When Ma Xi saw his father coming in, he hurriedly leaned over and hugged Ma Shiying's leg and shouted: "Dad, my second brother wants to kill me, save me!"

Ma Xi has been in the army with Ma Cheng for more than a year. He knows that this second brother is a smiling tiger. He smiles on the surface, but he shows no mercy when he starts. Didn’t the commanders who disobeyed his military orders be killed like this? So Ma Xi knows that Ma Cheng is definitely not a joke, and this guy can really kill him.

Seeing Ma Shiying coming in to protect Ma Xi, Ma Cheng had no choice but to hand over the knife to the personal soldiers behind him, and then pointed at Ma Xi with a horse whip and said, "Dad, do you know what mistake Ma Xi made? According to military discipline, you will be killed!"

Ma Shiying also led the army, so he naturally knew the rules in the army, but Ma Si was his own son, how could he watch his son beheaded?

"Cheng'er, this is your brother. You are the guardian of Nandu. Can't you let your brother go without the law?"

"Absolutely not, father! Because of Ma Xi's escape in the Battle of East City, thousands of people died of his men, and a large number of guerrilla generals were killed. If such people were not killed, how could his son lead his troops in the future?"

After Ma Cheng finished speaking, he was about to step forward and pull Ma Xi behind Ma Shiying. He knew that Ma Shiying pushed Ma Cheng away and then cursed: "Ma Cheng, he is your younger brother. He has made great contributions this time. Can't you use your merit to save your younger brother?"

Ma Cheng was very reluctant to save him when he heard Ma Shiying say this. He was trying to save him? His contributions were all done with one blow, and he could save such a waste there.

"Dad, my son's credit is rewarded by the emperor, and this is not something my son can decide!"

Ma Cheng planned to push the matter to the emperor, but then Ma Shiying said, "This is easy to deal with. I will ask the emperor tomorrow, and I will not want it for my title, and I will also keep Xier!"

Seeing that he was not ready to ask for a title, Ma Cheng also wanted to keep Ma Xi, and knew that it was absolutely impossible to deal with Ma Xi in front of Ma Shiying today. There was no way Ma Cheng had to let his personal soldiers let Ma Xi go and then withdraw from the hospital.

Seeing that his third son finally saved his life, Ma Shiying breathed a sigh of relief and said to Ma Cheng: "Cheng'er, did you go to meet you just now? What reward did the emperor give you?"

When Ma Cheng mentioned this, he was full of anger. Ma Cheng said with a complaining voice: "Dad, the emperor is very stingy. He only gave his son a marquis of Guiyang, and a free agent who is the chief general of the Central Army!"

Ma Shiying is different from Ma Cheng. Ma Shiying knew the weight of this Marquis of Zhenguo and cursed: "Ma Cheng, what did you say? Thunder, rain and dew are both kindness!"

After saying that, Ma Shiying winked at Ma Cheng, meaning that this is not the place to say this. Then Ma Shiying took Ma Cheng out of Ma Xi's yard and came to the front yard study room.

After entering the study, Ma Shiying beat all the servants out and whispered: "Cheng'er, be careful when speaking in the future and beware of the partition walls in the home!"

What Ma Shiying said is true. Although most of the servants of the Ma family are reliable, who can guarantee that they are all reliable? The Jinyiwei of the Ming Dynasty was everywhere. If Ma Cheng's words were heard by the emperor, it would be a disaster.

Ma Cheng was very nervous when he heard Ma Shiying say this and asked in a low voice: "Dad, is there any situation in your mansion now?"

Ma Shiying shook her head: "Not yet, but I have to be careful! Now that the Northern Barbarians retreat, you, my father and son will become the court.

You should be careful if you have thorns in the eyes of some people!"

Ma Cheng nodded and said in a low voice: "Dad, if my son had known that Zhu Lunkui was so careful about our father and son, we shouldn't have supported him at that time. It would be better for his son to support his father and become emperor!"

Ma Shiying was shocked when she heard Ma Cheng say this and quickly shouted in a low voice: "What nonsense? Remember to say this again in the future, don't even think about it!"

"Dad, what are you afraid of? Now my son has more than 100,000 troops in his hands, and many of the ministers in the court are left alone in his father Ma Shizhan. Isn't this a God-given opportunity?" Ma Cheng really doesn't understand what he is thinking. Now he has to tie his hands and feet in everything he does. It's better to pull the flag and do it alone.

When Ma Shiying heard Ma Cheng urge him to be the emperor again, Ma Shiying was so angry that he cursed: "Ma Cheng, what are you talking about? Do you think you can do whatever you want with more than 100,000 troops in your hands? In addition to the 800 Guizhou soldiers, how many of your troops are willing to follow you at critical moments? There are also the ministers in the court who followed him as their father. Do you think they are really following him as their father?"

Ma Cheng understood what his father was worried about when he heard Ma Shiying say this. His soldiers were complicated. In addition to the new army, there were also guards, city soldiers, inspection departments, etc. These people could not guarantee that they could be in the same position as Ma Cheng. Ma Shiying was also similar. Although Zhang Jie and Xu Zhan and others were eunuchs, no one knew what they really thought. Not to mention the old guy Ruan Dacheng, Ma Cheng dared to make a promise. As long as Ma Shiying showed a little rebellious intention, Ruan Dacheng would definitely be the first to go to the emperor to file a complaint.

Ma Cheng knew that things were not easy to handle after hearing Ma Shiying say this, so he should leave the affairs of the court to his father. After all, his father has been in the officialdom for 20 or 30 years, and his experience is far better than that of his young man.

Seeing Ma Cheng lowered his head and didn't say anything, Ma Shiying knew that his son was a little discouraged. He had no choice but to change the subject and asked, "Cheng'er, what do you want to do next?"

"What can I do? Now the Beilu have run back to Jiangbei, but our power is still limited to several prefectures and counties around Nandu. So my son just told the emperor that he would send troops to occupy Yangzhou and Taiping Prefecture first, and at least he should ensure the safety of Nandu first!"

Ma Cheng thought the arrangement was very good, but after hearing this, Ma Shiying smiled bitterly: "Cheng'er, you are wrong, the emperor will never do this!"

Ma Cheng was stunned. The two he said were the best way. Could it be that the emperor had any good ideas? But Ma Cheng could not have any good ways to see Zhu Lunkui's idiot look.

"Dad, is it impossible? Is it possible to defend the river and the Huai River. Can the emperor have any better ways to resist the Northern Territory?" Ma Cheng knew that Ma Shiying had also been a military general. Although his tactical command was not very good, he still had some strategic capabilities.

"Cheng'er, these two points you said are the best ways, but you forgot that in addition to being a father, there are also Donglin people in the court. These guys have their own family businesses in Songjiang and Taicang. Now Nandu is rescued. How can they ignore the family business and agree to your proposal to occupy Yangzhou and defend Nandu?"

After hearing Ma Shiying's words, Ma Cheng was stunned and stunned. He forgot that most of the guys of the Donglin Party are from Nanzhili, and many officials' homes are in the Taihu River Basin. Now that the siege of Nanjing has been lifted, the Qing Dynasty has retreated to Jiangbei, these guys naturally have to go back home to clean up their property. As for what country

It’s okay to shout when the family is rising or falling. If you really encounter conflicts with your core interests, no one can have the noble mentality of sacrificing their families for everyone.

Although Ma Cheng knew what was going on, he quibbled: "Dad, you all the adults in the court cannot be so unfamiliar with family and country, right? They don't know that only when the country is stable can their property be preserved?"

Ma Shiying sneered when he heard Ma Cheng say this: "Hmph, these words are OK to deceive young people who have just entered the government. Those old fryers Qian Qianyi? I don't have any hope!"

"But...Dad, just now in the palace, the emperor had already agreed to his son's proposal and was also preparing to send Zhang Guozhu to Yangzhou and his sixth uncle to Taiping Prefecture. Is there any recurrence in the matter?"

After hearing Ma Cheng's words, Ma Shiying whispered: "This is the key to the matter. Now you, my father and son have too much power. Your Majesty the Emperor will definitely be on guard against us. I guess the emperor will definitely summon Qian Qianyi after you leave, and the old man Qian will definitely put forward the opinions of regaining Songjiang, Taicang and other places!"

"What should I do? Dad, you have also led the troops. Now the Northern Barbarians are retreating. You should take this opportunity to cross the river and occupy Yangzhou. It is best to occupy Huaian together, so that the threat to the northern capital can be solved. If the emperor is short-sighted and insists on restoring Songjiang, let the Northern Barbarians recover in a few months, will it be another army to come to the city?"

Ma Cheng was right. The main force of the Qing army is now defeated. Although the prefectures south of the Yangtze River are still in the hands of the Qing Dynasty, they basically have no combat power. As long as a partial division is sent, they can recover the prefectures without bloodshed. But Yangzhou is different. Yangzhou and Nanjing are only two days away. If you don’t take this good opportunity to re-occupy Yangzhou, it will give the Qing Dynasty a chance to gather troops and surround Nanjing again.

This time, Nanjing's victory was very lucky, and Ma Cheng could not guarantee whether he could encounter such good luck in the next battle for Nanjing.

Ma Shiying served as the governor of the Xuanfu and still had some understanding of military affairs. Although he knew that Ma Cheng was right, Ma Shiying could not do anything about it. It is true that Ma Shiying was a supplementary minister or a minister of regent, but Ma Shiying was not a regent minister and had only the right to suggest national affairs. In the end, the emperor still needed to make a decision.

Ma Shiying sighed and said, "Cheng'er, this is not something you and my father can decide. For the sake of the present, you can only do this. Cheng'er, you need to step up the training of the new army. What can you need to say to Father, and try to satisfy you as much as possible! There are also brothers fighting in battle, father and son soldiers. Father knows that you are incompatible with Xi'er, but now it is the critical moment of the Ma family. Father hopes that you and Xi'er will work together to help Father overcome this crisis!"

The current situation is very unfavorable to the Ma family and son. Although Ma Shiying is very loyal to Zhu Ming, there must be some precautions. Ma Shiying cannot sit at home and wait for death when he is loyal. So now Ma Shiying must be prepared for both ways. One is to use power in the court to exclude the Donglin Party and take power in his hands. The other is to make Ma Cheng ready to prepare for the arrival of that time.

After saying that, Ma Shiying sighed in her heart: I am loyal to the Ming Dynasty all my life, and I hope the emperor will not force me to death, otherwise it will only be defeated!
Chapter completed!