Xie Ming

On the eve of Emperor Hongguang's death, in the warm pavilion beside the front court of the Hangzhou Imperial Palace, Ma Shiying plotted his own survival in the face of imminent danger.

He gathered Qiu Weizhen, the leader of the Southern Party, and took advantage of the situation to try to coerce the Grand Secretary into launching an uprising to seize power.

When the conversation reached the northern army, Minister Ma interrupted and explained the situation.

His words were harsh and his wolfish ambitions were obvious.

Upon hearing this and observing the situation, Qiu Weizhen narrowed his eyes and stared intently, his eyes filled with disbelief.

"Uh, you"

"Keeping a death a secret is not so easy to do," the old man said piercingly, his words sharp and scathing.

"Whether it succeeds or not, life goes on."

"If the successors can't hold out, and Xiao Jingchuan finds out about this, I'm afraid..."

"You're playing with fire!"

Qiu Weizhen said that it was difficult to persuade him, so he first laid out some ugly things to say.

Unexpectedly, seeing his timid and hesitant demeanor, Ma Shiying became even more anxious.

Thinking that he was an old fox who was too sentimental in his actions, I decided to just lay all my cards on the table.

"Oh my, Your Excellency!"

"have to."

"At this critical juncture, things have already come to this point."

“Even if it involves something, and it’s a secret, even if it’s taboo, I can’t keep it a secret any longer.”

Ma Shiying is a good actor, and he portrays a character who is determined to fight to the death.

Seeing this, Qiu Weizhen remained unmoved and simply stared at him.

"Oh?" Qiu asked.

"Sigh," Ma continued, taking over the table.

"This actually took about a month."

"When His Majesty was still lucid during the wedding ceremony, I received a secret edict," Ma Chu exclaimed in surprise.

"kindness?"

"What do you mean?" Qiu Wen asked, surprised, and raised an eyebrow in response.

Seeing that it was effective, Ma Shiying decisively moved closer, glancing left and right with a timid attitude, and spoke concisely and directly.

“Zheng Zhilong, Quanzhou Prefecture, Fujian!” Ma Yu.

Upon hearing this, Qiu Weizhen was truly taken aback.

"hiss--"

"This Zheng."

I gasped, sensing things were about to get worse, and lost all patience to maintain my composure.

Qiu Weizhen, unusually so, asked urgently and seriously.

Ma Shiying's eyes lit up, and he quickly answered.

"Ugh"

"Your Excellency, to be honest, His Majesty has already realized the truth of the matter."

"Just think about it, Xiao Jingchuan, who holds a large army and has wolfish ambitions, is about to be out of control."

"You and I are anxious, but isn't His Majesty anxious?"

"Ah, for the sake of balancing the battle formations."

"They went to great lengths."

"At present, the likes of the Four Towns of Huaibei, Huang Degong, Liu Liangzuo, and Zeqing have all vanished like bubbles."

"Therefore, he deliberately and secretly selected and won over a force led by Zheng Zhilong, the Fujian General, and personally issued a secret edict ordering them to raise an army as soon as possible, sail north by sea, and come to Hangzhou to defend the emperor!"

"At the first sign of trouble, we will devise a plan to lure the Duke of Jingguo back to the capital alone and kill him on the spot."

"Only in this way can everything be brought back under control!"

Ma Shiying devised a plan, his expression resolute, and he clenched his fist to show his determination.

But Qiu Weizhen, on the other hand, was clearly astonished and suspicious, and waved his hand dismissively, not believing a word.

"Uh, this"

"No, it's impossible."

"Yaocao, in this critical time, you must not make a mistake, fabricate stories, or deceive this old man!"

At this moment, Grand Secretary Qiu not only did not believe that the Hongguang Emperor would act in this way, but also suspected that Ma Shiying was taking advantage of the chaos to do something shady. Therefore, he stood up to refute him, hoping to see if he could reveal some clues to identify the suspicious behavior.

But who would have thought that Ma Shiying was also a seasoned player of charades?

"Oh dear, my esteemed minister, you..."

"What time is it? You still don't trust me?" she interrupted, trying to salvage the situation.

"It was the last time, the Chen family poisoned wine case. At that time, His Majesty already realized that the situation was out of control."

"So I kept this idea in mind." "The reason I was specifically asked to mediate is because I had some past connections with Zheng Zhilong."

"The size is familiar."

"That's why this matter has been brought to my attention." He spread his hands, looking helpless. What a pretentious act.

"Originally, with such strict precautions, His Majesty probably didn't expect things to go so badly in such a short time."

"Look at the current situation."

Finally, he passed the question to Qiu Weizhen to gauge his attitude.

After hearing this, Grand Secretary Qiu fell silent for a moment.

He remained silent, not in a hurry to express his opinion, but in his heart he was also making plans for himself.

Seeing that he remained silent, Ma Shiying had no choice but to continue trying to persuade him.

"Your Excellency," he said earnestly.

"Think about it, Zheng Zhilong, who called himself that, also had hundreds of thousands of soldiers."

"Moreover, they have long been entrenched in the Fujian area, and their forces are renowned for their naval strength."

"Given the current situation, if we can persuade him to lead his troops north..."

"By sea, one can enter Jinshan and Shaoxing, and go straight to the mouth of the Qiantang River."

"We have the flexibility to advance or retreat as we see fit."

"At that time, if the heavens change, we may advance and launch a northern expedition to capture Huzhou and Jiaxing."

"Taking over part of Xiao Jun's troops while the situation is favorable is not impossible."

"Of course, even if this hadn't happened."

"At that time, internal and external turmoil will occur, and the situation will become uncontrollable and completely chaotic. We will also be unable to resist the Northern Army."

"We're not afraid."

“After the day is over, one can also take the sea route directly to Fujian.”

"That place is easy to defend and difficult to attack."

"The Qing cavalry were fierce and brave, and difficult to contend with."

"But the navy can still roam the lakes and seas; it is still our world."

"Looking at the battle situation right before your eyes, haven't you figured it out yet?"

"What do you mean Xiao Jun is powerful and capable of great use?"

"It was only by relying on the natural barrier of the Yangtze River that they managed to survive and gain military merit through trickery."

"As long as the imperial court can rely on Zheng Zhilong's Fujian navy to form a powerful force in the Hangzhou area."

"Even if Xiao Junma were here, he wouldn't be able to stop us."

"Just in case, my Lord Qiu."

Taking advantage of the situation, Ma Shiying seized upon the matter and, with his silver tongue, continued to bewitch Qiu Weizhen.

"Alas," Ma sighed again.

"I just didn't expect it."

"Your Majesty's decision is wise and decisive, but fate is not on our side."

"Before General Zheng Zhilong of Fujian arrived, the Emperor and the Third Prince had already..." He glanced again.

Sure enough, the story was so detailed and convincing that even the cunning Qiu was momentarily swayed and began to have doubts.

Following the lead of the conversation, he also pressed for more information.

"This"

"Zheng Zhilong, Zheng Zhilong"

"This man has been based in Fujian for a long time and has been operating there for a long time. If I remember correctly, this man seems to be from Quanzhou, Fujian."

"The family businesses are all located there."

"If we don't send troops to get involved and remain neutral, acting as local bullies, the flames of war probably won't reach their corner of the country for a while, or even three to five years."

"Even if the Ming Dynasty falls, as long as they are willing to submit, the Qing Dynasty and the Jurchens probably won't do anything to them."

"Yao Cao, everything has its pros and cons."

"Especially such a matter of life and death."

"Even if what you've said is all plausible, what makes you think this person would easily send troops to get involved in this mess?"

Qiu Weizhen's words hit the nail on the head, directly addressing the core of the motive.

The retort left Ma Shiying speechless for a moment, stunned on the spot.

It is said that wine must be aged to be fragrant, and ginger must be old to be spicy.

"Uh, this"

"Your Excellency, you are overthinking this."

(End of this chapter)