Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 110 Zhenjiang
"Open the door!"

"Are there any alive?"

"Someone come out!"

After shouting for a long time outside Zhenjiang City, there was no response from the city, let alone anyone coming out to open the door.

Xiang Rensheng naturally became alert in this situation, but the surrendered soldiers who led the way seemed to be very accustomed to such situations.

"I think the night watchman has deserted. Let's wait a little longer."

After saying something to Xiang Rensheng who had approached him, Qi Laoer started shouting towards the city again.

After a long while, the fire gradually lit up on the city wall. When the fire moved to the battlements, a voice replied impatiently: "You want to die! Why are you shouting in the middle of the night?"

"You better be careful. Fortunately, the people who came back this time are all from Zhenjiang. If you meet people from the north one day, you will be whipped."

I don’t know if it was the “Zhenjiang people” or the “whipping” that had an effect, but when the voice came again, it didn’t seem as annoying anymore.

"Why are you going into town so late?"

"Alas, the people in Yingtian City broke out the night before, and a lot of food and grass were lost, so we came here overnight to transport some."

"Ah? Are they so brave?"

"That's right. They were probably so anxious because they were surrounded that not many of them could return."

After saying a few words, Qi Lao Er saw that the soldiers on the city seemed to be still immersed in this surprising news, so he urged them again.

"Open the door quickly. We have to hurry back after delivering the food. If you are late, don't blame me for selling you out in front of the noble man."

After the words fell, there was no response from that person, and the firelight on the city became dimmer and dimmer until it was shrouded in darkness again.

The most tense moment is finally here.

The night before, Xiang Rensheng led the guard battalion out of the Tartar camp and immediately headed for Baohua Mountain.

If it were an ordinary time, it would only take three or two hours to walk the forty or fifty miles, stopping and starting frequently. However, it was less than two hours before dawn, and if we did not use all our strength, we would not be able to get into the mountains before dawn to avoid the Tartars.

Fortunately, the guards in the camp were all former laborers. Although their endurance was not top-notch, they still managed to get into Baohua Mountain before dawn with all their strength.

Afterwards, they rested for half a day during the day, discussed for half a day, and after deciding how to trick the city gate open and what to do when entering the city, they left Baohua Mountain and headed for Zhenjiang when it was getting dark.

"Tap, tap, tap."

Footsteps sounded from behind the city gate. Xiang Rensheng glanced at Qi Laoer who was standing in the front, but he didn't know whether he should guard against him or focus on dealing with the Qing army behind the gate.

At the beginning, Xiang Rensheng was naturally wary of these surrendered soldiers from Zhenjiang, but while they were on the road, not only did these people not cause any trouble, they were even more active than them. This made Xiang Rensheng sigh at the power of money.

With a creaking sound, the Zhenjiang city gate opened a crack from the inside, and then a head was seen popping out from inside.

"Bring the list."

"List?"

Qi Laoer had never been in charge of the city gate, so how could he know what kind of list was required to enter? Fortunately, he was not the only surrendered soldier from Zhenjiang here. When he saw him sitting in a corner, someone took up the conversation.

"Didn't you give the list to Lao Xiang?"

"Oh, yes, yes, here I am, here I am."

It can be said that Xiang Rensheng's days of following Zhu Cilang were not in vain. As he finished speaking, he moved towards the city gate while talking.

At the same time, his hands kept groping around his body, as if he was very confused about the whereabouts of the "list".

"Hurry up, hurry up, it takes you so long to find a list."

"Here, here."

As the soldier urged him, Xiang Rensheng quickened his pace. When he was about to get close, he seemed to have finally figured out where the "list" was and put his hands into his arms.

"Don't make a sound!"

A dagger flashing with cold light flashed out from Xiang Rensheng's arms and was directly placed on the soldier's neck without waiting for his reaction.

At this point, he seemed to have not yet reacted to what had happened. He waited until Xiang Rensheng pulled him out from the crack of the door before he asked tremblingly: "You...you are not from Zhenjiang?"

"Stop talking nonsense. How many defenders are there in the city?"

"Probably. Probably more than three thousand."

"Are there any Tartars?"

"Yes, about six or seven hundred."

Just as Xiang Rensheng had expected, this soldier was willing to tell him everything he knew, but when he was asked to lead the way, he shook his head like a rattle, and was not at all afraid of having the dagger cut the blood vessels in his neck.

"Sir! If the Tartars see us, the lives of my entire family will be in danger."

"Do you think the whole family can survive now?"

Seeing that this guy didn't seem to understand the situation, Xiang Rensheng gave him a reminder.

The city gate has been opened. No matter whether the guard camp can succeed or not, he, the night watchman, will not have a good ending. As for whether his family will be implicated, it probably depends on how much loss the Tartars suffer tonight.

The soldier must have been clear about this, but everything happened so quickly that he didn't have time to think too much.

It was not until Xiang Rensheng finished speaking that he connected the cause and effect. He suddenly lost all strength and collapsed to the ground.

"Don't panic, I'll give you a way to survive."

The soldier heard the words, but seemed to be unaware of them.

The door is open, are you just going to look from the outside and not go in?

If I go in, can I just come out without doing anything?
"If you can show me the way, I will allow you to move the silver from the treasury. When the time comes, you can take your family to places that the Tartars cannot control."

"Is this true?"

"Really? They are like that too."

Hearing this, the soldier looked hopefully at Qi Laoer, who had tricked him into opening the city gate. When he saw him nod, he immediately became energetic.

"General, let's enter the city first, so as not to arouse suspicion."

The soldier changed his position very quickly, and then he led the guard camp into Zhenjiang City. The surrendered army camp located near the city gate naturally fell into the control of the Ming army without any surprise.

Although things were going unusually smoothly up to this point, they were generally normal. But when the general guessed something from the clues, the whole thing became weird.

"General, you still have too few people."

? ? ? ? ? ?
"There are more than 600 Tartars. We can't wipe them out even if we launch a surprise attack."

? ? ? ! ! !
Xiang Rensheng looked at the general who was deep in thought with a sword on his neck, and suddenly felt a sense of disharmony.

"How about this, I will try to open the camp gate, and you can follow up and kill me, this way I can be considered loyal to the Ming Dynasty!"

"to be honest."

"Curry saved a lot of money..."

As he spoke, the general looked shy like a newly married young bride, but Xiang Rensheng couldn't help but feel suspicious.

It is true that money can tempt people, but one must be alive to spend it. There were only five or six people who led the way. They could have taken the money and fled to another place to hide their identities, but this general had so many soldiers under his command. Where could they flee to with their families?

Thinking about it this way, could it be that the general's behavior is just to paralyze himself?
"Aren't you afraid of being pursued by the Tartars?"

"General, the army has so many tricks, how can the Tartars be held responsible?"

Well, if Chang Guanlin were here, he would be able to understand what this general is up to, but Xiang Rensheng has only been in the guard camp for a short time, so how would he know what methods the army has.

So the question is, should we trust this general?

The benefits of believing are obvious. Once you get the help of this military general, it will not be difficult to burn the food and supplies even if there are hundreds of real Tartars guarding them.

But he couldn't figure out what methods this general had, so how could he trust him? How could he dare to trust him?

"Don't play dumb. What are you planning?"

The general originally wanted to use some so-called military tricks to fool people, but since Xiang Rensheng asked him, he really couldn't think of any tricks for a moment, so he took two steps forward and spoke in a low voice.

"Are they willing?"

"Why not? We're just digging for food here anyway, so we might as well go out and try our luck."

After a while, Xiang Rensheng seemed to have heard something extremely incredible, but after the general explained a few more words, he felt that it was not completely impossible.

"In that case, I will trust you this time!"

Does Xiang Rensheng trust this general?
Most people probably don't believe it because the method he described is indeed a bit bizarre.

Does he have any other options?

There are a few ways, such as the previous night attack on the enemy camp, or just setting fire to the warehouse without caring about the consequences, and then fighting to the death after the Tartars react.

But in this case, the possibility of getting away with it unscathed is too low.

If this battle really causes serious damage to the Imperial Guard Battalion, how can he face the families of his brothers and how can he face His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?
Finally, Xiang Rensheng decided to take a chance.

Let’s try to see whether this money can move the general’s heart.

After making some arrangements, he assigned 300 men to go to the storage area under the leadership of Qi Laoer, and the rest went with him to the Tatar military camp.

However, the general's way of allocating troops was the opposite of his. The hundred or so most trusted men under his command were all sent to the warehouse, while the rest were strictly ordered not to leave the barracks no matter what happened.

As a result, in Zhenjiang, where thousands of Qing troops were stationed, there were only a few hundred Tartars left who could pose a threat to the guard camp.

"Hurry! I want to meet Ezhen."

When they arrived near the Tartar camp, the general and Xiang Rensheng led a few soldiers and rushed to the camp gate in panic and shouted.

"We'll talk about it tomorrow! Anyone who approaches the military camp at night will be killed without mercy!"

The Tartars had strict military discipline, so a situation like the previous one would not happen. Before the general even got close, the soldiers on night duty shouted at him.

"Don't shoot! Don't shoot! There is urgent military information in Yingtian, I must see Ezhen!"

"Military intelligence? What military intelligence can you have? Even if there is military intelligence, you wouldn't be the one to report it!"

The soldier's words were extremely rude, and he obviously didn't care about the huge gap in official rank between the two men.

Seeing this, Xiang Rensheng suddenly realized that perhaps this general was not just after money.

"Yingtian Camp was attacked! Lord Beile's entire army was wiped out!"

This sound shocked the soldiers on duty into silence.

In the past few days, many troops have indeed dispersed, but it can be said that there are at least 50,000 to 60,000 troops in the Yingtian camp.

What was the basis for the Ming army?
"Open the door quickly! Don't delay any longer~~!"

The general saw the reaction of the Tartar soldiers, and in an instant he began to beat his chest and stamp his feet.

In this situation, although the Tartar soldiers still had doubts in their hearts, they really did not dare to stop the general from entering the camp.

After a while, the camp gate slowly opened, and the general and Xiang Rensheng and others walked quickly inside.

"There are still so many in the camp. Ugh!"

As their figures intertwined, the Tartar soldier who opened the door wanted to ask something, but before he could finish his words, he felt a chill in his throat.

Then he saw that all the people gathered near the camp gate were like him.

Southerners really don’t believe it!
The thoughts in his mind gradually dissipated as the blood flowed, and by the time he heard the sound of footsteps, he had lost the ability to distinguish them.

At this point, Xiang Rensheng was certain that what the general said was true, and when his mind changed, he said, "Why not go to Yingtian?"

In his opinion, although the situation in Yingtian is somewhat critical, His Highness, who is so wise and brave, will definitely be able to drive the Tartars back to Jiangbei.

By then, even if you are not rich, it is better to live and work in peace than to leave your hometown.

It’s just that everyone’s experiences are different, so the same words can have a hundred different meanings.

Xiang Rensheng's kindness made the general alert.

"General, are you going to regret it?"

"Of course not."

Since he had no intention of going back on his word, the general put his mind at ease. At the same time, he also felt Xiang Rensheng's kindness, and after a moment's hesitation, he began to speak seriously.

"General, the court is in such a state of strife, what can your prince do even if he defends Yingtian? It would be better for him to leave this place of trouble."

Normally he and this general should be enemies rather than friends, but for some reason he felt that this man must have some abilities, so he wanted to bring him to serve His Highness.

But people are different after all. Let alone their views on current affairs, even if you put a bowl of food on the table, you may eat it differently because of your different living environments.

Different road non-phase plan.

Today, Xiang Rensheng completely understood the meaning of this sentence.

"In that case, take care of yourself."

"Take care of yourself."

The two said goodbye to each other, and the general turned around and left with his men. But after taking only two steps, he turned back and said to Xiang Rensheng, "My name is Liu Linsheng. May I ask your name, General?"

"Xiang Rensheng."

"They all have new characters. I hope you and I can see them again in our lifetime."

Seeing that Xiang Rensheng did not respond to his words, Liu Linsheng knew that he was dissatisfied with his pessimism about the future.

But Liu Linsheng was stationed in Zhenjiang and had a deep understanding of everything in Jiangbei. So he no longer cared about Xiang Rensheng's rudeness caused by his "ignorance". He clasped his fist and turned to leave.

At this time, some people in the Tatar camp had been awakened by the screams, but the fully armed soldiers of the Royal Guards had already rushed to their front. In their haste, some people did not even have time to put on their armor, let alone put on their inner clothes, before they were killed by the Ming army who suddenly rushed in with a stick.

At this point, facing the ferocious Ming army, the Tartar soldiers had no chance of turning the tide.

When Xiang Rensheng saw that there were fires in many places in the city, he put aside the last bit of worry in his heart, picked up two iron sticks and joined the fight.

(End of this chapter)