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Text Chapter 62: Moving (Part 2)

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    Zhou Peigong, the chief minister of the twelfth province, felt that the situation was serious. He first rushed to Jiujiang to talk with Zhang Chao and Dong Weiguo, and then traveled day and night to Nanjing, intending to calm down the internal strife between the two rivers.

    Before Zhou Peigong entered Nanjing, Jiang Guozhu conducted a final situation analysis.

    Although Beijing strongly condemned Nanjing for provoking trouble, Suo'etu also wrote a personal letter, earnestly persuading Jiang Guozhu to put the overall situation of suppressing Deng first.  But Jiang Guozhu knew that the relationship between the emperor and local ministers was now very delicate.  The new military defeat made the Qing government's treasury even tighter, and it must have stayed out of its own business - Jiang Guozhu believed that if Beijing really stood on the side of Jiangxi and intervened with force, it would actually be a good idea, and then Chengdu would not stand idly by;  If Jiang Guozhu unifies the two rivers like lightning, Beijing will probably not have trouble with money. As long as Jiang Guozhu is willing to pay taxes, Beijing will say that this is the will of the people of Jiangxi, and the court will not disrespect someone just because they love him (Zhang Chao).  The choice of the Jiangxi elders - except for the young emperor who is working hard to govern, the other Manchu princes in Beijing have basically looked away. Anyway, he entered the country that year because the Han government was weak and wanted to take advantage of the chaos; now that the Han people are so tyrannical, then everyone  Still thinking about how to make a fortune, it's not worth risking the lives of the whole family just for the money that is destined to be lost.  The people who are most worried about the future of the Manchu Qing Dynasty are not the Manchu princes but their bosses. They have been fantasizing about getting some leftovers from the fingers of the Manchu princes for a long time. If the Qing Dynasty seems to be over, how can they not  Let the crowd wear clothes like mourning an heir.  However, Jiang Guozhu did not take these people to heart, because the Manchu Taijun still had the final say in Beijing.

    Although Shandong and Zhejiang called for peace, they also hinted to Nanjing that they would not interfere in the internal affairs of the two rivers.  Zhejiang and Shandong are both weak provinces, and their neighbors are stronger than them, so one clings to Beijing's thighs and the other follows Chengdu's orders.  Take Zhao Guozuo and Songkui for example. These two brothers have been planning all day long how to sell Zhejiang to the Eastern Zhejiang Army in bits and pieces. It is estimated that in a few years, except for the Governor's Yamen and the General's Mansion in Hangzhou, the remaining  All of them belong to the forbidden sea area.  In any case, it was not Zhao Guozuo and Songkui's turn to separatist power. Neither Geng Jimao of Fujian nor Jiang Guozhu of Jiangnan dared to attack them, so naturally they did not care about the outcome of the war between the two rivers.

    As for Huguang, Guangdong, and Fujian, which may interfere with Jiangxi, they are also in a state of restraining each other.  If they really send troops into Jiangxi, they will probably be even more intolerable to Chengdu and Beijing than Chiang Guozhu's unification of the two rivers, because that will completely destroy Deng Ming's plan to maintain the status quo, and Beijing's current strategy is to delay it for one more day.

    ¡°In the end, we still have to get Chengdu¡¯s understanding.¡± Jiang Guozhu sighed lightly.  Because Deng Ming led the main force to sea, Chengdu now lacks the force to intervene by force. However, Jiang Guozhu does not intend to offend Chengdu too much. After all, he still wants to leave a way out for himself.  In this case, today's negotiation with Zhou Peigong is very important, because the Prime Minister who suppressed Deng has the best relationship with both the Qing court and Deng Ming, and Zhou Peigong also has an army in his hands that can be used to intervene.  If Zhou Peigong was willing to remain neutral, his attitude might also have an impact on Chengdu - as long as he was facing a one-on-one challenge with Zhang Chao, Jiang Guozhu was still relatively confident.

    But Zhou Peigong and Jiang Guozhu had completely different thoughts.  Deng Ming had a conversation with Minister Zhou Peigong before leaving the mainland, hoping that the Suppressing Prime Minister Deng's Yamen could help Chengdu supervise these warlords in the country.  But not long after Deng Mingcai left, the emperor in Beijing was the first to jump out and disrupt the situation. As a result, his prestige was completely destroyed, and the feudal princes and governors were even more ready to take action.

    Now Jiang Guozhu is about to start a war, which of course makes Zhou Peigong very annoyed and worried that it may lead to a chain reaction.  Wu Sangui and Shang Kexi may have been paying close attention to the movements in Liangjiang, and Geng Jingzhong, who had just succeeded the vassal king, was not an easy man either.  These people also knew that the opportunity was rare, so they took advantage of the fact that Beijing and Chengdu were unable to take care of it, and created a fait accompli - grabbing a piece of land first, and then they would have more bargaining chips with Deng Ming in the future.  If Jiang Guozhu succeeds, maybe Wu Sangui and the others will start to make small moves.

    When Zhou Peigong went to Jiujiang this time, he urged Zhang Chao to make concessions to Jiang Guozhu, hand over part of the profits of porcelain to Nanjing, or simply cede one or two prefectures and counties to Jiangnan. It would not be too late to discuss the matter when Deng Ming came back.  But in the past few years, Zhang Chao had been the local emperor, and no one dared to care about him, and no one dared to say anything wrong with him. Therefore, Zhang Chao, like Jiang Guozhu, experienced rapid self-inflation and dismissed Zhou Peigong's compromise plan.  Especially when Zhou Peigong talked about ceding land, Zhang Chao became furious, saying that he was just peace-loving, but he was by no means timid.  If Jiang Guozhu really dared to provoke a war, then Zhang Chao would not only dare to challenge him, but would also burn the flames of war back to the land south of the Yangtze River.  After Nanjing is conquered, Zhang Chao doesn't mind sitting on the throne of the governor of Liangjiang.

    As Zhang ?Dong Weiguo, who has been his right-hand man for ten years, has a clearer understanding of the situation. He knows that if Jiangxi and Jiangnan go to war, they can at most protect themselves. It is a pure dream to break into Nanjing.  However, when Dong Weiguo discussed with Zhou Peigong in private, he said that the Zhang Dynasty could no longer listen to others' advice, and Dong Weiguo was also worried that once land or benefits were ceded to Jiangnan, the eyeing Guangdong and Fujian would pounce to bite Jiangxi - if this happened  When this happens, Dong Weiguo hopes that the Deng Suppression Corps can join the war and help Jiangxi Green Camp defend its territory.  But Zhou Peigong did not dare to give this kind of guarantee.

    Therefore, Zhou Peigong came to Nanjing empty-handed and could not offer any conditions to satisfy Jiang Guozhu's appetite; and just as Zhou Peigong worried, the governor of Liangjiang ignored Zhou Peigong's advice to persuade him to exercise restraint. Instead, he boasted about how strong Jiangnan's troops and horses were.  Zhang Chao and Dong Weiguo can be eliminated in half a month, and the two rivers can be unified.

    "Will my dear friend help me or the thieves this time?" After listening to Zhou Peigong begging him to let Jiangxi go, Jiang Guozhu couldn't hold himself back anymore: "As for the actions of Guangdong, Fujian, and even Yungui, there is no need to worry.  .When I eliminate Zhang Thief, I will be free to help my old friend suppress them and ensure that no one dares to do anything strange before Prime Minister Deng comes back!"

    When he was in Jiujiang, Zhou Peigong tried his best to persuade Zhang Chao to give in, but if the other party was stubborn, Zhou Peigong had no choice.  His Premier Deng Suppression Office has business along the entire Yangtze River. Although the governors usually buy Zhou Peigong's face, it will not be good for Zhou Peigong if there is a real conflict.  Even if Zhou Peigong can force Zhang Chao to bow his head to Jiang Guozhu, then Zhang Chao, who holds a grudge, is likely to secretly cause trouble to Zhou Peigong, which will also cause him great losses.

    And Jiang Guozhu was stronger than Zhang Chao, so Zhou Peigong needed Liangjiang Governor's Yamen to cooperate with him in more places.  Now that Jiang Guozhu had turned his face, Zhou Peigong could only nod with a wry smile, saying that he would remain neutral and secretly provide information to Nanjing.

    After leaving the Governor¡¯s Office of Liangjiang, Liang Huafeng caught up with Zhou Peigong from behind: ¡°Zhou Envoy, the Governor will be the last¡­¡±

    "I dare not take it." Zhou Peigong hurriedly raised his hands and said humbly: "How dare you, a subordinate, to trust me in front of Admiral Liang? Besides, Admiral Liang is also the relative of the Governor-General, right? We are also relatives after all."

    The two were polite for a while, and finally treated each other as brothers.  Liang Huafeng told Zhou Peigong that Jiang Guozhu hoped that he would take Zhou Peigong to review the troops in Liangjiang and let him understand how big the gap between Jiangnan and Jiangxi was.  Zhou Peigong smiled bitterly after hearing this, but he did not refuse and followed Liang Huafeng to the military camp.

    After inspecting the elite soldiers in the south of the Yangtze River, Zhou Peigong's face was still full of worry. Seeing this, Liang Huafeng asked carefully: "In my opinion, is Jiangxi easy to fight?"

    "Brother Liang has led troops for many more days than his younger brother. I wonder what Brother Liang thinks?" Zhou Peigong asked.

    "Well." Liang Huafeng twisted his beard for a long time and said slowly: "Since I heard that Jiangnan and Jiangxi were going to war, our stocks have also fallen, but the decline is much less than that of Jiangxi. This shows that they are still optimistic about us.  There need to be more people, right?¡±

    "Brother Liang knows the subtleties," Zhou Peigong gave a thumbs up and praised: "This is much better than just listening to his subordinates boasting."

    "But Brother Liang, have you ever thought that the rules of the world have changed, and it is completely different from the past troubled times." Zhou Peigong changed the subject and pointed out that this was not a duel between Jiangnan and Jiangxi at all: "Since Admiral Deng was born,  The rules are completely different. And why did I become so successful and now carry the chief envoy of twelve provinces on my shoulders? It¡¯s because I understand Admiral Deng¡¯s rules best.¡±

    "What I said makes sense, brother." Liang Huafeng nodded lightly.  If only there were troubled times like the past, he would have had plenty of opportunities to fish in troubled waters, and his status as a soldier would have been much higher.  Although Liang Huafeng felt disappointed with this current rule, he had to admit that Zhou Peigong was right.

    "Our old relative, alas! Although Admiral Deng went to sea, the rules have not changed back. The rules are still there." Zhou Peigong sighed again.  If he follows Deng Ming's strategy step by step, Zhou Peigong is sure that he can win a rich reward for himself and his family, so he does not want the world to be in chaos and all heroes to rise up, which will make Zhou Peigong's face full of variables again - Zhou Peigong is not  Wu Sangui is not very happy either. He is not very confident in fighting on the battlefield. He is quite satisfied with what he has obtained and does not want to pursue too much.

    ¡­¡­

    At this time in Guilin, Pingxi King Wu Sangui was indeed, as Zhou Peigong had guessed, concentrating on the development of the situation in the two rivers.

    "There was a reply from Li Dingguo. He said that as long as the prince is willing to do anything, he is willing to explain to Deng Ming on behalf of the prince." Xia Guoxiang read Li Dingguo's reply to Wu Sangui.  Wu Sangui and Li Dingguo have been at odds for ten years, but neither can do anything to the other.  thereforeLi Dingguo repeatedly asked Deng Ming to allow Wu Sangui to join forces with the Ming army in Yunnan to launch the Northern Expedition.

    However, Deng Ming was extremely wary of Wu Sangui. Although he could not control Guizhou and Guangxi, the conditions set by Deng Ming repeatedly required that Wu Sangui must hand over a province to Li Dingguo after his death, and he was not allowed to expand his territory on his own - as long as he  Just watch from the sidelines.  Wu Sangui protested to Li Dingguo many times against Deng Ming's naked distrust, saying that he was very insecure and could not see the sincerity of the Ming army in treating him and his soldiers well.

    After several years of hard work, Li Dingguo gradually felt that Deng Ming seemed to be too harsh on Wu Sangui, and ten years later, Li Dingguo felt that his best years were spent endlessly in Yunnan and Guizhou with Wu Sangui.  Therefore, in this letter, he took the initiative to propose that as long as Wu Sangui was willing to reveal his truth and do his best to assist the Yunnan Army in the Northern Expedition, Li Dingguo would guarantee his future and safety and would surely persuade Deng Ming to put aside his prejudices.

    "It depends on whether Jiang Guozhu succeeds or not." After listening to Li Dingguo's letter, Wu Sangui smiled slightly.  Confronting Li Dingguo was not what he wanted, but as long as Li Dingguo was not eliminated for a day, Wu Sangui did not dare to devote his main energy to other directions, so he could only spend it with Li Dingguo.

    The obvious hostility shown by Deng Ming made Wu Sangui very uneasy, and he was always worried that he would not be able to pass on the vassal state to his descendants.  After careful study, Wu Sangui believed that a war must be launched to expand his territory - even if he could not compete with Deng Ming for the world, he must force Deng Ming to recognize his status and strength.  Time is obviously not in favor of Wu Sangui. It seems that Wu Sangui died decades earlier than Deng Ming. By then, will his descendants be at the mercy of others?

    Six years ago, Wu Sangui seized the opportunity and played a trick, catching Beijing and Chengdu off guard.  He knew very well that neither the Qing court nor Western Sichuan would allow him to enter Hunan, so Wu Sangui never thought about Hunan from the beginning.  Wu Sangui just put out a smoke screen to deceive Beijing, Chengdu and the people of the world.  As expected by Wu Sangui, Zhang Changgeng obtained information from both Ming and Qing sources that Wu Sangui wanted to beat him, and then began to cooperate with Wu Sangui's performance, helping Wu Sangui deceive the greedy Sun Yanling - Sun Yanling was stupid enough to regard Wu Sangui as an ally.  , not only let down his guard, but also jumped up and down to advocate the crusade against Zhang Changgeng, helping Wu Sangui attract most of the hatred from Beijing and Chengdu.

    Just like when he was in Shanhaiguan, Wu Sangui had a very clear understanding of what results he could achieve with his own strength, and hid his goals very well. No one realized that Wu Sangui actually wanted to go to Guangxi, so no one made any plans.  interference.  In the end, he counterattacked and captured Sun Yanling. Wu Sangui not only easily annexed Guangxi, but also made Chengdu and Beijing breathe a sigh of relief. They felt that this result was completely acceptable.

    But just one Guangxi is not enough. Wu Sangui knows that he needs more gambling capital, and this time he believes that he has the strength to occupy at least half of Hunan.

    "As long as Jiang Guozhu captures Jiujiang, I will do whatever it takes, and then immediately attack Hunan, defeat the Tatar puppet governor of Huguang, and capture the three prefectures of Yongzhou, Hengzhou and Baoqing."

    "What about Chenzhou and Changsha? Does the prince really want to give it to Li Dingguo?" As Wu Sangui's son-in-law and confidant, Xia Guoxiang was very aware of King Pingxi's plan, but when he talked about these two rich mansions, Xia Guoxiang's face remained the same.  Full of reluctance.

    "Haha, doesn't Li Dingguo want me to cooperate with him in the Northern Expedition? Of course I will do what I say." Wu Sangui not only wants to give up Chenzhou and Changsha to Li Dingguo, but also plans to allow the Ming army from Yunnan to borrow a road to enter from Guizhou  Hunan and Qian Province can even be temporarily handed over to Li Dingguo's control.

    "You are so petty!" Seeing the pained expression on Xia Guoxiang's face, Wu Sangui laughed at him: "Li Dingguo is a man who wants to be Yue Fei. Of course, I will give him a way to go to the Northern Expedition. Don't worry.  Well, Li Dingguo definitely looks down on Hunan, let alone our Guizhou. As long as he finds an opportunity in Jiangxi, he will invade the two rivers. Well, he may also go to Henan. When the King of Jin's Northern Expedition is in full swing and has no time to distract  , we just need to help him take control of these lands."

    "What the prince said is true." Xia Guoxiang knew that Wu Sangui planned to let Li Dingguo attract the attention of the southeastern governors and use it as a shield against Deng Ming.  But not everyone can afford it and put it down like Wu Sangui.

    "It's really hard." Wu Sangui chuckled again, changed the topic and asked: "How is Shang Zhixin doing?"
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