"What? Abandoning Suzhou? Ma Cheng was taken aback when he heard Xu Zhenye say this, he didn't expect this group of intellectuals to be so shameless that they would give up Suzhou.

Xu Zhenye ignored the shocked Ma Cheng, nodded and said: "Yes, in addition to Suzhou, Zhenjiang Mansion, Songjiang Mansion, Changzhou Mansion, Guangdezhou, Taiping Mansion and Ningguo Mansion must be abandoned!" ”

Since the Qing army retreated to Jiangbei more than a month ago, there was no Qing army support in all parts of the Yangtze River, and the gentry in various places raised troops to eradicate the local bureaucrats who surrendered to the Qing army, so in less than a month, the Ming army reoccupied most of Nanzhili, except for the distant Chizhou Mansion and Huizhou Mansion, the provinces south of the Yangtze River were recovered by the Ming army.

Now Xu Zhenye proposed to let Ma Cheng hand over the territory, Ma Cheng was very reluctant, Ma Cheng hesitated for a moment and asked: "Lord Xu, although the Beiyu is newly defeated now, there are still seventy or eighty thousand troops in Yangzhou, Jiangbei, if Zhenjiang is ceded, what if the Beiyu takes the opportunity to cross the river?" ”

Xu Zhenye heard Ma Cheng say this, and hurriedly persuaded: "Hou Ye, the northern captives are the elbow and armpit trouble, and the court and the emperor are the henchmen of the Hou Ye!" ”

Xu Zhenye had already committed the crime of rebellion when he said this, and Ma Cheng didn't know what Xu Zhenye really thought, so he could only pretend to scold: "Xu Zhenye, are you crazy?" This marquis is loyal to the Ming Dynasty and loyal to the emperor, and will never do anything to be sorry for the emperor! ”

Xu Zhenye laughed when he saw Ma Cheng pretending: "Master Hou, your acting skills are really higher than the play, but it's okay to deceive those pedantic ministers in the court, but you can't deceive the old man!" ”

Ma Cheng was noncommittal when he heard Xu Zhenye say this, and asked rhetorically: "Xu Zhenye, what evidence do you have to slander Benhou?" ”

"Master Hou, you have cultivated personal power in the army, and those hundreds of households have to recite the words loyal to you every day before going to bed, and what does the Military Intelligence Department do? Coupled with the heavy artillery guns of the Ordnance Bureau, the old man can't see that he has really become blind! ”

Ma Cheng was taken aback after hearing this, could it be that he had gone too far? Discovered by the ministers of the DPRK and China?

"Xu Zhenye, how did you find out about Benhou's arrangement? Who else knows in the DPRK? ”

Ma Cheng planned to order the Military Intelligence Department to arrest Xu Zhenye after questioning, and then interrogate him about who this old guy told about this matter.

Xu Zhenye has also been up and down in the sea for many years, and when he saw Ma Cheng's eye leakage, he knew what Ma Cheng was thinking, but Xu Zhenye was not afraid, but said in a good time: "Don't worry, the old man hasn't talked to anyone about this matter!" The old man was only a seventh-grade county a year ago, and he was promoted to the second-grade position because of the Hou Ye's attention, but the old man also knew that if there were no accidents in this life, he would end up in the second-grade! ”

Xu Zhenye is right, he was born as a person, and he was selected as a magistrate by Xu Hongji, the Duke of Wei, and now he can become a second-class member, and he is already smoking from the ancestral tomb, if he still wants to enter the cabinet, then the ancestral tomb must be on fire.

Although Xu Zhenye is also considered to be Ma Shiying's party, he can't be ranked regardless of his qualifications and official position, not to mention Li Zhan, Zhang Jie and others, everyone is a Jinshi in the Wanli period, what is your Xu Zhenye's background? There is also a relationship with Ma Shiying, Ruan Dacheng was Ma Shiying's benefactor and classmate back then, what about you Xu Zhenye? Just a small bureaucrat attached to Ma Shiying's son.

At the same time, Xu Zhenye is over forty years old this year, and if you follow the tradition of Ming Dynasty officialdom, Xu Zhenye is the top of the second grade. When he was sixty years old, the imperial court gave Xu Zhenye a retirement treatment of the second grade, and then went home to retire for the rest of his life.

But Xu Zhenye is not a stable person, you Li Zhan, Zhang Jie and others can become Shangshu, Tian Yang and a minister can become the governor, Ruan Dacheng is so bad that he can enter the cabinet with sores on the top of his head and pus on the soles of his feet, so why can't I Xu Zhenye have thick eyebrows and big eyes?

With this thought, Xu Zhenye began to plan, he looked at the Manchu officials, and found that there was no way out for him at all, and the only way to enter the cabinet in his lifetime was to continue to rely on Ma Cheng.

When Xu Zhenye carefully observed Ma Cheng, he found that Ma Cheng had developed to this point in the past year. The army is full of Ma Cheng's eyeliner, and commanders at all levels are either from Guizhou or Ma Cheng's personal soldiers. At the same time, Xu Zhenye took advantage of the reason for being in charge of the Ordnance Bureau, and checked the output of the Ordnance Bureau in detail, and since the end of the Battle of Nanjing, the Ordnance Bureau has not reduced or stopped production, but is still producing weapons in three shifts.

With these historical records, Xu Zhenye soon discovered that Ma Cheng's purpose was not simple, he didn't want to be a minister of Zhongxing, Sima Yi and Cao Cao were Ma Cheng's ultimate goal.

After discovering Ma Cheng's purpose, Xu Zhenye thought for a long time, if he reported this matter to the imperial court, not to mention whether he could succeed, even if he succeeded, he would not get any benefits, at most he would be promoted to a second grade, but it was impossible to enter the cabinet. But it is different to help Ma Cheng in reverse, although Ma Cheng is Ma Shiying's son, and Ma Shiying has a lot of officials and strategists, but there is no one who can really help Ma Cheng. If Ma Cheng really succeeds, then Xu Zhenye, who is the chief strategist under Ma Cheng, will become a sure thing to enter the cabinet, and if he can't do it, he can still be the first assistant, and he will be famous in history like Yang Tinghe and Zhang Juzheng.

At this time, Xu Zhenye received news from his family that his mother had died, and he was going home to worry about it for three years. Xu Zhenye is forty-seven years old this year, and he will be fifty when he returns to the imperial court in three years, and he should be ready to retire according to the normal procedure, what else do he want to enter the cabinet? So Xu Zhenye thought about it at home, and then made up his mind to go back to his hometown to find Ma Cheng and talk to Ma Cheng openly and honestly.

Ma Cheng slowly relaxed when he heard Xu Zhenye say this, he likes an official like Xu Zhenye the most, it is easy to control only if there is pursuit, don't you want to be a minister? Good! Follow Lao Tzu, and when Lao Tzu succeeds, he will let you be the first assistant!

After Ma Cheng made up his mind, he took Xu Zhenye's hand and cried bitterly: "Mr. Xu, Benhou got Mr. Xu, it's really like Liu Xuande got Zhuge Liang!" ”

Xu Zhenye knew that Ma Cheng's appearance was pretended, but the intellectuals ate this set, and Xu Zhenye also said excitedly: "Zhenguohou, although Xu's fame is not as good as those celebrities, Xu will definitely die for Zhenguohou!" ”

Hearing Xu Zhenye say this, Ma Cheng was also very moved, took Xu Zhenye's hand and said: "Please rest assured, Mr. Xu, as long as Ma Cheng succeeds in the big event, Mr. Xu will be the head of Ma Cheng's auxiliaries!" ”

Xu Zhenye was waiting for Ma Cheng's words, and quickly got up and knelt down on his knees and called the lord. Of course, Ma Cheng didn't know that his impulsive words would cause a big wave in the court in the future.

The relationship took a step further after the two sat down again, Ma Cheng asked

"Mr. Xu, you just said that you would give up Suzhou and other places? Why is that? ”

Xu Zhenye listened to Ma Cheng's tone change, from Lord Xu to Mr. Xu, and called you, Xu Zhenye said with satisfaction: "Lord, you only see that the northern captives are very threatening, but the greatest threat to the emperor is not the northern captives, but the king of Lu and the king of Lu who are close at hand!" If the lord wants to regain military power as soon as possible, only by making the emperor really feel that his throne is threatened, so that the emperor can let the lord go out of the mountain again! ”

Xu Zhenye is different from Ma Cheng, Ma Cheng came from later generations and knew that the Manchu Qing Dynasty eventually became the climate, and Nanming was picked by the Manchus because he could not unite internally. Therefore, after defeating the Qing army, Ma Cheng advocated going north to occupy Yangzhou, and regarded the Manchu Qing as the main opponent in the war.

But Xu Zhenye is different, Xu Zhenye is an intellectual of this era, and he knows that the most terrible enemy is not from the outside, but the people around him. Emperor Zhu Lunkui was originally very distant by blood, and now Zhu Chang, who is closer by blood, is the biggest threat to Zhu Lunkui. In order to deal with the Manchu Qing Dynasty, Ma Cheng was ready to throw the main force into the Jiangbei battlefield, so Zhu Lunkui was naturally not satisfied, so he gave Ma Cheng a holiday and let him go home to recuperate.

After listening to Xu Zhenye's analysis, Ma Cheng knew where he was wrong, and Ma Cheng asked: "If you do what Mr. Xu wants, will the emperor let the kid lead the troops?" ”

Xu Zhenye stroked his beard and said: "This is not enough, you have to make a look that you can't beat King Lu, so Xu asked the lord to give up other state capitals, so that the emperor can feel the pressure!" ”

Ma Cheng nodded again and again, and asked, "Then after the emperor handed over the military power to the kid, what should he do next?" ”

"This is simple, but the lord must have the right to make a decision on the spot!"

In the Ming Dynasty, the right to make decisions on the spot was generally the right of the superintendent, for example, when Ma Shiying was in Fengyang as the superintendent, he had the right to make decisions on the spot, and the seven prefectures of Jiangbei and Henan Province in the south were directly subordinate, and Ma Shiying, an official below the fifth grade, could be appointed freely.

However, this right has always been the exclusive property of civilian officials, and military generals do not have this right. Even if Ma Cheng, as the Marquis of Guiyang and the defender of the southern capital, did not have the right to make a decision at that time when he was defending Nanjing. Therefore, Ma Cheng has to clean up those nobles and go to the palace to ask the emperor, and only with the holy decree can he clean up those nobles.

If Ma Cheng had the right to make decisions on the spot, coupled with the military power in hand, he could appoint local magistrates as he wanted, then Ma Cheng would have completely become a warlord, a warlord who was even more domineering than the four towns in Jiangbei back then.

Ma Cheng has been worrying about the future development in the past few days, and now listening to Xu Zhenye's strategy, he happily stood up and drew a circle in the cabin, Ma Cheng said happily: "Mr. Xu is really talented, but it's a pity that the kid is not strong enough now, and he can't win love for Mr. Xu!" But please rest assured, Mr. Xu, when the kid has the strength, he will definitely invite Mr. Xu back as soon as possible to give advice to the kid! ”

Xu Zhenye is waiting for this sentence, even if Xu Zhenye leaves Ma Cheng with this sentence, the first credit in the future will definitely be Xu Zhenye's.

Xu Zhenye stood up and said, "Lord, Xu has a certain matter, Xu has said goodbye!" ”

Now the relationship between Ma Cheng and Xu Zhenye has gone further, Ma Cheng hurriedly ordered someone to park the painting boat by the lake, and then personally got off the boat to see Xu Zhenye off.