After some twists and turns, Zhang Huangyan and Zhu Yijiang finally came to the Zheng Chenggong military camp in Yanziji.

Zheng Chenggong himself was not in the camp, according to the general Gan Hui who stayed behind, he landed from Taixing County with the main force, was collecting grain everywhere in Jiangbei, and had successively captured several county towns along the Yangtze River, and was attacking Yangzhou. Most of the Qing troops in Jiangbei were evacuated by Jierharang, and their troops were extremely empty, so they could only let Zheng Chenggong's marines attack the city and take away all the summer grain that had just been harvested.

Grain has always been Zheng Chenggong's weakness, most of Fujian is mountainous, grain output is limited, he with tens of thousands of troops in Xiamen Island and other southeast coastal areas, relying on maritime trade business to raise military spending, but did not control a large enough grain production area, so the development is very restricted, in later generations he sent troops to recover Taiwan, a very important reason is also to establish a reliable grain base. (Zheng Chenggong's original words: 'I want to conquer Taiwan, think it is the fundamental place, settle the generals' families, and then go east and west, without internal worries, and can gather lessons.' ‘）

Zhang Huangyan and Zheng Chenggong are old neighbors, of course they know his situation very well, I heard that he went to Jiangbei to collect grain, it is not surprising to hear that he went to Jiangbei to collect grain, the war in the south of the Yangtze River is fierce, the Qing army and the Ming army before and after a few stubbles of grain, Zheng Chenggong can not get much grain again, Jiangbei is a famous land of fish and rice, go there to get twice the result with half the effort, strategically speaking, Zheng Jun harassed the Jianghuai region, pushed the front further north, and also helped the Jiangnan war situation.

Although I didn't see Zheng Chenggong, I unexpectedly met another big man - Qian Qianyi.

After Qian Qianyi surrendered to the Manchu Qing Dynasty, he quickly resigned from his official position and secretly supported the anti-Qing struggle. is considered half an "underground party", and he is Jiangnan Shilin Taidou. The protégés were all over the provinces and still had great influence among the gentry. Therefore, the Longwu Imperial Court paid tribute to the filial piety tomb with great fanfare, and he was also regarded as a "united front person" and was invited to watch the ceremony.

But then again, although it is half an underground party, but he has been a traitor in the end, his identity is still very embarrassing, he led the civil and military officials of Nanjing to surrender to Duoduo, and the experience of succumbing to Shiqing made Qian Qianyi's prestige plummet, and the allusions of "the water is too cold" and "the scalp is itchy" made him the object of ridicule among the people of Shilin. The Longwu regime invited him to participate in the ceremony of worshipping the tomb of filial piety. It's more to buy horse bones for thousands of dollars and appease the gentry all over Jiangnan...... The gentry and common people in the enemy-occupied areas were living under the butcher's knife, paying grain and taxes to the Manchu Qing Dynasty, whether active or passive, many people had different processes with the Manchu government, and some people also sent their own children to participate in the Manchu imperial examinations, and achieved the fame of the Qing court, the Longwu court was not guilty of Qian Qianyi, a former traitor, and the other gentry and ordinary people no longer had to worry about it.

In fact. Qian Qianyi's political life has basically ended, and he himself knows this very well, and this time he came to participate in the ceremony of worshiping the filial piety tomb, he is just an ornament. It does not mean that it can be reused in the Longwu court...... He was a cowardly man himself, whether it was a decoration or a clown. He was powerless to resist, and he did not dare to resist. Wang Kefan wrote a letter to him, and he immediately rushed over.

"It's all atonement. The old man has a big loss. I should have committed suicide a long time ago to apologize, but I was greedy for life and afraid of death, so I have survived so far, I have no shame to see Emperor Taizu Gao again, I don't know how much scolding I have to suffer this time to worship Xiaoling, this old face is no longer going to be. ”

Qian Qianyi shirked that the dehydration was too cold, and he refused to commit suicide and martyrdom, and he can also be explained by being cowardly and afraid of death, after all, after the defeat of a country, everyone cannot be required to be martyrs, and it is human nature to endure humiliation and steal life, but he claimed that he was the first to shave his hair with an itchy scalp, but he was flattering to the Qing court, and Shi Qing helped him to do evil, and it was a stain that could not be washed away...... The so-called greater ability, greater responsibility, to Qian Qianyi's status, every move is Shilin's example, although he surrendered to the Manchu Qing Dynasty, although there was no obvious evil, but the traitor hat on his head did not want to take off for the rest of his life.

Soon after surrendering to the Qing court, Qian Qianyi finally figured out that even if he returned to his hometown and lived in seclusion, the Manchu Qing would not kill him, and he could still make a good reputation, but when the Duoduo army came to the city, he was frightened, and the cowardly side of his personality was infinitely magnified, so that he was full of ugliness, so that every time he thought about it afterwards, he regretted it. (Qian Qianyi's character is very representative, that is, the kind of typical boneless literati who pees his pants in the face of a butcher's knife, but he can't wipe out all the etiquette, righteousness and shame like Hong Chengchou, so he has been very entangled in the second half of his life.) ）

"Hey, don't mention the past, we are all people who have lost our country, as long as we can do a little bit for the great cause of restoring the country, other things are not a pity." Zhang Huangyan is an important general of the Lu Dynasty, after Qian Qianyi resigned from the Manchu Dynasty, he and the Lu Dynasty have been in intermittent contact, the two sides are allies in a certain sense, closer than the relationship with the Longwu court, will not be sarcastic and sarcastic, only in the words very subtle temptation - you must know that Qian Qianyi's thin camel is bigger than a horse, representing all the gentry and landlords in the Jiangnan region, Tang King Zhu Yulu wants to worship Xiaoling, he immediately ran upside down, which will only add to the momentum of the Longwu regime, It caused tremendous pressure on the regime of King Lu.

Zhang Huangyan asked clearly, are you here to worship the filial piety mausoleum, is it for the great cause of restoring the country, or is it to cheer for the Longwu court?

Qian Qianyi understood his words, and said with a slight smile: "Cangshui (Zhang Huang's words Cangshui) said well, as long as you can do a little bit for the great cause of restoring the country, other things are not a pity." ”

This is said without leakage, no matter how you explain it, the Tang and Lu alliances are to resist the Qing Dynasty and restore the country, and if the Longwu regime eats the power of King Lu, it can also be said that it has become a consideration for the overall situation, sacrificing the interests of a few people...... Qian Qianyi has been immersed in officialdom for many years, and it has become an instinct to play this kind of dumb riddle that will not be caught, and if you want to understand his true meaning, you have to judge according to the political situation at the time, the environment when you speak, a certain keyword, and even his tone, his expression, etc., and sometimes you have to listen to the truth.

Zhang Huangyan is also a top person, staring at Qian Qianyi's eyes, reading his inner thoughts, and asked directly: "According to Mr. Muzhai's view, should my family abdicate and return to the vassal?" ”

Hearing him say this, Qian Qianyi looked as usual on the surface, but was slightly shocked in his heart. He also took a look at Zhang Huangyan, a young junior, and knew that Zhang Huangyan was an important general of King Lu's regime. Now in the sensitive Nanjing, he personally said that Zhu Yihai, the king of Lu, should abdicate and return to the domain. It's easy for him to fall into passivity, but since he said that, he is either sure of nine out of ten, or he is an ignorant stunned young man.

Does Zhang Huangyan look like an unreasonable stunned young man? Obviously not.

Since he made it clear that Qian Qianyi was unofficial and light, and then he continued to play dumb riddles vaguely, he fell into inferiority, and immediately admitted calmly: "Yes, Tang and Lu are fighting, and only the country suffers." Only the weaker side compromises and forbears, otherwise the relatives will be bitter and the enemies will be happy, and the great opportunity for the Northern Expedition to recover the homeland will be ruined! ”

"This ...... has to be considered in the long run." Although it was the expected answer, Zhang Huangyan still showed a wry smile, Qian Qianyi was telling the truth, but he couldn't echo it lightly.

Since the reign of King Lu erected the banner of resistance to the Qing Dynasty, it has always been at the forefront, and countless anti-Qing fighters have gone forward and succeeded under the guidance of this banner. More than 100,000 soldiers and civilians shed blood and sacrificed for it, and even in the most difficult times, everyone still persisted in the struggle against the Qing Dynasty and fought for all their lives. It took several years of struggle to lay this foundation, if it is just given away, not to mention those extremists who have always regarded the Lu Wang regime as the right thing for the imperial court. is that Zhang Huangyan and Zhang Mingzhen are unwilling.

In Zhang Huangyan's mind, Tang Lu must want to negotiate peace. The Lu regime must also make concessions, but it must retain relative autonomy. If this little bit of family foundation that is easy to lay is inexplicably annexed by a warlord (such as Wang Kefan), why would everyone insist on resisting the Qing Dynasty with their heads in the first place?

Mistrust.

Zhang Huangyan did not trust the Longwu regime.

is even more wary of Wang Kefan, a big warlord.

Although the Longwu regime is very strong, there are many warlords inside, and there are many uncertain factors, whether Emperor Longwu is the master of Zhongxing who belongs to the mandate of heaven, and whether he can take on the heavy responsibility of defeating the Manchu Qing, Zhang Huangyan is not sure...... As important generals of King Lu's regime, he and Zhang Mingzhen are responsible for the martyrs who sacrificed, for the soldiers under their command, and for the entire King Lu regime.

It's tangled.

From the perspective of personal feelings, Zhang Huangyan still admires the Longwu court and Wang Kefan, they defeated the Qing army again and again, Zhang Huangyan was excited, but after the power of the Longwu court expanded to Zhejiang and Fujian, the contradictions between Tang and Lu were unavoidable, and Zhang Huangyan first had to safeguard the interests of the Lu regime...... For Tang Lu to talk about peace, he and Zhang Mingzhen have a lot of sincerity, but they are worried that the Longwu court is too strong, triggering a strong backlash from the Lu Wang regime, if the sword and soldiers really meet in the end, as Qian Qianyi said, the relatives will be bitter and the enemy will be happy, and the Lu Wang regime will be defeated sooner or later, and he and Zhang Mingzhen will also face an embarrassing choice.

As for Wang Kefan, a big warlord, Zhang Huangyan can't see his true face clearly.

Since ancient times, in troubled times, heroes have emerged in an endless stream, although they have their own leaders for a while, but in the end, most of them have been eliminated by history, and there are only a handful of people who can really achieve positive results. The Lu regime regarded itself as the Ming Dynasty, and could negotiate with the Longwu court, but could not submit to warlords such as Wang Kefan, if the Chu army wanted to annex eastern Zhejiang, Zhang Huangyan and Zhang Mingzhen had no choice but to swear to the death!

"According to Mr. Muzhai, how much does Tang Lu talk about peace?" Zhang Huangyan is mostly a temptation, and a small half is a consultation.

"It's hard to say, it's roughly five or five." Qian Qianyi thought about it for a moment and gave an answer.

"Oh? I didn't expect Mr. Mu Zhai to be so optimistic...... "Zhang Huangyan was a little surprised, Qian Qianyi thought that Tang Lu was fifty percent sure of the peace talks, too optimistic, right?"

Qian Qianyi analyzed: "Whether the peace talks can succeed or not, one is in the situation, the other is in the people, under the current general trend, although there has been a conflict between Tang and Lu, it has not yet reached the situation of endless death, but Wang Kefan's attitude is difficult to figure out......

Zhu Yuanzhang and Chen Youqiong and Zhang Shicheng started a war because everyone's strength is very strong, and they urgently need to develop their living space outward. The Longwu regime has developed too rapidly in recent years, and there is still a lot of territory to grab externally, and there are too many internal problems to deal with, as long as the Lu Wang regime makes concessions, the two sides will have a basis for peace talks.

This is the so-called general trend, that is, to make things happen.

In addition to the general trend, there are also factors that make things happen because of people.

The Longwu regime and the Lu Wang regime were not monolithic, and the attitude adopted by the various domestic forces would have different impacts on the outcome of the peace talks.

"Mr. Mu Zhai doesn't know that what the Tang clan is planning is to ask my family to abdicate and return to the domain, which is really difficult for a strong man." Zhang Huangyan once again showed a wry smile, the so-called heaven has no two days, the country has no two masters, as long as Zhu Yihai, the king of Lu, maintains the title of supervising the country, and the contradictions between the Longwu court cannot be reconciled, he and Zhang Mingzhen both feel that the hope of success in the peace talks is very slim, but they are just doing their best to obey the destiny of heaven.

"Well, it's not too much." Qian Qianyi showed a very incomprehensible expression, looked around, and said in a low voice: "The dispute between Tang and Lu lies in the succession of the imperial court, now that Tang is strong and Lu is weak, His Royal Highness King Lu should have backed down, can't Zhang Mingzhen and Zhang Kentang figure out such a simple truth?" ”

Qian Qianyi said one sentence, left three sentences, some words are inconvenient to say thoroughly, and the faint point of the last sentence is the limit. The Longwu Imperial Court has just won the Battle of Ningzhen, and it is the time when it is invincible and invincible, if Zhu Yihai, the king of Lu, wants to fight for the world, he has to temporarily avoid the edge, learn from the king of Yue, Goujian, and wait until the strength develops in the future, and then call the prison country just an edict, what is the difficulty?

"Oh, Mr. Mu Zhai is talking about ......" Zhang Huang was speechless.

Qian Qianyi did not understand the internal situation of King Lu's regime, so he thought that the Tang-Lu peace talks were fifty percent certain, but the hardliners in King Lu's regime were going farther and farther away, preparing to support Zhu Yihai as emperor.

The only thing that can be exploited is the internal contradictions of the Longwu regime, and what is the attitude of powerful warlords such as Wang Kefan and Jin Shenghuan will be revealed in the process of paying homage to the tomb of filial piety.

That night, Zhang Huangyan and Qian Qianyi had a long talk all night, and while discussing the anti-Qing form, they exchanged views on the various military and political measures to be taken after the recovery of Jiangnan, and put aside the sensitive issue of the Tang-Lu dispute...... Compared with Emperor Longwu, who fled to Liangguang, Zhu Yihai, the king of Lu, who had stayed in Zhejiang, was closer to the gentry in Jiangnan, and who the gentry in Jiangnan supported and opposed represented by Qian Qianyi, which was related to the life and death of the Lu Wang's regime. (To be continued......) R1292