The king of Pingnan is still gratifying, and was originally a general of Mao Wenlong on Liaodong Phi Island in the Ming Dynasty. After Mao Wenlong was killed by Yuan Chonghuan, he was forced to surrender to Houjin. Later, the Qing army moved south, and he moved to Guangdong. Wang Shirong was ordered by Wu Sangui to rush to Guangzhou first.

King Pingnan opened the palace of Guangzhou, Guangzhou has the new city and the old city, the palace was built in the old city, grand and majestic. After Wang Shirong came to the Pingnan Palace, he first informed Jin Guang. Golden light, the word Gongxuan, the number Gongxuan, Zhejiang Yiwu people. He was erudite and conceited. At first, he was unwilling to join Shang Kexi's door, and once escaped, but was later caught by Shang Kexi's people and broke his leg, so it is also known as "lame gold". He is Shang Kexi's confidant and advisor, and Shang Kexi obeys him.

Shang Kexi heard that Wang Shirong was coming, and he was unhappy and reluctantly greeted.

"Foreign minister Wang Shirong see King Pingnan." Wang Shirong saw Shang Kexi and saluted.

"Oh, Mr. Wang, what kind of wind has blown you here, please get up, give me a seat!" Shang Kexi returned the salute, "I don't know what happened to Mr. Wang coming from afar this time?" ”

"This time, Weichen came on the order of King Pingxi. King Pingxi heard that the prince Shang Gongzi had just returned from Beijing and had been rewarded by the emperor, so he came to congratulate him. Wang Shirong replied.

As soon as Shang Kexi heard about the letter of the prince of the world, he was not very happy. He felt that Shang Zhixin was ambitious and did not listen to discipline, he preferred the filial piety of his second son Shang Zhixiao, and wanted to make him the son, but he was still hesitant and did not act. This time, Shang Zhixin was recruited back to Guangdong, for fear that he would cause trouble in the capital, and he could be strictly restrained when he came back, but he found trouble for himself. At this time, Jin Guang leaned over and whispered: "Lord Wang, I recently heard that Wu Sangui supports his troops and has bad intentions, this person may be here to be a lobbyist, don't promise him." ”

Of course, Shang Kexi knew the purpose of Wang Shirong's trip, so he said: "Oh, the dog is stubborn by nature, and this king is very old, and he has not been able to find time to visit King Pingxi, which is really ashamed." ”

"The King of Pingxi has always known that His Royal Highness is diligent and loves the people, and governs Guangdong in an orderly manner. But it's a pity that corruption in the court is rampant, and the people are struggling to make a living, and people are looking forward to His Royal Highness being able to work with the king of Pingxi, give up his small family, take care of the righteousness, and save the people of Li from fire and water. Wang Shirong said.

"Well, sir, why did you say that. King Pingxi and I are both vassal kings of the imperial court, so naturally we should share our worries for the imperial court, how can we say that the imperial court is not! Shang Kexi didn't want to take his words, and wanted to send him away, "Does King Pingxi have any other advice?" ”

Wang Shirong saw that Shang Kexi was pretending to be stupid, so he simply said: "The king of Pingxi wants to fight the riots and save the people, and work together to restore the Central Plains." Lord Wang..."

"Bold!" Shang Kexi didn't wait for Wang Shirong to finish speaking, and then scolded angrily, "This king thought that you came to visit the old man, but I didn't expect you to say rebellious words!" I am the king of the imperial court, you want me to rebel against the imperial court, impossible! ”

"Lord Wang, don't worry. The king of Pingxi knows that you are clear and clear, but he is also helpless. Don't you remember when you made a bloody alliance with the King of Pingxi and the King of Jingnan in the capital and made an appointment to help the Ming Room? ”

Shang Kexi was shocked in his heart, and said in his heart How could he know about this, "Wang Shirong, you really know how to make up stories, today this king will not kill you for the sake of King Pingxi's old friends for many years." But you listen, this king is old, and he can't think about it much, he just wants to spend his old age in peace and enjoy the joy of family! Someone, send off! ”

Wang Shirong wanted to say something more, but he had already been invited out of the house. Wang Shirong was disgraced, and he was so angry that he scolded Shang Kexi, an old thing, who was untrustworthy and unrighteous. He let out a long sigh and was about to leave, but he had just taken a few steps when he heard someone calling him from behind.

"Mr. Wang, stay!" Wang Shirong looked back and saw that it was Shang Zhixin chasing after him.

Shang Zhixin, the word Defu, the name Baiyan, was born in the first year of Chongde, and is the eldest son of Shang Kexi.

"Sir, don't be angry with your father." Shang Zhixin comforted.

"Hey, nothing. Everyone has their own ambitions, and your father is a loyal minister of the Qing Dynasty, and he can't be forced. Wang Shirong said.

"Cough, where is my father a loyal minister of the Qing Dynasty, he is just afraid of the Qing people! As a father, he is old, and he no longer has the sharpness of the past, and over the years, he has seen the anti-Qing righteous soldiers die tragically under the butcher's knife of the Qing court, which has deepened his fear of the Qing people. So as soon as he hears the word 'anti-Qing' now, he is scared to death. Shang Zhixin said.

"Oh, I see."

"But my father is afraid, I am not afraid! I have been serving Shunzhi and Kangxi in Beijing for many years, and I know that the Qing people are just lustful and inward-looking. The more the Qing people slaughtered the Han Chinese, the more they actually feared us. Please go back and tell the king of Pingxi that if he rises up against the Qing Dynasty, I will definitely respond in Guangdong! ”

Wang Shirong didn't expect Shang Zhixin to be so knowledgeable about righteousness, and he was not at all the drunken and murderous Gong I Dagong in people's mouths, at least he was much more courageous than his father. "Hmmm! Thank you Shizi, Weichen will definitely tell King Pingxi your heart when he goes back, and I look forward to the good news! After speaking, Wang Shirong said goodbye to Shang Zhixin and continued to rush to Fujian.

Geng Jingzhong, King of Jingnan, the grandson of Geng Zhongming, the eldest son of Geng Jimao, Kangxi attacked the prince for ten years, and was stationed in Fujian. When Wang Shirong came to the Jingnan Palace, Fujian, he saw that Geng Jingzhong had already greeted him in front of the mansion.

"Foreign minister Wang Shirong see King Jingnan."

"No courtesy, no courtesy," Geng Jingzhong hurriedly helped Wang Shirong up, "You are a celebrity, so it really hurts me." When my father was around, I often mentioned your name. Come in. ”

"Set up a banquet, set up wine, and wash the dust for Mr. Wang!" Geng Jingzhong commanded.

This Jingnan Royal Mansion is magnificent, and it is not inferior to the Pingnan Royal Mansion. Wang Shirong was a little moved, he didn't expect Geng Jingzhong to be so enthusiastic, much stronger than Shang Kexi's old thing.

"King Jingnan, you are so polite. Wang was really flattered. ”

"Alas, where are the words. This is what juniors should do. As he spoke, the food and wine were on the table. Also present were Zhao Desheng, Liu Yu, Huang Yong and others.

"How is King Pingxi doing?" Geng Jingzhong asked.

"Well, you're in good shape. Although the king of Pingxi is over sixty years old, he is in good spirits and is always ready to kill thieves for the country. ”

"Where are there any thieves now, isn't the world too peaceful?"

"Nope. The thief that Weichen said is a Qing person. Wang Shirong got straight to the point, "Little prince, your grandfather was originally the same as King Pingxi, he was a border general of the Ming Dynasty, but later he had to vote for the Qing people. Now the Qing court has done all kinds of evil and poisoned China, and people dare not speak out. But people think about the Han, when your grandfather was the king of Pingxi and the king of Pingnan, they made a blood alliance in Beijing and made an appointment to help the Ming room. Now that the king of Pingxi is preparing to raise an army against the Qing Dynasty, this is a good time for you to return to the Ming Dynasty anyway. ”

"Well said sir! Xiao Wang, I have long had this intention, but I have been suffering from being weak and having no way to serve the country. This time, I returned from Beijing to the domain, hoping to work with King Pingxi to achieve great things. Geng Jingzhong said.

"Good! The little prince affirmed the righteousness so much, and Wang really admired it. I will definitely report to the king of Pingxi when I go back. ”

"That's great! Our three kings work together, why worry about the capture and immortality! Geng Jingzhong said excitedly, "Cheers to victory!" ”

"Cheers!" The two of them drank it all.

"This time, Weichen came from afar, and there is one more thing I want to trouble the little prince."

"If you say it, Geng will do it."

"Some time ago, Taiwan's Zheng Jing sent a letter to the King of Pingxi, wanting to unite with the King of Pingxi to help the Ming Room. Before the king of Pingxi left, he specially explained to me that he wanted to reply to Zheng Jing and tell him that the king of Pingxi had made up his mind. It's just that I'm not familiar with the situation in Taiwan, so I don't know if the little prince can contact Zheng Jing? ”

"Haha, you've got the right person now." Geng Jingzhong said proudly, he pointed at Zhao, Liu, and Huang, "These three are all close to the Zheng family, if Mr. goes to Taiwan, you can take them with you." ”

"Oh, that's so thankful for the little prince!"

Wang Shirong and Geng Jingzhong and others had a very happy conversation until late at night. Wang Shirong told Geng Jingzhong that the king of Pingxi would raise troops to pass on the number, and Geng Jingzhong agreed one by one. Geng Jingzhong rewarded Wang Shirong with a lot of gold and silver for the purpose of the road. Wang Shirong had a life and didn't dare to stay for a long time, so he set off for Taiwan with Huang Yong.

After Zheng Chenggong recovered Taiwan, he changed Taiwan to the eastern capital of Mingjing, also known as "Dongning". The people of Taiwan respectfully call Zheng Chenggong the king of Taiwan. Zheng Jing is the eldest son of Zheng Chenggong, although he is worse than his father in terms of leading troops to fight, but he is also very good at governing the country. Zheng Jing vigorously developed agriculture, education, and water conservancy in Taiwan, and at the same time took advantage of the geographical advantages of the sea to actively carry out overseas trade with Japan, Ryukyu, Korea, Luzon, East India and other countries.

After Wang Shirong and his entourage arrived in Tokyo, Zheng Jing sent Chen Yonghua and Feng Xifan to greet them.

"Lord Wang, Lord Huang, it's good all the way!" Chen Yonghua greeted.

"Lord Chen, Lord Feng, have long admired the name. The voyage was a smooth one. We came from afar on the orders of King Pingxi and King Jingnan this time, and we were disturbed! ”

"You're so polite. Lord Wang and Lord Huang came from afar, and it was the King of Pingxi and the King of Jingnan who could afford to see the country. Chen Yonghua led the way for Wang and Huang, "Come with me, the prince and King Ning Jing have been waiting for a long time." ”

Wang Shirong and Huang Yong followed behind them, and suddenly saw a very unique door, so they asked curiously: "Lord Chen, what does this door do?" ”

"This is 'Yoshiyamon'. After the national surname recovered Taiwan, this gate was built. The national surname Ye instructed: Zheng Guo did not give up the hegemony of the princes because of the small country, and Dongning did not forget to restore the Central Plains because of the narrowness of the land. Chen Yonghua explained.

"The surname of the country is ambitious, and he will borrow from the sky for another three hundred years, and he will not believe in the Central Plains and his surname is not Zhu." Wang Shirong said with emotion after hearing this.

Zheng Chenggong was given the national surname Zhu by Emperor Longwu, so people respectfully called him the national surname.

Wang Shirong and Huang Yong came to Yanping Palace, and Zheng Jing and Zhu Shugui were sitting upright on the main hall.

"Foreign ministers Wang Shirong and Huang Yong see the prince and His Royal Highness King Ningjing."

"Excuse me! We've been waiting for you for a long time. We are very honored to hear that Mr. Wang and Mr. Huang are coming. The last time I sent Chen Yonghua and Wu Hongji to write to the king of Pingxi, I knew that the king of Pingxi would definitely return to the Ming Dynasty anyway, and jointly plan to restore the Central Plains and Kuang Fuming's great cause. Zheng Jing said.

Wang Shirong saw that Zheng Jing, Zhu Shugui and all the ministers were wearing Hanfu, just like the old system of the Ming Dynasty, and couldn't help but sigh with emotion: "When I came here, I knew that there were lonely loyalists overseas!" His Royal Highness has kept Chinese clothes overseas, and he has insisted on resisting the Qing Dynasty for more than 20 years, which really touches us. The last time Mr. Chen and Mr. Wu came to Yunnan, King Pingxi was moved by His Royal Highness's sincerity and made up his mind. This time, Lord Huang and I came together to formally invite His Highness to do things together and break the Qing Dynasty together! ”

"Good! King Pingxi is the hope of the people of the world to restore the Central Plains, as long as the king of Pingxi raises the banner of rebellion, I Zheng will definitely send troops to respond and help the king of Pingxi and the king of Jingnan! ”

"It's a deal! When the time comes, please wait for the prince and His Royal Highness King Ningjing! ”

Zheng Jing stayed for a few days and Huang stayed for a few days to visit the island. Wang Shirong had a life to complete his mission, he didn't dare to delay, and immediately set off to resume his life.

Wu Yingxiong came back from Xiaozhuang, and he was so angry that he was angry: "Ungrateful!" While scolding, he paced back and forth in the room with his hands behind his back.

Hu Xinshui stood aside, and when he saw this, he asked, "Young master, there is a proverb that has been circulating in the capital recently, I don't know what it means." ”

"Oh? Proverbs? Let's hear it. Wu Yingxiong sat down and asked.

Hu Xinshui replied:

The curved ruler carpenter is not separated, and the skyyang dry elephant is the most realistic.

The roaring dog is on the drip, and there is no female grandson sitting on the dragon gate.

Wu Yingxiong listened carefully, and while using his fingers to stroke on the table, he said to himself: "'Quqi carpenter' is the original Gui Quqi, which is combined into the word 'Zhu'; 'Tianyang Qianxiang' is a 'three' character on the eight seals; 'dog dripping down', which is the dot on the top of the word 'dog', moved to the bottom, is the word 'Tai'; 'grandson' is the 'son of a woman', which should be a 'good' word, and 'no female grandson' is the word 'son'. Taken together, these four sentences become 'The Third Prince of Zhu sits on the Dragon Gate'! ”

"Third Prince Zhu sits at the Dragon Gate?" Hu Xinshui was taken aback when he heard Wu Yingxiong dismantle it like this.

Wu Yingxiong took out the silver medal that Zhu Cijiong left for him last time from the drawer, and rubbed it with his hand: "It seems that we are going to meet the third prince Zhu!" ”

Gulou West Street is not far from Shihu Hutong in Xuanwu Gate, and Wu Yingxiong and Hu Xinshui walked through several alleys to the front of this shop. A shopkeeper came to greet them, Wu Yingxiong shook the silver medal, and the visitor immediately understood, led them into the backyard, and passed through a long corridor, which was a secret room: "Please wait." ”

Wu Yingxiong stood still and looked at the room, it was very dim, there was only a table, two chairs, and a hat hanging on the wall. Wu Yingxiong almost called out, and there was an inscription below: Chen Yonghua!

"Haha, I knew that Your Highness would come!" Wu Yingxiong was taken aback, and when he looked back, it was Zhu Cijiong who walked in laughing.

"Yang Qilong, how can you have the inscription of Chen Yonghua, the chief helmsman of the Heaven and Earth Society, here?" Wu Yingxiong asked.

Zhu Cijiong smiled with a smile on his face, gave up his seat to Wu Yingxiong in a hurry, sat down himself, and said, "Because this is the Beijing branch of the Heaven and Earth Society." ”

Wu Yingxiong was taken aback again: "What? Are you also a member of the Heaven and Earth Society? Aren't you the incense master of the Saburo Society? ”

"That's just a cover for me to avoid the government's search, Shizi, do you really think I'm a charlatan who specializes in defrauding people of incense money!"

"Oh, that's really not an acquaintance! My father founded the Heaven and Earth Society and appointed Mr. Chen as the chief helmsman, but I didn't know that the helmsman of the Beijing rudder division was you! I'm really ashamed, please forgive me! ”

Zhu Cijiong smiled and said, "Shizi, you are too polite, you can come, it is already a great honor to be here." ”

The two exchanged a few words, and Wu Yingxiong asked: "Helmsman, last time you came to my mansion, you said that you were the third prince of the first emperor, and Yang Qilong was just a pseudonym, right?" ”

"Exactly."

"But I heard some rumors, and it was very uncomfortable to hold it in my heart, and I hope you won't be surprised when I say it." Wu Yingxiong groaned for a moment and said, "I heard that your real name is Yang Qilong, and your father is Yang Jizong. He was originally the nephew of Yang Lian, the left deputy capital of the Ming Dynasty, and the chief treasurer of Guanglu in the Chongzhen Dynasty. When Li Zicheng was about to break through the capital, Emperor Chongzhen rang the Jingyang bell in the palace to report the emergency, and Yang Jizong hurriedly led the flying horse to rush to King Qin, but unfortunately it was a step late, and Emperor Chongzhen had gone to the coal mountain to hang himself. When Yang Jizong came to the palace, he saw the corpses of all kinds of people lying all over the place, which was unbearable. By chance, he saw a delicate treasure box, glittering in the darkness. When I opened it, it was a Hongwu jade seal! Nearly 300 years old, the dragon gold button is still like brand new. It turned out that these people died in order to fight for this Hongwu treasure box. Yang Jizong took it home to treasure, and after his death, it fell into your hands and became a certificate for impersonating the third prince of Zhu. ”

Zhu Cijiong looked serious, listened carefully, and said slowly for a long time: "My life experience was told to me by my adoptive father Yang Jizong when I grew up, so the situation you said cannot be completely ruled out." However, there are three holes in your claim. ”

"Oh? Which three loopholes, I am willing to hear and advise. Wu Yingxiong listened respectfully.

"First, my adoptive father Yang Jizong is an upright person who serves the country with righteousness. After the Qing army entered the customs that year, Dolroll ordered him to draft an edict to surrender and surrender to the rebels, but his adoptive father refused to accept the order, and was secretly buried alive by Dolroll. Since his adoptive father is not greedy for life, why is he greedy for money? Zhu Cijiong paused for a moment, and then said, "Second, when Li Zicheng entered Beijing, the Ming Dynasty was dead, if these men and women didn't flee for their lives, what would they do if they robbed the relics of the previous dynasty?" Could it be that he could not be used to show the new emperor that he was a loyal minister of the previous dynasty? ”

Wu Yingxiong nodded frequently after listening.

"Third, and most critical."

"What is it?" Wu Yingxiong asked eagerly.

"The Hongwu Treasure Box you mentioned and my identity certificate jade are two completely different things!"

As soon as Zhu Cijiong's words came out, it was as if there was a thunder in the clear sky, which made Wu Yingxiong tremble!

"That's right, that Hongwu treasure box is a relic from three hundred years ago, and your jade is a gift from Emperor Chongzhen thirty years ago, it sounds similar, but in fact, there is a difference of more than two hundred years." Wu Yingxiong suddenly realized, and unconsciously broke out in a cold sweat, and was deeply impressed by Zhu Cijiong's thoughtfulness.

Zhu Cijiong took out a folding fan, brushed it open, and said, "Take 10,000 steps back, I am indeed a fake third prince Zhu, what does it matter?" ”

Wu Yingxiong looked at Zhu Cijiong with puzzled eyes and said, "How do you say it?" ”

"Please think about it, why are there so many legends about the third prince of Zhu in this folk? In all dynasties, there have been many kings who have died in the country, why have you never heard of the third prince of the king of Zhou, the third prince of Emperor Yang, and the third prince of Emperor Shun? That's because people miss the Ming Dynasty and the Han family. At that time, my adoptive mother was also a nursing mother, and together with the eunuch Wang Feng and Queen Zhou, she took advantage of the chaos to carry me out of the palace while I was still in swaddling clothes. Poor adoptive mother, she was later raped by the Qing soldiers and died of hatred. I, Zhu Cijiong, am a dignified seven-foot man, I can't avenge my parents, I can't go to the country's difficulties, what face do I have to live in this world? Even if I follow the banner of Chen Sheng and Wu Guang to beat Xiang Yan and Fusu, and Han Lin'er pretends to be the late emperor of the Song Dynasty, I will vow to carry out the anti-Qing Dynasty and restore the Ming Dynasty to the end! ”

Zhu Cijiong's words were impassioned, and Wu Yingxiong was also enthusiastic when he heard it, and he couldn't help but high-five and applaud: "The hero sees the same thing!" As he spoke, he took out a letter from his arms and handed it to Zhu Cijiong, "Helmsman, you see, this is a secret letter from my father. ”

Zhu Cijiong hurriedly took it, read it carefully, and asked, "Your father plans to start the army on December 1st?" ”

"Exactly!"

Zhu Cijiong's eyes lit up, and he said excitedly: "Great! Ping Xibo finally raised an army against the Qing Dynasty! By the way, who is your father going to make king, or will he be emperor himself? ”

"Our Wu family's father and son are all relics of the Ming Dynasty, Your Highness, you are the queen of Emperor Chongzhen, of course, I have established you as the king."

Zhu Cijiong was very happy to hear this, and said: "Ping Xibo's meritorious atonement is good for the present, and the merit lies in the autumn!" ”

Then, the two discussed the way of the incident and the issue of Zhang Bu, and before they knew it, it was getting late, Zhu Cijiong wanted to leave Wu Yingxiong for dinner, Wu Yingxiong said: "No, I'm afraid that Princess Jianning will be suspicious when I go back late." Zhu Cijiong listened, no longer forced to stay, and said: "Shizi, after a while, we will convene a swearing-in meeting of the hall masters from all over the country, and I will send someone to inform you of the specific time and place." ”

"Good! Leave! ”

"Slow down!"

There is a reason for Wu Yingxiong's caution. Kangxi married Princess Jianning to him, ostensibly to bring the relationship between the two families closer, and the Manchu and Han intermarriages made an exception and respected; In fact, Princess Jianning was used to spy on Wu Yingxiong. In particular, Kangxi found that Wu Yingxiong and Wu Sangui often exchanged letters, and they had to exchange voices in three or five days, so Princess Jianning secretly intercepted them. However, Wu Yingxiong had already prepared and deliberately let Jianning check some innocuous letters, which dispelled Kangxi's doubts.