During this process, Zhang Huangyan secretly went to the north, traveled to Xuzhou, Jinan, Laizhou, Jiaozhou, and even went to Dingtao and Dezhou, which were close to the Qing Dynasty.

During this trip, Zhang Huangyan saw a picture of order and prosperity that did not belong to the chaotic world, and was deeply moved.

Finally, Zhang Huangyan came to a conclusion in his heart. If Zhou Xian was allowed to defeat the Qing Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty would probably be not far from being destroyed.

After returning to the south, Zhang Huangyan and Zhang Mingzhen discussed the matter in detail, and summarized the information obtained from the south, reported it to Shi Kefa, and presented it to Zhu Cixuan.

In the memorial, Zhang Huangyan tried his best to persuade the court to send troops north while Zhou Xian fought with the Qing Dynasty. He captured the Jianghuai area with Yangzhou as the focus and stabilized the Yangtze River defense line.

Later, Du Yinxi returned to Nanjing with Niu Jinxing, and Zhang Huangyan told Du Yinxi about his thoughts.

Du Yinxi understood Zhang Huangyan's concerns, but reminded him that the time has not come yet. He should wait slowly and do not rush.

After appeased Zhang Huangyan, Du Yinxi began to take positive actions on the other hand.

He went to pay his respects to Shi Kefa privately and proposed that he could give up his post as governor of Huguang and take charge of military power, regardless of government affairs. At the same time, he promised that after surrendering the Huguang rebel army, the army gathered in Wuchang would be divided into two.

Half of the soldiers would follow him north to recover Xiangyang, and the remaining half would be handed over to Zuo Menggeng. He would continue to guard Wuchang, take charge of the rear of the Northern Expedition Army, and defend the safety of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River.

Zhu Cilang married Zuo Xianmei, and Zuo Menggeng added another new identity, which was the uncle of the Ming Dynasty.

Du Yinxi handed over half of the army to him, which was to hand over half of the army to the court. In addition, he gave up the governor of Huguang and the food and food of the army were controlled by the court, which meant that the army he led was completely under the control of the court.

In this way, Du Yinxi will definitely face various restrictions in the future, but he also used this to relieve the court's suspicion, which made many officials who criticized him for being self-respecting have no reason to blame him.

Du Yinxi proposed that the only two conditions for making such a big concession was to let Zhang Huangyan enter the 1st regiment battalion as the head of the first battalion and put Zhongzhen camp under his command.

In chaotic times, people's minds change. From emperors and princes to officials to Guizhou, they are in a very uneasy mood.

Du Yinxi certainly understood that if he was commanded by himself, he would be more conducive to his recovery of Xiangyang, but he also understood that owning troops would definitely arouse suspicion from the court. He believed that rather than being constrained by many parties in the future, it would be better to give up part of his military power to show his loyalty to the court.

But Zhang Huangyan is different. He is only in his twenties. Although he is also a genius among the same people, he has experienced too little things after all, and he has the stubbornness and persistence of young people.

Du Yinxi's words only made Zhang Huangyan calm for a while, and then started to act again.

In recruiting new recruits from the 10th Regiment Battalion, he was responsible for his duties, and he personally selected each soldier. Through Zhang Mingzhen, he continued to send people to the north so that he could grasp the situation in the north at any time.

Through the Jinyiwei who was originally left in the north, the officials, gentry and newly sent ones were devoted to the Ming Dynasty. In a short time, Zhang Huangyan established a set of his own intelligence network.

Although it is not perfect, it is many times better than before, but I don’t know anything about the North.

Through Fang Yizhi, Zhang Huangyan, Han Zanzhou, Lu Jiude and others who are also members of Xingming Society, they were connected.

Both of them, one is the chief eunuch and the other is the governor of the Beijing camp, both hold great power. The most important thing is that they are extremely dissatisfied with Zhou Xian who rebelled against the Ming Dynasty and became independent.

Zhang Huangyan also made friends with Tan Zhencai, who deviated from Zhou Xian and was also the general of the 10th Regiment Battalion. He also Yang Yufan, the leader of the Yang family who was once the general and had a great influence in Linyi, Shandong.

Tan Zhencai was the garrison of the Mo camp before Zhou Xian went to Denglai. The Renzi Camp, one of the Five De Camps, was established based on the Mo camp he had originally ruled.

Although he left, all the soldiers left behind had served under him. Moreover, his son Tan Shimai is currently the commander of Zhou Xian.

Through talking about Zhencai, Zhang Huangyan determined some people who could win over and use them, and secretly sent people to contact them in order to obtain information from Zhou Xianjun and clarify the direction of Zhou Xian's march.

The Yang family where Yang Yufan is located has a deep background in Linyi and can also provide a lot of help.

Soon, Du Yinxi successfully surrendered the Huguang Rebellion Army, and the Longwu Army also accepted the invitation from the Ming Dynasty. The situation seemed to be developing in a direction that was beneficial to the Ming Dynasty.

And the information Zhang Huangyan got.

The Qing army led by Jiang Guan still surrounded Yuancheng, the capital of Daming Prefecture on three sides. Zhou Xian had sent about six battalions of soldiers to the north bank of the Yellow River one after another. The intention of reconstructing the three Henan prefectures on the north bank of the Yellow River was very obvious.

In Dezhou, Yang Yan led his troops northward and successfully captured Cangzhou. The vanguard cavalry even attacked the suburbs of Tianjin. Near Qing County, 30,000 Zhou Xianjun was confronting tens of thousands of Qing troops led by Tang Tong and Bai Guangen.

In Hengshui and Xinhe areas north of Linqing, Wu Yuanji and the Qing army fought several times, and both sides suffered great losses.

At Dingjiadaokou, Dingtao and Xuzhou soldiers led by Liu Konghe tentatively crossed the Yellow River several times, but were blocked by Boluo.

The war started at multiple points, resulting in the empty troops in Xuzhou and Jinan, and Zhou Xian could mobilize not much mobile troops. Although soldiers were recruiting in various parts of Shandong, it would take a long time for these soldiers to form combat power.

Zhang Huangyan believed that the time had come, and if he gave up this time, he would probably never again. He secretly wrote to Zhu Cixuan several times, trying to persuade the court to send troops to recover Yangzhou, but he did not get any approval.

In the end, Zhang Huangyan couldn't wait. He persuaded Zhang Mingzhen and asked him to agree to bypass the court and send troops privately, and take action first and then report.

Zhang Mingzhen had great ambitions. Although he understood the crime of sending troops privately, he finally agreed to the matter with Zhang Huangyan's persuasion.

Zhang Huangyan's plan was successful. He successfully entered Yangzhou without paying any price, and also mobilized Zheng Hongkui to help in the name of the court.

At the same time, Ma Jixiang in Nanjing also cooperated to start the action. Although his ability to do things is not as good as his ability to flatter, as the commander of the Jinyiwei, he still has the ability to act.

Zhang Huangyan knew that Ma Jixiang had long taken a fancy to the shops and money shops in Nanjing City that were run by northerners, so he used this as a temptation to persuade Ma Jixiang to participate in their actions.

Ma Jixiang has a smooth personality and certainly does not want to. But when Han Zanzhou came forward, he thought it was the will of the court. Moreover, he had been coveting the money shops and shops for a long time, so he agreed to participate in the matter.
Chapter completed!