Chapter 845
Letters from afar
Qin Zhong played a significant role in enabling Pan Yu and Pan Yue to sneak back to Beijing from Datong. The three of them almost became sworn brothers when they left.
However, their father's fate was unknown at the time, and the two brothers did not dare to implicate Qin Zhong, so they refused him.
Although he verbally refused, Pan Yu genuinely accepted this man he had almost become sworn brothers with.
Qin Zhong chatted with them for a while, and after everyone's attention was diverted from him, he took the opportunity to give Pan Yu a wink.
Pan Yu immediately got up and followed Qin Zhong out.
Tents were everywhere. Fortunately, the soldiers were exhausted. They arrived in Datong yesterday and only had time to set up camp. Today, the soldiers were busy for half a day before they were finally settled. At this time, they were basically lying dead in their tents.
Qin Zhong pulled him into a grove of trees. There were no soldiers stationed there, and the patrolling soldiers would occasionally walk by. He just needed to keep his voice down.
"Thanks to the letter and the amulet you sent me, my brothers and I were able to survive the last great battle..."
Pan Yu paused, seemingly lost in thought: "When did you receive the letter and the amulet?"
Qin Zhong: "Five days ago, it was such a coincidence that I received the order to join the war right after I received the order."
He said dejectedly, "We were short-handed, the enemy cavalry was too strong, and the general's command failed. Only two-thirds of the men who went out returned, and half of them were injured. Thanks to your early warning and the protection of the amulet, we barely escaped disaster. Although some people were injured, fortunately no one died."
Five days ago, that means the letter was sent at least half a month ago. There's a war going on in the north right now, and it's uncertain whether the government's post stations can even send letters. Private post offices aren't safe either. He was getting rained on on the way back then, so how could they possibly send him a peace charm?
Not to mention issuing warnings.
As a mere battalion commander, he was completely unaware of the war situation; it seemed as if his superiors were hiding something from them.
However, he was not a fool, and being in the midst of it, he knew that the campaign was poorly organized. If the emperor could not boost morale, even if their forces far outnumbered the Oirats, they would likely be in grave danger.
The only people who could send Qin Zhong letters and amulets were his older brother and younger sister.
If the elder brother wants to send it, he can send it in his own name. He and the elder brother are the same to Qin Zhong.
Only the younger sister, who didn't know Qin Zhong, learned about him from them.
Did my little sister figure something out?
Pan Yu's breathing quickened, and she pulled Qin Zhong aside, asking, "What did I write in my letter?"
Qin Zhong looked at him with surprise: "The letter you wrote to me, you don't know what you wrote?"
Pan Yu: "I didn't write it; it should have been written by my younger sister."
Qin Zhong's eyes flickered slightly, and he asked in surprise, "Is that the little sister who kept sending you money and talismans, helped your father clear his name, and dragged Wang Zhen to the imperial prison to be imprisoned with him?"
These things were all told to him by Pan Yu.
Pan Yu scratched his head and nodded, "Yes."
Qin Zhong then took out the letter from his pocket: "To avoid implicating you if it were discovered, I tore off the end of the letter with your name on it."
Pan Yu eagerly unfolded the letter to read it, saying nonchalantly, "If you hide it in your bosom, who will find out?"
"That's hard to say," Qin Zhong said. "You don't know, the military is very strict now. Even when you enter or leave the camp, you are searched. If it weren't for my good relationship with several people in the central army, this letter would have been found long ago."
"Why?" Before he could finish speaking, Pan Yu glanced at the middle of the letter and understood why. The letter bluntly stated: "Guo Deng has the virtue of defending the city, but lacks the talent to stop the enemy. Guo Jing is even more cowardly and afraid of death. The Datong cavalry is far inferior to the Oirat. If you fight head-on, you will surely be defeated."
If this letter were to be discovered by the central army, not only Guo Jing, but even Guo Deng would likely not let it go easily.
He praised Qin Zhong: "Good brother, you tore it well. Why don't you tear off the beginning of the letter too? That way, if it's found, you can say you picked it up on the road and don't know who wrote it to whom."
Qin Zhong looked at him speechlessly: "They may not be smart, but they're not stupid either. If cutting off the beginning and end of the letter would absolve them of their crimes, why did you, no, why did your little sister write both my name and yours?"
Pan Yu continued reading and saw that the letter read: "How will the emperor deal with the defeated generals when he personally leads the expedition? Even if the emperor is benevolent and can forgive and forget, would Guo Deng and Guo Jing think so of the emperor? Fear arises from worry, and in order to eliminate the fear, Guo Deng and Guo Jing have no choice but to conceal the military situation."
The emperor and his officials had come from afar, completely ignorant of Datong, and utterly unprepared. If they were to encounter the Oirats, the consequences would be unimaginable.
"The emperor is the ruler of all people. If he is trapped in the wilderness, the world will be in chaos. At that time, not only Datong City, but the entire Ming Dynasty will be in danger. The best course of action now is to secretly inform His Majesty of the situation. If His Majesty cannot know, then let the officials traveling with him find out. Perhaps we can save the world and Datong."
The following section lists several important officials of the imperial court, telling him who is trustworthy and who is not.
Among them, the name of the Duke of England is listed first, followed by Kuang Ye, Chen Xun, and Cao Nai...
Qin Zhong leaned over to take a look and exclaimed, "When I received the letter, I was saying that passing the martial arts exam really makes a difference; your knowledge is much better than before. I never expected it was written by your little sister under a false name."
Qin Zhong looked at Pan Yu with a complicated expression.
Pan Yu: ...
Qin Zhong couldn't help but ask, "Both Pan Yue and your younger sister inherited your father's traits. Do you resemble your mother more?"
Pan Yu jumped up and down: "My mother is very smart too, okay!"
Qin Zhong's gaze was complicated: "Then who do you resemble?"
Pan Yu opened her mouth, but after a long while, she managed to stammer out, "I'm not bad either, okay?"
That's what he said, but after reading the letter, he couldn't help but feel both proud and inferior.
I am proud that even though my sister is thousands of miles away, she can understand the situation and even point out a way out for them.
He felt inferior because, although he was clearly in the thick of it, he only sensed the danger but failed to systematically understand where the danger came from.
Pan Yu belatedly realized: "Datong concealed military intelligence, doesn't that mean the Oirat might cut off our retreat?"
He was startled and clenched the letter in his hand tightly: "What about His Majesty? He's in the army. If something happens to him, wouldn't that throw the country into chaos?"
Qin Zhong: "What is there to fear when His Majesty has 200,000 troops protecting him? I am only concerned about how many reinforcements the Emperor will send to Datong."
"What reinforcements? The most important thing right now is the emperor, the emperor!" Pan Yu wanted to shake his head: "No, we have to send the emperor back to the capital. He hasn't given birth to a crown prince yet."
Qin Zhong: "...Aren't you going to care about Datong?"
Pan Yu asked with a serious expression, "Brother Qin, tell me the truth, is there a serious problem with the Datong defense line?"
Qin Zhong paused for a moment and then said, "I don't know..."
"You don't know?" Pan Yu's voice became shrill. (End of Chapter)