Listening to Hong Chengchou's words, Zu Dashou stroked his gray beard, but he was silent.

Hong Chengchou saw Zu Dashou's hesitation, so he continued: "Fuyu, now in the Qing court, Huang Taiji is already like a waste, and he can no longer be a director. Then next, the most powerful Dolgon and Hauge will definitely start a big internal strife for power, for the golden dragon chair, these two will definitely attack each other, this is almost a sure thing. ”

Hong Chengchou took a sip of the teacup, and then replied: "In this way, the situation of the entire Qing Dynasty will definitely fall into chaos and strife, and once this war starts, how can it be resolved suddenly?" Then, at this time, I am afraid that the entire Qing Dynasty abroad will be full of wars, devastated and ruined, and fall into endless civil wars. There is a saying that the situation in the Qing Dynasty has become so chaotic and dangerous, and we who have surrendered to the ministers will not get a lot of fame and wealth, but I am afraid that it will be difficult to save our lives. “

When Hong Chengchou said this, he let out a long sigh, and Zu Dashou on the side heard this, and his face was also gloomy. His face, like Hong Chengchou, was full of confusion and frustration.

Hong Chengchou continued: "In my estimation, maybe soon Dolgon and Hauge will have to return to Shengjing in a hurry and start fighting each other. And when they return to Shengjing, we can only be forced to stand in line, even if we want to, we can't leave. Then we can only bet on how long this three-pound head can hang around the neck, how sad it is in such a situation. At that time, whether you and I died under the chaos of the soldiers, or whether we could survive and survive, who knows, maybe it can only depend on the will of God. And if it really comes to such a situation, even if you regret it, what's the use! ”

Zu Dashou's lips opened and closed a few times, and he was about to say something, but Hong Chengchou on the other side had already spoken again: "Fuyu, say a thousand ways and ten thousand, now we really have only one way to take refuge in Li Xiao, and there is no other way to go." Now the time is extremely urgent, if you hesitate again, I am afraid that a catastrophe will come, and you will regret it again, what is the use! Where to go, please make a decision! “

After hearing Hong Chengchou's accentuated tone and say this, the muscles on Zu Dashou's face twitched, and the expression on his face was extremely complicated. Finally, he let out a long sigh and said loudly: "Alas, Heng Jiu, your words are really heart-wrenching. Zu is not an unreasonable person, it's just that he is sad for a while. Let's go, since I have done such a humiliating thing as surrendering to the Tartars, the courtiers and reputation have long become a bubble of, and if I go to seek refuge with Li Xiao, who was once my pawn, what can't I wipe off my face. Zu did this! Then Hengjiu, you say, when do you plan to escape from Qingjing, Zu will go with you. ”

Seeing that Zu Dashou finally agreed, Hong Chengchou's heart fell to the ground, a relaxed smile appeared on his face, and he said: "Okay, I know that Fuyu is a person who understands the times and affairs, and if you agree, it will be better." It's just that Hong is thinking that if only you and I sneak away from the Qing court to vote for Li Xiao, it will be insufficient. ”

Seeing that Hong Chengchou's words were meaningful, Zu Changshou's extremely long triangular eyes blinked, and then asked: "Hengjiu, what do you mean by this, but please say it clearly." ”

Hong Chengchou smiled lightly, and said: "Fuyu, you also know that now Li Xiao is extremely powerful, and there are a lot of good generals under him, just imagine, in this situation, if you and I are like a lost dog, and we come to vote empty-handed, even if Li Xiao can accept you and me, but in my heart, I am afraid that I will look down on it." If you and I get ahead again under Li Xiao and get reused, it will be difficult. ”

Hong Chengchou's words, hearing Zu Dashou's head: "Heng Jiu's words are reasonable. People live in the world, in the final analysis, strength speaks, think about it, even if I was Li Xiao's old superior, but if I can really only be so poor, it is indeed very shameless, and it is very likely to be completely despised by him. It's just that you and I are both lonely and poor, and the former subordinates have long been disbanded and resettled, so are there any forces and retinues that can follow us back together? ”

Hong Chengchou stared straight at his puzzled eyes, and then said word by word: "Fuyu, there is a way, things are man-made, as long as you are willing to find a way, of course there are forces and subordinates who can return with us." ”

Zu Dashou looked at Hong Chengchou in a daze, he pondered for a long time, and then suddenly understood: "Hengjiu, what do you mean, could it be that I recruited the old department and ...... with us."

Although he deliberately didn't say the next words, Hong Chengchou was already smiling and nodding.

Zu Dashou looked suspicious, and said, "Heng Jiu, this, is this really feasible......

"How is it not feasible?" Hong Chengchou hurriedly replied: "Fuyu, aren't many of your sons and nephews all in the Qing Dynasty in the Qing Dynasty?" These are the people you can woo right now. If we can move them and let them defect from the Qing Dynasty with us and vote for Li Xiao, then I am sure that with such a magnificent army and horses, Li Xiao will definitely be impressed by you and me, and will be courteous and respectful to you and me. ”

Listening to Hong Chengchou's words, Zu Dashou twisted his thick eyebrows, and his face suddenly had a thoughtful expression.

He groaned for a while, stroked his beard, and said to himself: "Hengjiu, I can't hide it, during this time, I have also had a rough understanding of the situation of my sons and nephews. Like my three biological sons, Ze Run, Ze Pu, and Ze Hong, as early as Chongzhen five years ago, they served in the Qing court, and over the years, they have won the trust of the Qing court, and all three of them have a certain number of soldiers and horses in the Qing state, and it is also coincidental that the three of them are stationed around Shenyang, and it is easy to contact. And my adopted son Zeqing and nephew Zeyuan, since Jinzhou surrendered to the Qing court with me, Huang Taiji, in order to show his generosity and trust in the surrendered troops, let Zeyuan be the main general, Zeqing as the deputy general, with the 3,000 soldiers and horses surrendered in Jinzhou, stationed in the area of Wujing Camp by the Hunhe River, to contact them, but it is not difficult to ......"

(Note: In the "Qing History Manuscript", it is said that Zu Zerun is the adopted son of Zu Dashou, and Zu Zeqing is the last son of Zu Dashou, but in "Zu's Genealogy", it is said that Zu Zerun is the eldest son of Zu Dashou, and Zu Zeqing is the adopted son of Zu Dashou. ）

"Ahem, Fuyu, since the conditions are so coincidental, wouldn't it be a pity if you don't make good use of it?" Hong Chengchou patted his thigh and hurriedly interrupted Zu Dashou's self-talk: "In my opinion, you can take advantage of the current chaos in the city and no one to send your cronies, just say that you are seriously ill recently, so that your sons and nephews, in plain clothes, will return to Shenyang to visit." Then I will work with you to persuade them to join us in joining Li Xiao, stop serving the Qing court, and don't become cannon fodder for Dolgon and Hauge's infighting. If they all agree, they will urgently discuss how to lead their soldiers and horses together, and then leave the Qing Dynasty together. ”

"Oh, is that okay?" Zu Dashou listened to Hong Chengchou's words, but his face was filled with hesitation, and he said softly: "There is a way, the son is not up to the master, in case they refuse to leave with us, what should we do?" ”

Hong Chengchou sneered and said, "Fuyu, you're thinking too much." There is no such thing as perfection in this world, and it is normal for your children and nephews to have their own thoughts. We just need to do our best to persuade them, as for whether they will listen, whether they are willing to leave the Qing Dynasty with us to join Li Xiao, then we can only do our best to obey the destiny of heaven. ”

Zu Dashou sighed, he opened his mouth, wanted to say something, but he didn't say it. Just frowned, and kept brushing his beard.

Hong Chengchou's eyes flickered, as if he had guessed Zu Dashou's thoughts, and hurriedly added: "Fuyu, are you worried that if your sons and nephews don't agree to follow us to join Li Xiao, they will betray you to the Qing court?" In my opinion, this is absolutely impossible. You see, no matter if you are family members after all, and there are many family ties, even the current Qing court has no leader, and there is no one in charge for a while. Now almost all the elites in the Qing court are busy fighting for power and profit, and they have nothing to do with these Han troops who are on the edge of power. To put it bluntly, your sons and nephews, even if they want to offer you and me out to the Qing court now, they can't find anyone to report. Therefore, as long as the Qing court does not directly notice it, we can boldly carry out our persuasion activities. ”

Hong Chengchou's words completely dispelled Zu Dashou's doubts, Zu Dashou raised his head, and a cold light flashed in his eyes.

"Hmph, Heng Jiu is right. So far, it is indeed ready to fly, and it has to be sent. Zu Dashou sighed again, but a trace of ruthlessness flashed on his face, and he said in a deep voice: "Since ancient times, wealth and wealth have been sought in danger, and Zu has done this!" I've also thought about it, even if we can't talk about it, these bunnies, forgive them for not having the guts, to take their pro-Lao Tzu's head to invite credit to Qing Yu! So be it, I will at once write a few letters, send my cronies out, and deliver letters to my sons and nephews, and promise that they will be here tomorrow morning, and when they arrive tomorrow, I will immediately send someone to contact you, Hengjiu, and you will come to me again, and persuade them with me. ”

"Okay, then let's talk about this matter, in fact, I will be at home tomorrow, waiting for news from Fuyu." Hong Chengchou stood up, bowed his hand slightly to Zu Dashou and said: "Okay, it's not early, I'm afraid that the guards who are watching by Ichigo will be suspicious, then Hong will leave first, and tomorrow I will wait at home for you to send someone to call." ”

"Okay, that's a deal." Zu Dashou stood up and bowed back to Hong Chengchou.

After Hong Chengchou left, Zu Dashou immediately wrote several letters, and then sent his trusted servants to his sons and nephews respectively.

Looking at these servants in civilian clothes, disappearing at the end of the streets and alleys of Shenyang one by one, Zu Dashou's face was deep and complicated, standing in the cold wind, he stood like a puppet standing in a daze, and finally let out a long sigh, and turned back to the house.

The first to receive Zu Dashou's letter was Zu Dashou's eldest son, Zu Zerun.

Zu Zerun, the eldest son of Zu Dashou, was the deputy general of Jinzhou in the Ming Dynasty at the beginning. When Tiancong was five years old, together with his father and ancestor Dashou, his younger brothers Zu Zepu and Zu Zehong, in Dalinghe City, after killing the general He Kegang who did not surrender, he surrendered to Houjin (later Zu Dashou quietly fled), and was subordinate to the Yellow Banner of the Han Army, awarded the third-class son, and served as the right of the military department to participate in politics.

(Note: Some historical sources say that Zu Zepu and Zu Zehong surrendered to the Qing court together with Zu Dashou after the Battle of Songjin, but the "Qing Tongjian" does not support this statement.) Moreover, if the three brothers surrender separately, it will be suspected of being fragmented, so the author here does not accept it, and still adopts the statement that the three brothers surrendered to the Qing court with their father after the destruction of Dalinghe City. ）

In the seventh year of Chongde, Zu Zerun was promoted to the Han army because of his years of service. In real history, this person went to Shunzhi, and then recruited Jiang Huang, who rebelled against the Qing court in Datong, and Zhao Jin and other sons. Later, when he was stationed in Changsha, he died of a violent illness in the army, and some historical sources say that he was killed by Li Dingguo's department.

At this time, Zu Zerun was leading his headquarters of 2,000 soldiers and horses to garrison the area of Fengjibao in the south of Shenyang. After hearing the news that the emperor was seriously injured by the Tang army on the front line, Zu Zerun, who was extremely shocked, locked himself alone in the secret room in the barracks, and he had not seen anyone for two whole days.

Zu Zerun knew that the huge threshold that would determine his fate had finally arrived.

In the past, he didn't have to think about anything, just do what the Qing court required, but now the emperor suddenly became a waste, and the supreme power of the Qing Dynasty suddenly became a vacuum, which really surprised Zu Zerun.

Zu Zerun's ability to mingle into a Han army in the Qing court shows that his mind is still quite good, and his political acumen is also very good. He knew at that time that next, it was very likely that the two most powerful factions in the Qing Kingdom, Dolgon and Hauge, would start a bloody and brutal struggle for power, and they, the generals of the Han army, would most likely immediately start to stand in line, which had become inevitable.

But now he is in the greatest confusion.

Because, now, he doesn't know who he wants to bet on next, and he doesn't know who he wants to turn to, so that he can have the last laugh and really keep his power and wealth.

However, after thinking about it for two whole days, Zu Zerun finally made a decision in his heart to let himself go to work for Dolgon.

After all, Dolgon is in the Qing Kingdom, the prestige is good, and the resourcefulness is outstanding, and the soldiers and horses who are willing to obey and serve him are also the most, and the opportunity to seize the supreme power of the Qing State is also the greatest, so he only needs to follow everyone to follow him, if he can show himself in the future war, perhaps, his own dragon skills, will make himself greatly rewarded.

Unexpectedly, just as Zu Zerun was about to give an order to lead the whole army to Liaoyang and go to the base camp of Nadolgon, he heard a report from his soldiers that his father Zushou had sent someone over and had an emergency to tell him.

Zu Zerun immediately met the visitor, and after reading his father's handwritten letter, his face suddenly changed greatly.