At the end of June, it had been two months since Nanjing changed hands. With Qian Qianyi in charge of the government and Zuo Menggeng in charge of the army, the Nanjing government and the opposition, which were originally fluctuating, gradually settled down.

Zhao Dangshi appointed Zuo Mengeng to go north as soon as possible after capturing Nanjing, clean up Lianghuai, Shandong and other places, and finally join forces with the rest of the Zhulu army in Beijing. Zuo Mengeng meticulously followed his words, and in two months, with the cooperation of the administrative team of the newly established Hongguang Dynasty, he collected all the armies and battalions around Nanjing, and Liu Zhaoji, Zhang Tianlu and other forces were under his control, and Liu Liangzuo, who was wandering in Anqing and Luzhou, also led the army to annex. As a result, the number of troops under Zuo Mengeng's command reached 50,000, and more than three percent were descendants of Zhao Ying, three became the direct management of the military department, and three became vassal troops, roughly maintaining a relatively good ratio.

On the eve of the division, Jiangfang suddenly issued a warning, reporting that a large number of ships had entered the river through the estuary of the Chongming Shasu in Suzhou Prefecture, and had already traced the river through Jiangyin, Zhenjiang and other prefectures and counties, and approached Nanjing.

Zuo Mengeng didn't know what to do, he was panicked, and was preparing to temporarily stop the Northern Expedition to resist the unexpected enemy, and the follow-up found out that it was the fleet of Zheng Zhilong, the king of Nan'an in the Ming Dynasty, who was about to arrive, so he breathed a sigh of relief. The herald ordered all Jiangfang ports in Longtan and Kuah to open the gates in advance to welcome Zheng Zhilong.

Zheng Zhilong came this time, but did not wear strange clothes again, but wore a square scarf on his head, dressed in a light blue straight jacket, coupled with his fair and bearded face, he looked sincere and elegant, just like the secretary of Nanjing Guozijian. Zuo Mengeng, Qian Qianyi, and several high-ranking cabinet officials met with Zheng Zhilong and his brother Zheng Hongkui in the Wuying Hall of the Nanjing Imperial Palace.

"Zheng is not talented, and the audience is late." Zheng Zhilong arched his hand towards the west. Although Emperor Hongguang said that he was far away in Huguang, this Wuying Hall was the emperor's daily office place, and the portraits of Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang and Chengzu Zhu Di were provided.

"The prince and the sailor have arranged it." Qian Qianyi asked.

"It is convenient for you to be old, and Zheng's fleet has been docked in the port." Zheng Zhilong smiled, saw Zuo Mengeng, and nodded, "Hou Ye Zuo, I've been looking up for a long time." ”

Zuo Mengeng thought that a prince on the other side actually took the initiative to nod to himself, and he was overjoyed, and he hurriedly replied: "I have also admired the prestige of the prince for a long time." I heard that this time the prince brought a thousand sails to Nanjing, and I can't see the end at a glance, I don't know how many soldiers and horses? ”

"Not much, not much, only 20,000 athletes and hundreds of warships."

Zuo Mengeng only heard "20,000 athletes", and he didn't care about the "hundreds of warships" behind him, and muttered to himself: "It's okay, it's okay, it's on par with me, and my marquis can still hold up the scene." ”

Zheng Hongkui said: "When the prince heard that the imperial court had launched a large-scale northern expedition to restore the country, his blood was boiling, and he came here to do his best for the country and the king. "Zheng Jiashui can come to Nanjing, he actually contributes a lot.

Zheng Zhilong himself originally had the idea of sitting on the mountain and watching the tiger fight in the general trend of the world, and wanted to stay out of the matter, but Zheng Hongkui was different. He has been in Nanjing for a long time, and he has taken the path of the imperial examination, in fact, he has been out of the core of the Zheng family group for a long time, he instigated Zheng Zhilong to rush to seek further political interests for the Zheng family, and he also has the idea of taking advantage of the situation to climb up. When Zheng Zhilong heard it, he felt that he could try it, because he had this trip.

"I am glad that the prince has this heart, but my Nanjing soldiers and horses are about to be released, and I am temporarily added to such a large army as the prince, just reorganizing the establishment, adjusting logistics and other things is enough to be busy for more than half a month, I am afraid that the fighter plane will be delayed."

Zuo Mengeng doesn't know what's going on, on such an important occasion like this, Jin Shenghuan, an important minister of the Zuo family's army, and others must follow. He sat behind Zuo Mengeng and pretended to smile awkwardly. Zheng Zhilong was awarded the title of king, this time he came to Nanjing with great fanfare, and his reputation and qualifications were above Zuo Mengeng, Jin Shenghuan considered for his own family, of course, he didn't want to kill halfway to bite the gold, and snatched Zuo Mengeng's position as the leader of the Northern Expedition.

Qian Qianyi glanced at Gao Hongtu, one of the cabinet members and the secretary of the household department, and asked, "Lord Gao, if the king of Nan'an comes, how long will it take for the household department to adjust the degree of support?" ”

Gao Hongtu is an old man, how can he not understand what Qian Qianyi meant, and he doesn't want to say casually: "Three months at the earliest." Then he looked at Zheng Zhilong with an embarrassed expression, "Lord Wang, forgive me, I didn't do things so slowly." In the past few months, they have been busy eliminating redundant officials, and the departments and departments in the ministry are not neatly organized, and there are few people. ”

Zheng Zhilong is not a fuel-efficient lamp, and he knows what Jin Shenghuan, Qian Qianyi, and Gao Hongtu have in mind. Zuo Mengeng must be afraid that Xingshi will rob him of his command, Qian Qianyi doesn't know his Zheng family and doesn't want to cooperate rashly, as for Gao Hongtu, first, he wants to follow Qian Qianyi's instructions, and secondly, he also wants to cover his purse tightly.

"If you don't get in the way, if you don't get in the way, how can Zheng be strong." To the surprise of Zuo Mengeng and others, Zheng Zhilong laughed instead.

"This ......" Everyone looked at each other, and they didn't know what medicine was sold in Zheng Zhilong's gourd.

"To tell you the truth, the prince knows that this time the troops were sent in a hurry, and he is afraid of causing inconvenience to you, so he has already made a plan."

"I want to hear about it."

"The soldiers and horses of my Zheng family are all sailors, and the only way to march and fight is to rely on strong ships and artillery. When the Marquis of Zuo sent troops to the north, he must take the land route, but my Zheng family ship has no feet under it, and it is not easy to follow the expedition, so I want to go north from the waterway and open up a battlefield alone. ”

"Is it by sea to go north by water?" Jin Shenghuan asked.

"Exactly." Zheng Hongkui nodded, "Hou Ye Zuo is going to Shandong and Beizhili, although my Zheng family takes a different path, but from the southeast to the sea, you can also arrive." And the water and land go hand in hand, avoiding congestion and loss along the way, and it can also play the role of a surprise soldier. ”

"I see, from Nanjing untie the cable along the river to the sea and turn north, to Shandong Deng, Lai coast, if it goes well, the speed is probably still above the Zuo Houye." Qian Qianyi stroked his beard and said slowly. Zheng Zhilong had a good idea, which not only had strategic initiative, but also avoided power disputes between soldiers and horses within the imperial court.

"Yes, but our army is insufficient, and we still mainly assist Marquis Zuo." Zheng Zhilong smiled at Zuo Mengeng, "Therefore, after going to sea, I didn't go to Shandong immediately, but first went to the northeast and went to the Wa Kingdom." This route is familiar to our army and is very safe, and our army also has a stronghold in the Japanese country for supplies. When you get there, act on the situation. ”

At the beginning of the founding of the Ming Dynasty, the capital was Nanjing, and the sea route from Nanjing to Korea was tortuous and difficult, and accidents occurred frequently. In the fifth year of Hongwu, the Korean side sent more than 100 people to Nanjing Guozijian to study, but they all died in shipwrecks on the way. After Zhu Yuanzhang found out, he decided that for the sake of security, there was no need for frequent exchanges between the two countries. Later, when the Ming Dynasty pacified the Liaodong region, the land route from Liaodong was mostly used to communicate with North Korea, and the sea route from Nanjing gradually became unpopular.

"Then logistics supply ......," Gao Hongtu interjected.

Zheng Hongkui replied: "You don't need to worry about this. My Zheng family has been at sea for many years, how can I not prepare my own food and salary when I go to sea, and the warehouses of those big ships and huge ships are all furnishings? ”

Everyone laughs, but the reason for laughing is different.

Zuo Mengeng said at this time: "I don't know, I received a letter from King Ningnan two days ago, asking me to send troops to watch out for some Tartars this time. Saying that the Tatars captured Beijing is by no means to help our Ming Dynasty as they say, but has other intentions. I have also heard that the house of the Tartars is in the north, and the king of Nan'an is walking by sea, can he reach it? ”

Zheng Zhilong nodded slightly and said: "If you can get there, starting from the Wa Kingdom, whether you go to Guanwai or Shandong, it is feasible." However, the Tartars' hometown was in the hinterland outside the Kansai, and the fleet might not be able to reach it directly, so the most reliable route would be to start from Hirado in the Wa Kingdom, cross Tsushima Island and go to the Dongnae Metropolitan Protectorate in Joseon first, and then go to the Tartar's hometown by water or land. ”

Zheng Hongkui was surprised and said, "King Ningnan wants to fight the Tartars? ”

Zuo Mengeng leaned back in his chair and said leisurely: "That's not true, it's just that everyone knows that Tartar is not a good thing, if he dares to steal and occupy my Ming Imperial Capital, no matter what way he comes from, he will not make a mistake." ”

Gao Hongtu said in a deep voice: "Recently, there have been many reports from the northern ponds, and there are many things about the Tartars dividing troops to occupy my Ming land. Although the imperial court has not explicitly stated that it wants to fight the Tartars, if this trend continues, the expulsion of the Tartars is just around the corner. ”

Qian Qianyi said: "The Holy Lord recently issued an order to organize a delegation to negotiate with the Tartars and explore the truth. Probably in the first half of next month, led by Lord Zuo, he will prepare gifts and bring books to Beijing. As he spoke, he glanced at Jiang Yueguang, one of the ministers and the secretary of the Ministry of Rites. The "Lord Zuo" he mentioned here is Zuo Maodi, the current governor of Yingtian, Anqing and other places. Zuo Maodi's mother recently passed away in Beijing, and Zuo Maodi wanted to take advantage of the envoy to deal with his mother's funeral at the same time.

Zuo Mengeng said: "It just happened to set off with our army, and there was a thorough companion." He added, "Lord Zuo and my own family, so why not recognize a relative?" Laughing as he spoke, he laughed for a moment and saw that no one responded, so he closed his mouth tastelessly.

Gao Hongtu said: "I heard that although the Korean monarchs and ministers are bent to the knees and the Tartars are obscene, they still secretly remember my Daming, and there are many hearts to return. If the Tartars are really ill-intentioned, the king of Nan'an will go, and he can also use my great authority and instigate North Korea to oppose the Tartars and return to the Ming Dynasty. ”

Zheng Zhilong stroked his palm and said: "If you really have a face-to-face with the Tartar, it's okay." In his plan to sail north, it was not only to respond to Zuo Menggeng's army to seize Shandong and Beizhili, but also other ambitions.

Although the Zheng family is rich, the industry is all business and trade, and there is very little on-the-ground industry, so it is inevitable that the outside is strong and the inside is weak. Especially in the area of raising and conscripting troops, the foundation of the Zheng family, which only occupies the first line of Zhangzhou and Quanzhou along the coast of Fujian, can be called weak, and the grain and military supplies can only be purchased through transactions, and there is a shortage of soldiers. Therefore, on the surface, the Zheng family seems to have tens of thousands of troops and more than 1,000 warships, which is very bluffing, but it can only be used for a while, and if it really has to meet a war-resistant and tenacious opponent, it is difficult for its own side to continue for a long time regardless of strategic depth, material and soldier support, and it is impossible to fight a protracted war at all. Take the old rival red-haired people as an example, their people only occupy a corner of southern Taiwan in the southeast sea, and have a thousand-mile-long supply line with the larger stronghold in Luzon. Zheng Zhilong had a headache when he thought of this, and he couldn't sleep and eat.

Therefore, in the letter written by Zheng Hongkui to Zheng Zhilong to persuade him to send troops, it was very clear that the imperial court's large-scale northern expedition was really a golden opportunity for the Zheng family to expand their territory and become self-defeating. The Zheng family, the other inland territories of the Ming Dynasty, did not dare to take it by force, so they could not hold it if they took it. But the situation in the north is different, sending troops from the Wa State, you can plunder the Guanwai, those are all terra nullius, not to mention the Liaozuo fertile fields that Wu Sangui gave up outside the Guanwai Ming Dynasty for a long time, occupying these lands, the imperial court will not say anything, if you really want to say, it is also a credit to the Zheng family for restoring their homeland.

In order to strengthen Zheng Zhilong's belief, Zheng Hongkui also drew a detailed map of Liaodong through various inquiries and research for more than half a year, attached it to the letter, and pointed out that as long as Zheng Zhilong's army reached the sea surface of Liaodong, he did not dare to say anything else. If it goes further, it can incite North Korea, which has long been anti-Tartar, to join forces and enter the interior to seize larger territory. If the DPRK is disobedient, it will turn around and invade the DPRK, and it is not impossible to take the DPRK for itself and become the king of the DPRK. In short, judging the situation and taking advantage of the trend can be described as a profitable and loss-making business.

From this point of view, Zheng Zhilong's Northern Expedition was under the banner of restoring his homeland for the country, but in fact, it was for his own livelihood. It would be better if Zuo Mengeng and the other Nanjing troops were willing to cooperate, but if they were unwilling, he Zheng patted his ass and turned his head to drive the ship, doing his own thing, and no one could control anyone.

Therefore, even if Zuo Mengeng, Qian Qianyi and others intentionally resisted Zheng Zhilong, Zheng Zhilong could still look amiable and act as if nothing happened.