In the night, a luxurious boat belonging to Zheng Sen was slowly passing by on the Qinhuai River.
Zhu Cixiang was on his way back to Dakongfang from Yumen Pavilion. Dagongfang is close to the Qinhuai River. An artificially excavated waterway connects the Qinhuai River and the back lake of Dagongfang, so that the owners of Dagongfang can quietly sneak out of the Duke's Mansion, which is deeper than the East China Sea, and transform into Jinling talents and swim. On the Qinhuai River.
However, Zhu Cixiang had no intention of admiring the night view of Qinhuai at this time. He just smiled and looked at Hou Fangyu who was sitting opposite him and tasting wine.
Hou Fangyu didn't make any high-profile remarks at tonight's Baimen Pavilion gathering, but when Zhu Cihong left, he quietly followed him up to pay his respects.
"Master Chitose, the student also has something to offer."
Zhu Cixi chuckled, "What good ideas does Chaozong have?"
"Students know that the Marquis of Wuchang has an adopted daughter named Mengmei, who is seventeen years old and has the appearance of a fish and a goose. Your Highness may wish to order Wuchang to choose Mengmei to serve in the palace."
The Marquis of Wuchang mentioned by Hou Fangyu was Zuo Liangyu. Before the "Nanjing Eunuch Rebellion", Zhu Cihong made him the vassal of Wuchang, and also divided Huguang into two parts, making Zuo Liangyu in charge of Wuchang and Huangzhou, the general manager of Hubei. , Chengtian, Yuezhou, De'an, Jingzhou and other six government military and political affairs.
However, when Zhu Cihong conferred the title of Zuo Liangyu, he also appointed He Tengjiao and Chang Yanling to serve as governors of Hunan and the commander-in-chief of the Hunan garrison. He also appointed Li Yan, Fengsan, and Chen Yingyuan to take charge of the military and political affairs of Runing Prefecture in Henan. He also appointed Liu Kongzhao to serve as governor of Jiujiang. Defense, contain the left side from three aspects: east, south and north.
Therefore, Zuo Liangyu would not be satisfied with Zhu Cihong, the Prince of Fujun. Therefore, he ignored Zhu Cihong's order to arrest Huang Shu, the leader of the eunuch party, and protected Huang Shu as his own dog-headed military advisor.
Zhu Cixi smiled and said, "If the Marquis of Wuchang really wants to take action, why would he care about an adopted daughter?"
Hou Fangyu shook his head and said, "Master Qiansui, the Marquis of Wuchang is old and sick, so it is really difficult to do anything. As far as the students know, Wuchang Marquis and his subordinates are now planning for the future.
Most of the princes of Wuchang were killed in the Xuzhou Rebellion. Now they only have one son, Menggeng, and their adopted daughter Mengmei. If the Marquis of Wuchang dies, the only person who is eligible to inherit the throne, besides Zuo Mengeng, is Zuo Mengmei's husband. "
Zhu Cixiang smiled and said, "Mengmei is not Liangyu's daughter, and her husband and son-in-law are even more distant from Liangyu. How can we lead them?"
Hou Fangyu said, "It depends on people! If Master Qiansui accepts Mengmei as his concubine, the students and their fathers can campaign for Master Qiansui among the Marquis of Wuchang's army, win over the generals, and lobby the Marquis of Wuchang to send Zuo Menggeng to the court. As long as Menggeng enters the court, Wuchang The crowd is leaderless and can only be used by Chitose."
Is it that easy?
Although Zhu Cixiang knew that Hou Xun and Zuo Liangyu had a close relationship, he was still skeptical.
"Just give it a try."
After thinking for a long time, Zhu Cixiang nodded. Zuo Liangyu's troops were said to be one million, so the water content was huge, but there should be tens of thousands of people capable of fighting, right? This army is located between Jiang and Han, so it is always a huge hidden danger. However, to contact the threats on the left, you cannot use Hou Fangyu's methods. This kid's method will only disintegrate the Zuo Army and turn the Zuo Army from a big trouble into a bunch of small troubles.
He thought for a while and asked, "Who will go to Wuchang to declare the decree?"
Hou Fangyu shook his head and said, "Don't announce the decree yet. On the pretext of visiting a doctor, the student will go to Wuchang to have secret discussions with the Marquis of Wuchang. If the Marquis of Wuchang is interested, it will not be too late to issue the edict again."
Zhu Cixiang said, "That's very good, but Chaozong, please don't mention Zuo Menggeng's entry into the court. You should also contact Zuo Menggeng and tell him that I know that the Marquis of Wuchang is old and dim, and he will rely more on him for military and government affairs in the west in the future." Meng Geng.
In addition, if you ask Zuo Menggeng, is he interested in becoming the Duke of Shu? "
"The Duke of Shu?"
Zhu Cixiang nodded and said with a smile, "Prince of the vassal state of Shu! There are tens of thousands of warriors on the left who dare to fight. They defeated the Xian thieves before and forced the Xian thieves to flee westward into Shu. If Zuo Menggeng can send his troops into Shu after Liang Yu's death, Shu, if the traitor Xian is defeated, I will make him the Duke of Shu and rule this land forever!"
Hou Fangyu thought for a while, then cupped his hands and said, "Qiansui Master is still wise, and the students admire him!"
Zhu Cixiang smiled and said, "I just want to treat you with sincerity. It's hard to say whether Zuo Menggeng will accept this favor or not.
By the way, Chaozong, don't stay in Wuchang for too long. It will be bad if you miss Enke next spring. Although this palace can directly grant you an official position, the civil servants of this dynasty are still considered to be Jinshi. You will be twenty-seven next year, and you should be awarded the title of Jinshi! "
Hou Fangyu was moved in his heart, and he quickly stood up and kowtowed.
Zhu Cixiang waved his hand and said, "No need to thank me. I know your knowledge. Why can't you get a Jinshi? In the past, it was delayed because Mr. Hou was wrongly imprisoned. This time, you will definitely win."
Just as Zhu Cihong and Hou Fangyu were talking, the painting boat had slowly sailed into the back lake of Dakongfang and stopped steadily beside a stone pier.
Zhu Cihong and Hou Fangyu came out of the cabin together, and were startled when they suddenly saw Zhu Chunjie, the commander of the Jinyi Guards, standing on the dock waiting.
It's almost midnight now. Why did Zhu Chunjie come to Dakongfang if he can't sleep well? Could there be another traitor?
Zhu Cixiang turned to Hou Fangyu and Zheng Sen and said, "Chaozong, senior brother, let's say goodbye today. Please go back."
The shores of the back lake of Dakongfang all belong to the "inner house", which is Zhu Cihong's harem. It was inconvenient for Hou Fangyu and Zheng Sen to enter, so they could only stay on the boat.
Zhu Chunjie, the commander of the Imperial Guard, has a special job, so he can naturally report important matters at any time.
After Zhu Cihong came ashore, he waved to Zhu Chunjie, and then walked quickly to a courtyard by the lake. There are Jingjun and guards standing guard at the moon gate of the small courtyard, and inside is the bedroom of Zhu Cixiang and Wu Sanmei.
Wu Sanmei, who was pregnant with Liujia, had already gone to bed, and Zhu Cihong took Zhu Chunjie into his study.
"Master Qiansui, Commander Luo reported secretly!" Zhu Chunjie looked extremely solemn. He took out an envelope and handed it to Zhu Cihong with both hands.
Zhu Cixiang took the envelope, took out a crumpled piece of letter paper inside, and read it by the dim candlelight.
At first glance, his expression changed drastically!
"What? They want to sell Li Zicheng, why are they so stupid!"
It turns out that this is a wax pill letter sent by Luo Xiushen from Datong! The letter talked about Wang Yongji and Jiang Quan's alliance with Qing Tushun.
This was really beyond Zhu Cixiang's expectation! He originally thought that several people in Datong Mansion still knew what "the lips are dead and the teeth are cold".
Once Li Zicheng withdraws from Shanxi, can Datong survive alone?
"Master Qiansui, why don't I take a trip to Datong!" Zhu Chunjie asked.
"No need." Zhu Cixiang waved his hand, "It's too late. Now let's see if Luo Xiu Shen is smart enough to tell Li Zicheng about Donglu's borrowed passage."
Zhu Chunjie shook his head and said, "It's not a good idea to tell him. If Li Zicheng knew that Datong would join forces with Donglu to attack him, he might abandon Taiyuan and leave!"
Zhu Cixiang’s brows tightened, that’s right! Once Li Zicheng escapes, the situation in the north will become more difficult.
Thinking of this, Zhu Cixiang sighed and remained silent without saying a word.
In the first year of Yongchang, on the tenth day of October, in Taihang Mountain, Shanxi.
In the distance, near Jiuguanguan City, there was smoke and fire, and the military flags fluttering in the wind could be vaguely seen. Wu Sangui's Guanning Army artillery team was bombarding the city gate with four Hongyi cannons brought from Ningyuan. There are also some musketeers and archers firing projectiles and rockets. Trying to suppress the Dashun Army's children's camp guarding Jiuguanguan City.
Li Zicheng looked far away from the top of a mountain. From time to time, pond horses flew under the hillside, loudly reporting the battle situation ahead. Li Zicheng looked around with a telescope and found that there were a large number of Qing troops east of Jiuguan. However, judging from their uniforms and flags, those Qing troops were not real prisoners, but Wu Sangui's Guan Ning army.
Starting from the battle of a stone in April, the Dashun Army faced off against the Guan Ning Army in a series of defeats!
Now facing Wu Sangui again, Li Zicheng had to be cautious. He did not dare to choose a field battle. Instead, he relied on the Great Wall of Guguan and the Jiuguan (Old Guguan) ten miles east of Guguan to deploy defenses, preparing to use defensive warfare to consume it first. The enemy then turns to counterattack. Attracting more Qing troops to the Guguan Jingxing area.
In this way, the extraordinary troops he placed in Zezhou can show off their talents!
