Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 35 Response
Li Chengzhi walked into the study and found that his prince was pacing in front of the table. Although he looked a little suspicious, he was not as anxious as he expected.

Li Chengzhi couldn't help but sigh in his heart, this is the true generosity of the royal family, the prince can be so calm in such a situation, and then thinking of his anxiety and panic just now, he really lost his sense of proportion.

"Prince"

Li Chengzhi calmed down, but just as he opened his mouth, Zhu Lang's eyes lit up and he came over immediately.
"I knew Chengzhi would find a way to come back."

Zhu Lang patted Li Chengzhi on the shoulder and then asked

“How did Chengzhi get in?”

"Although the soldiers of the Governor's Mansion were guarding the entrance, I am the personal guard of the palace. It is my duty to protect the palace. I forcibly knocked down the people who blocked my way, and they dared not to stop me anymore."

Zhu Lang's eyes flashed with coldness when he heard this. Even if these soldiers from the governor's office came to protect the palace, they should come in to pay their respects to Zhu Lang and obey his orders.

But now, these soldiers not only don't obey the orders of the palace, but also block the palace and don't allow people from the palace to enter or leave. This is not guarding at all, it's basically house arrest.
But Zhu Lang couldn't care less about these things now. He stared at Li Chengzhi in front of him and asked

"Chengzhi has returned from the outside world. What happened outside?"

"Two quarters of an hour ago, I was working in the south of the city when I suddenly discovered that the city gate was in chaos. The soldiers guarding the city suddenly closed the city gate for some reason."

"I sent someone to inquire, and found that not only the South Gate, but all four gates in the city were closed at this time."

"All kinds of rumors were circulated in the market. Some said that there was a rebel army outside the city, some said that it was bandits attacking the city, and there were countless horror stories."

"After some investigation and combining rumors from all sides, I can now confirm that the first gate in the city to be closed was the East Gate, and it seems that an army really came outside the East Gate, but the number of people and the origin of this army are unknown," Li Chengzhi reported.
Zhu Lang's eyes lit up when he heard Li Chengzhi's words. He had only guessed at first, but when he heard that an army had really come from Dongcheng, he no longer had any doubts.
Others thought it was some kind of chaotic army, but he was sure that it was Su Guansheng's army.
Why did the army first appear in Dongcheng? Because Guangzhou is just east of Zhaoqing!
He met Chen Bangyan on October 4th, and now it has been ten days. Calculating the time, if Su Guansheng had not delayed, then it is time for him to arrive in Zhaoqing.

Zhu Lang clenched his hands and paced in front of the table. Li Chengzhi looked at the prince who suddenly became excited for some reason, and thought of the rumor in the market. He gritted his teeth and said
"Your Highness, there are all kinds of rumors in the market. Some people even say that the army in Dongcheng is from our Guangxi Province. They say that the Guangxi army is short of food and money, so they are marching into the city to demand money."

"My uncle is loyal to the court. I guarantee with my head that my uncle will never do this..."

Li Chengzhi hesitated for a while, and finally said the rumor that made him uneasy.
He was only halfway through his words when he was interrupted by the prince above.

"Chengzhi, don't let your imagination run wild. I have never doubted General Li's loyalty. The troops outside the city are not from Guangxi Province. If I am right, it should be Grand Secretary Su who is stationed in Guangzhou, leading the troops into the court." Zhu Lang's face was excited.
"The Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, Ding Kuichu, has always been domineering, but the money and grain of Guangdong Province are all controlled by the Governor's Office, so the officials in the court can do nothing about him. Ding Kuichu has become more and more arrogant and does not know how to restrain himself."

"I heard earlier that there is a minister of Longwu Pavilion named Su Guansheng in Guangzhou. He is a trusted minister of the late emperor and has always been loyal to state affairs. So I sent someone to Guangzhou with a secret decree, ordering Su Guansheng to lead the army and escort the money and grain from the Guangzhou treasury to the court. Calculating the time, now is the time for Su Guansheng to arrive."

At this point, Zhu Lang had nothing to hide. He spoke out what was on his mind.
Li Chengzhi opened his mouth slightly, looking at the extremely excited prince who was clenching his fists tightly in front of him, not knowing how to respond.

No wonder the prince was so calm just now. It turned out that this chaos was planned by the person in front of him. This person is the real mastermind behind the scenes.

He was the one who secretly pushed the chaos in the city, so he was not surprised.

Zhu Lang didn't care what Li Chengzhi was thinking, but looked at Li Chengzhi below with a serious expression.
"Ding Kuichu controlled the money and grain in the court, and used it to blackmail the ministers and generals in the court. This time, Lord Su came to the capital with not only soldiers, but also tens of thousands of silver taels from the Guangzhou treasury."

"With this stolen grain, the imperial court can get rid of Ding Kuichu's threat, and the soldiers from Guangxi Province under General Li's command will also have food and wages, and will be able to avoid freezing and starvation."

"But Ding Kuichu has always regarded Zhaoqing as his own private property, and he will definitely not let Lord Su enter the city easily. Even if Lord Su has my handwritten secret decree, there is no guarantee that he will not take risks and do something treasonous."

"Lord Su's visit to the court this time concerns the safety of the country and society, and this matter must not be allowed to fail."

Zhu Lang's face flashed with determination, and his eyes suddenly stared at Li Chengzhi below.
"Chengzhi, I have something for you to do, you may agree to my request..."

"Please give your orders, Your Majesty."

Li Chengzhi vaguely guessed what Zhu Lang wanted him to do, and his face straightened up, and he bowed and replied
"You must find a way to leave the city. You must let General Li lead the troops to escort Su Gelao into the city. You must not let Ding Kuichu do anything treasonous. This matter concerns the safety of our Ming Dynasty and the prosperity and decline of the country. It is extremely important. Now it depends on General Li alone." Zhu Lang looked solemnly, staring closely at Li Chengzhi below.
In troubled times, the most important things are soldiers, money and food. The two are basically one and the same. Without soldiers, how can we keep money and food? Without money and food, how can we support the army?
Without Su Guansheng's money and food, it would be useless even if Li Mingzhong and Jiao Lian were loyal to Zhu Lang. Without money and food, how could he support the nearly 10,000 troops under their command? Loyalty cannot be eaten.

Without money and food, he would have to rely on Ding Kuichu in the end, and the court would fall into Ding Kuichu's control again.

By then, how much time would it take for him to deal with Ding Kuichu and truly regain control of the court?

The situation of the Ming Dynasty is now in danger. The Qing army is about to attack Guangdong Province. If the court falls into the hands of Ding Kuichu again, given his style, he will definitely flee as he did in his previous life.

If he didn't have an army at his disposal, how could he stop the decision of Ding Kuichu, who had 20,000 troops?

Without Guangdong Province, the last fertile land, the Ming Dynasty would only be left with the narrow Guangxi Province, the dilapidated Hunan Province with many military leaders, and the even more remote Yunnan and Guizhou. By then, even if Zhu Lang defeated Ding Kuichu in Guangxi Province, what would be the point?

Besides, can we live in peace in Guangxi? There is Ding Kuichu in Guangdong Province, and Chen Bangfu in Guangxi Province. Once these two people join forces in Guangxi Province, it will be really difficult to control them.
If Zhu Lang cannot take advantage of this opportunity to truly gain control of Ding Kuichu's power and control the situation in the court, then it would be better for Zhu Lang to run away as soon as possible and implement his plan of wandering in the Ming Dynasty.

"Even if I die, I will still ask General Li to lead the troops and will never let your Highness down," Li Chengzhi bowed and said with a serious expression.
"The safety and prosperity of the country is entirely in the hands of Chengzhi."

The young prince was moved and held the young man's arm tightly.
"If I leave the city, what will happen to your safety here?"

Li Chengzhi hesitated and said, "Ding Kuichu has now sent people to surround the palace. No one knows what this man will do."

"If Lord Su is safe and sound, Ding Kuichu will not dare to act rashly. If Lord Su is killed and the court falls into the hands of Ding Kuichu, I will be left here in vain and it will be of no benefit to the country. Chengzhi, don't worry about me, leave quickly," the young prince said.
Zhu Lang's face was filled with emotion, but his mind was changing. In fact, he really didn't think he would be in any danger. Ding Kuichu didn't allow anyone in the mansion to enter or leave. Most likely, he just wanted to cut off his connection with people from outside the court.
Even if Ding Kuichu killed Su Guansheng, so what? If he killed Su Guansheng, could he scare everyone in the city and make them support him as the emperor?

Ding Kuichu sent people to attack the palace. The probability of killing him cannot be said to be zero, but it is also very small. Is there Li Mingzhong outside the city?
At present, the orthodoxy in the world is still in the Zhu family. If Ding Kuichu did such a thing, I am afraid that the next day it would be Ding Kuichu's turn to be deserted by his friends and relatives and his body would be separated from his head.

These ministers and generals of the court have their own thoughts about the Ming Dynasty. Could it be that the soldiers and officials under Ding Kuichu are completely loyal to him, Ding Kuichu?
how is this possible
If he really killed Zhu Lang, there would be many people in the court who wanted to kill Ding Kuichu and replace him to control the Guangdong Province under him.
The biggest rivals of the ambitious people at the end of the dynasty are not the declining royal family, but those ambitious people who are just as eager as them.
"That Ding Kuichu is extremely vicious and stubborn. Your Majesty, you must be on guard against this precious body. Please order the guards in the palace to wear armor," Li Chengzhi said.
"You can ask Mingwu to do these things, but don't delay the things outside the city. Things outside the city are the top priority right now," Zhu Lang reminded

Li Chengzhi bowed and said yes, then left the study and called Deng Mingwu

“Go, send for all the armor that is in the treasury.”

"What is the situation now? Is there really a rebellion? But we have to protect the prince and fight our way out." Deng Mingwu became nervous when he heard this.
"The troops outside the city are the Guangzhou soldiers recruited by the prince with secret orders. Ding Kuichu wanted to gain power by himself, so he closed the city gates and did not allow the Guangzhou soldiers to enter the city."

"I will leave the city to meet you soon. All matters in the palace will be left to you. Listen carefully, Ding Kuichu may not have the courage to attack the palace, but if something happens, don't worry about the rest of the people in the palace. You must protect the prince and escape from the city."

"The lives and property of all of us soldiers are in your hands. We must not let him get hurt," Li Chengzhi said with a serious expression.

"After I leave the mansion, you take people to guard the front gate of the central courtyard. The people in the front courtyard are all spies of the previous dynasty. No one is allowed to come in. Then go to the backyard and invite the concubine and princess to the central courtyard. You can take the guards in the mansion to guard the central courtyard."

As they were talking, the soldiers who had gone to the treasury came back, carrying several large wooden boxes.
Open the wooden box, and inside are sets of gleaming armor.

As early as when Li Chengzhi entered the palace, he had already reported to Zhu Lang, and dozens of sets of armor were transferred from the army and secretly sent to the palace.
Normally, people would not wear armor, but at this time, these armors came in handy.

For an ordinary family to privately store dozens of armors would be a serious crime punishable by confiscation of property and extermination of the clan, but Zhu Lang was the future emperor of the Ming Dynasty, so what was wrong with the emperor placing a few sets of armor in his mansion?

If Zhu Lang hadn't ambushed five hundred swordsmen in his palace and used the smashing of cups as a signal for all to attack, the ministers in the court would have been secretly happy.
The guards gathered in the courtyard said nothing and began to put on the armor in the box. One of the armor pieces was a red cotton armor lined with armor plates, which looked like a cotton coat. Outside the cotton armor was another set of iron armor.

One person wears double armor. This is the configuration of generals and officers above the rank of guerrilla in the Ming army. Twenty elite soldiers wearing double armor are enough to break through an army of two or three hundred people.

Soon, the people in the courtyard had dressed up. More than a dozen people were fully armed. The iron helmets and skirts flashed coldly in the sun. From a distance, they looked like a dozen black steel beasts.

"Let two people follow me out of the house, and I'll leave the affairs of the house to you."

Li Chengzhi only wore a cotton armor, and then covered the inner armor with his outer coat. He nodded to Deng Mingwu, pointed to two people, and walked out of the courtyard.
(End of this chapter)