On April 15 of the seventeenth year of Chongzhen, the armor of the east city of Fanhe City, Zaoyang County, Xiangyang Prefecture, was standing solemnly, the city tower was covered like a forest, the flag covered the sun, and the enthronement ceremony of the blessed king Zhu Yousong was held as scheduled.

According to the etiquette system, the ceremony of the whole ceremony will be coordinated by the subordinate departments of the Ministry of Rites, such as the Department of Supervision, Qin Tianjian, Shangbao Division, and Jiaofang Division, but Beijing has fallen, and Nanjing is not within Zhao Ying's sphere of influence, so everything is simple and handed over to Zhao Ying's Chengxuan Zhizheng Yuan to handle it with full authority.

The sun was faint, and the first blessed king Zhu Yousong sent officials to the Temple of Heaven, Xiannongtan, Taimiao and other places temporarily established in Fanhe City to report the enthronement of the Heaven and Earth Sect, and then Zhu Yousong, who was wearing filial piety, knelt down in front of the case table that had been displayed early outside the Zhengshuo Gate under the guidance of Chang Zeyu, and paid homage to the tablets of the first emperor and the gods placed on the case. After ringing the bell and beating the drum, Zhu Yousong changed into a bright yellow gown embroidered with a five-clawed golden dragon, and ascended the Zhengshuo Gate under the support of Zhao Dangshi, Chang Zeyu and other civil and military people in court clothes, and sat on the throne. Then, the presiding officer Chang Zeyu announced the official start of the enthronement ceremony, and took out the prepared heavenly edict and read it lightly. Reading a sentence, Zhu Yousong followed aloud, which was a prayer to communicate with the gods from all walks of life. Zhao Dangshi and other civil and military officers went downstairs first, kneeling on both sides of the royal road in the way of "Wendong Wuxi", waiting for Zhu Yousong.

After a short time, the prayer was over. Zhu Yousong went downstairs, and in the melodious sound of silk and bamboo orchestra, he rode into the city in a sedan chair. The guard of honor followed, with great momentum but orderly. The salute rang out, and Zhu Yousong got off the sedan chair on the bank of the newly built palace city in the city, and the civil and military officials who followed on foot stood quietly behind. When Zhu Yousong walked into the palace city and sat down in the "Chengtian Palace" in the main hall of the palace city, the civil and military officials entered according to the official rank, and thousands of people went up in turn to congratulate them. After the ministers came to see him, Chang Zeyu officially read out the edict and told Tiandi Li Shu to confirm the new emperor's accession to the throne. At the same time, the emperor's decree was passed on, and the yuan was changed to "Hongguang", and next year was the first year of Hongguang, and the name of Chongzhen was still used this year. It also promoted Fanhe City and its surroundings to accompany the capital, and Zaoyang County was subordinate to the direct territory, called "Fanjing".

Later, it was the title of the ministers, among which the more important ones were Zhao Dangshi as the king of Ningnan, Sun Chuanting as the king of Anxi, Wu Sangui as the king of Pingxi, Zheng Zhilong as the king of Nan'an, Huang Degong as the king of Jingnan, Chen Hongfan as the prince of Boping, Zuo Mengeng as the prince of Xingping, Ma Wannian as the prince of Yichuan, Liu Zeqing as the marquis of Dongping, Liu Liangzuo as the marquis of Guangchang, Xu Dingguo as the marquis of Yunyang, Fang Guoan as the marquis of Pinglu, Tan Hong as the marquis of Chongxin, Zhou Yuji as the marquis of Shouzhang, Li Jiyu as the marquis of Anyi, Bai Guangen as the marquis of Yongnian, that is, five kings, three dukes and nine marquis, The rest of the local generals have different levels of rewards from earls to viscounts, and those at the rank of Zhao Ying are all earls. The reward was decided, and the fast horse was sent out of the palace with the holy decree to the local news.

In addition, the edict was sent to Nanjing to inform the ministers, and even recruited famous people from all over the world to serve the new dynasty, such as Wang Yingxiong of Ba County, Sichuan, Yu Yinggui of Duchang County, Jiangxi, Gu Xichou of Kunshan County, Nanzhili, Ding Kuichu of Yongcheng County, Henan, and Lian Guoshi and other old officials and celebrities are all in the list. Of course, it is still unclear what kind of storm will be stirred up by throwing stones into the pool, and it is still unknown how Nanjing and other places will react, and the purpose of this is greater than reality.

Although Emperor Hongguang is the protagonist of the whole process of ascending the throne, he can be the main driving force behind the scenes, and the real pressure is actually on Zhao Dangshi's shoulders. The new dynasty was established under his own nose, Zhao Dangshi's mood was slightly calmer for a few days, but he still did not relax at all, and the next three days were closely scheduled, one day to meet Emperor Hongguang to participate in the determination of some matters for the establishment of the new dynasty, one day to meet with Huaqing and other family members and hold a banquet for King Rui to wash the dust to fulfill the son-in-law ceremony, and one day to arrange the next necessary military and political actions. The complicated things made Zhao Dangshi, who has always been energetic, a little tired.

After three days, Zhao Dangshi didn't have time to rest, so he took the parenting division out of Fan Jing and rushed back to Shaanxi. Because within half a month, the war situation in Shaanxi has made waves again, and he must return to command as soon as possible.

On the day Zhao Dangshi left, a secret letter was also sent to He Tengjiao, the governor of Huguang in Jieqizhou. When Du Yinxi hurriedly rushed to the government office after receiving the news, he found that He Tengjiao's face was as white as snow in the depths of winter.

"Zhao Dangshi's wolf ambition was really right by me." He Tengjiao hid his face and handed the letter in his hand to Du Yinxi, "Thousands of calculations, it is still a bad move." ”

Du Yinxi had already prepared on the way here, but he was still shocked when he saw the black and white words that were close at hand. His fingers trembled, and he read the letter several times, and finally slapped the letter paper on the table with a "snap" and a palm, and said angrily: "How dare you do this!" ”

He Tengjiao sighed and said: "Before the Nanjing envoy arrived, he gave Zhao Dangshi the first step. Now King Dechang, the son of King Fu, is ascending the treasure in Xiangyang, but King Gui is stranded and has not moved, and I am waiting for a good life to be passive. ”

Du Yinxi said suspiciously: "The people of the Fu Clan should have died in the military disaster, why did a King Dechang pop up again?" ”

He Tengjiao shook his head lightly and said: "The letter said that Zhao Ying claimed that King Dechang was escorted by loyal servants to Shaolin Temple for refuge when Luoyang City was broken, and then went down the mountain to Huguang. ”

Du Yinxi's face was flushed and said: "It must be a lie made up by Zhao Dangshi!" In order to make a great contribution to the decision, he made people pretend to be the king of Dechang, and he was so bold that he could be that Dong Zhuo Cao Cao, and his heart could be punished! ”

He Tengjiao said: "The truth of the matter is not clear, but the new monarch's ascension to the throne and the establishment of a new dynasty have become a fact. ”

Du Yinxi shook his head and said: "Although it is a fact, Zhao Dangshi's intentions are sinister, and Sima Zhao's heart is known to everyone. The orthodoxy of King Dechang is still to be discussed, and it is not too late to make amends. Otherwise, when the puppet dynasty spreads to the Quartet, it will be announced, and the general trend will be irreversible! ”

He Tengjiao was silent, and Du Yinxi persuaded again: "King Dechang has a strange origin, this is a point. The hundred officials who stayed in the capital stood on the side of King Gui, and they would not admit Hongguang, which is another point. Teacher, these two points are beneficial to us, how can we not think of fighting back because we were stunned by him on the head! ”

"The envoy of Nanjing has not arrived, how can he support King Gui?"

"The situation has changed, Hongguang is standing, Huguang is in danger, and King Gui must not stay for a moment. Waiting for the Nanjing envoy to come is not only time-consuming, but also has the risk of leaking the news. In the opinion of the students, it is better to go out tomorrow and send King Gui to Nanjing. Nanjing is the land of Longxing, King Gui is the son of Emperor Wanli, and he is not lost to King Dechang in terms of qualifications. And then with the support of the important ministers of Nanjing Qiqing, where Zhengshuo is, where is the turn to get Zhao Ying's jumping clown! ”

He Tengjiao pondered for a moment and said, "What you said makes sense, we really can't delay it any longer." ”

Du Yinxi nodded and said: "Actually, the student has something to inform the teacher today, and the two sides just happened to be on the line." ”

"What's the matter?"

"The teacher asked the students to ask Zuo Mengeng to meet."

"Oh, how do you say?"

"Zuo Mengeng promised to hold a banquet in Xunyang Building, Jiujiang Mansion in three days, and invited the teacher to talk about it."

He Tengjiao rubbed the armrest of the chair and said: "Very good, I will leave tomorrow, and I will go to Jiujiang Mansion to see Zuo Mengeng first, and then go to Nanjing." He also said, "Zuo Mengeng is stationed in Jiujiang to control the waterway, and if he can be pulled up temporarily, it will not only be beneficial to support King Gui, but also to curb Zhao Dangshi's troubles in the future." ”

Du Yinxi responded: "Yes, Zuo Mengeng said, Fang Guoan will also be present at that time." The left and fang armies have been controlling the river defense for a long time, and the soldiers are good at water warfare, if they can be used by me, even if Zhao Dangshi has any perverse and violent actions in the future, he will not be afraid of him. Then he stroked his palms and sighed, "Thanks to the teacher who opened the head of Li Guoying, he was able to pull out Xu Yong, Zuo Mengeng, Fang Guoan and other generations in a row." ”

He Tengjiao smiled lightly: "From scratch, making it impossible is the value of our service to the country." What you said is right, if the two of Zuo and Fang can support King Gui, plus Fengyang Ma Yaocao, Nanjing Shi Xianzhi, etc., the banks of the river are all in my hands, even if Zhao Dangshi is strong and strong, we may not have the strength to fight. ”

Du Yinxi said seriously: "The teacher has insight, and the student admires." As long as King Gui ascends the throne and announces it to the world, so that the world can see the shameless face of Zhao Dangshi, all feudal domains and towns will judge the situation and serve me King Gui Zhengshuo. At that time, unite the world's soldiers and horses to denounce Zhao Dangshi, spare him No matter how strong Zhao Dangshi is, his fists are invincible with four hands, and there is only one way out by giving in. ”

He Tengjiao frowned and nodded: "The road must be walked slowly to be stable, Zhao Dangshi supports Hongguang and wantonly attracts the forces of the Quartet. Let's send King Gui to Nanjing to ascend the throne is just the beginning, in the future, we have to regain the disadvantage, there are still many things to do, and we must not be too ambitious to expect it to be in place in one fell swoop. Instead, he said, "Let's just say that there are still many variables in sending King Gui to Nanjing." I went to see Zuo Menggeng, they are on the one hand, on the other hand, I have to do some more measures. ”

"Please teach me."

"Even if there is no return on both sides of the river, there are no giants such as Zhang Xianzhong, and it is difficult to say that it is peaceful. For example, in Jiangxi, there are thieves Shi Guanglong and thieves and monks who are making trouble and plundering river boats, which is very arrogant. King Gui went to Nanjing, in order to avoid being pursued by Zhao Ying's awareness, it was difficult for us to escort him with great fanfare at first, so we could only sail quickly. But when you enter Anqing, Luzhou and other prefectures, it is the territory of the governor of Fengyang, which can be protected. I will repair a letter to Ma Yaocao and ask him to send troops to open the way, such a great achievement, Ma Yaocao has no reason to refuse. ”

"With Ma Yaocao's support halfway, and then let the Nanjing River Defense soldiers and horses respond, King Gui can guarantee that he will arrive in Nanjing."

He Tengjiao nodded, but then let out a long sigh.

Gu Yinxi said strangely: "Act according to the plan, King Gui's accession to the throne is just around the corner, why is the teacher so confused?" ”

He Tengjiao paused for a moment and replied: "We are trying our best to support King Gui for the sake of the world's plan, and we definitely don't want to compete with Zhao Dangshi and others. You and I understand this truth, but it's really hard to say whether a martial artist like Zhao Dangshi understands it or not. According to common sense, King Gui's accession to the throne is equivalent to openly calling out Zhao Dangshi, and with his personality, he will never admit defeat automatically after being dumb. There is no other day, Zhao Dangshi is angry and angry with King Gui and us, it is inevitable to fight to the death. Although it is not yet known who killed the deer at that time, both sides are pure sons of the Ming Dynasty, and they fight each other in vain, and in the end it is the real enemy Li Chuang. ”

Plug Yinxi thought about it and said: "But Zhao Dangshi is good at setting up a new monarch, and he wants us to obey him, and Feng Hongguang is Zhengshuo. The teacher said, the road must be steadfast, let's do our best to obey the destiny of heaven, we can only support King Gui first, and then plan for the future. ”

He Tengjiao said: "Steady and steady is not such a solution, we should serve the country as courtiers, how can we cross the river by feeling the stones, and be the shopkeeper when we are in trouble?" In this way, the Ming Dynasty and the people of the world are placed on the fire. I have told you many times that you must be perfect in doing things, especially in big things, otherwise the slightest luck in your heart may become fatal when it comes to a critical moment. I rode single-handedly to this day, from empty-handed to today, never doing anything at will, relying on taking a thought and taking precautions, one step at a time. ”

Du Yinxi's face turned red, and he said, "Students are taught." ”

He Tengjiao took a sip of tea, his expression eased slightly, and said: "King Gui's accession to the throne is a big deal, but the future is equally important, if we can't end it, we can't control the situation, everything is in vain after all, it will only consume my Ming vitality in vain." He coughed lightly twice and continued, "Do you remember that I told you that I had a way to control Zhao Ying?" ”

Du Yinxi was stunned for a moment, and then said: "I remember, the teacher didn't say it clearly at that time. ”

He Tengjiao beckoned to him at this time and motioned for him to come closer. The two approached, He Tengjiao whispered for a while, and Du Yinxi exclaimed: "If this move is successful, it can really solve our big trouble." ”

"Yes, this move will not cause any loss to us, but it can make Hongguang a flash in the pan." He Tengjiao exhaled and said, "Cook the raw rice first, and then dispose of it properly, it is not difficult to subdue the tiger of Zhao Dangshi." ”

Du Yinxi said eagerly: "The letter said that Zhao Dangshi has left Huguang, and he will meet Zuo Mengeng soon, and everything will be done quickly!" ”

"Well, you and I will go our separate ways, don't delay. To determine the general trend of the world, only in these two days. He Tengjiao clenched his fists, looked at the plaque with the words "Ming and Justice" written in the hall, and secretly gritted his teeth.