At the end of May, the matter of Zhou Shixiang's upcoming troops to lead the Northern Expedition had spread all over the country. Spies came and went from time to time along the Yangtze River to spread the military information of the Southern Capital to the north. After the Qing court learned the news, the whole court was panicked, but he was helpless, so he had to urge Oboi to drive the rebels of Wu Sangui out of the Central Plains as soon as possible, and then resist the Northern Expedition of Taiping Army.

On May 27, Yuan Kuoyu, the Grand Secretary of Jinshen Palace, wrote a letter to Emperor Dingwu, and invited "Huang Yue" to King Zhou Shi of Qi.

"Huang Yue" is an axe decorated with gold, which was used exclusively by emperors of all dynasties. Only the important officials were conquered by the emperor, and the emperor gave it to him, which was the intention of going to the emperor on his way.

Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, there has been no such thing as Huang Yue. If a minister goes to war, he will give Shangfang Sword to show that he will instead of the emperor to conquer the war. Those who hold Shangfang Sword have no power to deal with any officials on weekdays, nor have the power to kill civilians, but in wartime, they can kill criminals and officials below the fifth rank, which is said to be "dead first and report later."

If both sides hold the Shangfang Sword, neither side has the power to deal with each other and needs to report to the court to deal with it. At that time, Yuan Chonghuan was criticized by the government and the public because he was arbitrarily killing Mao Wenlong, who also held the Shangfang Sword, and eventually buried a disaster in the future.

Compared with Shangfang Jian, Huang Yue has extremely powerful authority and can deal with any official at any time and anywhere without reporting to the emperor. In other words, if a fake Huang Yue has the power of the emperor, it is equivalent to that of the emperor, and its significance is great.

Therefore, after Jiashen, even if the situation in the Southern Ming Dynasty became increasingly critical, Huang Yue was not given. Until the Qing army entered Yunnan, Kunming was in danger. Zhu Youlang, Yongli, was forced to give Huang Yue of Li Dingguo due to the situation.

After Yongli's death, the Huang Yue in Li Dingguo's hand no longer had the power to conquer the emperor. Since Dingwu ascended the throne, he only gave the Emperor Zhou Shixiang's sword, but Huang Yue did not give it because Huang Yue was too important. He must not give it to his ministers, because all the ministers holding Huang Yue were the last ones.

Now, Yuan Kuoyu, a recognized core member of the Zhou party in the court and the opposition, requested Emperor Dingwu to give Huang Yue to Zhou Shi, which made people have to doubt the motive behind it. Some people even believe that this is to build momentum for Zhou Shi to be called emperor - first fake Huang Yue, then add nine tins, and finally take Ming Yuan.

The chief assistant Guo Zhiqi opposed giving Zhou Shixiang a fake Huang Yue to go to the battle. He said to the scholars in the cabinet: "The King of Qi will go to the battle on behalf of the emperor, and you can give Shangfang sword, and there is no need to give Huang Yue."

Emperor Dingwu also left Yuan Kuoyu's memorial to be left unpublished. Although he had not expressed any opinion on this memorial, his attitude of staying unpublished has shown that the emperor was unwilling to give Huang Yue at all.

Soon, the Grand Secretary Ding Zhixiang, who led the delegation back to Nandu, Zhang Changgeng, Minister of Works of the Ministry of Works, Fugang, Minister of the Ministry of Education, Yang Zai and others also wrote letters to Emperor Dingwu, asking the emperor to give Huang Yue to King Qi to serve the Northern Expedition.

In less than three days, the Nandu asked the King of Qi to request Huang Yue as many as 167 memorials. Six departments of the cabinet, the Grand Governor's Office, and more than half of the officials of the Palace Affairs Council supported the King of Qi to fake Huang Yue.

However, when Emperor Dingwu still refused to accept the situation when most of the important officials of the court were for Zhou Shiqi.

Soon, the tide of asking for Huang Yue in the southern capital quickly spread to various places and became more and more intense. In early June, the governors and governors of various provinces wrote letters, pointing out that the Northern Expedition was about to be imminent. In order to allow the King of Qi to specialize in expeditions, restore the former capital, and expel the Tartars, the court needed to grant Huang Yue. It was exempted from the King of Qi's Northern Expedition when he was exempted from the fact that he had a small feast to destroy the great cause of the Northern Expedition.

The statements of the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, the governor of Guangxi, the governor of Guangxi, the governor of Guangxi, the governor of Hunan, the governor of Fujian, the governor of Fujian, the governor of Jiangsu, Jiang Guozhu, the governor of Anhui, and the governor of Jiangxi, Li Zhicui and other local governors made the trend of asking Huang Yue reach its peak.

On June 9th, King Li Dingguo of Jin, who had never spoken out since he returned to the country, and King Bai Wenxuan of Gongchang, jointly wrote a letter to Emperor Dingwu, asking for a fake Huang Yue of King Qi.

Prince Zheng Xi of Fujian had invited Huang Yue for the King of Qi a few days ago with the court officials. Prince Shun Li Laiheng was attacking and opening the feudal line, and he had no idea what happened in Nandu, so he did not write a letter.

Zheng Xi's letter may not shock the world too much, but Li Dingguo's letter was extremely heavy, so the chief assistant Guo Zhiqi had to go to the palace to meet Emperor Dingwu. The monarch and minister discussed whether it was given to Zhou Shixiang Huang Yue.

The incident of powerful ministers fighting for Huang Yue in Nandu cannot be concealed by the Qing court and other forces.

Sony and others were very grateful to learn that the monarch and ministers in the south were in a stalemate, because as long as the monarch and ministers continued to stalemate, the less pressure the Qing court would be under. As long as the Northern Expedition of the Taiping Army was delayed, the Qing court would have a chance to get a breather.

Wu Sangui also received news from Nandu. He said to his eldest son Wu Yingxiong and his adviser Fang Xianting: "The thief scholar finally showed his wolfish ambitions. If the King of Tang did not want to wait for death, this Huang Yue would never be given."

Fang Xianting said, "What the prince said is. I heard that the thief scholar created a major case in Jiangnan and killed officials and gentlemen indiscriminately. Because of his words, he had long been unpopular. The reason why his power was arrogant was nothing more than relying on the strong army in his hands. However, if there is no official weapon in his hands, the thief scholar would be unable to make up for what he did. If he holds Huang Yue, the effect would be different. I think the thief scholar did not ask Huang Yue for the sake of the Northern Expedition, but he was actually afraid of asking Huang Yue. If the Tang King did not want to be usurped by the thief scholar, Huang Yue would never be given."

"It depends on whether King Tang can persevere to the end."

Wu Sangui was a little upset. The battle between the monarch and ministers in the Nandu was lively. He originally hoped that the thief scholar could destroy the Ming Dynasty and become independent. In this way, he could continue to support the Ming Dynasty or become independent. No matter which one of them was chosen, it was natural. However, the battle situation was not smooth now, there was no progress on the front line, and the food and grass were consumed incredible. If this continued, he might not be able to compete for the Central Plains.

While everyone's eyes were gathering in Nandu, waiting to see who was the final winner of the battle for Huang Yue, the person involved, Zhou Shixiang, had already left Nandu quietly.

No one knew when Zhou Shixiang left Nandu, and why he left Beijing when his confidants fought for Huang Yue for him.

Zhou Shixiang came to Suzhou, and the New Third Army, one of the five main forces, was in Suzhou. After meeting with Jiangsu Governor Jiang Guozhu in secret, Zhou Shixiang left Suzhou City and headed to Baimao Town, the garrison of the Ninth Town of the New Third Army, in Changshu. This place is across the river from Chongming Island.

The commander of the Fifth War Zone, Tie Yi, the commander of the New Third Army, Li Kuangming, the commander of the New Third Army, Zhu Qinglai and other generals all secretly came to Baimao with Zhou Shixiang. The command organization of the Fifth War Zone has been moved here. Within a few days, the Fifth War Zone will be responsible for the important task of the New Second Army and the New Third Army's maritime transportation.

Now, except for the officers above the town general, the people below do not know that their general has come secretly and will personally lead them to the Northern Expedition.

Zhou Shixiang was also helpless. Although the Military Information Department and various places were very effective in arresting the Qing Dynasty, such a big thing as the Northern Expedition would definitely not be hidden from the Qing court. Therefore, he instructed Yuan Kuoyu to write a letter to Huang Yue, creating the illusion that the monarch and ministers were stalemate and the Northern Expedition would not last long.

This is also a strategic deception.

At present, the illusion of Nandu attracted the attention of the Qing court and achieved success. Next, Zhou Shixiang wanted to appear in Liaodong, Ningjin, and Shanhaiguan before they could react.

In June, the temperature in Jiangnan is very high during the day and it is unbearable. So after dark, Zhou Shixiang and his generals walked out of the camp and walked to the river embankment. Standing on the river embankment, the wind from the Yangtze River blew on their bodies, making people extremely cool.

"Master General, the New Second Army will arrive in Chongming tomorrow. The East China Sea Navy has mobilized more than 100 ships. According to the plan, our 50,000 main army will be transported north in two batches, and then enter the Liaodong waters through Laizhou, occupy Dongjiang and other places before launching an attack on North Korea. After forcing North Korea to surrender, it will quickly land in southern Liaoning, capture Shengjing and Liaoyang, and cut off Ningjin."

Tie Yi reported to Zhou Shixiang in detail the specific plan for the northward battle in the Fifth War Zone. Zhou Shixiang nodded from time to time and interjected from time to time to ask for details. As he was speaking, he saw a fire dragon suddenly appeared from east to west on the forest of the long river embankment in the distance, which was more than ten miles long, and looked quite spectacular.

"What is the Ninth Town doing?"

Zhou Shixiang frowned, wondering what the officers and soldiers of the Ninth Town do in the woods at night. Could it be that the training intensity during the day is not enough, and they still have to train at night?

Li Kuangming didn't know what the Ninth Town was doing, so he hurriedly asked someone to find Jude, the Ninth Town general.

Jude came over and explained: "Master, this is the last general to organize the soldiers to capture the cicadas."

"Catch the cicada?"

Zhou Shixiang and Li Kuangming were both stunned: Why are you catching this thing?

"The general doesn't know anything. The cicada is very delicious and full. It's all meat. The soldiers train in high intensity during the day and provide less meat. So I organized them to catch cicadas to eat, which can replenish a lot of energy."

Jude was a little nervous when he spoke, afraid that the commander and the commander would scold him for not doing his job, but he had no choice. Now that the country is poor, it is impossible to provide big fish and meat every time. The soldiers are all strong men. If the food is not enough, they will have no energy to train. Therefore, he thought of the cicadas that he often ate when he was a child. He thought that no matter how young the sparrow is, it will be meat. So he organized the officers and soldiers to catch cicadas at night, then fry them in oil, sprinkle some fine salt and fragrant powder, and eat them one by one so delicious.

After hearing Jude's explanation, Li Kuangming's expression was a little slow. Zhou Shixiang did not scold Jude for not doing his job properly, but asked him how to catch cicadas. Jude said that he would climb out of the soil at night and then climb up a tree to remove the shells. It was very easy to catch. After catching it, soak it in water, and the cicadas would not be able to remove the shells. When they picked it up, they were all meat dumplings, which tasted better than big fat meat.

"Well, it's also an innovation."
Chapter completed!