"City people, hurry up and open the city gate! Grandpa is back!"
"Wang Laoliu! Open the city gate quickly. Do you want to kill grandpa? You still owe grandpa three hundred taels of silver!"
"Then it's over. He owes you money. If he traps you to death outside, doesn't he not have to pay it back?"
"..."
There was chaos outside Xuzhou City. Some of the stragglers from the Southern Army returned to Xuzhou City in the dark, shouting loudly.
The soldiers who defended the city were extremely surprised, and the nobles who stayed in Xuzhou were panicked and anxious when they saw this situation.
Zhu Guobi, the protector of the country, looked at the shouting soldiers outside the city. He looked extremely flustered. He held his forehead and sighed: "What should we do?"
The nobles in Nanjing have more or less read military books for several years and know how to organize troops. If they are given one, two hundred or even a thousand men, they will command them very well.
However, the army in Xuzhou City is close to 100,000, while the entire Jiangnan region can produce 200,000 to 300,000 troops, which is far beyond their capabilities.
Therefore, in the face of Xu Da's command, whether it was Zhu Guobi, Zhu Zhilong or Xu Hongji, they all had nothing to lose. Without information warfare, they were full of confidence and planned to replicate the operations of famous ancient generals, so this situation occurred. .
Zhu Guobi was in a state of confusion, but at this moment, he saw troops under the banner of "Wei Guogong" in the distance approaching Xuzhou rapidly.
After seeing the flag of 'Wei Guogong', Zhu Guobi analyzed it carefully and couldn't tell whether it was the Wei Guogong on the opposite side or the Wei Guogong on his side, so he did not hesitate and ordered: "Bring me the telescope!"
A personal servant next to him immediately took the gold telescope that Zhu Guobi had purchased from a Westerner at a high price, and looked at the torch on the side of the flag. He vaguely saw a dejected Xu Hongji.
It's just that his whole body now looks miserable, with several red marks on his face, and the armor on his body has lost its former luster.
It's just that Xu Hongji is followed by a veteran who looks a bit familiar. The veteran is calm in the face of danger and has the air of a general.
Zhu Guobi didn't think much about it, he just thought he was a general of the Xu family, and he suddenly had a backbone.
Well, Xu Hongji, you don’t need to have experienced veterans around you, but you want to show off on your own! Is this a loss of troops and generals? Now hurry up and let the old general take charge of the big move to fight against the enemy!
Zhu Guobi decisively recognized Xu Da, who was holding Xu Hongji hostage, as a veteran of the Xu family, so he decisively wanted to invite this veteran general to take charge of the overall military situation in Xuzhou.
Compared with Xu Hongji, Zhu Guobi is still a bit self-aware.
But the only problem is... his vision doesn't seem to be very good.
"Open the city gate, open the city gate quickly!"
Following Zhu Guobi's instructions, the gates of Xuzhou City opened wide, and Xu Dadu, who had come holding Xu Hongji hostage, couldn't help but be stunned.
He hasn't shouted yet, so why is the city gate opened inside?
Under such an inexplicable situation, Zhu Guobi came to the city gate at the speed of light and smiled enthusiastically at Xu Hongji and Xu Da: "Wei Guogong has lost his troops this time. In the future, we must listen to the words of the old general!"
"Old General, I am Lord Protector Zhu Guobi. I neglected the old general earlier, so please don't blame me, old general."
Zhu Guobi was very courteous to the corporal, and then said to Xu Da: "Next, I hope the old general will command the military affairs, defeat the Xiaoxiao enemy outside the city, support King Fu on the throne, and defeat the Chongzhen child!"
Xu Hongji:......
When Xu Da heard this, his face was expressionless and he just asked: "Dong Baoguo? Who is the first ancestor of your family? Where is the family originally?"
Hearing Xu Da's question, Zhu Guobi was a little puzzled, but he still said proudly: "My family originated from the Yongle Dynasty, and our ancestor is Zhu Qian, a native of Xiayi!"
When Xu Da heard this, he nodded seriously, and then under the puzzled gaze of Duke Bao, he turned around and shouted: "Is there anyone named Zhu Qian here?"
After a long silence, a general who looked quite strong stood up and said: "General Qi, the last general left behind to guard the left guard and command the general Zhu Yan. His native place is Xiayi. The last son's eldest son is named Zhu Qian. , but now it’s sixteen years old…”
Xu Da nodded and said calmly: "He should be a descendant of Qin. Your eldest son is not bad. He can be made a Duke. This boy will teach you a lesson."
Zhu Guobi:?
While Zhu Guobi looked confused, Xu Hongji had already shown compassion... and a bit of gloating.
"Immediately report the results of the battle to your majesties. Xuzhou has been conquered!"
…
In August, the blazing wind had swept across the entire Central Plains, but officials at all levels on the border of Shandong discovered a huge army marching straight towards Qufu.
Zhu Houcong was sitting in the Longhu, holding the battle report from Xuzhou in his hand. He couldn't help but feel a little surprised, but he also felt that this was expected.
I don't know if the Nanjing court is too weak, or Xu Da is too strong, or a combination of both.
All in all, it only took Xu Da three days to capture the important military town of Xuzhou, defeat the main force of the Southern Army, and capture the city of Xuzhou. After a short rest in Xuzhou, he merged with Huang Degong's 30,000 legion troops from Huai'an. Continue towards Nanjing.
From this point of view, Nanjing does not actually need to do it on its own, it only needs to reach the most loyal Nanjing.
Zhu Houcong thought calmly.
The Nanjing court...
Since Zhu Di moved the capital, the northern and southern capitals have been in a state of separation for a long time. The indulgent life of Nanjing nobles and nobles naturally formed two completely different situations from Beijing. The emperor's decrees were difficult to promote in the Jiangnan area.
Therefore, whether in Zhu Houcong's Jiajing Dynasty or now Zhu Youjian's Chongzhen Dynasty, the army marched towards Nanjing, suppressing everything with absolute force, hoping to free the people of Jiangnan from the exploitation of the nobles.
Suddenly a horse galloped from a distance, bringing up billows of smoke, and quickly reported it to the general accompanying the army. When Yu Dayou heard the words, he immediately rode over and reported to Zhu Houhuang:
"Your Majesty, outside the city of Qufu, King Lu, King De and King Heng, together with hundreds of officials, are here to greet His Majesty in Yanzhou!"
Zhu Houcong was slightly surprised when he heard this.
He is now close to Qufu. Qufu is located in Yanzhou Prefecture, but it is not controlled by Yanzhou Prefecture. Its relationship is somewhat similar to that of Beijing and Hebei. It is an independent place and only belongs to the territory of Yan Shenggong's Confucius family.
When he arrived at Yanzhou, it was natural that King Lu of Yanzhou would be aware of it, but it was strange that King Heng of Qingzhou and King De of Jinan also came to greet him.
The vassal kings in Shandong during the Ming Dynasty were the three vassals of Lu, Heng, and De. As for the Qi vassal, they were deposed as early as the Yongle period, so there were only these three vassal kings in Shandong.
Of these three vassal kings, Zhu Yihai, King of Lu in Yanzhou, was a very enterprising vassal king. After Chongzhen was hanged on Meishan Mountain in history, he actively monitored the country in Shaoxing. Unfortunately, his talent points seemed to be wrong. They had to compete with the Tang King who was proclaimed emperor in Fujian to see who was the orthodox one. In the end, these two guys were killed by Jian Nu...
Jinan Dewang Zhu Youjue, an ordinary vassal king, was the key target of the slave-building attack. The previous generation of Dewang, his brother, was captured by the slave-building slaves in the twelfth year of Chongzhen and died outside the Great Wall.
And he was luckier than his brother. He was not arrested and taken outside the Great Wall. He just surrendered on the spot and didn't know what he did. Anyway, he died two years later.
It is worth mentioning that the first generation of King De was the second son of Zhu Qizhen, Yingzong of the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, the sixth generation of King De was captured by Jiannu and died outside the Great Wall. This can be regarded as a re-enactment of the classic operation of the ancestor, and Zhu Qizhen's matching degree is much higher than that of the boss Zhu Jianshen.
And Qingzhou's Heng Wang Zhu Youyi is even more of a heavyweight.
Qingzhou is an important military town in Shandong, but King Heng actively surrendered. He had already surrendered before Li Zicheng came. Li Zicheng sent a general to take over Qingzhou. Li Shiyuan, a loyal minister beside King Heng, decisively killed Li Zicheng's general, and Find King Heng and persuade him to proclaim himself emperor and resist the invasion of Jiannu Manchuria.
As a result, King Heng expressed his resignation and decisively surrendered after the Qing army came. He was killed by the Qing court on the grounds of rebellion the following year.
Hearing that the three vassal kings came to ask for an audience, Zhu Houcong couldn't help but sneered. He looked at the majestic Qufu City that vaguely appeared in his sight through the curtain of Longhu. He couldn't help but smile softly and looked at Lu Bing. Said: "Order Lu Fan, De Fan and Heng Fan to wait in Qufu City and gather the entire Kong family!"
After saying that, Zhu Houcong seemed to be talking to himself, and also seemed to say to Lu Bing:
"The saint's legacy must be beheaded today."
When Lu Bing heard this sentence, he was so shocked that he couldn't believe his ears.
When he was in the main hall last time, he only heard that Zhu Houcong was going to deal with Yan Shenggong, but he didn't expect that he would be so helpful.
The legacy of the saint.
This name is too big and resounding. Under the pressure of successive dynasties, the Confucius family in Qufu has developed a trend that is almost mythical. Even if Yan Shenggong commits a crime, in most cases, only Yan Shenggong will be held accountable. It is the responsibility of one person, and the title and treatment will not be reduced. Instead, another person will continue to serve as Duke Yan, truly achieving hereditary substitution.
After hearing Zhu Houcong's words, Lu Bing was both worried and excited.
However, since it is His Majesty's will, all members of the Jinyiwei should give their full support. Even if the Kong family is slaughtered, he, Lu Bing, is willing to be the first to wield the butcher knife for His Majesty Jiajing of the Ming Dynasty!
