Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 146 Gathering Troops
Late at night on the 14th, Chen Zizhuang hurried into the back hall of Zhaoqing, his face full of panic.

Just as he fell asleep tonight, someone from the government office came to report that some defeated soldiers from Guangzhou had fled back to Zhaoqing.
When Chen Zizhuang heard the news, he only had time to put on a robe and hurried to the government office.

Chen Zizhuang entered the back hall and saw the pale-faced soldier standing in the hall. He asked

"what is going on"

The soldier in the hall saw the old man staring at him, and felt as if he was being stared at by an old lion. He trembled, knelt down immediately, and said in a trembling voice:
"I followed His Highness to Guangzhou and arrived at the city of Guangzhou at noon on the 12th. However, when we were still three or four miles away from Guangzhou, we were suddenly attacked by a Tartar army that came from nowhere..."

The soldier was suddenly interrupted by an urgent voice from above.

"How many Tartars are there? Where is His Highness? Has His Highness escaped into the city?"

The soldier looked at the old man above, who looked increasingly anxious, and became increasingly flustered. He said in a trembling voice:

"I didn't know. The Qing army came suddenly and killed hundreds of imperial guards in the rear with just one charge."

"The convoy was immediately in chaos. I managed to escape by chance and then I rode non-stop back to Zhaoqing to report the news to the court..."

This soldier was originally an ordinary soldier escorting silver with the team. After escaping, he had no courage to go back to investigate the situation. He was loyal enough to run all the way back to report the news.
The soldiers below were still talking about the escape, but Chen Zizhuang above could no longer hear what the soldiers were saying.
He felt dizzy and stumbled, almost falling to the ground. Fortunately, the guard beside him was quick to catch him and sit on the chair.

Chen Zizhuang could no longer suppress his fear, and felt only despair in his heart. He did not dare to think about what would happen to the court if His Royal Highness the Regent really suffered in Guangzhou.

Although there was solid evidence that Ding Kuichu was killed, the evidence was still too obvious for ministers like Chen Zizhuang who were involved in the incident and had experienced many storms.

No one noticed it before, but afterward everyone just looked back and immediately found the clues.

Why did the imperial censors under their command suddenly collect so much evidence of Wang Kun's corruption?
Why was it that even though Ding Kuichu was clearly planning to cause trouble, his generals were not alert at all and were summoned into the city by an imperial edict?

Why was Li Mingzhong able to drive the Gui army out of the Guangdong army camp so quickly? These things simply cannot stand up to scrutiny.
Why did all the ministers in the court clearly know that there were doubts about this matter, but no one questioned it afterwards, and instead all said that this matter was an ironclad case?
On the one hand, the sudden arrival of the King of Tang was a solid evidence, but on the other hand, the chief ministers of the cabinet saw clearly that the purpose of His Highness removing Ding Kuichu was not to cause trouble, but to take back the military power for the court and revive it. This was the reason why all the cabinet ministers cooperated with this matter afterwards.
After removing Ding Kuichu, His Highness immediately sent troops to Nanxiong Meiguan, and then rejected the proposal to move the capital to Guangxi Province, and resolutely moved the capital to Guangzhou. This Regent is really doing things and wants to do things. This is why all the cabinet ministers acquiesced to Zhu Lang's actions.
In fact, when Qu Shisi, Chen Zizhuang and others met privately afterwards, they looked back on the various actions of His Highness the Regent after he ascended the throne and celebrated for a time, as if they felt that there was hope for the revival of the Ming Dynasty.
In the short time since he took the throne, His Royal Highness the Regent has already begun to control the court. Counting the 10,000 Gui troops that Qu Shisi is currently taking over, the court now has a firm grasp on 40,000 troops, something that Emperor Longwu spent two years trying to accomplish.

But if Zhu Lang was killed by the Qing army, Chen Zizhuang and his men would never be able to find a lord like His Royal Highness the Regent who had both the means and the will to do things.

Not to mention whether the successor can be as intimidating as His Royal Highness the Regent, once Zhu Lang, the only remaining imperial bloodline, is gone, the current Ming Dynasty will not even be able to choose a successor who can convince the people.
Once His Royal Highness the Regent was killed by the Qing army in Guangzhou, the newly stabilized Ming Dynasty would immediately fall apart.
There is no longer any candidate in the royal family of the Ming Dynasty who can convince all parties.
No matter who the imperial court appoints as emperor, once the local governors and ministers are dissatisfied, they will immediately find a royal family member who is equal to the new emperor in terms of legal legitimacy to establish a new dynasty. By then, the few remaining provinces of the Ming Dynasty will probably fall into chaos again.

Chen Zizhuang felt so heavy in his heart that he could hardly breathe. He sat on the chair for a long time before he managed to regain some strength.

Chen Zizhuang sat up straight with difficulty and was about to ask again when he heard hurried footsteps outside the door.
"Lord, there is urgent news from the city. The messenger sent from Guangzhou for help has just arrived in the city."

When Chen Zizhuang heard the messenger's words asking for help, his eyes lit up immediately. He sat up from his chair and spoke

“Bring it in quickly”

Mai Erxuan hurriedly left, and soon the messenger was brought to the hall.

Deng Shitong's face was pale, his clothes were covered with dust, and his head was completely bald. After leaving the Qing army camp, Deng Shitong immediately cut off all the braids on the back of his head.
Chen Zizhuang didn't have time to care about Deng Shitong's appearance. When he saw Deng Shitong, he immediately asked

"How is His Royal Highness the Regent?"

"Don't worry, sir. That group of Tartars was just a small vanguard of the pseudo-Qing Dynasty. They have been repelled by the imperial guards led by Marquis Jiao. Your Highness is safe and sound. Now, Your Highness and all the ministers of the central government have safely retreated into Guangzhou City."

Deng Shitong obviously knew what Chen Zizhuang was asking and answered directly:

After listening to what Deng Shitong said, Chen Zizhuang breathed a sigh of relief, staggered slightly, and then sat back on the chair.
"Although the Qing army's vanguard has been repelled, their rear is still heading for Guangzhou. Your Highness is now leading a group of court officials to defend the city. This is a secret letter from Your Highness to the court."

Deng Shitong's face was solemn. After he finished speaking, he immediately took out the secret letter from his pocket.

Mai Erxuan stepped forward and handed the envelope to Chen Zizhuang, and after Chen Zizhuang saw the contents of the letter, he immediately spoke

"Ask Yang Lixin from the Imperial Guards to bring someone here immediately to translate the secret letter."

The people from Jinyifu arrived in the hall very quickly, and in just a moment, they translated the secret letter.
"The enemy has 15,000 troops. Chaohui has surrendered. The enemy's report is wrong. We only know that the governor has 20,000 troops. Send the entire army to help and annihilate the enemy at the gate of the city..."

After reading the secret letter, Chen Zizhuang immediately knew Zhu Lang's intention. The Qing army's intelligence was wrong. They thought Zhaoqing only had 20,000 Guangdong troops, so they sent only 15,000 to attack Guangzhou. However, they did not know that Zhaoqing's current troops were not 20,000 but 30,000.
Seeing this, His Royal Highness the Regent wanted to use the strong city to hold back the enemy, and then send the entire army from Zhaoqing to come to the rescue and annihilate this reckless Qing army under the city of Guangzhou.
However, when Chen Zizhuang saw the secret letter, he was not excited at all, but extremely angry.

"Your Highness, why would you take such a risky action?"

Chen Zizhuang was furious and was about to ask Deng Shitong about the situation in the city, but Deng Shitong's feet went weak and he almost fainted on the ground.
Deng Shitong set out on the night of the 12th, and now it was late at night on the 14th. He had been on the road non-stop for the past two days, and his mind was always in a state of tension, and he had hardly closed his eyes for a moment. Now that he had suddenly arrived in the city, his mind relaxed and he could not hold on any longer.
"Find a doctor for him, help him down to rest first, I have something to ask the court later."

Chen Zizhuang saw that he really couldn't stand it any longer, so he had to ask someone to help Deng Shitong down to rest.

Deng Shitong was carried out of the hall, but Chen Zizhuang did not stop and immediately said to Mai Erxuan below
"Go and invite Lord He, Lord Li, and General Liu Qijiao of the Imperial Guards here immediately."

Mai Erxuan responded and hurriedly left the hall. Not long after, He Wuzhuo, Li Mingzhong and the other two hurried into the hall.

Chen Zizhuang and He Wuzuo sat on the left, while Li Mingzhong and Liu Qijiao sat on the right. After reading the secret letter in Chen Zizhuang's hand, He Wuzuo also looked solemn and shouted angrily
"You are so confused. It's ok for His Highness to take risks, but why did Lu Daqi and Su Guansheng allow His Highness to do whatever he wants? What on earth are these two assistant ministers doing?"

He Wuzuo's face was filled with anger. His reaction was similar to Chen Zizhuang's. They both thought that this matter was absolutely inappropriate.
Or maybe Chen Zizhuang and his colleagues had the same opinion as Lü Daqi, Su Guansheng and other Guangzhou officials. They would rather lose Guangzhou than let His Royal Highness the Regent take risks in the city.
It can only be said that Zhu Lang does not have a sufficient understanding of his own identity. Zhu Lang certainly values ​​his life, but this kind of emphasis is just an instinctive fear of death. In his cognition, he is still just an ordinary person with some experience of the future, and is not much more important than other people.

But in the eyes of the court officials, Zhu Lang's significance was not like that at all. As the only remaining direct descendant of Emperor Shenzong of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Lang was the only orthodox direct descendant of the Ming Dynasty who could make all parties speechless.
It can be said that even if Zhu Lang did nothing but sit on the throne, he would have irreplaceable significance to the Ming Dynasty.

He Wuzuo was angry and wanted to say something, but Chen Zizhuang beside him had already spoken.
"Now is not the time to talk about this, Lord Li, how many soldiers are there in the city now?"

"I have 12,000 Wuxiang troops under my command, and all the Longxiang troops are here, which is 10,000."

Li Mingzhong replied in a deep voice, and Chen Zizhuang continued to ask

"Where are the cavalry?" "The Wuxiang Army originally had 2,000 cavalry, but on the 12th, according to the imperial court's order, Deng Yao led 7,000 people to garrison Nanxiong, and 1,500 of them also left with the army. Now there are only 500 cavalry left in the city."

"All the cavalry of the Longxiang Army have followed His Highness to Guangzhou, but there are still 300 Yunnan horses that have been replaced in the army. We can select people to form 300 cavalry."

After the reorganization of the Guangdong Army, the Liao horses obtained by the court from the Guangdong Army were divided up by Li Mingzhong and Jiao Lian's armies.
Li Mingzhong also took the existing cavalry in the army and expanded the cavalry to 2,000 people in one go, regardless of the Yunnan and Liao horses.

Jiao Lian replaced the Dian horses in the army as auxiliary troops and formed a cavalry composed entirely of Liao horses.
"In other words, the city can only provide 800 cavalrymen at most?"

Chen Zizhuang's face darkened when he heard this. According to the secret letter, there were 15,000 Qing troops under the city of Guangzhou. If these 800 cavalry were sent ahead, they would be sending themselves to their deaths when they reached the city of Guangzhou.
Chen Zizhuang thought quickly in his mind, glanced at the people in the field, and spoke in a deep voice

"Your Highness has risked his life to defend the isolated city. You must not hesitate now. Tomorrow morning, the 20,000 soldiers in the city will leave immediately and rush to Guangzhou for rescue."

"General Liu, you will immediately select men from the Imperial Guards to form a cavalry of 300 men, and then send them to Marquis Li's army for use."

"Later, horses and mules will be dispatched from all the houses in the city, regardless of whether they are officials or civilians, and all the horses and mules in their homes will be handed over to the court. The usable ones will be sent to the army as war horses to expand the cavalry, and the unusable ones will be used to transport food and wages."

Chen Zizhuang had a serious look on his face. Seeing that no one objected, he continued

"Li Hou, you must immediately send someone to pass on the order to Deng Yao's army, and have them change their rear army into the front army and return to Zhaoqing by the same route. The cavalry in Deng Yao's army must set out immediately and rush back without delay."

"Tomorrow, the 800 cavalrymen in the city will set out together with the infantrymen. After Deng Yao's cavalrymen arrive to join them, the cavalrymen will immediately separate from the infantrymen and rush to Guangzhou first."

After Chen Zizhuang finished speaking, he looked at Li Mingzhong who was standing opposite him. Li Mingzhong thought for a moment and then spoke in a deep voice.

"It's only three hours until dawn. If 20,000 troops march out together, I'm afraid there won't be enough time to prepare food and money."

The soldiers could move first, but the food and wages of the 20,000-man army could not be immediately transported with the army. 20,000 people would consume 30,000 to 40,000 kilograms of rice a day.

Upon hearing this, Chen Zizhuang immediately spoke up
"Tomorrow the army will march ahead, and we will prepare as much as we can. The army must not delay at this time."

Chen Zizhuang waved his hand, his face firm, and continued

"I will accompany you to Guangzhou with the army this time. If the food is not enough, we can directly collect grain from the counties along the way."

"Mr. He, you will stay in Zhaoqing and recruit civilians as soon as possible to be responsible for the logistics and transportation of food and salaries for the army."

Everyone was shocked to hear that Chen Zizhuang was going to join the army directly, but Chen Zizhuang ignored them. After making all the arrangements, he immediately said

"Do you have any suggestions? If not, we will prepare ourselves and leave the city tomorrow morning."

After hearing what Chen Zizhuang said, Li Mingzhong and Liu Qijiao were about to get up and go to the army to reorganize the troops.
But after a brief thought, He Wuzuo immediately spoke up and called out to the few people.

"Wait, if that's the case, I have something else to discuss with you."

Chen Zizhuang and the others immediately looked at He Wuzuo.
"If Lord Chen leaves the city with the army, what should be done with the King of Tang in the city?"

He Wuzuo's face was serious. Li Mingzhong and Liu Qijiao were stunned at first, but then they reacted and their faces suddenly changed.

The army's march to Guangzhou could not be concealed from the people in the city. The army was so eager to go to Guangzhou for rescue, and His Highness had just moved the capital to Guangzhou. Anyone could guess that something must have gone wrong with His Highness the Regent.

And if something happens to Zhu Lang, the regent, who is most likely to succeed him as emperor?

When none of the royal families possessed transcendent legitimacy, the King of Tang was the one with the most legitimacy!
No matter what, the brother of the Tang King is Emperor Longwu, so the Tang King is also the legitimate descendant of the emperor.
Chen Zizhuang had already stood up, but after hearing what He Wuzuo said, he sat back down with a serious look on his face.
This is indeed a matter that must be dealt with. Once the army leaves the city, if ambitious people spread rumors and collude with the King of Tang, I am afraid there will be chaos.

Several people in the field sat quietly with frowns on their faces, thinking about this matter. This matter was not difficult to handle, but the trouble was that King Tang

Now His Royal Highness the Regent is trapped in an isolated city. No one knows what is happening in Guangzhou.

If the time comes, the King of Tang is probably the most suitable candidate for the throne in the hands of the Guangdong and Guangxi court.

If the King of Tang were to ascend the throne, then no matter what they did today, the King of Tang would probably remember it.
Chen Zizhuang glanced at He Wuzuo, whose eyes flickered slightly. He Wuzuo obviously didn't want to take this responsibility. He thought about it for a moment and decided not to look at He Wuzuo anymore. He said in a cold voice:

"Liu Qijiao, select 500 imperial guards and assign them to the Imperial Guards. Have them protect the King of Tang and forbid anyone from coming into contact with the King of Tang and his clan members."

"The end will understand"

Liu Qijiao hesitated for a moment, and when he saw He Wuzhuo and Li Mingzhong coming, he gritted his teeth and stood up to accept the order.
Why didn't Chen Zizhuang ask Li Mingzhong to send someone, but asked Liu Qijiao to send someone out? Because the Longxiang Army is the real imperial army. If they don't do this, what's the point of calling them the imperial army?

When He Wuzhu heard Chen Zizhuang's decision, his expression relaxed, but before he could say anything, Chen Zizhuang looked over and said in a deep voice:
"I have dealt with the matter of the King of Tang. After I leave with the army, everything in the city will be handed over to Elder He to handle."

"Zhaoqing is the retreat of the army and we must not allow any chaos to occur. Lord He, do you understand?"

He Wuzuo's face changed slightly when he heard this. Chen Zizhuang's words were already a bit impolite, but after thinking for a moment, He Wuzuo stood up and said respectfully:
"Don't worry, Mr. Chen. I will start mobilizing the civilians in the city later and will never let the army's food and wages run into any problems."

Seeing He Wuzuo's statement, Chen Zizhuang glanced at everyone and spoke again

"Are there any more questions? If not, then just do as I just said and start preparing immediately."

No one in the room raised any objections, so they left in a hurry and began to prepare.

As the few people walked out of the government office, the entire Zhaoqing city immediately became chaotic.

In the early morning, the sun rose, and with the reddish morning light, countless soldiers marched out of Zhaoqing City and rushed towards Guangzhou like a tide.
(End of this chapter)