Li Dingguo seemed to have expected this day a long time ago, and his expression was as usual: "I see, but I don't know why the envoy of the Ming Emperor came?" ”

"Let us wait for us to officially belong to the Ming Dynasty, accept the canonization, and support the Ming room. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 info is a brother who only knows the envoy's intentions, and the specific terms have not been discussed in detail with him. This matter is related to the fate of more than 100,000 old brothers in my Xiying in the future, and it is not allowed to be hasty, and the brother alone has no right to be the master. The third brother and the fourth brother were not in the city, so they had to consult with the second brother first. ”

"It's really a big deal. Although the eldest brother had promised Mu Guo to restore the country after the public support of the Ming Dynasty, it was different from officially attaching to the Ming Dynasty. I don't know what Big Brother means? ”

"Haha, why is the second brother so restrained? It's a lot of trouble for my brother to be so late, but I'm anxious to hear what my second brother means first. If you have anything to say, do you need more outsiders between brothers? Besides, Xiying is not for the brother alone. The little family foundation left by my father, the four of us brothers have the responsibility to protect it. Sun Kewang still smiled, and quietly kicked back the ball that Li Dingguo kicked back.

Fortunately, Li Dingguo didn't care much about this, so he smiled and muttered for a while, and said, "The younger brother thinks that the eldest brother doesn't have to rush to agree to the envoy of the Ming Court first. ”

"Why is that?"

"If it is according to what the eldest brother promised Mu Guogong at the beginning, it is just to support the Ming Dynasty and restore the country, then my Xiying still has the right to be autonomous, and I don't have to obey Hengzhou in everything, which is reasonable and beyond reproach in the world. If we formally attach ourselves to the Ming Dynasty and accept its canonization, then we will be the courtiers of the Ming Dynasty in the future, with every word and deed. We must all abide by the way of being a minister, otherwise we will lose our morality. It has damaged the reputation of our Xiying. But in this way, our Xiying will be fettered by Hengzhou again, and lose its original autonomy, which may not be beneficial to future development. Therefore, it is better to wait for a while and then depending on the situation. ”

"Oh? Can the second brother be more detailed? Sun Kewang was a little surprised, and he was originally attached to Mu Tianbo on the condition of "restoring the country after supporting the Ming Dynasty together". To a large extent, he listened to Li Dingguo's advice, but his answer today is very different from his attitude that day.

In the original sense, Sun Kewang was inclined to accept the canonization of the Ming court. It's not that he has a good impression of Daming. There are two main reasons for this.

First, as long as he is canonized by the imperial court, he will undoubtedly be able to govern those former Ming civil officials and military generals who belong to Xiying in a more authoritative capacity. Even if these people oppose him, he can justifiably control or suppress them.

Second. Now although he is promoted as the leader of the alliance by the three righteous brothers. But in fact, the status of the four is the same, and his status is far from being comparable to Zhang Xianzhong at the beginning. If he accepted the canonization of the Ming Court, he had the right to negotiate, and he was completely sure that he would be able to make his title higher than Li Dingguo, Ai Nengqi and Liu Wenxiu, so that he would have the name of moderation against them.

Coke is willing, as Sun Kewang said before, he can't decide this matter in one word, he has to listen to the thoughts of Li Dingguo and others first. Among the four kings of Xiying today, Ainengqi has always had a good relationship with him. Also happy to obey his orders. And Liu Wenxiu has always followed in the footsteps of Li Dingguo. Therefore, convincing Li Dingguo is the most crucial. As long as he and Li Dingguo have the same views, there will be no resistance to this matter, but I didn't expect Li Dingguo to disagree.

"Big brother, you might as well imagine first, if I accept the canonization of the Ming Emperor, then Yunnan will once again be under the rule of the Ming Dynasty. When the Ming Emperor re-sent officials to take over the prefectures and counties, how should the eldest brother respond? If you refuse, it will be contrary to the duty of the courtier, and it will leave the truth in vain. Isn't the previous layout of the big brother in vain? Moreover, if the Ming Emperor suddenly issued an edict one day to abolish the new policy implemented by the eldest brother and change back to the old system, what should the eldest brother do? If the Ming Emperor listens to the slander of the traitorous ministers in the future, treats us like the rest of the Shun army, and makes things difficult in various ways, then how should we deal with it? All in all, what the younger brother means is that instead of seeking shackles and changing a title, it is better to retain autonomy for the time being, and seize the current opportunity to let Xiying gain a firm foothold in Yunnan. ”

After saying this, Li Dingguo asked rhetorically: "I don't know what the eldest brother thinks about this matter?" ”

"What I mean for my brother is to accept the canonization of the Ming court and officially declare that my Xiying will be attached to the Ming Dynasty." Sun Kewang seemed very frank, "The second brother's previous worries are not unreasonable, but there is no need to worry too much, since the brother has this idea, of course, he has already prepared future countermeasures to ensure that he can do it without leakage." What's more, at present, the territory controlled by the Ming court is only a few provinces, although it has won a few victories, but it still has to face the threat of the Tartars going south at any time, and it may not have too much energy to take care of Yunnan. ”

As if to add some more convincingness, the smile on Sun Kewang's face became more kind, and he added: "With the current strength of my Xiying, Emperor Longwu will not know the importance of it, and when he canonizes it, he will definitely have the title of county king of you and my brothers." ”

Li Dingguo chuckled lightly, and didn't think so: "The eldest brother is laughing, how can the younger brother He De dare to be on a par with the eldest brother?" Besides, if it's just for the title of a county king, why bother? The four brothers and I now all have the title of king, why do we need to be canonized by the Ming court? ”

"Hehe, but it's not! Since our army entered Yunnan, the second brother must have seen it, although Emperor Chongzhen failed to hold the society and made the people in the world boil. But after all, the Ming Dynasty has continued to serve the country for nearly three hundred years, and there are not a few loyal ministers like Mu Tianbo. These people have great hearts, and their forces in various places are intertwined and deep-rooted, and although they are temporarily attached to our Xiying, they are also respectful on the surface, but how do they view us in their hearts? The second brother should also know that, in short, it is nothing more than the word Caokou. Even if we call ourselves kings, this is true. And once we accepted the canonization of the Ming court, they were still secretly making irresponsible remarks, that is, disloyalty to the Ming Dynasty, and as the saying goes, they were lifting a stone to shoot themselves in the foot. If there are further changes, then we can suppress them with the power of thunder. The county king of the Ming Dynasty dealt with the ill-intentioned courtiers of the Ming Dynasty, which is justified and beyond reproach in the world. In this way, it is not only conducive to our Xiying gaining a firm foothold in Yunnan, but even if it is going further, it is not known. ”

The two talked for a long time, and every time Li Dingguo raised a question, Sun Kewang seemed to have sufficient reasons to explain and refute it. In the end, Li Dingguo didn't say anything more, expressing his support for Sun Kewang's idea.

In fact, Li Dingguo is not ignorant of Sun Kewang's thoughts. The reason why he didn't agree with Sun Kewang at the beginning was naturally because he had some consideration for his own interests, and because he knew the consistent character of his righteous brother, accepting the canonization of Daming now does not mean that he will be able to be an honest minister for a lifetime in the future. Once there are any variables, I am afraid that I and the old brothers in Xiying will have to follow him and bear the black cauldron, and end up with a dishonest reputation in the world.

But now, seeing that Sun Kewang seems to have made up his mind, Li Dingguo doesn't want to show signs of division within Xiying, so he agrees. After all, as long as it is handled properly, there is no harm to Xiying for the time being.

No matter what, Li Dingguo's support still made Sun Kewang smile: "If the second brother can think like this, he will be relieved to be a brother!" You and I brothers work together, and no hardship or obstacle is enough! ”

After a few sighs of emotion, he casually asked about some recent military and political affairs, the construction of barracks, the army's drills, and so on.

Li Dingguo replied one by one, and before leaving, he remembered something again, and felt that he should give Sun Kewang a reminder first: "Although the southern expedition of the Tartars returned in vain, it will inevitably be a thief, and maybe it will go south again next year." With this lesson, if the Tartars want to invade the south again, the number of troops will definitely increase, and it is unknown whether the Ming army in Huguang can still win. Since the eldest brother has decided to belong to the Ming Dynasty, at that time, my 100,000 troops in the West Camp will naturally have to do something. Now that the overall situation in Yunnan has been decided, Shadingzhou is just around the corner, and the destruction is just around the corner, so the eldest brother might as well take advantage of this time to plan as early as possible and be prepared. ”

"The second brother didn't agree with accepting the canonization of the Ming court before, why did he propose to take the initiative to support the Ming army at this moment?" Sun Kewang did not answer directly.

"Little brother, this is also a matter of facts. Previously, he persuaded the eldest brother not to be in a hurry to accept the canonization of the Ming court, because it was for the sake of Xiying. Now persuade the eldest brother to take precautions, which is also for the sake of Xiying. Once Huguang falls, how can Yunnan be spared? Big brother should know this truth. Even if our army is not attached to the Ming Dynasty, it can't stand idly by, let alone have the status of a courtier after accepting the canonization of the Ming court. ”

"The second brother is reasonable," Sun Kewang nodded, "But there is no need to be too anxious about this matter, when the third and fourth brothers return to the city, the four of us brothers will discuss it carefully." The truth of the cold lips and teeth is not ignorant of being a brother, and he will not sit idly by. The second brother is relieved. ”

"Well, if there is nothing else, the little brother will leave."

"Okay, tomorrow for my brother, I will send someone to inform the second brother, and we will go together to meet the envoy of the Ming Emperor."

After sending Li Dingguo away, Sun Kewang's smile gradually faded, and his face was gloomy and he walked a few laps with his hands down, still drowsy. He simply went back to the window, looked up at the stars, and let out a heavy sigh. In the eyes of outsiders, he seems to be the commander of Xiying and the leader of the alliance among the four kings. But what commander would get to this point in chief? No matter how big or small, you have to go to great lengths in person, and even hard work to get your wish, which is really a bit ridiculous when you think about it. It seems that it is time to find some way to change this situation!

"Huguang ......" sorted out the chaotic thoughts in his mind, and Sun Kewang thought of the situation outside Yunnan from Li Dingguo's words just now, and his eyes seemed to be thousands of miles away, muttering to himself, thoughtful. (To be continued.) )