Zhang Huangyan and Wang Xi saw one person coming over and said, "Two gentlemen, our Hou Ye is invited." When Zhang Huangyan heard that it was the Hou Ye, he felt that it should be a certain general from Kuidong who had returned, and said busily: "If you have work, we will go over." As he spoke, he called Wang Xi and walked towards the group of people who had just come in.

At this time, Zhu Dashan and the others had already dismounted, and when they saw the two literati coming, they all looked at these two people. After the guards came to Zhu Dashan, they introduced to Zhang Huangyan: "This is Zhu Youdong, the governor of our Restoration Army. Then he introduced Li Laiheng, Yuan Zongdi and others, Zhang Huangyan heard the names of several people, only to find that several of the most powerful people in Kuidong had arrived. Hurriedly smiled and said to Yuan Zongdi and the others: "It turns out that the princes of Kuidong have arrived. Xiaguan Zhang Huangyan is fortunate to meet you, it is really a great joy in life. ”

Zhu Dashan was shocked when he heard this, and said, "What? Are you Zhang Huangyan? Didn't you lose in Nanjing? Zhang Huangyan turned his head to look at Zhu Dashan, but his expression was not friendly: "The king of Yanping County retreated in a hurry, and he didn't come to inform me to wait, but fortunately, there were local righteous people who rescued me, and I escaped the pursuit of the Qing soldiers." By mistake, I came to Kuidong. You're a Pingyu, right, but you said you were a member of the Ming Sect? What proof do you have to pretend to be a clansman? Zhang Huangyan is very concerned about the orthodoxy of the Ming Dynasty, when Zhang Huangyan supported the Lu Wang regime in Zhejiang and Fujian, the Tang Dynasty regime was in the dark, and they made wishes to each other, and the fighting for the wall was in full swing, and even the Qing soldiers did not have time to scruple when they came over, and then let the Qing army easily destroy the Tang King and the Lu King regime.

However, this can't be blamed alone, and the Lu Wang regime supported by this Zhang Huangyan is still in the north, almost being attacked on both sides, and being attacked by the Qing army and the Tang regime from the north and south. When the two regimes were fighting fiercely, the Guiwang regime appeared in Guangdong, which was later the Yongli regime. The internal friction between the various regimes allowed the Qing army to quickly break through, resulting in a large area of the Southern Ming Dynasty being easily occupied by the Qing army. Although there are disputes between various regimes, the anti-Qing heart and the will to restore the Ming Dynasty of these ministers are undeniable, and the importance of this Huangyan to the orthodoxy of the Ming Dynasty cannot be ignored.

Zhu Dashan didn't expect Zhang Huangyan to ask about his identity as soon as they met, since Zhu Dashan decided to recognize this clan, almost every person he saw had to explain what his clan identity was. This was very troublesome for Zhu Dashan, who just wanted to fight against the Qing Dynasty wholeheartedly, and now he saw that Zhang Huangyan's words were full of suspicion and questioning like an interrogation. Zhu Dashan immediately snorted coldly and said, "If Master Zhang thinks that Zhu is pretending to be a clan, then he is pretending." If you want to go back to Zhejiang, I will send someone to escort you to Zhejiang when the conditions allow, if you want to leave by yourself, then please do so. After finishing speaking, he shook his hand and went directly to the county office.

Zhang Huangyan didn't expect Zhu Dashan to leave angrily because of his question. At this time, Wu Erchang and Wu Zhiqi ran to see Yuan Zongdi, and now that Yuan Zongdi knew Zhang Huangyan's identity, he didn't blame them, but just told them to train well, and then let them leave.

Hao Yongzhong and Yuan Zongdi were attached to He Tengjiao, who was orthodox to the Tang Dynasty, so as soon as they saw Zhu Dashan leaving, they followed. Leaving only Liu Tichun and Li Laiheng in the same place, Li Laiheng said to Zhang Huang with a smile: "Don't be angry, Lord Zhang, this Pingyuhou has always hated the disputes between the various clans of the Ming Dynasty, and in such a short period of time, in order to reorganize the Kuidong army, Pingyuhou has to defend the identity of this clan many times almost every day. He was also disgusted in his heart, so he asked Lord Zhang for a lot of understanding. ”

Zhang Huangyan hurriedly said: "The public words of the Anhui Kingdom have passed, if Ping Yuhou is really the Daming Sect, it is too late for me Zhang Huangyan to be happy, and now the Daming Sect is withering, and most of them have been killed." By the way, I heard that the Xiangwang family had all been martyred in Xiangyang that year, and Zhu Changcheng, who later fled to Jiujiang, was named the Xiangwang by the Hongguang Dynasty, but I didn't hear that there were descendants of the Xiangwang family in other places. ”

Li Laiheng saw that Zhang Huangyan still didn't believe it, so he said: "This Pinghou is said to be the son of Zhu Changgan, the king of Jinxian who escaped from Xiangyang. Ping Yuhou fled all the way to Boryeong, and then rebelled against the Qing Dynasty in Boryeong. Speaking of Li Laiheng, he admired it a little and said: "It is really not easy to do this business with nothing." ”

Zhang Huang said: "In this way, isn't it impossible to verify Ping Yuhou's life experience? Li Laiheng said: "Ping Yuhou also knows this, he said, now that the emperor is in Yunnan, we can only rescue the emperor as soon as possible." But if there is really such a day, when the world needs him to carry it, he will not refuse or refuse. Zhang Huang said: "He still has the heart to covet the world." ”

At this time, Liu Tichun also felt that Zhang Huangyan was a little too much and said: "I don't know if Lord Zhang wants orthodoxy or the world, can you make the whole world sink for your orthodoxy?" Let the Han people all over the world suffer for no reason? Liu Tichun's words are a bit heavy, this is to put the responsibility for the sinking of the world on Zhang Huangyan.

Zhang Huangyan couldn't accept this, so he had to say: "I didn't mean that, I just wanted to find out the life experience of this Ping Hou." Li Laiheng saw that Zhu Dashan and the others had gone away, so he said: "Okay, what's the use of talking about these now, let's go to the county government quickly." See if you can do something about it. ”

A few people walked to the county government at this time, and Zhang Huangyan asked Liu Tichun as he walked: "I see that you are in a hurry, do you have any military information?" Liu Tichun glanced at Zhang Huangyan and sighed: "It's not because of you and Prince Yanping, if you can inform us earlier, we can also cooperate with you." When he heard that you had been defeated in Nanjing, he was annoyed. Zhang Huangyan said curiously: "What is this Pingyu waiting for annoyance?" Nanjing and Sichuan are thousands of miles apart."

Li Laiheng took over the words and said: "Lord Zhang didn't know, at that time, Pingyu Hou said that if he had known that you and the king of Yanping County were going to attack Nanjing, even if you didn't want to fight Baoning, you would also send troops to Huguang, and then cut off the entire Jiangshan along the Yangtze River, and the main force of the Qing army entered the southwest, and most of the others gathered in Nanjing. In this way, the entire land south of the Yangtze River, the Qing army is empty, and at this time, several families join forces to the south, and half of the Ming Dynasty is at your fingertips. ”

Zhang Huangyan was taken aback and said: "This.... This is such a big breath, he really dares to say it. Wang Xi said in a cold sweat behind him: "Did Ping Yuhou really say that? Zhang Huangyan looked at Wang Xi strangely and said, "Why do you think this is possible?" ”

Wang Xi said a little unnaturally: "It's too likely, the Qing Dynasty is now in Huguang, and the garrison in Jiangxi only has the local green battalion and water division." Zheng Rebellion... Oh, when Zheng successfully attacked Jiangning, the entire Liangjiang could not draw troops, and it was all supported by troops cobbled together from all over the country. If it is really like this plan, I estimate that the whole of Jiangnan has changed now. ”

When Zhang Huangyan heard this, he immediately regretted that he had not contacted other anti-Qing forces too much. Liu Tichun was also taken aback and said: "It can't be true, we all thought it was Ping Yuhou's whimsical idea, but now it seems that it is really as Ping Yuhou expected." Several people felt a little unbelievable when they heard it, and then they hurried to the county office.

Zhu Dashan came to the county government angrily and saw that Hong Yuao was sorting out the resettlement of family members in various places. Then he said: "Liusheng, how are the families of the soldiers being settled now?" "This Hong Yuao was attached to the Tang Dynasty regime as a living being, and then supervised Kuidong. Therefore, he himself is also very disgusted with the clan disputes in various places, and at the same time, he has also adjusted the previous grievances and disputes of the generals of Kuidong countless times before, and often feels powerless. Therefore, as soon as Zhu Dashan arrived in Kuidong, he wanted to reorganize the army and gather all the anti-Qing forces, and he greatly agreed. also vigorously supported Zhu Dashan, so that Zhu Dashan saved a lot of effort for Kuidong's army, and Zhu Dashan also directly regarded Hong Yuao as a confidant. So it has always been called Hong Yuao, and Hong Yuao is happy to accept it.

Hong Yuao saw Zhu Dashan coming in, so he said: "Lord Hou is back, now the families of the soldiers from all over the country have been almost settled, and those who are willing to go to Baoning have all set off, and those who are unwilling to go, now there are soldiers of the Restoration Army attacking the county seat, and the nearby land is relatively sufficient, and they are all settled on the spot." ”

Zhu Dashan nodded and said: "Well, as long as it is settled, we can settle the families of the soldiers and prevent their families from being harmed, then the morale of the soldiers will rise, which will also be of great help to the combat effectiveness of the army." ”

Hong Yuao said with a smile: "Yes, in the past, when the soldiers of Kuidong went out, they were all worried about something at home. Whenever there is the slightest movement, everyone wants to run home. After the resettlement of the family members during this time, I saw that the morale of the soldiers was very high. The siege of the city and the land is also full of strength, and everyone seems to be dying. Then seeing Zhu Dashan puffing up a little angrily, he said: "What's the matter, what is the trouble that Hou Ye encountered?" ”

Zhu Dashan said: "Isn't there a civil official?" , it's that Zhang Huangyan. Hong Yuao said with a smile: "I was about to talk to the Hou Ye about this, this Zhang Huangyan is the military department of the imperial court, if he can be in Kuidong, it will be of great help to me in Kuidong." He is very familiar with military affairs, and he is much better than my half-bucket of water. ”

Zhu Dashan said: "No matter how familiar you are with military affairs, it is useless not to think about the military. These people know all day long what to say about orthodoxy and righteousness. None of them are pragmatic and want to do things, but they are just a rhetorical rotten Confucian. Hong Yuao said strangely: "No, I have come into contact with this Huangyan, he is a person with practical talents, not comparable to those rotten Confucians who are full of empty words." ”

As Hong Yuao was talking, Li Laiheng and the others came in. Seeing Zhu Dashan looking at this map from the side, Li Laiheng said: "Pingyuhou, your idea is right, the Qing army is really empty in Huguang and other places." Zhu Dashan didn't raise his head and said, "What? Lin Zhuang has another piece of information coming from there? ”

Li Laiheng said: "No, it was said by this adult." As he spoke, he pointed to Wang Xi. Zhu Dashan was stunned and said, "Who is he?" How did he know? Zhang Huang said: "He is Wang Xi, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites of the Manchu Qing Dynasty. Zhu Dashan stared at Wang Xi suddenly and said, "The Book of Rites of the Qing Dynasty? How did you run in? ”

Zhang Huang said: "It's a long story to say how Lord Wang came, but he does know that the Manchu Qing forces in Huguang are empty. Zhu Dashan said to Wang Xi: "Then tell me how you know?" Wang Xi didn't answer, but asked: "I don't know if Ping Yuhou can tell Zai Xia first, how do you know that the army of Daqing Huguang is empty?" ”

Zhu Dashan looked at Wang Xi and smiled: "I didn't know, I guessed." When the Qing soldiers entered the customs, there were a total of more than 100,000 troops, and the casualties along the way were at least 20,000 or 30,000. Wang Xi said: "Yes, there are now more than 70,000 people in the Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty. Zhu Dashan said: "The Manchurians didn't believe in the Han and Mongols at all when they were outside the Guan, so the total of the Eight Banners of the Han and the Eight Banners of Mongolia was a little more than 30,000. In addition, now the Manchu Qing Dynasty is stationed in various big cities to guard the Manchurian Eight Banners, so those who can go to the battlefield may be the more than 10,000 people brought to Yunnan by King Doni of Xinjun, but the more than 10,000 Manchurians alone cannot suppress the hundreds of thousands of troops that invaded Yunnan and Guizhou, so the Han Eight Banners and the Mongolian Eight Banners also went to Yunnan and Guizhou. Then now the only ones who can suppress the place are the green battalion soldiers. ”

Wang Xi said: "How do you know that it is the Green Battalion soldiers, and the Qing Dynasty still has garrison flag soldiers guarding various places?" Zhu Dashan said: "If they can really suppress it, why just let the green camp come out and kill people everywhere and set fires?" Massacre people everywhere? The Manchu Qing Dynasty was afraid that someone would resist and expose the true situation of the Qing court, so they let these green battalion soldiers act unscrupulously and give the people the illusion that the court was very powerful, otherwise why did Zhang Huangyan go to the upper reaches of Nanjing to surrender, and everywhere would return to Ming, but the Qing court could not send troops to quell the rebellion? Instead, transfer troops and horses from all over the country to Nanjing? Wang Xi couldn't answer, and was speechless for a while.

Zhang Huangyan couldn't figure it out and asked, "Why is this?" Zhu Dashan said: "The Qing court is afraid, what they are afraid of is not that Nanjing is lost, but that the garrison of the Eight Banners in Nanjing City will be killed by the king of Yanping County, then the entire Jiangnan will know that the Manchu Qing Dynasty has no troops to quell the rebellion, and half of the entire Jiangnan will be out of the control of the Qing court in an instant, and the rebel armies will also respond one after another, and the army that invaded Yungui will fall short because there is no grain and grass in the south of the Yangtze River, and the best result of the Qing court is to retreat to the north of the Yangtze River." However, the Manchu Qing garrisoned in various places, which led to the dispersion of Manchu forces, and it is very likely that the Manchurian Eight Banners stationed in various places were broken one by one and annihilated. In that case, it would be good for the Manchus to retreat outside the border. ”

Wang Xi was drenched in cold sweat while listening, Zhu Dashan was too right, this made the Han people all over the world resist, and there was a precedent for Nanjing to be broken. The Manchurians were lucky to be able to retreat back to Guanwai alive.