Just when Zhu Youxiao secretly regretted that he had misjudged Mao Wenlong, Park Chengzhong's words made him uneasy again.
"After I informed the governor of Denglai about the matter, Yuan Futai assured me that I would investigate the situation reported by me."
"Yuan Futai has sent a fleet to sea a few days ago to block the sea routes between Liaodong and North Korea and to and from Shandong, hoping to catch thieves and stolen goods."
"This is a letter written by Yuan Futai, and I entrust it to His Majesty the Emperor for his inspection."
The little eunuch ran all the way and soon delivered this letter to Zhu Youxiao.
After Zhu Youxiao read the content, he thought to himself that Yuan Keli was impulsive.
Yuan Keli said in the letter that if the report of the North Korean envoy was found to be true, he would send Zhang Du's fleet to Pidao.
In this way, Mao Wenlong's ambitions and actions were curbed, and loyal and reliable generals were selected and sent to Zhenjiang to take over Mao Wenlong's position.
Although Yuan Keli has a relatively mild temper, he is a model of integrity both as an official and as an official. He is dedicated to serving the country and the people, and naturally there is no room for sand in his eyes.
Mao Wenlong's matter needs to be considered in the long term. If it is handled too radically, it may be counterproductive.
After all, Zhenjiang is now half an enclave of the Ming Dynasty, a purely military area, and the court's control over that area is very weak.
And Mao Wenlong is basically in a semi-separated state now.
Moreover, the Zhenjiang army under his command was recruited by himself, and most of them were young refugees from Liaodong and the remnants of the dispersed Ming army.
These people are probably more loyal to Mao Wenlong than to the court or to him.
If he rashly touches Mao Wenlong, he may make his subordinates dissatisfied, resent the imperial court, and fall apart as happened in history.
What Zhu Youxiao cares about is not these thousands of soldiers, but the geographical location of Zhenjiang, and now that it has formed a key strategic point, there is no room for failure.
After thinking about it for a long time, Zhu Youxiao only felt that his head was big.
Taking away Mao Wenlong is unrealistic based on the current situation.
In terms of guerrilla warfare, Zhu Youxiao really couldn't think of anyone among the generals of the Ming Dynasty who could match Mao Wenlong, let alone surpass him.
The current Mao Wenlong is of great use value to Zhu Youxiao.
Moreover, although Mao Wenlong was secretly expanding his armaments behind his back, Zhenjiang was so big and had such a large population that he did not dare to rebel.
At most, it is just to become a warlord who is only interested in profit and will be defeated by the wind.
Zhu Youxiao really didn't have any good ways to deal with him, but if he wanted to suppress him and control him, Zhu Youxiao had many ways.
He asked the North Korean envoy to go back to the posthouse to rest and wait for his decision.
Then he summoned Wang Zaijin, the Minister of War, to discuss Mao Wenlong's affairs.
After Wang Zaijin heard this, he immediately said that he could send officials to Zhenjiang to serve as military supervisors and grain and grass quartermasters to control Mao Wenlong's fate.
Then, in the name of protecting refugees, all the people gathered in Zhenjiang, Pidao and other places were moved to Shandong for resettlement.
In this way, the lives of the family members of the Zhenjiang Army are in the hands of the imperial court. No matter what changes happen in the future, Mao Wenlong may not be able to give orders in order to weaken his prestige.
Zhu Youxiao also deeply believed that without food and population resources, no matter how ambitious Mao Wenlong was, he could only keep it in his heart and be unable to use it.
After the old slave is pacified, Mao Wenlong will no longer be of use to him. Will he be left to his own devices?
"Then I'll leave this matter to you. Seize the time and select a few officials from the Ministry of War. They must be bold, careful, and flexible, so as not to mess up the matter."
Wang Zaijin naturally knew the importance of this matter, so he directly told the emperor:
"Your Majesty, don't worry. I will be cautious about this matter. However, I think there are very few officials in the Ministry of War who can take on such an important task."
"According to my observation and understanding, the current capabilities of the Ministry of War officials involved in this matter can only assist and cooperate."
"It's not enough to take the lead alone. I'm worried that they will ruin His Majesty's important affairs."
Zhu Youxiao was quite surprised that Wang Zaijin didn't want to use his subordinates. It seemed that he was quite self-aware.
He has been the Minister of the Ministry of War for such a long time, so it is not difficult to install a few of his confidants or accomplices. Why doesn't he use these people?
Zhu Youxiao also had a general understanding of the abilities of officials in the court.
More often than not, he relies on memory to find people whose names he has never even heard of.
There is no need to think about it, he must be a mediocre person and cannot be used in a big way.
In fact, he was not only worried that the officials sent would ruin his affairs.
What he was more worried about was that these officials were colluding with Mao Wenlong and colluding with him.
He sent officials there, which was just a secret plan to confuse Mao Wenlong.
The people who really play the role of supervision and investigation are the spies of the Jinyiwei who are hiding in the dark.
However, Zhu Youxiao would not tell Wang Zaijin. He smiled and asked:
"Then in my opinion, who can take on this important task?"
"I would like to borrow someone from His Majesty's Yulin Army Staff Department to take on this important task. If I choose two more reliable officials to assist me, we will definitely get twice the result with half the effort."
"Da Sima is so confident, it really makes me curious, who is he?"
Wang Zaijin was silent for a while and replied:
"Qi Jin."
…
…
Soon the imperial edict and the transfer order from the Ministry of War were drafted, and Zhu Youxiao also clearly told Pu Chengzhong and Jin Zhiwang to ignore any threats from Mao Wenlong.
They only need to follow Yuan Keli's arrangements and cooperate with Ming Dynasty's encirclement and blockade in Liaodong.
"Let's stop here for what happened in the past. Don't pursue it any further."
"Our Ming Dynasty is now at a time when its national strength is weakening. It is indeed in urgent need of food and other strategic materials. I will help you guard the country. You have to express your opinion, don't you?"
Even though Mao Wenlong made him very unhappy, one thing was the same, and Zhu Youxiao would naturally take advantage of it for himself.
The emperor had said so, and Pu Chengzhong and Jin Zhiwang had no choice but to suffer some losses.
It's just that in their opinion, this young emperor is far less generous and generous than his grandfather.
Zhu Youxiao also wrote a letter to Yuan Keli, telling him to tolerate it for the time being. Even if the evidence was found, he would keep it for now and wait until the future to settle the matter together.
After bidding farewell to the emperor, Pu Chengzhong and Jin Zhiwang took the emperor's imperial edict to the king of Korea and followed Qi Jin's team to Shandong.
Qi Jin, who had been idle in the Yulin Army Staff Department for more than a year, was re-employed in his later years because of Wang Zaijin's recommendation.
Although he was not leading troops to fight against the Jiannu this time, he did not have any complaints or hesitations. As long as he could serve the country and be loyal, he would be satisfied.