Zhu Hongsan took Feng Ruoshu and Zhu Hongyi, went out and hired a sedan chair for Feng Ruoshu, and asked the sedan chair driver to take them to Xihuzui in the west of the city.

Xihu Tsui is two miles away from the city, built on the edge of Hongze Lake, and is named because of the beautiful scenery of this place.

Zhu Hongsan inquired about the places where several vassal kings lived, and went directly to the west courtyard where Zhu Yousong, the king of Fu, lived.

Zhu Hongsan saw in front of the door that the courtyard was dilapidated, the paint on the gate had fallen off, and half of the tiles on the houses had been missing. How bleak it is to look.

Zhu Hongyi went up to call the door, and after a while, a person wearing a patch opened the courtyard door and asked, "Who are you?" ”

As soon as Zhu Hongsan heard the voice, he knew that this was a eunuch, so he hurriedly handed it over: "May I ask if this is the collapse of King Fu?" ”

The eunuch said, "Yes, you are the one?" ”

Zhu Hongsan said: "Please pass through His Royal Highness King Fu, I am Zhu Hongsan of the Huguang Chu Clan, and I heard that the imperial uncle is here again, and I have come to pay a visit." ”

The eunuch said, "Please wait. Then he closed the door and went in to report.

After a while, the middle door opened, and a twenty-seven or eighteen-year-old little fat man appeared at the door, and heard him say, "That is my imperial nephew?" ”

It turned out that this little fat man was Zhu Youxiang, who looked quite average, not tall, and had a simple face. It's not quite like the faint king who killed two virgins in one night as later generations.

Zhu Hongsan stepped forward and knelt down and said, "But Uncle Fuwang, the little nephew Zhu Hongsan, the lieutenant of Fengguo, bowed down." ”

He is King Fu, the prince of the Ming Dynasty. This didn't bring Zhu Hongsan with an eyelid clip before, but everyone has a horse stirrup short. Now this blessed king Zhu Yousong is the time to go unlucky.

In the fourteenth year of Chongzhen, Li Zicheng led the army to break through Luoyang and stewed the old Fu King Zhu Changxun in a pot. Zhu Yousong, his mother-in-law, Princess Fu, Zou Cunyi, uncle Zou Cunyi, and some officials and servants of the Fuwang Mansion, totaling more than 200 people, escaped and took refuge in Meng County.

Gao Mingheng, the governor of Henan at that time, reported to Chongzhen that Zhu Yousong had no children, and the mother and son depended on each other, and the shape was very pitiful.

After Chongzhen heard about it, he immediately sent officials and eunuchs to collect the body of his own uncle Lao Fuwang, take care of his funeral, and ordered someone to carry Yinliang to Henan to help and comfort Zhu Yousong's mother and son. In September of the same year, Zhu Yousong's mother and son returned to Luoyang.

In the sixteenth year of Chongzhen, Zhu Yousong attacked the throne of Fufu in Luoyang. After Luoyang was captured by Li Zicheng's army again, he fled all the way to Zhu Changshu, the king of Lu in Weihui Mansion, Henan.

During this period, Zhu Yousong had no life, and could only rely on the help of Zhu Changshu, the king of Lu, and then the whole territory of Henan was occupied by Li Zicheng, and Zhu Yousong and Zhu Changshu, the king of Lu, fled to Huai'an Xihuzui together.

Zhu Yousong's life was even more difficult at this point, and King Lu didn't bring much silver when he ran out, so naturally he couldn't help this imperial nephew.

In addition, now there is news that the Jingshi has been breached, and Chongzhen and his three sons have not escaped. Nanjing is discussing the selection of one of their princes to inherit the unification. In this way, King Lu can't care about Zhu Yousong.

Now Zhu Yousong hasn't eaten for two days, and everything that can be pawned has been sold out. When he heard that an imperial nephew came to visit him, he would definitely be able to give himself some silver to solve his urgent needs. That's why I went out to greet me personally.

Zhu Yousong helped Zhu Hongsan up and let him go to the yard. When he entered the courtyard, Zhu Hongsan saw that this was miserable. Now there are only five or six people following Zhu Yousong. Dressed like Hanako.

Entering the house and sitting down, Zhu Yousong asked: "Imperial nephew, do you have anything to eat, uncle and I have been hungry for two days." ”

Zhu Hongsan knew that Zhu Yousong was miserable now, but he didn't expect that he couldn't eat. hurriedly arranged for Zhu Hongyi to go out to buy something to eat.

After a while, Zhu Hongyi bought food, but there was nothing to eat outside the city. It's just a few roast chickens, two elbows, and a dozen steamed buns.

Zhu Yousong saw that the food was like a vicious dog, rushed up, picked up a roast chicken and gnawed it. The other Zhu Yousong's entourage also stepped forward to eat.

It seems that these starving ghosts have been hungry for many days, and they have eaten all these things in less than ten minutes.

Zhu Yousong got up and smiled embarrassedly. said: "Let the imperial nephew smile, my uncle is really hungry." ”

Zhu Hongsan said: "My own people can laugh at my uncle, but my little nephew, how did my uncle end up in such a field?" ”

When Zhu Yousong heard Zhu Hongsan ask, he couldn't help crying, and told him in detail what he had encountered in the past few years.

Zhu Hongsan listened patiently, sighed and said, "I didn't expect my uncle to be so hard. ”

Zhu Yousong asked, "Why did you end up in Huai'an, imperial nephew?" ”

Zhu Hongsan said: "After the destruction of Wuchang City, the little nephew and the rebels fled south. On the way, he was favored by Hu Guangma's family and recruited a son-in-law. I came to Huai'an this time because I was going to Beijing to pick up my wife's uncle to go south, passing through Huai'an, and I heard that the emperor's uncle came to visit here. ”

Zhu Yousong nodded and said, "It seems that you are much better than my life, at least you can eat well." ”

At this time, Feng Ruoshu, who was on Zhu Hong's three sides, said: "Does His Royal Highness King Fu want to end his life like this?" ”

Zhu Yousong originally thought that this old man was a master or something, but he didn't expect to ask himself this sentence. So looking at Zhu Hongsan, I didn't know what it meant.

Zhu Hongsan said: "Uncle Huang, this is my uncle-in-law, Lord Feng of Dali Temple. ”

Zhu Yousong immediately stood up when he heard this, and saluted: "I don't know that Lord Feng is here, Xiao Wang is polite." ”

Old Man Feng nodded and said, "Now that the Jingshi is in trouble, His Majesty the Emperor and several princes have no news. The country cannot be without a king for a day, hasn't Your Highness thought about inheriting the unification? ”

Zhu Yousong thought to himself: "Who doesn't want to be the emperor?" But now I don't have anything to do with myself. Zhu Yousong said: "My lord doesn't know, I heard that they have decided to establish Uncle Lu as the new monarch in Nanjing." ”

Feng Ruoshu stood up and said, "Confused, since ancient times, there have been brothers and brothers, and there are uncles who take over the throne of nephews." In terms of the orthodoxy of the throne, only King Fu is a reasonable candidate.

Nanjing's gang of people do not conform to the usual order, let His Majesty's cousins not stand, to set up His Majesty's uncle, although they are all from Emperor Wanli, but where is the Apocalypse and Chongzhen Emperor? ”

At that time, there were about four candidates who were qualified to inherit Dabao. Among them, Zhu Yousong, King Fu, Zhu Changrun, and Zhu Changying, King Gui, are in the same vein as Chongzhen, all of whom are from Emperor Chongzhen's grandfather, Emperor Wanli Emperor Shenzong Zhu Yijun, and one is Emperor Wanli's nephew, King Lu, Zhu Changshu.

However, among the first three vassal kings, Zhu Changrun, King Hui, and Zhu Changying, King Gui, were the sons of Emperor Wanli, and the two were in Guangxi at the time; And Zhu Changshu, the king of Lu, is not from Wanli's lineage at all, but Wanli's nephew, and his generation is also the same as Chongzhen's generation.

However, because he and Zhu Yousong, the king of Fu, and the other two old feudal kings of Zhou and Heng were all in Huai'an at that time, so in terms of conditions, they could barely be regarded as a one-person candidate.

Zhu Yousong didn't understand this truth, but now he is a small person, and no one speaks for him. But Zhu Yousong still had this little bit of heart, and seeing that Feng Ruoshu was inclined to himself, he hurriedly stood up and asked, "Please Master Feng teach me, what should I do?" ”

Feng Ruoshu smiled and said: "Now that the world is in chaos, only military power is the decisive force. ”

Zhu Yousong smiled bitterly: "I used to be a vassal king, so I have the right to get acquainted with the general who leads the troops?" ”

Feng Ruoshu said: "This is simple, now the Fengyang Eunuch is Lu Jiude, I heard that Eunuch Lu served the old Fu King before. His Royal Highness can send him a letter and ask him to contact the three general soldiers of Jiangbei, Gao Jie, Huang Degong, and Liu Liangzuo. Won't His Highness have soldiers? ”

Zhu Yousong was overjoyed when he heard this, thought for a while, and then said: "But I don't have anything now, how can I subdue these general soldiers." ”

Feng Ruoshu said: "Simple, His Highness said that after the matter is completed, they can be given the right to expropriate, so that the general soldiers of the three towns are still unwilling to serve His Highness?" ”

Feng Ruoshu's strategy is too poisonous, and the right to expropriate is that he can decide to fight that one if he wants. This is even more powerful than the right to tax and appoint officials to the four towns of Jiangbei in history.

Zhu Hongsan looked at Feng Ruoshu, an old man, and said in his heart: "How do literati's hearts grow, why are their hearts so black, the master is compared to him like an old lady who eats fasting and recites Buddha."

As soon as this strategy came out, there was no need for the Manchu Qing to go south, and Nanming himself would be able to fight back in the nest. ”

Feng Ruoshu was afraid that after Zhu Yousong came to power, he would integrate the three towns, and then Zhu Hongsan would not be able to develop well in Guangdong, of course, Feng Ruoshu did not know that the Manchu Qing Dynasty could enter the customs.