On the other side, Li Yi and Liu Xingzuo were drinking in the tent.

This time, Li Yi offered his advice twice and rushed into battle to kill Li Yongfang at a critical moment. His reputation in the Dongjiang Army greatly increased. Not only did Mao Youshi but also Kong Youde treat the officers with respect when they saw him, and even the treatment of various food and accommodation was improved.

A lot.

After drinking the warm wine in the cup, Liu Xingzuo wiped his beard and said with emotion: "After this battle, I understand why the emperor sent Mr. Li to Liaodong."

Li Yi also drank the water and wine, feeling warm in his stomach, and said with a smile: "Why?"

Liu Xingzuo said: "The emperor knew that Brother Li was very talented. He could not only run the country on horseback, but also fight on horseback, so he sent Brother Li to Liaodong for training. As long as time goes by, Brother Li will definitely become a mainstay of the imperial court and an effective general for the emperor to govern the country."

Li Yi laughed loudly after hearing this and said: "The national situation is difficult. Wang Yongguang, Wen Tiren, Zhou Yanru and other senior ministers in the court are still waiting to join the cabinet to handle errands. How can I, a junior, be allowed to interfere. If Brother Liu's words are ignored by them

If I hear that, I'm afraid they will get rid of me and hurry up."

Hearing what Li Yi said, Liu Xingzuo said with hatred on his face: "The decline of the Ming Dynasty was due to the endless party disputes. In the battle of Saarhu, our Ming army had strong soldiers and horses. If it weren't for the constraints of the court officials and Yang Hao's ignorance of military intelligence and tactics,

How could Li Rubai and the generals be mutually exclusive, so how could they be defeated? If the country is unstable, the war cannot be won. Even now, the emperor still cannot see this clearly."

Li Yi did not expect that Liu Xingzuo loved Ming Dynasty so deeply, and immediately said: "Although the current emperor is only seventeen, he can cleanly and neatly remove the eunuchs, which is something ordinary people cannot do. I have met the emperor and know that he only wants to

To realize the resurgence of the Ming Dynasty, I am also worried about the situation of the country and the dynasty. As long as I give it time, I will be a wise king."

Liu Xingzuo heard this and said quickly: "Is the current emperor really as good as you say?"

Li Yi walked around, and when he saw that no one was eavesdropping, he whispered: "To be honest, I have been summoned by the emperor many times. Although the emperor eliminated the eunuchs and restored the emperor's majesty, the Donglin Party is now dominant. For

The emperor has many constraints, and there is nothing he can do about it. Now the emperor really wants a group of talented and courageous ministers who can support the emperor's administration, and I think Brother Liu is the right candidate."

Liu Xingzuo was very surprised to hear that Li Yi in front of him had a close relationship with the emperor. When he heard that the emperor urgently needed to promote a group of talents, he was likely to agree. He couldn't help but feel extremely excited and said quickly: "Is this true, Mr. Li?"

Li Yi smiled and said: "Brother Liu, if you don't believe it, you can go to Governor Yuan and Sun Gong of Gaoyang to ask."

Seeing Li Yi's confidence and publicity, Liu Xingzuo half believed him and asked: "The Gaoyang Sun Gong you are talking about is Sun Chengzong, the former governor of Jiliao?"

Li Yi nodded and said: "It's the master."

"Are you actually a disciple of Sun Gong?" Liu Xingzuo knew Sun Chengzong's name very well. When Sun Chengzong ran the Guanningjin Defense Line, he planned to block the way out for gold and trap Nurhachi to death, which made Nurhaci worried and did not dare to provoke him. He was in

Later Jin also often heard that Nurhachi mentioned Sun Chengzong's name.

Now knowing that Li Yi is a disciple of Sun Chengzong, Liu Xingzuo has completely trusted Li Yi and sighed: "When I escaped from the Donglu army and defected to Mao Wenlong, I just wanted to help the emperor conquer the Donglu and rescue the Han people in Liaodong. I thought I was familiar with the Tatars

I should be reused in the matter of captives, but it is a pity that I have not been reused by the court for a long time. Mao Wenlong and other Dongjiang faction also rejected me. If Mr. Li can really recommend me to the emperor, I will be grateful."

After speaking, Liu Xingzuo stood up and bowed.

Li Yi quickly held Liu Xingzuo's hands and said: "Brother Liu worked hard for the Han people in Liaodong and was loyal to the Ming Dynasty and to the emperor. I will definitely report this feeling to the Ming Emperor."

Liu Xingzuo was overjoyed when he heard this and said, "Brother Li, I really can't repay you for your kindness."

The two sat down again. After the heart-to-heart talk just now, the relationship between them has become much closer.

Li Yi thought for a moment and then said: "To be honest, I came to Dongjiang Town this time on the emperor's order to investigate Mao Wenlong."

"Investigating Mao Wenlong?" Liu Xingzuo was stunned for a moment, and then said with a face full of surprise: "Does the Emperor already know about the exchange of letters between Mao Wenlong and Huang Taiji?"

Li Yi nodded and said: "With the betrayal of North Korea, Dongjiang Town under the command of Mao Wenlong has become the last force of the Ming Dynasty to contain the Donglu. Although Mao Wenlong previously escorted the Donglu envoys who went to persuade them to surrender back to Beijing, Jin Yiwei kept reporting, saying

The correspondence between Mao Wenlong and Huang Taiji has not ended. If Mao Wenlong rebels, not only Liaodong will be in danger, but Shandong will also be in danger. This matter is a major event that shakes the country. The emperor is also worried, so he specially sent me to investigate this matter."

Liu Xingzuo was silent for a while and said: "Although Mao Wenlong has never trusted me and has not allowed me to participate in important military strategies, my subordinates in Donglu told me that Mao Wenlong and Huang Taiji have indeed been exchanging letters. Huang Taiji has now conquered North Korea.

Chahar was defeated, but if Mao Wenlong, who was constantly harassing his rear, was not eliminated, Huang Taiji would not be able to attack the Ming Dynasty with confidence."

Li Yi said: "You mean, Huang Taiji really wants to conquer Mao Wenlong?"

Liu Xingzuo shook his head and said in a deep voice: "Mao Wenlong will not completely surrender to Huang Taiji. His family members, nephews and nephews were all killed by Donglu, and he also frequently massacred Zhu Shen. It can be said that the hatred between Dongjiang Town and Donglu has already

Going deep into the bone marrow, Mao Wenlong cannot disappear just by taking refuge in Huang Taiji."

Li Yi frowned and said: "Brother Liu means that Mao Wenlong will not rebel?"

Liu Xingzuo shook his head again and said: "This is not necessarily true. Nowadays, everyone in Dongjiang Town is Mao Wenlong's confidant. Deputy Commander-in-Chief Mao Chenglu is his adopted son. Geng Zhongming, Kong Youde and others are his adopted grandchildren. If Mao Wenlong wants to be independent, he only needs to

By killing the civil servants loyal to the Ming Dynasty and asking Hou Jin for protection, he can split the land and become a prince. So in my opinion, Mao Wenlong will not defect to the Donglu, but will cooperate with the Donglu, and the Donglu will conquer the mountains and seas.

After besieging the capital, he landed in Dengzhou and occupied Shandong."

Li Yi suddenly stood up and said with shock and anger: "Mao Wenlong really means this?"

This matter cannot allow Li Yi to be excited. You must know that Mao Wenlong's soldiers are sharp and Dongjiang Town is close to Shandong. If he really lands in Dengzhou and conquers Shandong, only the Shanhaiguan army can extinguish his rebels, and if

Donglu took the opportunity to knock on the pass and conquer Ningyuan, the mountain and sea line, then the capital was in danger, and the survival of the Ming Dynasty was at stake.

Liu Xingzuo quickly grabbed Li Yi and whispered: "This is just my guess."

Li Yi sat down with a solemn face and said: "Brother Liu's speculation scared me into a cold sweat. If Shandong is occupied by the rebels, and the Eastern captives conquer the mountains and seas, the Ming Dynasty will be in danger."

Liu Xingzuo also nodded and said: "It's because this matter is too important that I dare not speak lightly. I told Mr. Li today because I want Mr. Li to tell the emperor that Mao Wenlong must not push too hard and must not be unprepared."

Li Yi nodded and said: "I must tell the emperor about this. But it is still unknown whether Mao Wenlong is cooperating with Huang Taiji. I must investigate this matter clearly."

Liu Xingzuo nodded and said: "Since Brother Li values ​​​​me, I am willing to recommend me to the emperor. As long as Brother Li has a trend, I will definitely help."

With the help of Liu Xingzuo, a talent who knows the truth and reality of Houjin and Dongjiang Town, he will undoubtedly get twice the result with half the effort. Li Yi immediately said: "Thank you, Brother Liu."

On the other side, a military strategy meeting was also held in Mao Wenlong's military tent.

This time Mao Wenlong did not invite Li Yi.

Before he invited Li Yi to inspect the farmland and let him participate in military strategy, it was not that he respected or valued Li Yi, but that Li Yi was inspecting the border on behalf of the emperor. He did this to let the emperor see the Dongjiang Army through Li Yi's eyes.

He was stationed in the fields and actively fought against the Eastern Han Dynasty to restore the emperor's trust in him.

Before Yuan Chonghuan punished him like this, the emperor kept silent. Mao Wenlong was angry and felt that the emperor was already suspicious of him. Although he presented the Tartar envoy to the emperor for disposal, this was not enough to cover up his

The influence of contact with Huang Taiji.

Mao Wenlong's cloudy eyes were slightly closed. He was also worried about which path Dongjiang Town would take next.

Kong Youde and others below were discussing fiercely. This great victory of beheading more than a thousand people was very precious to the Ming Dynasty. They wanted to take this opportunity to ask the emperor to come forward and force Yuan Chonghuan to give up the blockade of Dongjiang Town and let the merchant ships

It can be re-shipped to North Korea and the Kingdom of Jin through Pi Island.

You must know that when merchant ships were trading in the past, Dongjiang Town could earn 80,000 taels of silver a month. Such a huge income disappeared because of Yuan Chonghuan. Dongjiang Town hated this supervisor with gnashing of teeth.

Mao Wenlong suddenly looked at Mao Chenglu and said, "This time Jierhalang sent troops to arrest me. Is it Huang Taiji's order?"

Mao Chenglu did not expect the commander to suddenly ask this question, and said: "It seems not. Tong Yangxing encouraged Li Yongfang to mention this matter to Jierharang. They wanted to sneak attack the commander when he came ashore and take the opportunity to report to the emperor.

Tai Chi takes credit. I didn’t expect that this sneak attack would fail, but instead we would be defeated."

Mao Wenlong was slightly silent when he heard this.

Kong Youde and others below calmed down and looked at Mao Wenlong.

They are all Mao Wenlong's adopted sons or grandsons, and they all know about the dealings between Mao Wenlong and Huang Taiji.

Kong Youde hesitated and said, "Is the commander suspecting that Huang Taiji wants to attack us again?"

Mao Youjian on the side snorted coldly and said: "Do it? I'm afraid they can't remember."

After repelling Hou Jin's siege several times in a row, Dongjiang Town was not afraid of Donglu.

Mao Wenlong said in a deep voice: "This brat Huang Taiji is much more cunning than his father. Every time he beat us, he wanted to appease us. If he failed to appease us, he would send troops to fight. In fact, they didn't get any benefits after coming and going.

How can we get an advantage? The two wars fought this year have just ended, and now there is another one, which has consumed all the weapons and armor we have stored in the past few years. Now Yuan Chonghuan does not let the merchant ships approach, and the court cannot replenish it. If

If we continue to fight like this, we may not be able to hold on any longer."

Mao Chenglu said angrily: "It's all our fault for this bastard Yuan Chonghuan. Without him, we made a lot of money, and we couldn't spend all the money in our hands. Now that we don't have this income, we will have less inventory when we go to war."

half."

Kong Youde suddenly said: "In this case, we will negotiate peace with the Donglu. If the war continues like this, we can't hold on at all. It is better to negotiate peace with the Donglu and then sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight. If the Ming Dynasty defeats the Donglu, we will be behind the scenes.

Stab the Donglu and claim credit for the Ming Dynasty. If the Donglu defeat the Ming, we will occupy Shandong and strive for world hegemony."

When the words "Strive for World Hegemony" came out, everyone felt excited and looked at Mao Wenlong.

Mao Wenlong didn't answer, but he already understood the thoughts of his group of generals. Now the world is in chaos, and military chaos is everywhere. There is a clear tendency for all heroes to rise up. These young generals in their twenties and thirties are probably very ambitious and want to fight for hegemony.

In the world, it will be quite worthy to capture a prince.

Mao Wenlong understood in his heart, but looking at his thin palms, his heart could only be filled with sadness.

Although his generals are young, he is already in his fifties. If there is an uprising at this age, the result will only be corpses in the wilderness and becoming a stepping stone for others. Therefore, he has no ambition to dominate the world, and some just want to stay out of it.

, the wish to enjoy a peaceful old age.

The Ming Dynasty was in turmoil, and he, as a military general, could only die with exhaustion and exhaustion. Compared to this, it was a good choice to cooperate with Hou Jin and stay out.

Mao Wenlong wanted to reach a reconciliation with Huang Taiji and exchange for the peace of Dongjiang Town that he would no longer frequently attack his important cities.
Chapter completed!