Zhu Cixiang said: "There is a saying among military strategists: To defend the river, you must defend the Huaihe River, and to protect the Yangtze River, you must protect the Jing Dynasty. But in my opinion, the theory of defending the Huai River and protecting the Jing River does not take into account the convenience of sea travel. The barbarians of the West have created capable Gunboats that sailed tens of thousands of miles, and we also have Zheng Zhilong and Shen Tingyang in the southeast of the Ming Dynasty, who have hundreds of large ships and can travel across the three oceans in the east, south and north. Therefore, the Denglai Peninsula, surrounded by sea on three sides, is It can be connected to Jiangnan by sea.

And holding Denglai can cross the sea to threaten Liaodong, Tianjin, and North Korea. If the Tatars cannot all hold Denglai, then their home base in Liaodong, the vassal North Korea, and the three Tianjin guards who guard the North Zhili sea route will They are all under my Ming army."

Prince Zhu paused and said with emphasis: "Thousands of miles of sea territory, even if there are tens of thousands of real Manchu Tatars, it is difficult to fully defend it. And what is the population of the Tatars? If tens of thousands of warriors are left to look after the country, there will be How many people can come to Jiangnan?

Therefore, if Jiangnan wants to be worry-free, Denglai must persist! And if we want to persist in Denglai, we must reorganize the garrison and set up regiment training. Let the Denglai gentry and garrison officers who are unwilling and unable to resist leave as soon as possible, and the powerful and determined Loyal men are organized. This visit to Leenko is to select those who are loyal and dare to fight!"

Ma Shiying and Lu Zhenfei now finally know what it feels like to receive enlightenment! This is how they felt after listening to Zhu Cixiang’s analysis!

Needless to say, Zhu Cixiang must be the reincarnation of Emperor Taizu Gao. Otherwise, he is a heroic king similar to Taizu and Chengzu.

With him here, the Ming Dynasty would be as stable as a rock, and of course Ma Shiying and Lu Zhenfei's official positions would also be stable.

The two people looked at each other, stood up, and bowed to Prince Zhu.

"Your Highness is wise, mighty, and knowledgeable. I have my respect and admiration. I am willing to serve Your Highness to the death!"

"Your Highness is truly the master of Zhongxing, and I am willing to serve His Highness as a saddle horse!"

Lu Jiude, who came with Ma Shiying and Lu Zhenfei, stared at the two treacherous ministers who had taken refuge in the traitor with wide eyes!

The traitor didn't even get an official title or make a wish, so the two of them rushed to join him. Are they worthy of the emperor?

"Thousand-year-old Master!" Lu Jiude gritted his teeth, stood up and bowed, "The ministers and servants gathered in Yanzhou were all very anxious when they heard that the emperor was ill and unable to manage the government, and because they had to arrange for the Jinan and Dongchang Prefectures , Guide Mansion is recruiting troops, and we cannot come to Dengzhou Mansion to meet the emperor for the time being. So I brought Lao Nu, Ma Zhijun, and Lu Zhijun to come together. I wonder if you can let us see the emperor?"

Zhu Cixiang's power as regent of Fujun was taken from him, but he couldn't say that publicly. He was so filial to a child, how could he say that he drove Emperor Chongzhen out of power with a sword and soldiers? You can't say that! So to the outside world According to the imperial newspaper and edict, Emperor Chongzhen was unable to govern due to illness, so he appointed Prince Fujun as regent.

Therefore, the condition of Emperor Chongzhen is theoretically related to whether Zhu Cixiang can continue to be in power!

When they heard that Lu Jiude had involved themselves, the two traitorous ministers were startled, and then they all put on innocent expressions, and even took small steps to the side. We and Lu Jiude are not the same group. !We are all gentlemen, not eunuchs!

"Okay!" Zhu Cixiang nodded with a smile, "Since the three of you want to meet you, let's go to the palace to see you later. My father has just recovered from a serious illness and is recuperating. When he arrives in Nanjing, he should be able to take charge of politics. .”

He asked Ma Shiying again: "Has Zhu Yujian brought Ma Zhijun?"

"Reporting back to Qian Sui, the former king of Tang Dynasty Zhu Yujian, as well as Zhu Yujian's two brothers Zhu Yujian and Zhu Yu'e also followed me to Dengzhou." Ma Shiying said, "Now the three brothers are staying in the inn temporarily. By Chen's

Supervisor Biao's personal soldiers are guarding it."

"Why do you live in an inn?" Zhu Cixiang was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "Oh, you guys came here incognito, right?"

"I came here incognito." Ma Shiying said, "There is still a little chaos on the ground in Shandong. I was worried that there would be thieves on the way, so I, Governor Lu and Eunuch Lu came disguised as merchants. We arrived in Dengzhou.

Later, I wanted to stay at Guanyi, but Dengzhou Guanyi did not accept foreign officials, so I stayed at an inn."

Zhu Cixi said with a smile: "There are so many people here in Dengzhou, and the post office has been packed with people for a long time." He paused, and then said, "I have something to do today, and it is too late to summon the brothers of the Tang Dynasty.

Ma Zhijun, please bring them to the Commander's Mansion tomorrow. In addition, the King of Tang was wronged. I know his grievances and will vindicate him and entrust him with important tasks. After you go back, tell me what I said.

Tell him."

"Old minister accepts the order."

Zhu Cixiang nodded and said to Lu Zhenfei: "Lu Qing, you will also come to the Marshal's Mansion tomorrow. I have some questions about water transportation. In addition, I also want to know about the situation in Huai'an."

"I accept the decree."

Lu Zhenfei also bowed.

The water transportation and Huai'an Prefecture are both under the jurisdiction of Lu Zhenfei. Therefore, among the several governors in South Zhili, he is very important. It is directly related to the water transportation of Huaihe and Jiangsu. There are ships and sailors! He controls the water transportation ships.

With manpower, the foundation of the Yangtze River Navy is ready.

Not to mention Huai'an Prefecture, which is guarded at the intersection of the canal and the Huaihe River. If Huai'an is guarded, the problem of Jiangnan defense will not be big.

After making an appointment with Lu Zhenfei to meet, Zhu Cixiang turned his attention to Lu Jiude again.

"Lu Banban," Zhu Cixiang said with a smile, "it was quite difficult for you in Fengyang. You have contributed a lot to Fengyang Mansion's ability to persist until now."

Lu Jiude said: "Master Qiansui has given me a great reward. This is all due to the sacrifice of the soldiers' lives."

Zhu Cixiang nodded and said thoughtfully: "As long as Denglai is in hand, the defense of the eastern front of South Zhili will not be a big problem. As for the gains and losses of the western front of South Zhili, the most important thing is Fengyang, the central capital. Fengyang City is majestic and majestic.

, is not under the two capitals of the north and south. And it is located in Huainan, so it cannot be besieged by the northern army for a long time. As long as we get good generals and elite soldiers, it should be able to become a barrier to the northwest of South Zhili. Lu Banban has been in Fengyang for a long time, who should know who can hold on to Fengyang?

Yangchengchi, right?"

Lu Jiude rolled his eyes and already understood Zhu Cixiang's thoughts. Zhu Cixiang wanted him and Huang Degong to defend Fengyang City.

"Master Qiansui, now that the rogue bandits have been defeated, and the Eastern captives may not go south, it is an opportunity for the imperial court to use troops against the Central Plains. Before the old slave left Yanzhou, the Suppression Commander-in-Chief Gao Jie and the Shandong Commander-in-Chief Liu Zeqing had already sent troops to Jinan. Huang Degong and Liu Liangzuo

The two armies are also preparing to send troops to Dongchang Prefecture and Guide Prefecture. The situation in the Central Plains is promising, so there seems to be no need to rush to defend Fengyang, right?"

The old eunuch's words were completely true, but Zhu Cixi knew that they were completely overly optimistic. But this is not surprising. Historically, Nanming was an optimist, a large gathering of surrenderers and escapees. Anyway, no one had seriously deployed defenses.

.They are either busy with the Northern Expedition or busy with internal strife.

Nearly a year after the founding of the People's Republic of China, there were no usable naval forces on the Yangtze River. Fengyang, Huai'an, Yangzhou, and even the capital Nanjing had not seriously deployed defenses, let alone established an anti-Qing base in Denglai.

Although Zhu Cixi was lucky enough to win a battle at Dagukou, he did not dare to underestimate the Qing soldiers at all. Because the battle at Dagukou was entirely due to the failure of the Ming army's artillery and gun soldiers earlier, the Qing army's cavalry was

They would bump into each other stupidly, only to be beaten by a group of newly transferred fire rifle soldiers who didn't know how powerful the Tatars were.

Such a victory was blessed by his ancestors once, but he couldn't keep thinking about such good things, so Zhu Cixi didn't dare to think about the Northern Expedition to the Central Plains.

Moreover, there is no solution to the food problem of the people in the Central Plains! It’s the Little Ice Age now! What should we do if they don’t have enough to eat and start rebelling after we recover?

Let Li Zicheng and Dorgon worry about this matter!

"The Northern Expedition should not be rushed," Zhu Cixiang said thoughtfully, "Now the world is divided into three or four points!

The Manchu Tatars have occupied Northern Zhili, and the rogue Li Zicheng has also occupied Shanxi, Shaanxi, most of Henan, and Xiangyang Prefecture in Hubei. There is also a bandit in the west who is attacking Sichuan. We don't have the strength to fight so many enemies at the same time!

So you have to win over one family before you can fight against two.

We will discuss this matter in detail when we meet with the Ministry of Military Affairs. For now, let’s stick to defense! As for Fengyang, I want to leave it to Huang Degong’s soldiers to defend. Lu Banban, come to the commander’s residence again before you go back.

Bring my decree to Huang Degong and tell him how much food and salary he needs, and I will find a way to raise it for him. You must be prepared to stick to Fengyang for two years!"

"Old slave, accept the decree." Although Lu Jiude was reluctant, he still respectfully accepted the decree.
Chapter completed!