Zhu Youjian nodded slightly.
"Admiral Zheng is right, that's exactly what I was thinking."
He stood up, pointed to the map hanging on the wall, and said, "The Jurchens are absolutely not to be underestimated. If the court doesn't act, it will do so with all its might.
"Strive to defeat the Jurchens in one battle."
"That's why I'm going to move your fleet north to reinforce Pi Island, and then harass the Jurchens' rear in Liaodong."
"This prevented the Jurchens from taking care of both ends, and they were ultimately defeated by our Great Ming in one fell swoop."
When Zheng Yiguan heard the emperor address him as "Admiral Zheng" in person, his bones went weak.
The difference between these words coming from his own subordinates and from the emperor himself is enormous.
He didn't even hear what Zhu Youjian said next, and hurriedly nodded:
"Your Majesty, rest assured, this admiral will do his utmost to serve the Ming Dynasty."
Zhu Youjian smiled slightly after listening:
"Since you say so, Admiral, then I am relieved."
"The newly recruited troops of the imperial court will need to train for another year or two before they can leave the pass to fight against the Jurchens."
"For the time being, Admiral Zheng, you shall stay in the capital."
"I have already ordered people to find you a house in the capital, and I will bestow it upon you as a reward."
"As for your naval officers and soldiers, the Ministry of War has prepared barracks in advance."
Zheng Yiguan was deeply moved upon hearing this.
"His Majesty's considerations are indeed thorough!"
"Please rest assured, Your Majesty, I will definitely restrain my men after I return and will not allow them to cause trouble in the capital."
Zhu Youjian nodded indifferently, but when he inadvertently saw Li Zicheng at the door, his brows furrowed.
"What's this kid doing here?"
However, Zheng Yiguan misunderstood his expression.
Does His Majesty distrust my subordinates?
"But that makes sense. They're used to being pirates. If they stay in the capital for too long, they're bound to cause trouble."
After thinking for a moment, Zheng Yiguan gritted his teeth and said, "Your Majesty, I think we should send my fleet directly to Pi Island for repairs."
"It would be better to leave them in the capital."
Zhu Youjian didn't care much about these details; in his view, Zheng Chenggong was a loyal minister of the Ming Dynasty.
With such a good son like him around, there's no need to worry about Zheng Yiguan rebelling again.
So he casually said, "Then I'll listen to Admiral Zheng."
Zheng Yiguan bowed gratefully once more.
"Thank you for your trust, Your Majesty! Please rest assured, Your Majesty, when the court comes to punish the Jurchens, I will do my utmost and die for it."
He had memorized these two sentences before entering the palace, just to flatter the emperor.
However, the advisor he found was unreliable. These two sentences were said by Prime Minister Zhuge Liang, and when Zheng Yiguan said them, they sounded somewhat inappropriate.
Fortunately, Zhu Youjian did not investigate further.
He gestured for Zheng Yiguan to leave before calling Li Zicheng in.
"Why are you here instead of attending class?"
Zhu Youjian said to Li Zicheng with a smile.
Zhu Youjian felt no anger towards this future enemy; instead, he regarded him as a classmate and friend.
Li Zicheng was not at all shy.
"Your Majesty, I've brought you something nice!"
He stepped aside, revealing the cannonballs he had just brought to Zhu Youjian.
"Your Majesty, look, these are the rain-summoning projectiles that Mr. Gao just gave us..."
Li Zicheng briefly recounted what had just happened to Zhu Youjian.
The conclusion was: "According to you, this thing should be able to achieve artificial rain simply by being launched into the air."
Upon hearing this, Zhu Youjian's eyes lit up instantly: "Is that really what Master Gao said?"
Li Zicheng quickly replied, "Your Majesty, I would never dare to lie to you. Besides, my classmates heard everything clearly."
"If you really don't believe me, you can go ask them."
Zhu Youjian waved his hand.
"It's not that I don't believe it, it's just that this is like a pillow coming out of a drowsy pillow."
He sighed.
"A little over half of the first year of Chongzhen's reign has passed, and as a result, the entire north, especially Beizhili, has hardly seen a drop of rain."
“Some people in the court are already whispering in secret, saying that it is because I lack virtue that God has sent down this calamity.”
At this point, he snorted a few more times.
"What do you mean they lack virtue? They are clearly pleading for the Donglin Party and the gentry of Jiangnan!"
"These people don't dare to speak out openly, but they gossip behind people's backs!"
"I was originally thinking that if all else failed, I would ask Master Gao to cheat me and have him tell me in advance which day it would rain, and then I would pretend to pray for rain."
"It'll be good to teach those bastards a lesson."
"But to my surprise, Master Gao actually took the initiative to send over these rain-praying cannonballs..."
He abruptly stopped speaking and turned to look at Li Zicheng seriously.
"Tell me again, how did Master Gao come up with the idea of giving me this cannonball?"
"Is this really just a coincidence? Could it be that Master Gao foresaw my predicament and deliberately helped me?"
Li Zicheng instinctively wanted to shake his head, but after thinking about it, he also felt that Zhu Youjian's words made sense.
"What kind of person is Mr. Gao? He must have a purpose in everything he says and does."
"Could it be... that he really is a shrewd strategist, deliberately using Xiao Zheng to bring up this matter in order to help His Majesty the Emperor?"
He wasn't sure anymore.
He could only cautiously reply, "Well... I don't know."
Zhu Youjian clapped his hands suddenly: "It must be Master Gao who offered to help me!"
"I never expected Master Gao to treat me like this."
A look of emotion appeared in his eyes.
Then he put on a fierce expression.
"Hmph, since Master Gao is on my side, then I shall put on a good show!"
"Little Li, you should go back first. I need to make some arrangements."
"When the time comes, I will naturally send someone to summon you and have you come to fire the cannons to pray for rain."
Li Zicheng shook his head inwardly: "It seems that another minister in the court is about to suffer misfortune."
However, this matter had nothing to do with him, so he didn't say much.
"Then Your Majesty can just call me when the time comes."
After Li Zicheng left, Zhu Youjian sat back on the dragon throne and began to ponder.
It was a long time before he looked up again.
"Someone, convey the imperial decree to the Ministry of Rites."
"Tell him that I am deeply saddened by the severe drought in the land and plan to go out of the city to pray for rain in three days."
"At that time, all civil and military officials will accompany him."
Zhu Youjian's edict spread quickly, and the officials all felt something was amiss after hearing it.
"What is the emperor trying to do? Why is he suddenly asking for rain?"
"Isn't it because of the severe drought that the young emperor couldn't sit still any longer!"
"Hmph, that's true. If the emperor doesn't practice virtuous governance and competes with the people for profit, it's no wonder that Heaven punishes him."
Some ministers disagreed with this.
"Although the practice of praying for rain has existed since ancient times, it is nothing more than superstition and supernatural phenomena."
"If the young emperor tries to pray for rain in the middle of the night, he will probably only embarrass himself."
"All the prestige he's worked so hard to build up is about to vanish!"
Only Bi Ziyan had a strange expression.
"The emperor is not a reckless person. The fact that he dared to pray for rain and had all his officials accompany him shows that he was confident in his plan."
"The last time we went out of the city to welcome Li Ruolian and Qin Liangyu's army, the celestial phenomena were very strange."
"Won't it be like this again this time?"
A thought struck him, and a smile appeared on his lips.
"If that's the case, then the emperor's authority might actually increase considerably."
"Even the common people will feel that His Majesty has been chosen by Heaven."
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