Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 113 Navy?

"Oh!"

"Oh!"

Following a few cannon shots, columns of water leaped up from the surface of the river.

Seeing this, the Qing army warships, which had been so aggressive, immediately slowed down and allowed the ships flying the Ming flags to sail towards Yingtian.

Ever since the fall of Yangzhou and Zheng Hongkui's abandonment of the river defense, there had been no more Ming army warships seen on the river. But today, for some reason, so many of them came at once, causing the soldiers on the city to wonder whether they should fire or not.

When Zhu Cilang arrived at the west of the city, the warships had already stopped near Dinghuai Gate, and the people sent from the ships to contact them had also landed in a small boat and had been waiting outside the city for a long time.

"Let's go and have a look with me."

In Zhu Cilang's impression, the Qing navy was mostly civilian ships carrying soldiers, but the ones he saw were obviously real warships.

From this he confirmed the identity of the other side's Ming army, and then planned to leave the city to see the situation.

But Yingtian's comfort depends on him alone. How could the soldiers defending the city dare to take such a huge risk and let him leave the city from his defense zone?

"Your Highness, why don't I go check it out first, or ask them to send someone in."

"Forget it, don't go. They have come from afar, so let them send someone into the city."

"Order."

The general took the order and left. After negotiating with the people outside the city, he saw a red-robed official leading several soldiers towards the city gate.

When Zhu Cilang saw the man's attire, he knew that his rank must be above fourth grade. However, after verifying it with the memory in his mind, he could not find any clues about this person.

In the original history, due to the previous experience of Chongzhen, once the news of the fall of Yangzhou spread, more than a dozen troops of varying sizes from all over the Southern Ming Dynasty went to Yingtian to support the king.

But in Zhu Cilang's impression, these troops almost all came by land, and the occasional naval forces were all in the eastern Zhejiang area. He couldn't think of any of them that had ever arrived in Yingtian by water.

After a while, the red-robed official climbed up the city wall, glanced at the officers and soldiers, and then walked straight to Zhu Cilang.

"Your Highness, I am the Director of the Imperial Academy and the Supervisor of the Yangtze River Warship Construction. I, Shen Tingyang, pay my respects to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

Shen Tingyang performed the ceremony meticulously, but Zhu Cilang's attention was not there.

Forced by Yue Qijie, he had been wearing the Ming army's standard cotton armor these days, but Shen Tingyang recognized him at a glance among the soldiers.

This made Zhu Cilang wonder in his heart: Am I real?

"Quickly stand up, quickly stand up," Zhu Cilang was very familiar with this procedure. After seeing Shen Tingyang finish his courtesy, he took a few quick steps and stretched out his hand to lift him up. Then he said excitedly: "In times of crisis, loyal ministers are revealed. In times of crisis, loyal ministers are revealed!"

"Your Highness! You have suffered!"

When Shen Tingyang's eyes met Zhu Cilang's, his eyes suddenly turned red.

Chongzhen valued him very much during his reign, and even said to others: "If all officials were like Shen Tingyang, the world would be easy to govern!"

After Hongguang ascended the throne, Shen Tingyang, who was ordered to modify warships and transport military supplies, was forgotten.

When it came to the case of the "Prince from the North", although he had doubts, he was powerless because of his low status.

"Mr. Shen's coming to Yingtian in times of danger shows his loyalty to the emperor and his patriotism. However, the news that Yingtian is still holding out is... "

In Zhu Cilang's opinion, at this time, few people in the Ming Dynasty knew that Yingtian was still holding out. The fact that Shen Tingyang could rush to Yingtian at this time must be that the course of history had changed something he was unaware of.

How could he suppress the doubts in his heart in such a situation?
"Your Highness, allow me to explain in detail."

After the towns in northern Jiangnan surrendered, the officials in charge of the navy led their troops to retreat to Chongming Island at the mouth of the sea.

Unexpectedly, the Tartars advanced too quickly. Before they could report their situation to Yingtian, the Tartars had already crossed the Yangtze River.

Afterwards, Hongguang fled and the Qing army was unstoppable in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. The Ming army, which had more than 10,000 land forces and nearly 1,000 warships, was at a loss.

After hearing this, Zhu Cilang could quite understand their feelings at that time.

Others might wonder why these people didn't go directly to Yingtian, but gathered on Chongming Island. But without the emperor's summons, which general would dare to lead his troops near the capital?
By the time they learned that the Qing army had crossed the river and Hongguang had escaped, it was too late.

As a result, this group of people has great strength but cannot find a place to use their strength at this time when the country is in ruins. Anyone would be very depressed.

"What then?"

"That night after you sent troops to attack Zhenjiang, a captain named Liu Linsheng led his men to seize the Tartar ships and fled to the sea. It was he who brought the news from Yingtian."

As he was about to finish his words, Zhu Cilang began to feel doubtful.

Shen Tingyang doesn't look like a reckless person. Why would he take such a risk and come to Yingtian just based on the one-sided words of the surrendered soldiers?

But doubts may be a problem, but how can it be so easy to ask questions that doubt the intelligence of someone who has just taken a huge risk and is standing in front of you?

"Mr. Shen, you have worked hard on the journey. Please stay at the Xincheng Marquis's residence for one night today and meet with the other officials tomorrow. Do you think this is a good idea?"

"Your Highness, I have to go back."

"Mr. Shen, what are you doing?"

It is said that it takes only one day to return to Jiangling from a thousand miles away.

The entire journey from Chongming Island to Yingtian by water only takes about one or two days if you go down the river.

But now the biggest obstacle between the two places is not the distance, but the numerous checkpoints set up by the Tartars.

Therefore, Zhu Cilang didn't understand why Shen Tingyang, who had finally rushed into Yingtian, wanted to go back as soon as they met.

"Your Highness, you may not know that this old minister has come here to pay his respects to Your Highness and to ask for a favor from Your Highness."

"You want something from me?"

Seeing that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was looking at him in confusion, Shen Tingyang began to explain in detail where this "request" came from.

After the Tartars invaded the Suzhou and Songjiang areas, they tried to send troops to fight them, but after a battle, they found in despair that the Tartars were able to break through their formation of thousands of people with only a hundred people.

As a result, they could only retreat to Chongming Island and rely on their naval superiority to resist the Tartar attack.

In fact, judging from the military strength alone, the troops on Chongming Island are by no means weak. Not only do they have nearly a thousand warships of various sizes, but what is even more rare is that the sides of these warships are almost all equipped with gunpowder weapons such as the Shenfei Cannon, the Weiyuan Cannon, and the Baizi Gun.

Of course, these inland warships can never be compared with the Zheng family’s large sea ships, but they can easily crush the Tatars’ civilian ships.

However, this crushing victory could not be converted into victory on the battlefield due to the lack of cooperation from ground forces.

Therefore, after contacting Yu Yingtian, the top priority became asking His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to send a ground force to cooperate with them in the battle.

"By water?"

"Exactly."

"Is it all right?"

"Of course it's appropriate. We don't care about those broken ships of the Tartars." Judging from the previous battle situation, the Tartar navy could not pose any threat to the Ming navy at all.

It might be a bit arrogant to say that they can come and go freely, but there shouldn't be any problem in transporting several thousand soldiers.

just
"Mr. Shen, what are you going to do after receiving reinforcements?"

"Your Highness, the Tartars have been levying heavy taxes these days, causing complaints from local gentry. Therefore, we intend to capture Songjiang Prefecture first, and then join forces with the rebels in Taihu Lake to capture Suzhou after we have gained a firm foothold."

Zhu Cilang listened and nodded slowly, but he was struggling in his heart.

This plan does have a certain degree of feasibility, but after taking Suzhou, how should we deal with the Tartars' full-scale encirclement and suppression?
not to mention.
I'm just complaining, but I'm still a long way from my goal.

Looking at the old minister with gray beard, Zhu Cilang felt pity in his heart, but after thinking about it several times, he finally said with joy on his face.

"I think this is a very good idea. Once the new army has been trained, I will send a group of people to help Mr. Shen to defeat the Tartars!"

Seeing that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince agreed to send troops to support, Shen Tingyang was so happy that he couldn't express it in words. However, when he asked a question inadvertently, his mood immediately sank.

"May I ask, Your Highness, how long will it take for the new troops to be put into operation?"

"Probably just over a month."

"More than a month?!"

Although Zhu Cilang wanted to evade the question, what he said was indeed true.

Not to mention anything else, it would probably take some time for officers at all levels to get used to the new recruits, not to mention resolving conflicts between the old and the new and adapting them to their own tactics.

Of course, he could also just pull the horses out and train while fighting, but this would inevitably cause considerable casualties.

not to mention.
Zhu Cilang had never intended to save the people from danger so quickly.

"Why don't you go with me, Mr. Shen, to see the soldiers training?"

Zhu Cilang had already said so, could Shen Tingyang really go and verify it? Wouldn't that be a clear sign that he didn't trust the Crown Prince?

"Thank you, Your Highness. I have to return to Chongming Island and will not stay in Yingtian for long."

"You've just arrived, why are you going back so soon?"

"Your Highness, I need to bring back the news that Yingtian is still alive as soon as possible."

Shen Tingyang was hesitant when he spoke, and it was obvious that he had something else to say.

According to common sense, it is extremely important for the navy to find a stable foothold on both sides of the Yangtze River. However, no matter how important it is, it does not seem to be to the point where they can only say a few words at the edge of the city and then have to go back to deliver the message.

Thinking about it this way, there must be some emergency on the island that needs to be dealt with urgently, otherwise why would he act so anxiously.

"Mr. Shen, if you have any difficulties, please tell me frankly."

"Your Highness, this... I..."

Shen Tingyang thought that his behavior would arouse the prince's suspicion, but he never expected that the prince would actually say it directly. This situation really made him not know how to deal with it.

"Mr. Shen, I think you have heard about the things happening in Jiangbei. If the commanders and commanders could be honest with each other, the Tartars would not have crossed the Yangtze River so easily."

To be fair, the outcome of the war at this point probably has little to do with being honest with each other.

Zhu Cilang's words would cause Shen Tingyang to think carefully.

Anyway, that's what it means, just experience it yourself.

The advantage of talking to knowledgeable people is that even if what you say is not to the point, they will be able to find thousands of appropriate examples in their minds.

"Your Highness, please forgive me. I did not conceal this intentionally. I was just worried that what happened on the island would make you think too much."

Sure enough, after thinking for a moment, Shen Tingyang knelt on the ground, apologized for his crime, and then told Zhu Cilang the whole story.

At this time, in addition to him, there were three other groups of people stationed on Chongming Island, namely Huai'an Governor Tian Yang, Huaihe Town General Zhang Shiyi, Huaihai Town General Zhang Pengyi, and those who were in contact with them also included Generals Huang Fei, Wu Zhikui, Hou Chengzu and others.

Since they gathered on Chongming Island, various bad news kept coming, and the officials of the current dynasty had no news at all. Therefore, they prepared to support Prince Yi Yang as regent and use Chongming Island as a base to complete the cause of restoring the country.

But who would have thought that before the ceremony was performed, Liu Linsheng brought the news that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was still defending Yingtian.

At this point, differences arose within Chongming Island.

Shen Tingyang wanted to confirm the truth of the news before discussing the issue of supporting Prince Yi Yang, but Tian Yang believed that Hongguang had been captured and Yingtian could not be defended, so the most urgent task should be to appoint a regent before discussing other matters.

As for the two generals, they had no intention of taking part in the argument. They probably just thought that if they could fight, they would fight, and if they couldn't fight, they would each find a way out.

"I thought it was a big deal."

After listening to Shen Tingyang's story, Zhu Cilang waved his hand, but seemed not to care about someone supporting the enthronement of a vassal king.

He actually thought very clearly that strength is the basis of everything.

Without strong power to back you up, let alone being the regent, how many people would be willing to obey you even if you ascend the throne?
What's more, he has the title of crown prince. As long as he has enough strength, what does it matter whether he serves as regent or ascends the throne?
"Your Highness, this matter concerns the foundation of the country. You must not be careless."

"It's okay, Mr. Shen, you can stay in the city for one night and catch up with your colleagues and old friends."

"I have no old friends in Yingtian."

This remark almost made Zhu Cilang lose his breath.

Whether judging from his actions or his performance after entering the city, Lord Shen must have highly approved of Zhu Cilang.

But even in this situation, he still confronted His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

He was very relaxed and free in his criticism, and he had no scruples at all.

If someone who is not in the know sees this, they might think that this is the Tartar trying to persuade the loyal ministers of the Ming Dynasty to surrender.

Indeed, in Shen Tingyang's eyes, stopping Tian Yang from supporting King Yi Yang was the top priority, and Zhu Cilang's ignorance of the importance of the matter naturally did not win his favor.

But in this situation, Zhu Cilang was indeed a little embarrassed. After trying to look at Ji Qingyuan for a long time without any result, he could only find a way out himself.

Opportunities are reserved for those who are prepared.

Just when Zhu Cilang was feeling embarrassed, Zhu Guobi, who had been following him all the way, finally found the opportunity to speak.

"Sir Shen, Yingtian has been under siege for quite some time. We are cut off from the outside world and know nothing about the outside world. His Highness wants you to stay in the city overnight because he wants to know more about the situation outside so that he can make a plan accordingly."

"Exactly this!"

As soon as Zhu Guobi finished speaking, Zhu Cilang immediately followed up with a sentence.

He knew very well that the old man had ulterior motives, but he could not deny that having such a person around could indeed save him a lot of trouble.

"Then I will obey your Highness' orders."

(End of this chapter)