October 11, the eighth year of Chongzhen.

The capital, the Ganqing Palace.

Emperor Chongzhen sat on the dragon throne, with a dull expression on his face, and listened to the report of the Minister of War Zhang Fengyi under the Nine-Level Pill Steps.

"......... In early October, Gao Yingxiang, Li Zicheng, Scorpion and other big and small bandits joined the east, with more than 200,000 troops. They broke through Zhuyang Pass and invaded Henan. The Henan official troops, such as Zuo Liangyu, Chen Yongfu, Luo Ju and other troops, were all defeated, and the places such as Qianxiang, Lingbao and other places were poisoned..."

Listening to Zhang Fengyi kneeling on the ground and not daring to look up, he just whispered to the sound of the old and haggard voice, Emperor Chongzhen's heart was as if he was fried.

The emperor knew that the land of Henan, which was tragic, was about to begin the tragic years of war, blood flowing into rivers, and life was tragic.

"Bang!"

Chongzhen punched a fierce punch on the imperial table of golden nanmu, and shocked a delicate Hetian jade inkstone, and filled the ink.

"Transfer my order. Henan Governor Xuan Mo, who was incompetent in control of his subordinates, was unable to suppress bandits, and was incompetent in me. He was dismissed from his post and ordered the Jinyiwei to be appointed as Henan Governor Chen Biqian, the Censor of Jiangxi Road!

Chongzhen's sudden loud shout made Zhang Fengyi tremble and he quickly shut up. The eunuch who recorded the news next to him also responded with terror.

"Since I ascended the throne, although my virtues are shallow, I have worked diligently and dared not slacken at all. Why is the country still so decayed? Is it because the heavens are already tired of it?"

Chongzhen stood up, sighed to the sky, with a sad look on his face.

Zhang Fengyi on the ground and the eunuchs next to him all looked pale when they heard the emperor's words, and they didn't dare to breathe.

"I, I want to issue an edict to myself..."

"His Majesty......"

"No need to stop me. The state affairs are so difficult and the people are struggling to live and die. How can I be alone in the capital palace and enjoy this peace and glory? This crime has been issued, and I must issue it."

Chongzhen waved his hand and signaled Zhang Fengyi underground to say nothing more, so he asked the eunuch beside him to write down the contents without saying much.

"......... Only civil and military officials and soldiers work hard, hunger and cold, and I am very careful about my thoughts. I am not willing to stay in the deep palace alone when I drink water and eat roughly, but I cannot bear to enjoy the sweet order; I wear hard and hold sharpness, but I cannot bear to wear a single garment of embroidery. Since then, I have stayed in Wuying Hall, reduced meals and fun, but I am not only treated with green clothes, but I swear to share the joys and sorrows with civil and military officials and soldiers. The court officials and officials and soldiers are each practicing to temper their faults and help the lives of the people by returning to heaven..."

After giving up this sentimental edict, Chongzhen sat back on the dragon throne with a sad look on his face.

"Your Majesty is worried about the people and the soldiers who work together with them will move God. In the future, the state affairs will be greatly changed, but there is no need to worry too much."

Zhang Fengyi stood up tremblingly and carefully comforted the emperor.

"Jiubao, now the bandits are rampant, Henan has caused wars again. As the Minister of War, what are you going to do?"

Chongzhen didn't want to hear his impatient words, so he asked in a low voice.

"Your Majesty, I'm sorry for your words. Now the thieves are growing again. The land of Zhongzhou is full of disasters and the wars are very widespread. However, the court urgently needs to place new measures to meet the current situation." Zhang Fengyi said hurriedly.

"You can tell me in detail."

"Reported to the emperor, the bandits are powerful, so Hong Chengchou, who is the governor of the military affairs of the five provinces of Shanxi and Shaanxi, is afraid that it is impossible to support it. Now many bandits merge and leave Zhuyang Pass to the east, and Hong Chengchou may be even more out of reach. Therefore, I think that Lu Xiangsheng, the governor of Huguang, can be transferred to the position of governor of the five provinces, and the Prime Minister Zhili, Henan, Shandong, Sichuan, Huguang and other five military affairs, and then draw reinforcements from Liaodong to help Henan. Form a "Hong Chengchou supervises the northwest and Lu Xiangsheng supervises the southeast." Only in this way can we form a situation of encirclement and suppression on all sides, so that the bandits have nowhere to escape, and eliminate the major troubles of the country."

After hearing Zhang Fengyi's words, Chongzhen's eyes lit up.

Because of his outstanding military achievements, Emperor Chongzhen actually had a deep impression of Lu Xiangsheng.

He vaguely remembered that Lu Xiangsheng was from Yixing, Changzhou. His courtesy name was Jiandou and his nickname was Jiutai. He was appointed as the head of the Ministry of Revenue and was promoted to Yuanwailang. Later, Waihang became the prefect of Daming. In the second year of Chongzhen, Xiangsheng recruited troops to the capital, and promoted the right-level political sect and deputy envoy. This person is quite familiar with military affairs and once rectified the troops of Daming, Guangping and Shunde, and built a "Tianxiong Army" that can be the elite of the Ming army. In the sixth year of Chongzhen, Lu Xiangsheng led the Tianxiong Army to successfully suppress the army of the bandits Ma Huihui and Huntianwang from Shanxi to Hebei. In the seventh year of Chongzhen, because he successfully wiped out nearly 400,000 bandits near Yunyang, Lu Xiangsheng was promoted to the right assistant censor, pacified Yunyang, and then promoted to the governor of Huguang.

"This Lu Xiangsheng is a person with outstanding military achievements. I also heard that this person is good at encouraging his soldiers with loyalty and righteousness. His subordinates are willing to serve their lives. It is a rare general." Emperor Chongzhen sighed and then ordered loudly: "I have approved the strategy of Jiubao! Now, Lu Xiang is promoted to the Minister of War and is appointed as the governor of five provinces. The military and soldiers of the five provinces are subject to his restraint. He also allowed him to draw troops from Liaodong as reinforcements, and at the same time, he was given a sword to be given to him, so that he could do things at a cheap price. With a limit of half a year, he could eliminate bandits in Henan and Southeast!"

"The emperor is wise, and the poor ministers follow the holy will."

.........

When Lu Xiangsheng, who was promoted to the governor of five provinces, quickly rushed from Huguang to Henan to meet with Henan Governor Chen Biqian, and Zu Dale, Zu Kuan, Li Chongzhen and other troops who were transferred from Liaodong, Li Xiao also led a general of Chifeng Camp to more than 6,000 troops and hurried south to Tielong City, Shan County.

Now, after expansion, there were two generals in Chifeng Camp. Li Xiao left one general and artillery troops to defend, but took the other generals, together with the Lumi gunmen, cavalry troops, and rampant teams to Iron City.

Before leaving, Li Xiao arranged for Chifengwei and other matters, and temporarily ordered Chen Zilong, and helped Xu Xiuqing, the general manager of Chifeng City. The two agreed to accept the order.

In fact, in real history, the bandits did not invade Shandong this time, and would eventually be defeated by Lu Xiangsheng, who was governor of the military affairs of six provinces, and retreated to Shaanxi, Shanxi and other places. But what worries Li Xiao was that his Tielong City was only separated from Henan by the Yellow River. If the enemy did not follow the historical route and led the crowd to invade north, it would be difficult to defend with the more than 6,000 troops of the Tielong Camp alone.

This is why Li Xiao urgently came out for help.

However, there was something that made him secretly glad.

That is, at the end of February this year, Zhang Xianzhong was severely injured in Tielong City, Shan County, and he was already seriously injured. He should still be licking his wounds in Shaanxi, so it is impossible to join forces with Gao Yingxiang and others to advance eastward. Li Xiao estimated that the main ones invaded Henan this time, Gao Yingxiang, Li Zicheng, Scorpion Block, Lao Huihui and other bandits should have a much smaller number of bandits invasions than the historical bandits.

Li Xiao’s intuition is very correct, because it is indeed the case.

Li Xiao led his army to Iron Dragon City. After the generals of Chifeng Camp merged with Iron Dragon Camp, the total force had reached more than 12,000. Li Xiao thought to himself that with such troops, it should be enough to defend the city.

Zu Wan'er in the Iron City was very happy to see Li Xiao coming, and was very affectionate.

After Zu Wan'er arrived in Dan County, she immediately crossed the river and went to Yucheng, Henan on the other side. She wanted to see her father, Zu Dale, but she learned that Zu Dale had been ordered to go to Kaifeng to discuss the suppression of bandits, so she had to return in a bad mood.

However, in order to deal with the possible attacks of the enemy, Li Xiao had too many military affairs to arrange, but he didn't have much time to linger with Wan'er, which made Wan'er feel quite disappointed.

What Li Xiao didn't expect was that he had only been in Dan County for a week and was studying with a group of craftsmen how to use crucibles to make steel, military soldiers came to report that Lu Xiangsheng, the governor of the five provinces, came to Tielong City in person.

"What, Governor Lu came to Iron City in person? Can he come with other generals?"

Li Xiao was shocked when he heard the news.

"Reported to the general, Governor Lu only led more than 100 guards to come, and there were no other entourages."

"oh?"

Li Xiao waved his hand and asked the reported sergeant to retreat, and then looked at Wu Liang, the head of the Iron City next to him.

"In the opinion of the students, Governor Lu must have come to invite you to send troops. Lord Li, you want to protect only the Tielong City, but you are afraid you can't." The two walked to the secluded place, and Wu Liang smiled and said to Li Xiao.

Li Xiao sighed softly: "Mr. Wu is right. Our army's reputation for fighting has probably been spread for a long time. It is natural for Governor Lu to let our army go to fight with the bandits. However, my soldier is thinking that this Lord Lu is coming to my Iron Dragon City, I am afraid that it is not only so easy for our army to send troops."

Soon, Li Xiao led a group of generals out of the west gate of Tielong City to welcome Lu Xiangsheng and his group to the arrival of him.

Li Xiao and others came outside the city gate and immediately saw from a distance that a group of guards with bright armored armor, wearing a big "Lu" red-bottomed black flag, surrounded by a man dressed in a red-looking style from the second-rank civil servants and officials, and quickly rode on his horse.

Li Xiao thought to himself that this person was Lu Xiangsheng, who was powerful and loyal in the late Ming Dynasty.

"Well!"

Ten steps away from Li Xiao, the general who looked like a civil servant turned over and dismounted, then walked slowly towards Li Xiao with a smile.

Li Xiao saw that although Lu Xiangsheng was a civil servant, he was tall, especially with his shoulders, with a very broad and conspicuous face, with a strong face, wrinkles on his face as carved by a knife, and under his forehead, he had a pair of bright red phoenix eyes, and two thick eyebrows penetrated his temples, adding power. His three clear beards that danced with the wind made him show the unique style of a scholar. When he looked up, he looked like a standard Confucian wise general.

With a whistle, Li Xiao led the generals to kneel down and bow to the ground, holding his fists to pay homage.

Wearing a fine steel armor, he had a quiver with a gaze on his back and a heavy wooden arrow on his waist. He looked quite majestic and had a kind of murderous aura.

The generals wore armor and carried bows and arrows to pay homage to officials. This was the highest etiquette for generals to pay homage to civil servants in the Ming Dynasty. On that day, Xiong Tingbi took office in Liaodong, and after the visit of a group of Liaodong generals dressed up in this way, he took office as the governor of Liaodong with great enthusiasm.

Now, General Li Xiao, the General of Chifeng, also expressed his loyalty to the governor of the five provinces in this way.

"Last general Li Xiao, see Lord Lu."

"General Li is exempted from gifts, please get up quickly."

Lu Xiangsheng laughed loudly, helped him for a while, and Li Xiao stood up.

Lu Xiangsheng helped Li Xiao up and looked Li Xiao up and down, then stroked his beard and smiled, "What a general Li, he is a majestic tiger general. I heard that General Li destroyed the bandits in the south and attacked the Tartars in the north. He is actually a young hero from the Ming Dynasty who was born in the world."

"Mr. Lu praised it, why did Li Xiao defeat him?"

"How can you not be a good person? Li Xiao, you destroy the bandits in the south and attack the Tartars in the north, are actually a rare tiger general in my Ming Dynasty." Lu Xiangsheng stared at the tall and majestic Tielong City in front of him, and said with emotion: "Li Xiao, you can build such a majestic city with just one person's strength. I asked myself, if I was in your position, I would be unable to achieve such success."

Li Xiao laughed loudly, and his greetings and conversations with Lu Xiangsheng were even more intimate.

"Governor Lu is here for a long time, please follow me to enter the city to rest." Li Xiao made a respectful greeting gesture.

Lu Xiangsheng nodded in agreement, and then joined Li Xiao, crossed the moat suspension bridge and entered the city from the west gate of Tielong City.

Along the way, Lu Xiangsheng saw that the plan was well organized in the Iron City, with wide and straight streets. From a distance, black smoke from the blast furnace could be seen surging, sparks of fried furnaces were splashing, water hammers were flying up and down, and the forging ground was jingling. All kinds of craftsmen were passing by like ants in the city, transporting raw materials and finished products. They couldn't help but be amazed.

"Li Xiao, you are not only a famous general of this dynasty, but also a rare talent for governing the world! This governor has seen many smelting sites, but no one is as large as your Iron Dragon City, and iron making is so sophisticated and efficient. Li Xiao, Li Xiao, your achievements have really made me admire you."

"Haha, how can I get into the Governor's Eye of the Governor?" Li Xiao smiled: "Li Xiao's subordinates are all military personnel in the garrison, and there is no military pay for the court. They just rely on producing some steel to equip the army and pay the daily expenses of the soldiers."

"This is exactly what I admire!" Lu Xiangsheng suddenly looked emotional and said loudly: "Li Xiao, you have received such elite troops, fought south and north, and made such great achievements, but it does not cost the country a penny. Who can I do such a contribution in the Ming Dynasty!"

Li Xiao was a little embarrassed by Lu Xiangsheng's praise, and quickly reversed the topic: "The general's talent is simple and short, and it is not worth praising like this by the adults. Not far ahead is the mansion in the Iron Dragon City. Please follow the general to rest and sit for a while."

"Okay, I have some important things to do here. I want to discuss with General Li." Lu Xiangsheng said with a smile.

When Li Xiao heard him speak, he asked Wu Liang to take Lu Xiangsheng and his guards to rest. After changing into the military uniforms, he and Lu Xiangsheng entered the living room and sat in the host and the guest.

"Mr. Lu, this is the best West Lake Longjing tea sold by merchants. Please try it."

After the servant brought the tea, Li Xiao waved his hand to let him retreat, and personally gave Lu Xiangsheng a cup of it, and then filled it with him.

Lu Xiangsheng closed the tea lid, blew open the tea foam, took a sip, and nodded slightly, "Yes, this tea tastes pure, fragrant and sweet, but it is a good tea."

Before Li Xiao could speak, Lu Xiangsheng took another sip, then put down the teacup and sighed, "I only sigh that the country's affairs are getting worse and the thieves are rampant. Although there is such a good tea, I have no intention of drinking it carefully."

After Lu Xiangsheng finished speaking, he looked at Li Xiao, who was pretending to bow his head and drink tea, and asked in a low voice: "But I don't know what General Li thinks about the situation in Henan?"

"Oh, I think that with Lord Lu's wise command, our Ming official army will be able to successfully wipe out the Henan bandits in the future."

"Oh, Li Xiao, I came to your Iron City, not to listen to your polite words. Let me tell you, what are your true thoughts about the situation in Henan and even the situation of bandit suppression in the whole country? I want to listen to you to the truth."

Li Xiao pondered, holding a teacup in his hand, and a solemn expression appeared on his face.

"Why, is General Li inconvenient to say anything? Don't worry, in this room, you will come out of your mouth and into my ears. No matter what you say, Li Xiao, I will forgive you for your words." Lu Xiangsheng's face was full of anticipation.

Li Xiao put down the teacup, stood up, and solemnly bowed to Lu Xiangsheng and said, "Since you want to hear Li Xiao's sincere words, then let's just tell the truth."
Chapter completed!