I chatted for a while with a few hardcore lackeys who finally spent money to redeem them, and saw that several hardcore lackeys were not crushed by the shame of being captured by the Wu army, and they did not lose the confidence and fighting spirit of leading the troops to fight again, and they were still scrambling to lead the troops to recruit the Wu army again. ”

"Long live the emperor, long live, long live." Jie Shu, Le Erjin and the old man didn't dare to slack off, so they quickly got up and kowtowed together, and left respectfully, leaving Kang Mazi and Yue Le's uncle and nephew to talk alone in the Heart Cultivation Palace.

There were no other outsiders present, but Kang Mazi was not in a hurry to speak, a pair of small yellow eyes just stared at Yue Le tightly, under the gaze of this kind of gaze like a poisonous snake staring at a frog, Yue Le, who had a clear conscience, panicked for no reason, cold sweat oozed out of his forehead little by little, and a drop slipped down his cheeks, smashing the brand-new court clothes to a wet finish. After a long time of silence, Kang Mazi finally spoke, and Yin Yin shouted, "Prince An." ”

"Slave ......, slave is here." Yue Le agreed in a little panic, and even more panicked got up and knelt down on his knees, but because he was too nervous, he almost tripped himself up and ate, and knelt in front of Kang Mazi in embarrassment, his sweaty forehead was on the ground, and he didn't even dare to take a breath.

"I just called you, and I didn't say anything, what are you nervous about, lord?" Kang Mazi smiled, very satisfied with his heavenly majesty.

"The emperor is mighty, the slave has lost his temper, please forgive the emperor." Yue Le replied tremblingly.

"It's a trivial matter, how can I care?" Kang Mazi smiled, and suddenly raised his voice and said: "But Lord An, I don't dare not care about those rumors about you that have appeared in the people and the army recently. ”

"Minion capital offense!" Yue Le was struck by lightning, and hurriedly kowtowed desperately, and said with a crying voice: "The slave has heard of the rumors that the master said, but the slave can swear to the sky, if the slave has these disobedient hearts, he is willing to be destroyed by the heavens and the earth, and die after five lightning strikes!" These rumors were deliberately spread by the Wu Dog Thief Army to drive a wedge between the master and the slave's monarch and minister! Pray for the master's understanding! ”

"Really?" Kang Mazi smiled and asked again: "Then the Wu Dog Thief Army doesn't make other people's rumors, but wants to make your rumors?" Tu Hai is the front-line commander and holds the military power, and Prince Jian is also on the front line, and he also leads the army alone and holds the military power, why doesn't Wu Gou make rumors about them? There are also Prince Kang and King Shunjun, they have all been pinched in the hands of Wu Gou, why don't Wu Sangui thieves make a fuss about them, why do they want to target you? ”

"The minions don't know either!" Yue Le wanted to cry without tears, kowtowed desperately, and defended: "The slave really doesn't know why Wu Sangui's old thief attaches so much importance to the minion, but he wants to spread rumors from the minion, the slave doesn't understand, the slave really doesn't know!" ”

"I'm afraid that flies don't stare at seamless eggs, right?" Kang Mazi sneered loudly and asked: "Lord An, I came to ask you, when you and Aobai led the troops south, did you say in front of Aobai that I am wide on the outside and jealous on the inside, you are the same as him, you are a wronged minister who is jealous of me, you must act carefully, so as not to attract my suspicion and jealousy?" Now, I would like to ask you personally, what point do I suspect of you, what point do I suspect of you? When my father was obsolete, did I cut away your auxiliary power? ”

Yue Le was completely frightened, paralyzed on the ground and trembling all over, trembling as if he was swinging, he didn't expect that the few words of complaint he and Ao Bai said in private would actually reach Kang Mazi's ears.

"Don't have anything to say?" Kang Mazi smiled at his cousin very proudly, and asked again: "I ask you again, when Aobai sent out the army, the designated deputy was Fuyuan General Tuhai, why did you suddenly promote you to the deputy commander of the whole army when you arrived at the Yunnan-Guizhou border, and set aside Tuhai and ruled with you alone on military affairs?" ”

Yue Le's mouth opened, and he wanted to explain that Ao Bai was made because he found that Tuhai led the soldiers to disturb the people, and found that Tuhai sent people to secretly spy on Ao Bai, and also found that he and Ao Bai's leaders had similar ideas, so he made a temporary decision, but when the words came to his mouth, he suddenly remembered that Tu Hai's secret monitoring of Ao Bai was at the behest of Kang Mazi, so he quickly closed his mouth again-at this time, he said such a thing, didn't he want to force the ruthless Kang Mazi to cut himself?

In desperation, Yue Le had no choice but to kowtow again, and said with tears in his eyes: "The slave is guilty of death, only because the slave is weak and good at sycophancy, and he has won the pleasure of the thief, so the old thief made a temporary adjustment, so that the slave and Tuhai exchanged positions, and the slave was a thief, and the crime deserved death." But the slave can swear to the sky, the slave is bold, and he does not dare to have the slightest disrespect to the master, let alone the heart of usurpation! ”

"If you have the heart of usurpation, how can I keep you until now?" Kang Mazi asked coldly.

Yue Le was drenched in cold sweat all over his body, kneeling on the ground and not daring to move, but his body involuntarily trembled even more. Kang Mazi said coldly again: "Now, you should understand what it means for flies to stare at seamless eggs, right?" If you don't stand up right, can you blame the enemy for taking advantage of the opportunity to make a fuss about you? If you are like other princes and Baylor, serve the court and the world with public heart, serve the lord with loyalty, serve the industry, have no concealment, no selfish evil, and Wu Sangui's old thief can drill the cracks and rumors that can be created? ”

"The slave is guilty of death, the slave is not right, let Wu Gou have a chance, the slave suffers by himself, and the slave deserves death!" Yue Le didn't dare to shout if he was wronged, and he didn't dare to complain if he was bitter, so he could only kowtow desperately, and with tears in his eyes, he took up the charges that Kang Mazi imposed on him.

"It's good to understand that it's your own reason, and prove that you are not hopeless." Kang Mazi snorted coldly, and then ordered: "Get up, you did a good job in the Southwest War, and you can withdraw to Biyuan with Tuhai with the last elite of the Qing Dynasty, and retain the last trace of vitality for my Qing army, and I will not pursue the sin of your party." ”

"Slave thank the emperor for his kindness, thank the emperor for his kindness." Yue Le hurriedly kowtowed and thanked him, and then he got up tremblingly, and it was only at this moment that Yue Le found that even in such a cold day as the beginning of spring in February, his underwear was still soaked with cold sweat.

"Lord An, don't misunderstand." Kang Mazi said arrogantly: "I recalled you from the front line to the capital and deprived you of your military power, it is by no means that I fell for the divisive tricks of the Wu Dog thief army. I have summoned you back because you are barely a manufacturable material, so I intend to give you a chance to make meritorious contributions. ”

"Please instruct the master, the slave will go to the soup and fire, do his best, and die." Yue Le hurriedly replied.

"I want you to lead an army to escort Shang Kexi, the king of Pingnan, to the south." Kang Mazi suddenly lowered his voice, and Yin Yin said: "I want you to go to Guangdong, and the monk Kexi will join forces to control the Guangdong army for me, contain Wu Gou's eastern front army, and also contain the Fujian Geng Fan from behind, so as to ensure that the southeast financial and tax center is foolproof!" ”

"Let the minions go to the Eastern Front?" Yue Le's head was dizzy, and he almost collapsed to the ground again - the situation of the Qing army's Guangdong battlefield was a hundred times more critical than the Yangtze River battlefield, with Wu Shizong of the Wu army in the west, Geng Jingzhong in the north, Zheng Jing in Taiwan in the east, and the vast ocean in the south.

"That's right, I can't think of a better candidate than you." Kang Mazi didn't seem to see Yue Le's pale face, and just said in a gloomy voice: "Originally, before this, I originally estimated that only Shang Kexi was enough, but now the situation is different!" I received a secret report, during the period when Shang Kexi was unfortunately captured, Shang Kexi's unfilial son Shang Zhixin had already murdered Shang Kexi's cronies Jin Guang, Huang Zhangsi and others on fabricated charges, and completely mastered the Pingnan Palace. ”

"Unlike the loyal Shang Aiqing, Shang Zhixin's ambition as a thief is not under Wu Sangui's old thief, and there is accurate information that Shang Zhixin's thief and Wu Sangui's old thief secretly communicate and contact frequently, but I am afraid that he already has a heart of disobedience. Therefore, I want to use your shrewdness and strength, and your courage and skill, to help Shang Aiqing regain the military power of Guangdong and ensure that the important land of Guangdong is foolproof! Otherwise, once Shang Zhixin's dog thief falls to Wu Sangui's old thief, Zheng Zhi Geng Fan has no worries, then Jiangnan, the capital of the Qing Dynasty, will definitely be in danger! ”

Yue Le's face turned gray, and then he understood why Kang Mazi forgave himself so easily-it turned out that he was planning to use himself to death! Although the Wu army now agrees to an armistice, the purpose is only to recuperate, once the Wu army eases its foothold, then the war will inevitably resume! After the resumption of the war, for the sake of the security of the eastern front, the Wu army is bound to attack Guangdong, or induce Shang Zhixin to oppose the Qing Dynasty, or directly occupy it by force.

Thinking of this, Yue Le's body suddenly shook, and suddenly thought of a deeper layer - it turned out that Kang Mazi was still guarding himself! If you put yourself on the battlefield of the Yangtze River or the battlefield of Hanzhong to prevent the Wu army in Sichuan, then once you mutiny, you will inevitably cause heavy losses to the Qing army, but if you put yourself on the battlefield of Guangdong, even if you want to rebel, you will not be able to find a target before you turn against the battle, not only will you not cause major losses, but you can also take the opportunity to test your loyalty and discern whether you have the intention of usurping the throne and standing on your own! Such a sinister and vicious mind can only be figured out by Kang Mazi, who is more insidious than his father?

"What? Prince An doesn't want to go? Kang Mazi looked Yue Le up and down, and said in a dark voice: "Lord An, I have high hopes for you, you must not be disappointed." Of course, if you don't want to go or don't dare to go, it doesn't matter, I will find someone else, bring your whole family, and go back to Shengjing's hometown tomorrow to retire! From now on, you don't have to go through the customs again. ”

Yue Le's body was shocked, he quickly knelt down on his knees, kowtowed and said: "The slave is willing to go, please rest assured, even if the slave is broken, he must defend Guangdong for the master, wait for the opportunity to recover Guangxi, kill into the hinterland of Yunnan and Guizhou, and capture Wu Sangui's old thief and the whole family for the master!" ”

"Excellent! I knew that Prince An would definitely not refuse! Kang Mazi applauded, got up and walked in front of Yue Le, personally picked up Yue Le, and said pretendedly: "But you also have to be careful, Guangdong is surrounded by enemies on all sides, and there is no help, even if there is any accident, it will be difficult for me to provide reinforcements for you, so Lord An, you must cherish yourself a lot and take care of yourself." ”

"Emperor Xie cares, the slave must take care of himself, and swear to repay the grace of God." Yue Le replied stiffly.

"It's for the best." Kang Mazi's expression was even more joyful, and he took Yue Le's hand and admonished: "Lord An, I really didn't want you to go deep into the dangerous place, but Guangdong is too important, both sides of the east and west are the sworn enemies of the imperial court, and Geng Jingzhong is a wolf in the north. So there is no way, I can only ask the prince to pick up this heavy burden, I don't have too many requirements for you, as long as you hold Guangdong and pacify Wu Gou, I will give you the first credit! ”

"The slave will do his best, and he will not disappoint the master." Yue Le barely squeezed out some smiles, but the smile was a little uglier than crying.

………………

Under the insidious arrangement of Kang Mazi, Yue Le, who was suspected of usurping rebellion, was forced to have no choice but to lead 3,000 elite soldiers to escort Pingnan Wang Shang Kexi to the south on the fourth day of the second month of the twelfth year of Kang Mazi, and rushed to the dangerous Qing army Guangdong battlefield, where he went to suppress Shang Zhixin's impatience for Kang Mazi, prevent the eastward advance of the Wu army and the landing of Zheng Jing in Taiwan, and also had to contain Geng Jingzhong of Fujian, who was the first place to pay taxes to the south of the Qing Dynasty! There are hidden dangers inside and strong enemies outside, whether Yue Le has a chance to return to Yanjing City again, not only Yue Le has no bottom in his heart, but Kang Mazi has no bottom in his heart.

But it doesn't matter, anyway, for Kang Mazi, on his national chessboard, the Guangdong Qing Army is already a lonely son and abandoned son that is difficult to keep, rather than sending other loyal lackeys to die in vain, it is better to let Yue Le, an unreliable dangerous person, try his luck, it is best to have a miracle, even if he can't hold it, it doesn't matter, first, he doesn't have to lose anything, and second, he can get rid of Yue Le by the hand of Wu Geng Zheng Jing, and he doesn't have to let Kang Mazi be charged with killing his uncle.

On the same day, Kang Mazi made a major strategic adjustment, Feng Duoluo County Wang Ezha as the general of Dingyuan Pingkou, and the former governor of Shanxi and the current criminal department Shangshu Moluo as his deputy, rushed to the northwest together, and led the organization of Shaanxi and Gansu soldiers and horses to defend Hanzhong, prevent the Wu army Wang Ping Domain's troops from going north, and wait for an opportunity to counterattack Sichuan.

On the frontal battlefield of the Yangtze River, Kang Mazi withstood the pressure and insisted on continuing to use Tuhai, the general of Fuyuan, who had gradually become familiar with the tactics and tactics of the Wu army, as the commander-in-chief, and restrained the soldiers and horses of Prince Jian, Labu, Belle Shangshan, Chani, Cai Yurong, the governor of the three provinces, and Dong Weiguo, the governor of Jiangxi, and made every effort to prevent the main force of the Wu army from advancing north and east by virtue of the natural danger of the Yangtze River -- I have to admit that judging from the performance of Tuhai in the history of the rebellion of the three feudatories, Kang Mazi's decision was indeed extremely wise.

In addition, in order to ensure that the most important tax area in Jiangnan is foolproof, Kang Mazi mobilized the most reliable soldiers and horses of the Eight Banners such as Niyahan, Xibu, Mahada and Echu in one go, and rushed to Anqing by land and water, choked the throat of Wu's eastward advance, and formed a double insurance with the Qing army Dong Weiguo Department in Nanchang Mansion to ensure the safety of Jiangnan.

In order to provide the new army with military salaries and weapons, Kang Mazi acquiesced to the new governor of Liangjiang, A Xixu, to extort in Liangjiang, and found all kinds of excuses, and raided the homes of hundreds of gentry in the south of the Yangtze River in one go, and the money, grain, and silver obtained from the seizure were sent to various parts of the north through the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal and the Yangtze River waterway, turning into troops, horses, weapons, military uniforms, and warships......

Time passed day by day, with the gradual stabilization of the situation and the hearts of the people, the Mites Qing court, which was once frightened by the Wu army's overwhelming offensive, finally settled down, and Kang Mazi, who had encountered so many bad things just after overthrowing Aobai and holding power, finally enjoyed some of the happiness of being a slave chief, but there was one more thing that made Kang Mazi worry and fear, that is, the mite Qing court has never made the slightest progress in the imitation of firearms by the Wu army. Even Kang Mazi, at the cost of acquiescing to the Rakshasa State's occupation of the Nebuchu region, the first-class firearms craftsmen who had finally borrowed it from the Rakshasa State could not make the new gunpowder and new firearms that the Wu army could display its might on the southwest battlefield.

One night more than a month later, when Kang Mazi was worried about the new firearms, Kong Sizhen, the number one spy under Kang Mazi, saw his majesty as usual and told Kang Mazi the latest movements of the hundred officials, and Kang Mazi, who was moved in his heart, casually asked Kong Sizhen: "Is there any news from King Pingnan?" The people you sent to assist him in trapping Lu Yifeng's dog thief's wife and children, how did you do with the mission? ”

"The minions sent people to assist King Pingnan in trapping Lu Yifeng's wife and children?" Kong Sizhen paused for a moment and asked in surprise, "When did it happen?" Why doesn't the slave remember that the master gave such a will? ”

"What? You don't know this? Kang Mazi was also puzzled, and said suspiciously: "At the beginning of last month, I agreed with King Pingnan to trap Lu Yifeng's wife and son, and explained to him, asking him to ask you to give him some guidance and help him do this mission, why, Prince Pingnan didn't ask you for advice?" ”

"No?" Kong Sizhen was full of confusion, and it took a while to wake up, and exclaimed: "The slave understands, it must be the prince of Pingnan who is arrogant and thinks that he can handle this errand, so he didn't mention it to the slave." ”

"It's possible, with the temper of Prince Pingnan, such a thing must be done." Kang Mazi also came to his senses, and secretly scolded Shang Laohan for annihilating the enemy, Kang Mazi told again: "Since the prince of Pingnan did not ask you for advice, then forget it!" Remember, this matter must be kept secret, and if it is leaked, watch your head! ”

"Cover." Kong Sizhen respectfully agreed, but hesitated in his heart - should I inform the dead fat man about this matter?

"Why don't you kneel yet?" Seeing that Kong Sizhen didn't kneel down as usual, Kang Mazi couldn't help but laugh and asked, "Do you want my favor again?" If yes, kneel here, I just happened to use the blood of the deer, and come over to give me a flute. ”

"Shameless!" Kong Sizhen scolded secretly in her heart, helplessly walked to the front of Kang Mazi's seat, used her hands and mouth together, and endured humiliation and humiliation, but she was thinking in her heart, "Oh no, I didn't expect that Shang Kexi's old thing to hit me crookedly, and it happened to hide me, so that I didn't have time to prepare in advance." I haven't found that idiot yet, and there is no reliable person around, so I will report directly to the dead fat man, in case of leakage, I don't want to say revenge, whether I can save my surname or not, I'm afraid it's a big problem. ”

"Dead fatty, why should the old lady risk her head to save your wife and son?" With a flattering and charming smile on her pretty face, Kong Sizhen, who has always been selfish, suddenly had a bad thought in her heart, "Aren't you dead fat people dirty?" The old lady is like that to you, you don't want to look at the old lady squarely, in this case, why should the old lady risk her life for your wife and son? Besides, if you really trust Lao Niang, you should provide Lao Niang with a direct contact channel, so that Lao Niang can safely provide you with the news, but did you do so? ”

Thinking about this, Kong Sizhen suddenly remembered one more thing - just yesterday, the secret agent of the Thirteen Yamen reported to himself, and there was intelligence that the Great Buddha Temple in the capital used to have a lay housekeeper named Yang Qilong, who had secretly purchased two shops for Wu Yingxiong in the capital to open the Eight Banners Fushou Paste Museum, Wu Yingxiong disappeared after being captured, and recently appeared in the area of Tangtai Mountain in the northwest of the capital, and then disappeared again, suspected to be the Pingxi Palace, please ask whether to use a lot of manpower and material resources to search?

"Tangtai Mountain in the northwest of the capital?" Recalling this, Kong Sizhen couldn't help but think of something again, "Isn't there also a temple there?" It seems to be called Daikakuji Temple, right? Since Yang Qilong has been the lay housekeeper of the Big Buddha Temple, will he hide in the Great Jue Temple? Am I going to take the time to go to Dajue Temple and try my luck? ”

"Ahh At this time, in less than half a day, Kang Mazi suddenly roared comfortably, pressed Kong Sizhen's head with both hands, and sprayed as much as he could. Kong Sizhen was nauseated, but her eyes were still full of tears, and she forced herself to swallow............

(To be continued)