Nanming Engineer

Chapter 313 Yongli's Decision

The hairs all over Qu Shixu's body stood on end, the voice was so special, eerie and strange, one could feel a bloody smell coming along with the voice from a long distance away.

Turning around and looking, Qu Shixu couldn't help but tremble slightly, and it was indeed the butcher Li Chengdong who was speaking.

The most supportive hero in the Yongli Dynasty, Ding Kuichu, the former head of the Yongli Emperor, died at the hands of Li Chengdong. The whole family was slaughtered, and the women were used as prostitutes. The end was miserable.Ding Kuichu and Qu Shiqi have worked together in Guangxi for many years. One was the governor and the other was the governor. At this moment, Li Chengdong put aside Du Yonghe's voice box and went out in person. No wonder Qu Shixu was a little apprehensive.

"Well, Zheng Chenggong hasn't changed his name yet." Qu Shixu was a little hesitant. Zheng Zhilong, Zheng Chenggong's father, was a powerful minister who supported Emperor Shaowu. Zheng Chenggong was also a courtier of Emperor Shaowu. But he has never expressed his support for Yongli, and now, like a lonely soul, at the border of Fujian and Guangdong, he persists in resisting the Qing Dynasty under the name of "a loyal and filial uncle recruiting the general's criminal minister's country name".

But no matter how you say it, not showing up to be a minister is tantamount to disobedience. In the feudal dynasty, it was disrespectful and the same crime as rebellion.

So Li Chengdong sneered, and said slowly: "If you don't become a minister, you are a traitor, and you are even more hateful than the Eastern captives. Master Wang's Northern Expedition, you should first crusade against such traitors, sweep the surrounding area, and clean up everything before you can go north with confidence. That's the right way."

His voice is not high but has its own sound effects. Every word he utters is intimidating, chilly and frightening, and there is an inexplicable illusion of adding an ax to a neck.

Qu Shixu touched his neck unconsciously. Although a trace of fear flashed in his eyes, he still refused to give up. His voice was amplified a little, which seemed to embolden him.

"Huiguo is on a mission. Although Zheng Chenggong has not submitted the form to be a minister, he has accepted the envoy sent by the emperor. His words are very loyal to the emperor. I believe that in time, we will definitely submit the form. We only need to wait for a while. If he is brought under the command of the imperial court, he will not only be able to get a general, but also recruit the people and the people, killing two birds with one stone." Qu Shisi looked around loudly, and said eloquently: "Besides, Zheng Chenggong is skilled in imperial affairs, and he is good at fighting. In Fujian to fight against the Eastern captives for the imperial court, the imperial court can devote all its energy to Jiangxi, which borders Huguang, and when the two routes go hand in hand, they will reach Nanjing, and they will recover Jiangnan like a broken bamboo, why not do it?"

These words are well-founded, within reason and legal principles, the envoy of Emperor Yongli has indeed connected with Zheng Chenggong, and the negotiations between the two sides have been very effective. Zheng Chenggong's attachment can be achieved within a few months. Many officials present knew it well, even Emperor Yongli knew about it.

There was a buzz in the hall again, and the ministers nodded in agreement, but due to Li Chengdong's intimidation, it was inconvenient to stand up and support Qu Shixu.

Emperor Yongli's face was indifferent, he looked at the courtiers below without saying a word, his eyes sparkled, and he didn't know what he was thinking.

Li Chengdong snorted again, glared at Qu Shixu and said, "The Zheng family was born as a pirate, with a gangster spirit that can't be washed away, and a rebellious bone that can't be pulled out. Ever since Zheng Chenggong's father, Zheng Zhilong, he has never put the emperor on him." In my eyes, after Emperor Longwu died for his country, he knew that he was succeeding to the throne in Guangxi. Instead of rushing to support him and doing what a loyal minister should do, he did it against the law and respected the king of Tang. His son is a wicked son. Zheng Chenggong must not be a good person. It is wrong for the court to recruit such a person. It will be a disaster in the future. Maybe he will imitate his father who surrendered to the Qing Dynasty and go to Donglu !"

His words were full of obscenities and did not look like a minister, which aroused all the officials to look at him with disdain. However, a group of generals looked bright and happy. It was obvious that Li Chengdong's way of speaking was to their liking.

Qu Shishu frowned, suppressed the anger in his heart, and bowed his hands to Li Chengdong with a straight face: "It would be inappropriate to base Huiguo Gong's remarks on speculation. Zheng Zhilong surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, and Zheng Chenggong has severed ties with him. Lian Ancestral Temple All the names in it have been crossed out, which shows that Zheng Chenggong is very serious about boxing, and he has fought hundreds of battles with the Qing army in recent days, killing countless Qing soldiers. If he really wants to follow Zheng Zhilong, why would he do these things?"

In fact, he still didn't say a word, what right do you, Li Chengdong, have to laugh at Zheng Zhilong's background as a pirate, and you were also originally a bandit, the bandit gang that made trouble with Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong in Shaanxi back then, and betrayed Li Zicheng together with Gao Jie It's just taking refuge in the imperial court. Could it be possible to wash away the past and start a new life?Besides, you, Li Chengdong, are capricious, probably have more masters than Zheng Zhilong,
Fifty steps to laugh at a hundred steps, Li Zi is cheeky.

But Qu Shixi didn't dare to say these words in person, otherwise Li Chengdong might draw his knife and chop people up on the spot, and the blood splashed on the Tai Chi Hall. This butcher can't do anything.

Hearing this, Li Chengdong didn't even bother to hum, he just squinted his eyes, pushed his mouth back slightly, and shouted, "Where is Hao Shangjiu?"

Near the end of the generals' class, a general came out, stepped forward a few steps, bowed his hands and answered loudly: "The last general is here!"

This man is tall and strong, with big arms and round waist, his face is like a silver basin, his eyes are like a copper bell, and his beard like steel needles is blown up from the roots, making his face look as ferocious as a beast. There is a vivid leopard embroidered on the patch, and it is a third-rank military general.

Qu Shishu frowned and looked at Li Chengdong. Li Chengdong smiled, showing his sharp white teeth, turned away, bowed to Emperor Yongli on the dragon throne, and said loudly: "Your Majesty, this is Chaozhou Commander-in-Chief Hao Shangjiu, Weichen The general under his command has had many interactions with the Zheng family in Fujian and knows them very well. If the minister is just making assumptions, just ask him."

Qu Shixu felt something was wrong, and was about to say something to stop him, but Emperor Yongli waved his hand and said, "Okay, Hao Aiqing, let's talk."

Hao Shangjiu responded, opened his mouth wide, and his voice sounded like a thunderbolt. This man's voice was rough and his personality was tough. If the people in the hall were hit by a hurricane, the sound waves would be wave after wave.

"Your Majesty, the Zheng family was originally a huge bandit on the sea, roaring in the water, burning, killing and looting from Quanzhou to Nanyang. Stay, the men are plundered and enslaved by the army, and the women are sold as prostitutes, what they do, people and gods are outraged!" Surprisingly, Hao Shangjiu has a rough appearance and rude behavior, but he is extremely scheming. Well-organized, he is a man with a rough exterior and a fine interior: "During the reign of Emperor Apocalypse, Fujian governor Xiong Wencan recruited the Zheng family and appointed him as a coastal defense guerrilla. This man was clearly a court official, but in fact he was still a pirate, doing business without capital. After many years of business operation, with a huge fortune, he recruited soldiers and bought horses, and gathered people to stand on his own. After Emperor Hongguang died for his country, this man was ambitious. At the beginning, he was attached to Emperor Longwu, flattering and submissive on the surface, but secretly wanted to do what Cao Cao did. its responsibility."

Li Chengdong opened his eyes slightly, interrupted him and said: "Tell the important ones, these emperors know!"

Hao Shangjiu was trembling all over, and the six-foot man respectfully agreed like a docile cat, and then continued: "The crimes committed by Zheng Zhilong are really too numerous to record. Not only that, after the death of the false Emperor Shaowu, this son still refused to submit to the emperor, and brazenly plundered our people and robbed money and food in the Chaozhou area. The ministers are responsible for guarding the land, leading troops to fight with him, and arguing with him on the battlefield However, he said that there is no heaven and no father, saying that it is not right for the emperor to succeed him, and that the king of Tang is the real emperor. His ministers were angry, but when he fought with him, it was a pity that he had few soldiers and was unable to capture him. Instead, many people were captured by him. , what my minister said is true, if the emperor does not believe it, he can summon his soldiers to testify."

Emperor Yongli pondered for a moment, then looked at Qu Shixu with icy eyes.

Qu Shixu was so angry that he trembled all over. What Hao Shangjiu said was half true and half false, how could he not be angry.

It is true that Zheng Chenggong and Hao Shangjiu had conflicts, and it is true that the two met each other many times, but this was a common thing in the late Ming Dynasty.

The commanders-in-chief of each town are like independent kingdoms. In order to compete for resources and population, you rob my military salary, and I rob your food and grass.Back then, Shi Kefa of the cabinet guarded Yangzhou and brought [-] white soldiers into Gao Jie's barracks in order to mediate the conflicts among the four towns in the north of the Yangtze River. His painstaking persuasion resolved the conflict between Gao Jie and Liu Liangzuo and maintained Nanjing's defense system. , one can imagine how common struggles between warlords are in this era.

Zheng Chenggong has a lot of soldiers, but his territory is small, so he can't afford to raise troops. Of course, he needs to expand. Hao Shangjiu occupies Chaozhou, and the land is rich in food. Zheng Chenggong is trapped by the lack of food, so he borrows from him. Once you come and go, you hand it over. This is a fact.

However, whether Zheng Chenggong said anything bad about Emperor Yongli was false. Zheng Chenggong broke off relations with Zheng Zhilong for the sake of the Ming Dynasty and raised his flag to fight against the Qing Dynasty alone. How could he openly speak ill of the emperor?
But Qu Shixu couldn't refute, and he didn't fight with Hao Shangjiu, how could he refute.He could only stare at Hao Shangjiu with angry eyes, stretched out his hand that was trembling due to shortness of breath, pointed at him and shouted: "Mr. Come to deceive the emperor, but a sinner of the Ming Dynasty, in the future, he will never recover!"

Hao Shangjiu looked at Fangliang, and sneered at Qu Shixu's angry shout.

Li Chengdong was on the side, with a smile on his face, and said gloomily: "Qushoupu, you are lying. I don't know who said it. Why are you in such a hurry?"

Qu Shichun was so angry that he couldn't speak. He knew that Li Chengdong was so eager to fight Zheng Chenggong. The reason was that Zheng Chenggong had many soldiers and powerful soldiers. If he belonged to the Yongli Dynasty, he would inevitably steal the limelight from Li Chengdong. It is difficult to guarantee the current status and power of the Li family. This is the same reason that Li Yuanyin did not hesitate to assassinate Wang Huan a few months ago.

The warlord's thoughts were extremely selfish. Qu Shiqi looked at Li Chengdong sideways, then looked back at the group of civil servants who were like a flock of quails. He sighed secretly, bowed to Emperor Yongli and said: "Your Majesty, I have all my thoughts and concerns for the safety of the imperial court." Consider that although Zheng Zhilong is evil, his son is actually a loyal minister and good general. If the swords are fired, it will make all the righteous people in the world surrender. We cannot attack Fujian. If we attack, we will definitely attack Zheng Chenggong first."

Li Chengdong yelled: "Rebellious officials and thieves, how can we not beat them!"

Qu Shixu did not back down, as it was a matter of Ming Dynasty's survival, this scholar became stubborn and put aside his fear of Li Chengdong, turned his head back and replied viciously: "Zheng Chenggong was named by Emperor Longwu, he cannot be a traitor!"

The two were like two fighting cocks, staring at each other eye to eye, each took a step forward, looking at their posture, as if they were about to start a fight if they disagreed.

The civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty looked at each other in blank dismay, and no one dared to speak out to persuade them.

"You two lovers, please don't get angry. I am very pleased that you are loyal, and you will be rewarded a lot." Emperor Yongli, who had been silent for a long time, finally opened his mouth. He sat up straight, with a cold face. Yan, in a cold tone, said to the courtiers: "I have already made up my mind on this matter, so let's put it in the Aiqing."

(End of this chapter)