At night, the iron gate is closed.
Tiemenguan is close to the Bohai Sea and is rich in salt. In addition, it is the estuary of the Daqing River, where the water level is deep, making it convenient for ships to anchor, resulting in frequent merchant ship traffic.
Therefore, a customs checkpoint was established here since the Jin Dynasty.
It is better to say that it is a city than a pass.
The city wall is made of adobe, with gates on the east, west, south and north sides. The gates are embedded with iron nails, so they are called Iron Gate Pass.
After nightfall, the whole city fell into silence due to the night curfew.
There was a square table in a room in the city, and two people were sitting beside the table.
The leader was the Crown Prince of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Cilang, and the Left General Liu Wenyao sat below him.
squeak--
A eunuch walked into the room and broke the silence: "Your Highness, Huang Fei, the commander-in-chief of the Guanliao Dengjin Navy, requests to see you."
"Let him in." Zhu Cilang said in a slightly childish voice.
After a moment, a burly man in military uniform walked in.
He was wearing a Ming helmet and Ming-style cotton armor, and his square, dark face had sharp features.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince is greeted by your humble servant Huang Fei! Your subordinate is here to see the Left Commander-in-Chief!" Huang Fei knelt on one knee and saluted.
"General Huang, please stand up. Please give General Huang a seat."
Huang Fei was somewhat flattered that he was given a seat when he met the prince for the first time.
He was about to refuse, but Zhu Cilang stopped him with his hand: "General Huang, please don't refuse."
"As you command, my lord."
After sitting down, Zhu Cilang signaled everyone else to leave, and the room became quiet again.
Liu Wenyao stared at Huang Fei's face for a while, then said expressionlessly: "How many men does General Huang have under his command? How many warships does he have?"
Huang Fei replied respectfully: "The navy has a total of 21,286 soldiers, two double-deck Fu ships, nearly 100 large Fu ships, more than 100 patrol ships, winter ships, bird ships and fast ships."
Liu Wenyao looked at Zhu Cilang, and Zhu Cilang nodded, giving him a positive signal.
After receiving the signal, Liu Wenyao stood up, took out a scroll from his sleeve and held it in his hand, "General Huang, I have an imperial decree here, do you want to take it?"
The imperial decree?
Huang Fei was slightly stunned when he heard these two words.
According to court regulations, the imperial edict must be accepted, while the imperial edict can be accepted or not.
What happened to the emperor? First he ordered him to come to Tiemenguan to welcome the prince, and then he gave him an imperial decree.
Is there something that cannot be said in the imperial edict?
Or...has the court gotten out of control?
Thinking of this, Huang Fei no longer hesitated. He stood up and knelt on one knee: "Your Highness Huang Fei accepts your order."
Liu Wenyao breathed a sigh of relief, and his tense nerves finally relaxed. If Huang Fei didn't cooperate, they alone would not be able to kill Liu Zeqing.
He slowly opened the scroll and read out the following words:
"Now that the bandits have invaded our borders, we must suppress them with all our might. I have mobilized troops from all over the country to come to the capital to defend the king, but Shandong General Liu Zeqing lied that he fell off his horse and was injured, and refused to obey the order. This is his first crime!"
"The cabinet ordered him to go to Baoding to suppress the bandits, but he disobeyed the order. This is his second crime!"
"Liu Zeqing allowed his troops to plunder in Linqing City. The people saw them as bandits, which damaged the reputation of the government army. This is the third crime!"
"People who deceive the emperor, are disloyal and unjust, and disobey orders are guilty of heinous crimes!"
"The Jinyiwei has now found out that Liu Zeqing wants to use the name of escort to hold the prince hostage and control Nanjing."
"In order to protect the prince's safety and the future of the Ming Dynasty, I ordered Huang Fei, the commander of the Guanliao Dengjin Navy, to plot the murder of Liu Zeqing and escort the prince to Nanjing."
"I hereby order."
"Your Highness Huang Fei, I accept your order."
After receiving the imperial edict, Huang Fei read it carefully, and put it away after making sure it was correct.
"I wonder what your highness needs me to do?"
Zhu Cilang didn't say anything, in fact he didn't know what to say. He had been confused since leaving the capital, and after leaving his father's wings, he found himself so weak and pitiful.
There is a feeling of being abandoned.
He wanted to cry, but he couldn't cry in front of others because he was the crown prince. He wanted to laugh, but his father was determined to defend the capital even at the cost of his life, so he couldn't laugh anyway.
Various emotions slowly accumulated in his heart, exerting pressure.
If he hadn't had the blessing of the prince's halo, he would have collapsed long ago!
Seeing the prince looking confused, Huang Fei looked at Liu Wenyao.
Liu Wenyao's calm face finally showed some signs of trouble. He frowned and said, "Your Majesty has given Liu Zeqing an imperial decree, asking him to come to Tiemenguan to collect his military pay and escort the prince to Nanjing."
"According to the scouts, Liu Zeqing's army has left Linqing and is heading towards Tiemen Pass. If nothing unexpected happens, they will arrive at the city around midnight tonight."
"Your Majesty means to capture the thief and the king!"
Huang Fei thought about it and asked worriedly, "What if Liu Zeqing is doomed to fail?"
Liu Wenyao raised his eyebrows and said, "General Huang has misunderstood. Your Majesty does not mean to capture him alive, but to kill him directly. You can use a knife, an axe, a bird gun, a fire gun, or even a red cannon to directly bombard him! As long as he is killed, the mission will be completed and it will be a great achievement!"
"Once the commander is dead, with the Crown Prince and the Imperial Edict, I believe the soldiers will not mutiny."
Huang Fei's mouth twitched.
They expressed awe at Chongzhen's cruelty and mourned the death of Liu Zeqing.
Immediately, he had a new question: "General Liu, if Liu Zeqing dares to enter the city, everything will be easy. After all, we can deploy heavy troops in the city, and we can kill him on the spot as long as he enters the city gate."
"I am afraid that he will not come, hiding in the army under the pretext of being ill. In that case, even if Your Majesty comes in person, there will be nothing we can do."
Huang Fei's worries are not without reason.
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