The Prosperous Era of Longwan

"General, there are four Jurchens outside who want to surrender."

Pei Chengzu lay outside the big tent and basked in the sun leisurely on the lounge chair made by the craftsman.

Although spring has arrived, the land in Liaodong is still very cold and it is still winter.

But after being cold for many days, when he got up today, he found that something seemed different. Spring was here.

After sweeping away the coldness of the previous days, the air seems to be filled with warm elements.

After leaving the camp, I looked up and saw that the long-lost warm sun was baking the earth, bringing a touch of warmth to the earth. No wonder I felt like this.

spring is coming.

So, he asked someone to build a deck chair. Although it was very rough, it was a job that could be completed in half an hour, and it was in the wild, so he didn't care so much.

Pei Chengzu just leaned on the lounge chair. If he didn't bask in the sun, he would probably get moldy.

In the distance, a camp gate officer came to report something. Pei Chengzu, who had been relaxing on the recliner, sat up and asked in surprise: "A Jurchen came to surrender? Why?"

Although he looked down on the savage Jurchens, Pei Chengzu was not a fool.

Jurchens appeared outside the camp, but the scouts he sent out a few days ago found no trace of Jurchens. What does this mean?

It shows that the sentry seems to have been deceived. The Jurchens have discovered them, but they have not been noticed.

"What did they say?"

Seeing that he didn't get an answer to his question, Pei Chengzu asked again.

"General, there are four Jurchens outside, just say..."

"Just say what?"

The camp gate officer's hesitant words made Pei Chengzu very dissatisfied.

He now wants to know the purpose of the Jurchens coming here, whether they are here to declare a challenge or something else.

Although he looked down upon the rude Jurchens, he also knew that a sword could kill no matter who it was in the hands of.

Moreover, although these Jurchens are timid and do not face the Ming army face to face, they always disperse in a hurry and only engage in sneak attacks, but doing so is also very disgusting.

From time to time, if you are bitten when you are not prepared, it will make anyone feel uncomfortable.

At this time, he had automatically filtered out any talk of surrender from the camp officials.

Surrender, does the Ming Dynasty still need the Jurchens to surrender?

A group of vulgar people, even if they surrender, what can they do if they stay?

He doesn't know how to farm or work, he can only show off his strength foolishly.

"They only said that they admired the Ming Dynasty, so they wanted to surrender. Oh, by the way, they also said that they brought about very important events."

The camp gate officer said hurriedly.

"What's the big deal?"

At this time, Pei Chengzu noticed the surrender and the news, and immediately asked.

Well, finding traces of the Jurchens a hundred miles away from the border wall made him extremely nervous.

Once this place is attacked by Jurchens and the camp is destroyed, it will be difficult for him to escape back to Gushan Castle alive.

"They didn't say."

The camp gate officer looked at the general who was becoming a little anxious, and felt a little contempt in his heart, but it didn't show on his face at all.

"They said they would not tell until they met the general. They also said the news was very important and they needed to meet the general as soon as possible."

"Where are the people?"

Pei Chengzu immediately asked.

"I sent people to collect their weapons and put them under guard at the camp gate."

The camp gate officer said hurriedly.

"Bring the people here, remember to search them, lest they hide the broken blade and assassinate me."

Pei Chengzu was still very cautious and should be said to cherish his life.

In recent years, many generals have died in Liaodong. He has not lived enough, so naturally he is not willing to risk his life.

"Yes, General, I will bring you here right away."

The camp gate officer agreed, turned around and ran towards the camp gate.

When others left, Pei Chengzu thought for a moment, summoned more than ten personal guards, arranged them near him, and then lay down on the recliner again.

The appearance of the Jurchens gave him a strong sense of crisis.

If he had discovered traces of the Jurchens during his search for Malay News a few days ago, he might not have been so nervous.

Appearing quietly outside the camp gate, I had to brace myself to deal with it.

And the big thing they talk about, what big thing is it?

Could it be that Wang Gao was planning to lead troops to come to him?

That's not right. The terrain here in Changdian is not suitable for large groups of people to move, so it is not an area where Wang Gao's tribe often moves.

If he didn't go to Shichakou, why would he come to Changdian?

I felt a little irritated for no reason, and the sunlight on my body no longer felt warm, and it suddenly felt chilly.

Not long after, a group of Ming troops escorted four Jurchens to the outside of the tent. Pei Chengzu sat up and looked at the four people.

They are all powerful and strong men, unlike the common Jurchen people.

When they walked over, just by their posture and the calluses on their hands, Pei Chengzu could tell at once that these people were not ordinary Jurchens, but probably warriors from the Jurchen tribe.

The Jurchens are still very similar to the Mongols. When they dismount, they become civilians, and when they mount, they become warriors.

However, among them, the Jurchen people also have specialized people who are kept by their leader, or people who are separated from production and specialize in killing people, professional soldiers.

If they were just ordinary soldiers, their aura would not be so strong. They were all elite Jurchen warriors.

After being escorted in front of Pei Chengzu, several soldiers behind him viciously pressed the four Jurchens to their knees on the ground.

They were very docile and didn't even show any resistance. They looked as if they were really here to surrender.

"Can you speak Chinese?"

Pei Chengzu suppressed his nervousness and asked seemingly indifferently.

"meeting."

The leading man replied.

"Your status in the Jurchen tribe is not low. Tell me, whose subordinates are you?"

Pei Chengzu continued to ask.

"General, we are the subordinates of King Gao Beile of the Jianzhou Department."

The leading man replied immediately.

When he heard that it was indeed Wang Gao's person, Pei Chengzu's eyes couldn't help but jump.

No matter what happens, it seems that his camp is being targeted by Wang Gao.

Pei Chengzu thought this in his heart, but tried his best to stay calm and asked nonchalantly: "Then how did you get here? Since you are Wang Gao's men, why don't you stay in Gule Village?"

"General, Wang Gao refused to accept the king's status and always wanted to be king. For this reason, he did not hesitate to get stronger and enter the Ming realm many times, and even killed some Ming generals.

This time, he felt uneasy knowing that the adults came here with troops and wanted to build a border wall.

After all, in his eyes, this place has always been the hunting ground of the Three Guards of Jianzhou, and he believed that Ming Dynasty had encroached on his territory by building a fort wall here, so..."

"So what?"

Before the man had finished speaking, Pei Chengzu asked excitedly.

"So he is preparing to gather tribal warriors and plan to carry out a sneak attack while the master is building the fort wall."

After the man finished speaking, he lowered his head.

"When does he plan to take action? Is he going to attack my general's camp?"

Pei Chengzu asked again.

"I don't know. We are Wang Gao's personal guards. He took us to hide nearby from Gule Village two days ago. Yesterday he took us sneakily close to the camp for observation.

I heard that he will stay here for two days. After observing the camp here, he will also go to Shichakou to have a look.

But based on what we know about him, after seeing the two camps, we must choose one to start the war.

We don't want to die. Although we have robbed a lot of property with Wang Gao over the years, we have also seen many people die. so."

When the man said this, he paused.

"So what? You want to surrender and join the Ming army?"

Pei Chengzu looked at them with a playful smile on his lips.

"Sir, please allow us to move to the mainland of Liaodong. We don't want to fight anymore. We are tired of this kind of life, fighting and killing. We are not young anymore. Sooner or later, we will die on the battlefield due to old age and weakness. Come on, please help me."

The man sobbed softly, as if he really didn't want to die on the battlefield and wanted to live.

These men are all in their thirties and forties. Speaking of which, although their combat experience has been accumulated through these years of war, they are already experienced warriors. But as he said, in a few years, their physical strength and other aspects will decline. , and then become bones on the battlefield.

Experienced warriors are indeed important, but on the battlefield, it ultimately depends on the able-bodied, and what is needed is brave soldiers.

Many people in their thirties and forties are the breadwinners of their families. They are afraid that after their death, their families' lives will plummet and they will become poor.

It's normal to be afraid of death.

He, Pei Chengzu, was also afraid of death.

Even if you don't expect to get promoted or make a fortune, living is more important than anything else.

"You said Wang Gao is near my camp?"

Suddenly, Pei Chengzu's sharp shouts came out and rushed into the ears of the four Jurchens.

"Ah yes, yes."

The man seemed frightened by his sharp shout, and was stunned for a moment before he had time to react.

"Are you the guards around Wang Gao?"

Pei Chengzu asked again, "The general asked you, how many people Wang Gao brought here, and where are you hiding?"

"General, there are more than thirty people in our group, all of whom have been following Wang Gao for many years. He still trusts us.

It's just that in recent years, we have not been as good as some young people in all aspects, so now Wang Gao only uses us as sentinels and usually sends us to patrol and protect him. "

The man raised his head and whispered.

"I'm about to be given up by Wang Gao."

Pei Chengzu just lowered his sentence and closed his mouth again, waiting for him to continue.

“After we came here, the camp was hidden in the woods more than thirty miles northwest of here.

People who came here before said that the sentinels sent by your lord will patrol the area around thirty miles away, so the camp should be hidden a little further away. "

The man continued.

Hearing this, Pei Chengzu narrowed his eyes, thinking that no wonder he was not discovered by his sentry. It turned out that their patrol had been discovered by the enemy.

Thirty miles away, it is still easy to hide the past as long as you master the trajectory and patterns of the sentinel's activities.

"What's your name? And where are they?"

Pei Chengzu looked at the man and asked.

"My name is Nair Tu, and they are my subordinates, named..."

The man wanted to talk again, but Pei Chengzu had already waved his hand.

He was not interested in the names of these Jurchens, he just wanted to know the names before him.

"Naiertu, when you come to me, aren't you afraid that Wang Gao will kill your family?"

Pei Chengzu chuckled.

He was not sure whether these four Jurchens really came to surrender, but they could still deceive them.

"We came out while we were on patrol. We just wanted to be your internal responders. We just asked you to save me and let me take my family to live in the mainland of Liaodong and leave here."

The man lowered his head and whispered.

"Do you know where Wang Gao usually peeks at our army camp?"

At this time, Pei Chengzu was making quick calculations in his mind.

So far, he has not received any news about the discovery of Jurchens, which seems to mean that at least within thirty miles around, there is no Jurchen army. Otherwise, the whereabouts of the large group of people will not be easy to cover up.

This Wang Gao was really cunning. He brought dozens of people out to secretly observe the camp. The number of people was too small and there were few traces left on the road. It was indeed difficult to detect him.

"Ah, yes, yesterday we were at the top of a hill ten miles north of the camp."

When Pei Chengzu heard Naiertu mention the hilltop, he had some concerns in his mind.

Indeed, it was the only place near his camp where it was easy to hide.

It's just that the surrounding environment is like this. The site of this camp is still the best place to camp nearby.

"Wang Gao should still be there."

Pei Chengzu asked.

"this."

Naiertu raised his head and glanced at the sun in the sky, and then said: "It should still be there."

"How many people does he usually bring out?"

Pei Chengzu asked again.

Since these people have followed Wang Gao for many years, they should know his habits very well.

"Usually only a few people will be brought, and the horses will be hidden a few miles away from their hiding place, leaving two people to watch the horses."

Naier poured beans through a bare bamboo tube and sold Wang Gao completely.

"Ten miles away."

At this time, although Pei Chengzu did not believe the words of these four Jurchens, he also felt that everything was under control.

The sentinels he sent out tightly sealed off the surrounding area for thirty miles. If a Jurchen army really appeared here, he would not fail to get rewarded.

The only way to avoid the detection of sentry detectives is that there are only a few people on the other side, so that their whereabouts are not exposed.

There were about ten people on the other side, and among them was the thief Chief Gao, who the court had always wanted to arrest. This temptation was not too big.

Although Pei Chengzu didn't have much ambition to be promoted, the credit was right in front of him, and when it was within easy reach, he didn't mind fighting for the credit and getting his official position promoted again.

Pei Chengzu glanced at the four Jurchens in front of him and wondered whether he should believe what he said.

But having said that, just going out of the camp for more than ten miles to hunt down the thief chieftain Gao, how risky is it?

There is no way that the other party has a large army hiding within thirty miles, otherwise he will get the news.

You only need to take hundreds of cavalry out of the camp and search the hilltop opposite, and you will know the result.

If you really get something, lead the men and horses in pursuit and be sure to capture or kill Wang Gao.

And if there is no one, then go back to the camp immediately. The round trip only takes half an hour, and it doesn't take much distance.

"Can you take responsibility for what you said? What if Wang Gao's whereabouts were not discovered on the hilltop opposite?"

Pei Chengzu's face turned cold and he said fiercely.

"A villain would never dare to deceive a general, no, no, no."

The Jurchen kowtowed and kept talking.

"Detain him first and take good care of him."

Pei Chengzu ordered.

After being escorted away, he immediately called for his two cavalry commanders.

"Sir, I still have about a hundred people under my command, and the rest have been sent out."

One of the commanders hurriedly answered Pei Chengzu's question, and the other commander immediately answered: "Sir, I have one hundred and fifty men under my command, and it is not our turn to go on patrol today."

"Gather the troops and leave the camp." Pei Chengzu ordered. (End of chapter)