Father can be an enemy to the country

In fact, Zhu Zhen was more anxious than Nahachu.

Because for the Ming army, killing Nahachu was only half the battle. Only by finding and destroying the Northern Yuan Dynasty could this long Northern Expedition be successfully concluded.

Zhu Zhen did not know the date agreed upon by Nahachu and the barbarians, but he could easily guess that the small Northern Yuan Dynasty could not wait indefinitely. So he was also very anxious. And compared to Nahachu, he was actually the more anxious party.

Nahachu could not make this deal, but he did not make any profit, and he did not lose anything anyway. But the Ming army was different. If they could not defeat the Northern Yuan Dynasty, the war would never end.

And once the Northern Yuan Dynasty knew that Nahachu had surrendered, they would flee immediately, and it would be extremely difficult to catch their traces.

So Zhu Zhen was the more tormented party.

But this was a negotiation, a contest. The more anxious the party was, the more it would be controlled by the other party. So the more anxious you are, the more you have to be patient.

Of course, since it was a contest, he had to do everything he could. In addition to bypassing Nahachu, appeasing his followers, and surrendering the Mongolian remnants in Qingyun Mountain, Zhu Zhen also surrendered Guo Lai.

Every day, Guo Lai would report to Zhu Zhen what Nahachu said and did, how he felt, and even his appetite.

Although Nahachu was very tight-lipped and never told Guo Lai about the affairs of the Northern Yuan court, Zhu Zhen could still judge from his words and deeds that Nahachu was about to collapse...

So Zhu Zhen, who was already about to collapse, decided to hold on a little longer.

Finally, he waited for the moment when Nahachu took the initiative to speak.

~~

Faced with Nahachu's soul-searching questioning, Zhu Zhen smiled faintly and said, "I said it, but I didn't take it to heart."

"How can you not take it to heart?!" Nahachu blew his beard and glared, saying, "Aren't you always looking for the whereabouts of the Yuan Dynasty? I don't believe you won't be interested!"

"I'm really not very interested." Zhu Zhen said without blushing, "Finding the Northern Yuan Dynasty is the obsession of the emperor and the general, but not my obsession."

As he said, he said confidently, "My mission has been successfully completed, why do I have to make trouble? What if I return empty-handed? Wouldn't it be a dog's tail? All the existing merits of the soldiers are wiped out?"

"You..." Nahachu was confused by Zhu Zhen, and said in disbelief, "What a great merit is this? How can you not be moved?"

"Do you know my title?" Zhu Zhen asked back.

"It seems to be...King of Chuhai Dian?" Nahachu said.

"That's right, I am already the only third prince in the Ming Dynasty. This identity has brought me only disadvantages, no benefits." Zhu Zhen said with a distressed look: "To be honest, I haven't been back to my fiefdom for almost two years. My son is already two years old and has not seen his father yet. Taiwei, put yourself in my shoes, do I still need to make meritorious deeds?"

"It seems that I don't need it..." Naha said.

"Right?" Zhu Zhen nodded and said, "Think about it, if I knew the whereabouts of the Northern Yuan Dynasty, could I still return? I would definitely have to stay where I am and wait for my father's order. If my father asked me to continue the Northern Expedition, I would have to lead the army across the desert and go to the northern desert to find a needle in a haystack."

"How can the logistics of the army be guaranteed? What if they can't find it? Even if they find it, can you guarantee that you can wipe them out and capture the Northern Yuan emperor alive?" He said with a wry smile:

"At least they still have 100,000 troops. If they can't defeat them, can't they run away? Once the Yuan Dynasty escapes far away, whether we chase them or not is a difficult problem. It's scary to think about it. The world belongs to my father now, and it will belong to my eldest brother in the future, and my eldest nephew in the future. I have a clear conscience if I do my duty well, so why should I meddle in other people's business?"

"..." Zhu Zhen's "heart-to-heart talk" confused Nahachu.

Not to mention Nahachu, even Deng Duo was confused. For a moment, he was a little dazed. He couldn't treat the sophisticated and selfish Lao Liu in front of him as the same person as the prince who was always worried about the country and the people and always did thankless things.

He thought that the prince's acting skills were so good that even the Prince of Yan would feel ashamed of himself... In fact, Zhu Zhen was not acting. He always had such a "selfish" thought in his heart, and it became bigger and bigger as time went by, so big that his public heart that was dedicated to the country could not be suppressed.

It was precisely because these words were his true feelings that even an old fox like Nahachu believed them. He felt that what he said was too reasonable. If he were in his position, he would not do such a thing that would only harm him without any benefit.

"Does the prince really think so?" Nahachu looked at Zhu Zhen steadily.

"What a joke! I am such a person, if it's yes, it's yes, if it's no, it's no, is there any need to play tricks with you?" Zhu Zhen said proudly: "Besides, the Taiwei is the only loyal person in the Northern Yuan Dynasty, and he has been loyal to me for 20 years. I admire him very much, how can I let you ruin your later years?"

Nahachu smacked his lips, feeling helpless as if his lines were stolen. Shouldn't he have said, 'I am the only loyal person in the Northern Yuan Dynasty, and I have been loyal to him for 20 years, how can I ruin my later years?' to imply that Lao Liu 'has to pay more'?

How did it become Lao Liu's line?

Looking at Nahachu, who was disheveled in the wind, Zhu Zhen turned around again and said, "I don't know about this matter if you don't tell me, so I'll just assume that you didn't say anything just now."

As he said that, he pretended to leave again.

"Your Majesty!" Naha Chu finally couldn't stand it any longer and shouted behind him: "I said what I said is what I said. How can I pretend that I didn't say anything? Your Majesty won't listen today. I will tell you when I go to Beijing to meet the Holy Spirit." Tell the emperor!"

"You are looking for death!" Zhu Zhen turned around angrily, his eyes blazing fiercely, and murderous intent instantly filled the entire camp.

Naha couldn't help but take two steps back, and then he suppressed his fear and smiled: "I'm sorry, Your Majesty, I am also doing it for the hundreds of thousands of people, so I have to find a good home for them."

"Naha Chu, are you threatening me?" Zhu Zhen said coldly: "Have you thought about the consequences?!"

"I've thought about it, there will definitely be no good fruits for offending the prince." Naha said with a look of death: "But how many years can I live? I can't watch my compatriots being divided into a piece of loose sand, and eventually completely destroyed!"

After listening to the conversation between the two, Deng Duo was completely confused. He thought to himself, where did all this go? How did they get it around? Did he become Naha and beg the prince to know?

He finally knew why the prince didn't bring Duke Ying here today. He couldn't perform to his heart's content in front of outsiders.

~~

"The king just placed them where they were, why did he divide them into a pile of scattered sand?" Zhu Zhen said with a dark face.

"Do you need me to tell you what your prince's plan was for letting that idiot Chahan take the position?" Naha sneered, then knelt down to Lao Liu and said, "I told your prince the specific whereabouts of the Yuan Dynasty. Please give me another opportunity to go back and serve as the commander of Chahan. Please agree to it."

As he spoke, he bowed his head at Zhu Zhen's feet, as if he wouldn't get up if he didn't agree.