Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 626 Preparation
In addition, there were nobles such as Linhuai Marquis Li Hongji, Dingyuan Marquis Deng Wenming, Xiangcheng Earl Li Guozhen, Xinning Earl Tan Hongye, Yingcheng Earl Sun Tingxun, and Qingping Earl Wu Zunzhou in the Beijing camp. These people were either descendants of founding heroes or heroes of the Jingnan Camp.

But after so many generations, it can be said that there is not a single truly talented person among these people. Among them, only Li Guozhen, the Earl of Xiangcheng, is slightly better. However, although Li Guozhen is eloquent, he has no military ability at all. People like him are not suitable to be a military general at all, but he became one of the main generals of the Beijing camp.

Apart from these nobles, the rest of the Beijing Garrison were all their sons, nephews or relatives. After all, the Beijing Garrison was different from the border troops. Although they nominally had the responsibility of garrisoning the capital and had no shortage of equipment, in fact, the Beijing Garrison had not fought a war for more than a hundred years, and the wars that reached the capital were very rare, so the court had no need to mobilize the Beijing Garrison at all.

Under such circumstances, the Beijing Camp had become accustomed to the good life. In addition, the military pay and treatment of the Beijing Camp were much better than those of other troops. After joining the Beijing Camp, one could also lead troops and gain some qualifications. Naturally, the Beijing Camp became a place for the children of meritorious officials to gain qualifications, or a place to occupy a quota and get pay.

In addition, the problem of eating ghost soldiers was extremely serious in the Beijing Camp. There was a huge discrepancy between the number of names on the roster and the actual number of staff in the entire Beijing Camp. Apart from showing off their power to the common people at the city gate on weekdays, the camp had no combat effectiveness at all.

"There are nine gates in the capital. I dare not exaggerate. If the master needs it, I will operate it. It will definitely not be a problem to secretly control two or three gates. As for more, I am not too sure. After all, the defense of the capital is important. Although I have been operating in the capital for many years, I can't take care of everything."

"Two or three doors? Are you sure?" Zhu Shenzhui asked calmly without changing his expression.

Zhang Xijun patted his chest and said that there would be no problem at all. As long as operations were carried out in advance, the two doors would be a sure thing. As for the three doors, he was also sure about it, but there was no guarantee for more.

Among the nine gates of the capital, Zhu Shenzui would be 70% sure if he could control even one gate, let alone two or three. If he could really control so many gates as Zhang Xijun promised, the probability of success would be even greater.

But Zhu Shencui still did not dare to take it lightly and asked Zhang Xijun which two or three gates he mentioned. Zhang Xijun immediately replied that they were Xizhimen, Deshengmen and Andingmen. One of these three gates was in the west and two were in the north. From the geographical point of view, it was exactly what Zhu Shencui wanted and it couldn't be better.

However, it is not enough to be sure of occupying the city gate. You must know that the capital not only has nine gates, but also an inner city. The inner city is the Forbidden City, which also has gates guarded. If you cannot break through the inner city as soon as possible after entering the city, you still cannot achieve your goal quickly. So Zhu Shenzhui asked Zhang Xijun whether he was sure of opening the inner city.

Zhang Xijun did not respond to this question immediately, because the inner city was restricted by the palace, and even if he had channels and connections in the palace, he could not guarantee it completely. However, Zhang Xijun told Zhu Shenzhui that he would find a way as soon as possible, no matter how hard he tried, to come up with an idea to take down the inner city gate, but this would take time.

After hearing Zhang Xijun's answer, Zhu Shenzui was very satisfied, but he did not ask Zhang Xijun to do anything. He then turned the topic to other aspects and asked about other situations in the capital.

In the evening, Zhu Shenzhui left. Zhang Xijun did not try to persuade him to stay. He knew very well that Zhu Shenzhui had come to the capital to prepare for something big. From the conversation just now, he could tell that Zhu Shenzhui had made up his mind.

After seeing off Zhu Shenzhui and his party, Zhang Xijun returned to the house and could not suppress his excitement. He paced back and forth, clenching his fists from time to time in excitement. After a while, Zhang Xijun quickly found a few confidants and explained to them. After everyone left, Zhang Xijun himself was not idle either, and hurried out to do some work.

In the other direction from Zhang Xijun's residence, Zhu Shenzui and his group quietly moved into one of the small courtyards.

This is Zhu Shencui's temporary residence in the capital. This place was purchased a long time ago, but usually no one lived here except an old man who looked after the house. It was not put into use until Zhu Shencui came this time.

In the main hall, Zhu Shenzhui was sitting quietly, with a plain-looking man standing in front of him. If Zhang Xijun saw this man, he would definitely recognize him, because this man was Zhang Xijun's right-hand man and one of his most trusted people.

Logically speaking, this man should be at Zhang Xijun's house now, but he came here without anyone noticing. And seeing how he stood respectfully in front of Zhu Shenzui, it was not difficult to determine this man's true identity.

Zhu Shenzhui listened attentively to the man's story, his expression was very calm. After listening, he waved his hand and said nothing. The man saluted Zhu Shenzhui with his fists clasped, then turned and left.

After the man left, Zhu Shenzhui did not get up. He continued to sit there thinking, tapping lightly with his left index finger on the armrest, as if thinking about something.

From the current point of view, Zhang Xijun is still reliable and has no ulterior motives. Moreover, Zhang Xijun's actions and arrangements after Zhu Shenzhui left are also normal, which makes Zhu Shenzhui feel relieved. But then again, although it is better to trust people when employing them than to doubt them, Zhu Shenzhui must be well prepared for such a major event, especially the capital, where no mistakes can be made. Once a step is wrong, there will be no recovery.

This time, Zhu Shenzhui ventured to the capital to ascertain the situation in the capital to ensure that Zhang Xijun, as a chess piece, could play a huge role at the critical moment.

According to the information Zhu Shenzhui got from the Embroidered Uniform Guard, although Emperor Chongzhen seemed to have temporarily stopped the investigation in Shanxi because of the Jiexiu Fan family incident, the matter was not over. Emperor Chongzhen was a suspicious person and his character was stubborn and self-willed. The Hengtong incident had already involved Zhu Shenzhui, and the news was now spreading all over the capital, and even Zhou Anmin was involved. With Emperor Chongzhen's character, it was impossible for him to give up.

The current situation is nothing more than the calm before the eruption of a volcano. One day, Emperor Chongzhen might take action against Zhou Anmin and Zhu Shenzhui. Once he takes action, it will be a thunderous strike. If Zhu Shenzhui does not prepare in advance, it will be too late to regret.

Zhu Shencui has never been a passive person. After so many years of preparation, Zhu Shencui's purpose was very clear. Although the Hengtong incident disrupted his original plan and caught Zhu Shencui off guard, Zhu Shencui still maintained a cool head and judgment in this situation.

Originally, Zhu Shenzui planned to take action when the world was finally in chaos. He wanted to use the bandits and the Qing army to clean up the Ming Dynasty first, and then choose the most appropriate time to launch a sudden attack, so that he could reap the benefits.

The effect and benefits of doing so are enormous. After more than 200 years of development, the Ming Dynasty had long been in a state of deterioration with numerous internal contradictions and endless fighting between factions in the court. Although Emperor Chongzhen held great power and had been constantly adjusting the court structure in recent years in an attempt to change the situation, in reality the imperial power of the Ming Dynasty had already fallen into the hands of others, and Emperor Chongzhen himself was not a wise ruler. Although he had the intention to turn the tide, he simply did not have the ability to do so. Moreover, under his countless outrageous operations, all aspects of the Ming Dynasty's problems became increasingly serious and the situation became increasingly worse.

It was at this time that such a thing happened, and it was impossible for Zhu Shencui to continue hiding. Once the court launched an attack, Zhu Shencui would be extremely passive. By that time, even if he could protect himself, it would be difficult for him to stir up trouble in the world.

Faced with these situations, Zhu Shenzui had to change his plan, which was to launch the attack early.

Before coming to Beijing, Zhu Shenzhui had made arrangements. His troops in Shanxi had already begun to mobilize and assemble. Not only were there the new troops with extremely strong combat effectiveness that he had trained over the years, but also the garrison troops of Luzhou Guard. Among these two armies, the new army had 6,500 people and the garrison troops had nearly 10,000 people. Together with the logistics personnel, the total number exceeded 20,000.

In addition to these two armies, Zhu Shenzui had sent a secret letter to Guihua, mobilizing the elite cavalry in Guihua to enter the Great Wall and assemble at Zhaowuling.

This cavalry had more than 2,000 riders and was the most elite cavalry of the Tengger tribe. Considering the safety of the Tengger tribe and Guihua, Zhu Shenzui did not use the new army and other Mongolian cavalry stationed in Guihua, but it was enough to wait for this cavalry to arrive. The combat effectiveness of this cavalry was even stronger than that of the elite Eight Banners, and it was one of the most capable troops in Zhu Shenzui's hands.

Now this cavalry has been divided into small groups and is coming one after another. It won't take long for them to reach Zhaowuling. When the cavalry arrives, Zhu Shenzhui's army will basically be assembled, and then it will be time to launch the attack.

Zhaowuling is located in the southeast of Shanxi, with Luzhouwei to the north and Yuxiaguan to the east. These two places have long been controlled by Zhu Shenzhui. There are many roads to the east from Shanxi, and according to the distance calculation, it is the fastest to go to the capital from Juyongguan. However, Juyongguan is in the northeast of Shanxi, and it is almost across the entire north and south of Shanxi from Zhaowuling and Luzhouwei. If you want to go east from Juyongguan to Zhili and then reach the capital, you must cross Shanxi to deploy troops.

Although Zhu Shenzhui was quite confident in the power in his hands, the problem was that once he used his troops in this way, he would inevitably face a battle with the Ming border troops. Although the troops stationed in Datong were Hei Yunlong's subordinates, Hei Yunlong was not in Datong but in Xuanfu.

Among the Nine Frontiers, Datong and Xuanfu have always been mentioned together. The imperial court even had a permanent position of Governor-General of Xuanda to command the two departments, but Hei Yunlong, the Governor-General of Xuanda, was only a temporary position at first. After Man Gui died in battle, the imperial court appointed Hei Yunlong as the general and appointed him as the Governor-General of Xuanda. After the siege of the capital was lifted, Hei Yunlong's position as the temporary Governor-General of Xuanda was gone. He first served as the general of Datong, and later, because Gao Yingxiang and other bandits threatened Zhili and Huang Taiji in Liaodong was ready to move, Emperor Chongzhen transferred Hei Yunlong from Datong to Xuanfu to ensure the safety of the capital. He served as the general of Xuanfu to protect the capital.

Hei Yunlong had been a chess piece in Xuanda for many years, and if Zhu Shenzui's new army had not stopped the attack of the Eight Banners and rescued the surrounded Hei Yunlong during the defense of the capital, Hei Yunlong might have died on the battlefield.

No matter from which point of view, Zhu Shenzui has done Hei Yunlong a favor, and Hei Yunlong is also a loyal man. He is not the ungrateful Wu Mengming. Once the action is launched, the possibility of persuading Hei Yunlong is not small.

(End of this chapter)