Zhu Cihong said: "There are clouds in the soldiers: guarding the river must guard the Huai, and protecting the Yang must protect the Jing." But in the eyes of this palace, the words of Shouhuai and Baojing did not consider the convenience of sea travel. The Western Zhiyi has built gunboats that can sail tens of thousands of miles, and there are also Zheng Zhilong, Shen Tingyang, and other big ships in the southeast of the Ming Dynasty who have hundreds of big ships and can run rampant in the eastern, southern, and northern oceans. Therefore, the land of the Denglai Peninsula, which is surrounded by the sea on three sides, can be connected to Jiangnan by sea.

And according to Denglai, it can cross the sea to threaten Liaodong, Tianjin, and Korea. If the Tartars can't all have Denglai, then their Liaodong lair, vassal Korea, and Tianjin Sanwei, who guarded the North Zhili Sea Road, are all under the front of our Ming army. ”

Grand Prince Zhu paused, and said in an accentuated tone: "Thousands of miles of sea territory, even if there are tens of thousands of Manchurian true Tartars, it is difficult to defend it thoroughly. And what is the population of the Tartars? If tens of thousands of soldiers are left to watch their homes, how many more people will be able to come to Jiangnan?

Therefore, if Jiangnan wants to be worry-free, Denglai must insist! In order to persist in Denglai, it is necessary to rectify the guard center and set up group training. Let the gentry and the officers of the guards, who have no intention or ability to resist, leave as soon as possible, and organize the loyal men with strong hearts and hearts. This time, Den Leenko is to select loyal and brave warriors! ”

Ma Shiying and Lu Zhenfei now finally know what it's like to be empowered! That's how they felt after listening to Zhu Cihong's analysis!

Needless to say, Zhu Cihong must have been the reincarnation of Emperor Taizu Gao. Otherwise, it is a heroic king who is similar to Taizu and Chengzu.

With him, the Ming Dynasty will be as stable as a rock, and Ma Shiying and Lu Zhenfei's official positions will of course be stable.

The two of them glanced at each other, stood up, and bowed to Prince Zhu.

"Your Highness is wise and powerful, with extraordinary knowledge, the old ministers are obedient, and I am willing to serve His Highness!"

"His Royal Highness is really the lord of Zhongxing, and the old minister is willing to serve His Highness as a saddle horse!"

Lu Jiude, who came with Ma Shiying and Lu Zhenfei, stared at the two traitors who took refuge in the rebels with wide eyes!

The rebel son didn't make a wish, so the two of them were in a hurry to take refuge, are they so worthy of the emperor?

"Chitose-sama!" Lu Jiude gritted his teeth, stood up and saluted, "The ministers gathered in Yanzhou heard that the emperor was sick and could not manage the government, and they were all anxious, and because they wanted to arrange troops for Jinan Mansion, Dongchang Mansion, and Guide Mansion, they could not come to Dengzhou Mansion to face the monarch for the time being. So the old slave came with the horse army and the road army. I wonder if you can let us meet the emperor? ”

Zhu Cihong's regent power of Fujun was taken away, but he couldn't say so publicly. He is so filial to a child, can he say that he carried a sword and a soldier to oust Emperor Chongzhen? Can't say that! Therefore, in the external palace reports and decrees, Emperor Chongzhen was unable to govern due to illness, so he was regent by the crown prince Fujun.

Therefore, Emperor Chongzhen's condition is theoretically related to whether Zhu Cihong can continue to govern!

Hearing that Lu Jiude was also involved, the two traitors were stunned, and then they all changed their expressions to an innocent face, and moved to the side in small steps - we are not in the same group as Lu Jiude! We are all righteous men and gentlemen, not eunuchs!

"Okay!" Zhu Cihong smiled and nodded, "Since the three of you want to meet you, then let's go to the palace to meet you later." My father has just recovered from a serious illness and is recuperating and recuperating, and when he arrives in Nanjing, he should be able to manage the government. ”

He asked Ma Shiying again: "Horse Army, did Zhu Yujian bring it?" ”

"Back to Chitose, the former Tang King Zhu Yujian, as well as Zhu Yujian's two brothers, Zhu Yulu and Zhu Yujian, also followed the minister to Dengzhou." Ma Shiying said, "Now the three of them are temporarily living in the inn, guarded by the minister's governors and personal soldiers. ”

"How do you stay in the inn?" Zhu Cihong was stunned for a moment, and then smiled again, "Oh, you guys are here in Weifu, right?" ”

"The ministers are all from micro-service." Ma Shiying said, "Now there is still a bit of chaos on the ground in Shandong, and the minister is worried that there will be thieves on the way, so he came with Governor Lu and Gonggong Lu to pretend to be a merchant." After arriving in Dengzhou, I wanted to stay in the pavilion, but the Dengzhou pavilion did not accept foreign officials, so I stayed in the guest house. ”

Zhu Cihong said with a smile: "Dengzhou is full of crowns here, and the pavilion is already full of people. He paused, and then said, "There is still something in this palace today, and it is too late to summon Brother Tang Wang."

Ma Zhijun, you can bring them to the Shuaifu tomorrow. In addition, the Tang King was wronged, and the palace knew his grievances, and would rehabilitate him, and would also entrust him with important tasks. When you go back, tell him what Hongu said. ”

"The old minister's order."

Zhu Cihong nodded, and said to Lu Zhenfei again: "Lu Qing, you will also come to the Marshal's Mansion tomorrow, there are some things to ask about the palace in this palace." In addition, I also want to know about the situation in Huai'an. ”

"Commandment."

Lu Zhenfei also saluted.

Caoyun and Huai'an Mansion are both under the jurisdiction of Lu Zhenfei. Therefore, among the several governors of Nanzhili, he is very important, which is directly related to guarding Huai and guarding the river - there are ships and sailors in Caoyun! After mastering the manpower of the ships transported, the foundation of the Yangtze River Sailor Division was established.

Not to mention Huai'an Mansion, it is held at the confluence of the canal and the Huai River. Defending Huai'an, the problem of Jiangnan defense will not be big.

After making an appointment with Lu Zhenfei to meet, Zhu Cihong set his eyes on Lu Jiude again.

"Lu Companion," Zhu Cihong said with a smile, "It's not easy for you to be in Fengyang, and Fengyang Mansion has been able to persist until now, and your credit is not small." ”

Lu Jiude said: "The thousand-year-old master has won the award, and this is all the soldier's life." ”

Zhu Cihong nodded, thought about it and said, "As long as Denglai is in hand, the defense of the Eastern Front of Nanzhili should be fine." The gains and losses of the western line of Nanzhili are focused on the central capital Fengyang, and the city of Fengyang is majestic and magnificent, not under the two capitals of the north and south. And it is located in Huainan, which is not something that the northern soldiers can besiege for a long time. As long as there are good generals and elite soldiers, it should be able to become a barrier between the south and the northwest. Lu Banban has been in Fengyang for a long time, so he should know who can hold Fengyang City, right? ”

Lu Jiude's eyes rolled, and he already understood Zhu Cihong's thoughts. Zhu Cihong wanted him and Huang Degong to guard Fengyang City.

"Chitose Lord, now that the Liukou have been newly defeated, and the Eastern Captives may not go south, it is an opportunity for the imperial court to use troops against the Central Plains. Before the old slave left Yanzhou, he came to the aid of Gao Jie, the general soldier, and Liu Zeqing, the general soldier of Shandong, had already sent troops to Jinan. The armies of Huang Degong and Liu Liangzuo were also preparing to send troops to Dongchang and Guide. The situation in the Central Plains is promising, and it seems that there is no need to rush to defend Fengyang, right? ”

The old eunuch's words turned to the top, but Zhu Cihong knew that it was completely overly optimistic. However, it is not surprising that the historical Nanming is a large collection of optimists, capitulation factions and runaways, and no one has seriously arranged defenses anyway. They were either busy with the Northern Expedition or busy with infighting.

Nearly a year after the founding of the country, there were no working sailors on the Yangtze River, and Fengyang, Huai'an, Yangzhou, and even the capital Nanjing had not been seriously armed, let alone opened up an anti-Qing base in Denglai.

And although Zhu Cihong won a game in Dagukou, he didn't dare to despise the Qing soldiers at all. Because the battle of Dagukou was completely thanks to the blessing of the Ming army's firecrackers who were too wasteful of firewood earlier, the cavalry of the Qing army would stupidly bump into it, and as a result, a group of firecrackers who didn't know the power of the Tartars were beaten.

Such a victory was blessed by the ancestors once, but he couldn't keep thinking about such a good thing, so Zhu Cihong didn't dare to think about the Northern Expedition to the Central Plains.

And there is no solution to the problem of eating for the common people in the Central Plains! It's the Xiaoice River period! After the recovery, they can't eat enough to rebel, what should they do?

Let Li Zicheng and Dolgon worry about this!

"The Northern Expedition should not be rushed," Zhu Cihong said after consideration, "if it is already three or four points today!"

The Manchu Tartars occupied the northern Zhili, the Liukou Li Zicheng also occupied Shanxi, Shaanxi, most of Henan, and Xiangyang Mansion in Hubei, and there was a thief in the west who was fighting Sichuan. We don't have the strength to fight so many enemies at the same time! So you have to pull one to fight two.

This matter will be discussed carefully when the palace meets the face of the Shi Bing Department, and now it is better to stand on the guard! As for Fengyang...... The palace wanted to hand over Huang Degong's soldiers to defend. Lu Banban, before you go back, come to the Shuai Mansion again, bring the order of the palace to Huang Degong, tell him how much food and salary he needs, and the palace will find a way to raise it for him. Be prepared to stick to Fengyang for two years! ”

"The old slave commands." Although Lu Jiude was reluctant, he still respectfully accepted the order.

Zhu Cihong nodded and said: "It's not too early, if you want to face the king, hurry up and go to the palace, if you go late, your father will rest." These days, he rests relatively early. ”