In fact, Teng County has another meaning for Zhou Xian. Zaozhuang is rich in coal storage in the southeast. Zhou Xian moved some craftsmen from the Laizhou Artillery Factory here to forge cold weapons such as swords and guns. He also recruited some refugees to dig stones and mines in the local area. At present, there are nearly 5,000 local miners and craftsmen, with a thousand gun heads per day, three hundred long swords and nearly two thousand arrows.

In the past, by setting up a defense line on the north bank of Huitong River, it could barely block the Longwu army. But the reason for this was that Zhou Xian had sufficient troops, and Li Dingguo did not make a large invasion because he was worried that the two tigers would fight to benefit the rebel army. Once the rebel army began to attack western Shandong, Li Dingguo would definitely try his best to compete for Teng County. At that time, Zaozhuang, Teng County, Fei County, and even Pingyi, further north, and Qufu would not belong to Zhou Xian.

Wan Ji glanced at everyone and continued: "At present, our army has more than 20,000 people in western Shandong, and at least 10,000 soldiers must be deployed around Teng County. The soldiers stationed in various places have less than 10,000 motorized troops left. Moreover, most of the troops are new and lack cavalry. At the same time, we have to face combat on both sides. Insufficient troops are the main problem we face. In the future, no matter which side of the war fails, the consequences will be extremely serious."

At this time, a yamen runner walked into the lobby and clasped his fists to Zhou Xian and said, "The commander-in-chief, Xia Yunyi, Tai'an governor, Wu Zhengwen, Dezhou governor, Gu Xianzheng, Qingzhou co-governor, Yu Baiyi, guard Wen Kai, guard Yan Yingyuan, Gu Yanwu, Huang Zongxi and others have arrived. Should they be invited in now?"

Zhou Xian nodded, "Let them all come over!"

After a while, more than a dozen people walked into the hall one after another.

Zhou Xian waved his hand and asked them to find a seat at will. Several officials with lower identities stood up and gave their positions to those with higher positions, and automatically retreated to the back and stood there. Chen Mingxia, Han Chang and others went down and whispered to the newcomer what they had just discussed.

The lobby of the governor's yamen was very large, but it seemed a bit crowded with thirty or forty people inside. Several servants came in, served new tea for everyone, and moved the charcoal basin in the house. There were dozens of soldiers on the outside, which were listed fifty meters away, ensuring that no one was allowed to get close to them.

After everyone calmed down, Gao Mingheng stood up and said, "Master General, we already know the current situation, what should we do?"

Zhou Xian nodded and said with a smile: "Isn't this a call for discussion? But first of all, we should determine several important premises. First, if the treacherous forces are unstoppable and attack the capital, the court will inevitably summon troops from all directions to support the king. What should we do at this time? It is certain to send troops, but how many troops are sent? Should we bring all the troops from Shandong, or should we send a certain amount of troops to reinforce the capital while protecting ourselves?"

Wang Zhang was furious and stood up and whispered: "Master Zhou, what do you mean? The capital is the center of the court. Once there is any mistake, the Ming Dynasty will be destroyed and the world will be shaken. Of course, we should all use Shandong soldiers to rescue the capital. If the capital is in trouble, what's the use of saving a Shandong?"

Xia Yunyi frowned and said, "Mr. Wang said it is reasonable. But Shandong itself is attacked by the rebels and the Longwu rebels. It is precisely because the general led the army here to barely defend it. If all the soldiers from Shandong are brought to the capital, Shandong will inevitably fall into the hands of the thieves. The people are suffering from trouble. Once the thieves take Shandong and then go north to attack the capital from here, can the capital still defend it? Instead of going to the capital with all the troops to the capital, it is better to adopt the strategy of siege Wei to save Zhao. On the premise of maintaining Shandong, attacking Henan, the credibility of the thieves, westward. If it can be siege and even capture Kaifeng, it may be better for the Ming Dynasty."

Zhou Xian glanced at Xia Yunyi with appreciation and said, "The prefect Wang is loyal to the country, which is worthy of praise. What Yi Zhong said is an alternative plan. But the problem is that in my opinion, whether it is to take all the troops from Shandong to the north or to surround Wei to save Zhao, he may not be able to save the Ming Dynasty. The main problems faced by the former are Shanxi and Hebei, the deterioration of the situation, countless people, and shortage of food and grass. The problem of the latter is that our army must resist the Longwu army led by Li Dingguo, and be able to distribute the troops against the rebel army. Not to mention the capture of Kaifeng, it is already a huge difficulty to capture eastern Henan. Moreover, with Li Yan's talent and understanding of the situation in Shandong, he cannot be without precautions against our army. Even if Li Zicheng leads the army north to attack Shaanxi, he may not be less capable of defending our army."

Wu Ganlai said: "What does the commander-in-chief mean? Is there a way to solve the dilemma of the capital?"

Zhou Xian nodded, "Yes. Give up the capital and move the capital to Nanjing. Nanjing stayed for the Ming Dynasty and maintained all the government structure. Six ministers and ministers of each department were not short of. If the capital was moved to Nanjing, the government would be restarted within a few months. Moreover, several southeastern provinces have always been rich and good at using it, and can recruit enough troops to protect themselves. The broken north was left to Li Zicheng, allowing the rebel army and the Qing Dynasty to fight. As long as they endure for several years, they might be able to lead troops north and recover the capital."

Perhaps Zhou Xian said that the jump was a bit big, and no one spoke again, and there was a rustling and low voice.

Gao Mingheng was silent for a while and said, "I heard that the governor had already written to the emperor several times on this matter, but he was rejected by the emperor every time?"

Zhou Xian nodded, "This is indeed the case. But now the situation is different, maybe the emperor will agree. Besides, the matter is not whether the emperor agrees or not, but whether my proposal is right? If it is right, is it considered unfaithful to the ministers? Take it out at a hundred histories!"

Chen Mingxia nodded and took out a stack of paper. After opening it, it contained various reasons why the capital was not guarded, as well as the various benefits of moving the capital to Nanjing. The last column was Zhou Xian's official position and name, and proposed to move the capital to Nanjing.

Zhou Xian said: "This memorial is from the Master of Letters. If everyone here agrees, sign your own name and join me, and think it is our letter together. If you don't agree, it doesn't matter. Just think that you have never seen this memorial."

The memorial first came to Gao Mingheng. He held the memorial and asked: "The commander-in-chief, the north and south are currently blocked, and the traffic is not smooth. If you finally decide to move the capital, the officials, princes, princes, concubines, family members, civil and military officials in the court, there are more than a few hundred thousand people. There are also various documents and artifacts, which must be piled up like a mountain. If the saint arrived in Shandong and there were so many people, how could you transport them all to Nanjing?"

Zhou Xian replied: "Use a boat and walk on the sea. Zhongqing, you know the situation of the ships owned by our army. Do you think there is any problem with Governor Gao's concern?"

Gu Yanwu was silent for a moment and said, "One trip is definitely not enough, but you can go in batches according to the importance of the characters. As for the utensils and documents, you can delay some days and transport them again, and it will not have any impact anyway. Moreover, at this time, not all things and everyone need to transport them south to Nanjing. Governor Gao's concerns are completely unnecessary, just delaying some time. However, the wind and waves on the sea are very high and the waves are much more dangerous than sailing on the river. But as long as you drive carefully and prepare more reserve ships, there will be no major problems."

Gao Mingheng pondered for a moment, finally nodded gently and signed his name on the memorial.

This surprised Zhou Xian a little. In addition to himself, Gao Mingheng had the highest official position. He retired and returned home, but was re-activated by Emperor Chongzhen before he became the governor of Shandong. Because of his position, he and Zhou Xian had different opinions in many aspects. Zhou Xian did not expect him to sign, but he did not expect that he would be so hesitant this time.

With Gao Mingheng signing his name, Wu Ganlai, Wan Ji, Gu Xianzheng, Xia Yunyi and others also signed the signatures one after another. Although a few people, led by Jinan Prefect Wang Zhang and Dezhou Prefect Wu Zhengwen, did not sign the signatures, it was beyond Zhou Xian's expectations.

Seeing Gao Wencai hesitating with his pen, Zhou Xian stood up and walked to him and pressed his pen and said, "Gao Qianhu, you are the Jinyiwei, so there is no need to express your opinion. I would like to submit this memorial to the emperor through your own channels, and you can also inform the emperor of everything discussed in this meeting."

Gao Wencai looked up at Zhou Xian, his face full of surprise. Wang Zhang was also surprised. He hesitated for a moment, and finally stood up and looked at Zhou Xian and said, "Supervisor, can you ask you a question?"

Zhou Xian nodded and said, "Prince Wang, please tell me."

Wang Zhang said: "If the court moves south, the entire north will fall into the hands of the thieves. Xuzhou is occupied by the Longwu rebels, Henan is occupied by the rebels, and Shandong will be completely isolated from the court. What will the governor prepare to do at this time? Should he completely give up Shandong to move south with the emperor? Or should he stick to Shandong and defend this enclave for the Ming Dynasty?"

Zhou Xian shook his head and smiled, "Mr. Wang is wrong. Even if the court moves south, Shandong will not become an enclave. Although the road is cut off, the sea will be smooth. As long as the court provides certain assistance, Shandong can be defended. In this case, how can I abandon Shandong? In any case, I will stay in Shandong and fight with the bandit army to the end."

Wang Zhang nodded and walked forward. He took a brush from Zhou Xian's hand, signed his name on the memorial, and then returned to his seat to sit down.

Zhou Xian glanced at Wang Zhang with a strange look. After hesitating for a while, hesitated and closed the memorial with both hands, and handed it to Gao Wencai. "Gao Qianhu, I'll hand it to you, and I must deliver it to the emperor as soon as possible."

Gao Wencai stood up and bowed, "Don't worry, the commander-in-chief, I will send someone to the capital after the meeting."
Chapter completed!