Hong Chengchou's face was gray and he sat dejectedly on the Grand Master's chair. He didn't have the courage to look at Dong Yuansheng sitting next to him, but just stared blankly at the letter on the table. It was a letter written by his mother.

When he just saw Dong Yuansheng, Hong Chengchou had made all preparations and handed Dong Yuansheng to the regent Dorgon, and dug out all the spies arranged by the Ming Dynasty court in the capital. No matter what, this is a great achievement.

However, the old Taoist Hong Chengchou still has to consider the situation and not take action rashly.

After several confrontations, Hong Chengchou completely broke through and had long forgotten to hand over Dong Yuansheng to the Regent Dorgon.

Surrendering to the Later Jin court was Dorgon's greatest shame in his life. After all, he was the Minister of War of the Ming Dynasty, the governor of Ji Liao, and the title of Prince Shao Shi. He was a first-rank high-ranking official and a high-ranking minister. He was highly trusted by Emperor Chongzhen. He failed the Battle of Songshan and was captured alive. Hong Chengchou originally thought that he had died and had left his reputation for his eternal reputation. He didn't know why, but by the gods, he actually surrendered to the Later Jin court, leaving great embarrassment and shame to the Ming court.

Since he did it and had no way to go back, he would do it to the end. After surrendering to the Qing Dynasty, Hong Chengchou saw a lot. The integrity and efficiency of the Qing court left a very deep impression on him, especially Huang Taiji, Dorgon and others, who were all perfect heroes. In comparison, Emperor Chongzhen of the Ming Dynasty was not as good as that.

Hong Chengchou naturally knew the many chronic diseases of the Ming court. In his opinion, it would be a matter of time before the Later Jin court destroyed the Ming court, so after taking this step, Hong Chengchou threw away his regret.

Hong Chengchou was not only familiar with Emperor Chongzhen, but also with Crown Prince Zhu Cilang. Zhu Cilang has always been growing up in the palace. Although he received a lot of education, he looked gentle and elegant, but he had no ability to govern the country. The Ming Dynasty was about to collapse, and Zhu Cilang, who fled to Nanjing to ascend the throne to the throne, was just a stagnant. As long as the Qing Dynasty completely defeated Li Zicheng and the Dashun army, stabilized the situation in the north, and when he headed to the south, the Ming court in the south would fall.

Hong Chengchou never dreamed that the 20,000 Eight Banners Army that attacked Shandong would be wiped out. Moreover, this battle was personally deployed and commanded by Zhu Cixuan. The 20,000 Eight Banners Army soldiers were indeed completely wiped out by the Ming army.

Hong Chengchou knew very well what this meant. The ten thousand soldiers of the Mongolian Eight Banners had strong combat power, not at all weaker than the Manchu Eight Banners, and could even be compared with the Zhengbai Banners and the Inlaid White Banners. They were defeated and their entire army was wiped out.

Hong Chengchou didn't know how many battles he commanded, and he knew very well the combat effectiveness of the Ming army. If we wanted to make a quantitative comparison, the combat effectiveness of the ten Ming army soldiers was not as good as that of a soldier who had full of the Eight Banners.

But the Battle of Wuqiao happened, and the 20,000 Eight Banners soldiers were wiped out.

This made Hong Chengchou's back feel cold. Could it be that there are gods around Zhu Cilang's side to guide him? Could it be that the Ming army in the south is completely different from before?

Dong Yuansheng's sharp words made Hong Chengchou unable to speak, so he could only listen silently.

Since Dong Yuansheng dared to come to the mansion, he made all preparations. The emperor Zhu Cixuan had already shown his outstanding ability. The Ming Dynasty had begun to revive. Under such circumstances, Hong Chengchou was still devoted and still ignored it. What kind of ending he would face in the end is obvious.

The letter from his mother made Hong Chengchou almost collapse. People in the family couldn't raise their heads outside, and his mother almost never went out. His name was also removed from the ancestral hall and became a person scolded by thousands of people. Hong Chengchou, who was a scholar, could tolerate all this because he believed that he would always turn over and know that history was written by the winner.

The failure of the Battle of Wuqiao was just a straw that crushed Hong Chengchou. The decisive and wise nature of the Emperor Zhu Cilang was the thing that Hong Chengchou was most afraid of. He would never want to be a figure like Qin Hui in the Southern Song Dynasty, and be carved into a bronze statue, and kneeled on the ground forever and be despised by others. It was a shame and humiliation that no scholar could bear.

If you continue to be loyal to the Later Jin court, you may face such an ending.

"Mr. Hong, I have explained everything I said clearly. You have read the letter. It's time to make a decision. I'll wait for you to hand me over to Dorgon directly so that you can make great contributions again and serve the Later Jin Tartars wholeheartedly..."

When Dong Yuansheng's harsh words appeared again, Hong Chengchou looked up powerlessly and wanted to wave it, but he had no strength at all.

"This, Lord Dong, I know everything. You should leave quickly. Today I will pretend that nothing happened. I will not hand you over to Dorgon..."

"Why, Lord Hong is planning to serve the Later Jin Tartars wholeheartedly? Well, I won't waste Lord Hong's time, but Lord Hong has to make all preparations. It is impossible to bury the corpse in the Central Plains. Returning to the ancestral hall is even more of a luxury. It is inevitable that the corpse will remain, and it will also bear the eternal infamy. The court has made all preparations to cast bronze statues for Lord Hong. At that time, not only Lord Hong, but your descendants will be implicated, and they will scold you for your whole life..."

Hong Chengchou stood up in panic and bowed his head to Dong Yuansheng.

"Mr. Dong, please stop talking. I can't bear what you said. I can only die..."

Dong Yuansheng sneered a few times and spoke immediately.

"Mr. Hong, you haven't understood what I mean yet. Even if you die, you can't do this. Of course, if you die, you don't know anything. However, your family and family will suffer huge implication, which is certain."

Hong Chengchou finally looked up at Dong Yuansheng.

"Mr. Dong, don't you allow me to think about it?"

Dong Yuansheng snorted again.

"Mr. Hong, this is the opportunity given to you by the emperor and the court. If you don't seize it, you can't blame anyone. You don't think about it carefully. What is your identity now? Who in the court can tolerate you? If it weren't for the emperor's compassion, if the emperor insisted on giving you a way out, would I stand in front of you today? Do you have a chance to turn around? I can also tell you that no matter how you offer suggestions to the Later Jin Tartars, it will be useless. The Emperor will definitely completely wipe out the Later Jin Tartars. At that time, the imperial court will not tolerate you, and the Later Jin Tartars will abandon you even more. You are afraid that you will become a lonely ghost."

Hong Chengchou, whose body could not stop trembling, finally couldn't hold on and knelt in front of Dong Yuansheng.

"Mr. Dong, please stop talking. I will follow your instructions and do my best to do everything well..."

Before Hong Chengchou could finish speaking, footsteps sounded outside the study room.

"Master, Lord Fan Wencheng is here to visit."

Hong Chengchou moaned softly, why did Fan Wencheng come at this time?

"I understand. If you ask Lord Fan to wait in the living room, I will be there later."

Hong Chengchou's voice was insufficient, as if half of it had been buried in the soil.

The butler's footsteps were gone.

Dong Yuansheng looked at Hong Chengchou.

"Mr. Hong, since you have made a decision, you must do what I said. What should I do? I have already said in detail just now. You have collected this letter and said it clearly in the face of many things. If you lose the battle of Wuqiao, Dorgon will definitely find you and Fan Wencheng and discuss in detail the solutions to deal with it. Then you can follow the suggestions from the letter."

"Fan Wencheng came to you specifically, it must be for the Battle of Wuqiao. You happened to tell me the suggestion I just made. I think Fan Wencheng will definitely agree with your suggestion."

"Come on your spirits, today is the beginning of your new life, it is a great joy for you. With such a sad face, how can I trust you, and how can the emperor and the court trust you."

Hong Chengchou tried hard to straighten his body and clasped his fists at Dong Yuansheng.

"Mr. Dong, I understand. If you wait in the study for a moment, I will ask the butler to take you out of here safely. Fan Wencheng is very smart and must not let him see you."

Dong Yuansheng waved to Hong Chengchou.

"Mr. Hong, please don't worry about this. Since you have decided to do things for the court, your safety is also a matter that we must consider. In the future, I will contact you with you alone. No one else knows. You can rest assured. Even if the Later Jin Tartars caught me, I will never give you up. At worst, I will die, and there is nothing great."

Hong Chengchou nodded repeatedly, his face turned red in an instant.

"This, Lord Dong, I understand. When you are waiting here, I can't delay too long, so as not to let Fan Wencheng come to the study."

Seeing Hong Chengchou leaving the study staggeringly, a cold light burst out from Dong Yuansheng's eyes. Today, facing Hong Chengchou, he was not polite at all. The words he said were not just described as mean.

Hong Chengchou was willing to serve the emperor and the Ming court, and Dong Yuan successfully completed the task. Next, the emperor's plan must be instilled into the Later Jin court through Hong Chengchou, and many top-secret matters of the Later Jin court must be passed on to the Emperor and the court through Hong Chengchou.

Dong Yuansheng knew very well what it meant to win over Hong Chengchou, so he couldn't wait to take risks in person.

The first step is perfect, and the next step depends on how Hong Chengchou performs.

When the butler pushed open the study door, Dong Yuansheng nodded without saying a word.

The butler took Dong Yuansheng to the backyard and passed by the backyard and the back garden. When he stood at the door of the backyard, Dong Yuansheng looked at the butler and spoke.

"Take me to say hello to your master..."

Before the butler could react, Dong Yuansheng pushed open the backyard door and walked out.

...

"Mr. Hong, what's wrong with you? Why are your face so pale? Are you feeling uncomfortable?"

"No, no, I heard about the Battle of Wuqiao and was very worried. I don't know how the Regent would deal with this matter. This matter is probably going to cause trouble in the court."

"Mr. Hong said that I came here for this matter. We have a lot of discussions. We must give Lord Regent a suggestion to solve the problem..."
Chapter completed!