Chapter 574 Zheng Zhilong is a big trouble

"Your Majesty, Hong Chengchou's words do not seem to be false. Your Majesty is worried that he will defect to the enemy. I'm afraid he is overly worried."

Bai Shoumin said carefully at the side. As the head of the Secret Intelligence Service, he naturally received this information immediately, so he also saw the information conveyed to Li Chaosheng by Hong Chengchou immediately.

Li Chaosheng looked at Bai Shoumin and said: "People sometimes change, especially when their beliefs collapse. I sent the envoy this time to stabilize Hong Chengchou's heart."

Li Chaosheng has read some records of Hong Chengchou in historical materials. First of all, before Hong Chengchou surrendered, he did fight to the death for the Ming Dynasty. It is not an exaggeration to say that he died for the Ming Dynasty once. Secondly, Chongzhen's actions also chilled Hong Chengchou.

Although the Manchu and Qing attack was dangerous, the food and grass in Songcheng at that time could last for at least half a year. Moreover, Huang Taiji besieged the Jinzhou area of ​​Songcheng but did not attack. It was obvious that he was preparing to encircle the area and mobilize reinforcements.

This intention was so obvious that Hong Chengchou could almost see through it at a glance, so his report to Chongzhen meant a protracted war with the Qing army.

The Qing army will definitely not be able to hold on. When the time comes, we can attack and defend in different positions, easily resolve this crisis, and ensure the safety of the Songjin defense line.

It has to be said that if Hong Chengchou's policy of "defending before fighting" can be strictly implemented, then the outcome of this battle is really unknown. However, at such an important moment, our Emperor Chongzhen will become more and more blind in his direction.

Seeing that the front line was tight, Emperor Chongzhen immediately summoned Chen Xinjia, the Minister of War at the time. As a result, Chen Xinjia did not take into account the specific situation on the front line and randomly discussed military affairs with the DPRK officials on paper and came up with a pessimistic military report with "ten worries and ten negotiables", which made Chongzhen angry.

Feeling that if this procrastination continued, he would have no chance of winning the battle, so he issued an order, ordering Hong Chengchou to immediately divide his troops and attack the Manchu and Qing troops from multiple fronts. However, Hong Chengchou knew that he would definitely die miserably if he did so.

So he repeatedly wrote to the emperor, hoping that Chongzhen would think carefully and not fall into the enemy's trap. However, this was to go against Chen Xinjia, the Minister of War, so Chen repeatedly encouraged the emperor. After Chen's constant instigation, the soft-eared Chongzhen directly changed from hesitating to making a decision.

, became decisive.

"Bayan?"

Li Chaosheng nodded and said: "I know this. I rejected it originally, but then Lu Xiangsheng found me. Those who said it was a big deal must have the world in mind. The future of the Ming Dynasty must belong to Lantian. Sun Chuanting bought firearms to protect the Ming Dynasty.

To protect the future of Lantian, we should sell them some firearms."

The reason why Li Chaosheng has been actively trying to recruit Hong Chengchou is that firstly, Hong Chengchou is indeed capable. Whether it is military or political, his ability can be regarded as the top level of the Ming Dynasty.

It can be seen that Chongzhen never really listened to Hong Chengchou's policies. On the contrary, he clearly heard the deceptive words of Chen Xinjia and others, which eventually led to catastrophe.

After hearing this, Li Chaosheng looked at Bai Shoumin and said, "Well, Zheng Zhilong is a problem. By the way, are the assassins I asked you to arrange ready? I don't want Zheng Zhilong to continue to live."

"what for?"

At this time, Bai Shoumin took out a notebook and said: "Your Majesty, the major forces are currently relatively stable. Sun Chuanting has built a new defense line in Xuanfu, reinforced the city walls, and placed a military order with Lantian. I hope we can

Sell ​​them some firearms."

"With the blessing of our firearms and without the blessing of our firearms, the Qin army under Sun Chuanting is two different armies. As Sun Chuanting serves as the governor of Xuanda, he has to face the iron hoof of Jiannu. At this time, he will not take some risks from us.

Buying some firearms is really not easy for him as the Governor of Xuanda."

After hearing this, Li Chaosheng thought for a while and said: "Zheng Zhilong has been a pirate for many years. It is difficult to penetrate into his core team, but I think you can contact Zheng Zhibao. This person is Zheng Zhilong's third brother and is currently the leader of the entire Zheng Group.

Zheng Zhilong's second-in-command, but his current position is somewhat unstable. Zheng Zhilong's son, Zheng Sen, Zheng Chenggong has grown up and is ambitious, and he is a capable person. Zheng Zhibao's ability is low, and it is inevitable that he will be overtaken by his eldest nephew.

"

But in terms of ability, Hong Chengchou should be above Lu Xiangsheng, and the order should be Hong Chengchou, Lu Xiangsheng, and Sun Chuanting.

Bai Shoumin heard this and said, "The county magistrate is going to personally contact Zheng Zhibao?"

Li Chaosheng looked at Bai Shoumin and analyzed. Bai Shoumin's eyes lit up after hearing this and said: "What the County Lord said is absolutely true. By the way, County Lord, what you said made me think of something. Zheng Zhibao came under Zheng Zhilong's order some time ago.

When purchasing gunpowder from the mainland, he once asked our Jiangnan merchants about the selling price of gunpowder. Does the county official think we can use this as an opportunity to get on Zheng Zhibao's line?"

Gu Zi listened on the side and said: "I have never understood it. With Sun Chuanting's wisdom, it is impossible not to see the plan of the county magistrate, but why he is willing to cooperate and still pay the money to buy firearms honestly and return them to the Lantian people.

What about the equipment? Isn’t this obviously a disadvantage?”

Li Chaosheng laughed when he heard this and said: "Sun Chuanting is a smart man, so when his old servant came to Lantian and said he wanted to buy firearms, his old servant directly said to buy firearms to equip their Biaozi camp. This is actually Sun Chuanting's message to me.

, what is Biaozi Camp? Biaozi Camp is Sun Chuanting’s earliest old army, 80% of which are from Lantian, so the purpose of Sun Chuanting telling us that he wants to equip Biaozi Camp is to tell me that these weapons are for Lantian

People bought them back, so I sold them a thousand flintlock muskets and 20,000 kilograms of gunpowder, otherwise it would be great if I could sell them a hundred muskets."

After Li Chaosheng said this, Gu Zi and Bai Shoumin nodded in unison. There was actually such thinking in them.

Hong could not withstand the pressure from all aspects of the court, so he sent troops to fight the Qing army. The result was predictable: Hong Chengchou was defeated miserably and finally betrayed.

It can be said that Chongzhen was extremely stupid in this matter. It is extremely stupid for an emperor to not listen to experts but to listen to laymen on the matter of war.

"I think it must be very uncomfortable for Zheng Zhibao to have a child riding on his neck little by little. If you just use this as a breakthrough, you may not be able to pry open the Zheng family's strong fortress and complete the assassination."

Li Chaosheng put the information aside and looked at Bai Shoumin and said: "Intensify the surveillance of Hong Chengchou, and use some means if necessary."

After hearing this, Li Chaosheng laughed and said: "Suffering a loss? He, Sun Chuanting, is not the one who suffers the loss. In fact, he sees very clearly that his Qin army has basically been ignored by us Lantian people, but without our Lantian intervention,

He still has command authority, and the purpose of buying these firearms is to prevent slave establishment."

After Li Chaosheng said this, Gu Zi shut up, and Bai Shoumin continued: "In addition to Jiangnan, there is Zheng Zhilong on the sea. Zheng Zhilong is still active on the sea, and this year he has increased the trade volume with Japan and brought back a large amount of silver from Japan.

As a result, the price of silver has plummeted in the southeastern coastal areas, but it has not affected our Lantian area so far."

Li Chaosheng waved his hand and said: "Forget it, they are just a few poor women. I have two stunning beauties in my family. How can I have time to chat with them? Beauty is like a bone-scraping steel knife, which can kill people the most.

With his will, the county magistrate of the Qin family still wants to take advantage of his youth to do more practical things for the people and seek benefits for the people."

Bai Shoumin looked at Li Chaosheng and asked, and Li Chaosheng smiled and said: "Lu Xiangsheng still needs to be given a little face, so I sold Sun Chuanting a thousand of our obsolete flintlock guns and 20,000 kilograms of gunpowder at a high price."

After hearing this, Bai Shoumin nodded and said: "What the county magistrate said is absolutely true. As long as Sun Chuanting is not stupid enough to deal with our Lantian, he will make a profit by buying these firearms."

He directly issued a secret edict ordering Hong Chengchou to fight quickly and without delay, and the words were very firm, saying that the army should be launched on time, and Chen Xinjia, Minister of the Ministry of War, also sent a letter to Hong Chengchou, calculating the financial accounts, saying that Hong Chengchou spent hundreds of thousands on this army.

, if he cannot solve it quickly and the cost will increase, when the money is spent and the Manchus are not beaten away, his sin will be great. He has failed the emperor and failed the people, so he might as well commit suicide to apologize.

"As for the Jiannu, we Lantian people's attitude is that those who are not our race will have different opinions and will kill without mercy. So as long as Sun Chuanting doesn't turn his gun and attack us, he will have control over the Qin army under him.

This batch of firearms is also under his control. As for turning around and attacking Lantian, there is no need for their Lantian people to attack. Even if they fight head-on, we can easily destroy the Qin army in Sun Chuanting's hands."

So if Hong Chengchou really chose to surrender to the Qing Dynasty in the end, Li Chaosheng would definitely send a secret agent to assassinate Hong Chengchou at any cost. Hong Chengchou was much more talented than Fan Wencheng and others, so such a person cannot

Keep.

After hearing this, Bai Shoumin said: "The infiltration is currently underway, but Zheng Zhilong's protection is very strict, but we have found Zheng Zhilong's fatal weakness. If you give us a little more time, we will be able to infiltrate."

Li Chaosheng smiled and said: "Hehehe... not entirely."

Hearing Bai Shoumin's words, Guzi became interested. Who doesn't love beauty?

During the Southern Ming Dynasty, when Li Dingguo, the two famous kings, had already defeated the Manchus and wanted to rule the area, it was Hong Chengchou who insisted on fighting despite all opinions, otherwise the Manchus would not be determined to fight with Li Dingguo.

Li Chaosheng said with a smile: "If the bait is not enough, that silly leopard will not be easily fooled."

Hearing this, Gu Zi chuckled and said, "What the county magistrate is criticizing is that I will try to be more concealed next time."

Li Chaosheng narrowed his eyes when he heard this and said: "Gunpowder, very good, this is indeed a good excuse. In this way, you can tell the merchants in Jiangnan that if there is any news about Zheng Zhibao again, you can tell him that Lantian has good gunpowder and is willing to sell it to them. But if

If the quantity is large, you need to go to Lantian for an interview."

Lu Xiangsheng, Hong Chengchou, and Sun Chuanting, the last three capable ministers of the Ming Dynasty, were put together. In terms of character, Lu Xiangsheng was the first, Sun Chuanting was the second, and Hong Chengchou was the worst.

Hong Chengchou was a capable man, and Li Chaosheng did not want him to fall into the hands of the Tatars. You must know that a capable man might not be able to display his abilities in the Ming Dynasty, but he could in the Manchu Qing Dynasty.

"Any more news?"

What's even more ridiculous is that after Chongzhen learned that Hong Chengchou was defeated, he hurriedly held a memorial service without carefully verifying it. Finally, a few years later, when he learned that Hong Chengchou turned around and beat him, he almost died of anger.

Li Chaosheng rolled his eyes at Gu Zi and said, "Your flattery has become more and more explicit recently. I think you are going to be a bad example."

Bai Shoumin gave a thumbs up and said: "High, the county's honor is really high. We have made money like this, but the things are still for us Lantian people to use. We are not at a loss no matter what."

Guzi’s idea is very simple, that is, all good things should be tasted by our county ministers first. Our county ministers have never tasted them. If you eat them first, you are wrong.

"So the county official sold it?"

Bai Shoumin was stunned when he heard this, looked at Li Chaosheng and said, "Is it all because of Lu Xiangsheng?"

But Li Chaosheng didn't have any idea, he just sighed: "Shang girls don't know the hatred for their country's subjugation. They still sing about the flowers in the backyard across the river. In the land south of the Yangtze River, the makeup and powder are too heavy, so they can't achieve great things."

Bai Shoumin continued to ask, and Li Chaosheng smiled and said: "Five percent is because of Lu Xiangsheng, and the remaining 95% is because Sun Chuanting's Qin army is generally from Lantian, and the Tatars are so dangerous, so we have to give these brothers

Some weapons are for self-defense, and the batch of muskets bought by Sun Chuanting will be given priority to equip us Lantian people.

"yes."

Hearing this, Gu Zi said: "What the county magistrate said is true, but it would be a pity for such a beautiful woman to be placed in the south of the Yangtze River. It would be better to send her to Lantian to dance for the county magistrate."

After Li Chaosheng finished speaking about Sun Chuanting, he looked at Bai Shoumin. He needed to grasp the current trends in the world. After hearing this, Bai Shoumin said: "There is also the Jiangnan side. Jiangnan Fushe held a large-scale poetry gathering and invited Jiangnan scholars.

"

However, if Hong Chengchou did not choose the Manchus in the end, Li Chaosheng was still willing to give him a chance. After all, Hong Chengchou's betrayal of the Ming Dynasty was unforgivable, but his experience was worthy of sympathy.

Bai Shoumin should be, following Li Chaosheng, he looked at Bai Shoumin and said: "By the way, besides Hong Chengchou, is there any information from other places?"

"So with or without this batch of firearms, the Qin Army is still a loser to us, but to the Tatars, with this batch of firearms, the Qin Army's combat effectiveness will be close to that of Lu Xiangsheng's Tianxiong Army."

Gu Zi heard this and flattered him: "If the county lord takes action, that stupid leopard will definitely be easily captured."

"Get lost."

Li Chaosheng smiled and cursed, then raised his head to look at Bai Shoumin and said, "By the way, is there no movement from Li Zicheng's side?"

After hearing this, Bai Shoumin said: "Reporting to the county magistrate, Li Zicheng has been staying in Shanxi honestly recently, but all his men have been sent to Henan, and they seem to be planning something big."

"Henan?"

Li Chaosheng's eyes narrowed, and four words came to mind: Kaifeng was flooded!
Chapter completed!