Xie Ming

Chapter 246 Strategic Intentions
The prince's old illness was difficult to cure, so in order to encourage the military to continue to work together to protect him as he went south, his fever subsided a little. After waking up, he immediately summoned Xiao Jingchuan alone to have a heart-to-heart talk with him!

But he had been ill for a long time and was running out of strength. After only a few words, he began to cough and gasp.

Fortunately, although my body was not able to hold on, I had already accomplished what I wanted!

After coughing up phlegm again, Zhu Cilang gradually relaxed his nerves, managed to lean back slowly, leaned back on the quilt and mattress, and spoke softly to his mother.

"cough……"

"Oh, yes..., that's right!"

"Hey General Xiao!"

"Now that the battle of Baoding is over, then, from now on..."

"Hehe, I don't know where we will go next?"

"You and Zhizhong should have already made plans for this, right?!"

It seemed that Zhu Cilang was quite calm while asking questions, and he seemed to be trying to be intimate.

Hearing this, and seeing that the prince was speaking his mind with all sincerity, Xiao Lang felt it was not a good idea to hide everything, so he focused on the parts that would not cause any problems, and hurriedly talked about the subsequent arrangements and plans.

"Your Highness!"

"Your illness came so suddenly and is so serious this time. I'm afraid you won't be able to make it on the journey!"

"So according to my humble opinion, I would like to advise Your Highness to stay in Baoding Prefecture for a while to recuperate before making any plans!"

Xiao Lang paused in the middle of his words, and Zhu Cilang nodded sadly to show his tacit approval.

"Well, as for the army, I want to take advantage of the time when the Crown Prince will be recuperating in Baoding to reorganize the troops and advance one step further south, heading for Zhending!" Xiao Lang continued.

When Zhu Cilang heard the word "Zhending", a look of surprise flashed across his eyes, but he concealed it while taking a breath and did not say anything, and had no time to argue.

"Your Highness, this is it!"

"During the battle of Baoding, scouts in the army also received intelligence reports from the south to Zhending."

"It is said that the rebel Li Zicheng, after hastily retreating to the southwest, fled all the way without even having time to look around!"

"He led the bandit army straight back to Shanxi!"

"Right now, the vast territory of Zhending Prefecture is in a state of power and military vacuum."

"We only retain some former Ming soldiers and generals who surrendered to protect ourselves!"

"Your Highness, as you can imagine, the lands of Zhen and Bao are strategically important towns in western Ji!"

"If such a big city can be recovered as soon as possible, it will be of great benefit to our future counterattack!"

"The current situation is just right for the time being!"

Xiao Lang spoke eloquently, and his intentions were profound. Zhu Cilang listened from the side, concentrating carefully.

Subsequently, Xiao Jingchuan struck while the iron was hot and also tactfully discussed the overall situation.

"Your Highness!"

"Then again, during this Baoding blockade, I insisted on letting Li Zicheng return to the west. In fact, I did have my own reasons!"

"Just half a month ago, it was reported that the Jiannu army, led by Dorgon with tens of thousands of troops, was almost the entire Jiannu Jurchen tribe, and they came out in full force!"

"These barbarian soldiers entered Shanhaiguan and Luanzhou, and have already marched into the capital and occupied a large area of ​​the capital!"

"They are taking advantage of the chaos to steal the country!"

"In the long run, it will become a huge threat to the Ming Dynasty!"

"So the current situation!"

"We will take advantage of the military vacuum in the southwest of the capital to stop and repel Ajige's forces, and also cut off Li Zicheng's base for going east, and retreat to the border of Shanxi!"

"We are just in time to lead the army to recover northern Zhili, southern Henan, Shandong and other places!"

"Especially Shandong!"

"This is also the strategic intention of my repeated admonitions to the four towns in northern Jiang to quickly move their troops northward!"

"Recover lost territory and seize depth!"

"In Shandong, if they raise troops to the north to fight against them, we in the southwest of the capital will respond from afar!"

"When your condition improves, I will then take Nanjing. The southeastern half of the country and even a large area of ​​the northern border will be under my control. With my power growing stronger, it will be just around the corner for me to retake the capital!"

Xiao Lang's aspirations are reflected in his words, which show his far-sightedness and righteousness. As a general and a commander, the heroic spirit that can swallow mountains and rivers suddenly surges into my heart!
On the couch, Zhu Cilang seemed to be also influenced by these bold words. There was a light in his eyes and he became excited. It seemed that at this moment, because of Xiao Jingchuan's few words of advice, his illness was instantly cured!
23:45 p.m.

After Xiao Lang had a long talk with Crown Prince Zhu Cilang, he retreated from the couch in the main room, walked through the backyard, and returned to the front hall.

At this moment in the front hall, Generals Xu Baoyi and Li Huchen had already left the government office and returned to their units to reorganize their troops, never to be seen again.

Qiu Zhizhong was worried, pacing back and forth, waiting at the back of the hall, squinting his eyes and looking back. Suddenly!

Xiao Lang finally appeared in front of the small door in the back hall.

In the moonlight, his steps were brisk and his movements were smooth.

Zhizhong looked at him and saw that although he was sure that everything was fine, he still felt anxious, so he hurriedly walked up to him, approached Xiao Lang and asked him in a low voice.

"Old Xiao!"

"What took so long?!"

"You, are you okay?"

"What did the prince say?!" Qiu Zhizhong was worried and asked several questions.

Hearing this, Xiao Lang couldn't hide his smile, and he grinned and looked at Zhizhong.

"Hehehe"

"Nothing, nothing, of course nothing!"

"Fei Yu (Qiu Zhizhong), this time, not only is there nothing to worry about, but there is also great joy!" Xiao Lang replied with a smile.

"oh?!"

"Great joy. Where does your joy come from?" Zhizhong said hurriedly and asked again.

"hehe!"

"The prince's illness is just as good as it should be. It's wonderful that it happened!"

"Just after I got off the bed, the sickly prince seemed to have suddenly realized something. Not only did he grant me the right to make military decisions, he also became very open with me and treated me like a loyal minister!"

"of course!"

"He is seriously ill right now, and I am leading the army to a great victory, so our military prestige and reputation are rising!"

"To prevent Xiao Lang from having any ulterior motives, it is not surprising that he has such a plan!"

"but!"

"Fei Yu, let me put it this way! Even if he is only five percent sincere out of ten, your behavior this time is enough to be thankful for!" Xiao Jingchuan talked about his behavior in front of the prince's bed.

Hearing this, Qiu Zhizhong was slightly stunned. He took a deep breath and pondered.

"This"

"Old Xiao wow!"

"You have to keep calm!"

"Don't let your tail get high in the sky just because of a few nice words!" Zhizhong warned.

"Haha, yes, yes!"

"Did my actions just now seem frivolous?!"

"I paused intentionally when I saw you coming over!" Xiao Lang took it seriously and quickly reflected on himself.

"Humph!"

"You!"

"You're quite clever, kid!"

"Hi!"

"This is inevitable!"

"Now that the Crown Prince is willing to give you the power to make decisions at this time, then at least the prominent position we have always wanted is within reach!"

"From now on, it will be more convenient to do things and exercise power, and you can do it more effectively!"

"However, at this critical moment, you and I must be more cautious and careful!"

"Old Xiao, you."

Zhizhong tried to persuade her earnestly, but it seemed like he had not said enough.

but!
Suddenly at this juncture!
In the cold moonlight, she suddenly saw blood flowing from Xiao Lang's nose!
"Eh!"

"Old Xiao, blood!"

"you"

(End of this chapter)