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Chapter 574 Zheng Zhilong is a Big Trouble
"Xianzun, Hong Chengchou's words don't seem to be false. The county lord is worried that he will join the enemy. I'm afraid he is too worried."

Bai Shoumin was talking carefully at the side at this time. As the intelligence chief of the Secret Service Division, he naturally received this information at the first time, so he also saw the information Hong Chengchou conveyed to Li Chaosheng at the first time.

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

Li Chaosheng has seen 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 can be said that he died for the Ming Dynasty once.

Originally, although the Manchu attack was dangerous, the food and grass in Songcheng at that time could last at least half a year, and Huang Taiji was besieging Songcheng and Jinzhou area but not attacking.

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

The Qing army will definitely not be able to hold on. At that time, we will be able to attack and defend in a different position, 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 and then fighting" can be strictly implemented, then the outcome of this battle is really unknown, but the closer it is to this important moment, our Emperor Chongzhen will direct more blindly.

Seeing that the front line was tight, Emperor Chongzhen immediately summoned Chen Xinjia, then Minister of the Ministry of War. As a result, Chen Xinjia, without considering the specific situation on the front line, randomly discussed military affairs with the officials of the court and the central government and came up with a pessimistic military report that was "ten things to worry about and ten things to discuss". Feeling that if this dragged on, he would have no chance of winning this battle, so he issued an order to order Hong Chengchou to immediately divide his troops to attack the Manchu army from multiple sides, but Hong Chengchou knew that he would die miserably if he did so.

So I wrote the letter again and again, hoping that Chongzhen would think about it carefully, and don't be in a hurry to fall into the enemy's trap, but this was the opposite of Chen Xinjia, Minister of the Ministry of War, so Chen encouraged the emperor again and again. , become decisive.

Gu Zi flattered and said, "If the magistrate comes out, that silly leopard will definitely be taken down easily."

Li Chaosheng laughed 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 Biaoziying. This is actually Sun Chuanting's message to me. , What is Biaoziying, Biaoziying is Sun Chuanting's earliest old army, 80.00% of them are from Lantian, so the purpose of Sun Chuanting telling us that he wants to equip Biaoziying is to tell me that these weapons are for Lantian people to buy back Yes, that’s why I sold them a thousand flintlock guns and [-] catties of gunpowder, otherwise I would be happy if I could sell them a hundred.”

However, if Hong Chengchou did not choose Manchu in the end, Li Chaosheng would still be willing to give him a chance. After all, it is unforgivable for Hong Chengchou to betray Daming, but his experience is worthy of sympathy.

Bai Shoumin heard the words and said, "The county lord is going to contact Zheng Zhibao personally?"

Directly issued a secret edict ordering Hong Chengchou to fight quickly without delay, and the words were very firm, saying: "Advance troops immediately, and Chen Xinjia, Minister of the Ministry of War, wrote to Hong Chengchou and calculated an economic account, saying that Hong Chengchou spent hundreds of thousands of troops this time. , if he can’t solve it quickly, the cost will increase. At that time, the money is spent, and the Manchus don’t run away.

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

Bai Shoumin looked at Li Chaosheng and asked, Li Chaosheng smiled and said: "Lu Xiangsheng still needs to give some face, so I sold Sun Chuanting a thousand flintlock guns we eliminated and [-] catties of gunpowder at a high price."

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

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

Li Chaosheng narrowed his eyes when he heard the words and said, "Gunpowder, very good, this is indeed a good excuse, so you can tell the merchants in Jiangnan that if you hear about Zheng Zhibao again, you can tell him that Lantian has good gunpowder and is willing to sell it to them. If the quantity is large, we need to go to Lantian for an interview."

"So the county honor is sold?"

Bai Shoumin was taken aback when he heard the words, looked at Li Chaosheng and said, "Is it all because of Lu Xiangsheng?"

It can be seen that Chongzhen never really listened to Hong Chengchou's policies, but Chen Xinjia and his like's demagogic words were clearly heard, which eventually led to catastrophe.

Gu Zi listened from the side and said: "I have never figured it out. With Sun Chuanting's wisdom, it is impossible not to see the magistrate's plan, but why he is willing to cooperate, and still honestly pays for the firearms, and returns them to the people in Lantian. What about the equipment? Isn't this a clear disadvantage?"

Hearing this, Bai Shoumin nodded and said: "What the county lord said is very true, as long as Sun Chuanting is not stupid to deal with our Lantian, he will make money if he buys this batch of firearms."

"As for Jiannu, our Lantian people's attitude is also different from our race, and we will kill without mercy. So as long as Sun Chuanting doesn't turn his gun and hit us, he will have control over the Qin army under him. This batch of firearms is also under his control, and as for turning around and attacking Lantian, we don't need those Lantian people under them to make trouble, even if we fight head-on, we can easily eliminate this Qin army in Sun Chuanting's hands."

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."

At this time, Bai Shoumin took out a notebook from his body and said: "Master Xian, the current major forces are still stable. Sun Chuanting has built a new line of defense in Xuanfu, and strengthened the city wall, and has placed a military order with us in Lantian. I hope we can Sell ​​them some firearms."

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

It can be said that Chongzhen was extremely stupid in this matter. In the matter of war, an emperor did not listen to the words of experts, but listened to the words of laymen.

After Li Chaosheng finished talking about Sun Chuanting, he looked at Bai Shoumin. He needed to grasp the current situation in the world. After hearing this, Bai Shoumin said: "There is also Jiangnan. The Jiangnan Fushe held a large-scale poetry meeting, and invited Jiangnan scholars It is said that it was a grand occasion, and there were beauties on the Qinhuai River performing arts, which fascinated many talented scholars, and the eight most outstanding beauties were named Qinhuai Bayan."

Gu Zi's thinking is very simple, that is, all good things should be tasted first by our family, and our family has never tasted it. If you eat first, you are wrong.

But Li Chaosheng waved his hand and said: "Forget it, they are just a few poor girls. There are two stunning beauties in my family. How can I have time to chat with them? Beauty is like a bone-scraping steel knife, and it can kill people the most. The will of the Yi family county still wants to do more practical things for the people and benefit the people while they are young."

During the Southern Ming Dynasty, when Li Dingguo's two famous kings already wanted to rule the Manchus into regions, it was Hong Chengchou who rejected the public opinion and insisted on fighting, otherwise the Manchus would not have made up their minds to fight against Li Dingguo.

After Li Chaosheng finished speaking, Guzi shut up, and Bai Shoumin continued: "In addition to Jiangnan, there is also Zheng Zhilong at sea. Zheng Zhilong is still active at sea, and this year he has increased his trade with Japan and brought back a lot of silver from Japan. As a result, the price of silver in the southeast coast has plummeted, but it has not affected our Lantian."

"Bayan?"

"what for?"

"Yes."

"With our firearms and without our firearms, the Qin army under Sun Chuanting is two different armies. Sun Chuanting is the governor of Xuanda, and he wants to face Jiannu's iron hooves. At this time, he will not take some risks from us. Buying some firearms, he is really difficult to do as Governor Xuanda."

"Any more news?"

After hearing this, Li Chaosheng laughed and said, "A loss? His Sun Chuanting is not the one who suffers a loss. In fact, he can see very clearly that his Qin army has basically been emptied by our Lantian people, but without our Lantian's intervention, He still has command, and the purpose of buying these firearms is to prevent slavery."

Gu Zi chuckled when he heard the words, "What the county lord criticized is that I will try to hide it as much as possible next time."

Li Chaosheng rolled Guzi's eyes and said, "Your flattery has become more and more explicit recently, I see you, you have to be bad."

After Li Chaosheng finished speaking, Gu Zi and Bai Shoumin nodded in unison. There is actually such a thought in it.

Therefore, Hong Chengchou really chose to surrender to the Manchu Qing in the end. Li Chaosheng would definitely send secret agents to assassinate Hong Chengchou at any cost without hesitation. Keep.

The reason why Li Chaosheng has been actively wanting to accept Hong Chengchou is that Hong Chengchou is indeed capable, whether in military or political terms, his ability can be regarded as the top level of Ming Dynasty.

Hearing Bai Shoumin's words, Gu Zi became interested, who doesn't love beauties?

Bai Shoumin followed Li Chaosheng and looked at Bai Shoumin and said, "By the way, besides Hong Chengchou, is there any other information?"

Li Chaosheng nodded and said: "I know about this, I originally rejected it, but later Lu Xiangsheng came to me and said that if it is a major event, you must have the world in mind. The future of Daming must belong to Lantian. Sun Chuanting bought firearms to protect Daming, and it is also To protect the future Lantian, we should sell them some firearms."

But Li Chaosheng didn't have any thoughts, just sighed: "The business girl doesn't know the hatred of subjugation, and she still sings the flowers in the backyard across the river. The land in the south of the Yangtze River is too heavy, so it can't be a big deal."

"I think it must be very uncomfortable for Zheng Zhibao to be straddled on the neck by a little boy. If we use this as a breakthrough, we may not be able to pry open Zheng's strong fortress and complete the assassination."

What's even more ridiculous is that after Chongzhen learned that Hong Chengchou was defeated, he didn't seriously verify it, so he hurriedly opened the memorial service. In the last few years, when he learned that Hong Chengchou turned around and beat him, he almost died of anger.

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

Li Chaosheng looked at Bai Shoumin and analyzed, and Bai Shoumin's eyes lit up when he heard this, and said: "The county lord is very right. By the way, the county lord, I remembered one thing. Zheng Zhibao was ordered by Zheng Zhilong some time ago. He once asked our merchants in Jiangnan about the price of gunpowder in the mainland, and the county lord thinks it can be used as an opportunity to get on the line of Zheng Zhibao?"

Bai Shoumin continued to question, Li Chaosheng smiled and said: "5.00% is because of Lu Xiangsheng, and the remaining 90.00% is because Sun Chuanting's Qin army is generally from our Lantian, and the Tartars are so dangerous. We also need to give these brothers some weapons for self-defense, and The batch of muskets that Sun Chuanting bought back will be given priority to equip us Lantian people.

Hong Chengchou couldn't bear the pressure from all aspects of the court, so he sent troops to fight against the Qing army. As can be imagined, Hong Chengchou suffered a disastrous defeat and finally defected.

Li Chaosheng smiled and said, "Hehehe...not all of them."

Li Chaosheng thought for a while after hearing the words: "Zheng Zhilong has been a pirate for many years, it is difficult to infiltrate into his core team, but I think you can get in touch with Zheng Zhibao, this person is Zheng Zhilong's third brother, and is currently the leader of the entire Zheng Group. Zheng Zhilong's son, Zheng Sen, Zheng Chenggong has grown up and is ambitious. He is a capable person. Zheng Zhibao's ability is low, and it is inevitable that he will be overtaken by his nephew. "

Lu Xiangsheng, Hong Chengchou, and Sun Chuanting are the last three capable ministers of the Ming Dynasty. If we say that Lu Xiangsheng is the first in character, Sun Chuanting is second, and Hong Chengchou is the worst.

Gu Zi heard the words and said: "What the county lord said is true, but it is a pity that such a beautiful woman is placed in the south of the Yangtze River. It is better to send it to Lantian to perform dances for the county lord."

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

Bai Shoumin gave a thumbs up and said, "Gao, the county honor is really high. We earn money like this, and the things are still used by us Lantian people. We don't lose money no matter what."

"Fuck off."

Li Chaosheng laughed and cursed, then looked up at Bai Shoumin and said, "By the way, is there any movement from Li Zicheng?"

After hearing this, Bai Shoumin said: "Reporting to the county lord, Li Zicheng has stayed in Shanxi honestly recently, but all his subordinates have been sent to Henan, and it seems that he is planning some big event."

"Henan?"

Li Chaosheng narrowed his eyes, and four words came to mind: Flooded Kaifeng!
(End of this chapter)