Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 126 Chapter If you want to do it, do it big (I am guilty, the chapter number was wrong again yesterday)

January 6

Yingtian
Since receiving help from Chongming Island, Zhu Cilang's mind has become active.

But he only has a few men under his command who can be mobilized to fight a proper battle, so if he wants to put his thoughts into action, he has to use a method that uses little effort to achieve a great result.

Take sending troops to Hangzhou as an example.

It was wishful thinking to expect those 2,800 men to repel the Tartars, but as long as Hangzhou's strength was concentrated through alliances, great things could be achieved.

In his memory, the men in Hangzhou either wanted to fight or wanted to escape, but only a few wanted to surrender directly.

The great men have demonstrated how to deal with such situations. It is nothing more than uniting those who want to fight, winning over those who want to escape, and then attacking those who want to surrender.

After this, Hangzhou will most likely hold on, and the originally one-sided situation may fall into a stalemate.

It has to be said that this plan is extremely consistent with the actual situation.

After all, the force he can dispatch is extremely limited, and his identity is likely to be questioned.

Under such circumstances, sending Zhu Guobi, who is good at maneuvering, to lead troops to Hangzhou can be said to be making the best use of his talents.

As for whether Zhu Guobi would be able to leave Yingtian and let birds fly freely in the sky and fish leap freely in the sea,
Ha ha.

Finally, the "big army" left Yingtian, and Zhu Cilang fell into anxious waiting.

He had been living a very tormented life these past few days. At one moment he felt that it was a little late to send troops, as Hangzhou might surrender before Zhu Guobi arrived. At another moment he felt that the bigwigs in Hangzhou would not cooperate well, and the already fierce struggle in the city might even become more intense.

But when he actually received the letter from Hangzhou, he was dumbfounded.

It went so well.

It went so smoothly.

Apart from the initial battle with the surrendered army led by Liu Liangzuo, the Yingtian Army encountered almost no obstacles.

Several forces in Hangzhou readily acknowledged Zhu Guobi's identity as the crown prince based on just a few words from him, and as for his role as "supervising state affairs", they did not even raise the slightest doubt.

This situation seemed unreal to Zhu Cilang.

But he was a bit sinister after all, and after thinking for a while, he found a reasonable explanation from another angle.

Wherever the Qing army occupied a place, they began to enclose the land and collect grain. Local forces like Huang Daozhou were eager to have a lord who was willing to fight. Wasn't the appearance of Zhu Cilang like a pillow for them?

What's more, the "fake prince" incident was created when Ma Shiying was in power. The more wise and brave His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is, the more foolish and misleading Ma Ge Lao is.

Combined with the two factors, they became Zhu Cilang's most staunch supporters in Hangzhou City.

Well. At least for now.

As for the other two families, Ma Shiying's party lost their obedient puppet and control of the army. Apart from trying their best to protect themselves, they had no courage to question His Royal Highness the Crown Prince who commanded the army.

After all, the Zheng family was not the Zheng family of Longwu, and did not have much say in state affairs. Since the other two families did not object, he naturally would not say much.

Of course, on the other hand, they don’t care whether Zhu Cilang is real or fake.

To put it bluntly, whether it is true or not, they are now like this, only following orders and not announcements. There is really no need to offend others for something that has nothing to do with them.

After thinking this through, Zhu Cilang no longer worried about how smoothly things went. He informed everyone in the tower of what was in the letter and said, "Let's discuss it."

Too broad.

If anyone else heard this, they would probably be confused, but the people present had been getting along with Zhu Cilang for a long time, so they naturally knew what the scope of this "discuss" referred to.

"Your Highness, I think that Ma Shiying should be executed according to the law, and the rebellious king should be demoted to a commoner and detained by the Jinyiwei."

"I second the proposal."

"I second the proposal."

"I second the proposal."

"I second the proposal."

As soon as Xu Yu spoke, several ministers stepped forward to second the motion, but Zhu Cilang was extremely surprised by their behavior.

In his opinion, Ma Shiying's problem was at most a strategic mistake, but Zhu Changxun openly aided the enemy on the battlefield.

This crime is punishable by death by slow slicing, so how can he be just demoted to a commoner?

"Why not execute the rebel king?"

Hearing Zhu Cilang's question, several ministers looked at each other, and finally Xu Yu spoke to explain.

In fact, the old ministers also thought that such a treatment was a bit too easy for the rebel king, but there was an unavoidable problem here.

If the fact that the Rebel King aided the enemy on the battlefield were to be made public, it would likely have a negative impact on the royal family's reputation. But if it were not to be made public, what reason would there be to kill him?
If the rebel king was killed without publicizing it, then in the eyes of those who had ulterior motives, it would appear that Zhu Cilang was narrow-minded and wrongly killed Zhu Changxun who stood up to stabilize the situation at a critical moment.

Anyway, he is already in Zhu Cilang's hands, and his life or death after this period of time will be decided by Zhu Cilang. It is really not worth it to suffer any losses for such a person.

"Ma Shiying was dismissed from his post, and the rebel king was tortured to death in Hangzhou."

"Your Highness Ying?!"

"Ma Shiying's crime is very serious, but it is not appropriate to put all the blame on him. As for the rebel king, this beast is so cruel and mad. If he is not removed, how can I let the soldiers fight bravely?"

"temple"

"I have made up my mind, no need to say more."

Zhu Cilang hasn't used the term "Bing Gong" for a long time. He even used the extremely formal "Gu".

His idea was very simple. If he allowed this evil creature to continue living in the world because of fear of the consequences, it would be too unfair to the soldiers who died fighting for the Ming Dynasty.

What's more, so many people saw this incident, it would be impossible to hide it. Instead of waiting until rumors spread, it is better to be open and aboveboard from the beginning.

Seeing that he was determined, the ministers said nothing more.

Xu Yinjue then came forward and turned the topic to the war.

According to him, the Qing army's forces are now dispersed and are committing atrocities in the occupied areas.

If we could launch a counterattack at this time, not only could we inflict a certain degree of damage to the Qing army with the cooperation of the aristocratic families, but we could also strengthen the resolve of the people in the south of the Yangtze River to resist the Qing.

This was indeed a good opportunity to strike the Qing army, but Zhu Cilang had some thoughts that he was reluctant to express out loud, so he made up some excuses.

"Our current military strength is not enough to fight against the Tartars."

"Your Highness, the new soldiers have been trained. Although they are not strong enough to fight the Eight Banners head-on, with the cooperation of the gentry from all over the country, they can still capture some small cities."

Zhu Cilang nodded as he listened. Just when Xu Yinjue thought he had convinced His Highness, he heard him slowly ask, "Do you all think so?" "Yes, Your Highness, this is a rare opportunity."

"Your Highness, it should be feasible with the cooperation of the gentry."

"I think it's feasible."

After everyone finished speaking, Zhu Cilang fell silent.

In the original history, because the war in Jiangnan was going too smoothly, after the Qing army occupied Yingtian and captured Hongguang, Dorgon could not wait to issue the order to shave the hair.

As a result, the first full-scale anti-Qing movement broke out in the Jiangnan area.

But in this time and space, due to his appearance, the Qing army encountered some minor setbacks in the war in Jiangnan, resulting in the shaving order not arriving as scheduled.

Although Duoduo ordered all departments to collect food and grass after the grain and grass were burned, and local gentry also had anti-Qing intentions, but in Zhu Cilang's view, the intensity of this resistance consciousness would need some time to ferment.

Of course, with this level of anti-Qing sentiment, it is entirely possible to deal a considerable blow to the Qing army, and even if handled properly, there is a chance to recover large tracts of lost territory.

But in Zhu Cilang's eyes, his enemies were not just the Tatars.

If we could use the Qing army to weaken the aristocratic families to a certain extent, that would be the perfect result.

But he must not let anyone else know about his thoughts, so finding excuses to delay time became his only option.

"Jiangnan is a tax-intensive area," Zhu Cilang said after a long silence. "If we can't decide the outcome of a battle, we shouldn't attack rashly."

"Your Highness, please forgive me for speaking frankly."

"Mr. Yue, please speak."

"How difficult is it to decide the outcome of a battle?
If the imperial court does not take any action for a long time, those with weak wills will turn to the Tartars, and those who are loyal to the imperial court will become weak in will.

By then, the Tartars will have established their foothold, and it will be extremely difficult for us to do anything.”

What Yue Qijie was worried about was what everyone was worried about. Although at this moment there were gentry and wealthy families trying every means to contact the remaining Ming troops, if the Ming could not give them hope, the endurance of the gentry and wealthy families would inevitably increase to a certain extent.

Things like land grabbing and grain requisitioning may just pass if we just put it to the test.

By then, the situation will have gradually stabilized and people will be at peace. Who will support the Ming Dynasty's counterattack?

"How much do you know about Dorgon?"

Zhu Cilang's question made the ministers present feel a little puzzled.

Aren't they discussing the war in Jiangnan? How did they teleport to the enemy leader in an instant?

"There are rumors that before I died, I intended to pass the throne to Dorgon."

He saw the doubts of his ministers, but after starting with this, he vividly recounted how Huang Taiji forced his mother to death and how he seized his throne.

He was probably good at telling stories, and since the story involved secret gossips of the Qing court, the ministers listened to it.

"When Huang Taiji was alive, Dorgon behaved extremely submissively, but once Huang Taiji died, Dorgon's true colors were completely exposed. Not only did he not forget that his mother was forced to death, he also remembered every humiliation he suffered at the hands of Huang Taiji. Now he sleeps with other people's wives and beats other people's children, and he really enjoys it."

"Ahem! Your Highness! How can you speak so foul language!"

"Ah, what a slip of the tongue, what a slip of the tongue." Zhu Cilang was naturally a little embarrassed after hearing Xu Yu's reprimand. He said a few perfunctorily, "I'm not saying this to pry into other people's privacy, but I want you to think about it. Does he, who is soft when facing the strong and hard when facing the weak, know when to stop?"

Everyone present was smart. Zhu Cilang had already said this, so how could they not understand?

If what Your Highness said is true, the gentry will go to collect food and grass today, and the Tartars will come to seize land tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow they will dare to rape your wife and daughter and seize your property.

If this goes on for a long time, as long as you dare not resist, they will dare to advance further until nothing is left of you.

Under such circumstances, unless all the brave men died and the rest were willing to be slaves for life, how could there be any "stable situation"?
The ministers carefully pondered every word uttered by His Highness. Although they felt that what he said was correct, they always felt that something was wrong. For a moment, they were confused and didn't know how to respond.

Looking at their expressions, Zhu Cilang's mind was as clear as a mirror.

Where do so many courageous people come from in this world?

There were nearly thirty anti-Qing uprisings in the first three years of the Shunzhi reign, and more than twenty in the following fifteen years. However, from the Kangxi to the Daoguang reigns, there were only more than forty uprisings in total.

Why is there such a big gap?

Is it true that the people lived and worked in peace and contentment during the middle and late Qing Dynasty?
To put it bluntly, during the reign of Shunzhi, almost all the people who truly cared about the Ming Dynasty had died.

Under Zhu Cilang's guidance, all the ministers in the hall focused their attention on the fact that the Qing court would become more and more aggressive. Even if they felt that something was wrong, they did not think too deeply about it due to the rush of time.

"So the Tartars will not be able to gain a foothold in a short period of time."

After reaching the conclusion, Zhu Cilang saw that the ministers still seemed to have doubts, so he gave another reason.

"If we are not strong enough and just do some minor things, not only will we not cause any actual damage to the Tartars, but we will also cause unnecessary losses to the forces of the Ming Dynasty in the occupied areas."

After talking for a long time, the ministers probably understood that apart from the useless things of His Highness, there was only one thing he wanted to express: the Tartars would not be able to gain a foothold so quickly, and we can still accumulate strength.

This seems to be the truth, but if we ignore the requests of gentry from all over the country, wouldn't it discourage people's hearts?

"You see, although our army is much stronger now than before, there are actually not many of us who can fight in the field."

Seeing the hesitation on the faces of his ministers, Zhu Cilang did not tell them about his plan, but instead took stock of his own assets.

There were a total of 150,000 defenders and militiamen in Yingtian, and a total of more than 70,000 people from various units in Hangzhou. Together with the 50,000 to 60,000 remaining Ming troops in Suzhou and Songjiang, there were nearly 300,000 Ming troops in the area south of Yingtian and north of Hangzhou.

Of course, this only includes those troops who have established contact with Yingtian and are willing to obey its orders. Troops such as the Zuobu who have no news and the rebel forces scattered everywhere are not included in it for the time being.

At first glance, the Ming army seemed to have gained a considerable advantage, but if we break it down by combat power, the picture is quite different.

Among the 70,000 troops in Hangzhou, except for Fang Guoan's troops who can be deployed for field battles, most of the others are newly recruited troops. Although their combat effectiveness has not been tested, it is common sense that they will not be much stronger than the Yingtian militia.

Although the remaining Ming troops in Suzhou and Songjiang were all regular official troops, there were only a few thousand of them and tens of thousands of them there. Their management was too complicated and they could not play much of a role.

The only thing left is Yingtian.

After a round of reinforcements, the number of soldiers in the Suwei Camp and Zhutang Army had increased to two thousand.

The two battalions, consisting of three centurions under Li Chaodong and several hundred elite soldiers selected by Chang Guanlin, have been expanded to 5,000 people each after being supplemented by the militiamen who participated in the night attack and the elite defenders.

With this calculation, the number of people who can actually be deployed for field battle is only 20,000 to 30,000 at most, and the rest have to guard Yingtian and Hangzhou. There are not many troops left even to support the occasion.

"But if we wait another ten or so months, the first batch of militiamen will be able to be recruited into the various camps. By then, I will be ready..."

Having said that, Zhu Cilang pointed at a few places on the map, and then dragged out all his ideas.

"Your Highness, do you really want to make it this big?"

(End of this chapter)