Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 43 Summoning
It was already evening in the study room of the palace. Su Guansheng pushed the door open and walked in. He bowed deeply to the young man who had been waiting in the room.

"Old minister Su Guansheng greets His Highness."

"Sir, please stand up quickly. Why do we need to be so polite to each other?"

As soon as Su Guansheng bowed, he was held firmly by a pair of hands. He saw that a tall young man had appeared in front of him.
The young man was tall and wore a wide python robe, while the man opposite him was almost fifty years old, with slightly gray hair and a slightly thin body.

At this time, the room was lit by candlelight, casting dark shadows behind the two men. Su Guansheng below seemed to be completely enveloped by the young man's figure.

"Sir, you are indeed a loyal minister trusted by the late emperor. In just a few days, you have traveled thousands of miles across mountains and rivers to reach Zhaoqing. You must have worked hard along the way," said the young prince.
"I came here for state affairs, so how can I say it's hard? I only regret that I came to the court too late, which caused Your Highness to be trapped in the hands of such crazy ministers. Your Highness is in this dangerous situation and has difficulty coping with it without saying it's hard. How can an old minister dare to say it's hard?" Su Guansheng's face was serious.

"Since I have taken this position, I have made preparations. Now, countless people of our Ming Dynasty have been trapped in the dust of the barbarians and are in dire straits. I am now well fed and clothed, and my life is not in danger in the hinterland. Compared with these minor difficulties, what are they compared to those of the people of our Ming Dynasty?"

"But you are different, sir. You are loyal to the king and have come all the way here. You never thought you would be caught in such a turmoil at the foot of the city. You are frightened."

The young prince looked at the graying official in front of him with a sad expression.
"That Ding Kuichu disregarded the laws of the court and recklessly mobilized soldiers. He was extremely arrogant and rebellious. Your Highness must prepare for this person early and never let him be so arrogant again," Su Guansheng said solemnly.
Zhu Lang's eyes flashed with coldness when he heard this. Ding Kuichu's behavior this time really made him want to kill him.

He thought that Ding Kuichu would mobilize troops to force Su Guansheng to retreat, but he did not expect that Ding Kuichu would actually dare to attack and kill him in public.
He had heard Li Chengzhi's report. The situation was extremely dangerous. If Li Chengzhi had arrived a quarter of an hour later, the Guangdong cavalry under Ding Kuichu would have rushed into Su Guansheng's army and started a massacre outside the city.
Not only that, Ding Kuichu even dared to send people to surround the Guiwang Mansion, saying that they were guards, but which guard forbade people from entering and leaving the mansion? This was clearly imprisonment.

Zhu Lang had been persuaded to ascend the throne twice, and in fact, he had long been recognized as the regent of the Ming Dynasty in the city. The Guiwang Mansion where Zhu Lang lived was the imperial palace.
Today, Ding Kuichu dared to send people to surround the palace. Then tomorrow he would dare to enter the palace to purge the emperor and replace the emperor for Ming Dynasty. How could Zhu Lang not be angry?

A murderous intent flashed across Zhu Lang's eyes, but he quickly withdrew.

Ding Kuichu still has the strength to fight, and I have just received the money and food from Guangzhou. Li Mingzhong and his troops have not had time to appease their hearts, and Jiao Lian, whom I value most, has not yet entered the court. Now is not the time to take action.

Since Ding Kuichu still has a strong army, Zhu Lang will forgive him and let him have some time. When his troops arrive and the army gathers, he will let him know who is the emperor who enters Xianyang first.

Zhu Lang made up his mind, turned his head and looked at Su Guansheng below, and said loudly:
"Now the city is full of fierce officials, but there are few loyal officials like Su Ge Lao. Because of this, we, the monarch and the officials, should work together to revitalize our Ming Dynasty."

The young prince stared at the middle-aged official below with his eyes piercing.
Su Guansheng seemed to understand the words of the prince in front of him. He bowed again and spoke solemnly.

"I, as an old minister, will do my utmost to assist Your Highness, eliminate the treacherous officials in the court, and revitalize our Ming Dynasty."

"Okay, okay, with the help of Lord Su, I have nothing to fear even if there are many fierce officials in the court." The young prince's face was excited, and he stepped forward again, holding up the hem of the red-robed official below.

If the first bow upon entering the door was a greeting, and was addressed to the Emperor of Ming, then this bow was addressed to Zhu Lang himself, His Royal Highness the Regent.
After this greeting, Su Guansheng and Zhu Lang established a monarch-subject relationship, which was a true statement of his commitment to Zhu Lang.
Su Guansheng looked at the young prince with a happy face, and his heart moved. He said

"Ding Kuichu relies on his control over Guangdong's money and grain to disrespect the imperial court, abuse his power and wealth, and has no respect for a minister. We must make plans for this traitor early."

"When I came to see Your Highness, I had already thought about it. Ding Kuichu now relies on the fact that the central government is in Zhaoqing, and Zhaoqing is under his jurisdiction. If you want to defeat this thief, Your Highness only needs to move the capital to another place, and Ding Kuichu will be like a tree without roots and water without a source, and you can just wave your hand and leave."

"I ask Your Highness to move the capital to Guangzhou and get rid of the control of sycophants like Ding Kuichu," Su Guangsheng said solemnly.

Zhu Lang looked at Su Guansheng in front of him, with a hint of satisfaction in his eyes. Su Guansheng proposed to move the capital, and he must have his own little calculations. But from this, it can be seen that this person has a sharp vision. He is not really a lucky minister who relies on flattery to rise to power as Ding Kuichu and others said.

In fact, Zhu Lang had already planned to move the capital to Guangzhou, so he asked Chen Bangyan to stay in Guangzhou to prepare for the Qing army.

Guangzhou is not only located in the rear of Guangdong Province, but more importantly, it is close to the coast. As long as Zhu Lang makes Guangzhou his capital, he can obtain logistical supplies from the sea.
The strength of the Qing cavalry was known to the world at this time, but no matter how powerful his cavalry was, could they ride into the sea?

The sea was still ruled by the Ming Dynasty, even if the Qing army was really unstoppable and attacked all the way to Guangzhou.
But as long as Zhu Lang held Guangzhou, he could take the sea route, continuously transfer troops from Guangxi, Guangdong and even Fujian to fight a war of attrition with the Qing court, eventually wear down the Qing army, and even turn defeat into victory.
Even if the Ming army was so weak that they couldn't even defend the city and a group of cavalry took the city, Zhu Lang could just board the ship and escape by sea without worrying about his life.
Therefore, from the day Zhu Lang was persuaded to ascend the throne, he had already made up his mind to seize the foundation of Emperor Shaowu and establish his own capital in Guangzhou.
"Mr. Su is very insightful. I have had this idea for a long time, but it is not easy. We still need to think carefully."

"The most important thing now is to take the succession issue seriously. Sir, please do not tell anyone in the city what you said, otherwise there will probably be trouble again," the young prince sighed.

"I understand. Now everything should be based on your succession to the throne. Once your highness takes the throne, you can naturally get rid of any treacherous villains with a wave of your hand," Su Guansheng said respectfully.
Su Guansheng nodded his head, but a hint of joy flashed in his eyes. It seemed that His Highness had long intended to move the capital to Guangzhou. Guangzhou was his territory. Although he did not have the idea of ​​raising troops like Ding Kuichu, as long as the center of the court was moved to Guangzhou, his power would naturally rise.
As for the prince's worries, he naturally understood that Ding Kuichu's base was in Zhaoqing, and all the officials in and outside Zhaoqing were from the Guangdong-Guangxi Governor's Office.

As long as the center is located in Zhaoqing, the money and grain from Guangdong Province and even the remaining provinces of the Ming Dynasty will continue to flow into Zhaoqing, and Ding Kuichu's power will increase day by day. Therefore, how could Ding Kuichu agree to move the capital?

Once the capital is moved, will Ding Kuichu leave with the Central Government?
If he left, he would be separated from Zhaoqing's troops, money and food.

The Governor's Office of Guangdong and Guangxi was located in Zhaoqing, so the Governor's Office soldiers under Ding Kuichu were also stationed in Zhaoqing. Once the capital was moved, the Governor's Office's army would no longer be able to accompany the central government.
It is impossible that if the capital is moved, the Governor-General's Office of Guangdong and Guangxi will also move. If so, is it the imperial court that is moving the capital, or is it the Governor-General's Office of Guangdong and Guangxi that is moving the capital?
If he didn't leave, Ding Kuichu would stay in Zhaoqing and be away from the center for a long time, which would inevitably reduce his power. In the end, he would be just a local official like in the Longwu Dynasty, and his efforts to support him would be in vain.
Therefore, the best solution is to never move the capital. Any proposal to move the capital will be strongly opposed by Ding Kuichu. This is why Zhu Lang has never told anyone about the plan even though he has already made it.

If they want to move the capital, they must get rid of Ding Kuichu, but Ding Kuichu is now too powerful to be controlled. This is simply an unsolvable problem.
(End of this chapter)