Xie Ming

Chapter 64: Confrontation in the Forest (Part )
"Oh? Xu Zhi? How did you think of this person?!"

Xiao Jingchuan explained in a very serious manner his vision for the future of the base in Sanpo Jiulong Town. As he went deeper, he suddenly asked about this. Qiu Zhizhong pondered for a moment.

"This Chief Xu is not very eye-catching among the civil officials accompanying the army!"

"He seems to be quite honest and straightforward, and seems like someone who can do his job well."

"And from what I know, he is an honest official who values ​​his reputation very much, and he doesn't seem to have any party connections!"

"Old Xiao, how did you fall in love with him at first sight?" Qiu Zhizhong asked.

"Hehe, if I want to make a move, I have to check everyone's resume in advance!"

"Fei Yu (Qiu Zhizhong), if you have time in the next two days, please help me find out the truth from the side. There is no need to rush to explain your purpose. Once everything in Jiulong Town is settled and there is a general outline, I will personally talk to him in detail!"

Xiao Lang replied with a sly smile.

Qiu Zhizhong looked at Xiao Jingchuan's shifty look and finally sneered and cursed him.

"Old Xiao, Old Xiao, you are such a thief!"

"Okay, I understand that you are determined to take over Jiulong Town!"

"Don't talk about anything else, just help me think of a solution!"

"Can you think of another way to deal with that courtier at the same time?"

"Just give me some advice!"

Qiu Zhizhong had been frowning since just now. When Xiao Lang finished speaking, he quickly turned the conversation back to the prince's ministers.

Hearing that he couldn't avoid this topic, Xiao Jingchuan felt helpless.

He simply started complaining.

"Ugh!"

"It's not that easy to fight for the world and establish a government!"

"We only have so few people at hand!"

"At the moment, I only have the title of holding the crown prince hostage, but this title is just icing on the cake! It cannot be used as a meal!"

"Food, oil, salt, military pay, fodder, food for the people and horses, recruiting soldiers, training soldiers, personnel deployment, military morale, everything, no matter how big or small, can't be done without taking care of it!"

"Those sour scholars, none of them want to settle their accounts, right?"

"Even if I immediately dispatched a fast horse and took a few of them to Nanjing overnight, once they got there, they would be able to become ministers and be awarded titles and honors?"

"With no foundation at all, and relying only on their merits of protecting the emperor, are they prepared to fight with their bare hands against the Donglin Party, which has been connected to the south for a long time?"

"What kind of brains are you?!"

"If you don't let them pluck the hair and scald the water, it's not enough to eat dry and wipe the quiet!"

"Besides, if I were asked to rush south now, would I be able to go?"

"Why should I go?"

"Just drag the prince and force his way in?"

"Even if the prince appoints me as the general who protects the country and the governor of military affairs, will I really be able to command the troops of various towns?"

"Can I openly lead the four towns in Jiangbei and the leaders of various warlords to march north to clean up the situation?"

"What do I rely on? A title, a position bestowed by grace? Or is it based on morality, or the emperor's authority?"

"If these are really effective, why did the old emperor, Chongzhen Zhu Youjian, lose Beijing?!"

"Your Majesty, I call on all the soldiers and princes to protect you! That is an imperial order!"

"But what is the result?"

Seeing that he was complaining endlessly, Qiu Zhizhong threw the water bag back to him. Xiao Lang was startled and quickly caught it and hung it around his waist again.

"If we rush to Nanjing without sufficient military strength, there will be only one result!" "The crown prince has been taken away, and you and I will either be killed or left aside with a false reputation and no longer be of any use!"

"So, on this way to Nanjing, I must increase my military strength as much as possible, and make my troops bigger and stronger enough to compete with any of the four towns in Jiangbei. Only then can I go to Nanjing!"

"Actually, what I just told you about building a base here is also related to this."

"I'm also trying to leave a way out for myself!"

"Man proposes, God disposes!"

"Here we go, thousands of miles away, there's always a chance something might happen!"

"What if we fail in our expedition to the south, or if something unexpected happens in Nanjing and we lose all our troops?"

"Then we still have a way out. Come back to this little nest. With this foundation, we won't be afraid to regroup and start all over again!"

What Xiao Lang said made a lot of sense. Qiu Zhizhong understood his meaning very well but did not comment.

Afterwards, the two of them walked forward for a while in silence.

Zhizhong was quite disappointed, and Xiao Jingchuan also knew how difficult it was, so he was thinking about it in his heart.

After walking another hundred steps, Xiao Lang suddenly stopped.

"Eh? Feiyu (Qiu Zhizhong), there it is!"

"What do you think? After we finish the business in Jiulong Town, how about we ask those old officials to go to Nanjing alone?"

Hearing Xiao Jingchuan's words, Qiu Zhizhong suddenly raised his eyebrows, but did not reply immediately, as if he was still unsure of Xiao Lang's intention.

"Oh, that's it!"

"Tell these old officials to disguise themselves and blend in with the common people, gentry and mountain travelers, and flee all the way south!"

"They are older and have no military spirit. If they travel alone, there will be only a few of them, and they will be a smaller target. It is better for them to blend in with the crowd than for us to lead troops!"

"As for you, you need to make more preparations for this matter these days and pick some good people to protect you along the way!"

"If this can be accomplished, then we can prevent them from staying close to the Crown Prince for too long. They won't slander him, but after all, there are always these people around the Crown Prince, which is not conducive to our control over the Crown Prince!"

"Secondly, I am actually afraid that the secondary capital Nanjing will not get any news from the north. The Donglin Party has been in the south for a long time and has deep roots in the small court. If someone gets impatient, something bad will happen."

"A country cannot be without a king for a day. If a prince is really enthroned in advance, then we will be a step late and the value of the prince in our hands will be greatly reduced!"

"Let these old officials go quickly. This will not only help the Crown Prince gain a position as soon as possible, so that when there is no tiger in the mountain, the monkey will be crowned king. Also, let Ni Yuanlu and others take the Crown Prince's order and order the four Jiangbei towns guarding Yingtian to break camp and quickly march north to defend the king!"

"Those generals in the border towns all command a large number of troops. If we let them stay in their old nests, it will be very difficult for you and me to deal with them when we face them!"

"In that case, why not use this as an excuse to get them all out?"

"When the time comes, we should be more confident in dividing and conquering the enemy!"

When Qiu Zhizhong heard this, his eyes suddenly lit up and he felt as if everything had been enlightened.

"Haha, good job, Old Xiao, this is a brilliant move!"

"I will go and arrange this matter. I will find a way to talk to the old minister. I will mention that the troops are unprepared. I hope they will take the prince's handwritten order to the south and order the four towns in Jiangbei to go north immediately to defend the king! This matter will be approved!"

"Well, if this can be accomplished smoothly, then... if we calculate the distance based on this, we will set off in early April and arrive in a month, which means we should be there in May!"

"Okay, haha, there's enough time!" Xiao Lang also looked happy and continued.

"Okay, let's do as you say!" Qiu Zhizhong interrupted.

"Also, in my opinion, according to what you just said, my Lord, that person must be with us. We must not let him go before we reach Nanjing, or we may lose control of him!"

"As for the third little prince Zhu Cijiong who left the capital with us, he is still young. We may place him in the base here and let him stay in Jiulong Town. If we really encounter a major change in the future, he can also serve as our backup plan!"

Hearing this, Xiao Jingchuan smiled knowingly and agreed very much.

"Hey, Feiyu (Qiu Zhizhong), you have grown up!"

(End of this chapter)