Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 123 Opportunity to Win
Ma Bao looked at Li Chengzhi in front of him with a sarcastic look on his face. He had cooperated with Li Chengzhi before just to avoid being humiliated.

He answered whatever Li Chengzhi asked. If he should know something, he would tell the truth. If he should not know something, he would not know it at all.

Why would he tell what he knows to someone who is determined to kill him?
"you……"

Li Chengzhi was furious and was about to speak, but was suddenly interrupted by the Regent above.
“Let him continue talking.”

Ma Bao looked at the serious-looking young man above him and continued
"It's not that I look down on you. Although Zhaoqing has 20,000 Guangdong troops, it will be useless even if your troops arrive earlier."

"You and the Qing court have similar numbers of troops, but on the Qing court side, whether it's Li Chengdong or Tong Yangjia, both of these troops have fought all the way from Jiangnan to Fujian Province, and have fought several bloody battles in the process. Every soldier in the army has seen blood, so they can be called elite troops."

"Tong Yangjia's army has 600 red-armored Tatars as commanders. I advise you to flee quickly before the main force of the Tatars arrives," Ma Bao said softly.
Everyone in the field felt depressed when they heard this. Not only did the Qing army quietly seize Chaozhou and Huizhou, but nearly 20,000 soldiers followed closely behind.
It is not to boost others' morale and destroy one's own prestige. The current situation is that the Qing army is more powerful than the Ming army.
If the two sides were equal in number, and if they were to fight in the suburbs, the Ming army would surely win, no one in the court dared to say that.

Now Guangzhou is still in the hands of the imperial court. If the Ming army enters the city, they should be able to defend Guangzhou.
But this was useless. Once Chaohui was lost, the Qing army could attack everywhere, and Guangzhou would become an isolated city. Without any reinforcements, it would be useless for the Ming army to defend it. So Ma Bao directly suggested that Zhu Lang flee the city.
Unless the Ming army could defeat the Qing army's rear, the best outcome for Guangzhou would be to become the front line, always under attack from the Qing army.

All the ministers in the hall were thinking about what Ma Bao said, with gloomy expressions on their faces.

Zhu Lang also had a gloomy face, but when he looked at Ma Bao in front of him, a gleam of brilliance suddenly flashed in his eyes.

No, the number of troops in Guangdong Province controlled by the Qing government is wrong.

Twenty thousand men were only the number of troops of the Guangdong and Guangxi Governor's Office. Li Mingzhong stationed 6,000 troops in Zhaoqing to support Jiangxi. He also transferred more than 3,000 troops from Jiao Lian in Guangxi Province. Now the army in Zhaoqing was not 20,000, but a full 30,000.

Zhu Lang's eyes flashed, and he looked at Ma Bao below, and suddenly spoke in a deep voice

"How do you know that the imperial court only has 20,000 troops in Guangdong Province?"

"There are countless gentry who surrendered to the Qing Dynasty between Chaozhou and Huizhou. We already know how many people are in the Guangdong and Guangxi Governor's Office. Your Ming Dynasty court has no secrets for the Tartars," Ma Bao sneered.

Lu Daqi and others looked uglier when they heard this. At this time, the ministers were so nervous that they didn't notice the problem in Zhu Lang's words at all. However, Zhu Lang's eyes were getting brighter and brighter.

The intelligence held by the Qing court was indeed wrong!
They are still talking about the Guangdong and Guangxi Governor's Office, but they are completely unaware that the Guangdong and Guangxi Governor's Office has been abolished in the court.

This is also very reasonable. Almost all the recent changes in the court occurred within this month. If the gentry in Chaozhou and Huizhou were not in the center, it would be impossible for them to know the specific situation of the court.
In this era, transportation is inconvenient, and for ordinary people, a hundred miles away is considered a distant place.

The people in Chaozhou and Huizhou may not even have received the imperial edict of Zhu Lang's appointment as regent, which means that their information is outdated.
But what's even more interesting is that these Chaohui gentry are full of confidence in the outdated intelligence they have. In fact, the intelligence they have is indeed true, but it's just a little outdated.
But if they believed it, then the Qing court would also believe it.

They only knew that the Guangdong and Guangxi Governor's Office had 20,000 people, but they had no idea that in addition to the Guangdong Army, there were also 10,000 Guangxi Army in Zhaoqing.

Zhu Lang's mind was racing. According to Ma Bao, the Qing army attacking Guangdong this time only had 18,000 people.
Although Chaozhou and Huizhou surrendered, he did not believe that the Qing army would trust the surrendered gentry so much that they would dare to leave their own retreat to these newly surrendered people.
The Qing army would certainly leave troops stationed in the key cities of Chaozhou and Huizhou, keeping the grain and retreat routes in their own hands.
Chaozhou is thousands of miles away from Guangzhou. With such a long food route, if you send a few hundred soldiers to a city, it will take thousands of people.

Therefore, even if Li Chengdong and Tong Yangjia's entire army came, the number of Qing troops that finally arrived at Guangzhou would definitely not exceed 15,000. It is not impossible that there would be only a little over 10,000 left.

If he could hold on to the city and pin the Qing army down at the gates of Guangzhou, then as long as the 30,000 troops from Zhaoqing arrived, he would have a great chance of defeating the advancing Qing army at the gates of Guangzhou with his superior numbers!
Zhu Lang suddenly became excited when he thought of this.

The ministers below only saw His Royal Highness the Regent sitting back in his seat after he finished asking questions, and fell into deep thought.

Lu Daqi and the others looked at His Highness, who suddenly changed his expression and remained silent, and did not dare to interrupt him. The hall fell into silence for a while.
Ma Bao waited for a while, and when he saw that everyone was silent, he looked at the Ming Regent who had been silent for a long time, and couldn't help but speak.
"What I said just now was not to seek a way to survive. I just saw that you still looked like a decent emperor. It would be a pity if you were trapped and died in this city because of this accidental raid."

"The Tartar army has not yet arrived, and the hundreds of soldiers around you are considered elite. Li Chengdong should not be able to stop you."

"It's still not too late for you to leave the city. If you wait until the main force of the Tartars arrives, you will have no chance of survival."

"What I said is true. Believe it or not, it's up to you."

The officials in the court all looked at Ma Bao angrily after hearing what he said, but Ma Bao looked calm and had no reaction.

Ma Bao's words awakened Zhu Lang from his deep thoughts. He glanced at Ma Bao, who looked calm, and spoke in a cold voice.

"You will know what I am like in the future. Are the Qing troops invincible?"

"Then I will fight this Tartar."

"Come, find a doctor to treat his injuries, don't let him die"

Zhu Lang waved his hand, and Li Chengzhi saw the signal and immediately stepped forward to take Ma Bao down.

Ma Bao's face was originally calm, but after hearing Zhu Lang's words, his originally dead face suddenly burst into a very bright look.
He looked up at the young man in the dragon robe, but before he could say anything, he was escorted out of the hall by Li Chengzhi and two guards.

Ma Bao was escorted out of the hall, and silence returned to the hall again.

After Ma Bao was taken away, Zhu Lang sat in his seat and fell into deep thought.

The atmosphere in the field was dull. All the ministers looked at His Highness, who was frowning, with strange expressions on their faces.
How could everyone not see that Ma Bao was determined to die? What he said just now was probably true. Since this was the case, and the Tartar army was about to arrive, when would they leave if they didn't leave now?

During the surprise attack just now, Liu Yuansheng, Gu Yuanjing and other accompanying ministers also summoned up their remaining courage and took the initiative to help push the cart to resist the enemy, but now that they have fled into the city, their minds have changed again.

Who is not afraid of death?
Besides, the current situation is really hopeless. With 10,000 Jiannu and 300 imperial guards, anyone with a discerning eye can see that they can't hold on.
In this case, it is better to escape as soon as possible to keep a useful body.

Besides, His Royal Highness the Regent is still in the city. They are doing this to preserve the foundation of the country. With His Royal Highness the Regent standing in front of them, no one can say they are wrong.

When everyone thought of this, they were more certain in their hearts, and all their eyes turned to look at Lu Daqi and Su Guansheng in front of them.

Although all the ministers wanted to escape, they could not interfere in this matter. Abandoning the city and fleeing was too much of a responsibility, so the elder had to bear it.

Lu Daqi felt the gazes of the ministers, and his heart sank slightly. He also understood what everyone was thinking.

He first looked at Su Guansheng on the side, but after Su Guansheng looked at him, he immediately looked away and looked at the ground in front of him. He seemed to be lost in thought like His Royal Highness the Regent, and ignored Lu Daqi's hint.

When Lu Daqi saw Su Guansheng looking away, his face darkened slightly. Su Guansheng was His Highness's confidant, so it was most appropriate for Su Guansheng to bring up this matter. Even if someone wanted to impeach him in the future, His Highness would protect Su Guansheng.

He originally thought that Su Guansheng was deeply indebted to His Highness, and would be the first to propose evacuation to ensure His Highness's safety, but who would have thought that this man was completely indifferent. This old man was really patient. If the Qing army broke into the city, he would not be able to escape either.

Su Guansheng had no expression on his face, but he sneered in his heart. He was a real member of the imperial party. How could he take the lead in making decisions for His Highness before His Highness gave the order?

If His Highness intends to evacuate, even if there are risks in the future, he will take the initiative to speak up and pave the way for His Highness.

But His Highness hadn't spoken yet, so how could he take on such a dangerous matter?
Lu Daqi wanted to escape, but he didn't want to be known as someone who abandoned the city and fled. At this time, he even hinted that he should speak up.

I have never had any contact with this Lu Daqi. I really don't know where Lu Daqi got such a big face.

Does he really think that he is the only smart person in the world and that others cannot see the risks of this matter?
If His Highness had already made up his mind to leave, then the person who spoke up at this time would naturally be appreciated by His Highness, but he had already been His Highness's confidant, so why bother arguing about the length of time when the situation was unclear?

Lu Daqi looked at the ministers below who were looking forward to it, and his heart sank slightly.

He was the first minister to accompany the central government. If he delayed for a moment longer, the city would be in greater danger. Whether in public or private, evacuating immediately was the best decision.
When Lu Daqi thought of this, he didn't care about anything else and stood up and said

"Your Highness, I don't know whether what the thief said is true or not, but since the Qing army's vanguard has reached Guangzhou, even if Huizhou has not been lost, I am afraid it has been under the attack of the Qing army."

"A son of a rich family should not sit in the hall. Your Highness, should you leave the city and take shelter for a while, and wait for the imperial army to arrive before fighting the Qing invaders..."

Although Lu Daqi's words were euphemistic, his intention was to let His Royal Highness the Regent escape from the city before the main force of the Qing army arrived.
In the hall, Jiao Lian, Bai Gui and other military officials relaxed their expressions after hearing this. This was not a question of fear or not. With 300 against 10,000, even the famous generals in ancient times would not dare to say that they could hold on.
On the left, officials such as Wu Bing and Gu Yuanjing looked nervously at the Regent, with expectation in their eyes.
Lu Daqi has already given them the ladder. If His Highness accepts this, can't they also escape with him?
However, just as Lu Daqi was about halfway through his words, he was interrupted by His Royal Highness the Regent. Zhu Lang glanced at the ministers below who had different expressions on their faces, and after a moment's glance, he spoke softly.

"Mr. Lu is indeed a loyal old minister. I know what he means."

The ministers below were even more delighted when they heard this, but then His Royal Highness the Regent changed the subject and said:

"But the so-called loss of Chaohui and the 10,000 Qing troops in the rear were all said by that thief general. How can the court believe it so easily?"

"If that thief deceives the imperial court, if we suddenly withdraw from Guangzhou at this time, we will just give Guangzhou to the Qing troops outside the city for nothing."

"If a few hundred Qing soldiers were allowed to seize a city as big as Guangzhou, wouldn't that be the biggest joke in the world?"

When Su Guansheng heard His Highness' words, his expression suddenly changed. He guessed correctly. His Highness really didn't want to abandon the city and flee!
Lu Daqi also understood what Zhu Lang meant. His expression darkened. He frowned and looked at the young man above.

Based on the Zhu emperors he had seen, not to mention being surrounded by nearly 10,000 troops, even when the numbers of both sides were equal, the Zhu emperors would have fled directly. For a moment, he was a little confused about what this regent he personally appointed was thinking.

The expressions on the faces of the ministers froze when they heard this. How could they not hear that this was His Royal Highness the Regent's excuse?
But at this time they had no way to refute it. The reason given by His Highness the Regent was too difficult to refute. How could they easily believe the confession of a thief? If they could not easily believe it, how could they suddenly abandon the city and leave?

Although all the ministers could see that what Ma Bao said was true, they were all speechless at this moment. Could they still jump out and say that Ma Bao had made up his mind to die and what he said must be true? Who dared to make such a guarantee?
Zhu Lang looked at the silent ministers and did not give them any more chances. He spoke directly.
"The situation is uncertain at this time, so we cannot make a hasty decision. Regardless of whether to withdraw or not, the most urgent task is to send people to Zhaoqing to ask for help, and ask Zhaoqing to send a large army to Guangzhou as soon as possible."

"This matter cannot be delayed. Li Chengzhi, you must quickly send a messenger to Zhaoqing to ask for help."

"Yes, I will go now."

Li Chengzhi responded immediately upon hearing this and hurriedly left, but Zhu Lang continued to speak.

"You are all frightened by the sudden attack. Go down and rest first, and comfort your family. We will discuss this matter tonight after Li Chengzhi has interrogated you thoroughly."

After they fled into the city, they gathered in the government office to discuss matters. Even Zhu Lang's clothes were dirty and some ministers were covered in blood.

Seeing the resolute look on His Royal Highness's face, the ministers could not find a better excuse, so they could only bow respectfully and disperse.
While Zhu Lang and others were discussing, sensational rumors had already spread throughout the city, and the entire city of Guangzhou suddenly became nervous.

(End of this chapter)