Zuo Mengeng was also worried about this matter: "Then what do you say about this?" ”

The self-volunteering Niu Lu Ezhen Ding Mofan already had an idea: "Ning Nanhou, the defeat of the Great Qing State in the southern expedition has been decided, but do you think the Ming Kingdom will integrate the south or the northern expedition first?" ”

Although Zuo Mengeng is not angry, he doesn't even have one-tenth of Zuo Liangyu's skills, but he still has this vision: "It must be to integrate the south first, with the current situation, it will be effortless for the two Guangyun and Guizhou to pass on the throne, and it will not be too late to go north after taking the south!" ”

Ding Mofan immediately said: "This is a heaven-sent opportunity for the Marquis of Ningnan, since Emperor Chengtian wants to integrate the south and has no time to go on the Northern Expedition, he will definitely not object to us becoming his pioneer and taking the lead in the Northern Expedition!" ”

Zuo Mengeng was really frightened by Ding Mofan's suggestion: "Let's take the lead in the Northern Expedition, just rely on our thirty battalions and a few thousand people?" ”

Zuo Mengeng really felt that Ding Mofan was going crazy, he had thirty battalion heads or thirty Niu Lu in name, but now he had only gathered nearly 4,000 people, and his combat effectiveness might not even be comparable to the five battalions of the main force of the Yue Ming Army that were fully manned, even if he continued to take shit to collect the remnants of the defeated army, at most he would collect 5,000 people, and the Northern Expedition with this amount of strength was completely self-defeating.

But Ding Mofan asked Zuo Mengeng confidently: "Ning Nanhou, do you remember Liu Zeqing and Liu Liangzuo?" ”

Zuo Mengeng immediately replied: "How can you not remember!" Not only did they once serve as ministers in the same dynasty as their ancestors, but they also returned to the Qing Dynasty with Ben Hou, but the previous time Prince Yu failed in his southern expedition, Liu Zeqing and Liu Liangzuo fled back to Shandong without authorization, and the regent also let them come to the south with him on this southern expedition, but Liu Zeqing and Liu Liangzuo received the edict but have not been able to shirk it, so the regent has been very angry, but now it seems that they are the wisest choice, but Ben Hou has suffered a big loss! ”

Ding Mofan danced and persuaded Zuo Mengeng: "Now Liu Zeqing and Liu Liangzuo have more than 10,000 troops in Caozhou and are about to start an incident, but they not only have limited strength but also have old grudges with Emperor Chengtian, so they dare not raise troops together, if the Marquis of Ning Nan asks His Majesty and Niangniang to send troops to Caozhou with thirty battalions of elite soldiers at this time, the imperial court will definitely promise and will give full support!" ”

Zuo Mengeng couldn't help but sigh when he heard this: "When my father was alive, let alone thirty battalion heads, even three hundred battalion heads had to be agreed to come down, but now I have to go to such great lengths for the thirty battalions of armor soldiers, but this is also a helpless solution, for the sake of these thirty battalions of armor soldiers, I will definitely go north to the imperial court to Caozhou and join Liu Zeqing and Liu Liangzuo!" ”

Zuo Mengeng knew very well that whether it was the Great Qing Dynasty or the Chengtian Dynasty, there was not much difference in the strategy of dealing with them, and the only choice was for him to keep the title of Marquis of Ningnan and enter Caozhou.

If it was the early stage of the Qing army's entry into the customs, even if Zuo Mengeng had 100,000 heavy troops, he would not be so risky, but the Qing State was defeated in the two southern expeditions, and the elite soldiers of the generals were lost countless times, and the Qing Dynasty was probably divided because of a series of defeats.

And he also started an incident before the battle at a critical moment, and it can be said that he is a trustworthy member of the Yue Ming Army, and Liu Zeqing and Liu Liangzuo have not dared to belong to the Yue Ming Dynasty because of their deep old grudges with Emperor Chengtian and Empress Zhang, and they can play a crucial role at that time, not only the establishment of thirty battalion heads is stable, but the title of Marquis of Ningnan can also be kept, and even the full support of the Yue Ming Army.

Ding Mofan was also relieved when he heard that Zuo Mengeng was willing to send troops to Caozhou: "Ning Nanhou, if you are willing to send troops to Caozhou, please be sure to bring Xiaguan there, Xiaguan and Liu Zeqing and Liu Liangzuo are old friends for many years!" ”

Zuo Mengeng knew that since Ding Mofan suggested that he send troops to Caozhou, he must have colluded with Liu Zeqing and Liu Liangzuo in advance, but this also made him finally really make up his mind: "I will ask the court to send troops to Caozhou!" ”

And the big men in Nanjing are also thinking about this issue, especially when they got the news of the victory of Empress Changping and Zhou Zhisheng in Huai'an, the court was thinking about this issue, and everyone quickly reached a consensus.

Now Tong Yili, a scholar of Dongge University and a scholar of the household department, expressed the opinions of the ministers to Empress Zhang: "After the defeat of Jianyu, the top priority of the imperial court is to take the two Guangyungui, and never allow any rebellious ministers and thieves to do anything wrong under the banner of the Ming Dynasty!" ”

Although Tong Yili said it very implicitly, the courtiers present knew that the so-called "chaotic ministers and thieves" were none other than the Tang King Longwu Emperor who fled in a hurry and other vassal kings under the banner of the Ming Emperor.

But if the courtiers still had any objections to this before, now Liu Yongxi's westward expedition has taken Hubei, and the main force of the Qing army led by Dolgon has also suffered setbacks in Xuzhou, Huai'an, and Fengyang one after another, and all aspects are good news, and now the Tang King still regards himself as Emperor Longwu and constantly gives orders, which has naturally become a thorn in the eye and flesh of the courtiers, and everyone even thinks that the Tang King is not uneasy in the world.

And Empress Zhang has a little incense for the Tang King, after all, the Tang Wangfu is in Nanyang, and the Empress Zhang is from Kaifeng, and everyone is a fellow villager in Henan, but she feels that the Tang King is too tossed: "What Tong Aiqing said is extremely true, after winning the two Guangyungui, the country can have a long-term confrontation, but this matter still needs Your Majesty's nod, Your Majesty is wise and martial, and his vision must be better than ours!" ”

Although Empress Zhang was almost killing Liu Yongxi, the courtiers present felt that Liu Yongxi must be consulted for this kind of major event, and the scholar Zhang Guowei immediately agreed: "This matter really needs to be judged, but I think Your Majesty will also think that we are an old move, and if we don't take the two Guangyungui, sooner or later there will be a fire in the backyard!" ”

Jin Shenghuan of the President's General's Office raised a small objection: "No matter what the attitude of Liangguang, Yunnan, Guizhou and Hunan is, but the number one enemy of the country is still Jianyu, and the integration of the south cannot be delayed for a long time. ”

Jin Shenghuan's words are half from the public heart and half from selfishness, although he is now a big man who is qualified to attend the imperial meeting, but the general's mansion is still the Qingshui Yamen that houses idle senior officers, and now the rise of the Chengtian Dynasty is so rapid, since he is qualified to attend the imperial meeting, he is naturally unwilling to stay in the Qingshui Yamen of the General's Mansion all the time, but hopes that the country will launch the Northern Expedition as soon as possible so that he will have the opportunity to make contributions.

And Tong Yili, the head of the household department, immediately replied: "It really can't be delayed for too long, but the country's newly created household treasury is empty, and the two battles of Huguang and Jianghuai have scavenged the inner treasury of His Majesty and Niangniang cleanly, and if you really want to go to the Northern Expedition, you must prepare enough money and food!" ”

He is the head of the household, naturally has the right to speak in this matter, the civil and military officials present also know that this year, the imperial court army has turned to the north and south, and the imperial court almost relies on seizure and local requisition to live, which is also the biggest reason why the imperial court can't wait to collect the two Guangxi Yungui, although Guangxi, Yungui provide how many military and financial resources, but Guangdong is completely different, as long as Guangdong is taken, it can at least support tens of thousands of troops to fight on the front line.

Therefore, Tong Yili directly persuaded Jin Shenghuan, but Jin Shenghuan still did not give up: "Preparing for the Northern Expedition is naturally a good thing, but it must not be delayed for too long, and during the period of preparing for the Northern Expedition, we must not let Jianyu rest and deal with it calmly, and we must try our best to make Jianyu tired and exhausted to deal with it!" ”

Everyone felt that Jin Shenghuan's suggestion was correct, Jianyu was a real strong enemy, and they must not be allowed to recuperate calmly.

Therefore, Zuo Mengeng's plan to send troops to Caozhou was a huge surprise for the imperial court, and Zhang Huangyan was even more relieved: "Niangniang, we are still having a headache about how to deal with the aftermath of Zuo Mengeng's thirty battalions, but I didn't expect him to propose such a perfect aftermath plan!" ”

Zuo Mengeng's department is a standard guerrilla for the imperial court, although the uprising before the battle has made great contributions, but in the eyes of the imperial court, Zuo Mengeng and his troops are a big trouble, not to mention that Zuo Mengeng wants the establishment of thirty battalions as soon as he opens his mouth, and recently Zuo Mengeng has been collecting shrimp soldiers and crabs, which will make the imperial court feel more and more headaches.

But now Zuo Mengeng invited himself to send troops to Caozhou and started an incident with Liu Zeqing and Liu Liangzuo, which can be said to be beneficial and harmless for the Chengtian Dynasty, but Empress Changping still reminded: "Zuo Mengeng, Liu Zeqing, and Liu Liangzuo are naturally a good thing, but don't forget the lessons of the Zhang brothers!" ”

This southern expedition to Zhang Tianlu and Zhang Tianfu brothers made Wang Zhiren suffer a lot, and Wang Zhiren, the bitter master, was even more apprehensive: "If Zuo Mengeng, Liu Zeqing, and Liu Liangzuo raise troops in Caozhou to attack the Qing Dynasty, it will naturally be beneficial to this dynasty and no harm, but in case they follow the example of the Zhang brothers to compete with this dynasty, otherwise there will be changes in the north!" ”

Zhang Huangyan has already considered this question: "If Zuo Mengeng goes to Caozhou, Liu Zeqing and Liu Liangzuo can't think of anything!" ”

Empress Changping was very interested in this question: "Mr. Huangyan, why is this? ”

Zhang Huangyan immediately replied: "After the previous battle of Jiangning, Liu Zeqing and Liu Liangzuo saw that Jianyu was defeated, and fled back to Caozhou without obeying the order, which was like self-reliance, and Jianyu issued several edicts to recruit Liu Zeqing and Liu Liangzuo to go south together this time, but Liu Zeqing and Liu Liangzuo have always refused to lead troops to the south although they were edicted, and now since Jianzuo has suffered a big setback in the southern expedition, Liu Zeqing and Liu Liangzuo must start up to fight the Qing, but there are old grievances with this dynasty in the past, and the situation is different when Zuo Mengeng went to Caozhou!" ”

As soon as Zhang Huangyan said this, Empress Changping felt that the complete dispatch of Zuo Menggeng's Northern Expedition could even provide many captured weapons and armor: "If Zuo Mengeng, Liu Qingze, and Liu Liangzuo can make a big fuss in the north, then the imperial court can fully support them, but I am afraid that their scene is too small to contain Jianyu!" ”