Late Ming Dynasty: Oops, I am surrounded by the Donglin Party

The night was quiet. A crescent moon in the sky made the earth look gray and white. There was no one on the streets.

The fifth watch is the time when a person is most tired but also sleeps the sweetest.

Zhang Shikang held Chen Zhuer in his arms and smacked his lips. Chen Zhuer curled up in his arms like a kitten, grabbing the quilt with her two little hands.

Zhang Shikang had a dream that his arrival in the Ming Dynasty was actually a dream. When he woke up from the dream, he found himself wearing a yellow robe and still delivering takeout.

In this lonely night of late autumn, everything is so peaceful. The bandits have been completely wiped out and everyone is enjoying the rare tranquility of this night.

dong dong dong-

dong dong dong-

There was a hurried knock on the door outside the Duke of England's mansion.

The servant who lived in the side room of the mansion came out rubbing his sleepy eyes, with an impatient look on his face.

"Who is it? You're knocking on the door in the middle of the night. Can't I sleep?"

He decided that no matter who it was, if they dared to disturb his sleep on a night like this, he would never give them a good face.

Although he was a gatekeeper, he was the gatekeeper of the Duke's Mansion. Many people came to ask the Duke of England to do things, and the first person they saw was always him. Those people were always very friendly to him. After all, the other party needed him to be responsible for passing the message.

"Li Fengxiang, the Chief of the Imperial Household Department, Your Majesty urgently summons Zhang Shikang, the commander of the Beijing Camp, to the palace. Open the door quickly!"

The voice outside was urgent. When the servant heard that it was someone coming from the palace, he dared not act rudely. He leaned over the crack of the door to confirm. Seeing that the people outside were all dressed as eunuchs, he quickly opened the door of the Duke's Mansion.

Butler Li from the Duke's Mansion heard the noise outside and came over with his clothes on. He was almost sixty years old this year, and when he saw someone coming to the palace so late, he couldn't help but frown.

"Eunuch Li, is there anything urgent? I will go and call the Duke." After paying his respects to Li Fengxiang, Butler Li asked cautiously.

Li Fengxiang seemed to know that this old butler was very trusted by the master, and after hesitating for a moment, he said:

"The Jiannu have entered the country."

Although it was just five short words, it was like a bolt from the blue, and Butler Li's body was stunned for a moment.

But he was mature and prudent after all, and he knew that the matter was of great importance. He quickly calmed down and bowed to Li Fengxiang and said:

"Angel, please follow this man to the living room. I will go find the Duke right away."

"No need. His Majesty did not summon the Duke. He summoned the third son of the mansion, Zhang Shikang. Take me directly to Admiral Zhang's bedroom." Li Fengxiang waved his hand.

Upon hearing this, Butler Li hesitated for a moment, asked his servant to inform Zhang Zhiji, and took Li Fengxiang to Zhang Shikang's bedroom.

At this time, Steward Li had many questions in his mind. Although the Third Young Master was appointed as the Admiral of the Beijing Camp by His Majesty, he generally felt that His Majesty should have been commended for the Duke's Mansion taking the lead in donating a large sum of silver.

After all, the Third Young Master can do nothing except eating, drinking and having fun, and it is not easy to stay in the military camp. Butler Li thought that the Third Young Master would resign on his own initiative in a few days, but he did not expect that the Third Young Master had stayed in the military camp for half a year in a blink of an eye.

What happened just now surprised him even more. The Jiannu invasion was such a big event. He thought that the palace would definitely summon his master. After all, his master was the Duke of Ying.

But the imperial decree was to summon the third young master.

For such an important matter, instead of summoning the master, they summoned the third young master who was always unstable. How could he not be surprised?

The most important thing is, no matter how urgent it is, Angel should wait in the living room. Why did Eunuch Li ask him to take her to the Third Young Master's bedroom?

But even though he had doubts, he still didn't dare to ask.

Soon the two of them walked outside Zhang Shikang's yard.

"Third Young Master, Third Young Master, please wake up. Someone is coming from the palace." Butler Li shouted loudly outside the window.

Zhang Shikang was awakened from his dream and his brows immediately frowned.

In the dream, there was an order on the twelfth floor and the elevator was out of power. The customer kept scolding him for being slow. In a rage, he was secretly eating the Mckinsey ordered by the customer and was about to put the fried chicken leg into his mouth.

The dream woke up.

It's the middle of the night again, and I feel unhappy both in my dreams and in reality.

"Your Majesty, if you have anything to say, tell him to talk about it tomorrow! You don't even give me overtime pay! How can you disturb people's sleep in the middle of the night?" Zhang Shikang complained.

In his opinion, the governor of the Beijing Camp was at most a job, no different from delivering takeout food in later life.

When you are unhappy about delivering food, you can skip work and play games. Yes, you are the boss, but you can't ask your employees to be on call at three or four in the morning, right?

unacceptable!

Seeing that the girl in his arms had also woken up and heard that it was a summons from the palace, the young master refused so rudely and unreasonably, seeming a little panicked.

Zhang Shikang patted Chen Zhuer's shoulder gently to comfort her.

Butler Li outside was feeling overwhelmed. He dared to refuse the emperor's summons. Did he want to die?

Li Fengxiang, who came with them, seemed to know something. He cleared his throat and said:

"Admiral Zhang, our Imperial Household Department Chief Li Fengxiang, if it were a minor matter, His Majesty would not have summoned him in the middle of the night. This is an emergency, so please get up quickly, Admiral Zhang."

Li Fengxiang's tone was not only not angry, but rather very gentle.

In fact, this was a special instruction from Emperor Chongzhen before departure. Otherwise, as the head of the Imperial Household Department and an angel sent by the emperor, why would he go to the bedroom to summon someone?

"What is it? If Your Majesty is messing with me for no reason, I will resign."

Zhang Shikang's dissatisfied voice came from the bedroom.

Now Li Fengxiang finally understood why the emperor wanted him to do this and asked him to have a better attitude.

I've heard that the Emperor has great trust in the newly appointed commander-in-chief of the Beijing Camp, and now I can see that.

This can no longer be called trust, it should be called favor.

"Admiral Zhang, the Jiannu have entered the pass. Jizhen is in danger! The capital is in danger! The emperor is so anxious that he has sprained his foot. Please hurry up!"

"Oh shit!" Zhang Shikang was shocked.

Finally, there were sounds of panic in the room.

Chen Zhuer, who was wearing underwear, quickly got up and went to get clothes for Zhang Shikang. She naturally heard the message outside, but she said nothing.

"How dare you, damn Tartars, disturb this young master's sweet dream." Zhang Shikang muttered as he put on his clothes.

After putting on his clothes, Zhang Shikang walked to the door, hesitated for a moment, and turned his head to look at Chen Zhuer.

But Chen Zhu'er already had tears in her eyes, but she was stubborn and refused to let the tears fall.

She knew how brutal the Tartars were. Two years ago, the Tartars had invaded the country, killing millions of people. They also drove the captives outside the country to become slaves.

Now Zhang Shikang is about to lead the troops. War always involves risks. She is afraid that something might happen to Zhang Shikang, but she also knows that this is the emperor's order and he has to go.

So she didn't say anything, but that didn't mean she wasn't worried.

After her parents sold her to the Duke's Mansion, they never came to see her again. She had no relatives here, and her body was like a floating duckweed, with no place to rest in her heart.

Until Zhang Shikang suddenly changed his personality half a year ago, Chen Zhuer's heart seemed to have finally found a place to stay, but...

Zhang Shikang didn't say anything, but walked over and hugged Chen Zhuer in his arms.

"Go to sleep. Don't be afraid, I'm here." Zhang Shikang kissed Chen Zhuer on the forehead and comforted her softly.

"Young Master...you have to be careful." Chen Zhu'er bit her lip and whispered.

"Call me husband." Seeing Chen Zhuer's worried face, Zhang Shikang teased.

Chen Zhu'er was shy, and Zhang Shikang thought that this girl would not scream. Just as he was about to turn around, he heard Chen Zhu'er say softly:

"Master."

"Hahaha! Don't worry, the capital is safe with me here!" Upon hearing this, Zhang Shikang slightly bent his arms and showed a very powerful posture towards Chen Zhuer.

"Admiral Zhang, hurry up."

"I see. You're such an annoying person. What's the big deal about this little bit of time?"

Having said that, Zhang Shikang pushed open the door.

When Zhang Shikang, Li Fengxiang and the other two walked to the gate of the Duke's Mansion again, Zhang Zhiji, Sun, Zhang Shize and Zhang Jingyi were already waiting at the door.

"Dad, Mom, Brother, Jingyi, time is running out, I have to hurry to the palace, don't worry, I will send someone to notify you if anything happens."

Zhang Shikang knew that if he let them speak first, they would probably not be able to leave for a while, so he spoke quickly.

"Can……"

"Sir, state affairs are urgent."

Sun's eyes were already red, and she was about to speak, but the eunuch Li Fengxiang bowed to Zhang Zhiji first.

Zhang Zhiji held Sun in his right hand and waved at Li Fengxiang, signaling them to leave quickly.

Li Fengxiang and Zhang Shikang boarded the carriage one after another and rushed towards the palace. But behind them, they heard Sun's crying:

"Master, Shikang has just started leading the army, how can he fight?

War is so dangerous, what if something happens to our Shikang?

My son!

You are the Duke of England, so shouldn't you go first to the battlefield?"

……