Xie Ming

Chapter 2: Strategy in the Building

Chapter 2: Strategy in the Building
On March 18th, at noon, the sky over the capital was covered with leaden clouds, and it felt like a storm was about to come.

East of the city, Mingyue Tower.

Xiao Jingchuan was leaning on the railing on the second floor of the restaurant, looking into the distance with a worried look on his face.

"Oh! Master Xiao, you are so elegant!"

"Li Zicheng has already reached the Imperial City. Instead of defending the city, you have the leisure to invite me for a drink?"

"Xiao Lang, you've been acting so strangely in the past half month!"

"Tell me, why do you have to drag me out at this critical moment?"

The man who spoke was named Qiu Zhizhong, also known by his courtesy name Feiyu. He was 17 years old, a handsome and elegant young man.

As he spoke, he walked slowly towards Xiao Jingchuan, pulled over a chair and sat down casually.

Qiu Zhizhong is currently serving as the Eastern Palace companion. He often goes in and out of the palace, dressed in luxury and nobleness. His family background was once prominent, and he is the son of a prominent family. You can use words like dandy or spoiled to describe this person, but he has a good heart and is also close friends with Xiao Jingchuan!

"Why, can't I invite you, a famous person in the East Palace, for help?"

Seeing the person had arrived, Xiao Jingchuan calmed down, made a few casual jokes, and then acted like a host, picking up the pot and pouring a glass of wine for the other person.

"Come on, everyone in the capital knows that the one who is extremely popular is your Duke (Zhu Chunchen)!"

"The lotus leaves are endless and green, and the lotus flowers in the sun are so red!"

"You, Young Master Xiao, are not Duke Cheng's biological son, but you are his adopted son who has been raised in his mansion for ten years. And you and the second young lady of the Duke's mansion are childhood sweethearts!"

"Old Xiao, in my opinion, Duke Cheng must know everything about you and Zhu Yu'e (Second Miss) very well!"

"You, stop being so reserved. Take a chance and tell the old man about it. It will be a good story if we become close relatives!"

After Qiu Zhizhong finished speaking, he flicked his folding fan, picked up the wine glass and started drinking. He and Xiao Jingchuan had a close relationship, so there was no need to observe any etiquette. They just drank when there was wine and talked when there was something to talk about. They never had any taboos when they talked in private.

But as soon as he mentioned Duke Cheng, Xiao Jingchuan's eyes suddenly froze.

"Duke Chengguo has indeed been kind to me, but he and I are definitely not on the same path!"

Qiu Zhizhong was caught off guard by the sudden change of topic.

After saying that, Xiao Jingchuan frowned and pulled out two letters from his sleeve, then handed them to the other party with a little hesitation.

Qiu Zhixin was a smart man. When he saw Xiao Jingchuan's face, he knew that this letter was extraordinary. So he took a deep breath, put aside his casual and playful attitude just now, straightened his waist, reached out to take the letter and took a closer look.

After a while, Qiu Zhizhong was shocked!

"This"

"How did you get these letters? Have you ever been discovered?!"

Qiu Zhizhong asked anxiously.

However, Xiao Jingchuan was quite calm. He poured himself a drink and let out a long sigh.

"Feiyu (Qiu Zhizhong), you and I have known each other since childhood, and we are like brothers. I am confused when I learned such a secret."

"You are much smarter than me, and you have many clever ideas. Please help me think of a solution for this matter!"

Xiao Jingchuan had a miserable look on his face.

"Chang Ting (Gu Chang Ting, Xiao Jingchuan's personal soldier), go and guard the second floor for your general and me. Stand by at the bottom of the stairs. No outsiders are allowed to come up!"

Qiu Zhizhong made prudent arrangements.

"Yes!" Gu Changting followed the order and went downstairs.

Seeing that his personal soldiers had disappeared, Qiu Zhizhong walked to the stairs worriedly, looked around again and again, and only after making sure that there was no one there did he go back and sit back in his chair.

"Lao Xiao, Lao Xiao, you are deliberately trying to drag me down with you!"

As he spoke, Qiu Zhizhong opened his folding fan vigorously and fanned himself in front of his chest, and at the same time rolled his eyes at Xiao Jingchuan.

Seeing this, Xiao Jingchuan did not refute, but just smiled bitterly in response.

"Let me think about it, let me think about it"

Qiu Zhizhong frowned and muttered to himself in deep thought.

After a while, when his mood recovered a little, he spoke slowly.

"My third master is an old friend of Zhang Jinyan, the Minister of War. I went to visit him two days ago and talked about military affairs and city defense. I thought Beijing could hold out for at least another half a month. If troops arrive to support the king, the situation might turn around!"

"but!"

"But there are two letters here. The storm has come and the wind is blowing through the capital!"

Qiu Zhizhong drank the wine in the glass, feeling lost.

"If the city is really about to be breached, then there will be no way to avoid the loss of lives."

"Since Zhu Chunchen has expressed his intention to surrender the city in his letter, the people can be spared from the scourge of war."

"But you, Xiao Jingchuan, will become a surrendered general by then. Given your personality, it may be difficult for you to accept it, right?"

"Hmph! Surrendered general? That's called a traitor!" Xiao Jingchuan's expression became more and more solemn.

Seeing this, Qiu Zhizhong shook his head helplessly. In fact, he knew in his heart that this person would definitely not choose such a path.

"Oh Well."

"In that case, it seems you want to take another path!"

"I'm afraid this is the real reason why you brought me here today!"

Qiu Zhizhong stared at Xiao Jingchuan fiercely.

Xiao Jingchuan stood up to refill his glass, but still said nothing, wanting Qiu Zhizhong to continue speaking.

"Since you are unwilling to surrender to the enemy, then you, Xiao Jingchuan, must find a way to deal with these two letters. You want to present them to His Majesty and expose Duke Cheng's treacherous and traitorous behavior, right?!"

"But you are just a small guerrilla fighter. How can you meet the emperor without an imperial edict?"

"So you want to find me and have me bring the letter into the palace and have His Royal Highness the Crown Prince present it to you!"

Qiu Zhizhong's guess was very reasonable, but Xiao Jingchuan remained silent.

"But right now, Beijing is in turmoil. Changing generals in the middle of a battle is a big taboo in military strategy!"

"Have you ever thought about what will happen between you and me when this letter is delivered to you?"

"Let's not talk about whether it will be of any use at that time, but it is a foregone conclusion that we will be implicated in this matter!"

"No matter whether Duke Chengguo is overthrown or not, the source of your letter is not legitimate. I will report you to the court and you will have no place to stay!"

"Even if you and I won't die soon, we are stuck in this situation. I'm afraid our lives are over now!"

At this point, Qiu Zhizhong folded his fan and threw it on the table in anger.

"Xiao Jingchuan, you have great principles, I, Qiu, admire you. Brother, I am definitely not a coward!"

"But, Lao Xiao, let me speak my mind!"

"The Ming Dynasty cannot be saved, and the situation will never change because of the will of you and me!"

"How many years have we been suppressing the bandit Li Zicheng? His power is growing stronger and stronger!"

"The warlords in the border towns are too powerful to be eliminated. Now the capital is in danger, and no soldiers are willing to come to the king to protect him!"

"The treasury is empty, party strife is fierce, natural disasters are frequent, and the people are living in misery."

"Xiao Jingchuan, can you save the Ming Dynasty like this?"

"Is it really meaningful for us to die for this?"

After his impassioned speech, Qiu Zhizhong had tears streaming down his face.

call!
The second floor of Mingyue Tower had open windows for ventilation. A gust of evil wind suddenly blew in, and the full wine glasses on the table fell off the table and broke into pieces. "Feiyu (Qiu Zhizhong), look, it's snowing outside!"

As they talked, the two looked at the city outside the building. Qiu Zhizhong sighed, reached out to open the lid of the wine jug, and drank it all in one gulp.

"Don't be a traitor to your country, and don't be a foolishly loyal general."

"What if I say I want to force the Crown Prince to go south and fight for the throne?"

"Feiyu, are you willing to help me?"

As soon as Xiao Jingchuan said this, Qiu Zhizhong was stunned and put down the wine jug.

"Since there is this letter, it is destined that Duke Chengguo Zhu Chunchen will betray his country and surrender to the enemy."

"I neither help the thieves nor intend to expose them."

"Your Majesty is stubborn and determined to die. It is difficult to persuade him!"

"If the capital cannot be defended, then we must quickly find a way to break out and head south before the city is breached."

"I have observed the celestial phenomena and believe that His Majesty will definitely entrust his son to his care tonight. The Crown Prince is very likely to leave the palace and hide in the Duke Cheng's mansion."

"Then you and I will take the prince and flee at night."

"You are a regular servant in the Eastern Palace. With this letter, the Crown Prince will certainly follow our arrangements."

"My five hundred elite soldiers from the Divine Machine Battalion can help break through the blockade outside the city!"

Xiao Jingchuan looked excited when talking about this.

Qiu Zhizhong suddenly grabbed Xiao Lang's wrist!

"Old Xiao, how did you know that the emperor would entrust his son to his care tonight?"

"How can we be sure that the Crown Prince will leave the palace and entrust himself to Duke Cheng?"

Hearing this, Xiao Jingchuan was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter.

"Didn't you tell me that I've been acting strangely in the past half month?"

"I said that I have achieved enlightenment and can predict the future. Do you believe it or not?"

Xiao Jingchuan looked confident and half-joking, but Qiu Zhizhong looked very serious at this moment.

He looked around, but the other party couldn't figure out anything, so he put that question aside and continued asking.

"The Duke's Mansion is very large, and there are many military servants. Even if the Crown Prince really enters the mansion, he will definitely ask Zhu Chunchen to hide in the back house."

"It's true that you are the adopted son of the Duke, but it's probably not easy to enter the female family's backyard in the middle of the night, right?"

"I have already informed Xiao'e (Zhu Yu'e) and have made an appointment to meet her at her mansion tonight. She will open the door for us at the side door in the backyard." Xiao Jingchuan answered quickly.

"Which way out is there of the nine gates of the capital?" Qiu Zhizhong followed up with the question.

"Xizhimen!" Xiao Jingchuan replied.

"Xizhimen? Is there any support?" Qiu Zhixin was wondering why this place was chosen.

"Li Huchen, a fierce general under Wu Linzheng, is a loyal man. He is on duty at the city gate tonight. I have done him a great favor, so I will definitely trust him!"

Xiao Jingchuan had already planned this plan in mind, and he answered fluently and spoke with confidence.

After hearing this, Qiu Zhizhong suddenly realized what was going on. He supported himself on the table, then leaned back in his chair. He was stunned for a long time, and both of them were speechless.

Half a minute later, Xiao Jingchuan asked quietly.

"Fei Yu (Qiu Zhizhong), the building is about to collapse and chaos is imminent. I know you have great ambitions, and I, Old Xiao, really need your extraordinary wisdom to help me overcome this difficult time!"

"My dear brother! For the sake of the people of the world, how about you and I join forces to put an end to the chaos and the crisis and fulfill our wish?"

"My name is Xiao Jingchuan, and I respectfully invite Mr. Feiyu to come out and help me!"

As he spoke, Xiao Jingchuan solemnly stood up suddenly, stood at attention, and respectfully bowed deeply to the other party to express his feelings!

Seeing this, Qiu Zhizhong finally let out a long sigh, then stood up and helped Xiao Jingchuan up.

"Old Xiao! You, don't try that on me!"

Qiu Zhizhong pretended to be relaxed, but there was clearly light in his eyes!

"I accept your invitation. It's not impossible!"

"But your so-called enlightenment is really too weird. If the prince really goes to the Chengguo Mansion tonight as you said, then I will believe you and help him. How about that?"

"You're serious!" Xiao Jingchuan patted Qiu Zhizhong on the shoulder.

"A gentleman's word is as good as gold! I will do my best to help you when the time comes. We will stand by each other through thick and thin and never let you down!" Qiu Zhizhong responded sincerely.

"Okay, okay! Haha."

Xiao Jingchuan laughed out loud. At the same time, Qiu Zhizhong picked up the folding fan on the table, said no more nonsense, turned around and ran towards the stairs to the second floor.

"Fei Yu (Qiu Zhizhong), go back and wait for my news. When the prince enters the mansion, I will send someone to ask you to come to the Duke's Mansion to see it." Xiao Jingchuan said as he chased after him.

"Of course. I, Qiu, will not release the eagle until I see the rabbit."

After saying this, Qiu Zhizhong swung his folding fan, behaved like a playboy again, hummed a little tune, and went downstairs.

Half a quarter of an hour later, Xiao Jingchuan came out of Mingyue Tower.

He stood in front of the streets of East City, looking at the usual market scenes, the people walking around, the hawkers' cries, and for a moment he felt a little dazed, as if everything was normal and his plans these days were just a dream.

"General, I always feel like you've become a different person recently!"

"Is something serious going to happen?!"

Gu Changting (a personal soldier) was always by Xiao Jingchuan's side. He knew his general's every move, smile, and behavior very well, so he was puzzled and asked this question when he had the chance.

"Huh? Is my behavior abnormal?" Xiao Jingchuan asked back.

"I can't explain it, I just feel like you've become a different person!"

"General, are you possessed by evil spirits? Do you want to ask a Taoist priest to take a look?"

Gu Changting was talking nonsense in a serious manner, and he looked sincere, as if he really had concerns in this regard.

"ghost"

"Upper body you head!"

"I'm telling you that I'm a person who traveled back from the future and took over the body of your general. Do you believe me or not?!"

Xiao Jingchuan rolled his eyes and kicked Gu Changting on the butt.

"What does it mean to travel through time?" Gu Changting asked with a grin, holding his butt.

"It's just that your general has learned a lot now, and knows the future five hundred years ahead and five hundred years to come!"

"Let's go, stop wasting time!"

As he answered, Xiao Jingchuan jumped onto his horse.