ps: The previous chapter was modified, deleted and added a little content, so the connection is a little different, I recommend you to look at the end of the previous chapter again.

When he heard that an army under the banner of the Ming Dynasty had come to the other side of the Yellow River, Lu Zhenfei, the governor of Huaiyang, couldn't help frowning.

Since April, news of the fall of Beijing has reached the south.

At the same time, Puppet Shun also sent troops to try to take over Huaiyang. Li Zicheng ordered the general Dong Xueli to lead an army of several thousand people to attack Jiangbei, and at the same time appointed the subordinate Lü Bizhou as the envoy of Huaizhen Jiedu to replace Lu Zhenfei, the governor of Huaiyang of the Ming Dynasty, and at the same time appointed the surrendered Jinshi Wu Su as the defense envoy to appease Xu and Pei.

Since becoming the governor of Huaiyang and the governor of Caoyun, Lu Zhenfei has been preparing to resist the southward movement of the Shun army, he led the gentry of Huai'an, organized a training regiment to train soldiers, trained more than 20,000 soldiers, and sent Jin Shenghuan and other 17 generals to patrol the river separately, from Suqian to Huai'an to establish a strong Yellow River defense line.

Compared with Lu Zhenfei, who is actively preparing for the war, Gao Jie, Liu Zeqing and others performed much worse. When the thieves besieged Beijing, Liu Zeqing was in Linqing with the army, and he did not dare to go to Beijing Qinwang at all, but led the army all the way south, burning, killing and looting through Xuzhou to Huai'an. Lu Zhenfei did not allow Liu Zeqing's troops to enter Huai'an City, and ordered him to go to Suqian to garrison to resist the southbound Shun army.

Gao Jie's performance is not much better than Liu Zeqing, when Dong Xueli took the Shun army south, he also did not dare to resist, and fled to Huai'an along the canal, in view of the imminent arrival of the Shun army, Lu Zhenfei did not allow Gao Jie to cross the river, and ordered him to go to Suqian to meet the Shun army, and in desperation, Gao Jie turned west and bypassed Hongze Lake to Fengyang.

Liu Zeqing and Gao Jie were all frightened by the Shun army, and Lu Zhenfei didn't count on them at all, he launched an attack on the attacking Shun army with the regimental training soldiers, repelled Dong Xueli, and captured Lu Bizhou and Wu Su.

And this is what happened not long ago, so Lu Zhenfei was extremely contemptuous of these Ming troops who fled south.

However, when he heard that the commander of this army would be Chen Yue, the governor of Tianjin, Lu Zhenfei still decided to meet him. First, Chen Yue's official position is not much different from Lu Zhenfei's, and he has the title of Earl of Pingnan, and he is knighted as a civil minister, which is very rare in the Ming Dynasty, which means that Chen Yue has made great contributions to the Chongzhen court.

Although he has no intersection with Chen Yue, Lu Zhenfei has seen Chen Yue's name on the palace newspaper of the imperial court in the past, and he also knows Chen Yue's deeds, and knows that Chen Yue is different from Gao Jie Liu Zeqing and others. Then Chen Yue went south from Beijing, and he should know some news about the Beijing court, such as whether Emperor Chongzhen is still alive and where are the three princes?

After a brief thought, Lu Zhenfei decided to meet Chen Yue, so he sent a boat to take Chen Yue across the river.

After exchanging a few words with his subordinates, Chen Yue took two guards and stepped on the ferry sent by Lu Zhenfei to greet him. The boatman swung his oars vigorously, and the ferry headed for the other side of the Yellow River.

The name of this place is Qingjiangpu, where the Yellow River meets the canal to form a three-way crossing, on the northeast side of the three-way crossing, it is cold and empty, and there is not even a small boat. In the canal south of the three forks, boats gather, and the boats meet each other in the wide canal, which is a lively scene. Huai'an is the middle of the canal, connecting the canal and the Yellow River, which is really one of the most prosperous places in the world.

But looking at the completely different scenes in the north and south of the Yellow River, Chen Yue showed a wry smile on his face. The difference between the north and south of the Yellow River is so great, which shows that Lu Zhenfei's control of the ships is so tight, and without Lu Zhenfei's consent, his more than 1,000 cavalry would not have thought of being able to cross the Yellow River and reach Huai'an. Not far from the south bank, flags were unfurled, and thousands of soldiers lined up on the bank of the river with weapons in hand, staring at the Xishan Army on the north bank.

The ferry sailed to the south shore and landed on the pier, Chen Yue got off the boat, and saw an old man in a red official robe standing there not far away under the protection of more than a dozen people.

Medium build, thin face, five gray beards, wearing a big red official robe, standing there without anger and arrogance, judging from the face, this is a very upright person.

While Chen Yue was looking at Lu Zhenfei, Lu Zhenfei was also looking at Chen Yue incessantly, full of surprise in his heart.

Young, he is too young, he is only in his twenties, he became a feudal official at such a young age, and he had to be made an earl, which made Lu Zhenfei's heart full of bitterness, what was he doing when he was twenty years old, he was not even a lifter when he was just admitted to the exam!

"On the other side is Lord Lu, the governor of Caoyun and the governor of Huaiyang, and Chen Yue, the lower official, who has seen Lord Lu." After being silent for a moment, Chen Yue took the lead in saluting Lu Zhenfei, clasped his hands into fists and bowed, and saluted Lu Zhenfei as an official to meet Shangguan.

"Don't dare, Lord Chen, you have the title of a super-grade earl, and your status is far above this official." Lu Zhenfei leaned sideways, not daring to accept Chen Yue's worship. Because according to the grade, although Lu Zhenfei is the governor of Caoyun and the governor of Huaiyang, his official is the right capital of the imperial history, only the fourth grade, while Chen Yue is the earl of the super grade.

"It's just a fluke that I won a few battles, and I was rewarded with a knighthood by His Majesty's grace, and I can't take it seriously." Chen Yue straightened up and smiled.

Humble and polite, the young man is determined to be in a high position without pride, although he has no serious reputation, his performance far exceeds that of scholars of the same age, which makes Lu Zhenfei's impression of Chen Yue suddenly better.

But now is not the time to chat, Lu Zhenfei is eager to know the news from Beijing, and wants to know the exact whereabouts of Chongzhen and the three princes.

"Lord Chen, are you from Beijing? Do you know the exact news of Your Majesty and the Prince," Lu Zhenfei asked anxiously.

"I did go south from Beijing, as for Your Majesty," Chen Yue looked at Lu Zhenfei with an eager face, and muttered silently. Because Chen Yue doesn't know Lu Zhenfei's current position, he doesn't know whether King Fu is the emperor now, whether Lu Zhenfei is with King Fu or is he against King Fu's accession to the throne?

"What's wrong with Your Majesty?" Seeing that Chen Yue wanted to speak and stopped, Lu Zhenfei became even more anxious, and at the same time, a thought flashed in his heart, could it be that Chongzhen is still alive?

"Dare to ask Lord Lu, what is the situation in Nanjing now, did King Fu Thaden ascend the throne?" Chen Yue didn't answer Lu Zhenfei's question, and suddenly asked after a moment of silence.

"Not yet, do you know that King Fu is going to ascend the throne?" Lu Zhenfei asked in surprise, Chen Yue came from the north, how did he learn the news that King Fu was going to succeed him?

"Beijing has fallen, and I heard that King Fu and King Lu and other vassal kings are stationed in His Majesty Huai'an, but according to the order of Lun, the kings of Nanjing should support King Fu." Chen Yue said.

Lu Zhenfei nodded, Chen Yue's explanation was reasonable.

"Alas, it's hard to say anything about the succession, but right now, King Fu is indeed going to Nanjing under the protection of Ma Shiying and others." Lu Zhenfei sighed.

"That means King Fu hasn't become emperor yet?" Chen Yue's eyes suddenly lit up.

"Not yet, but it's going to be soon, unless it's ......" Lu Zhenfei looked at Chen Yue steadily, he knew that Chen Yue understood the meaning of his words.

"Unless Your Majesty is still alive," Chen Yue said with a smile, and through some conversation, Chen Yue already understood Lu Zhenfei's position.

If Chongzhen is really martyred, Lu Zhenfei will definitely support King Fu's succession, but Lu Zhenfei is definitely not a person who is obsessed with fame and fortune, in other words, Lu Zhenfei and Ma Shiying Gaojie and others are absolutely different.

"Your Majesty, is he really still here?" Lu Zhenfei suddenly burst into ecstasy, listening to Chen Yue's meaning, Chongzhen did not die, if this is the case, what is the battle for succession? As long as Chongzhen arrived in Nanjing, the situation in the south could be stabilized immediately.

Chen Yue smiled faintly, did not answer Lu Zhenfei's question, but continued to ask: "King Fu was once stationed in His Majesty Huai'an, and Lord Lu has tens of thousands of elite soldiers in his hands, why don't you lead troops to support King Fu's succession, but give up the great merit of supporting King Fu to Ma Shiying and others?" ”

Lu Zhenfei was stunned when he heard this, and smiled bitterly.

"Some people also advised me to support King Lifu to go to Nanjing, but as the governor of Huaiyang, I have the responsibility of guarding the land. Puppet Shun has just sent troops to attack not long ago, and if I go to Nanjing, Huaiyang will definitely not defend it. If Huaiyang does not defend, the Shun army will definitely approach the Yangtze River to peek at Nanjing, and such a big event will be carried out.

The merit of supporting the establishment should be given to the ministers of Nanjing, and who should be the emperor should be agreed upon by Nanjing. Lu is just a local governor.

If you really lead the troops to directly support King Fu to go to Nanjing, as you said, what if the ministers of Nanjing do not agree, then it will inevitably cause a fight. In that case, if I don't wait for the thief to come, I will kill each other, so I will become a criminal of the Ming Dynasty! ”

Listening to Lu Zhenfei's words, Chen Yue couldn't help but be in awe. For the sake of the responsibilities he bears, he can take the initiative to give up the credit of pouring the sky, Lu Zhenfei's ethics and overall situation are far above Shi Kefa, Ma Shiying and others.

But it is precisely because he is too upright that Lu Zhenfei is not liked by Ma Shiying and his ilk, after the establishment of the Hongguang Imperial Court, Ma Shiying took charge of the cabinet, and dismissed Lu Zhenfei from the position of governor of Huaiyang for some reason, so that his cronies Tian Ang treated him. Otherwise, if Lu Zhenfei is here, with the tens of thousands of Huaiyang regiment training soldiers in his hands, even if the Qing troops go south, how can they easily break Yangzhou and attack Nanjing?

"Lord Lu is high-spirited and bright, and I admire it below." Chen Yue bowed, and in the face of Lu Zhenfei, Chen Yue found that he didn't know how to praise. It's not that there are people who are upright and capable in the Ming Dynasty, but why are they always in high positions?

"Lord Lu, Your Majesty, he is still alive." Looking at Lu Zhenfei's expectant gaze, Chen Yue said softly.

"Your Majesty is in your army?" After confirming that Chongzhen was really alive, Lu Zhenfei was suddenly overjoyed, grabbed Chen Yue's arm excitedly, and asked repeatedly.

"Your Majesty is not in our army, but ,......going south by sea," Chen Yue said softly, telling Lu Zhenfei about the matter.

"It's so good, it's so good, Your Majesty is safe, it's really my blessing!" Lu Zhenfei raised his head, excited old tears.

"Lord Chen, you saved Your Majesty from danger, you are really the pillar of my Ming Dynasty!"

"Hehehe," Chen Yue smiled, and after receiving Lu Zhenfei's praise, he suddenly felt that the hard work of the past month was all worth it, and from then on he would embark on the Avenue of Stars in life, and glory and wealth would be at his fingertips.

"Master Lu, don't praise me too much, I will be proud." Chen Yue said with a smile, "Let's discuss taking my subordinates to the south shore first, and then go to the beach to greet Your Majesty." The most important thing is that King Fu must not be allowed to become the emperor, once he ascends the throne, it will be too late! ”

"Lord Chen, don't worry, I'll mobilize boats to take your troops across the river, and then let's go to the beach together to greet Your Majesty," Lu Zhenfei said with a smile, "As for King Fu, as long as I write a letter to Lord Shi Kefa and tell him that His Majesty is still alive and about to return to the south, King Fu won't want to dream of being an emperor again!" ”

Lu Zhenfei called a staff member and gently ordered to go down. The staff member glanced at Chen Yue, nodded, and walked away quickly.

With Lu Zhenfei's order, the soldiers of the Governor's Battalion, who were waiting by the Yellow River, returned to the camp under the leadership of the general. Not long after, more than 100 flat-bottomed river boats entered the Yellow River from the canal through the three forks, and arrived on the north bank to transport the cavalry of the Xishan Army across the river.

Lu Zhenfei invited Chen Yue to Huai'an City to rest, and after he finished writing a letter to Shi Kefa, everyone went to the beach to welcome Chongzhen's return. As for the barracks and food of the cavalry of the Xishan Army after crossing the river, they were responsible for the officials of the governor's yamen.

Since Lu Zhenfei had arranged everything properly, Chen Yue was of course willing to obey, and after giving Chen Yan a few words, he followed Lu Zhenfei into Huai'an City.

After Lu Zhenfei entered the city, he immediately wrote a letter, asked Chen Yue to read it, and immediately sent someone to Pukou. Huai'an to Pukou is only 400 miles, and it will take two days at most to get there, and everything will be in time.

Lu Zhenfei can be sure that as long as Shi Kefa sees the letter and learns that Chongzhen is still alive and is coming, he will definitely not support King Fu again. And without Shi Kefa's support, Ma Shiying and his gang can't turn the sky over no matter how much they toss!

Seeing Lu Zhenfei so relaxed, Chen Yue also relaxed.

That night, Lu Zhenfei warmly entertained Chen Yue and the generals of the Xishan Army, accompanied by the officials and gentry and celebrities in Huai'an City, so that Chen Yue felt the deliciousness of Huaiyang cuisine, the enthusiasm of Huai'an officials, and the style of Yangzhou thin horses.

At the same time, Chen Yue also met many people, such as Zhu Guobi, the general soldier of Funing Hou Caoyun, such as Xu Yong, the prefect of Huai'an, Wang Xie, the deputy general of the Huaiyang Governor's Standard Battalion, Jin Shenghuan, the deputy general, and so on.

The news that Chongzhen was going south by sea Lu Zhenfei said it during the banquet, and all the officials were excited when they heard it. Maybe Chongzhen is self-righteous and has such and such advantages, but in the end, he is the king of the Ming Dynasty and the father of everyone.

"Seeing that Brother Bai didn't follow King Fu to the south and gave up his merits, did you see today?" During the banquet, Lu Zhenfei's fellow villager and friend Xi Benzhen, a businessman from Suzhou, leaned into Lu Zhenfei's ear and said softly.

"Nonsense," Lu Zhenfei scolded with a smile, "If I had known that His Majesty was alive, how could I have written to Nanjing to propose the succession of King Fu?" ”

"I used to feel sorry for Brother Bai to give up his support, but now it's a turning point, and I can't run away because of your credit." Xi Benzhen said with a smile. The two looked at each other and smiled, and everything was silent.