When he returned to Anqing, Zhou Peigong was filled with worries. Jiang Guozhu had already claimed that he was scheduled to set out on July 15th in half a month to swallow Jiangxi in one bite; and Zhang Chao was also drawing troops from the south and west of Jiangxi to gather in Jiujiang, determined to defeat Jiang Guozhu's military invasion and counterattack on the ground in Jiangnan. Now Nanjing and Nanchang are attacking each other as the Qing traitor who was "Tong Deng", and are having a lot of fun fighting.

A few days after returning, Soetu's secret letter was sent, saying that Zhao Guozuo secretly reported to Beijing, and Geng Jingzhong seemed to secretly gather troops in southern Zhejiang, and wanted to spy on Zhejiang. While secretly reporting to the court, Zhao Guozuo also urgently met with Zhuang Tingyue, the son of the former commander of the Jingnan Army, a graduate of the Sichuan Military Academy's infringement, and is currently the commander of Zhejiang security. If Zhejiang really encounters an invasion, Zhao Guozuo hopes that Zhuang Tingyue will fight side by side with Hangzhou to resist foreign humiliation for the sake of the elders of Zhejiang, and hopes that Zhuang Tingyue will immediately send a security team in northern Zhejiang to the Zhejiang and Fujian borders.

"Within three days, Zhejiang's stocks should have plummeted, right?" Zhou Peigong saw halfway through the letter, so he stopped first, ordered the Deng Zongli Yamen to immediately sell out the stocks related to Zhejiang, and instructed his staff to study the short-term investment strategy of Zhejiang options. If the Soetu cannot be kept confidential, then Zhou Peigong needs to act quickly to avoid damage to the interests of the yamen; if the Soetu is done well, then Zhou Peigong is the first person to trade with insider information, and he will definitely make a big profit - so whether the Soetu is confidential or not, Zhou Peigong's choice is the best solution.

Moreover, Zhou Peigong leaked the secrets with confidence because he had been cheated by others. Besides, with Suo Xiang's talent and his years of experience in cheating people and being cheated, we must have expected that Zhou Peigong would leak the secrets as soon as he saw this secret letter. It is estimated that Suo Xiang must be fully prepared. Zhou Peigong knew that he did not have to worry about Suo Xiang at all, let alone feel guilty or any other psychological burden.

After completing the leak, Zhou Peigong continued to read Soetu's letter. The other party asked the general Deng to suppress Deng to maintain a good situation of stability and unity in the country, and not allow ambitious families like Jiang Guozhu and Geng Jingzhong to succeed. If Zhang Chao intends to counterattack Jiangnan after winning the battle of defense of Jiangxi, he must firmly stop it.

Zhou Peigong knew very well that Soetu and the senior officials of the court were all in mind, that was to keep the position of the Qing Dynasty as the common ruler of the Qing Dynasty and continue to wait for the opportunity. The two battles in the fourth and sixth year of Kangxi made the Manchu Taijun understand that Chengdu would definitely not be able to beat, but as long as the status quo and avoid a warlord standing out, Beijing could ensure that the current position was second only to Chengdu and second in the world. If Deng Ming suddenly died and his subordinates began to have a large-scale internal strife, then naturally, the "Qing Dynasty" would be unified for thousands of years; if Deng Ming was still strong, the Manchu Taijun could sell the land that had been stolen in the past few decades and the people were selling Deng Ming a good price. If the world was in chaos and the Qing court lost its position as the common ruler, the Eight Banners and the nobles group could sell a lot less goods. In short, maintaining the status quo is very important.

However, Soetu also said that Beijing could not provide much help to suppress Deng Zongli Yamen for the time being, because the emperor was still making noises. Although the Manchu princes all accepted their fate and began to cooperate with Deng Ming to dump the Qing Dynasty's property, the emperor was unwilling to let his property be sold out by his subordinates, and now he is still trying to make trouble for everyone. The emperor also has his news channels and forces loyal to the royal family. After hearing that Geng Fan was unstable, the emperor was so excited that he couldn't sleep. He wrote secret letters to Geng Jingzhong overnight, praising his loyalty to the country. He also wrote letters to Guangzhou and Guilin, asking the princes to help him attack Tong Deng's governor-the first few letters were intercepted by the court, but later he heard that the emperor sent eunuchs to put on makeup and took secret letters away from the palace and went south.

In Soetu's words, Emperor Kangxi was deliberately trying to create a "Three Feudal Rebellion". Now everyone is trying to appease the emperor and beg this master not to make trouble again. Not long ago, the queen told the emperor that the emperor had lost a lot of money for futures speculation. After Soetu reported this to Jieshu, Prince Kang took the lead in private and asked everyone who made profits by speculating on insider information to take out some money to compensate the emperor. But the progress was not very smooth. These speculative Manchu Taijun were crying and poor, and swearing to Prince Kang that they didn't earn much, and even wives and children were waiting for this life-saving money to get medicine and eat.

As long as Jiang Guozhu or Geng Jingzhong really brazenly provoke an armed conflict, Soetu guarantees that the court will overcome the emperor's obstruction and declare them to be "Tong Deng" rebels. However, in the military, Soetu is powerless and can only place hopes on Zhou Peigong to maintain the dignity and stability of the Qing Dynasty. Moreover, it is legitimate to suppress Deng Zongli Yamen to send troops to attack "Tong Deng" rebels. If Zhou Peigong is not strong enough, Soetu feels that a group of veterans can be hired from western Sichuan to participate in the fight against the thieves. Anyway, there will be more forbidden sea areas in the future to pay off debts.

As for the compensation to Zhou Peigong, Soetu said that the court was discussing the proposal to grant Zhou Peigong Shanxi, Henan, Zhili and Yunnan (even if Li Dingguo had any opinions, the Qing court would not care about it), so that Zhou Peigong would have fulfilled his merits. This time, Soetu also sent a new official seal with the four big words "The World Administration" written on it. Soetu said that when Zhou Peigong finished his errand, the proposal should be almost passed.

Seeing that Beijing's support was only verbal, Zhou Peigong smiled bitterly. Although the Deng Zongli Yamen was strong and had offices in various provinces, the stall was also very large. Now, the Deng Zongli Yamen controlled most of the officials and enterprises and trade profits in the Qing court. Whether it was Beijing or Chengdu, it was impossible to tolerate Zhou Peigong's control of a certain province. Therefore, Zhou Peigong's interference in various provinces was destined to offend people severely, but he could not completely eliminate these governors who were hated by him.

"If you don't die from a snake, you will suffer." Zhou Peigong murmured to himself. But even if he is worried, he still has to do this, because this is the common wish of Chengdu and Beijing. Zhou Peigong now positioned himself as a middleman between the two places. Since both sides have this intention, Zhou Peigong must offend others even if he has to do it.

Just as Zhou Peigong was thinking about how to raid the Jiangnan army, disarm them and repatriate them to their hometowns, a guard suddenly reported that someone was visiting.

Zhou Peigong hurriedly invited the visitor into the living room and said, "Gen. Zhao is fine?"

The person who came was the Imperial Major General Zhao Tianba. He said to Zhou Peigong straight to the point: "The institute ordered me to come to Anqing to assist Zhou Gongzheng to coordinate the relationship between the two rivers."

"I feel relieved with General Zhao's help." Zhou Peigong said this, but in fact he was still a little disappointed. Although he knew that Zhao Tianba was a general under Deng Ming, this person was too famous. If he came to Ren Tang, who was also left in Chengdu, any of the Mutans would have a very different deterrence to Jiangnan.

Zhao Tianba seemed to see through Zhou Peigong's thoughts and said lightly: "The Institute specially asked me to be responsible for this matter. They think that low-key also has the benefits of low-key."

After learning that Zhou Peigong planned to raid the Jiangnan army, Zhao Tianba was a little dissatisfied: "First of all, the attack may not be successful. Is the governor so confident in the confidentiality work of your subordinates? Secondly, even if it is successful, it will form a deep hatred and Jiangnan may not be willing to give up. Moreover, this will have an impact on commerce and trade. The Academy will want to stop the war, not to stop the civil war between the two rivers, but to start a war between Anqing and Nanjing. Besides, what if there is a stalemate? Will Zhang Chao think that his opportunity has come?"

Zhao Tianba asked several questions in a row, and then mentioned Geng Jingzhong's question: "Our people in Beijing sent messages saying that Geng Jingzhong from Fujian was ready to move. I wonder if the governor had heard of it, what were his plans?"

Seeing that Soetu's confidentiality work was indeed very poor, Zhou Peigong cursed in his heart. Fortunately, Soetu's letter was arrived in time, so that Zhou Peigong would not be caught off guard: "General Zhao is relieved, the General Li Yamen of the Suppression of Deng had long been aware of this. I plan to adopt an arms and trade embargo to Fujian, issue a warning to sell more arms to Hangzhou, and send the Suppression of Deng to Zhejiang to participate in the war if necessary."

"We have to fight Jiang Guozhu in Jiangnan, Zhejiang, and embargo and war, which is inconsistent with the wishes of the Council." Zhao Tianba shook his head: "But let's take it as the last resort. I'll go mediate first. If they don't want to sell my face, then we have to see the governor show his power."

Zhou Peigong was not very optimistic about Zhao Tianba's mediation, but it was because his reputation was not enough. Zhao Tianba was silent when he arrived in Anqing. If he changed to Ren Tang or Mu Tan, he would probably be the focus of the world as soon as he left Kuimen. I guess he would not be able to wait until they arrived in Anqing. The Liangjiang Yamen would send envoys to ask about their intentions for this trip. Zhao Tianba was not famous and did not know about publicity, and did not bring a team of elite soldiers to accompany him. How could he get the opportunity to successfully mediate when he acted in a low-key manner?

Even so, Zhou Peigong knew that it would be better than no: "I wonder how General Zhao wants me to cooperate?"

...

July 15th, Nanjing.

Jiang Guozhu was reviewing the tens of thousands of soldiers in front of the stage.

Zhao Tianba conducted mediation again a few days ago, which made Jiang Guozhu a little nervous at the beginning, thinking that Chengdu might oppose fiercely, and he was also prepared to argue. However, Zhao Tianba came to Jiangnan alone this time. Although there was a threat in his words during the mediation, it was not very clear. It seemed that Chengdu also planned to bet on both sides.

Since Chengdu's attitude was ambiguous, Jiang Guozhu made up his final decision and politely refused Zhao Tianba's mediation, assuring him that only when Jiangxi was under Jiang Guozhu's rule could he better serve Chengdu. The day before yesterday, Jiang Guozhu received information that Zhao Tianba had also visited Jiujiang and suggested that Zhang Chao make concessions to Nanjing. When Zhang Chao refused, Zhao Tianba told Zhang Chao that if the situation was unfavorable, Chengdu welcomed him to take refuge.

When this information was made public by Jiang Guozhu within the Governor's Office in Liangjiang, his aides and officers were immediately joking. It seemed that Chengdu was ready to accept the fait accompli. Liang Huafeng, who was originally worried about this matter, was completely relieved and no longer persuaded Jiang Guozhu to engage in caution. Zhou Peigong finally reluctantly replied, reiterating that the General Team of the Suppression of Deng would remain neutral in the conflict between the two rivers, and would not stop the Jiangnan army from using ships controlled by the General Team of the Suppression of Deng in the Yangtze River.

"The army is so majestic, and the Governor General will definitely conquer Jiangxi after sending troops." Liang Huafeng, who accompanied Jiang Guozhu to inspect the army, praised loudly.

"Haha." Jiang Guozhu was proud and accepted Liang Huafeng's compliment without hesitation. This time, he would lead the army to Chizhou and then supervise the formation in the place - the main force of tens of thousands of Liangjiang, and the large amount of food and wages stored in Chizhou, if he did not firmly grasp it in his own hands, Jiang Guozhu would not be able to sleep at night.

Liang Huafeng was not on the list of generals and officials to go to war. Jiang Guozhu felt that if Liang Huafeng made meritorious service in this battle, how to reward him would be a very troublesome thing. Jiang Guozhu could not hand over the military power of the two provinces to one person, and it was even more impossible for Liang Huafeng, who had military power, to obtain the power of governing Jiangxi. Liang Huafeng was also very well-behaved. After confirming that he had sent troops, he claimed that he was old and sick, hoping to stay in Jiangning. Jiang Guozhu followed the flow and agreed to Liang Huafeng's request.

After three cannons, Jiang Guozhu led the army to leave Nanjing and fought towards Jiangxi along the Yangtze River. This was the largest military assembly in Jiangnan in more than ten years since Zheng Chenggong besieged Nanjing. The army pulled into a long snake formation along the Yangtze River. When Jiang Guozhu approached Chizhou, his vanguard had already arrived at the border of Jiangxi and had a fire with the troops loyal to Zhang Chao. The defenders of the Jiangnan Army were still far behind, still east of Tongling.

"Governor General, Chizhou, Chizhou refused us to enter." A personal soldier came to report to Jiang Guozhu tremblingly.

"What?" Jiang Guozhu could hardly believe his ears.

"Chizhou also sent an envoy to say that the court had declared the rebellion of the 'Tong Deng' and deprived him of all his official positions." The voice of the personal soldier was even more powerful.

"Xie Gao is so brave!" Jiang Guozhu laughed furiously. Xie Gao, the prefect of Chizhou, was his old subordinate. He has been obeying the orders of Nanjing for ten years. Why did he suddenly claim to be loyal to the court?

When Jiang Guozhu mobilized his army to attack Chizhou, he suddenly learned that the Zongli Yamen of the Suppression of Deng had also lifted the support for his army. Not only did he refuse to continue to help Jiang Guozhu transport soldiers, but he also dispatched warships to block the warships of the Jiangnan army. The people of the Zongli Yamen of the Suppression of Deng were even more rumored, saying that they had always guaranteed to cooperate with the Governor of Liangjiang, but now Jiang Guozhu is no longer the Governor of Liangjiang. While the prefect of Chizhou was rebelling and the Suppression of Dengzongli Yamen turned against each other, there was a terrible rumor circulating in the army, that was, the left-behind Admiral Liang Huafeng planted a flag in Nanjing, accepted the appointment of the court, became the new Governor of Jiangnan, and acted on the affairs of the Governor of Liangjiang. The first order issued by Governor of Lianghuafeng was: the army that followed Jiang Guozhu to fight immediately stopped the war with Jiangxi, and returned to the base at full speed, without any mistakes.
Chapter completed!