Chapter 843
Asking Secretly
Jingyuan didn't leave until late at night.
The servant prepared the medicine and gave it to the Duke of England.
The Duke of England looked at the empty bowl in his hand and gave a bitter smile: "I said Wang Zhen was small-minded and brainless, but so many of us are under his control. No matter how clever we are, we are helpless."
The attendant whispered, "His Majesty has lost his mind..."
The Duke of England shuddered and said in a low voice, "Shut up, how can you say such a thing?"
Changsui lowered his head, unable to speak aloud, but he could think it in his heart, right?
This shows that the Duke also agreed with his point of view.
The Duke of England did not refute this statement. His eyes were deep, and after a long while, he said softly, "His Majesty... does have foresight, but he is too willful."
To be an emperor, to be willful is to be foolish.
The Duke of England handed the empty bowl to his servant, lay back on the bed, and stared blankly at the mosquito net with his eyes wide open.
Even if he sent Jingyuan to find the emperor, there was only a 50% chance of success.
He had experienced battles with only a 10% chance of victory in his life, and he had also survived by the skin of his teeth, but he had never felt so exhausted.
A sense of powerlessness rose from the bottom of his heart. Was it because he was getting old, or because His Majesty didn't even give him that one percent chance of winning?
The Duke of England slowly closed his eyes, forcing himself to clear his mind; he needed to sleep!
The entire army was watching him. If he fell, they feared that the Oirat Mongols would throw them into chaos before they even attacked.
The Duke of Yingguo came from a prestigious family and was the son of Zhang Yu. The father and son participated in the Jingnan Campaign together, and his father even died to save Emperor Taizong, who praised him as "the one who made the greatest contribution to the Jingnan Campaign".
He himself was equally outstanding. He was ordered to conquer Annam in the south, destroy the Ho Dynasty, and change Annam to Jiaozhi. He served as the commander-in-chief three times to quell the rebellion in Annam and went to Jiaozhi four times, and his prestige shook the southwest.
He later followed Emperor Taizong on three northern expeditions and was in charge of the affairs of the Central Military Commission.
Finally, he also helped Emperor Xuanzong quell Zhu Gaoxu's rebellion.
It can be said that his campaigns in the south and north, as well as his prestige in the central army, have reached their peak.
In the later years of the late emperor's reign, he had already relinquished military power and only participated in discussions and planning of important military and national affairs. When the young emperor ascended the throne, his role remained unchanged: to serve as a military strategist and stabilize the morale of the army.
In terms of prestige, the British army was the best in the world at that time.
Since leaving the capital, the army has suffered repeated setbacks and is also short of food supplies. The entire army of 200,000 men could explode with just a small spark.
The reason the soldiers could endure such humiliation and still follow calmly was because they could see the tall and steady figure on horseback whenever they looked up.
Whether it was torrential rain or scorching sun, he was always in front of them.
The British Duke slept soundly until dawn.
The emperor accompanied Guo Deng to inspect the military camp and also went up the city wall to reward the troops, and the officials naturally followed.
The British Duke took the opportunity to observe Datong's defense.
The soldiers on the city wall, clad in clean, gleaming armor, looked on with excitement and admiration as they gazed at the emperor. When asked about the battle, they recounted how General Guo had led them in their valiant fight.
The British Duke's gaze swept over them one by one, then fell upon the silent, yet ramrod straight soldier standing with his back to them.
Their armor was clean and beautiful, but their hands were taut, and the knuckles of their hands gripping their spears protruded. He stepped forward and quietly took their hands.
The soldier was startled, gripped his spear tightly, and glared back with piercing eyes, his gaze filled with murderous intent.
The Duke of England smiled slightly, thinking to himself: This is a soldier who has killed the enemy.
The soldier's heart pounded as he met the Duke of England's gaze. He instinctively looked at Guo Deng and Guo Jing.
Fortunately, they were excitedly talking around the emperor, who was surrounded by ministers. He could only vaguely see their backs, and naturally, they couldn't see him either.
“Don’t worry,” the Duke of England reassured him softly, parting the soldier’s fingers that were gripping the spear, touching the pads of his fingers with satisfaction, and asked, “Have you been on the battlefield these past two days?” The soldier’s hoarse voice replied, “Yes.”
"You're not an ordinary soldier, are you?" the British duke asked, looking at him.
"This humble servant is Qin Zhong, commander of the Western Third Garrison."
"If he is a commander of a thousand, why is he wearing the armor of an ordinary soldier to guard the city walls?"
Qin Zhong's eyes reddened, and he lowered his gaze, saying, "In order to welcome His Majesty, the central army lacked qualified soldiers, so I was transferred from the lower guard posts."
To welcome the emperor, Guo Deng and Guo Jing selected soldiers from the entire army who were of the highest caliber in height, appearance, and physique to stand on the city tower.
Qin Zhong was chosen to stand guard on the city wall because he was tall enough, had a fairly good-looking face, and a strong presence.
So that the emperor and his officials who were passing by could see how majestic and imposing the soldiers guarding the city gate of Datong were.
Seeing that the crowd ahead was turning back, the British Duke immediately slipped a plaque into the man's hand and whispered, "After your duty ends this afternoon, come to the west gate where His Majesty is staying. I want to see you."
Qin Zhong gripped the plaque tightly in his hand and did not refuse.
He knew who this man was: the Duke of Ying, the God of War of the Ming Dynasty, who had never been defeated in battle.
If anyone could save Datong now, besides the Emperor, it would be the Duke of England.
The emperor was completely unaware of this at the time. If he had known, he would have certainly dispatched a large army to confront the Oirats, and then…
Qin Zhong was filled with excitement; his whole heart was burning.
When Guo Deng and Guo Jing respectfully led the emperor down for lunch, Qin Zhong had also completed his task. He turned left and right, quietly approaching the west gate of the mansion.
The Duke of England returned home citing illness and did not attend the luncheon with the Emperor and his entourage.
The servant had already sent someone to the west gate to fetch him, but no one had come for a long time, and he couldn't help but worry: "Lord Duke, will he really come?"
The British Duke replied calmly, "Yes."
The servant was very worried: "What if he doesn't come and instead goes to Guo Deng and Guo Jing to inform on us..."
“That’s not necessarily a bad thing,” the Duke of England said calmly. “We’re pressed for time. If we stir up trouble, we can see the snake hiding in the grass. Even if they find out, what can they do to me?”
Chang Sui worriedly asked, "What about Wang Zhen...?"
The Duke of England scoffed, "Am I afraid of him?"
He's already this old, but he doesn't want his emotions to fluctuate too much, so he doesn't flaunt his abilities. But if something really happens, Zhang Fu isn't afraid.
The Duke of England had a vague feeling that this personal expedition might be fraught with danger, so he naturally no longer avoided Wang Zhen.
Now we just have to wait and see if Jingyuan can persuade the emperor, and if Kuangye and the others can find out the military situation in Datong.
The Duke of England waited for another quarter of an hour before footsteps sounded outside the courtyard. An inconspicuous soldier led Qin Zhong, who had changed into plain clothes, towards them.
Qin Zhong knelt down as soon as he arrived.
"There are spies guarding the streets outside, so I had to take a long detour to sneak over here. I've kept you waiting, Your Excellency."
The Duke of England personally helped him up, had his attendant bring him a chair, and said gently, "I know you've had a tough time. We came from Yanghe and saw corpses strewn everywhere. Today, when we went up to the city wall, although we had done some cleaning outside the city, we still saw bloodstains on the wall and the ground. You've worked hard~~" (End of Chapter)