Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 111 Red face and white face
Suzhou
It is said that there is heaven above and Suzhou and Hangzhou below, but Ordu has been depressed all day long since he entered this city. If people who don't know the inside story see him like this, they would almost think that he has suffered a great defeat.

After being reminded by Wusitu that day, he contacted people everywhere, and after forming an army of nearly 10,000 people, he led his troops straight to Suzhou.

The result was clear. They hardly encountered any decent resistance along the way and easily reached the city of Suzhou after taking several cities. However, after Suzhou opened the city and surrendered, something happened that tied them here and they could not move forward. They could only watch helplessly as other people and horses ran rampant in this fertile land.

"Where on earth did this fleet come from? Why are they so shameless?"

Seeing that his two classmates were silent, Erdu couldn't help feeling annoyed.

That day, as soon as he entered Suzhou, he heard that a large Ming army fleet was approaching.

In this situation, Ordu didn't need to think too much and immediately ordered his men to close the city gates and wait for reinforcements.

But when the fleet came closer, he found that the so-called "huge fleet" was just civilian ships. If he was not bad at naval warfare, he would have been able to turn them all into dust in no time.

Then the fleet retreated, and he thought the matter ended there.

But who would have thought that within a day the fleet would appear again near Suzhou, as if they were certain that Ordu could not do anything to them.

After several times of this, Ordu had no idea what the fleet leader's mood was, but this behavior of neither fighting nor retreating really made him a little annoyed.

That's why he summoned the two surrendered generals who came to Suzhou to discuss how to deal with the situation.

"Ezhen, I have already found out that the leader of this fleet is named Wu Yi. He was originally the head of the military department under Shi Kefa. He escaped the battle of Yangzhou because he went to Suzhou and Hangzhou to collect grain. That's why."

"Oh? You were also under Shi Kefa's command. Did you have any contact with him?"

"Humph," the general sneered when he heard Erdu's question, and then said in a somewhat gloomy tone: "Who is Shi Kefa? How can he look down on people like us who are born as rebels?"

"Hey, General Li, the past is the past. If you can really talk to him, you can try to persuade him to surrender."

This general named Li was named Li Chengdong, and was originally a general under Gao Jie.

After Gao Jie's death, his generals feared that the town would be annexed by other towns, so they wanted Shi Kefa to adopt his son as their adopted son.

Originally this was a good thing. If Shi Kefa really accepted Gao Jie's son, then even if the powerful soldiers in this town would not obey Shi Kefa's orders blindly, it would greatly strengthen his control over the troops in various towns. When the Qing army moved south, even if they were still defeated, they would not be defeated.

But who would have thought that when Li Chengdong and other generals were fully confident that they had found a backer, Shi Kefa actually made Gao Jie's son worship a eunuch.

Such behavior is so pedantic and stupid that it is unprecedented in history.

Not only did it make Gao's generals feel unprecedented humiliation, but it also clearly told the world that Shi Ge's army, which was in charge of all matters related to the defense of Jiangbei, did not trust these nearly 100,000 soldiers.

How can we expect the Jiangbei army to fight to the death when we feel sympathy for our own kind?

"Eh, if I, Li Chengdong, were to fight for the Qing Dynasty, I would do my best. But if you want me to deal with someone related to Shi Kefa, you might as well kill me first."

When Li Chengdong was under Gao Jie's command, he was called Li Hezi, which shows his violent character.

If the person in front of him had not been Erdu, he might have argued with the person who was speaking.

But then again, when you are under someone's roof, you have to bow your head. Now that Li Hezi's heart scars have been exposed in front of someone, he can only shut the person up by asking for death.

"Oh, Tingzhen, how can you talk to Ezhen like this?" Seeing that the situation was not going well, another general at the same table immediately spoke up to smooth things over: "Ezhen, don't blame him. That Shi guy is really going too far."

"How can I be such a stingy person?"

Ordu glanced at the general who was speaking, then grabbed Li Chengdong's arm and pulled it, as a way to give him a way out.

Looking at Li Chengdong again, although he still had some resentment in his heart, he had no choice but to give in and sit down.

"Oh, Wu Yi's lair is in Taihu Lake. We don't have any good solution now. How about..."

Having said this, the general dragged out the words, as if hesitating whether he should tell his plan or not, but at the same time his eyes kept glancing at Li Chengdong, but it was unknown what he was planning.

"Oh, General Wu, it's already so late. If we are delayed here any longer, we will miss the rest of the battle."

"Ezhen, I heard that several fleet commanders in the Huai River area gathered on Chongming Island. They should have a lot of naval forces. If we can persuade them to surrender, we can get rid of Wu Yi."

This General Wu's name was Wu Shengzhao. Unlike Li Chengdong who was in Jiangbei, he once served under Hong Chengchou, but he saw the opportunity earlier in that battle and was able to survive until the Qing army entered the pass.

It was because of the faction differences that he was not familiar with the people in the towns of Jiangbei.
"The Huai River area? General Li, weren't you stationed there?"

"Ah."

Li Chengdong responded sullenly. At this moment, he already understood what these two people were planning.

Although the territories of the towns in Jiangbei are connected to each other, the relationship between them is not like that of comrades. Instead, it is more like wild beasts locked together, always ready to bite off a piece from the other towns.

Therefore, Li Chengdong did not even need to ask the names of those generals to know that he was probably their enemy rather than their friend, so how could he persuade them to surrender in such a situation?

But he had rejected Erdu once before, so he couldn't reject him again.
"I'll try. They probably won't listen to me."

"It's okay, it's okay, just do your best, just do your best."

When Ordu saw that Li Chengdong agreed to the matter, his mood immediately improved.

If he had the same personality as before entering the customs, why would he care what Li Chengdong thought?
If they did not obey, he would order military punishment, but his thoughts had gradually changed since he went south.

After all, wars involve casualties, and casualties will weaken one's own power. So why not be a little more lenient towards the surrendered southern generals so that they can do the things that require their heads to be put on their belts for them?

Now that the business was done, the three of them began to toast each other again. But at this moment, a voice of "report" came from outside the door, and then a soldier came in with a roll of paper in his hand.

"Ezhen, this is the prince's military order."

"Military order?"

Upon hearing that it was Duoduo's military order, Ordu was naturally a little confused.

Although he had some minor troubles here, it was by no means enough to alarm Duoduo. Moreover, he had heard that Duoduo had already sent troops to Hangzhou, so there was no way he would send any orders to him.

Although he was confused, Erdu did not dare to neglect Duoduo's military order. He rolled up his sleeves and took the paper from the soldier to read it carefully.

"Is this order only passed to me?"

"All the scattered troops have been received."

Because of the angle, Li and Wu did not see what was written on the paper, but Erdu's expression was extremely serious at this time, which made them realize the seriousness of the matter. "Ezhen, what happened?"

Seeing that Erdu was silent, Wu Shengzhao asked. Although Li Chengdong did not speak, his curiosity was revealed by the way he kept glancing at the paper scroll.

"The prince ordered us to collect food and grass with all our strength."

As Erdu spoke, he handed the paper roll to him.

After reading it, Li and Wu could not hide their doubts. They looked at each other and then sat back in their seats, lowering their heads to think.

Food and fodder are related to the safety of the army, so it is right to try our best to collect them. However, there are still so many stored in Zhenjiang, so it seems unnecessary to write a special letter requesting the collection of food and fodder.

Is it
"Could it be that things are not going well in Hangzhou, and the prince is making preparations in advance?"

Wu Shengzhao said this, causing the other two to look at him, but after a moment, they seemed to deny this statement in their hearts, and then frowned and thought about it again.

Although Hangzhou’s defenses are not as good as Yingtian’s, it is still one of the largest cities in the world. If the small imperial court insists on not surrendering, the only option in the end is to attack it by force.

With this in mind, it makes sense to make some preparations in advance.

just
Does Hangzhou really have the determination to hold on?
Thinking of this, even Wu Shengzhao felt that he was thinking too much. After all, there was no other Zhu Cilang in Hangzhou.

"Forget it, don't think about it anymore. Since the military order has been issued, we will just follow it." After saying this, Erdu shouted outside the house without waiting for the two to express their opinions: "Go and invite the wealthy families in the city. I will host a banquet tonight."

"Whoo!"

After settling this matter, the three of them went back to rest.

It must be said that the general's body was much stronger than that of an ordinary person. It only took them more than an hour to recover. When the banquet was about to start, the three of them appeared in the hall in high spirits.

It was noon now. All the important figures in Suzhou City appeared here. After the hall was full, the rest had to sit in the courtyard.

"I invite you all to the banquet today, firstly to thank you for your great help to my Erdu these days, and secondly, I have a request for you all."

After he finished the first half of the sentence, everyone present nodded in agreement, as if they were willing to sacrifice their lives for the Qing Dynasty. But when he finished the second half of the sentence, the hall fell silent.

Seeing this situation, Ordu felt a little embarrassed.

However, there are three of them in total, and even if Li Chengdong cannot be relied upon in such matters, Wu Shengzhao can still speak out and resolve the situation in time.

"It's not a big deal. The king's army just needs to collect some food. Even if each of you contributes, there won't be much."

As soon as the words fell, an inaudible sigh of relief was heard in the room, and then an old man walked tremblingly to the center of the hall.

"May I ask the three adults, what is the total?"

When the negotiating representative appeared, Erdu gently uttered a number, but before he finished speaking, the old man almost jumped up like a frightened rabbit.

"Twenty thousand koku? Sir, did I hear correctly?"

"It is indeed 20,000 shi."

"Sir, if we wait another three or two months until the new grain arrives, we will raise enough money even if we have to ruin our family. But how can we gather so much money now when there is a shortage of food?"

Common sense would suggest that what the old man said is correct. The new grain has not yet been harvested, but the old grain has been almost eaten.

Under such circumstances, raising 20,000 shi of grain did seem like an impossible task.

But are the Ores so easily fooled?
The period of scarcity between the harvests and the harvests is a time for ordinary people, but for these wealthy families, now is the best time to take advantage of the rising grain prices to sell off the grain stored in their warehouses.

If they said they had no food in stock, Erdu would never believe it even if he died.

"Do you think I'm a fool?"

Erdu sneered and said this, and everyone present immediately knelt down, saying that they dared not.

"Ezhen, we have relied on your help these days. Why don't we discuss the situation with His Majesty and see if you can reduce the exemption for us?"

Wu Shengzhao seemed unwilling to let the situation become awkward, so he stepped out with a smile to smooth things over. However, as soon as he finished speaking, Erdu felt as if he had suffered a great injustice.

"Old Wu, you know the prince's temper. If I get into trouble, I might even lose this armor. How can you let me explain it?!"

One of them had a red face, the other a white face, but whatever they were planning could not escape the old man's eyes.

Although they are all thousand-year-old foxes, there is no need to play any Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio here.

But then again, we all have to have some dignity, so how can we not cover it up? Wouldn't that be robbery?
Everyone was familiar with the subsequent procedures, and after some refusal and humility, Ordu reluctantly accepted the banknote. The wealthy families in the city, led by the old man, were grateful to him.

Taking advantage of this happy moment, the old man said another sentence, and Ordu instantly turned hostile.

"I might as well tell you honestly that the enclosure and the surrender will not stop. Otherwise, why would my Eight Banners soldiers fight to the death?"

"Oh, don't be upset, Ezhen, they just mentioned it casually." In this situation, Wu Shengzhao naturally had to step out to smooth things over. After persuading Erdu, he scolded everyone in the hall: "You are also stingy. Ezhen only brought more than a thousand people. Even if the horses run to death, how much land can they enclose?"

The so-called enclosure means that the Eight Banners soldiers rode on their war horses to define the ownership of the land.

It was even simpler to surrender. Since their land was taken away, the people naturally had to find another way to make a living. So becoming serfs of the Eight Banners soldiers became their only way to survive.

Although these two methods did not last long, their motivation for the soldiers was obvious.

However, the land outside the Great Wall was vast and sparsely populated, so it was fine to enclose it. But most of the arable land inside the Great Wall had owners. Because of the enclosure and transfer of land, the gentry and wealthy families in the capital area put a lot of pressure on Dorgon.

The result was obvious. Regardless of whether Dorgon was unwilling or incompetent, the Qing court never issued an order to stop enclosing land and sending conscripts.

Naturally, Ordu would not give up the opportunity to enrich his family.

"Okay, let's not talk about this. Thanks to all of you for helping us today, let's drink this cup to the full."

Perhaps he felt that it was not a decent thing to turn hostile immediately after receiving an advantage, so Erdu changed the subject after receiving the excuse offered by Wu Shengzhao.

Afterwards, there was another round of toasting and drinking, and the atmosphere was as harmonious as if they were a real family. However, what the noble families who had their land seized by the Eight Banners soldiers felt was only known to them.

(End of this chapter)