"Now His Majesty means that you personally take charge and lead the five military camps 60,000 people, rush to Shanhaiguan."

Zhou Yuan narrowed his eyes and said, "Your Majesty, do you really dare to let the five military camps go out? If they really go out, the capital will be empty. What if there is any trouble..."

Xue Changyue smiled bitterly and said, "There are no soldiers in Jizhou and Shandong. Anyway, there are no soldiers everywhere, so Your Majesty does not have to be afraid. At least there are the Imperial Guards and the Five City Army to protect the palace."

Zhou Yuan was silent for a moment before saying, "The fall of Jizhou City, in addition to the strong offensive of the Eastern Tartars, the key is also the internal collapse of the army."

"The pressure of the Shanhaiguan defense battle this time is greater than that of the Jizhou defense battle. Has there been any internal collapse?"

Xue Changyue looked solemn and shook his head and said, "Absolutely not. Wu Dingzhong and Pang Lixing are both old generals. They rule strictly and have strict military discipline. After arriving at Shanhaiguan, they swore an oath of blood to live and die with Shanhaiguan. ”

“Today, only more than 50,000 people are left out of the 200,000-man army. The hillside is covered with corpses, and the walls are stained with blood. No one is afraid of fighting.”

“Zi Yi, our soldiers have always been defending Shanhaiguan.”

“But... this is the foundation of our Great Jin, and we can't lose it all!”

Zhou Yuan was silent for a long time before he raised his head and chuckled, “Does father-in-law want me to return to Beijing immediately and lead the army to the battle?”

Xue Changyue said seriously, “Of course! Soldiers have the mission of protecting the country. No matter what the result is, you should go.”

Zhou Yuan smiled and said, “Isn’t father-in-law afraid of my death?”

Xue Changyue hesitated for a moment before sighing and saying, “If it really comes to that, I’m afraid the country will perish. At that time, we soldiers will all dedicate ourselves to the country.”

“Zi Yi, a real man should be responsible. We are awarded titles for military merits and enjoy the glory and wealth brought by the title in peacetime. In times of war, we should serve the court and protect the people. "

Zhou Yuan nodded and said, "Father-in-law is right. I will rest for a day and come back tomorrow.The father-in-law and son-in-law had a quick meal, and Zhou Yuan went back to the posthouse to rest. Just a moment later, Li Yu'an came in with people. She glanced at Zhou Yuan and said, "I'll be guarding outside, no one will come in." Zhou Yuan nodded, and then looked at the young face. The young man immediately clasped his fists and half-knelt down, whispering, "Greetings, sir." Zhou Yuan said, "Speak." The young man said, "Shanhaiguan has been fighting for dozens of days. Our Jin defenders have not retreated a step and fought with the enemy. There are indeed heavy casualties. As of four days ago, there are still more than 56,000 people left." "The losses of the Eastern Tartars are also not small, with more than 60,000 casualties, including 30,000 deaths." "Nurhaci has a total of 140,000 troops. The battles of Jizhou and Shanhaiguan have caused a total loss of more than 50,000, and there are still more than 80,000 people left. "

"But about half a month ago, Nurhaci had continued to recruit troops in Jianzhou. The Jurchens had a lot of reserve forces, and almost everyone could join the war, which was more powerful than the Jin Dynasty."

"It seems that he is going to fight to the death."

Zhou Yuan waved his hand and said, "Let's talk about the south."

The young man said, "There has been no major changes in the south. After the court's compensation and food were delivered, the Portuguese in Haojing became quiet. They are busy opening factories and shops in coastal areas and dumping goods by the way."

"The factory is mainly used to manufacture ships, which are ordinary wooden ships. We want to complete them in a short time and then export goods."

"Our people control the output. Haojing has sent people to discuss this with us many times. Lord Guan Lu has been hanging them. If they don't refuse, they won't cooperate."

Zhou Yuan said, "How is the situation in Nanjing?"

The young man immediately said, "Everything is going smoothly. The goal set by the adults has been completed. "

Hearing this, Zhou Yuan let out a long sigh.

Then he said solemnly: "You should write to Guan Lu immediately, asking him to put aside the affairs in the south and go to Jinling in person, escort those things to Jinmen, and wait for orders."

"Then we need to speed up the construction of the intelligence system. We don't have much time."

The young man said: "Yes, I will do it immediately."

Zhou Yuan said: "Is there any other news?"

"Yes!"

The young man hurriedly said: "After Her Majesty returned to Beijing, she forced Guan Caixi to return to Beijing. At the same time, the two ladies in Zhongnan Mountain also returned to the Zhongwu Marquis Mansion."

Zhou Yuan's figure was shocked, and his color changed: "What did you say? Jianjia and the others returned to Shenjing?"

The young man said: "Your Majesty sent the imperial guards to pick them up. The attitude was quite respectful and the standards were quite high, and..."

Zhou Yuan said: "And what?"

The young man said solemnly: "Madam Xue Ningyue was conferred the title of the first-class imperial lady. "

Zhou Yuan took a deep breath and waved his hand, saying, "I know. You can go down."

In the quiet room, Zhou Yuan's expression was uncertain.

Ningyue was conferred the title of a first-class imperial lady, which was sweet.

Bringing them back to Shenjing, with extremely high standards and escorted by the imperial guards, this seemed like sweet, but it was actually a stick.

The eldest sister knew what I cared about most!

What did she want to express? Can she protect my family, or can she destroy my family?