Ming Zhengzhi, I am Zheng Kezang

Zhu Da sat cross-legged on the futon, his eyes closed tightly, and the golden sunlight dragged through the window and shone on him, as if the mythical Buddha appeared in the world. [ ] However, all this is an illusion. Only when people get close can people realize that this Buddha is so old and tired.In fact, Zhu Da will be 73 years old after the Chinese New Year. Years of travel and exhaustion after the uprising in eastern Sichuan have seriously damaged his health. If it were not for the support of his belief in the revival of the Ming Dynasty, he would have been unable to sleep for a long time. .

"Your Highness," the guard outside the door called softly. Hearing the heavy breath in the room, the guard who knew that Zhu Da was listening continued to report. "Master Du, they are all here."

I saw Zhu Da trying his best to pick up a short stick and tap lightly on the copper bowl beside him, the crisp sound sent out a mysterious signal.The understanding guard immediately went out and invited all the civil and military men from Eastern Sichuan whom he had just mentioned.

"My ministers, please see Jian Guo Qiantui, Qianqiantui!" During the unanimous prayer, the door of the room was opened by the guards, and Zhu Da, dressed in a commoner monk's attire, appeared in front of everyone.

Shang Zhu Shedou of the Ministry of Rites came out displeased and said: "Your Highness is the symbol of Ming Dynasty, how can you wear a monk's robe to show off to the public all day long?"

Although Zhu Shedou's surname is Zhu, he is not a member of the Ming clan. He is from Jiangjin, the 18th year of Qing Shunzhi (1661). He abandoned his official position and returned to his hometown, but he was coerced by the rebel army after the incident, and finally had to be the Minister of Rites of the Great "Ming".Although he had no choice but to be a thief at the beginning, everyone in Zhu Da Naihua belonged to the authentic clan of the Ming Dynasty, so after a few months, Zhu Shedou felt that he had met the Lord of the Ming Dynasty, and from then on he voluntarily prepared to become a hero of the "new" dynasty.

"Today is not a formal court meeting, so Zhu Qing doesn't need to be polite." The attendant standing next to Zhu Da responded on behalf of Zhu Da, and ordered at the same time. "Come here, give your lords a seat."

After the praise, the courtiers sat down one after another, but because they were still reckless not long ago, most of them did not sit well. Zhu Da turned a blind eye to this, but made several former "upright officials" who surrendered secretly shake their heads in silence. [ ]

At this time, Zhu Da's attendant asked: "Zhou Shang, have all the officials in the six mansions been properly appointed?"

The so-called six "fu" refers to the five prefectures in eastern Sichuan, including Chengtian (Chongqing), Kuizhou, Shunqing, Suiding, Tongchuan, and Luzhou, occupied by Zhu Dajun, but not all of these five prefectures have been in the hands of Zhu Dajun. Even in the Chengtian Mansion, where Zhu Da's army base camp is located, there are still several counties that have been steadfastly defending against the government.

"It has already been arranged." Shang Zhou Yingyuan, the official minister, replied in this way. He was originally the prefect of Chongqing appointed by the Qing court, so the city was destroyed and he was trapped in Zhu Da's army. official. "It's just that the local scholars still have some scruples, so they can only make up for it by joining the army."

The so-called filling in from the army is actually an exchange. Zhu Da tried to exchange the military power in the hands of the Kuidong families at the cost of recognizing the prefectures and county territories occupied by the various ministries of the rebel army. Although the idea was good, the effect was not great. I'm not a fool, and I would never give up my fundamentals in troubled times for the sake of the false name of a magistrate or county magistrate. It is nothing more than handing over some old, weak, sick and disabled to deal with Zhu Da, the nominal co-lord.Zhu Da knew this well and had no choice but to cling to the two prefectural cities of Chongqing and Kuizhou and the territories of seven or eight counties as places to support his army.

Since he couldn't grasp the overall situation, Zhu Da had no choice but to grasp what he could control first. After seeing him gesture for a while, the attendant asked, "Commander of the capital, how is the reorganization of the guards going?"

After Zhu Da's army, which had swelled to 20 at one time, lost the battle in Jianyang, Zhu Da came to his senses, so after returning to Chongqing, he tried to gather military power on the one hand, and on the other hand, he also reduced his troops and chose to reorganize the bodyguard army , Trying to create a real army to contend with the Qing and Zheng. [ ]

"Return to Your Highness." The former king's village master and now the commander of the king's capital reported in a loud voice. "The minister has selected 400 elite soldiers and divided them into [-] battalions for drills." One of the reasons for adopting a small battalion of [-] people is because the battalion officers in the guards' army have no experience in commanding a large army. Maybe it can still be mastered, but when there are too many troops, they will be blinded. "Now they are practicing day and night, but there are many shortages in weapons."

Insufficient weapons include bows, arrows, guns, artillery, armor, lead, and gunpowder are also a big problem, and these are not self-sufficient in the entire eastern Sichuan, so it is impossible for Zhu Da to get support from those "subordinates" .

"Cough cough." Just when Zhu Da was also in trouble, Shang Tang Lu from the Criminal Ministry suddenly coughed a few words. Tang Lu was Zhu Da's first believer in Sichuan. After Zhu Da became successful, he was rewarded with a novel. "Your Highness, I was ordered to cut off the waterway of the Chuanjiang River. A few days ago, I caught a merchant from Huguang. According to what he said, he could provide our army with blunderbusses and cannons. I was afraid that he was brazen, so I didn't respond. Maybe you can try now. try one."

Zhu Da's slightly squinted eyes suddenly opened: "Businessman from Huguang, didn't Quan Ni already win in Huguang? Where did Huguang merchants come from to easily sell blunderbusses and cannons? It must be that Quan Ni's subordinates came to test Eastern Sichuan. False and real, beheaded immediately!"

But Tang Lu said: "Your Highness said, I also guessed this way at the beginning, but now Sichuan is divided into three points, and the Qing and Zheng are stronger than my Ming Dynasty. If you can't strengthen the army, you will be swallowed by one of them sooner or later, so I think Zheng Jun Although there are plots, but as long as we can exchange for a suitable weapon, we can only drink poison to quench our thirst."

Zhu Da was quite moved by Tang Lu's words, but Tang Lu obviously didn't finish her sentence: "And I think that if His Highness has a lot of ordnance in his hands, it will be of great benefit to command the ministries, not to mention the barrenness of eastern Sichuan, which is not enough to raise an army. It will be even more beneficial to our army to exchange information with Zheng Ni and turn the products in central Sichuan into money and food."

After Zhu Da raised his troops, he bought a considerable amount of special products in central Sichuan, such as silk, tea, bristle, tung oil, and some gold and silver, but these things cannot be regarded as food. For the "Ming" army, it is definitely beneficial, and it can take advantage of the opportunity to integrate the various ministries, which can be said to be multiple in one fell swoop.

Therefore, Chu Huaiyuan, who was Zhu Da's first confidant and served as the head of the household department, agreed with both hands: "Your Highness, I think it is feasible."

"Then talk to this person," Zhu Da was forced to compromise, but he still had an extra heart. "However, this person cannot be allowed to enter Sichuan, but he can be traded in Badong."

"Your Highness, I think something is wrong." Chu Huaiyuan shook his head. "Badong is where Zheng Ni is entrenched. It is too difficult for me to control it. It is better to set it up in Wushan. The ministers can monitor it nearby and collect a tax."

"According to Qing's suggestion." Zhu Da didn't want to bother, so he nodded in agreement. "However, when trading weapons and equipment, they will only be given goods of equivalent value after they have been verified according to the facts. You must not be greedy for cheap and be fooled by Zheng Ni."

"You can save me waiting." Chu Huaiyuan and Tang Lu looked at each other and asked suddenly. "It's just, it's better which department should come forward with this matter."

It is reasonable to say that it is related to the arms trade, and it is best for the Ministry of War to preside over it. However, Li Yuanlong of the Ministry of War is a descendant of the Zhongzhenying, and the old background of Chuang Wang's former ministry is naturally not within the scope of Zhu Da's cronies, so he was naturally excluded. outer.Well, judging from the large amount of materials involved in the transaction, it would be better for the Ministry of Households to come forward, but this matter is also related to spy defense, and it was first proposed by the Ministry of Criminal Justice. It looks more appropriate.

Zhu Da naturally understood that this was a power struggle between cronies, so he reconciled: "The Ministry of Punishment and the Ministry of Household Affairs should be in charge together."

host together?Which dissatisfaction is responsible.Tang Lu just wanted to speak, but when she saw Zhu Da's tired face, she hesitated for a while, and then paused to ask for clarification, but in this way, there would be a series of conflicts between the two departments in the future. Lu couldn't think of anything at the moment.

"Today, I have invited several Qing family members. Actually, there is another matter." Zhu Da, who was silent for a while, seemed to have accumulated energy again, gesticulating, and the attendants dutifully translated. I will also draw up a pen to write clearly, what will happen to the servant who loses his favor at that time is naturally self-evident. "Seventy has been rare since ancient times. After the new year, I will be 73 years old. I will die alone. What about the Ming Dynasty?" Zhu Da's death has caused the biggest worry, that is, the future of the Ming army in eastern Sichuan after Zhu Da's death. . "A lonely old man with no heirs, once he dies, who can inherit it?" Zhu Da sighed. "Where do you go at that time? Jiang Qing, I will see that you are not willing to surrender. Jiang Zheng, I will die with no peace in my eyes. I am afraid that it will be difficult to convince the public to introduce a hypocrite. Therefore, I ask you to find the Ming clan in eastern Sichuan for you." Descendants."

In fact, Zhu Da had already arranged for people to sneak into the coast of Zhejiang to smuggle the descendants of the Ming clan. This is kept secret.

"If you get something, please send it to Chengtian as soon as possible. After the lonely person has verified it, he will be established as the heir."

What a great achievement it must be to find the heir, everyone's eyes flashed, and they all had their own concerns, but in front of Zhu Da, everyone fell to their knees: "I will definitely look for it with my heart, and I will live up to your highness' trust." .”

After getting up, Zhou Yingyuan suddenly asked: "Your Highness, do you want to inform all the prefectures and counties about the search for the descendants of the clan?"

As soon as the words came out, everyone looked at Zhu Da. Naturally, they didn't want anyone to share the credit with them, but without the help of these local snakes, I'm afraid finding someone would be like finding a needle in a haystack. You must know how long after the Qing Dynasty ruled China The first search for the descendants of the Ming clan, the few leaked fish must be hiding very deep.

Zhu Da was afraid that he could not find it, and he was also afraid that others would use fake ones to fool him, so after thinking for a while, he decided: "This is a big matter. If you can't notify the ministries, I'm afraid they will be renounced, so let's report it."