"An opportunity to quickly take over Shandong?" Zhu Guobi was skeptical: "Where is the opportunity? Why can't I see it?"
The Royal Guard took two steps forward again and lowered his voice: "According to reliable information, the four states and eleven counties of Yanzhou Prefecture in Shandong, the two states and three counties of Dongchang Prefecture, and the one state and four counties of Qingzhou Prefecture; the main civil and military officials in the city have all been taken away by the East Factory or the Royal Guard."
"They were all taken away? That's impossible!" Zhu Guobi didn't believe it at all.
The two sides were at war, and Shandong was the front line of the war.
Even if those officials are guilty, considering the current situation they should be allowed to make meritorious contributions instead of arresting them at the critical moment.
The Jinyiwei reached out and took out a stack of letter papers and said: "It is absolutely true. How dare I speak nonsense about such an important matter? This is the news sent by the Jinyiwei lurking in various cities."
Zhu Guobi took the letter and checked it one by one.
The above content is indeed that officials from various places were taken away in groups recently.
There was no leader in the city, so the army could take the city without bloodshed once they arrived.
Zhu Guobi began to doubt.
He first suspected that it was a trap set by the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
After a moment he shook his head to deny the guess.
Deliberately losing one or two cities could be considered a trap.
The East Depot and the Imperial Guard cannot bear the responsibility for losing so many cities at the same time.
But if it wasn't a trap, why would the Jinyiwei and Dongchang arrest people on the battlefield?
And so many people were arrested suddenly.
Whose orders were they following?
Chongzhen’s order?
That doesn't make sense.
As the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Chongzhen must have quelled the rebellion as quickly as possible instead of deliberately losing cities and territories.
Wang Chengen’s order?
That's impossible.
The slogan of the Nanjing court when sending troops was to purge the court of corrupt officials.
He and Xie Sanbin were the targets of purge.
In order to avoid being liquidated, they had to hold the front line and even counterattack Nanjing.
What is going on?
Zhu Guobi frowned and thought.
Others also began to ponder, with different expressions.
After a long time, Zhu Guobi slapped his thigh and said, "No matter whether it is a trap or not, let's send out the troops and try it first."
Liu Kongzhao and Xu Wenjue nodded at the same time: "Yes, let's give it a try."
In order to test the truth, Zhu Guobi ordered the troops to be divided.
Part of the troops continued to besiege Jining, but they did not attack.
The rest of the troops rushed towards Yanzhou as quickly as possible.
The defenders of Yanzhou City did not want to surrender.
But the Eastern Depot suddenly arrested all their superiors.
The soldiers were leaderless and very dissatisfied.
In retaliation, they simply opened the city gates and surrendered.
After Zhu Guobi captured Yanzhou, he rushed to Qufu without stopping.
The same situation is in Qufu.
When the defenders saw the flag of the "Loyal Army", they immediately opened the city and surrendered.
The army captured Qufu without bloodshed.
That afternoon, Zhu Guobi set up camp outside the city.
He did not enter the city, but sent a team of soldiers to look for people in the city.
After entering the city, the soldiers first asked the people for directions, and then followed the instructions to the gate of Yanshenggong Mansion.
The gate of the Yanshenggong Mansion was closed. Although the road outside the gate was clean, it gave people a very desolate feeling.
A soldier stepped forward and knocked on the door: "Open the door, open the door."
With a creak, the door opened a crack.
A servant showed half of his face and looked at him, then asked in a low voice, "Is there anything wrong, sir?"
The soldier clasped his hands together and said respectfully, "Our lord would like to invite Mr. Kong to the military camp outside the city for tea."
The Mr. Kong here refers to Kong Xingxie (xiè), the son of Kong Yinzhi, Duke of Yansheng.
Although Duke Yansheng Kong Yinzhi was dead, the charge of surrendering to the enemy still remained.
Because the nature of this matter is too bad.
Therefore, the imperial court never allowed his son Kong Xingxie to inherit the title of Duke Yansheng.
Considering Kong Xingxie's status, the soldiers called him "Sir" instead of "Sir" or "Master".
The servant of the Yanshenggong Mansion asked, "Who is the master you are talking about?"
The soldier replied: "The commander of the Eastern Route Army of the Qinwang Army is Zhu Guobi, Marquis of Funing."
"Our master is ill and cannot leave the city."
"Lord Zhu has instructed us to invite Mr. Kong out of the city for a chat. If we fail to invite Mr. Kong, we will all die."
Seeing the soldiers' aggressive look, the servant knew that this matter was not easy to fool, so he could only go in and report.
Kong Xingxie was not surprised at all.
He packed up briefly and followed the soldiers out of the city to Zhu Guobi's tent.
When you open the door curtain, the aroma of tea fills your nose.
Zhu Guobi and Xu Wenjue immediately stood up and clasped their hands together: "Mr. Kong, how are you?"
Kong Xingxie also clasped his hands together and said, "You two are too polite. I don't deserve it."
After a few pleasantries, they sat down.
Zhu Guobi got straight to the point and said, "I have something to ask of you. I wonder if Mr. Kong can help me?"
Kong Xingxie smiled bitterly, having already guessed what Zhu Guobi was thinking.
Zhu Guobi had only two purposes: he came for money or for himself.
Zhu Guobi blinked: "Mr. Kong doesn't want to help?"
Kong Xingxie said expressionlessly: "Master Zhu, just speak directly. I will help if I can, but I will not be able to help if I cannot."
"Okay." Zhu Guobi was very satisfied with Kong Xingxie's attitude. He personally poured a cup of tea for Kong Xingxie, "Mr. Kong, please have some tea!"
Kong Xingxie didn't hesitate to pick up the teacup and started to sip the tea.
“Good tea, good tea!”
Zhu Guobi raised the corner of his mouth slightly with a smile: "This is the Longjing tea given by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. Since Mr. Kong has drunk the Crown Prince's tea, he must do the Crown Prince a favor."
Kong Xingxie's face flickered, knowing that he had been tricked by Zhu Guobi.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
