Runing Mansion, Henan, in Runing City.

At this moment, Li Guo and Xu Xiake were talking to each other in the study, and next to them stood Liu Zongmin, Tian Jianxiu, Gu Kecheng, Zhang Shijie, Zhang Nai and other generals.

"Mr. Xu, according to the news from our people in Nanjing, as soon as the news of Zhu Youzhen's death reached the south, in addition to expressing condolences, the people's hearts began to liven up, and they were soon divided into two factions, one faction supported Zhu Yousong, the son of King Fu, as the emperor, and the other faction supported Zhu Changshu, the king of Lilu, and the two factions could not hold each other and could not reach a consensus."

As soon as Li Guogang finished speaking, Xu Xiake looked thoughtful and muttered: "No wonder they can't hold each other, in terms of virtue, Zhu Changshu, the king of Lu, has been famous for a long time, and he can indeed be regarded as a master." However, in terms of bloodline, Zhu Yousong and Chongzhen are the closest in blood. ”

Tami-su interjected and raised his own questions.

"Mr. Xu, the reason why the two factions are at loggerheads is probably not that simple, it should not be just because of bloodline and fame, right?"

"General Tian, what you said is right, things are indeed not that simple."

Xu Xiake responded, as if he had been reminded, his face showed a hint of abruptness, and he slowly turned to say: "Since Emperor Yongle, the Ming court moved its capital to Yanjing, and has always maintained two sets of official systems, divided into six ministries in the north and south, and there is a complete set of systems in the south, as long as there is an emperor, it can operate normally, the six ministries have long existed, and the cabinet will soon be formed." ”

"Mr. Xu, what do you mean ......?" Li Guo asked at the right time.

"The meaning is very simple, the two factions in Nanjing, one of them is extremely ambitious, and wants to make a puppet emperor, and the new emperor will not interfere with the cabinet's decisions."

At this time, Liu Zongmin stood up, with a look of disdain on his face, and mocked: "These Ming court officials are really enough, it's already this time, we will soon hit Nanjing City, they still have the heart to engage in infighting, but they are still playing their own little ninety-nine, how to maximize their own interests?" It is really intolerable that such a court will not perish. ”

Gao Yigong stepped forward, but before he said anything, he first burst into laughter, different from Liu Zongmin's cynicism, he said jokingly: "Hahaha... Nanjing City is so lively, once it is determined who will be the emperor and on the day of his accession to the throne, if the crown prince Zhu Cihong is sent to Nanjing City, it will definitely be more lively and fun! ”

"It's funny to think about it, once that day comes, Zhu Cihong really appears in Nanjing, I'm afraid that those officials who support the new emperor are all one head and two big, and the officials of both factions have to be in an embarrassing situation, up and down!"

"Yigong, you are really black-bellied, this idea is really bad enough, if you really send Zhu Cihong to Nanjing City on that day, the fun will be great, and the whole Nanjing City will have to be in chaos!" Zhang Nai's face was flushed, and he echoed excitedly.

When several people laughed at each other, Li Guo and Xu Xiake looked at each other deeply, the light in their eyes was flashing, and they listened to Gao Yigong's jokes, and nodded in tacit understanding.

Seeing the two of them so affectionate and behaved, Tian Jianxiu's heart froze, his face showed disbelief, his eyes widened, and he asked, "Mr. Xu, General Li, you are not really going to do this, are you?" ”

"Why not?"

Li Guo asked rhetorically, although the voice was not loud, but it reached everyone's ears, and the study suddenly fell silent, and the expressions of the others were so similar to Tian Jianxiu's, and their eyes were also round.

"I'm not kidding!"

Li Guo was very sure and said again, looked at everyone seriously, and then added: "You must know that no matter who becomes the emperor of the Ming court, the decree will be unified, and it will be unfavorable to us. ”

"Of course, it is undeniable that no matter what the situation is, our Li Jiajun will be able to deal with it calmly and eventually take all parts of the south. However, once the various armies of the Southern Ming Dynasty were united, even if they could win in the end, they would suffer heavy losses. ”

"If the two factions of Nanjing City reach a consensus and elect a certain vassal king as the emperor, on the day of his accession to the throne, if Zhu Cihong enters Nanjing City, with his status as the crown prince, it will definitely make Nanjing City chaotic and the government decrees cannot be unified. At that time, if we send troops again, we can easily defeat the Ming army. ”

The words are beady, like big beads and small beads falling on a jade plate, in the quiet study, everyone swallowed their saliva, Gao Yigong sighed with difficulty: "My good boy, when the time comes, Zhu Cihong's role is almost equivalent to tens of thousands of troops, and the Southern Ming Army without the backbone will be the same as a plate of scattered sand, unable to fight together, and there is almost no threat at all." ”

In an instant, some people not only remembered history, but also associated this scene with the aftermath of the Tumubao Incident, how similar are the two?

At that time, Zhu Qizhen, Yingzong of the Ming Dynasty, was defeated in Tumu Fort, was captured by the tile thorn, and became a prisoner under the ranks, and the hundred officials in the capital in order to avoid the threat of the tile thorn, the civil and military officials and the internal and external ministers directly supported Zhu Qiyu as the emperor.

However, not long after Zhu Qiyu ascended the throne, the tile spur was released back to Zhu Qizhen of Ming Yingzong, and the outcome was not difficult to predict, Zhu Qiyu was forced to die and killed many ministers.

And now?

The situation will be more intense, and the battle will be more ferocious, after all, Zhu Cihong only has the identity of the prince, but Zhu Yousong has been elected as the emperor by all expectations, which implies that there are officials with great strength.

It's chilling to think about how bloody the battle scene was.

After all, there are supporters, there are opponents, and opponents gather together, which is also a force that should not be underestimated, once they turn their heads to support Zhu Cihong, the two will fight each other and compete for the throne, even if you don't have to think about it, you know how chaotic Nanjing City will be at that time.

At this time, Li Guo didn't pay attention to Gao Yigong anymore, but looked at Tian Jianxiu and explained: "General Tian, immediately notify the lurking personnel in Nanjing, they have been dormant for a period of time, no longer spread all kinds of news, just listen to orders, wait for opportunities, monitor the situation in Nanjing at all times, and report back." ”

"Yes, General Lee."

Tian Jianxiu's voice of reply echoed in everyone's ears, and they immediately understood Li Guo's intention, which was to deliberately create a relatively relaxed atmosphere for those officials in Nanjing City, so that they could elect a new emperor earlier, and lay the foundation for a fierce battle in the future.

When the time comes, the operation of muddying the water can be carried out and Zhu Cihong will be sent to Nanjing City.

Immediately afterwards, Li Guo issued a series of orders to make detailed arrangements for this plan, and strive to hit the ground in one blow and take over the entire Jianghuai region in one fell swoop.

As time passed, hundreds of thousands of Li Jia's troops were all in place, divided into more than a dozen routes, and Chen soldiers were stationed on the southernmost border of Shandong and Henan, ready to attack, as long as one order, they would enter Nanzhili in an instant and capture various state capitals and counties.

Of course, Chen Bing's Li Jiajun in Nanyang Mansion was even more eyeing Huguang and wanted to wait for an opportunity to take it down.

Not only that, the Li army in Shaanxi also moved one after another, constantly gathering to the south, and Chen soldiers were at the junction with Huguang and Sichuan, preparing to drive straight into the army, cooperate with other Li army, and capture Sichuan.

For a time, the whole south became turbulent, and an undercurrent gradually formed.