Chapter 862
: Door Call
Chapter 862: Door Call
Yang Hong lashed Yang Jun with his whip, knocking him to the ground. His face contorted with rage: "How dare you neglect your duty! I ordered you to guard this vital road and support the imperial procession south to Huailai, and you dared to let so many Oirat troops sneak up behind their lines..."
Yang Jun lowered his head and knelt down, feeling guilty.
Enraged, Yang Hong kicked him in the shoulder. Yang Jun was sent rolling backward, but he quickly got up and continued kneeling, grabbing Yang Hong's leg and crying, "Dad—please save me!"
"I'll save you!" Yang Hong moved his legs, but Yang Jun was holding him tightly and he couldn't pull away. So he took the horsewhip and whipped him several times until his back bled: "Do you know that because you didn't stop the Oirat army, the imperial carriage was surrounded? Because you didn't support the imperial carriage, His Majesty is now in Esen's hands!"
Yang Hong grabbed Yang Jun by the neck, gritting his teeth as he said, "Do you know that this is a capital offense? The entire Yang family could be disgraced because of you. The emperor is right outside the city, he..."
"Report—General, Grand Secretary Cao Nai has arrived with his entourage of civil and military officials, and the imperial carriage is also in the procession."
Yang Hong paused, then, as he was about to leave, he remembered something, turned back to look at his son, and said angrily, "Get out! Take your men to the East Ten Mile Clubhouse. Don't come back without my orders!"
Yang Jun knew his life was saved, so he immediately got up and limped away.
Yang Hong composed himself and hurried off to see Cao Nai.
Cao Nai had already learned from the soldiers who received him that the emperor had fallen into the hands of the Oirat Mongols and had been knocking on the door of Xuanfu for two consecutive days. So when they met, he stared intently at Yang Hong and asked, "General Yang, where is Yang Jun, the military commander of Xuanfu?"
Yang Hong's heart sank. Clearly, Cao Nai and the others knew exactly what Yang Jun had done.
The battlefield is ever-changing. Cao Nai, a civil official, had countless reasons to deceive them and cover up Yang Jun's dereliction of duty. However, while he could keep this from Cao Nai and the generals, he could not hide it from the Duke of Ying, who personally ordered Yang Hong to provide support and gave a clear location for the support.
Moreover, the Duke of England, who had fought wars his entire life, could not be kept in the dark about what happened on the battlefield.
Not only the Duke of England, but his gaze swept over them, and it was likely that even Liang Cheng and the others could not be kept in the dark.
Yang Hong could only stall for time: "Since Yang Jun led the army to provide support, there has been no news. Lord Cao, how did His Majesty fall into Esen's hands?"
How did Cao Nai know?
They thought the emperor could escape, but unexpectedly he was captured by the Oirat army.
And also...
Cao Nai and other ministers went up to the city gate to see the emperor first. When they saw the emperor standing on the moat and shouting at them to open the city gate, Cao Nai almost vomited blood.
The civil and military officials were all in great pain, their eyes wide with horror as they stared at the emperor, who was sandwiched between two Oirat soldiers.
From afar, the emperor also saw Cao Nai and other important officials. Upon meeting their gazes, the emperor immediately fell silent.
Seeing that the emperor still felt ashamed, Cao Nai almost jumped off the city wall.
Liang Cheng and the others grabbed him in unison: "Lord Cao, what are you doing?"
"A subject should die for his sovereign! How can we allow His Majesty to suffer such humiliation? Yang Hong, give me an army, and I will go and bring His Majesty back!"
Yang Hong said anxiously, "His Majesty is in Esen's hands. What if he harms His Majesty if we send troops out?"
Cao Nai did not answer, but kept insisting on demanding more troops.
Many civil and military officials shared Cao Nai's anger, and they too clamored for more troops.
But Yang Hong resolutely refused: "You must not harm His Majesty."
Cao Nai almost vomited blood, but he couldn't say what was on his mind.
His eyes were bloodshot as he looked at the emperor being taken away below the city walls, and he suddenly remembered Pan Yun.
He immediately grabbed Liang Cheng and dragged him down the city wall, whispering, "Quickly send someone to find Chen Huai and ask him to bring Pan Yun to Xuanfu. It must be done quickly!"
Liang Cheng paused, then his eyes lit up: "You mean..." Cao Nai's face darkened: "Your Majesty, we absolutely cannot fall into Esen's hands alive. Either Pan Jun rescues him, or we will all go out of the city to rescue Your Majesty and die with you."
In other words, either Pan Yun uses her extraordinary abilities to rescue the emperor, or he attacks the Oirat Mongols under the pretext of rescuing the emperor, taking the emperor with him to his death!
Liang Cheng's expression changed, and he silently agreed. After a moment, he said, "Yang Hong reported to the capital two days ago with an urgent dispatch. The capital should have received the news by now. Should we..."
"Yes!" Cao Nai said with a stern face, "Yang Hongxian has ulterior motives. We will report to the capital again."
Chen Huai was completely unaware that, with Pan Yun's help, they changed locations every day, wiping out the Oirat army that was roaming the rear, and also recruiting many stragglers, all of whom were groups that had scattered during the fighting.
In addition, they also found Chen Xun, who had been rescued, in a village.
Chen Huai was stunned. When they first met, Cao Nai said that Minister Chen had been killed. How could he still be alive?
He went up to take a look and realized it was truly a miracle that Chen Xun was still alive.
He was slashed and fell from his horse, collapsing unconscious among several corpses. When he groggily awoke, the army had already retreated and disappeared without a trace.
Later, some villagers came to the battlefield to collect things and found that he was still alive, so they took him back to the village.
Chen Xun also felt lucky: "Fortunately, it wasn't trampled, otherwise there would have been no way to save it."
Chen Xun then had a chance to ask, "Have you received any news from His Majesty? Have His Majesty and the Duke of Yingguo returned safely to the Inner Great Wall?"
Chen Huai remained silent.
Chen Xun hurriedly asked, "Why don't you answer?"
Chen Huai said dejectedly, "The Duke of England died from exhaustion, and His Majesty... his whereabouts are currently unknown."
No sooner had he said his whereabouts were unknown than he received an order from Kuang Ye that the emperor had fallen into Esen's hands and that he was to immediately return to defend Datong.
Upon seeing the order, Chen Huai's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, and he exclaimed in shock, "The emperor has been captured by Esen!"
Pan Yun: "Your Majesty didn't commit suicide?"
Chen Huai's face darkened. Although he wanted to ask, he obviously couldn't say it aloud. He glared at Pan Jun and said in a low voice, "Such disloyal words..."
Pan Yun interrupted him: "The capital will have a new emperor."
Chen Huai's heart pounded, and he subconsciously looked at Chen Xun.
Chen Xun's face grew paler, but he also felt that changing the emperor was the best solution at this time. The Ming Dynasty must not be controlled by the Oirats.
Chen Huai, disregarding the need to care for Chen Xun, immediately led his army back to defend Datong.
Pan Jun was much more considerate. He not only had Miao He stitch up his wounds and gave him two bottles of medicine, but also selected more than a dozen soldiers to escort Chen Xun back to the capital.
She was so thoughtful; she liked to send people who knew the truth about the battlefield to the capital, especially those who supported changing the emperor.
Just as the news of the emperor falling into Esen's hands shook the entire battlefield, it also shook the capital.
Esen seemed to be provoked by the emperor's sudden silence. He no longer focused on Xuanfu, but instead ordered his men to take the emperor around, calling out to this city and that city. If the city gates were not opened, they would demand money. Esen himself disappeared with the main force of his army.
Unfortunately, everyone's attention was focused on the emperor who was knocking on the door everywhere, and no one noticed that the main force of the Oirat army in the central route had disappeared into the sea of people.
(End of this chapter)