Crash—crash—

The waves hit the hull, making bursts of noise.

Soon, the ship docked.

Zu Dashou stood up with a nervous mood and stepped onto the embankment.

Looking at the familiar yet unfamiliar land under his feet, Zu Dashou was deeply moved.

March of the fifteenth year of Chongzhen.

After being besieged in Jinzhou for seven months and eating his last grain of food, he had no choice but to choose to open the city and surrender.

He was then taken to Shenyang, where he was supposedly reused but was actually imprisoned.

Never set foot on the west bank of the Liao River again.

Now that he is back in the old place, he has an indescribable feeling.

"Zu Dashou!" Wang Yongji came to the shore under the escort of his personal soldiers and shouted his name loudly.

He had never seen Zu Dashou before, but he recognized him at a glance.

Zu Dashou had also never seen Wang Yongji. It was only after being reminded by the soldiers next to him that he realized that the person in front of him was the famous Governor-General of Pingliao.

"The criminal Zu Dashou greets the Governor!" Zu Dashou knelt down and saluted.

At that time, Zu Dashou had no food or supplies at home and no reinforcements from outside.

If you don't surrender, you will starve to death.

but...

He surrendered after all.

This is a serious crime that cannot be justified.

So as soon as they met, he regarded himself as a criminal.

The reason why he is not a criminal is because he has no face to be a subject.

Wang Yongji did not let Zu Dashou stand up, but stared at his face.

After a long time.

Wang Yongji said slowly: "Zu Dashou, you are old."

"The criminals didn't want to die on the territory of the Jiannu, so they lived on for a few more years," Zu Dashou replied.

"I cannot keep you for dinner, let alone overnight... I hope you can understand." Wang Yongji said.

"The criminals understand!"

"Someone come here," Wang Yongji waved back.

A group of soldiers in armor came over, pulling a carriage.

"Escort Zu Dashou to Beijing to meet the emperor." Wang Yongji ordered.

"I obey your command." The leading soldier knelt on one knee, stood up and said to Zu Dashou, "Please!"

It is said to be an escort, but in fact it is an escort.

Chongzhen specifically asked for Zu Dashou to ensure that everything would go well.

Wang Yongji had no choice but to resort to this last resort.

"Wait a minute!" Just as Zu Dashou was about to get into the carriage, a familiar voice came from a distance.

Zu Dashou looked around and saw a familiar figure riding a horse galloping towards him from a distance.

It was his nephew Wu Sangui!

"Uncle," Wu Sangui shouted as he spurred his horse forward.

(Historically, Wu Sangui referred to Zu Dashou as "old uncle" or "uncle" in his letter to him.)

When they were about ten steps apart.

Wu Sangui jumped off his horse and ran to Zu Dashou, hugged Zu Dashou's thigh and cried bitterly: "Uncle, you are finally back."

Zu Dashou was moved by Wu Sangui's actions.

With tears in his eyes, he patted Wu Sangui's head and said, "Well, you're back."

Wu Sangui raised his head and asked with tears in his eyes: "How have you been these years?"

"I feel depressed because I have been living under someone else's control for a long time..."

Seeing Zu Dashou's distressed face, Wu Sangui realized that he had said the wrong thing and immediately changed his words: "It's good that you're back! Let's go, I'll treat you to a drink."

Zu Dashou shook his head and pointed at the soldiers and carriage in front of him: "I have to leave now. I don't have time to drink."

"Where are you going?"

"Of course I have to go to the capital to meet His Majesty." Zu Dashou took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, "His Majesty specifically asked for my return, so he must meet me."

"This..." Wu Sangui fell silent.

But he felt a little unwilling, so he turned around and asked Wang Yongji: "Governor, can you make some concessions?"

"This is the will. Unless you resist, there will be no compromise."

Wu Sangui began to sigh.

Zu Dashou patted him on the shoulder, said some words of encouragement, and came to Wang Yongji.

He knew that Wang Yongji had a lot of questions to ask, so he was prepared.

Wang Yongji didn't bother to be polite and asked directly: "How did Dorgon regain power? Where did Jirgalang go?"

This information was not a secret in Shengjing City. In addition, Zu Dashou had a son who was the leader of the Han army in the Zhenghuang Banner, so everyone knew everything.

He did not hide anything and told her everything.

As for where Jirgalang went, Zu Dashou had no idea.

He just guessed: "Jirgalang is probably dead."

"Dead?" Wang Yongji was a little confused. "If he's dead, why not keep it secret? After all, this is also a huge contribution!"

"Perhaps it has something to do with Dorgon's return to power."

"Do you know why Jiannu wanted to exchange Prince Lu and you for the remains of Ajige and others?"

"To buy time."

"What are you stalling for?"

"Prepare forage."

“Where do you start preparing?”

“I don’t know.”

"What will Jiannu do next?"

"I'm not sure about that either. If I'm not mistaken, they will make temporary adjustments based on the movements of the Ping Liao army."

Wang Yongji had some problems again.

Zu Dashou answered all the questions truthfully.

At the end of the question, Wang Yongji clasped his fists and bowed to Zu Dashou: "This information is very helpful for the upcoming war. Thank you very much."

"Your Excellency the Governor is very polite. It is my honor to provide this information to the court."

"Then I wish you a safe journey!" Wang Yongji clasped his hands together and said some farewell words.

Before boarding the carriage.

Zu Dashou remembered something and turned to ask Wang Yongji: "Governor, can I see someone?"

"Who do you want to see?"

"Li Dingguo." Zu Dashou said solemnly.

"Can you tell me first why you want to see him?" Wang Yongji asked.

Zu Dashou explained. "This man was able to raid the capital of Jiannu when Man Dahai was besieging Dalinghe, shocking Fulin and the entire Jiannu court. He is a man of courage and strategy, with extraordinary courage and insight."

"I also led troops, and I have great respect for him. I don't know if I can survive this trip to Beijing, so I want to see him before leaving Liaodong."

"There's no way we can meet now," Wang Yongji smiled and shook his head.

"Why?"

"He's not here."

"Then he..." Zu Dashou was about to continue asking when he realized that this was a secret and immediately shut up.

"He has gone north to the grassland to fight the Mongols!" Wang Yongji said readily.

The entire army knew about Li Dingguo's movements.

Besides, Zu Dashou himself had already set foot on the west bank of the Liaohe River, so even if he wanted to leak the news, he would have no chance.

So I told him the truth.

"Well!" Zu Dashou sighed helplessly, "It seems this is fate."

After saying that.

He stepped into the carriage and set off for Beijing.