After dealing with the military affairs outside the city, Qingxian also began to send back news, but many key details related to the next move of the army still need to be further reconnoitred and explored.

Zhou Shixian was most concerned about the attitude of the local Cao Gang in Qingxian County towards the Ming Court, as well as the number of their ships and grain and grass reserves. He had an army of two thousand and seven or eight hundred horses, and his daily consumption was huge.

But it will take time to investigate these military intelligences, and Zhou Shixian can only continue to wait in addition to asking Wu Xingye to send sentry cavalry to be vigilant against the Shun army chasing troops in the north.

However, at the latest by tomorrow afternoon, he must set off immediately, otherwise it is very likely that he will be discovered by the Shun army.

During this period, he naturally wanted to go into the city to greet Emperor Chongzhen and Empress Zhou, and to see his daughter-in-law who had not passed through the door, and his sister-in-law who had been clamoring for pastries.

After appeasing the mother-in-law who knew about the killing last night, the daughter-in-law who did not pass the door, and promised the sister-in-law to buy pastries for her, Zhou Shixian finally had time for a "private meeting" with Li Banghua and Ni Yuanlu.

All the way south, they were all on the way, although Li Banghua and Ni Yuanlu had long wanted to have a good chat with this genius of the world, but there was no suitable opportunity.

In fact, when the two of them met Emperor Chongzhen for the first time, they had already guessed that it was Zhou Shixian's private decision to take them south, but the reason for it was not for sure.

After all, they had only heard of this colt, and they didn't know each other, and they didn't know that the other party would have such a ability.

Zhou Shixian listened to the questions of the two, but said with a slight smile: "Meng Weng and Ni Gong are both pillars of the country, and the brave loyal ministers in my Ming Dynasty have long been famous in the government and the opposition, how can the younger generations not know?" ”

Although Li Banghua and Ni Yuanlu are highly respected, they still win the emperor's heart in the face of the horse, just like the praise of the horse in the middle of the day, they can't help but be a little excited in their hearts, but they all hurriedly waved their hands and said they didn't dare.

Both of them humbly said that they were old, but they were mediocre and useless.

In fact, they have already prepared to die at home, in the original history, these two were loyal ministers to the Ming Dynasty in the capital, and they were cut off from their homes when the city was broken, where could they have thought that Zhou Shixian would rescue them together?

"If it weren't for the horses who recruited so many loyal people to rescue them, maybe our two old fellows would have been buried in the ground." Li Banghua said with a wry smile.

"When the civil and military officials are helpless, and when a million thieves are approaching the city, three hundred elite soldiers will escort them out of danger, and the horse is really a great talent, this is the blessing of the Ming Dynasty and the blessing of the society!" Old man Ni Yuanlu also praised.

Zhou Shixian listened to it, and pushed it back again and again, thinking that these two people really did not change their literati nature, and their words were too exaggerated, where did the thieves come from the million-strong army?

However, these two old ministers are different from those civil officials who can only "care about the people" and "benevolence, righteousness and morality" all day long, they have real skills, and they do not lack courage and courage.

Moreover, Zhou Shixian also knew what the two of them were going to do here, and the words of saving their lives were just to get closer to each other and introduce topics, what Li Banghua and Ni Yuanlu really wanted to talk about was probably the same thing as what Zhou Shixian thought in his heart.

Sure enough, these two ministers, who were accustomed to seeing wind and rain in the court, naturally came easily by observing words and expressions, and Zhou Shixian only showed it slightly, and the two of them guessed it.

So, Li Banghua no longer hid it, let alone went around in circles, and went straight to the point:

"This trip to the south is not only as simple as escorting to Nanjing, but the most important thing is how to keep half of the southern country, and then plan the Northern Expedition, restore the rivers and mountains, and exterminate the thieves.

Now the thieves are strong, the northern provinces have fallen, if there is no accident, it will soon wave its army to the south, and the Sichuan and Shu thieves are raging, and there are almost no soldiers to fight in the south, the situation can be described as critical.

Although the provinces of Nanzhili, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Fujian, Guangdong, and Guangxi still have available funds, if they do not reform the government and government, rectify the rule of officials, and collect the financial power, official power, and military power to the central government, I am afraid that it will be useless even if they go to Nanjing. ”

Zhou Shixian listened, and secretly nodded in agreement, Li Banghua's opinion is indeed good, and he even said the core. In fact, in the original history, the Southern Ming Dynasty died in these difficult places to reform.

Of course, there is another point, that is, the endless "party struggle", which made Nanming miss many opportunities for counteroffensives, and further depleted the already weak military force.

"Therefore, the two old and decrepit horses should be wanted to make the officials of Nanzhili and Zhejiang, Jiangxi and other places work together to go to the national disaster and form a strong force in the DPRK to resist the Qing Dynasty, right?" Ni Yuanlu also asked vaguely.

Zhou Shixian listened to the words of the two old ministers and knew that he had not brought the wrong people, they were all talents who understood the situation. In this era of extremely underdeveloped information and communication, such talents are extremely rare.

It is even no exaggeration to say that there are not ten such people in today's China. Otherwise, Li Zicheng would not have lost so quickly.

"What the two lords said is very true, and this concubine is indeed worried about this, but as long as Your Majesty goes south safely, rebuilds the imperial court in Nanjing, stabilizes the hearts of the people, and uses the financial and material resources of the south of the Yangtze River to resist the Liukou and the Dongyu, it should not be difficult. And ......" Zhou Shixian wanted to speak and stopped, the following words, whether to say or not, it depends on whether Li Banghua and Ni Yuanlu ask or not.

"Isn't there a good plan for the horses?" Seeing this, Li Banghua hurriedly asked.

"Yes, colt, don't sell it." Ni Yuanlu also said anxiously.

Zhou Shixian looked at the eager expressions of the two old ministers, and said with a serious face:

"Both of them are role models for hundreds of officials, highly respected and famous. Master Li is the leader of Shilin, a soldier and a well-known official, and once served as an official in Nanjing, and he is even more successful in the officialdom of Nanjing. This time to the south, the route of the younger generation is actually based on the adult, and listening to the adult's words today is better than reading a book for ten years.

And Lord Ni is my Ming Dynasty loyal and good death person, and proficient in finance, taxation and goods loss, to the south of the Yangtze River, to raise military salaries, raise army armor, the cost must be a lot, then you have to rely on Lord Ni! ”

Zhou Shixian came from later generations, and he knew the roots of these two old ministers, and this sycophant was naturally just right on the idea, and the effect was remarkable, and the two old men were so excited that they listened.

"I believe that the two adults have also seen it now, don't say that the southern soldiers, the dignified Son of Heaven Beijing Battalion, are also uneven, the soldiers are hungry, they are not clothed, how can they fight?" After Zhou Shixian praised the two of them, he immediately changed the conversation and got to the point:

"This time going south, rebuilding the imperial court, and stabilizing people's hearts is only the first step. Rectify the rule of officials, raise military salaries, build armor and weapons, rebuild the new army with the financial, material and human resources of the south of the Yangtze River, the Northern Expedition to the Central Plains, and restore the rivers and mountains.

Therefore, this horse wants to invite the two adults to go south, and this is for this reason. If there is no help from the two adults, I am afraid that the Nanjing court will not be able to rectify, the officials will be corrupt, the finance and taxation will be difficult to collect, the finance and taxation will be insufficient, and there will be no way to talk about strengthening the army. ”

When Li Banghua and Ni Yuanlu heard this, they both had smiles on their faces, and then they glanced at each other, as if they were sure of something. The colt in front of him is indeed not a grandiose junior, and his thoughts and thoughts are very profound.

In Zhou Shixian's plan after he went south, Li Banghua and Ni Yuanlu were both important links, not only to rectify the court and reform the rule of officials, but also to open up sources and reduce expenditure, raise military salaries, grain and grass, open a new weapon manufacturing workshop, and train the new army.

In order to destroy the Qing Dynasty in the Northern Expedition, annihilate all the resistance forces, and recover Liaodong, Zhou Shixian needed 200,000 troops.

Of course, an army of 200,000 cannot be trained in a day, it needs to be done step by step - from 20,000 to 50,000, from 50,000 to 100,000, from 100,000 to 200,000......

And his ambitions don't stop there, the strong army of the Ming Dynasty will not stop at 200,000, and it is not limited to the land division.

The entire Inner and Outer Northeast, Siberia, Mongolia, Western Regions, Qinghai-Tibet, Annam, and Luzon, the Ming Dynasty wanted to participate in the great voyage in this turbulent era, and what the Europeans could do, the Ming Dynasty could also do.