To attack Weihaiwei, it is necessary to advance on two fronts by water.

Fang Yuan immediately summoned Xing and Gao Ze, who operated in Laizhou Mansion, and Shi Lang, who sent a sailor to the Grand Canal to repel Zheng's sailors.

Fang Yuan ordered Xing, Gao Ze and others to wait in the side courtyard, and summoned Shi Lang to interrogate first.

Shi Lang was defeated in Weihaiwei before, and he was guilty. But later, he personally led the sailors into the Grand Canal to the north and annihilated the Zheng fleet stationed in Jiningwei Port, which was considered a success.

Fang Yuan asked straight to the point, "Old Five, failure is the mother of success, let's not mention the previous defeats, how can you tell me how to conquer Zheng Sen's Weihaiwei?!" ”

Shi Lang was extremely depressed during this time, and with such a sophisticated naval fleet, he was repelled by Zheng Sen in Weihaiwei. He, the Admiral of the Navy, can be said to be completely derelict in his duties, and he is even more embarrassed to go home. If you don't find Zheng Sen to find the field this time, it will definitely affect the weight of the Shi family in Fang Yuan's heart, and it will also rank when the founding of the country is rewarded for meritorious deeds in the future.

Shi Lang thought for a while and said, "Boss, Zheng Sen evacuated all the sailors from Weihaiwei and assembled in Tianjinwei, attacking Weihaiwei from the waterway is just a thunderstorm." I suggest attacking Weihaiwei by land. Taking advantage of Zheng Sen's main force to hold Weihaiwei, our army's naval division crossed Weihaiwei without fighting, and directly attacked Tianjin Wei, completely annihilating Zheng's naval division. ”

Shi Lang just wanted to finish his work in one battle, annihilate the Daming Water Division, and let out a bad breath.

Fang Yuan pondered for a while, and said lightly, "The geographical location of Weihaiwei is very important, it is the throat of the Bohai Sea, it is also the bridgehead for copying Liaodong by sea, and it is also the base for controlling the Korean Peninsula. If this battle is blown to pieces, the ruins are broken, and a lot of money will be spent to rebuild it, I am in favor of Lao Wu not taking the water route, but attacking Weihaiwei by land. ”

Shi Lang also thought that Fang Yuan approved his idea of directly attacking Tianjin Wei, and said happily, "Okay, boss, I will immediately go to reorganize the army and prepare to attack Tianjin Wei." ”

Fang Yuan shook his head and rejected his suggestion, "Old Five, you are too anxious, you must have a foolproof plan to attack Tianjin Wei. ”

Shi Lang was eager to make meritorious contributions, and said urgently, "Boss, just with the fort of Tianjin Wei, those hundreds of small fishing boats can be wiped out in one battle." The opportunity must not be lost and never come again, what other foolproof measures are needed?! ”

Fang Yuan saw that he was also too impatient, and said with a smile, "Old Five, I have no doubt about your ability to capture Tianjin Wei in a battle. However, Tianjin Wei is the throat of Gyeonggi, and attacking Tianjin Wei obviously has to consider not only the military level, but also the political level.

"After all, the imperial court of the capital is still the orthodoxy of the Ming Dynasty, where can you say that you can fight? We are not the kind of rogue like Li Zicheng, we must salute first and then soldier, understand?! It would be great if he could diplomatically pressure the imperial court in the capital to surrender and make a bloody forced landing. ”

"Old Five, in the future, you will attack Liaodong, Korea, Japan, and even Batavia and Malaga, there are a lot of opportunities for you to make meritorious contributions, don't worry, don't worry!"

Shi Lang only then knew that attacking Gyeonggi was actually a blow that moved the whole body, and now Fang Yuan was playing the banner of the Qing monarch's side, not overthrowing the Ming Dynasty, how could Beijing City be said to be fighting?

He scratched the back of his head and smiled awkwardly, "Boss, you have the final say!" ”

Fang Yuan ordered Shi Lang to temporarily retreat aside, and ordered Jinyiwei to bring Xing and Gao Ze.

As soon as Xing and Gao Ze entered the lobby, they knelt side by side and kowtowed to Fang Yuan.

Fang Yuan was not used to this kind of etiquette of kowtowing at every turn, so he hurriedly ordered the two of them to get up and said, "Xing, Gao Ze, I am not the emperor, you don't need to bow three times and bow nine times when you see me!" ”

After Xing and Gao got up, Fang Yuan asked how to attack Weihaiwei by land.

Xing's son Gao Yuanjue was also taken hostage by Fang Yuan, in order to save Gao Yuanjue's life, Xing's still did some practical things these days, and also contacted some middle and low-level officers in Weihaiwei. These officers were originally Gao Jie's subordinates, and later the imperial court assigned the Dengzhou Mansion to Zheng Sen to manage, these officers were from Dengzhou, and they did not want to leave Dengzhou, so they joined Zheng Sen's command.

Xing Shi spoke, "Regent, we have contacted one commander of Weihai Weili, five people from a thousand households, and twenty-seven people from a hundred households. They are willing to cooperate with our army inside and outside to break through Weihaiwei. ”

How could Fang Yuan believe Xing's one-sided words, and asked rhetorically, "Xing's family, who are some of the people who are preparing to cooperate with the outside world?" Why surrender? What are the conditions for surrender?! ”

Xing said, "This, can the regent be handed over to us with full discretion, and when the time comes, the regent will be kept in Weihaiwei without blood." ”

Fang Yuan saw that she was speechless, and even flickered, slapped the table fiercely, and scolded angrily, "Xing's! You're so daring! And come and bargain with me?! ”

"Someone! Drag the Xing family and Gao Yuanjue down and cut them down! ”

Seeing that he was suddenly furious, Xing Shi was so frightened that he turned pale, and hurriedly knelt on the ground, "This, this, Regent, how dare I bargain with you, we just, just, worry about ......"

Fang Yuan's face was like frost, and he said coldly, "What are you worried about?!" ”

Xing said in a low voice, "I'm worried that the regent will cross the river and tear down the bridge, go back on his word, and assassinate our mother and son after capturing Weihaiwei." ”

Only then did Fang Yuan know Xing's thoughts, he was not bargaining with himself, but worried about the lives of the mother and son, and couldn't help but sneer, "Xing's opinion, you are simply a woman's opinion!" Our original dignified regent is a regent, with the responsibility of unifying the world and promoting the prestige of the Ming Dynasty in all directions. How can you play some kind of conspiracy with your mother and son, and lose your trust in the world?! ”

"Listen up! What we promised is Chrysostom and Yuyu, which is more effective than the Holy Decree. I said spare your mother and son, and give you glory and wealth, and I will not break my word! ”

Xing raised his head and looked at him and said, "Then can the regent accept my son as his son, we will definitely serve the regent, and we will never dare to have two hearts." ”

Fang Yuan was slightly stunned, this scene also seemed familiar in history. In history, after Gao Jie was killed by Xu Dingguo, in order to find a backer for Gao Yuanjue, the Xing family asked Gao Yuanjue to recognize Shi Kefa as his father-in-law. At that time, Shi Kefa not only wanted to win over the forces of Gao Jie's department, but also did not want to be in the company of the rogue, so in a dilemma, he deliberately ordered Gao Yuanjue to recognize the eunuch Gao Qiqian as his father-in-law.

It was precisely because Shi Kefa regarded Gao Jie's subordinates as 'second-class citizens' that when the Qing army went south, Xing simply took Gao Yuanjue and Gao Jie's subordinates to surrender to the Manchus.

Now Xing once again put forward the idea of recognizing Fang Yuan as his father-in-law, which is a repetition of history.

In terms of reasonableness, Fang Yuan also had the same mind as Shi Kefa, and he didn't want to be this father-in-law. But in this troubled era, the way to win over subordinates is either to marry an in-law or to become a righteous son and father. Zhang Xianzhong's generals Sun Kewang and Li Dingguo are all his righteous sons, and none of them rebelled, which shows that this kind of relationship between father-in-law and son-in-law is still more binding than a pure relationship between monarchs and ministers.

Fang Yuan secretly pondered the benefits of accepting Gao Yuanjue as his son.

First, of course, it is to win over this force to avoid recurring accidents;

Second, and more importantly, it can set a benchmark for Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong, who were born in the rogue and peasant army. Fang Yuan also treated the Liukou and the peasant army equally, and did not discriminate at all. In the future, when the Liukou is pacified, sending Gao Yuanjue's troops to persuade him to surrender may have a surprising effect. The empty words of the officers and soldiers, those rogues may not believe it. Xing and Gao Yuanjue, who were born in Liukou, went to persuade them to surrender, and their credibility should always be much higher.

Third, and the most interesting point, when he went west to conquer Li Zicheng, he also wanted to send the army of Xing and Gao Yuanjue to the battlefield, so that Li Zicheng's wife and son born to his lover would go to war with Li Zicheng, and this scene is funny when you think about it.

Fang Yuan thought about it, put aside the face factor, not to mention the background factor, the advantages of accepting such a righteous son still outweighed the disadvantages.

He thought for a while, and a smile rose on the corner of his mouth, "Okay, if you can help me win Weihaiwei, I will accept Gao Yuanjue as my son." ”