At midnight on March 20th, Shi Kefa's residence in Nanjing.
"Mr. Jiang, news has been flying all over the sky in the past two days. Some say that the golden dragon has appeared, and some say that His Majesty will be granted the title of Grand Governor. It has made people panic. What do you think?"
In the study, Shi Kefa frowned and handed several secret letters compiled by his servants to Jiang Yueguang.
Jiang Yueguang took the secret letter and glanced at it, and said calmly: "I have also heard some rumors, but the golden dragon thing is too weird. I think it's just rumors spread by good people, so don't take it too seriously."
"It's just that the letter said that His Majesty has successively killed the emperor's relatives and nobles, and even the current king's father was beheaded, which is unbecoming of the emperor. We must remonstrate in the future, otherwise even if we defeat the rebels, we will not be able to clear up the source, and I fear that the country will still have no peace."
"As for what you said about the Grand Governor, it is probably a myth. After all, His Majesty has always respected the Heavenly Patriarch, so how could he possibly disobey the Grand Ancestor!"
Seeing that what he said was reasonable and well-founded, Shi Kefa nodded slightly and said: "What Mr. Jiang said is true, but Kefa was worried about the crisis in the capital. His Majesty made this plan in a panic. If those warriors take advantage of the loophole, the court may not be at peace."
"Although I have not received the imperial edict yet, it is rumored that His Majesty intends to let me command the troops south of the Yangtze River and march northward. Duke Jiang, do you think I should take action in advance?"
Jiang Yueguang pondered for a while and said: "King Qin has always been a matter for the northerners. If the southern army goes north, the time limit will be too low. Moreover, bandits are rampant in the south of the Yangtze River. If deterrence is lost, changes may occur, making the situation even more chaotic. .”
"Brother Ju's words make sense. He is worthy of being an ambassador admired by the Korean people and others. His knowledge is extraordinary!"
Just as Jiang Yueguang finished speaking, another deep voice came from outside the study.
Hearing this, Shi Kefa and Jiang Yueguang knew that Gao Hongtu was coming and hurriedly stood up to greet him.
Unexpectedly, besides Gao Hongtu, there was also an old man with gray hair and a young face at the door and a heroic young man.
Shi Kefa frowned when he recognized that the old man was Qian Qianyi, who was jokingly said to like "black hair and white flesh".
It turns out that Qian Qianyi married Liu Rushi, one of the eight famous prostitutes in Qinhuai, due to his lust for pleasure a few years ago, which caused widespread criticism and disrepute.
Fortunately, he did have some talent and learning, and he supported many younger generations in his early years, so after the concubine incident faded away, his reputation gradually recovered.
Seeing Shi Kefa's unkind expression at this moment, he knew that Shi Kefa's reputation was the most important thing, and his old face couldn't help but turn red again.
Seeing this, Gao Hongtu smiled and said: "Shi Shangshu, Brother Qian is here to give you advice today. You won't treat the wise men like this!"
Hearing this, Shi Kefa forced a smile and said: "What did Gao Gong say? Mr. Qian is a famous Confucian nowadays, but I can't even invite you. How dare you treat me like this when you come here today?"
After that, he pretended to be enthusiastic and invited everyone into the study.
Qian Qianyi saw that Shi Kefa's study was simple and elegant, which was very different from his Hongdou Restaurant. Especially the wooden chair under his buttocks was cold and stiff, which made him very uncomfortable.
He adjusted his sitting position without leaving a trace, and said to Shi Kefa respectfully: "Shi Shangshu, Mr. Qian came here today. He really has something important to tell you. Please don't take offense, Lord Shangshu!"
Although Shi Kefa despised Qian Yiqian as a person, he still admired his talents. Seeing how polite he was at this moment, he also smiled and said: "Mr. Qian, you are a contemporary scholar, and your knowledge must be extraordinary. Please give me your advice!"
Upon hearing this, Qian Qianyi said a few more humble words, and then said to the young man behind him: "Zheng Sen, tell me what you heard before!"
Zheng Sen bowed respectfully to everyone and said, "My fourth uncle just returned from transporting goods from the north yesterday. I heard that the Jurchens have raised their troops to go south..."
It turns out that in addition to regular maritime trade, the Zheng family in Fujian also sells some firearms.
Due to the tense situation in the north in recent months, Zheng Zhilong thought it would be profitable, so he asked Zheng Hongkui to purchase a batch of inferior firearms for sale in the north, so he knew the situation in the north very well.
And just last night, their fleet just sent the latest news about the capital.
After Zheng Hongkui confirmed the imperial edict of the Grand Governor, he immediately sent a letter to Zheng Sen, asking him to obtain a troop transfer document from the Nanjing Ministry of War, so that they could legitimately go to Beijing to serve the king.
After Zheng Sen got the news, he immediately found Qian Qianyi and asked him to help.
Qian Qianyi originally did not want to participate in this matter, but because he had received many benefits from the Zheng family before, he could not refuse, so he had to find Gao Hongtu through his connections and took the liberty to come to Shi Kefa's mansion.
After listening to Zheng Sen's story, Shi Kefa and others turned pale with fear.
Although they expected the crisis in the capital, they never expected it to be this severe.
Qian Qianyi, in particular, had previously thought that Zheng Sen was going to take advantage. Now that he knew how serious the situation in the north was, he immediately changed his mind and refused to ask Shi Kefa for documents on his behalf.
Zheng Sen couldn't help but feel disdain in his heart when he saw that everyone was in a panic and their words were not working out.
Seeing that Qian Qianyi was hesitant and did not speak for him, he immediately saluted Shi Kefa and said: "Shi Shangshu, Your Majesty is waiting for reinforcements in the capital as much as you are waiting for the rain. In the name of the Ministry of War, please mobilize my father to go and quell the rebellion!"
Shi Kefa had just calculated that although there were many soldiers and horses in the south of the Yangtze River, the Ministry of War could mobilize too few. When he was thinking about how to guide Gao Jie, Huang Degong and others to go north, he suddenly heard Zheng Sen's words and immediately stood up to help him up and said: "Your father has How many troops and horses?"
"It's okay, don't take this matter too hastily!"
At this time, Jiang Yueguang interrupted Shi Kefa and said: "According to Zheng Sen's words, His Majesty and Li Thief are now evenly matched. If we head north rashly, it is very likely to break the balance of the capital, which may harm Your Majesty."
When Shi Kefa heard this, he frowned and said, "What if we follow Mr. Jiang's opinion?"
Jiang Yueguang pondered for a while and said: "The capital city has high walls and strong walls. As long as it is properly defended, there should be no serious problems in the short term."
"However, in order to prevent the rebels from jumping over the wall in a hurry, we cannot put too much pressure on them. We might as well cut off the rebels from the periphery first. When the time is right, we can then send an elite force to attack the capital. Cooperating with His Majesty inside and outside, we will be able to relieve the capital's difficulties."
Hearing this, Qian Qianyi repeatedly echoed: "Brother Ju is really a seasoned advocate for the country. The most important thing now is to stabilize the south. If you let some scumbags with ulterior motives destroy the stability of the south, then it will be a big deal!"
Seeing that Qian Qianyi misinterpreted his meaning, Jiang Yueguang couldn't help but frowned. Just as he was about to speak, he heard a joking voice saying: "What an old man who plans a country, I think they are a group of people who are greedy for life and afraid of death." !”
As the words fell, a young man dressed as a Confucian scholar jumped down from the beam, glanced disdainfully at the people present, opened the window and jumped out.
Zheng Sen saw that the man was brave and agile, so he hurriedly chased him out.
