Arriving at the military camp outside Yangzhou Prefecture, after Zhou Shixian inspected the army, he immediately summoned Xue Laoer and Zhang Huangyan. This time he set a trap for Gao Jie and Liu Zeqing. It was not suitable to publicize it in the army. He summoned him alone at the General Military Office.

For two people.

"The prince-in-law, Gao Jie, Liu Zeqing, and Liu Liangzuo all ignored the holy order and sent troops to plunder the area under their jurisdiction. There were even firefights with excessive and uneven loot. Fengyang and Huai'an are now filled with resentment and the people are even more panic-stricken.

"

Zhang Huangyan gritted his teeth and said angrily: "If we don't teach them a lesson, these guys may completely ignore the majesty of the imperial court."

After Zhou Shixian heard this, he frowned slightly. Although he had expected these things early on, he still underestimated the domineering nature of these military leaders. It seemed that it was impossible to subdue a few of them before taking action.

"Xue Laoer, what is the specific situation? How many soldiers and horses of Gao Jie, Liu Zeqing, and Liu Liangzuo participated in plundering? What is the frequency and location?"

Hearing this, Xue Laoer cupped his hands and replied: "Prince-in-law, according to the news sent by Lu Jiude and the reconnaissance of the general's sentry cavalry, Gao Jie and Liu Zeqing are in Sizhou Fucheng, Tianshui County.

, there are robberies in places like Huai'an Fucheng, basically once every five days, sometimes three days, and they are all organized by the officers."

Zhang Huangyan also said immediately: "It is very likely that Gao Jie and Liu Zeqing ordered this matter. Otherwise, the Holy Spirit has already issued an edict, and those officers would not be so unscrupulous. Like Huang Degong, his men have also robbed before.

The situation, but after the restraint, the situation has greatly improved."

"The prince-in-law, if we want to catch them, I'm afraid it's not appropriate for the prince-in-law to go out immediately. We have to wait at least a few days to make them think that the prince-in-law has returned to Nanjing, and then the general will send troops to raid again."

Xue Laoer cupped his hands and clasped his fists, as if he had been prepared, and continued: "The Prince Consort has been inspecting various camps these days. Gao Jie, Liu Zeqing and others have also restrained themselves a lot. They are still very afraid of the Prince Consort, and they should have sent people immediately.

Pay attention to what’s going on here.”

Zhou Shixian nodded: "Well, you are right, this matter cannot be rushed. The two of you need to plan carefully and make sure to capture both the stolen goods and the stolen goods. If the crime is not serious enough, it will not be enough to suppress them, let alone let them catch anything.

We need to take advantage of it and bite it back. And we have to show them the power of our troops. This is the key. Otherwise, when the Qing army goes south next year, these people will surrender if they can't protect them all."

"What does Prince Consort mean?" Zhang Huangyan was a little surprised.

"This is just a guess. At present, the most important thing is to stabilize the morale of the people and the army, and to completely tie down these soldiers and horses that are free from the control of the imperial court. We cannot defend this huge country with only our own 20,000 to 30,000 soldiers and horses.

"

Zhou Shixian raised his eyebrows slightly, and then continued: "I will leave this matter to you with full authority. A ship will arrive from Shuiying in ten or fifteen days. The two generals must complete the preparations before then. I am still waiting.

I want to give these two military leaders a big surprise!"

"Here!" Xue Laoer and Zhang Huangyan said in unison.

Zhou Shixian looked at the two people in front of him and nodded slightly. Both of them were rare talents.

Xue Laoer is considerate and sophisticated, but some of the bad habits he has developed over the years have gradually been exposed without his own supervision and restraint. Although Zhang Huangyan is still a bit immature, his moral integrity is nothing to say, and for Xue Laoer

It is also a restriction.

Moreover, only a man with all-around civil and military skills like Zhang Huangyan, as the chief instructor, could convince the original soldiers such as Zhang Hong and Wu Xingye. Only this kind of stupid young man who sticks to his principles can Zhou Shixian feel at ease.

The two of them noticed Zhou Shixian's eyes, and they both quickly lowered their heads, not daring to look at the young prince-in-law, and their expressions were even more respectful.

"The two generals working together are a blessing to our Ming Dynasty. The training of soldiers and horses in each battalion far exceeded my consort's expectations. You have done a good job. After finishing this matter, we will be in Nanzhili

Now that we have firmly established ourselves, I will reward the two generals for their merits."

Upon hearing Zhou Shixian's praise and promise, both of them quickly knelt down on one knee to thank him. They both believed that Zhou Shixian had the strength to defeat the Qing army and the rogue bandits, so they were full of confidence in the future.

After Zhou Shixian finished explaining the affairs between the two of them, he stayed in Yangzhou for another day, and then returned to Nanjing with great fanfare, waiting for Gao Jie and Liu Zeqing to take the bait.

The first thing Zhou Shixian did when he returned to Nanjing was to report to Emperor Chongzhen on the situation of the Jiangbei army, and casually mentioned Gao Jie and others' disregard for the sacred order.

Emperor Chongzhen was naturally very angry, but he did not want Zhou Shixian to deal with these matters at this time, lest these soldiers and horses also fall into the hands of the other party, so he was a little vague, and finally said that he would send Han Zanzhou as a supervisor to restrain the army.

"Four Towns in Jiangbei".

After Zhou Shixian heard this, he had no choice but to accept the order. Han Zanzhou was originally a garrison eunuch in Nanjing. Before Chongzhen and Zhou Shixian arrived in Nanjing, he had great power, but now he has been sidelined. What is Chongzhen's plan and intention to use him at this time?

It goes without saying.

However, Zhou Shixian didn't care about this. Those military leaders could not be restrained by just any eunuch. He had to continue to do what he wanted to do. As for when he would break up with Emperor Chongzhen, it would depend on him.

How are the soldiers and horses in the four towns in Jiangbei compared to each other?

Zhou Shixian naturally did not have the so-called luck mentality and thought that he could maintain the relationship with Chongzhen through other channels. Those were only temporary and would have a big impact on the cause of the Anti-Qing Dynasty. How could he quickly concentrate his strength to counterattack if he was timid in doing things?

Qing army?

For an emperor who is suspicious by nature, your strength is beyond his control. Even his son cannot escape death. What's more, as his son-in-law, you deserve to die even more, and you have to die.

But Zhou Shixian is not Yue Fei, nor any other minister. He will not sit back and wait for death, but will only replace him. In this world, a person like Chongzhen should not be the emperor in the first place. He cannot save the Ming Dynasty!

After dealing with Emperor Chongzhen, Zhou Shixian went to pay respects to Queen Zhou and met with Princess Kunxing. If he and Chongzhen had a falling out, perhaps the most difficult thing would be for Queen Zhou and Princess Kunxing.

.

Queen Zhou and the princess were living in the harem and were unaware of their increasingly intensifying conflicts. When they saw Zhou Shixian coming, they felt extremely relieved and happy. All of Queen Zhou's sons had fallen into the hands of the Shun army, and their lives and deaths were unknown now.

The only consolation is Zhou Shixian, a good son-in-law, and Zhou Shixian has become the sweetheart of Princess Kunxing, the "unparalleled hero with colorful auspicious clouds", and he has been the only one in this life.

However, Zhou Shixian did not stay too long. He was now the prince-in-law leading the troops. Even the queen's son-in-law and the princess's prospective husband could not stay in the harem for too long.

After leaving the palace, Zhou Shixian returned to his mansion. After resting for a night, he appeared in a brothel by the Qinhuai River the next day.

Of course, Zhou Shixian did not come here to have fun, he came here to meet important people.

Although Emperor Chongzhen issued a ban on him, in order to establish his authority, he asked Wang Chaodong to secretly investigate other officials. Two of them, who were in high positions, had solid evidence and were expected to take action soon.

Zhou Shixian naturally didn't care about them, but Zhou Shixian had already taken a fancy to their money, and planned to swallow it all before Jin Yiwei seized it.

And today I came to the Qinhuai River, listening to the majestic sounds of the orioles and swallows, looking at the faces as agile as water, and admiring the graceful curves as the moon, just to meet the pirate king of Fujian, the leader of Sino-Japanese sea trade.

The owner is the son of Zheng Zhilong, Zheng Sen, who is also later known as Zheng Chenggong.

Most of the wealth of those two corrupt officials has been invested in the Zheng family's latest sea trade trip to Japan. In addition to them, there are seven or eight other officials who also invested. Including the Zheng family's investment, there are a total of fifteen projects.

The principal and profit of the ship are estimated to be more than 900,000 taels of silver.

Since the Zheng family has almost monopolized Sino-Japanese sea trade, excluding their commission and fleet fees, they have shipped goods to sell, and then bought goods from Japan and sold them back, and the profit has more than doubled. Of course, if

If you sail the ship yourself, the profit will be nearly double, but you may be directly robbed by the Zheng family's fleet at sea, and all of them will be silenced.

"Your Majesty, Zheng Sen, pays homage to the Prince Consort."

At this time, Zheng Sen was not the great Yanping County Prince Zheng Chenggong in the original history, nor was he the lonely and loyal anti-Qing hero who "occupied two islands and formed hundreds of thousands of troops", he was just a twenty-year-old young man.

Just now, the hot-blooded and talented man Zheng Sen and his classmate Zheng Chenggong were holding an oiran who was so poor that he only wore half of his clothes in his arms. If Zhou Shixian hadn't suddenly visited, the situation would have been very tense.

"No gift."

Zhou Shixian waved his hand, and then winked at the personal guard, who immediately withdrew. Everyone else in the room had just been cleared out.

After all, Zheng Sen was still young at this time and did not have the aura of later generations of surnamed masters, but he was still much stronger than others. He did not shrink back and behaved quite naturally.

"The Japanese prince-in-law came to see you today because he has something to discuss with you."

Zhou Shixian smiled, poured himself a glass of wine, drank it all, and then said: "There is a batch of goods on the sea now, worth more than 900,000 taels. I took a fancy to 300,000 taels of them and deceived me."

Then we’ll split it up three to seven.”

When Zheng Sen heard this, he was surprised and immediately understood what Zhou Shixian meant. It seemed that the other party was indeed worthy of his reputation. He knew exactly what his family was doing, and he immediately responded: "I would like to listen to my consort's orders."

Moreover, Zheng Chenggong had already been trained by Zheng Zhilong as his successor, and now he was sent to Nanjing to close the relationship with the new imperial court.

Heroes have been born since ancient times, and Zheng Chenggong is not satisfied with this. He has been waiting for an opportunity, and now is the time.
Chapter completed!