This morning, when the fog was thick, a carriage came from the fog, and the rings hanging around the tent jingled, bringing some vitality to the quiet and deserted green leaf alley.

Four wheels stopped at the gate of a mansion, and several people waiting at the gate stepped forward in unison. Two servants carefully helped a middle-aged man in his forties out of the carriage, the middle-aged man was dignified and gracefully dressed, but there was a deep worry in his eyes.

"He Tengjiao, the governor of Huguang, pays a visit to the prince!"

"Wuchang soldiers are preparing to block Yinxi to meet the prince!"

The two civil officials dressed in bird uniforms greeted each other, and the middle-aged man stretched out his hand to signal the two of them to be exempt, and his voice was soft: "I can be regarded as seeing the two adults." As he spoke, his face furrowed, as if he had not yet gotten rid of the torn bumps of the journey.

The hour was very early, but He Tengjiao was full of spirit and said: "From Hengzhou to Wuchang, all the way through the mountains and rivers, the prince has a lot of hardships. If it weren't for the urgency of the matter, I wouldn't dare to work for the prince to die. ”

The middle-aged man in front of him who looked a little tired was Zhu Changying, the king of Gui in the Ming Dynasty. He was the seventh son of Emperor Wanli, and has always been known as the "Four Relatives Domain" along with Luoyang Fu Domain, Hanzhong Rui Domain and Jingzhou Hui Domain. And compared with other princes who are arrogant and lascivious, Zhu Changying is known as virtuous, and he has a good reputation in Shilin.

"Is the prince alone this time?" He Tengjiao looked left and right, but did not see other drivers.

Zhu Changying shook his head and said: "Only this king is alone, Anren and Yongming are all left behind in the domain. "He also has two sons, the third son Zhu Youlang is the king of Anren, and the fourth son Zhu Youlang is the king of Yongming, and he should have come here.

He Tengjiao knew the scruples in Zhu Changying's heart, so he smiled: "That's fine." ”

Everyone welcomed Zhu Changying into the house. Zhu Changying stopped in front of the gate, looked up at the plaque, and said, "Is there anyone living in this mansion?" From the words on the plaque, it can be seen that this mansion is clearly someone else's private residence.

He Tengjiao replied: "The master's family heard that the royal family was coming, so he moved away his family and belongings early, and gave it to the prince to settle down temporarily, and forgot to pick up the plaque in a hurry."

Zhu Changying sighed and said: "Xingshi moved the people, but it hurt the master's family." ”

He Tengjiao said: "It's not bitter, when the time comes, the prince will ascend to the pole, and he will be counted as a member of the dragon's work, and it will be too late for him to be happy." ”

This sentence hit Zhu Changying's heart knot in the past few days, and it made his face heavy and he pursed his lips silently.

Seeing this, He Tengjiao also said that Zhu Changying was worried about the safety of the mansion, and said busily: "This Qizhou is a place where the soldiers and horses under the minister's standard are stationed for training, and it is absolutely safe. As far as this mansion is far and near, the minister also led people to patrol day and night with Li Guerrilla to prevent traitors from approaching. "In the past half month, the Huguang Governor Yamen recruited 5,000 recruits, led by the guerrilla Li Guoying of the left wing battalion under Fubiao, and stationed in Qizhou. He Tengjiao followed the army and moved the yamen to Qizhou.

Zhu Changying said meaningfully: "After all, it is a little unlucky. In February last year, Zhang Xianzhong led the army to break through Qizhou, and killed the then Huguang governor Song Yihe and other civil and military officials, as well as the Jingwang Mansion here, Zhu Changying was shocked when he heard it in Hengzhou, and even had the idea of escaping in advance, but fortunately Zhang Xianzhong was driven to Sichuan by Zhao Ying, and he settled down, but the shadow at that time still hangs over his heart.

He Tengjiao said: "At this time and that time, now the prince is looking forward to it, there is the spirit of Longxing, spare it what black smoke miasma, dare to approach the prince, it is bound to be washed away, and it will be unlucky and auspicious." ”

Several people arrived at the lobby of the mansion and sat down, and He Tengjiao summoned two maids, one left and one right, and gently beat Zhu Changying's shoulders to relax. Zhu Changying closed his eyes for a long time before he slowly opened his eyes and sighed: "The two adults think that the king has some hope for inheriting the unification?" As he spoke, he bit his lower lip lightly, very apprehensive.

He Tengjiao almost blurted out: "Ten points! ”

"Is that true?" Zhu Changying's eyes lit up, and his soft body bones suddenly perked up a lot.

"The prince has golden branches and jade leaves, he has traveled thousands of miles to come here, and the ministers have already sinned, if they are not 100% sure of fulfilling their promises, won't it become a vain act to entertain the prince?" He Tengjiao straightened his posture and was stable, "Don't worry, the succession will definitely be done." ”

Zhu Changying's frowning slightly, but there were still clouds, He Tengjiao said: "The prince succeeded to the throne, and there were three elders from the kings. Then he said, "The first is the sect." Emperor Wang Yezong is from Emperor Shenzong, and Emperor Daxing is an uncle and nephew. The northern capital suffered, and none of the royal clansmen were exempted, and in terms of seniority, the prince's Gui Fan was the closest relative; The second is the longest. The prince's virtue is widely spread, his name is spread all over the world, and all living beings yearn for it. Fu Fan and Rui Fan were all lost to thieves, and Hui Fan was born out of the world, and only the prince could shoulder Li Shu's expectations; The third longest, for the might. Whether it is my Huguang Qunchen, Zhang Anlu, Kuangjiangxi, Ma Fengyang or Nanjing Shi Sima and others, they all obey the majesty of the prince, look forward to the prince's accession to the throne like looking forward to the rain, and are willing to help the prince ascend to the pole Kuang Fuyu. With these three longs, the prince inherited the unification and deserved it. ”

Zhu Changying breathed a long sigh of relief and said, "There is an adult's words, which is not in vain for the suffering of this king in the past few days. Then there was joy on his face, "It turns out that so many people support this king." From He Tengjiao's words, it can be heard that Zhang Liang, the governor of Anlu, Kuang Zhao, the governor of Jiangxi, Ma Shiying, the governor of Fengyang, and Shi Kefa, the secretary of the Nanjing Military Department, are all on his side, and the heart he has been hanging on is instantly settled, "In the previous letter, they were not mentioned. ”

He Tengjiao smiled and said: "The prince didn't nod at the beginning, and the ministers naturally had little backbone. Since the ministers heard the news that the prince had set off from Hengzhou, they were overjoyed and surrendered. ”

Zhu Changying stroked his chest and said: "This is good, this is good, the heart is in one place, and the world can be peaceful." Then he couldn't help but ask, "Is the news from Beidu conclusive?" ”

He Tengjiao replied: "Eight or nine is not far from ten." In short, at that time, the prince will first be the prisoner of the country, and then he will act when he sees the opportunity. ”

Zhu Changying nodded in agreement, and He Tengjiao said again: "The northern capital is difficult to recover for the time being, but there is still a southern capital for the prince to rely on." In front of him, the right attendant of the Nanjing Military Department and the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, Lord Lu Daqi has sent a letter saying that the relevant personnel of the Ministry of Rites will be sent to Qizhou to welcome him to Nanjing in the near future, and the prince can prepare in advance. ”

"This is the way it should be, and the two adults have bothered to do it." Through He Tengjiao's few words, Zhu Changying was in a good mood, his gloomy atmosphere was swept away, and he looked full of ambition.

"Don't dare, for my Daming Sheji, for the prince, although he has died nine times, he still has no regrets!" He Tengjiao saluted awe-inspiring with Plug Yinxi.

After chatting a few more words, Zhu Changying was tired, so He Tengjiao instructed the servants and maids to help him go to the wing room to rest. After Zhu Changying left, he said to Yinxi: "Teacher, King Gui's side is considered to be fine, and Nanjing's side is also ready, and now only Huguang is left." However, Zhao Dangshi is far away in Shaanxi, and he may not have expected that we will support the new monarch. ”

He Tengjiao said in a deep voice: "Not necessarily, Zhao Dangshi is treacherous, it is difficult to say what he will do." ”

Du Yinxi spread his sleeves and said, "Why did the teacher say this?" ”

He Tengjiao clasped his hands together and thought deeply: "Not long ago, someone from Zhao Ying came to me, nominally to give gifts and condolences, but they were all testing my opinion on the matter of Li Xinjun. ”

Du Yinxi exclaimed: "Could it be that Zhao Dangshi learned about our secret greeting King Gui?" ”

He Tengjiao waved his hand and said, "That's not it, we are meticulous and there are no mistakes." Zhao Ying covered the sky in Huguang with one hand, you must know that you have already sent someone to block the road halfway, where can we still see King Gui today. ”

"Then for no reason, what did the people of Zhao Ying suddenly do when they mentioned this?"

"I make a bold guess, I'm afraid Zhao Dangshi has the same thoughts as us."

Du Yinxi's mouth opened wide, and he said in disbelief: "Zhao Dangshi also wants to support the new monarch?" ”

"Perhaps...... Fortunately, I made preparations in advance in my previous letter to King Gui, asking the prince to close the door of the mansion and not receive anyone again. The prince was a cautious man, as can be seen from the fact that he left his two sons at home and came out alone. He was afraid of an accident, walking on thin ice, so he would naturally listen to me, even if Zhao Dangshi sent someone to Gui Fan in the future, he could only eat behind closed doors. ”

"The teacher is wise."

He Tengjiao frowned and said: "However, Zhao Dangshi was born in the world and acted perversely, I really don't dare to conclude whether he will make some outrageous moves for the sake of glory and wealth." ”

"What is out of the ordinary?"

"In addition to the Gui Domain, there are also many vassal kings in Huguang. Closer to Zhao Ying were the Xiang Domain of Xiangyang, the Chu Domain of Wuchang and the Hui Domain of Jingzhou. If Zhao Dangshi sees that we have set up King Gui, he may be sick and rushed to the doctor, and he will choose a king to be the emperor and compete with us. He is a strong soldier, and even if he does not occupy the name of righteousness, it is still very tricky to pacify him. At the beginning of the new dynasty, the interior could not withstand such a toss. He Tengjiao touched his nose and sighed, "There is another strange thing you should know." It is the change between Zuo Mengeng and Fang Guoan. ”

"Students know." Du Yinxi nodded.

Half a month ago, Zuo Mengeng, who was originally stationed in Wuchang Mansion, and Fang Guoan, who was stationed in Huangzhou Mansion, suddenly acted at the same time and led the army to Jiujiang Mansion, Jiangxi. He Tengjiao was puzzled at that time and asked why, but Zuo Mengeng only deduced that the Jiujiang Prefecture River Road was wide, which was convenient for training the navy, and in addition, the Tukou in Jiangxi had resurged, and the governor Yuan Jixian had asked for help to suppress it. Zuo Mengeng and Fang Guoan's soldiers and horses together exceeded 10,000, although there were bandits in Jiangxi, but they had not heard that the momentum was so great that so many soldiers and horses were needed to encircle and suppress. However, after many inquiries, Yuan Jixian did allocate military rations to the troops of the left and the side, and the two sides seemed to have a cooperative relationship as Zuo Mengeng said. He Tengjiao couldn't figure out what was going on for a while, so he could only wait and see with doubts. It was not until the new army was recruited that it was immediately moved to Qizhou, and he also had the intention of getting closer to Jiujiang Mansion to observe the movements of the left and square armies.

"There are more than 100 elite soldiers in the left and side armies, and they are familiar with water warfare, which should not be underestimated. No matter why they left their original station to assemble in Jiujiang Mansion, once we and others turned against Zhao Dangshi because of King Gui's accession to the throne, it would be very disadvantageous for us that they cut off Jiang Dao. We have to plan our countermeasures sooner rather than later. He Tengjiao said.

Gu Yinxi said at this time: "Don't worry, teacher, the student talked to Xu Yong once recently, and it was obvious that Xu Yong was moved. Of course, the student didn't say anything about King Gui, only that if he stood on the right team, he would be able to soar into the sky in the future. Since being introduced by Li Guoying to meet with Xu Yong, the general of the Zuo Jiajun, Du Yinxi has been responsible for promoting the work of lobbying Xu Yong. He Tengjiao's original sentence "water drops wear stones" was not wrong, and after repeated persuasion, Xu Yong had long lost his initial resistance to changing the court.

"Oh? It couldn't have come at a better time. He Tengjiao raised his left eyebrows, "In this way, you will go to Xu Yong again in the next two days, and this time you don't have to hide it, you can tell him the truth that King Gui will ascend the throne." Since he has been shaken, then push him again and let him make a decision early. ”

"Yes."

"If Xu Yong agrees to join us, you will ask him to arrange a banquet as soon as possible, so that I can meet Zuo Mengeng." He Tengjiao's eyes were blazing, "With this banquet, I must pull Zuo Mengeng, a hairy boy, over in one fell swoop." ”

Du Yinxi has always been convinced of He Tengjiao's ability, and when he swore that he said this, he was full of promises. But when I thought of the behemoth Zhao Ying, I felt worried for no reason: "Zuo Mengeng is just a small fish and shrimp, but Zhao Ying is ......"

He was frowning, but He Tengjiao coughed lightly and said, "You just have to go and do Xu Yong's business, Zhao Ying, I have a plan." ”

"What?" Du Yinxi's hands shook in surprise, and he almost knocked over the tea cup next to him, "The teacher actually has a way?" ”

He Tengjiao exhaled and said meaningfully: "For the sake of the country, how can you not work step by step?" Can't deal with Zhao Ying, although the new dynasty is established, internal friction is endless, how to resist foreign enemies? This matter has a lot to do with Zhao Ying, I didn't tell you before, don't blame me. But you can do things with peace of mind, although Zhao Ying is strong, I also have a way to restrain him! ”

Du Yinxi nodded vigorously, his heart surging.