Zhu Cilang sighed slightly and said, "This is exactly my worry."

Du Yinxi thought for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, this may not be a completely bad thing for the Ming Dynasty."

Zhu Cixuan looked puzzled and said, "Oh, is that true?"

Du Yinxi said: "Your Majesty, our army cannot control the current situation in Henan. Whether it is the Qing Dynasty that wins in the end or Zhou Xian takes Henan, the situation of the confrontation between the two strong men in a short period of time cannot be changed. But as long as it decides the outcome, the first thing that is threatened is the Longwu Army."

Zhu Ciyang came back a little, "Are you saying that you took the opportunity to surrender the Longwu Army?"

Du Yinxi nodded and said, "After all, the King of Tang is the vassal king of the Ming Dynasty. As long as your Majesty shows enough sincerity, he will never turn to Zhou Xian. Sun Kewang was born into a bandit. From the perspective of his support of the King of Tang to be emperor, he is a good person to judge the situation. As long as there is no such condition, he will not be independent. Your Majesty is the orthodox Ming Dynasty, and Zhou Xian is a minister who causes rebellion. With the same conditions, the King of Tang and Sun Kewang will only surrender to the Ming Dynasty."

Zhu Ciyang frowned and said, "But I have already offered conditions to let the King of Tang lead the Jianghuai army and recognize Sun Kewang's marquis. Isn't such sincerity enough?"

Du Yinxi said: "Your Majesty, this is enough. If you add it, it will only make the two of them look too high and become more and more arrogant. The reason why they have not expressed their opinions at this moment is because they have not felt enough threats and believe that they still have a chance to seize the world. What your Majesty has to do is be patient, and they will one day recognize the situation."

Zhu Cilang was silent for a moment, and finally nodded deeply. "What I'm saying is that I'm a little anxious."

Du Yinxi said: "Your Majesty is a wise king. Even if you don't tell me, you can see these things clearly sooner or later. Now our army and Longwu Army have ceased to fight. Whether they surrender at this moment or not, they can serve as a barrier to the south of the Ming Dynasty. As long as the Longwu Army is still there, the safety of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River can be ensured. What I am worried about now is the safety of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, Yangzhou."

Zhu Cixuan's face changed slightly, "Do you mean Shao Zongyuan and He Fu are not trustworthy enough? Or do you mean that Zhou Xian or Longwu Army have an attempt to seize Yangzhou?"

Du Yinxi shook his head and said, "Shao and He are loyal to the Ming Dynasty. The Longwu Army is currently weak and is sandwiched between the Qing army, Zhou Xian and our army, and he dare not have such thoughts at this moment. If something happens in Yangzhou, Zhou Xian must have led his troops south."

Zhu Cilang frowned and said nothing.

Du Yinxi continued: "Your Majesty, Shao and He only have the power to govern in Yangzhou, but no military power. Although Zhou Xian did not have many troops in Yangzhou, there was only one thousand-man team. With the troops hidden in our army and Shao and He and the yamen runners in the hands of them, the soldiers were enough to deal with them. But there were thousands of Zhou Xian's army in Gaoyou and more than 20,000 troops in Xuzhou. Once he led his troops south, Yangzhou could be broken every night. Yangzhou is the gateway to Nanjing. If there is any loss, the enemy can directly attack the city of Nanjing."

Zhu Cixuan gritted his teeth and said, "Do you want me to send troops to seize Yangzhou?"

Du Yinxi shook his head and said, "Your Majesty, we should not break up with Zhou Xian now. After all, he said that he would not attack other forces before he captured the Manhu. As of now, he has been following this promise. If our army seizes Yangzhou at this moment, it would be equivalent to starting a war with Zhou Xian for a long time. The only thing that fisherman benefits is Manhu. If he moves troops to Zhou Xian, he must be sure of victory. Now is obviously not the best time."

Zhu Cixuan looked puzzled, "What does your beloved mean?"

Du Yinxi paused and said, "Your Majesty, everything is ready for trouble. Even if you cannot seize Yangzhou at this moment, you can make some necessary preparations. I think that the defense of the two cities should be strengthened. One is Zhenjiang to protect Nanjing. The other is Jiangyin to block the waterway of Zhou Xianshui from the sea to enter the Yangtze River."

Zhu Cilang nodded slightly, "Zhang Mingzhen also wrote a letter to me to tell me the interests of the two cities. However, many ministers in the court believed that Zhou Xian had no plans to use troops to the south at present, and should use money and food for more important matters, so I gave up."

Du Yinxi said: "Your Majesty, this matter will be done sooner or later, otherwise Nanjing will be difficult to be peaceful. Do it earlier than later. After all, only by ensuring the safety of Nanjing can a large number of troops be transferred to the west."

Zhu Cixuan pondered for a moment, and finally nodded, "What should I do if my dear friend said?"

Du Yinxi said: "One, renovate, strengthen the walls of the two cities, set up forts and forts along the river. Two, purchase a large number of artillery artillery from Portuguese to ensure the safety of the Yangtze River defense line. Three, send a trusted general to serve as the chief general of the two cities. Four, send Jinyiwei to Gaoyou and Xuzhou to monitor the movements of Zhou Xian's army at all times. As long as these four are done well, I believe that Zhou Xian will not have the intention of sending troops to the south within five years."

Zhu Cilang was slightly stunned, "What about five years later!"

Du Yinxi smiled and said, "Your Majesty, five years are enough for us to train a strong soldier. At that time, maybe it is not about when they will go south, but about how our army will fight north."

Zhu Cilang recalled, "I am so confident. But can I really train the left army into a strong soldier?"

Du Yinxi shook his head and said, "Your Majesty, the left army's military discipline is corrupt, each has its own jurisdiction and cannot be used. The strong army mentioned by the empress refers to the newly trained army, a new army that is completely loyal to Your Majesty and loyal to the Ming Dynasty."

After hearing Du Yinxi talk about this, Zhu Cilang couldn't help but feel sad, "Du Aiqing, you may not know. I had wanted to rebuild the three camps, but this move attracted fierce opposition from the court officials. It was not because it was not necessary, but because the Ming Dynasty really lacked silver. It is not easy to maintain the existing army at present. If you train new soldiers, you can only increase taxes, but..."

Du Yinxi frowned and remained silent for a while, "Your Majesty, have you ever thought about why Zhou Xian occupied a corner of the land but could support so many soldiers? Although the Ming Dynasty only occupied the southeast at present, it has always been the richest place in the world. Why is it so difficult to support such a small amount of soldiers and finances?"

Zhu Cixuan pondered for a while and said, "Most of Zhou Xian's source of funds is marine trade. Secondly, he encouraged commerce and imposed heavy taxes on merchants, but protected the power of merchants. In addition, there are salt tax, mining tax, etc.."
Chapter completed!