Zuo Maodi explained the aftermath to his wife with apprehension, and resolutely went to the palace amid the cries of his family.

There, Ma Shaoyu, Chen Yongji, Wang Yibin, Zhang Liangzuo, Wang Tingzuo, Liu Tong and other entourages waited.

Zuo Mao arrived for the first time, and the group of people lined up according to their official positions, and bowed again and again to the palace, which was regarded as a resignation to Hongguang.

Everyone knows that there is a lot of luck and little luck here, and they all go on the road with a kicking heart, and they all go north with their own thoughts.

They went out of the city, silently walked forward, and walked to a pavilion 20 miles north of the city, and suddenly found more than a dozen soldiers standing outside the pavilion, and in the pavilion, a person dressed as a Confucian sat at a stone table drinking tea.

Seeing that they had arrived, a soldier outside the pavilion came quickly, and Zuo Mao bowed first, "Shi Shangshu is invited."

A group of people watched Zuo Maodi enter the pavilion and Shi Kefa had tea, and sat on the side of the road and waited.

Half an hour later, Zuo Maodi returned, his expression was a little clearer than when he first set off, although everyone had the heart to ask what the two had discussed, but seeing that Zuo Maodi did not speak, he put away his words and continued to hurry in a muffled voice.

Three days later, the group came to the bank of the Huai River, thinking about the refugees they saw along the way, recalling their yellow muscles and thin clothes at the dining table, and they were mentally prepared.

Because the north must have been more miserable after the slaughter of the captives and the rebellion of thieves and soldiers, they expected that the north would definitely be starving and dying, and the ten rooms and nine empty rooms.

When crossing the Huai River, the group was stopped by the sailors guarding the river, and the generals who led the troops saw the so-called holy decree in their hands, smiled contemptuously, confiscated their weapons, and let them go.

"Don't send troops to escort us?" Zuo Maodi was surprised.

"The emperor has a decree. The people sent by the puppet emperor of Nanjing will not be intercepted or escorted, and they will be allowed to go north on their own." The general was very indifferent.

Zuo Maodi sighed, solemnly bowed his hand, and turned his head north.

After four days of traveling, the group was surprised to find that they, as officials in Nanjing, traveled through the area controlled by the "fake Chongzhen", and they traveled unhindered, without encountering any obstruction or interrogation from beginning to end.

This night, Zuo Maodi lay in the official post in Xuzhou, and his heart couldn't be calm for a long time.

After four days, the place he passed by didn't seem to be the north of the Ming Dynasty, or rather, it was not the north of the Ming Dynasty in his cognition.

On the 360-mile road from the Huai River to Xuzhou, he did not see a single homeless or beggar, a dilapidated village, a barren farmland, or an arrogant and common man or soldier.

The people here are all comfortable traveling, and there is no longer the thinness on his face.

All of them were ruddy and refreshed.

From time to time, he saw farmers chatting on the roadside, children running in the fields, and smoke wafting from the villages.

In the city of Xuzhou, it is a sign of national peace and security, every household is solid, the business of shops and stalls is also very good, and the soldiers at the city gate are only standing guard, without any search and interrogation action.

The people are so leisurely, as if they have not been war-torn for many years, and have already passed a life of abundant food and clothing.

It was only then that Zuo Maodi truly understood Shi Kefa's words: "In the north, don't be surprised to see anything!"

He thought that Shi Kefa was talking about the misery of the north, but who knew that he was talking about the prosperity of the north.

When the day dawned, the group continued north, and they no longer had sad faces, for they gradually felt that the one in the capital must be a wise lord.

Three days later, Zuo Maodi and others arrived in Qufu, worshiped the Confucian Temple and continued to go north, and then went all the way through Jinan, through Dezhou, around the river, and went straight to Shuntianfu.

In Jinan and Dezhou, they saw dozens of miles of elite soldiers, and on the vast plains on both sides of the Yellow River, they saw endless square fields.

The apprehension finally calmed down, and they knew that what they were going to face was a wise monarch, and it was definitely not Chongzhen!

Because it is absolutely impossible for Chongzhen to govern the country so richly.

The only thing that bothered Zuo Maodi was how to get the person in power in Jingshi to recognize Hongguang's orthodoxy and assist Hongguang to rejuvenate the Ming Dynasty.

On the 2nd of their journey

On day 0, Zuo Maodi finally arrived in the south of Jingshi City.

"Lord Zuo, look, there seem to be slaves over there!"

Zuo Maodi heard the prestige, and along the way, they saw abundant food and clothing, but they didn't expect to be close to Jingshi, but they saw people who were not clothed.

"Let's go, let's see."

After walking a short distance, they saw a dozen young men crouching on a dirt slope, laughing and talking, pointing at the slaves.

"Dare to ask a few little brothers, who is working ahead?"

A few young people were not afraid of people, and said, "They have a background, you see, the one without sleeves is the former Shaozhan Zhiyu, the one with the hair is the original Shi Min in the matter, and the one who is picking the hoe is even more powerful, it is the former chief university scholar Wei Zaode!"

Hearing this, Zuo Maodi and the others were detained again, "Those who don't cover their bodies are all officials of the imperial court?"

"What a court official, that was a year ago, and now, more than 2,000 people here are all prisoners! Who will make them surrender to the thieves?" The young people scoffed.

Zuo Maodi and others sighed, the former court officials, more than 2,000 people, were all flattened into slaves, and were watched and ridiculed by the village villagers.

They were apprehensive again, and walked silently towards the Jingshi.

Zuo Maodi took the holy decree given by Hongguang, and under the cold eyes of the guards of the city and the officials of Honglu Temple, he lived in the post station.

"Lord Zuo, although these people are indifferent, they are still polite, could it be that Chen Dudu didn't send troops?"

"Do you really think that Ma Shoufu dares to send troops to Shandong?" Zuo Maodi sighed, "We just have a mouth to negotiate, and we will never be able to use the might of the army!"

"Hey......

"Don't sigh, can you inquire clearly, why is there a lot of lights in the city? It's festive than the New Year."

"I inquired clearly, the one in the palace canonized the new queen, and a few days ago, he just completed his wedding!"

……

The news of Zuo Maodi's entry into Beijing soon reached the ears of the prince, and Zhu Cihong did not dare to make a decision on his own, so he hurriedly went to the harem.

At this time, Chongzhen was accompanying the new queen of the Ming Dynasty to feed the fish by the pool.

Zhu Cihong saw such a casual and elegant picture, and almost vomited blood.

"I haven't seen the crown princess for more than ten days, but my father is good, and every day is easy."

When Chongzhen saw the prince coming, he threw all the fish food in his hand into the fish pond, turned his head, and asked, "Why are you bothering?"

Zhu Cihong suppressed the slander in his heart, and said with a strange face: "Father, King Fu sent Zuo Maodi, the squire of the Nanjing Military Department, to say that it is ...... Worship the First Emperor...... Searching for the Prince's ...... Also, peace talks ......."

"Hmm." Chongzhen snorted, "My son, why are you emaciated again!"

Zhu Cihong is speechless, working every day, can he not lose weight?

"Brother Chun, you can't work like this, you'll be tired!" Chongzhen's tone was full of love.

Zhu Cihong almost jumped to his feet when he heard this, and said in his heart, "Why am I so tired? It's not because you have to make me a prisoner......