On September 23, when Li Hualong got the exact information and began to urgently prepare for the response strategy, Xiao Ruxun also got a somewhat special letter, and the letter's signature reads - Ye Mengxiong.

The letter was sent by the guards, saying that there was a messenger, and they were afraid that this person was an assassin and locked him up.

Xiao Ruxun hesitated for a moment and opened the letter.

Ye Mengxiong greeted Xiao Ruxun in the letter, asked him how he was doing recently, asked him if he was in good health, whether he was eating well, whether he was dressing well, whether his family was good, etc., it felt like an ordinary letter asking for warmth.

But such words made Xiao Ruxun feel a little warm in his heart.

When he went to North Korea after the Battle of Ningxia, Xiao Ruxun and Ye Mengxiong's correspondence did not stop, and during the war, even if they were thousands of miles away, Ye Mengxiong still wrote three or four letters to ask about Xiao Ruxun's current situation.

This made Xiao Ruxun feel the warmth of being cared for, just like the feeling of family.

Ye Mengxiong is indeed a generous elder, and he is also one of the first civil officials to recognize Xiao Ruxun, Xiao Ruxun was able to get a lot of care in the court at the beginning, and it was also thanks to Ye Mengxiong who asked his old friend to speak for him.

It can be said that in the process of Xiao Ruxun's rise, Ye Mengxiong contributed a lot, until he arrived in Myanmar, Xiao Ruxun was still able to get a lot of convenience in the south of the Yangtze River through Ye Mengxiong's relationship, and it was very convenient to buy many things.

When Xiao Ruxun fled south, he didn't dare to go to Ye Mengxiong after passing through Nanjing, the time was urgent, and he rescued the third brother Xiao Ruzhi and left, and later sent Jiang Dahai north to cut off the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal, Xiao Ruxun also specially instructed Jiang Dahai to protect Ye Mengxiong's safety.

However, although Nanjing was taken, Ye Mengxiong was nowhere to be found, which made Xiao Ruxun a little worried for a while, but he believed that Ye Mengxiong, an old bureaucrat who had been up and down in the sea for many years, would not die easily, and sure enough, right now, he actually took the initiative to send a letter.

Having a shhh

Ye Mengxiong said in the letter——

Shen has always said that you Xiao Jixin rebelled against the wrong intentions, I don't believe it, you have no reason to do it, I don't believe that a brave and loyal general who has just made a great contribution will suddenly rebel, I don't believe you when you die, you Xiao Jixin is a person I am optimistic about, it is impossible to die so easily.

At that time, I was very confused and worried, and it wasn't until I suddenly found out that Xiao Ruzhi was missing, I realized that you were not dead, you had already been to Nanjing, and you took Xiao Ruzhi away, but why didn't you come to me, I was very puzzled.

I suppressed this matter and made no noise, but later, suddenly an army came to attack Nanjing, I was shocked, and just about to resist, I was knocked out and taken away by my subordinates.

I fled all the way, first ran to Anqing Mansion, my subordinates felt that Anqing Mansion was not safe, and then ran to Wuchang Mansion to settle down, in Wuchang Mansion I was shocked to hear that you had led the army to attack Huguang, so now I am writing to you to ask you what happened.

I don't believe you rebelled, but the movement caused by your Northern Expedition to Fengtian is too big, what happened between you and Shen Yiyi? Why did you force Shen to get rid of you in such a way, and also forced you to start the Northern Expedition, I want to know the reason.

If you can't convince me, I will regard you as a rebel and stick to Wuchang Mansion, I know that you will definitely come to Wuchang Mansion, I will wait for you here, when the time comes, will you meet each other or work together, Ji Xin, I want you to give me an explanation.

Ye Mengxiong's meaning is very simple, give him an explanation, let him believe that Xiao Ruxun did not rebel and is dedicated to the country, otherwise, he will lead the army to defend Wuchang Mansion and never let Xiao Ruxun's strategic plan succeed.

Xiao Ruxun finished reading the letter, sighed, and put down the letter in his hand.

If you want to talk about the civil officials that Xiao Ruxun really respects, Ye Mengxiong ranks second, and no one can really rank first.

Along the way, thanks to Ye Mengxiong's support and help at critical moments, Xiao Ruxun avoided many detours.

If he wants him to meet Ye Mengxiong, he can't guarantee that he will do it.

But this matter, the matter used to persuade Ye Mengxiong, Xiao Ruxun has a clear conscience.

Is it wrong to serve the emperor with loyalty?

Is Shen right to plot a coup d'état to depose the monarch?

To tell the truth, will Ye Mengxiong oppose Xiao Ruxun's act of going on the Northern Expedition as the king?

Everything is in accordance with the general righteousness.

So, Xiao Ruxun wrote a reply to Ye Mengxiong, determined to persuade Ye Mengxiong to join his Northern Expedition team, Ye Mengxiong is the secretary of the Nanjing Military Department, and has great prestige and connections in the south.

At this time, Xiao Ruxun's vanguard Ma Chong had already led 10,000 horses to capture Pingjiang on the bank of the Miluo River, opening the way to the north, and the troops were directed at Wuchang Mansion, and there was no one to stop Xiao Ruxun from going north.

With the march becoming more and more smooth, Xiao Ruxun has also been favored by many poor scholars and talents in a state of food and clothing, they are all the descendants recommended by the people who joined in first, you recommend me, I recommend you, and they praise each other like flowers, Xiao Ruxun's literati team has gradually expanded.

Perhaps the cultural quality of this literati team is not as good as that of the Jinshi of the northern imperial court, but in terms of doing things, the strength of the ability to do things has little to do with whether they can do Baguwen.

Xiao Ruxun treated these people in the same way as he dealt with those poor and sour talents in Myanmar, and first picked out the scholars who had suffered from the society and been educated by the society and put them around him for use.

And those nerds who are just poorer but have not yet suffered from society are assigned to learn statistics and logistics, and it is the veterans who take them to learn.

was made a superior by a group of veterans, of course these nerds were dissatisfied, and they made a fuss for a while, a few stubborn ones were driven away by Xiao Ruxun, and a few who were willing to accept re-education were erected as models, with a salary increase and treatment, this comparison, the wavering faction in the middle immediately became honest.

For this group of literati, Xiao Ruxun doesn't expect them to be more loyal, but some people can be reused, some people can't, and this is also to be distinguished, the more cruel treatment he receives, the more he suffers, the more he can be bought through money and treatment, so that he will join the team of the Northern Expedition with all his heart, such as Xie He.

And those who have not suffered much under the state of food and clothing are not so easy to buy, these people are the same as Chen Longzheng, they still have this relatively simple romantic idea in their heads, full of benevolence, righteousness, etiquette, wisdom and faith.

This kind of person can't be reused, can't be placed at the decision-making level, but there is a bit of a benefit, these people are brainless, don't know how to be flexible, and are good at managing accounts and warehouses.

The more the Northern Expedition and the more victorious the battle, the more Xiao Ruxun was short of manpower, and the situation was constantly tilting towards his side.

He also knew that as long as he succeeded in taking Wuchang, the overall situation would be decided.

This is not a troubled world, this is not a world of great contention, there are not so many warlords eager to secession, the Ming Dynasty suppressed the generals, and also suppressed the possibility of secession to the greatest extent, creating Xiao Ruxun's convenience.

Push all the way to the ground with little to no obstruction.

These ancestors who played politics and power were so fragile in the face of elite soldiers and strong ships and artillery.