The palace had been prepared a long time ago. It was not located in Dagukou City, but was located in a large manor on a small island at the mouth of the Wei River.
This manor originally belonged to a hereditary military attache family in Sanwei, Tianjin. A few years ago, it was purchased by Shen Tingyang, who was responsible for Liaodong's salary and grain shipping, and repaired it. A dock, warehouse, and market were also built on the island. Obviously it is going to be run as a commercial town.
It's a pity that the world is not so good, and this real estate investment has obviously lost money.
But the property is not without its faults. The island terrain surrounded by water was an excellent refuge for the Ming Dynasty court in exile. Because neither Liuthi nor Donglu have navy, it would be difficult for them to land on the island when the Wei River is not frozen.
Therefore, after Su Guansheng learned that Chongzhen and Zhu Cixiang had fled Beijing and were about to arrive at Dagukou, he immediately ordered people to blockade the small island called Haisha Island, and also asked the Shen Family Manor on the island to be ready to pick them up. .
Since there is also a pier on Haisha Island where large sand ships can dock, Chongzhen and his son boarded the ship again to Haisha Island. The officials who greeted him at the Dagukou Shipping Terminal walked to the ferry, where he took a ferry to the island.
Su Guansheng and Wang Zhixin were also called by Zhu Cixiang to board the sand boat that he and Chongzhen were riding - it was not the Dalongtou, but another sand boat of similar size, which was originally used by Chongzhen, Empress Zhou, and Empress Zhang. Zhu Cihong only transferred to the ship when the fleet was about to arrive at Dagokou, so as to make himself look more like a filial son.
On the way to Haisha Island, Zhu Cixiang sent Wang Zhixin to report to Chongzhen about the situation in Dagukou, while he took Su Guansheng and Shen Tingyang to stand on the bow deck of the ship, looking at the terrain and discussing where the imperial court would stay. What happened in Dagukou.
"Your Highness, doesn't the imperial court want Nanxing to stay in the capital?" Su Guansheng was a little surprised by Zhu Cixi's suggestion that the imperial court should stay in Dagukou. "Although there is no northwest wind now, there is still a southwest wind. As long as the southwest wind blows, the ship will The team can reach Penglai or Dengzhou in one day."
"Your Highness," Shen Tingyang also said, "Ship travel in the Bohai Sea actually runs east-west, as long as there is southeast or southwest wind. Therefore, it is very convenient for sand ships to travel between Dagukou, Penglai and Dengzhou."
Zhu Cixi smiled and said, "Since it's convenient, what's the point of worrying? Let's stay in Dagukou for a month... By the way, is there enough food? Are there any soldiers and horses coming with me? There are nearly 20,000 people, as well as accompanying officials and common people, the total number is no less than 30,000. Are there many people here in Dagukou? We can’t survive without food!"
"It's enough to eat," Su Guansheng said. "Not only is it enough to eat, it's impossible to finish it! Because of the war in the north, now the water transportation only goes to Huai'an, and then it goes northward by sea. The grain collected last year was shipped to the southeast this spring. It was brought by the wind, and it took two months to reach Dagukou, and there was no time for transshipment. Currently, there are no less than 500,000 shi of grain piled at Dagukou!"
"Half a million stones?" When Zhu Cixiang heard this number, he couldn't hide the smile on his face. "Are they all well preserved?"
"They are all well preserved!" Su Guansheng said, "There are many shipping warehouses here in Dagukou, which can store grain for a long time... In addition, there are also shipping warehouses in Dengzhou City, where there are still two to three hundred thousand stones of grain and grain stored there. More than one million taels of silver."
"There are more than one million taels of silver?" The smile on Zhu Cixiang's face became even brighter.
He was spending money like water these days, and the more than four million taels he had on hand couldn't last long.
"Yes, that's the tax money and extra money to be transferred to the Ministry of Household Affairs," Su Guansheng said. "If the capital hadn't suffered a military disaster, it would have arrived by now."
It turns out that Emperor Chongzhen's pockets were empty because he happened to catch up with a period of drought. In the autumn of the 16th year of Chongzhen's reign, before the silver and grain collected from the southeast could be transported to Beijing, Li Zicheng's army arrived!
"Okay, okay!" Zhu Cixiang nodded repeatedly, thinking: It seems that he has to send a trustworthy person to be the governor of Denglai. Dengzhou is also a fortified city built on the sea. If managed properly, it can become a stronghold in the north to resist the Qing Dynasty.
However, he and Emperor Chongzhen cannot go to Dengzhou yet, because the reform of the imperial court has not yet begun!
Without a court that can handle things, the prince Zhu Cixiang can't display his great abilities!
Besides, how did I come to be the Prince of Fujun and the marshal of the world's military? He took it from Chongzhen after scaring him unconscious with a sword! This was done at Huangjimen in front of the civil and military officials of the court...
Therefore, if possible, Zhu Cihong had to stay in Dagukou with the court. By staying in Dagukou, everyone would feel a little nervous and there would be less resistance to reform and other things.
"Su Bingbei," Zhu Cixiang thought of this and asked Su Guansheng with a smile, "I heard that you have the nickname of "Three Don'ts". You claim you don't want an official position, money, or life. Is this true?"
Su Guansheng was a little embarrassed and his face turned slightly red, "Your Highness, that was a joke among colleagues."
"Haha," Zhu Cixiang said with a smile, "but your officials are really good, capable of doing their jobs, and they are not afraid of offending people... This time, we have to block the entrance of Dagu to prevent a boat from floating away in the sea." Very good! I admire officials like you most!"
The prince wants to promote me? Su Guansheng was not a brainless person. He immediately understood what Zhu Cihong meant and looked at his good friend Shen Tingyang. Shen Tingyang nodded at him and gave him another thumbs up.
Su Guansheng withdrew his gaze and immediately bowed to Zhu Cixiang, "I am willing to die for the Ming Dynasty!"
Zhu Cixiang stretched out his hand to help Su Guansheng up and said with a smile: "No need to talk about death! All loyal ministers and good generals of the Ming Dynasty must live well and live a long life. Let the rogue Tatars die early!"
He paused: "I will not use a loyal minister like Su Qing to die...Su Bingbei, do you think Dengzhou is a place to die?"
"This..." Su Guansheng thought for a moment, "I think that as long as we have the sea route in hand and three to two thousand elite soldiers equipped with turtle-dove-footed muskets and red-coated cannons, Dengzhou will be a fortified city that will never fall!"
"Good!" Zhu Cixiang raised his thumb and said in approval, "You are indeed a good soldier! Su Qing, tell me the truth, can you be the governor of Denglai?"
Are you going to be the governor? Su Guansheng's heart twitched... Can this crown prince really make himself the governor?
Zhu Cixiang saw that he was speechless, and then continued: "I have received reliable information that the Eastern pirates are about to invade in large numbers. And with the strength of the rogue pirates and their various perverse actions after they invaded the capital, we can imagine that they will be defeated.
And if the bandits are defeated, the imperial court will be unable to cheer up for a while, and the Eastern barbarians will inevitably occupy the capital and Beizhili... Shandong will be the frontline of the resistance against the bandits and the barrier to the southeast. And Dengzhou is a major stronghold in Shandong's resistance against the Japanese. It can not only support Shandong, but also deter Liaodong, North Korea and North Zhili Haikou across the sea! As long as Dengzhou is with me, Donglu will not be able to go south with all his strength!
Su Bingbei, can you manage Dengzhou for me, for the Ming Dynasty, and for the world? "
After listening to Zhu Cixiang's words, Su Guansheng also admired the prince's strategic vision.
Because he was in charge of the Tianjin Guards Navy, he had a very good understanding of the battle situation in Liaodong. He also knew that the Eight Banners soldiers of the Eastern Banners were powerful, far superior to the Guan Ning army, and the rogue bandits would definitely not be able to defeat them.
And there is no way Donglu would give up this opportunity to take advantage of the chaos to take over Yanyun! Therefore, there must be a decisive battle between the Donglu and the rogue bandits, and the rogue bandits will definitely lose.
After the rogue bandits are defeated, Shandong will be the forefront of the Ming Dynasty's resistance to the Donglu... and Dengzhou is undoubtedly the most important stronghold in Shandong!
With Dengzhou in hand, the Donglu had to deploy Eight Banners troops in Liaodong, Beizhili and other places in Shandong. The number of Eight Banners soldiers is limited. If one is deployed in Liaodong, North Zhili and Shandong, there will be one less Eight Banners soldier that can be used to attack Jiangnan!
Zhu Cixiang took a liking to Dengzhou at a glance, which showed that the prince's knowledge of military affairs was far better than that of his father, Emperor Chongzhen.
Thinking of this, Su Guansheng made the following determination, "Your Highness, I am willing to run Dengzhou for the Ming Dynasty! However, I don't have Lu Division in my hands, so I am afraid that I will not be able to control Denglai..."
Zhu Cihong patted Su Guansheng on the shoulder and said with a smile: "You hand over the navy to Shen Tingyang, and I will send the army to you... I will give you 7,000 soldiers, all of whom are new troops from the Generalissimo of Fujun. Those who fought against the bandits in Tianjin Wei!
In addition, all the grain stored in Dengzhou will be given to you, and 300,000 taels of silver will be allocated to you, allowing you to recruit new troops and purchase muskets and gunpowder on your own. "
