Fujian, Zheng House.

Zheng Zhilong paced in the study with his hands behind his back.

Not long ago, news came from Guangxi that Zhu Youlang, the king of Gui, wanted to raise troops early, hoping to get a positive response from Zheng Zhilong. In this way, the two Guangxi and Fujian can pose a greater threat to the Ming court.

Although Zheng Zhilong agreed, he actually had other ideas in his heart.

His original promise to cooperate with Qu Shiyun was only a stopgap measure. Because the Ming court imposed a blockade on him, he could only buy grain from Liangguang nearby.

And Guangdong's Ding Kuichu has an ambiguous attitude, only Qu Shiyun is relatively cooperative, and Zheng Zhilong can only cooperate with Qu Shiyun.

After taking this line, Zheng Zhilong knew that behind Qu Shiyun was Guiwang Zhu Youlang.

And Zhu Youlang is ambitious, and wants to find an opportunity to pull down the emperor of the current Ming court and become the emperor himself.

In this regard alone, the two have a common goal.

It's just that it's really difficult to get Zheng Zhilong to fully cooperate with Zhu Youlang's actions. After all, the consumption during the war is amazing, Zheng Zhilong is very reluctant to raise these soldiers on weekdays, and if he really wants to fight, he is afraid that he will drag down the entire Zheng family army.

It is better to report the news to Beijing and let the Qing army send troops.

In this way, Zheng Zhilong can help King Gui increase his momentum without a single soldier.

It was not impossible to do this in the past, after all, it was also good for the Manchus.

But now it's harder.

Zheng Zhilong relied on Hong Chengchou when he took the line of the Manchu Qing Dynasty. But now the Qing army has suffered a big defeat in Sichuan, and many people will be beheaded. Hong Chengchou is also nowhere to be found.

Although the Qing court announced that Hong Chengchou had returned to Shaanxi, Zheng Zhilong always felt that something was wrong.

The Qing army was defeated in Sichuan, and there must always be someone to blame. At this time, Hong Chengchou, a Han man, is naturally the best choice.

However, Hong Chengchou did not appear in Beijing but stayed in Shaanxi, which is really puzzling.

The only possibility is that Dorgon wants to cool down the smell of gunpowder. But Zheng Zhilong felt that this possibility was not very likely.

It is more likely that Hong Chengchou is dead, and the Qing court said that Hong Chengchou has fled back for the sake of face. As for saying that Bolo and the others because their bodies were in the hands of the Ming army, even if they lied, it didn't make any sense. Only Hong Chengchou's disappearance allowed them to make a big fuss.

If Hong Chengchou is really dead, things will be difficult to do.

Zheng Zhilong was too late to build a relationship with the Qing court, so he couldn't talk to the high-level Qing court.

That's still a decent statement. If it's vulgar, you can't even catch up with the heat when you eat.

Don't look at the fact that he has an invincible sailor, but it may not really be anything in Dolgon's eyes.

This may be because of the arrogance of the Manchurians, or perhaps because of their strength.

No matter what kind of situation it is, Zheng Zhilong will be in a very embarrassing situation.

However, Zheng Zhilong still decided to give it a try.

The lesser of two evils, it is better to let the Qing army bleed than to let yourself bleed.

After thinking about it, Zheng Zhilong took the pen and dipped it, and started to write.

The tone is naturally extremely humble, and the master shouts cordially.

Since being a slave must have the consciousness of being a slave, everything is based on coaxing the master to be happy.

Anyway, if you write something meaty, you won't lose a piece of meat, and Zheng Zhilong is most willing to do this kind of thing without any loss.

He already had a draft in his heart, and his words didn't need to be too gorgeous, so this letter was written in one go.

After Zheng Zhilong finished writing, he dried the ink on it and sealed it.

Then he summoned his henchmen and solemnly handed them over to him.

"This letter is very important, you go on a trip, take the sea route, and send it to Tianjin in person, to ensure that nothing goes wrong!"

...

...

Autumn had arrived, and Dolgon's mood was melancholy when he looked at the yellowish leaves outside the temple.

Sichuan was defeated, and Dolgon fainted immediately after the news came. After being rescued by the imperial doctor, he still couldn't believe that the Eight Banners Army, which had tens of thousands of elite soldiers, would be defeated so completely.

How long has it been since the Eight Banners Army experienced such a fiasco?

Dorgon couldn't remember. All he knew was that it was a great disgrace. And this great shame turned out to be due to the southerners he despised the most.

It's so ironic, it's too true.

After this battle, the Qing army was already wounded and weakened.

Dolgon had to issue an order to Azig in Shaanxi, ordering him not to act rashly.

It doesn't matter if Sichuan can't take it, if Shaanxi loses it again, the Qing army will really be untenable in the north.

Fortunately, there is still Wu Sangui in Shaanxi, which is also a large number of troops. If the Ming army launches an attack, it should be able to hold it, right?

At present, the most urgent task is how to stabilize the morale of the army and prevent the soldiers from developing fear of the southerners.

Of course, the children of the Eight Banners of Manchuria also wanted to be appeased. After so many deaths, there must always be someone to blame, Dolgon first wanted to use Hong Chengchou as a scapegoat, but unfortunately Hong Chengchou was also nowhere to be found.

How can this person who has not seen anyone in life and death or corpse be used as a scapegoat?

Those Eight Banners disciples are not fuel-efficient lamps.

If they don't let them see Hong Chengchou being punished by the Ming Dynasty, they won't stop.

In desperation, Dolgon had no choice but to put the blame on the dead governor of Hanzhong, Tong Yanghe.

Anyway, the dead don't defend themselves, so this matter can be regarded as a temporary avoidance.

This year, Dorgon doesn't want to make a big deal anymore, so let's get through this year first.

Just when Dolgon was stunned, his own soldiers suddenly came to report that there was a letter from Fujian.

Dolgon muttered to himself: "Fujian, it seems to be Zheng Zhilong..."

Then he turned to his own soldiers and said, "Take it and show it to this king." ”

The soldier's hands were respectfully presented, and Dolgon grabbed it and unfolded it.

He was fluent in Chinese characters, so he had no problem reading Zheng Zhilong's sonatas.

After watching it, the corners of his mouth were rarely hooked into a smile.

"Yes, yes! Finally waiting for good news. ”

He really didn't expect that the person who brought him good news at such a time would be the uncle of Emperor Mingting.

This King Gui's plot to usurp the throne was unexpectedly discovered, and now he is about to jump off the wall in a hurry.

It's just that King Gui is weak after all, so he hopes that the Qing army can come forward to attack the Ming army's defense line to relieve his pressure.

Of course, these words were relayed by Zheng Zhilong, and it is impossible to determine how many of them were added by Zheng Zhilong himself.

However, Dorgon felt that this was generally a good thing for the Qing army.

With Zheng Zhilong and King Gui in the south, the Qing army will be more flexible in its actions.

As for whether or not to send troops this time, Dorgon has not yet decided for a while.

If the troops are dispatched, there will be food consumption, and the flag soldiers who were originally complaining will definitely be full of complaints.

But if you don't send troops, it seems that it will be a bit of a loss to sit back and watch King Gui be exterminated by the Ming court.

After thinking about it, Dorgon still had a hard time deciding.

In the past, he would ask Hong Chengchou for advice. It's a pity that Hong Chengchou's death is uncertain now.

Dolgon sighed and ordered, "Go and release Fan Wencheng." ”

Since the last time he was placed under house arrest, the Qing court adviser ended his political life. Now that Dorgon is unavailable, he has to be activated again.

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