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

Chapter 654 Shandong
Shandong, Dengzhou.

Xu Xiancheng and Hei Yunlong of Xuanfu received the news at about the same time. After Zhu Shenzui led his troops to capture Baoding, Xu Xiancheng of Dengzhou received the letter.

When Xu Xiancheng learned that Zhu Shencui had suddenly launched an uprising and not only captured Baoding but also continued to attack the capital to the north, he was extremely shocked. He never expected that Zhu Shencui would do this.

Xu Xiancheng was in a very complicated mood for a while. As a minister of the Ming Dynasty and the governor of Shandong and Leiden, Xu Xiancheng should immediately raise troops to defend the capital and fight against the rebellious Zhu Shenzhui. However, as Zhu Shenzhui's brother-in-law, Xu Xiancheng should keep his troops in place, or even take the initiative to surrender to Zhu Shenzhui and join his Jingnan Army.

No matter which step it was, it was very difficult to take. To be honest, Xu Xiancheng owed his success to Zhu Shencui. If it were not for Zhu Shencui's help, how could he have studied in his early years and passed the imperial examination? Even after he passed the imperial examination, Zhu Shencui helped him a lot. Whether it was the settlement of living in the capital or his subsequent rapid rise to fame, Zhu Shencui was secretly behind it.

Xu Xiancheng always admired his brother-in-law. Although Zhu Shenzhui was only a member of the imperial clan, Xu Xiancheng was very clear about his outstanding abilities and skills. In his opinion, if it were not for the restrictions of his imperial clan status, Zhu Shenzhui's abilities would be enough to make him a general or a prime minister, which was not something he could compare to. Unfortunately, the Ming Dynasty had extremely strict control over the imperial clan, and even if Zhu Shenzhui had outstanding abilities, he would not have been able to embark on a career in politics.

But unexpectedly, Zhu Shenzui suddenly started a rebellion, and under the banner of clearing the court and pacifying the national crisis, he not only captured Baoding with tremendous force, but also led his troops to besiege the capital. This was truly shocking.

Xu Xiancheng was surprised and worried about his sister and two nephews. How would they be settled if Zhu Shenzhui started a rebellion? What would happen to them if he was defeated? Moreover, his identity was also sensitive. If people knew that Zhu Shenzhui was his brother-in-law, how would the court treat him?
Although Xu Xiancheng was a scholar, he was not a pedantic person. He knew very well that he was standing at a critical juncture. As a minister, he should raise an army to support the king, but emotionally he should stand on Zhu Shenzhu's side. For a while, he was in a dilemma.

However, Xu Xiancheng made a decision quickly. After discussing with Li Xin, he decisively replied to Zhu Shenzhu and supported his actions. The reason for making this decision was not because of relatives, but because Xu Xiancheng recognized Zhu Shenzhu's ability. He judged that since Zhu Shenzhu dared to launch a sudden attack, he must be sure. According to Xu Xiancheng's understanding of Zhu Shenzhu, his brother-in-law was definitely not a reckless person. Since he dared to do this, he must have made full preparations.
What's more, Xu Xiancheng also had a lot of criticisms about the current Ming Dynasty court, including Emperor Chongzhen, especially the dispute over the Pi Island issue in recent days. As the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Chongzhen had no sense of responsibility and was indecisive in doing things. Seeing that the situation in Pi Island was becoming more and more urgent, he was still thinking about how to have the best of both worlds, or even planning to shift the blame to his ministers.

This emperor seemed to be diligent and wise, but in fact he was a tyrant. In Xu Xiancheng's opinion, compared with the previous Emperor Tianqi, Emperor Chongzhen was not even a little bit inferior, especially as a king, he did not have the bearing of a king, and did not know how to use power. Another point was his character flaws, such as stubbornness, indecision, impatience and suspicion. How could such an emperor revive the Ming Dynasty?

The situation of the Ming Dynasty has been getting worse over the years, with serious internal and external troubles. To put it bluntly, the Emperor Chongzhen is largely responsible for this situation. But this emperor still doesn't know it, always thinking that the problem lies with his ministers and even the people, and insists on doing things his own way. If this continues, how can the world not be in chaos?

In Xu Xiancheng's view, if Emperor Chongzhen continued to make trouble, it would be better to change the master. His brother-in-law Zhu Shenzhui was much better than Emperor Chongzhen in every aspect. If he could rule the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty would definitely not be what it is now.

In addition to the relationship between the two, Xu Xiancheng was more inclined to Zhu Shencui and did not think there was anything wrong with Zhu Shencui taking his place.

However, just when Xu Xiancheng was about to stand on Zhu Shenzhu's side, Zhu Shenzhu's second letter arrived. In the second letter, Zhu Shenzhu told Xu Xiancheng that he did not need to lead Shandong troops to join the Jingnan Army immediately. It was not difficult for Zhu Shenzhu to capture the capital. At present, Xu Xiancheng's joining or not would not have any effect. On the contrary, once Xu Xiancheng directly expressed his position, it would not be a good thing for him and Shandong.

Because of Zhu Shenzhu's uprising, Emperor Chongzhen had issued an order to all regions to support the emperor, and this news could not be blocked. If Xu Xiancheng joined the Jingnan Army at this time, it would be equivalent to putting the entire Shandong Province on the opposite side of the Qinwang Army, especially since the southern Zhili was to the south of Shandong. If the southern army went north, Shandong would be the first to bear the brunt. This would bring great pressure to Xu Xiancheng and lead to unpredictable and complicated changes in the situation.

Zhu Shenzhui's suggestion was very simple. He wanted Xu Xiancheng to keep silent for the time being and maintain the status quo. As long as the Shandong army was restrained, the Shandong army would not participate in the actual support for the king and would only adopt a neutral attitude. This would not only prevent Shandong from being attacked by the support army, but also use Shandong to create some trouble for the support army in the south and delay their march northward.

This is the most appropriate way to do it. Of course, it is not a bad idea for Xu Xiancheng to show his loyalty to the emperor at the right time. This is nothing more than delaying time. As for the reason, Zhu Shenzhu also helped Xu Xiancheng think of it. Didn't Huang Taiji just take over Korea? The situation on Pi Island is not good. The Guanning Army in Liaodong cannot rescue Pi Island. Pi Island cannot be defended by its own strength. The only feasible way is to send ships to pick up the soldiers and civilians of Pi Island as Xu Xiancheng suggested to Emperor Chongzhen before, to avoid the sharp edge and preserve strength.

Emperor Chongzhen had never agreed to this matter, and always wanted Xu Xiancheng to take the responsibility. But now Zhu Shenzhu told Xu Xiancheng that it could be arranged as soon as possible, and Zhu Shenzhu would support Xu Xiancheng no matter how far it went. Moreover, the battle of Pi Island was imminent, and Huang Taiji was eyeing Pi Island and might take action at any time. This matter needed to be done immediately. As long as this matter was done, Shandong would be unable to withdraw troops to defend the emperor for the time being, and the whole world could not blame Xu Xiancheng. After reading this letter, Li Xin clapped his hands and applauded, and hurriedly said that this method could not be better.

As long as Shandong intervenes in the Pi Island War, it will naturally be unable to send troops to defend the king. There is nothing wrong with resisting foreign enemies, and it is impossible for people in the world to blame Xu Xiancheng for this.

Moreover, Xu Xiancheng and Li Xin had long wanted to do this. They had even prepared the ships in Leiden and were waiting for the court's order. However, Emperor Chongzhen refused to make a formal statement and his words were ambiguous, which made Xu Xiancheng and Li Xin extremely anxious and extremely dissatisfied.

Now that Zhu Shenzhui has taken the initiative to bring up the matter, which has directly dispelled their concerns, what reasons do they have to object?

Before the imperial edict arrived, Xu Xiancheng and Li Xin took action and sent ships across the sea to Pi Island to transport the soldiers and civilians of Pi Island back to Shandong before Huang Taiji took action. As for what happened to Zhu Shenzhu and the capital, they pretended not to know, and neither Sun Yuanhua nor anyone else informed them. They hurriedly arranged the withdrawal of troops from Pi Island and the possible war with Huang Taiji at any time.

Everything happened just as Zhu Shenzui had thought. Just as Xu Xiancheng had made preparations and the ship had crossed the sea, on the second day, an angel from the capital arrived in Leiden, hurriedly found Xu Xiancheng with the imperial edict, and ordered the Shandong troops to rush to the capital.

After seeing the imperial edict, Xu Xiancheng was immediately "shocked" and asked what had happened. When he "heard" that Zhu Shenzhui, a member of the royal family, had rebelled, he looked "stunned" and cursed.

In front of Angel and the people of Shandong, Xu Xiancheng patted his chest and guaranteed that the Shandong army would definitely go to support the king. But just when Angel was happy, Xu Xiancheng told him about his difficulties and said that it would take a few days to send troops to support the king. Right now, the main force of Leiden was busy with the battle of Pi Island. Huang Taiji had just conquered Korea and had mobilized the Korean navy to prepare to attack Pi Island.

Xu Xiancheng reported the matter to Emperor Chongzhen and proposed to bring back the soldiers and civilians of Pi Island. This matter was known to everyone in the court. Although Emperor Chongzhen did not issue an explicit decree, he had approved of Xu Xiancheng's plan in the memorials sent back and forth. Xu Xiancheng had mobilized the army, including all the ships in Shandong, to start this matter a few days ago. Nearly half of the ships had already set out to sea, and the remaining ships were also ready to cross the sea at any time to bring back the soldiers and civilians of Pi Island.

Under such circumstances, it was unrealistic for the Shandong army to abandon Pi Island and go to the capital to defend the king. The ships that were out to sea could not be called back just by saying so. They could only wait until this matter was done before they could mobilize the army again to go to the capital to defend the king.

At this point, Xu Xiancheng expressed his helplessness. This was just a coincidence. How could they have met? He even showed the reply from Emperor Chongzhen to his memorial to the angel. The angel had nothing to say after reading it. Moreover, the generals of Leiden also said that this matter had been planned for a long time and had just begun to be implemented. They could not ignore the battle on Pi Island and abandon the hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians on Pi Island.

In order to show his obedience to the imperial court's order to serve the king, Xu Xiancheng took the initiative to come up with a solution, which was to mobilize the Shandong garrison troops to serve the king first.

There are two armies in Shandong. One is the army of Leiden, which is controlled by Xu Xiancheng. The other is the army of the local guards, which is controlled by the Shandong commander. Xu Xiancheng is the governor of Shandong and the governor of Leiden, but he is not an official of the local three departments. He is just the governor stationed in Shandong by the court. Therefore, he cannot command the guards. The commander of the local three departments needs to send troops. This is the only way.

As for Xu Xiancheng's army, it would take some time to send out troops. Only after the soldiers and civilians of Pi Island withdrew to Shandong could they reorganize and serve the king.

Faced with this situation, Tian Shi was helpless and could only turn around and go to Jinan to find Shandong Wei to discuss the matter of defending the king. After seeing Tian Shi off, Xu Xiancheng breathed a sigh of relief. The matter was temporarily delayed. He then continued to work hard to deal with the withdrawal of the military and civilians of Pi Island, while also closely following the changes in the capital.

(End of this chapter)