Located in the cabinet room in the imperial city, the first assistant Ma Shiying is convening a meeting of his henchmen. Present at the meeting were Liu Zeqing, Marquis of Dongping, Zhao Zhilong, Duke of Xinguo, Liu Kongzhao, Duke of Chengguo, and Qian Qianyi, the second assistant. They are all iron rods that support King Fu's accession to the throne, grasshoppers on a rope.

The atmosphere of the meeting was very solemn, the ministers looked at each other and looked at each other silently, and even Qian Qianyi, who was able to speak well, kept silent and sat there silently.

For the small court of Hongguang, the situation was already very critical. Since the news of Gao Jie and Liu Liangzuo's combined army being defeated by the Pingnan army and Huang Degong's rebellion came, everyone was in a state of panic. I thought that King Fu had the support of the army of the four towns, and it would be easy to exterminate Chongzhen who was heading south, after all, Chongzhen was only guarded by thousands of troops. But who would have thought that several times the number of troops, a sneak attack at night, would be like this.

Is Gao Jie and others too wasteful? Or is Chen Yue too powerful? As for the deeper reasons, such as the gains and losses of people's hearts, they dare not think about it.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Chongzhen has crossed the Yangtze River to Zhenjiang the day before yesterday, and the army led by the rebel general Huang Degong is about to arrive at Pukou, Jiangbei, the situation is already very dangerous, what should we do, everyone, let's talk about it."

Everyone didn't speak, and Ma Shiying, as the first assistant, couldn't help but say it. However, although he is good at playing with intrigues, he is not very familiar with marching and fighting.

"What else can I do, I can only come to cover the water and earth, the rebel Huang Degong is more than 10,000 people, Chen Yue's Pingnan army is less than 10,000, they add up to only 20,000 troops, and they are divided into two roads. We have an army of 50,000 in Nanjing, and I'm afraid of him! ”

Dongping Marquis Liu Zeqing had a gloomy face and said fiercely. Others say that since he followed King Fu to Nanjing and pushed King Fu to the throne of the emperor by force, there was no way back for Liu Zeqing, so he could only choose one way to go to the black. This defeated general who fled when he encountered the Dashun army in the past is now rare and fierce.

"What Dongping Hou said makes sense, although the rebels won a battle, after all, the strength is limited, the troops in our hands are several times that of them, and we have the fortified city of Nanjing to rely on, so there is no need to be afraid."

Chengguo Gong Liu Kongzhao also said that among the nobles in Nanjing, Liu Kongzhao is a rare talent, and he doesn't want other nobles to only know how to eat, drink, eat and wait for death all day long, but he is familiar with military books and is quite strategic, and is known as the descendant of Liu Bowen, who can pinch and calculate like Zhuge Liang, and his family education is different. Otherwise, there are many nobles in Nanjing, and it will not be his turn to be the governor of Caojiang.

Some time ago, when King Fu ascended the throne, he was intimidated by Liu Liangzuo's troops, and then the ambition in his heart, which made Liu Kongzhao stand up and choose to support King Fu with a clear banner.

"Nanjing City has a population of one million, and the government treasury has enough money and food, so we can easily recruit 100,000 troops and crush them to death by relying on troops." Liu Kongzhao said.

"Well, you can recruit young people in the city to join the army, but the treasury has limited money and food after all, if you really recruit 100,000 people, I'm afraid it won't last long." Ma Shiying was happy at first, and then frowned, the money and grain in the Nanjing treasury were unknown to others, and he, the first assistant, naturally knew that although there were a lot, they would definitely not be able to support it for long.

If only it was a month later, it would be nice to be able to harvest the summer grain.

"Yuanfu doesn't have to worry, as long as the imperial court orders, the imperial court does not have to worry about the matter of the amount of food and salary, and the minister is willing to take out the money and grain at home to help the imperial court recruit soldiers!"

Liu Kongzhao gritted his teeth and said categorically.

"Ahh Everyone in the hall looked at him in surprise, a noble like Liu Kongzhao has always eaten empty salaries and drank the blood of soldiers, and changed the law to make money, when did he know the general situation like this!

"Money is just something outside the body, as long as the rebellion is extinguished, there will naturally be wealth and wealth for us, if the rebels capture Nanjing, no amount of silver will be spent."

Liu Kongzhao said, having said that, his heart is dripping blood, the wealth accumulated by being a noble for more than 200 years, and in a prosperous place like Nanjing, his family assets are more than one million, and he has to take them all out today, for the ambition in his heart, give it a fight!

"Cheng Guogong understands righteousness, and he is really a model for my Ming Dynasty!" Ma Shiying was overjoyed, praised repeatedly, and then looked at Zhao Zhilong with hope.

He had long known that these nobles were rich, and if all the nobles in Nanjing were willing to break their homes for the country and take out money to recruit soldiers, why couldn't they exterminate the rebels?

"My father is also willing to fund the recruitment of soldiers." Secretly scolding Liu Kongzhao in his heart, feeling Ma Shiying's gaze, Zhao Zhilong could only grit his teeth.

"The imperial court may issue an edict that anyone who is willing to donate his family resources to recruit soldiers can be led by himself, and after defeating the rebellion, he can be given a knighthood according to his military merits."

Qian Qianyi, who had been silent, suddenly said, which surprised Ma Shiying and at the same time, doubts arose in his heart.

......

"Brother Liu, you have made me miserable, is it easy for us to save some silver, after you said this, you have to take out all the family assets for so many years."

At the end of the discussion, Zhao Zhilong and Liu Kongzhao walked out of the palace together, and there was no one on the road, Zhao Zhilong complained.

"Hehe, if Brother Zhao doesn't want to, you can just take out some silver, anyway, there is no rule on how much silver you must give." Liu Kongzhao said with a smile.

"Hey, with your brother Liu's old plan, the sudden proposal must have deep meaning, let's talk about it, what is your purpose?" Zhao Zhilong asked in a low voice.

"Brother Zhao, don't you know that since the Tumubao Incident, our Ming Dynasty's nobles have been getting worse day by day, our ancestors and Emperor Taizu have conquered the world together, but now the Ming Dynasty is not up to us at all.

The big and small things in the court are all decided by those civil officials, and we can only eat and wait for death. Now is a golden opportunity, whoever pays the money to recruit troops, the military power will be controlled by whom, as long as we take out the family funds to recruit the army, and after winning this battle, the military power can no longer be recovered by the imperial court.

In the future, our right to speak in the imperial court will inevitably increase greatly, and the era of nobility and military will be gone forever. In the future, the world of the Ming Dynasty will be our warriors! ”

Liu Kongzhao's words were low, but they were full of great confidence, and Zhao Zhilong couldn't help but feel moved.

"However, according to the ancestral system of the Ming Dynasty, it is not our turn to call the shots in the major affairs of the imperial court!" Zhao Zhilong frowned.

"What ancestry? Is it the ancestral system of the Hongwu year, or the ancestral system of the Yongle period? Liu Kongzhao reprimanded. Whether it was the Hongwu period or the Yongle period, the status of the military generals was above the civil officials, and after the Tumubao Incident, the Xungui group that followed Yingzong was destroyed, and the tradition of the noble and military was completely established.

"Brother Zhao, it will be very different in the future, and it is not impossible for our brothers to join the cabinet and assist the government!" Liu Kongzhao said with a smile.