At the critical moment, Emperor Chongzhen's indecisive and suspicious character was once again revealed, although Zhu Daolin's strong support again and again allowed him to get through one difficulty after another, although he was deeply moved by Zhu Daolin's impassioned and frank selflessness, but he still couldn't make a decision after repeated weighing.

Under such circumstances, Zhu Daolin could only follow Xu Hongji, Zhang Gongwei and others to respectfully retire, follow a group of Jingzhong nephews waiting outside the palace gate, and go to the British Gongzhang Zhiji Mansion to rest.

Along the way, Zhu Daolin's expression was solemn and silent, he knew that he couldn't convince Emperor Chongzhen, who was a low-eyed master but always wanted to control everything in his hands, and knew that the young emperor was very wary of himself, if he didn't need his own huge amount of money to fill the empty inner treasury, he needed his own Dongjiang New Army to contain the Houjin forces to reduce the heavy pressure on the border passes, and he needed to expand his own sailors and increase sea ships to make up for the luck that existed in name only, he would never watch himself grow stronger, He will not grant himself the title of Earl of Zhenhai and the post of Governor of Haiphong.

As for the so-called Zhu family bloodline and the statement that he wants to grant his own prince, Zhu Daolin will never believe it, as long as the shattered Ming Dynasty has not yet reached the day when it is about to fall, as long as Emperor Chongzhen is not forced to the edge of despair, he will never grant himself the title of prince.

Under the escort of more than a dozen generals and colonels, the carriage slowly entered the gate of the British Mansion.

Passing through the wide garden-style front yard, the carriage slowly stopped, and the well-informed British Gong Zhang Zhiji and other seven princes had already greeted them with a smile in front of the main courtyard.

Zhu Daolin finally came back to his senses under Zhang Gongwei's reminder, barely cheered up, followed Zhang Gongwei out of the carriage, and respectfully greeted the eight nobles in Beijing who were famous all over the world one by one, and was soon pulled into the main hall by this group of happy old guys and pressed on the wine table.

The laughter and laughter of the reception banquet was very lively, and the wine and food served in turn were extremely rich. Zhu Daolin, who forced himself to laugh, did not have the slightest appetite.

After being poured more than a dozen glasses of wine and drinking half a bowl of bird's nest shark fin soup, Zhang Zhiji finally asked the reason for suddenly entering Beijing to face the saint, Xu Hongji and Zhang Gongwei, who had promised to keep secrets, looked at each other and smiled bitterly, and then looked at Zhu Daolin, who was immersed in the soup.

Zhu Daolin quickly adjusted, picked up the white napkin, and wiped his mouth. You sighed: "As an elder, I don't have anyone to deal with, and I still sold my little nephew at a critical time, which is painful!" ”

The nobles were surprised for a moment and then burst into laughter, Xu Hongji and Zhang Gongwei were also happy, as if Zhu Daolin's pun exclamation was not about himself, but felt that the heavy pressure in his heart was much less relieved with Lang Lang's laughter.

The laughter gradually stopped, and Zhu Daolin, who had already belonged to the noble class, looked around and replied respectfully: "There are two important reasons for the sudden entry into Beijing this time, one is to ask the emperor to give us the greater initiative of the armies in the south of the Yangtze River. In order to better protect the important places in the south and north of the Yangtze River. ”

"The second reason is that five days later, the 100,000 soldiers and horses quietly gathered by the little nephew will attack Jiuliancheng on the north bank of the Yalu River, the coastal town of Zhuanghekou in Liaodong Bay, and Jinzhouwei in the west, and then enter the hinterland of Liaodong regardless of it."

"The little nephew has already made a promise in front of the emperor that he will complete his work in one battle, even if he fights to the last person to recover Liaodong, and he will also take this opportunity to send his wife and children to the palace to show his heart to the emperor, the queen and the people of the world. It is saved that some ill-intentioned forces continue to impose slander and slander on the little nephew's head such as 'harboring evil intentions, separating and splitting the territory, recruiting troops, and plotting rebellion'. ”

The exclamation suddenly sounded, and a pair of incredible eyes all looked at Zhu Daolin, who looked calm. Then there was a heated discussion with excitement.

Xu Hongji and Zhang Gongwei glanced at each other again, and sighed secretly, knowing that Zhu Daolin would never reveal the most important earth-shattering strategy to anyone, and even the emperor would not dare to make such a decision, so the two could only strictly keep secrets and keep the promise made to Zhu Daolin. to avoid unnecessary trouble.

After the nobles discussed nervously, Zhu Chunchen, the Duke of Chengguo, who was in charge of the 200,000 forbidden army in Beijing, turned to Zhu Daolin: "Virtuous nephew, although we all know that the main force of the Houjin is far away from Liaodong and is about to move on the grassland north of Xuanfu and Datong, the Houjin Tartars still have about 50,000 troops left in various parts of Liaodong. Even if you secretly gather 100,000 troops, I'm afraid it will be difficult to attack the hinterland of Liaodong! ”

"Yes, virtuous nephew, even if you really have 100,000 troops, it is not enough! Don't expect the Guan Ning army cowering on the front line of Jinzhou and Ningyuan to help you, the financial road of the Guan Ning army has been cut off by you, not only offended the entire Guan Ning army, but also offended a large number of Chinese courtiers who have made a fortune by relying on the huge military salary of the Guan Ning army for more than ten years, and they have long hated you to the bone! ”

The straightforward Cao Guogong Li Bangzhen's words were undisguised, but they attracted bursts of echoes, and no one wanted to see Zhu Daolin, a rising star who revitalized the glory and status of the Ming Dynasty, return home.

Zhu Daolin gratefully saluted one by one: "Thank you seniors for your care, the Guanning army is indeed a big scourge, what this army does is more hateful than the Houjin Tartars, the little nephew never regards them as the Ming army, let alone expects them to help!" ”

"I implore the seniors not to worry, it is the right time to recover Liaodong, if it drags on for another three or five years, the Liaodong Tartars will inevitably take the opportunity to annex the whole of Mongolia, and grow rapidly by breaking through the pass again and again and going south to raid wildly, so this biggest enemy must be eliminated as soon as possible!"

"As for how this battle will be fought and whether it can achieve its goal, the little nephew will not be able to say clearly for a while, and the seniors only need to recall the process of counterinsurgency in Dengzhou back then, and they can understand what the little nephew relied on."

The nobles immediately remembered Zhu Daolin's feat of counterinsurgency in breaking through Dengzhou in half a day two years ago, remembered the rumored nearly 100 powerful siege artillery pieces and tens of thousands of flintlock muskets, as well as dozens of huge warships full of artillery, and quickly understood Zhu Daolin's confidence.

However, apart from Zhang Gongwei and Xu Hongji, no one knew that after more than a year of frenzied army expansion day and night training, Zhu Daolin's officers and men under his command had swelled sharply to more than 100,000, and their weaponry and combat effectiveness far exceeded that of the Dongjiang New Army in the Dengzhou Battle of that year, and even the poorly equipped North Sea Fleet had more than 20 new warships and large transport ships, and more than 100 small warships and transport ships below 500 tons.

Even if it is impossible to attack Liaodong Forte for a while, there will be no problem in recovering Jiuliancheng, Gushan Town, Zhuanghekou and Jinzhouwei and other coastal strategic places.

The nobles were once again hotly discussed.

Under everyone's inquiry, Zhang Gongwei and Xu Hongji respectively revealed the weapons and equipment and combat effectiveness under their command, which were not what they used to be, and at the same time cheered for themselves while sharing Zhu Dao's worries.

But until this time, no one knew that Zhu Daolin had included the Guanning Army in the list that must be eliminated, and after cleaning up the Golden Tartar, it would be the turn of the Guanning Army immediately.

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PS: Thank you Shan Qingying for your big reward, thank you Xiaohua 123 for the big monthly pass! (To be continued.) )