After listening to Wang Chengen's report, Zhu Youxiao's whole face turned cold. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

Hai Lanzhu, who was already dressed, had to stand aside honestly, not daring to act rashly.

As if in an instant, the originally hot air froze instantly, a breeze blew, and the squeak of the window lattice could be heard.

In fact, Zhu Youxiao can't help but feel worried about this, he doesn't know how strong the Zheng pirates are, some ministers say that they are just some little thieves who rob homes and houses, and some ministers say that Zheng Zhilong is rich and can easily destroy a small country in the South Seas.

And Zhu Youxiao checked the information himself, but he couldn't judge the true strength of the Zheng pirates, but he could be sure that the comprehensive strength of the current Zheng pirates was definitely stronger than his own North Sea Fleet, otherwise, Zhu Youxiao would not have given the order that the fleet of the Ryukyu Kingdom would rather be wiped out than flee.

Zhu Youxiao did not have the luxury of hoping that the immature fleet that could be combined with a modern warship equipped with a steam-powered engine could directly defeat the Zheng pirate group, and the political goal he wanted to achieve was to cause a heavy blow to the Zheng pirates at the expense of a fleet, and to tell the Zheng pirates that although you are strong at sea, it does not mean that you can ignore the existence of the imperial court, and the imperial court will become the real master of this sea sooner or later!

Of course, Zhu Youxiao still has a trace of naïve fantasy, that is, Zheng Zhilong does not dare to go against himself, so he will not attack the imperial court's fleet with great fanfare, if so, he will have to regain his opinion of Zheng Zhilong, and perhaps decide that Zheng Zhilong can be regarded as a good person who obeys the notice.

But reality broke Zhu Youxiao's illusions, pulled Zhu Youxiao back to reality again, and made him understand once again that the strong will not easily bow to the weak and give up their own interests, unless you can prove that you are stronger than him.

However, Zhu Youxiao found that Zheng Zhilong did not seem to want to admit that he was weaker than the imperial court, and he was desperate to prove that he was stronger than the imperial court, so he ignored the so-called orthodoxy of the imperial court and the righteousness of the monarch and ministers, and directly dispatched the most elite troops to deal with the fleet whose main purpose was to go to the Ryukyu Kingdom for canonization and trade.

Frankly speaking, Zhu Youxiao did not want his First Fleet in the North Sea to become a victim, everyone knows how much effort he spent and how much manpower and financial resources he spent to build this fleet with steam-powered warships, and he did not learn from Lafayette to use the navy's military funds to build a garden called the Summer Palace for himself, and even the Taihe Palace, which was struck by lightning last year and burned down most of it, did not have time to repair it.

Although there is also the factor that he deliberately wants to show off that he is a thrifty king, it is also related to the fact that he was busy throwing money into the Ming Ship Administration Bureau at that time to quickly reorganize the first warship.

Zhu Youxiao didn't know what the outcome of his First Fleet in the North Sea would be, he could accept the annihilation of the whole army, but he didn't want these navies to be cowardly, and even be absorbed by the Zheng pirates.

Thinking of this, Zhu Youxiao's face became even more ugly, but his desperate eyes could not be seen in the dim space, but Wang Chengen could still feel a murderous aura from Ling Ran starting to rise suddenly.

"Wang Chengen!" Zhu Youxiao suddenly roared, so frightened that Wang Chengen couldn't help but tremble, and hurriedly responded.

"Send an edict to Xu Xianchun, monitor the generals above the commander of the First Fleet in the North Sea at any time, and if there are people who defect to the enemy, they will destroy their three clans!"

Zhu Youxiao's words were very plain, but Wang Chengen felt an inexplicable chill rushing to his back, this is His Majesty today, while giving you status and glory, you will also turn your face in an instant, and you will be cruelly punished for betrayal at any time.

Wang Chengen retreated, and when he conveyed his will to Xu Xianchun, who had been waiting outside the palace for a long time, he suddenly couldn't help asking: "Commander Xu, who do you say His Majesty favors the most?" ”

"The emperor's heart is unpredictable, even the prince doesn't know, how can Weichen speculate", Xu Xianchun naturally knew that Wang Chengen was suddenly afraid and doubtful because His Majesty wanted to put the butcher's knife on the heads of the relatives of these Praetorian Guard soldiers who used to say that they were his most trusted sons, but as Zhu Youxiao's eagle dog, he naturally didn't dare to say whether this matter was correct or not, so he deliberately pretended to be crazy and stupid and said a few words.

But Xu Xianchun had to admit that he, like Wang Chengen, also felt a little uncomfortable in his heart, he would not be merciless when he killed the Donglin Party, after all, those hypocritical civilian officials were originally a group of selfish and dirty groups, but these Praetorian Guard soldiers are all young soldiers who joined the Praetorian Guard system with enthusiasm, most of them are simple-minded and even very rare, and they have become extremely loyal because they have been constantly brainwashed by Zhu Youxiao.

And now, His Majesty wants his Jinyi Guard to aim the butcher's knife at these people who should be the most worthy of His Majesty's trust but are still secretly calculated by His Majesty, Rao is Xu Xianchun thinks that he is already the most ruthless person, and he can't accept it calmly.

In fact, not only Wang Chengen and Xu Xianchun felt quite uncomfortable about this, even Zhu Youxiao himself couldn't accept the decision he had just made, but reason told him that as an emperor, he had to do this!

There is no way, throughout the end of the Ming Dynasty, whether it is a civil servant or a military general, there are too few who are truly loyal, and Zhu Youxiao has to be cautious!

Of course, this is only a preparation for the worst-case scenario.

At the same time, Zhu Youxiao also made another kind of preparation, he ordered Wang Chengen to send a decree to Yang Shouchun of the Royal Bank, so that he could immediately prepare a generous pension, and at the same time, he also asked the officials to prepare how to seal their wives and sons if they sacrificed, and if these officers and soldiers of the Praetorian Guard of the North Sea Fleet were all benevolent, Zhu Youxiao would raise them at all costs, so as to shape the backbone of the Ming army.

At the same time, on the second day, Zhu Youxiao called Li Mingrui and ordered: "You immediately rush to Fujian on the orders of Zhen Qin, ask Zheng Zhilong about offending the imperial court's envoy to the Ryukyu State fleet, see how he explains, and make contingencies according to the results of the war, neither let Zheng Zhilong take advantage of him nor lose the face of the imperial court, if necessary, you can appease Zheng Zhilong, if necessary, Quanzhou, Kinmen and other places can give him!" ”

Zhu Youxiao was not sure how sincere Zheng Zhilong would be to accept the imperial court's recruitment now, at least from the fact that he dared to attack the imperial court's mission, it could be seen that Zheng Zhilong's appeasement work did not seem to be easy, and Zhu Youxiao had to plan for the worst, that is, once Zheng Zhilong defeated his Praetorian Guard again, then he had to temporarily forbear and retreat.

"Weichen receives the order", Li Mingrui could sense His Majesty Zhu Youxiao's inner apprehension, but he was neither Lu Xiangsheng nor Yang Sichang, he couldn't get involved in military affairs, and he couldn't comfort Zhu Youxiao.

But Li Mingrui knows what his mission is this time, maybe there are only two possibilities, one is that our side will win a big victory, and he can arrogantly ask Zheng Zhilong why he dares to offend Tianwei; The other is that his own side was defeated, not only could he not blame Zheng Zhihu, but on the contrary, he had to be appeased with good words, which was undoubtedly the most aggrieved.

Li Mingrui, who is good at observing words and feelings, can see from the expression on His Majesty just now that it seems that the latter is the most likely, that is to say, he must be mentally prepared to compromise in front of Zheng Zhilong, a big pirate.

However, what made Li Mingrui suddenly feel a sense of fear was why His Majesty let himself take on such an errand, which was obviously an errand behind the pot.

Just imagine, this kind of thing must be groveling to Zheng Zhilong, but as the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, His Majesty will definitely not admit that he let him, a cabinet scholar, intercede, and His Majesty, who wants to be faced, will definitely transfer the anger of the people of the world to himself, and use the means of punishing himself to calm the anger of the people of the world and protect the face of His Majesty the Emperor.

Thinking of this, Li Mingrui couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.

But this is the emperor's will, no matter how reluctant he is, he has to obey, but what makes him sigh is that His Majesty still pays more attention to Qian Qianyi, otherwise this kind of black pot thing will not let him come.

Li Mingrui, who was a depressed widow, left the capital three days after simply making preparations, set up the honor guard of a first-class official, and set off for Fujian.

But who knew that just when Li Mingrui's honor guard left the ten-mile long pavilion outside the capital, he heard a sound of gongs and drums shaking the sky, followed by the sound of firecrackers.

Li Mingrui was in a depressed mood, and when he was so noisy, he couldn't help but open the curtain and scold a few words, but as soon as he opened the curtain, he saw Qian Qianyi, the first assistant of the cabinet, leading a group of officials waiting with a shy smile.

"I heard that Elder Li Ge went to Lingnan this time to appease Haijiang for His Majesty, which is really the merit of the world and the great cause of the marquis!"

Qian Qianyi naturally knew that Li Mingrui was going to Fujian Bacheng to take the blame for His Majesty and might be punished by His Majesty for this, so he hurriedly went out of the city to send his old rival.

Li Mingrui naturally knew that Qian Qianyi was a weasel to give a New Year's greeting to the chickens - he didn't have a good heart, but he could only endure it, and he had to thank them one by one: "Oh, Lord Guan, why did you come to send it, you are really polite." ”

Li Mingrui gritted his teeth secretly while thanking, and blood was dripping from his heart.

But at this moment, there was a sudden sound of eager horses' hooves in front of him: "Eight hundred miles in a hurry!" Idle people quickly avoid! ”

At the same time, the postman, who was galloping quickly, shouted, "Great victory! Qin Bohai, the chief officer of the North Sea Fleet, presented the news of the victory in the Ryukyu naval battle, captured the pirate leader Zheng Zhihu alive, and sank fifty pirate warships! ”

"A big victory?"

Li Mingrui couldn't help but pluck out his ears and asked the slave on the side: "Just now, did that person shout a great victory?" ”

At the same time, Qian Qianyi and other gloating officials were also confused, and also asked their slaves: "Just now, did that person shout a great victory?" ”

As the sound of the horse's hooves became farther and farther away, Li Mingrui and Qian Qianyi were silent at this time, but after a while, they both shouted in unison: "Hurry up, enter the palace immediately." ”

"Master, that person just shouted a great victory, as if he was talking about the First Fleet of the North Sea, and he also caught a pirate leader", Li Mingrui, who endured the violent shaking of the sedan chair, suddenly smiled after listening to the servant's answer, if Qin Botong and the others really defeated the Zheng pirates, then going to Fujian will no longer be a chore, but a great joy, and he will even be credited by His Majesty for successfully appeasing Zheng Zhilong.

As soon as he thought of this, Li Mingrui's mood suddenly became bright, and he hurriedly shouted to Qian Qianyi, who was also walking quickly: "Qian Ge Lao, thanks to your kindness, Li is really grateful!" ”

Qian Qianyi sat in the sedan chair at this time without saying a word, his face was ugly, he thought that this naval battle was bound to lose, otherwise a civilian newspaper specializing in military warfare would not have come up with all kinds of data to prove the gap between the imperial court and the Zheng pirates, the logic was rigorous, and the reasons were sufficient, so that he Qian Qianyi had to believe it, so that he felt very happy when he learned that Li Mingrui would go to Fujian to interrogate the pirate Zheng Zhilong because of this matter.

But he didn't expect that the outcome of the matter would turn out to be that the court won, and now he can't gloat!

The two entered the Qianqing Palace together, and Zhu Youxiao also got the news of the victory at this time, and the whole person breathed a sigh of relief, he didn't have so much energy to care about how to win, as an emperor, he only cared about the result.

The result was obviously beyond his expectations, Zhu Youxiao was very satisfied, although he didn't know how Qian Qianyi and Li Mingrui came together at this time, but he didn't care so much when he was in a good mood, and hurriedly invited the two of them in, and said with a smile: "Two Aiqing, do you know that the First Fleet of the North Sea of the Ming Praetorian Navy defeated Zheng Zhihu and captured this Zheng Zhihu alive, that one named Gu San Mazi is really a bit level, but what makes me smile bitterly is that he was the most injured in the entire First Fleet of the North Sea, and he also discounted his leg, I've allowed him to come back for a few months to recuperate, haha. ”

Zhu Youxiao is in high spirits now, and he can't help laughing heartily as he speaks.

"Your Majesty Shenwu!" Li Mingrui was also in a very good mood, and he bowed to Zhu Youxiao from the bottom of his heart, and his face was full of smiles, and even the new wrinkles seemed to have been reduced a lot.

"Your Majesty Shenwu!" However, Qian Qianyi's voice was like a mosquito fly, and he didn't seem to be very sincere, and even the smile on his face seemed very stiff.

Zhu Youxiao was also a little surprised when he saw the different expressions of these two people, and couldn't help glaring at Qian Qianyi, who was so frightened that his whole body couldn't help but tremble, so he had to suppress his unhappy mood and laugh a few times.

"Old Qian Ge, what are you doing here? In front of Your Majesty, you still have to pay attention to your lower physique", Li Mingrui couldn't help asking.

"The old minister is happy, happy, there is a gaffe, please forgive your majesty", Qian Qianyi hurriedly replied.

"How do I feel that you don't feel like you're laughing, but crying", Li Mingrui's words were like a knife stabbing Qian Qianyi again, which made Qian Qianyi more and more uncomfortable, but he couldn't say anything except scolding Li Mingrui secretly.

And Zhu Youxiao saw that the funny and abnormal expressions of these two people were also a little strange, but he was indeed dissatisfied with Qian Qianyi's hypocritical appearance, so he said: "Presumably Qian Ge is not very good at laughing, let's go down and go down to do their own things." ”

Li Mingrui and Qian Qianyi hurriedly walked out.

But not long after the two left, Liu Ruoyu, the governor of Dongchang, came to Zhu Youxiao and told Qian Qianyi about sending Li Mingrui this morning.

Zhu Youxiao couldn't help laughing after hearing this: "No wonder this is the case, this Qian Qianyi is also lifting a stone to shoot himself in the foot, even if the court is really defeated, he is in the mood to gloat!" ”