Yulan just stayed in Zhuangzi and spent the most leisurely days since he traveled to ancient times. He felt pity and sympathy for Yuxin and Yinyue's unfortunate marriage, and the pain of things hurting their own kind was also alleviated.

When they arrived in a rural place like this, the old lady didn't bother them. She didn't have to get up early to say hello every day. She spent an hour or two with the old lady watching, eating and reading the Bible every day, and the rest of the time was spent wandering around the village.

, as long as you take the maid and put on your curtain hat, the old lady will turn a blind eye.

It was early spring, the weather was getting warmer, the birds were singing and the flowers were fragrant. Yulan and Yuqing took their maids for a walk outside to bask in the sun. Sometimes they would look at the fields to see farmers planting crops, and sometimes they would take the people in the fields with them.

They chatted for a while and found out that the old lady was a renter with a low salary, and the farmers here were considered hard-working and simple. They farmed the land, raised chickens and ducks, and lived a relatively comfortable life.

Yu Lan carefully observed their expressions. Zhang Zhuangtou had been ordered by the old lady to go around the streets to publicize the might of the imperial army. The clown was vulnerable to sudden jumps. He didn't see that the old lady in the capital's chief minister's office was all in Zhuangzi.

Are you living there?

The most important thing is the last sentence. The power of example is infinite. Even a noble person like Old Mrs. Yang can feel at ease here. They, villagers, have a humble life, so what are they afraid of? People's hearts have stabilized like this. Zhuangtou

Organizing spring plowing turned out to be smoother than every year.

On the other side, Yu Lan quickly found a new way to spend time. This village is surrounded by mountains and rivers, and there is a small river at the head of the village. Now that the weather has warmed up, the ice and snow in the river have melted. Yu Lan saw the children in the village.

They all ran to the river to catch fish and shrimps, and Yu Lan also thought about it. After all, they were ladies, it was not appropriate to go out to play like this, so he asked Zhuangtou to prepare a fishing rod for him, and took Yu Qing along with him whenever he had free time.

Let's go fishing together by the river.

Zhuangtou specially arranged for two teenage unmarried girls to teach Yu Lan and Yu Qing how to fish. They were both born and raised in Zhuangzi, and both girls were good at fishing, catching frogs, digging wild vegetables, and hunting small animals.

The two girls taught them seriously,

Yulan and Yuqing also learned carefully. Yulan had fished before in his previous life, so he naturally got started quickly. However, Yuqing was this old and it was his first time to hold a fishing rod. Yulan was able to catch the fish very quickly.

At that time, Yuqing still doesn’t know whether the fish has taken the bait.

Yuqing was extremely envious: "Sister Qi, why are you so smart?"

Yulan calmly comforted her: "The key to fishing is not whether you can catch fish, but the leisurely state of mind, which is the so-called 'fish left behind'!" There was a sense of pride in his tone.

Yuqing was stimulated by her and wanted to catch fish even more.

Because the fish caught were small, I asked the kitchen to make a fish soup from the fish in the evening and fed it to the old lady. The old lady drank the soup and kept saying a few words: "Don't play too much, or you will eat it wherever you go."

Don’t forget to bring the maid with you..." and so on, the two little girls lowered their eyebrows and said,

Even if it is true, the old lady can no longer pretend to be strict. She has already said hello to the village head, and all the young and middle-aged men in the village have avoided it, so naturally there will be no problem, and Yulan is also a

She is sensible and knows how to advance and retreat. With her taking Yuqing with her, the old lady feels more at ease.

The old lady changed the subject: "Well, this fish soup is quite fresh, you should try it too..."

So the two sisters each held a small blue and white porcelain bowl and sat under the old lady with a smile. Well, the soup made from the fish they caught was delicious!

Yu Lan was enjoying himself in Zhuangzi, but Ye Yichen was sleeping in the open air at the border. He ran all the way, passing through several dangerous passes, and after careful inspection, he was not walking very fast. The Jurchen cavalry did not see any of them, but they saw guards everywhere.

Military discipline is lax, military discipline is lax, and soldiers in many places are dressed in rags like beggars. How can we protect our country at this level?

Ye Yichen's face became darker and darker as he looked at it. It had only been 60 years since the founding of Chu. How could the corruption in the military reach such an extent? At that time, most of the large and small cities near Juyongguan had been allocated by the imperial court and had been repaired several times. They had both the functions of passes and cities.

, the official road that Ye Yichen took was the chokepoint to the northwest, with developed commerce and prosperity. Ye Yichen

Chen asked people to take off their armor and pretend to be merchants and go to various cities to inquire about it. It turned out that the garrisons in the nearby passes were all under the control of Bi Ji, the guard of Juyong Pass. This Bi Ji was greedy and afraid of death, but he was accustomed to flattering others and shamelessly betrayed his daughter.

She gave it to the right minister of the Ministry of War as a concubine, and also gave him a large sum of money, and then she got the title of guard general of Juyong Pass.

He was greedy and cunning by nature. When he arrived at Juyong Pass, he did not organize the army to prepare for war. He only engaged in corruption and bribery, and took "empty quotas." There were more than 20,000 soldiers in Juyong Pass, but in fact there were only about 15,000. The remaining 5,000 troops were paid by the court every month.

After receiving the salary regularly, this huge sum of money went into Biji's hands.

If he did this, others would follow suit. Naturally, the armaments in this area were depleted and the quality of the soldiers was extremely poor. Fortunately, there had been no war in the area in recent years, so he was able to pass the risk.

What's even more disgusting is that although this Biji has no real ability, he gets along well with Shangfeng. The Ministry of War wants to mobilize troops from Zhejiang to support the northwest front. The Jiangsu and Zhejiang general soldiers also "take advantage of the quota" like him. There is a serious shortage of soldiers in the army.

Like when he borrowed troops, in order to get enough troops to be mobilized on the northwest front, Bi Ji went under the radar and transferred a lot of the main troops on the front line at Juyongguan. This was considered extremely bold.

Ye Yichen was furious: "Bi Ji, a villain, has neglected his duties and harmed the country. He really deserves to be cut into pieces! The Ministry of War knows people who are not familiar with people, and he is in vain to be an important minister of the country!" After more than ten days of driving, Ye Yichen had already left Juyong Pass and arrived at Juyong Pass.

Gubeikou, another fortress in the northwest, is discussing with the two aides accompanying him.

One of these staff members was named Zhao and the other was Meng, who were equivalent to the staff roles in the army in later generations. Most of them were weak in health. After more than ten days of forced marches, they were already capable. However, these two people were important members of Ye Yichen's team when he was in charge of the northwest. Ye Yichen

They were very kind to them, and they were also loyal to Ye Yichen, so although they were tired, no one complained.

At this time, Mr. Zhao and Mr. Meng advised together: "Your Majesty, you have generally seen the defense of the capital, is it time to go back? It's not that I am afraid of this hardship, but you are a rich man, so there is really no need.

Come and endure hardships with us! Besides, your safety is the most important!"

Ye Yichen laughed loudly. He grew up on horseback and served in the army since he was a teenager. He once had a record of marching for seven days and seven nights. This march was hard for the two old masters, but Ye Yichen was in high spirits and almost

No feeling at all. He smiled

: "I have wronged you two gentlemen. Now that we have seen what we should see, let's go back!" He was relieved that no trace of the Jurchens was found. With the current defense situation in Juyongguan, if the Jurchens really attack,

I'm afraid Juyongguan will be broken soon!

"When I return to the capital this time, I have to trouble two old masters to tell the truth about what they have seen and heard. I will report to the emperor that the armaments at Juyong Pass must be rectified! Those bastard military attachés must be killed as well!" he thought in his heart. But I thought that I must see the emperor this time, even if I force my way into Qianqing Palace!

The two old masters quickly said seriously: "How dare you disobey your orders!"

Ye Yichen picked up the horse's reins and galloped away from Beigukou at the head of the horse and onto the official road. Everyone followed him on horseback. After only a few miles, he saw a horse flying in the distance, and a knight on the horse came in an instant. He shouted from afar: "Is that His Royal Highness the King of Jin in front of you?"

Ye Yichen reined in the horse very gracefully, and the divine white horse under his crotch neighed, stood up with its front hooves, stopped its momentum, and said loudly: "It is this king! Who are you?" The man who was following him Big Head and the others also reined in their horses and stopped, vaguely protecting Ye Yichen.

The knight was also very good at riding. When he came near, before his horse could stop, he dismounted his horse and knelt down by the roadside. "This little man, Jin Xianzhu, has been ordered by His Highness, King Qin, to deliver a letter to the prince. My prince said that this matter is extremely urgent. Please return to the capital immediately after reading this letter!" After saying this, he took out a letter sealed with fire paint from his arms and presented it with both hands.

In fact, there was no need for him to identify himself. Ye Yichen had already recognized this person as Jin Xianzhu, Ye Fengqi's personal bodyguard. Before leaving, he only told Ye Fengqi his route.

Jin Xianzhu had been protecting Ye Fengqi personally, and gained Ye Fengqi's trust. Ye Fengqi sent him out to deliver the letter, and the content of the letter must be extraordinary.

A bad premonition arose in Ye Yichen's heart. "Bring it to me and see!" He turned over and dismounted, took the letter, opened the seal, and hurriedly browsed through it. His face turned pale in an instant. The two old masters Zhao and Meng also dismounted, and Ye Yichen Then he gave Ye Fengqi's letter to them for review.

After reading this, the expressions of the two people changed drastically. Old Master Zhao even murmured: "Juyongguan is in danger!"

It turned out that Ye Fengqi was in charge of the capital, and the spy network deployed in the Northeast finally received accurate news. The Jurchen tribe's Dabeile civil plan integrated the Jurchen army and horses, and the 30,000-strong army went deep into the deep Hebei. Because they disguised themselves as herdsmen at the beginning, they actually deceived the spies. , now the army has been organized at the edge of the grassland, and it seems that it is going to go straight to Juyong Pass.

Unfortunately, Ye Yichen's judgment was correct.

The place where the Jurchen army is gathering at the moment is the territory of the Tutu people. How can others sleep soundly on the so-called couch side? Tuwu is willing to let the Jurchen army enter his hinterland. It is obvious that the two major forces outside the Great Wall have reached some secret agreement. According to Ye Fengqi's inquiry According to the news, the Jurchens’ logistical supplies are all provided by the Tubul people.

And just last year, the two tribes were still in a life-and-death hostile relationship!

Ye Fengqi has cleverly revealed the news to Jin Yiwei, who will definitely report it to the orthodox emperor immediately. Although Ye Fengqi does not want the emperor to know that he has this secret force in his hands, but with the national crisis at hand, as a member of the royal family, he cannot Don't think about the country and the country.

Ye Fengqi reminded Ye Yichen in the letter to return to the capital as soon as he received this letter, because the Jurchens are brave and good at fighting, and their cavalry is extremely elite. There is a saying that "a man with no more than ten thousand people, and more than ten thousand people can't defeat him." Ye Fengqi held a huge cannon in his hand. The intelligence network, of course, knew something about the defender of Juyong Pass, and he had no hope that Bi Ji could hold Juyong Pass.

The Jurchen population is not large. Ye Fengqi analyzed that the 30,000 troops may already be the collection of all the Jurchen elites. It can be seen that the Jurchens are bound to win this battle. Once Juyong Pass is breached, the smooth road leading directly to the capital will lie across the Jurchens.

At present, according to the experience of dealing with the Jurchens in recent years, the Jurchens will definitely plunder the Central Plains population's wealth, silk and food, and Ye Yichen will be in danger.

The two masters also thought of this, and looked at Ye Yichen together and said: "Your Majesty, please return to Beijing as soon as possible!"

A trace of determination flashed across Ye Yichen's fair and handsome face: "The location of Juyong Pass is so important! Now that I've arrived here, I have to take a look no matter what to feel at ease!"

Old Master Zhao said anxiously: "His Royal Highness the King of Qin has sent someone to deliver a message to the general at Juyong Pass. Your Majesty has only this few men and horses and it is of no use. You'd better come back to Beijing with me as soon as possible!"

Ye Yichen said resolutely: "Now that I am fully aware of the situation, I will not die in vain. Once things go wrong, I will retreat. Jiang Ning, Ma Chun, you two bring a few people to escort Mr. Zhao and Meng back to the capital, and the rest will

Come with me to Juyongguan for rescue!"

Before everyone could persuade them again, Ye Yichen's face turned cold: "Follow my orders quickly." No one dared to say anything more, so they had to divide their troops into two groups and follow Ye Yichen towards Juyongguan, splitting into seven or eight groups along the way.

He personally protected the two masters and returned to the capital. Jin Xianzhu went back first to report to Ye Fengqi, and also reported Ye Yichen's arrival to Ye Fengqi.

Ye Yichen rushed forward with a hundred soldiers. He wanted to quickly enter the pass before the Jurchens attacked Juyong Pass and take over the defense first. Juyong Pass was a dangerous pass. Even if there were not enough soldiers in the pass, with his own excellent military

The ability can also hold on for a while, and when reinforcements arrive, the crisis in the capital will naturally be relieved. Otherwise, if the Jurchens break through Juyong Pass, the first people to be unlucky will be the people near the capital.

Everyone had just come to a fork in the road when Ye Yichen suddenly remembered something and reined in his horse and stopped. When Big Head heard that there was going to be a war, he was so excited that blood surged all over his body. He wished he could fly to Juyongguan and fight to the death with the Jurchens immediately.
Chapter completed!