At the end of May, the news that Zhou Shixiang was about to lead the Northern Expedition had spread all over the country. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 info Along the Yangtze River, there are spies coming and going from time to time, transmitting the military intelligence of the southern capital to the north. When the Qing court learned of this news, the Manchu Dynasty was panicked, but they were helpless, so they had to urge Ao Bai to drive Wu Sangui's rebels out of the Central Plains as soon as possible, and then resist the Northern Expedition Taiping Army.

On May 27, Yuan Kuoyu, a scholar of the Imperial Palace, wrote to Emperor Dingwu to invite "Huang Yue" for the king of Qi and Zhou Shi.

"Huang Yue" is an axe decorated with gold, which is dedicated to the emperors of the past dynasties, only the important ministers are conquest, and the emperor is specially given, that is, the meaning of the expedition on behalf of the Son of Heaven.

Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, there has been no Huang Yue to say that if the courtiers go on an expedition, they will be given a sword to show that they will conquer on behalf of the Son of Heaven. The wielder of the sword has no power to dispose of any officials on weekdays, nor does he have the power to kill civilians, but in wartime, he can kill those who have violated military orders and officials below the fifth rank, which is called "first cut and then played".

If both sides hold the sword, neither side has the right to dispose of the other and needs to report to the imperial court for disposal. At that time, Yuan Chonghuan was because he killed Mao Wenlong, who also held the Shang Fang sword, which attracted criticism from the government and the opposition, and finally buried the catastrophe of killing in the future.

Compared with Shang Fangjian, Huang Yue is extremely authoritative, and can dispose of any official at any time and place, without having to report to the Son of Heaven. In other words, the power of the fake Huang Yue is equivalent to that of the Son of Heaven, and the significance is not insignificant.

Therefore, after Jiashen, even if the situation in Nanming became increasingly critical, there was no Huang Yue. Until the Qing army entered Yunnan in three ways, Kunming was in danger, and Yongli Zhu Youlang was forced by the situation, so he had to give Li Dingguo Huang Yue.

After Yongli's death, Huang Yue in Li Dingguo's hands no longer had the power to conquer on behalf of the Son of Heaven. Since Dingwu ascended the throne, he only gave Zhou Shixiang the sword of the Son of Heaven, and did not give it to Huang Yue, because Huang Yue's significance is too great. As a last resort, you must not give courtiers, because in all dynasties, all courtiers who hold Huang Yue will most likely be the terminators of the dynasty in the end.

Now, as the core of the Zhou Party recognized by the government and the opposition, Yuan Kuoyu asked Emperor Dingwu to give Huang Yue to Zhou Shixiang, which makes people have to doubt the motive behind it. Some people even believe that this is to build momentum for the emperor to be self-reliant - first fake Huang Yue, then add nine tin, and finally take the Ming Dynasty.

Shoufu Guo Zhiqi objected to giving Zhou Shixiang a fake Huang Yue to go on the expedition, and he said to the scholars in the cabinet: "King Qi went out on behalf of the Son of Heaven, and he could give Shang Fang a sword, and he didn't need to give Huang Yue." ”

Emperor Dingwu also left Yuan Kuoyu's music in the middle, although he did not express any opinion on this note, but the attitude of staying in the middle has already shown that the emperor is not willing to give Huang Yue in his heart at all.

Soon, Ding Zhixiang, a bachelor who led the delegation back to the southern capital, Zhang Changgeng, the secretary of the Ministry of Industry, Fugang, the secretary of the Ministry of Treasury, Yang Zai, and others also wrote to Emperor Dingwu, asking the Son of Heaven to give Huang Yue to the king of Qi to serve the Northern Expedition.

In less than three days, the southern capital invited Huang Yue for the king of Qi as many as 167 ways, and more than half of the officials of the six cabinet departments, the metropolitan governor's office, and the palace affairs court all supported the fake Huang Yue of the king of Qi.

However, in the face of the fact that most of the important ministers of the imperial court were all Zhou Shixiang, Emperor Dingwu still did not allow it.

Soon, the Huang Yue trend that occurred in the southern capital quickly spread to all parts of the country and intensified. At the beginning of June, the governors of various provinces wrote one after another, pointing out that the Northern Expedition was imminent, and it was necessary for the imperial court to give Huang Yue in order to let the King of Qi specialize in the expedition, restore the old capital, and expel the Tartars. When the king of Qi was exempted from the northern expedition, there was a small night to worship and destroy the great cause of the Northern Expedition.

Song Xianggong, Governor of Liangguang, Shao Jiugong, Governor of Guangxi, Zhao Sihai, Governor of Hunan, Gui Yongzhi, Political Envoy of Fujian, Jiang Guozhu, Governor of Jiangsu, Jiang He, Governor of Anhui, and Li Zhicui, Governor of Jiangxi, expressed their attitudes.

On June 9, Li Dingguo, the king of Jin who had not spoken since returning to China, and Bai Wenxuan, the king of Gongchang, jointly wrote to Emperor Dingwu, asking for Huang Yue to be the king of Qi.

Zheng Xi, the prince of Fujian, had invited Huang Yue for the king of Qi with his courtiers a few days ago, and Li Laiheng, the prince of Shun, did not write because he was attacking Kaifeng and knew nothing about what was happening in the southern capital.

Zheng Xi's book may not shake the world too much, but Li Dingguo's book is extremely heavy, so that the first assistant Guo Zhiqi had to enter the palace to meet Emperor Dingwu, and the two monarchs and ministers discussed whether to give it to Zhou Shixiang Huang Yue.

The matter of the powerful ministers fighting for Huang Yue in the southern capital could not be hidden from the eyes of the Qing court and other forces.

Sonny and the others couldn't help but rejoice when they learned that the monarchs and ministers in the south were in a stalemate, because as long as this tide of stalemate between the monarchs and ministers continued, the Qing court would be under less pressure. As long as the Taiping Army's Northern Expedition was delayed, the Qing court would have a chance to breathe.

Wu Sangui also received the news from Nandu, and he said to his eldest son Wu Yingxiong and the strategist Fang Xianting: "The thief Xiucai has finally revealed his wolf ambitions, if the Tang King doesn't want to be killed, this Huang Yue will never be able to give it." ”

Fang Xianting said: "What the prince said is true. I heard that the thief Xiucai created a big case in Jiangnan, indiscriminately killed officials and gentlemen, and because of his words, he has long been unpopular, and the reason why his momentum is arrogant is nothing more than relying on the strong army in his hands. But the extremes of things must be reversed, and without a public weapon in hand, the thief will not be able to take care of the foundation. If you hold Huang Yue, the effect is different. I saw that the thief Xiucai invited Huang Yue for the Northern Expedition, but he was really afraid to invite Huang Yue. If King Tang didn't want to be usurped by the thief Xiucai, Huang Yue would never be able to give it. ”

"It depends on whether King Tang can persevere to the end."

Wu Sangui was a little annoyed, the monarchs and ministers of the southern capital were fighting each other to see that it was lively, and he also hoped that the thief Xiu would be able to destroy the Ming Dynasty and stand on his own, so that he could continue to support the Ming room and call the emperor self-reliant, no matter which one of the two was chosen, it was a matter of course. It's just that the battle situation is not going well, there is no progress on the front line, and the consumption of grain and grass is amazing, if it continues like this, I am afraid that he will not be able to compete in the Central Plains.

........

When everyone's eyes were focused on Nandu, waiting to see who was the final winner in this battle for Huang Yue, the party Zhou Shixiang had already quietly left Nandu.

No one knows when Zhou Shixiang left Nandu and why he left Beijing when his cronies were fighting for Huang Yue.

Zhou Shixiang came to Suzhou, where the New Third Army, one of the five main forces, was stationed. After a secret meeting with Jiang Guozhu, the governor of Jiangsu, Zhou Shixiang left Suzhou City and went to Baimao Town, the ninth town of the New Third Army in Changshu. Here, it faces Chongming Island across the river.

Tie Yi, the governor of the Fifth Theater, Li Kuangming, the commander of the New Third Army, and Zhu Qinglai, the commander of the town, all secretly came to Baimao with Zhou Shixiang. The command structure of the Fifth Theater has already been moved here, and within a few days, the Fifth Theater will be responsible for the important task of maritime transportation of the New Second Army and the New Third Army.

Now, except for the officers above the town general, the people below do not know that their commander has secretly come and will personally lead them on the northern expedition.

Zhou Shixiang was also helpless, although the arrest of the Manchu Qing Dynasty by the Military Intelligence Department and various localities was very effective, but it was definitely impossible to hide such a big matter from the Qing court in the Northern Expedition. Therefore, he instructed Yuan Kuoyu to write to Huang Yue to create the illusion that the monarch and the ministers were fighting for a stalemate and the Northern Expedition was indefinite.

It is also a strategic deception.

At present, the illusion of the southern capital has attracted the attention of the Qing court and has been successful. Next, Zhou Shixiang was going to appear in Liaodong, Ningjin, and Shanhaiguan with the main army before they could react.

........

In the south of the Yangtze River in June, the temperature was very high during the day, and it was unbearably hot, so after dark, Zhou Shixiang and the generals walked out of the camp and came to the river embankment for a walk. Standing on the embankment, the wind of the Yangtze River blows on the body, making people extremely cool.

"Marshal, the new Second Army will arrive in Chongming tomorrow, the East China Sea Division has mobilized more than 100 ships, according to the plan, our 50,000 main army will be transported north in two batches, and then enter the Liaodong Sea through Laizhou, occupy the Dongjiang River and other places and launch an attack on North Korea. After forcing North Korea to surrender, it quickly landed in southern Liaoning, captured Shengjing and Liaoyang, and cut off Ningjin. ”

Tie Yi gave Zhou Shixiang a detailed report on the specific plan for the northward operation in the Fifth War Zone, and Zhou Shixiang nodded from time to time, and interjected from time to time to ask for a few details. As he was talking, he saw a fire dragon suddenly appearing from east to west on the woods of the Yangtze River embankment in the distance, which was more than ten miles long, and it looked quite spectacular.

"What's going on in Ninth Town?"

Zhou Shixiang frowned, he didn't know what the officers and soldiers of the Ninth Town were doing in the woods at night, could it be that the training intensity during the day was not enough, and they couldn't train at night?

Li Kuangming didn't know what the Ninth Town was doing, so he hurriedly called someone to find Jude, the town general of the Ninth Town.

Jude came over and hurriedly explained: "Commander, this is the last general to organize the soldiers to catch it." ”

"Got it?"

Zhou Shixiang and Li Kuangming were stunned: What are you doing with this thing?

"The commander doesn't know, he knows that this thing is very delicious, and it is also full, it is all meat, and the soldiers train intensively during the day and supply less meat, so the last general will organize them to catch and eat, so that they can replenish a lot of physical strength."

Jude was a little apprehensive when he spoke, afraid that the marshal and the army commander would scold him for not doing his job, but he couldn't help it, now that the country was poor, it was impossible to stop the supply of big fish and meat, and the soldiers were all strong young men, and the food could not keep up, and the training would be weak. Therefore, he thought of the knowledge that he often ate when he was a child, and thought that no matter how small the sparrow was, it was meat, so he organized the officers and soldiers to catch it at night, and then fried it in oil, sprinkled with some fine salt and fragrant powder, and ate it one by one, not to mention how delicious it was.

After listening to Jude's explanation, Li Kuangming's face softened slightly. Zhou Shixiang did not scold Jude for not doing his job, but asked him how to catch him. Jude said that he would crawl out of the dirt at night, and then go up to the tree to shed his shell, which was very easy to catch. Catch it and soak it in water, and you can't get rid of the shell when you know it, and when you pick it up, all of them are meat balls, which taste better than big fatty meat.

"Well, it's an innovation."

Zhou Shixiang glanced at Jude, who was nervous, and thought that this matter was interesting, so he laughed and waved his big hand: "Let's go, everyone is idle anyway, so I went to catch it together, and came back and blew up the wine." ”