Chapter Eighteen Extremely

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  "Under the banner of the Fifth Army Camp, the garrison commander Li Gong, requests an audience with the Commander-in-Chief."

  The newcomer was indeed wearing the supplementary uniform of a sixth-grade military officer, with a black hat on his head, which was clean and tidy, with a belt tied under his neck, a sword hanging from his waist, and leather boots on his feet, which was the standard attire of a Beijing garrison military officer.

  Li Gong, who had just been like a dead man, was now radiant and full of energy again after only a short rest.

  "Get up."

  As the person stood up, with the help of the light in the room, it was even more apparent that this person was extraordinary. Not very tall, with a refined complexion, and a slender waist, he had the standard physique of a martial artist. His hands hung naturally by his sides, with thick calluses on the tiger's mouth (the base of the palm), as well as on his thumbs and index fingers. Seeing this, Sun Chuanting was taken aback. The person in front of him not only had put in a lot of effort into knife and spear techniques, but also clearly practiced archery with both hands. This kind of martial officer was not unheard of in the Qin army... however, they were not very common either.

  "Who are you and what brings you to our humble abode?"

  The other party is not an ordinary person, and Sun Chuanting has become much more polite in a subtle way.

  Even if he thought the other person was extraordinary ten years ago, he would not have pretended to be polite. At that time, all generals below the rank of Lieutenant General had to kneel down and report their names when they saw him. When answering questions, they also knelt down continuously. Only those above the rank of Lieutenant General could stand up to respond, and only those above the rank of Deputy Commander-in-Chief were allowed to have a seat in front of him.

  At that time, he was too proud and fell, after getting up again, although he beheaded General He Renlong in the army, it was because He Renlong was arrogant and difficult to control, and killing him was the only way to seize his army... Although many people felt that they had wrongly killed a great general, Sun Chuanting snorted with contempt and didn't care.

  In front of such a big shot, Li Gong was also very nervous, unknowingly swallowing a mouthful of saliva before saying: "There is a letter below, written by a noble person, please sir take a look first."

  He then took out a package from behind him, opened the oil-sealed envelope that had been soaked through with sweat, and only then did he take out the letter.

  He was so serious that Sun Chuanting also straightened his body and took a strong glance at Li Gong before taking the letter to read.

  "Hmph, what a reckless remark..."

  As soon as Sun Chuanting opened the letter, he frowned. The first line of the letter read "Book sent to Sun Boya for inspection"... This was a format for letters between superiors and inferiors at that time, only used when a superior wrote to an inferior or junior, using the phrase "book sent" and "book answered", without using his courtesy name, extremely impolite. With his seniority, even several university scholars in the imperial court couldn't be treated with such tone!

  If it were in the past, I would have definitely pushed the book away without reading it. Now that life and death are viewed lightly, I merely furrowed my brow and continued to read the letter.

  This is indeed a state of being in the zone.

  After a brief moment, Sun Chuanting put the letter on the table and looked at Li Gong with raised eyebrows: "Who is your master? He has some insight, but he doesn't mention his own identity, which makes it hard for people to trust him."

  "Please, sir, dismiss your attendants."

  "This... is fine." Sun Chuanting merely nodded slightly, and the attendants standing in the room all retreated. He managed his household like he would an army, with the servants and guards by his side strictly following military discipline, so no one dared to defy him.

  After dismissing the crowd, Sun Chuanting spoke to Li Gong in a sarcastic tone: "Your family's master is extraordinary, with words that are old and cunning. The situation in the capital and Guanzhong, just now, seems to be right before my eyes. Such a person, yet he dares to use you, a military officer from the capital, to do this life-risking task... Speak! Who is your family's master?"

  At this time, he finally regained his spirit. Before reading the letter, he was like an old man in decline, waiting for death. At this time, however, he was full of energy and vitality, with a hint of great pressure that could not be expressed in words. In this instant, even Li Gong, who was usually wise and capable, felt a sense of difficulty in responding.

  After all, he is the supervisor, Minister of War, and General Governor of Ying Tian, Fengyang, Henan, Guizhou, Huguang, Sichuan military affairs, the first heavy minister of the current dynasty!

  "My master is actually the second most powerful person in the world."

  "What?"

  Sun Chuanting suddenly stood up, staring at Li Gong and shouted: "How dare you, what kind of nonsense is this... Come here, come here!"

  "Wait a moment." Li Gong didn't rush either, smiling and saying: "Let's take a look at this thing."

  "What is this..." Sun Chuanting took it over, glanced at it roughly, and was shocked: "Is this an imperial edict? How strange, the imperial edict is in a batch of copies... Hmm, these copied characters are exactly the same as those in this letter..."

  He is such a meticulous person, the handwriting is exactly the same as the letter, and there is not a single trace of forgery in the strokes. As for the imperial script, it's even more familiar, one glance and you'll know.

  At this point, the identity of the letter's owner is self-evident.

  "It was actually the Crown Prince..." Sun Chuanting muttered to himself, and then smiled wryly, waving his hand to dismiss the guards he had summoned, and looked at Li Gong, saying: "What you said is indeed correct, he is indeed the second person in the world."

  "Yes, mark down the place where Meng Lang is being reckless, and please don't blame me, Master."

  "No, you've done well; His Highness sent you, and it seems he chose the right person."

  Sun Chuanting turned around and sat down, asking Li Gong: "You have been following the Crown Prince for a long time, haven't you?"

  Li Gong's expression was strange, and after thinking for a moment, he replied: "It wasn't just the days on the road, it was about ten days in total..."

  "Huh?"

  "Below is His Highness selecting martial officers for instruction and internal military training, fortunately selected."

  "So that's how it is." Sun Chuanting was also deeply shocked, but he smiled and stroked his beard, saying: "Your Highness chooses the most unusual people, does the most unusual things, says the most unusual words... indeed a most unusual master!"

  As he spoke, Li Gong also nodded frequently.

  To be honest, Zhu Ciyan found him and gave him such a desperate task, he was also very worried. Within five days, he had to rush to Guanzhong, cross the Yellow River, and arrive in Weinan... This journey was already planned by Zhu Ciyan, calculating the time, when he arrived in Guanzhong, Li Zicheng would have already broken through Tongguan, and Sun Chuanting indeed led the remnants to prepare for a final stand in Weinan... When Li Gong just entered the city, he was already deeply moved: I don't know how Master guessed it, truly divine!

  It's not necessary to say too much about yourself now, Li Gong has been entrusted with many things, and letters can't be too straightforward... In case they fall into the wrong hands, even if there is no remuneration, it's still better to be cautious.

  He looked at Sun Chuanting and said in a low voice: "Your Excellency, when the flag was about to leave, the palace repeatedly entrusted that the country had not yet reached the time of its demise. Now, looking at the world, it is similar to Tang's Huang Chao. The thieves are the same as Huang Chao, only knowing how to move around, but not knowing how to set up officials, guard the land, govern the people, restore production, and even more so, they do not know how to interact with scholars and officials... Therefore, although it seems that the territory is very vast, and even the capital will not be able to hold on in the future, once there is a sudden rise of a strange army, I am afraid that the thieves will collapse in an instant!"

  The Tang Dynasty lingered on for several decades after Huang Chao, which is not a good analogy... but as of now, being able to drag on for dozens of years like the Tang Dynasty is already a rare feat.

  Sun Chuanting listened very carefully, and he also knew that the Crown Prince's words were very reasonable. Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong had both previously occupied Huguang, which was a land of great abundance, and if they could defend it well, it would be easy to conquer Jiangnan afterwards.

  But both of them abandoned Huguang, Zhang Xianzhong obtained the whole territory of Hunan, and his army had already reached Guangxi. At that time, both Guangdong and Fujian were empty, and it would be easy to take them down, obtain the grain-producing area of Huguang, and go down to Jiangnan. But Zhang Xianzhong also made a big detour and directly turned towards Sichuan.

  This is indeed an eternal mystery, which is quite difficult for later generations to understand.

  Li Zicheng gained control of a part of Shandong, most of Henan, and then only sent a portion of his troops to occupy a small part of Huguang, where they faced off against Li Liangyu. His main force directly entered Guanzhong, and although he sent officials to Henan and other places, he did not truly have a stable rule over them. Therefore, it is indeed as the Crown Prince said: if Li Zicheng's main force suffers a major defeat and his prestige is damaged, then it is very likely that his regime will collapse.

  "Little Master said, it's not that easy. In the future, first look at Wu Sangui, second look at Dorgon, third is to see how many troops Li Zicheng brings. And there is a fourth..."

  "The fourth is to observe the actions of the rebels before and after they entered the capital. If they are lenient with the people, reduce their burdens, and especially treat those officials who surrendered well, then recruit Wu Sangui's faction to guard the passes in Shanxi, even if the Eastern Barbarians want to take advantage of the situation, they will not be able to shake his foundation."

  "Hmm, but Young Master said it himself, these few things, Li Chuan can't even accomplish one of them."

  "I also thought he wouldn't be able to do it. Li Chuang most trusted Niu Jinxing, but this person was just a rural scholar who hadn't even passed the imperial examination, what ability did he have? Song Xianzhe, that dwarf, had some insight, but it was just those deceitful tricks. As for the rebel army, the only one I admire is Li Yan, a young master from a noble family, with a vision and temperament unmatched by Niu or Song. However, he's from Henan, with shallow roots in the rebel army, and high prestige in Henan, Li Chuang wouldn't listen to him on everything, otherwise there would be the problem of being too powerful... Haha, thinking about it, indeed as the Crown Prince said, national affairs still have room for maneuver!"

  Sun Chuanting looked up at the sky and burst out laughing, his voice loud and clear, still carrying a hint of a metallic tone. At this moment, Li Gong was also shocked, wondering where the dying old man had gone, replaced by a fierce general who could ride horses and wield swords with ease!

  Waiting for him to finish laughing, Li Gong said: "Since you understand, then I will take my leave and return to the capital to report."

  "Alright, after you leave, I will also withdraw immediately and not give the bandits any more opportunities. Sun Chuanting smiled slightly and said: "Your Highness says that I am the last pillar of the Ming dynasty, which is an honor I dare not accept. However, I want to ask, if I follow orders and escape, what about the Emperor and Your Highness? Based on my understanding of the Emperor, it's impossible for him to be persuaded to go on a southern tour early..."

  To put it bluntly, Chongzhen was the kind of person who only sheds tears when he sees a coffin. However, this remark is indeed too harsh, and Sun Chuanting was momentarily stunned, unsure of how to respond.

  He coughed slightly and said, "Among the high-ranking officials in the court, eight or nine out of ten are just going through the motions, and some clever ones have gone too far, harboring ulterior motives... It's really difficult in the capital, I'm also at a loss as to how Your Highness can escape!"

  No wonder he is the first heavy minister of the country, one of the few formidable figures in the Chongzhen era. With just a few words, he has described the situation in Beijing quite accurately. It wasn't until now that Li Gong realized why the Crown Prince had asked him to take on this life-or-death mission.

  Qin Zhong's two marshals are indeed famous for a reason.

  "Little master must have a way to escape." Although he had been staying by Zhu Ciwen's side for only a few days, after several speeches and meetings, Li Gong had already returned home. Otherwise, he wouldn't have traveled thousands of miles to be this messenger.

  He said confidently to Sun Chuanting: "Please rest assured, Director. After a few months, we will escort the young master out of Beijing and head south to meet with you."