Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 121 Fighting for Victory
In the lobby of the government office, a burly middle-aged man was escorted into the hall. He was wearing heavy chains on his hands and feet.
Ma Bao had a thin braid on the back of his head, an iron chain hanging from his hand, and a huge cut on his robe on his chest. The blood dyed the clothes on his chest dark red, and the knife wound on his chest could be vaguely seen.

Ma Bao's face was pale, but his expression was quite calm. After entering the hall, he first glanced at Jiao Lian, who was wearing iron armor on the right. It was this person who caught up with him and captured him at the last moment.
This man was obviously a brave general in the army. He was famous for his bravery in Li Zicheng's army. However, the Ming general opposite him had amazing arm strength. He cut off his sword with just one blow. Even if he had not been injured in the previous battle, he was not sure that he could defeat this man.

But it was useless to say these things at this time. After looking at Jiao Lian, he ignored the gazes of the civil and military officials in the field and looked directly at the young man in the dragon robe above him.

"You are the emperor of that team"

Ma Bao looked at the young man above him and spoke softly, but as soon as he finished speaking, a loud shout came

"Bold"

Li Chengzhi had a gloomy look on his face. He walked to Ma Bao and was about to kick him in the knee, but the Regent above him suddenly waved his hand to stop him.
Seeing His Highness's signal, Li Chengzhi could only glare at Ma Bao fiercely, and then stepped aside, while Ma Bao's face remained calm.
The moment he was caught, Ma Bao knew that he would not survive.
If they had only failed to capture the city, he might have had a chance of surviving, but this time they had directly attacked the emperor of the Ming Dynasty. After doing such a thing and falling into the hands of the imperial court, he had no chance of survival.
But he didn't lose out. He followed Master Dashun and traveled all over the world. Over the years, he couldn't even remember how many people he had killed. He killed people and people killed him. He had been prepared for this day.
The only pity was his eldest son, who insisted on escaping with the injured him, otherwise he would not have been captured with him.
Zhu Lang looked at Ma Bao, who had a calm expression, but his face was not angry, but he sneered.

"He is only the regent, not the emperor. But for you Tartar slaves who have betrayed your ancestors, there is really no difference."

Ma Bao's face was filled with anger, and his cheeks instantly turned red. He was about to refute, but when he saw the small braid hanging down the side of his face, he suddenly became silent, as if all the strength had been drained out of his body, and he just stood there in silence.

Ma Bao was silent for a moment, then looked up and took a closer look at the young man above him.
Just now he just glanced at it, but now he looked at it carefully, and he couldn't help but praise her in his heart.
The young man above was tall and handsome. Although his clothes were disheveled and even stained with dirt and blood, he looked quite heroic and domineering under the majestic yellow dragon robe.

Ma Bao suddenly said

"In fact, when we killed the defeated rear army, we already felt that victory was certain. If you had escaped at that time, we would have won for sure."

"But we all never thought that you, the emperor, would dare to fight to the death, which is why you have to wait for the front reinforcements."

"In fact, even if your reinforcements arrive, if Li Chengdong organizes us to charge, the outcome is still uncertain. In fact, we have a better chance of winning."

"As soon as we charge into the battle formation, if we lose our strength, your soldiers will definitely want to escort you, the emperor, to escape. Guangzhou City is only three or four miles away from you. I don't believe they will not escort you into Guangzhou City first."

"You soldiers may have concerns, but we have no burden at all. We can charge at full speed. If a fight really breaks out, we will definitely win."

"It's a pity that although Li Chengdong is fierce, he lacks the courage to fight for his life, which is why you guys turned the tables."

"But it's true. Why would Li Chengdong risk his life for the Qing government?"

Ma Bao was talking to himself quietly as if no one was around, and Zhu Lang did not interrupt him. When Jiao Lian, Li Chengzhi and others heard this, their expressions changed slightly.

If Li Chengdong had continued to fight desperately, even Jiao Lian would not be able to judge whether he could win.

This is not a question of whether he dares to fight or not, but the Regent is right behind him, and he can escape into the city soon. Does he really dare to leave the Regent alone and fight the Qing army wholeheartedly?

The officials in the field also thought of this, and their expressions changed slightly. However, Zhu Lang sneered and spoke directly.

"Then you are wrong. If we had charged at that time, you would have been the ones to die."

Zhu Lang's voice was firm and decisive, and everyone in the room was slightly startled when they heard it, and all looked up at His Majesty the Regent.
"Your tracks have been exposed, and you have been charging and fighting for a while before, so you are already exhausted. I have the same number of people as you, and I have Guangzhou City behind me, but you are dying one by one. I don't believe that you are not afraid of death."

"You are alone here. If the casualties increase, the morale of the army will be shaken. If we drag it on, you will be the ones to die."

"As long as I don't retreat, the Imperial Guards will not dare to retreat and will have no choice but to fight you to the death."

"I'm watching from behind. Everyone in the Imperial Guard knows that risking their lives at this moment is a great achievement in saving the emperor, so everyone will definitely rush to be the first."

"Even if all of you slave soldiers die here, the Qing court probably won't even look at you. What do you have to fight me to the death?"

Zhu Lang's voice was cold, and the ministers below all nodded subconsciously when they heard it.

Ma Bao was silent for a long time after hearing this. After a long while, he slowly spoke, "Yes, if you, the emperor, fight to the death, then you should be the winner."

"It seems that the Ming Dynasty really chose a good emperor this time."

Ma Bao glanced at the young man above and said something in a low voice, then he stopped talking and stood there in silence again.

Ma Bao remained silent, but Zhu Lang continued to speak, sneering and saying

"Why, are you scared and want to beg for mercy?"

"Since I'm in your hands, I'm ready"

"I followed Lord Dashun to rebel against your Ming Dynasty. We are enemies. If you have any questions, just ask. I just hope you can give me a quick death afterwards."

Ma Bao looked up at the young man above him, but his expression was calm, and he said

"Where do you come from?" Zhu Lang's eyes flashed and he said softly
"I am a lieutenant general under Li Chengdong. After receiving the Qing court's order to attack Guangdong Province, we set out from Tingzhou, Fujian Province..."

Ma Bao had just said a few words when he was interrupted by His Royal Highness the Regent.

"What nonsense! He still dares to make false excuses until now."

"Zheng Zhilong, the Duke of Pingguo in Fujian Province, has hundreds of thousands of troops at his side. How can the Qing government dare to attack Guangdong Province without dealing with the Duke of Pingguo's army?"

Zhu Lang's face was filled with rage, and he stared closely at Ma Bao below him, but his eyes were slightly gleaming.

Ma Bao saw that the young man above was furious, but his face was calm. He said

"You don't have to lie to me. We are from Fujian Province. Instead of relying on luck, you should prepare early."

"I have already explained this matter very clearly in prison. Now that I have spoken, I will not say anything else. We are all going to die anyway, so there is no need for me to keep a secret from a group of Tartars."

"As for the Zheng Zhilong you mentioned, I don't know his specific situation, but when the Tartar Prince sent a letter to Li Chengdong, he told him not to worry about Zheng Zhilong."

"We are stationed in Tingzhou to monitor Zheng Zhilong's Fujian Army in Zhangzhou and Quanzhou. Since the Tartar prince dared to let us lead the army into Guangdong, Zheng Zhilong is no longer a threat to the Tartars."

"When we set out from Tingzhou, we didn't hear about any major war in Fujian Province. The Zheng Zhilong you are thinking of may have already made contact with the Qing Dynasty Tartars. Even if he hasn't surrendered yet, he will probably do so soon."

Ma Bao said softly, with a hint of sarcasm on his face

When Lu Daqi heard this, his face suddenly darkened. He was originally a minister of Fujian Province, and he knew Zheng Zhilong's behavior better than others.

During the Longwu reign, although Zheng Zhilong was known as an enlightened official, he actually abused his power and authority for his own benefit. He often followed orders instead of decrees from the court.
Such people are real military leaders. The righteousness of the court and the difference between Chinese and foreigners are useless to them. He even heard that Zheng Zhilong's wife was a Japanese woman. If Zheng Zhilong surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, Lu Daqi would not be surprised at all.

What Ma Bao said further confirmed this point. If the Qing court had not been convinced that Zheng Zhilong was about to surrender to the Qing, how could it dare to withdraw troops from Fujian to attack Guangdong?

The Qing court must have already determined that Zheng Zhilong would definitely surrender, and Fujian Province had no worries, so it could not wait to send Li Chengdong to Guangdong Province.
Lu Daqi was still thinking about Zheng Zhilong, but Su Guansheng looked serious, staring at Ma Bao, and suddenly shouted

"Even if Zheng Zhilong really surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, so what? Tingzhou and Guangzhou are more than a thousand miles apart, with Chaozhou and Huizhou in between. How dare you raid my Guangzhou city?"

Ma Bao glanced at the old man in a red robe on the left and knew that he should be a high-ranking official of the Ming Dynasty.
But he had already prepared himself to be punished, so he was calm in his heart and said softly:
"Since we dare to raid Guangzhou, Chaohui must have been taken by us."

"impossible"

As soon as Ma Bao finished speaking, the expressions of the ministers below suddenly changed, and Su Guansheng suddenly stood up from his chair and shouted at Ma Bao.
(End of this chapter)