Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 13: Bo's Mansion
The Earl of Xincheng was a newly promoted nobleman after the Jingnan Campaign, and naturally he had been excluded by the founding nobles in his early years.

Although there is still a gap between them and the old nobles over the past two hundred years, Zhao Zhilong's father and grandfather were both highly valued by the emperor, so the old nobles could only keep this gap in their hearts.

As for Zhao Zhilong, he was granted by the late emperor the power to command an army of more than 200,000 in Yingtian. Now that the emperor has fled, he has become the number one person in Yingtian Prefecture.

So when Zhao Zhilong summoned him today, all the noble officials of Yingtian who were of high status came eagerly.

However, such power did not make Zhao Zhilong proud at all. On the contrary, he had been distracted since the news of the emperor's escape came. Even after half a day, he just frowned and stared at the lights.

Others thought that offering such a big city to the Tartars would surely lead to high positions and generous salaries, but he himself knew that things were not that simple.

It is true that the Tartars are accustomed to accepting surrenders and rebellions, and it is also true that he controls the defense of Yingtian City.

But now Yingtian is almost in the hands of the Tartars, and it is still a little short of using such achievements to preserve the inheritance of the family title.

It would be great if there were some twists and turns during this period.

But how could such twists and turns be found easily?

"Master, everyone is here."

"Who is there?"

"Almost all the earls and above are here. The only civil officials are Wang Gelao, Qian Shangshu, Zhu Zhichen, Liang Yungou, Li Chao, three assistant ministers, and Master Xu from the Imperial College."

"Xu Yu?"

"Yes, I came with the fake prince."

Hearing this, Zhao Zhilong couldn't help but sneer: This Xu Yu is really an old scholar.

Just as Xu Yu had never thought that Zhao Zhilong would surrender to the Qing Dynasty, Zhao Zhilong also had never thought that Xu Yu would surrender to the Qing Dynasty.

Xu Yu had firmly opposed the peace talks years ago. Now all the civil servants who were unwilling to surrender have fled, and he is the only one who remains in Yingtian. Who doesn't know what he is thinking?

"Are those rioters making any moves?"

"No, after being dismissed by the fake prince in the afternoon, the rest of them stayed in the Ministry of War."

Zhao Zhilong waved his hand, signaling the old servant to leave, and then he began to think again.

He originally wanted to kill a few influential pro-war factions first, and then wait for the rioters to make things worse before sending troops to suppress them. This would make it more difficult to surrender the city, and the credit would naturally be greater.

But who would have thought that only Xu Yu was left in favor of the war, and the fake prince had no intention of making a big deal out of it. Such difficulty was simply not enough to keep his title and reputation as the Earl of Xincheng.

"How about taking advantage of this discussion to trick a few important nobles into killing them?"

An idea came to Zhao Zhilong's mind, but these guys, who had been passed down for 200 years, were more cunning than each other, so he was still unsure whether anyone would take the bait.

"If all else fails, we can just find some more rioters to fill in the gaps. At most, we'll have to waste more time and effort when reporting to the Tartars."

Thinking of this, Zhao Zhilong stood up, straightened his clothes, opened the door and went to the study.

Although the Earl's Mansion was large, the courtyards occupied by the main venation were all connected, so it didn't take long for Zhao Zhilong to reach the study.

The old servant pushed open the door, and the people in the room gathered around when they saw Zhao Zhilong coming.

"Sir, what exactly is your charter?"

"Brother, do you have any news about the Tartars?"

"Uncle, we are all waiting for your decision."

"Everyone~~~, everyone~~~, let's talk slowly." Zhao Zhilong said with a smile as he walked towards the main seat.

After sitting down, he saw that everyone was looking at him and went straight to the point: "You all know the news. Everyone has heard about the situation in the city to some extent, so I won't say more."

At this point, Zhao Zhilong looked at everyone in the room, and after remembering their expressions in his mind, he continued, "But how can my Zhao family, who have been favored by the emperor for generations, do this?" "Sir! I know you are loyal to the Ming Dynasty, but the tyrant emperor abandoned the city and fled, causing the people to be in chaos. How can this city be defended?"

Zhu Cilang, who was standing in the corner, looked in the direction of the voice and saw an old man with a Taoist look talking.

"Is this Qian Qianyi?"

"How can you address Mr. Yu Shan by his name?"

Zhu Cilang quietly asked Xu Yu who was standing in front of him, but was scolded in a low voice as soon as he opened his mouth.

Qian Qianyi was a leader in the Jiangnan literary world. Although he was keen on fame and fortune, overall his merits outweighed his flaws and he was quite loved by the literati.

Take Mr. Xu for example. Even though Qian Qianyi was persuading people to surrender to the Qing Dynasty, he still felt that it was inappropriate for Zhu Cilang to call him by his name.

Zhu Cilang just smiled without explaining and turned his attention back to the conversation in the room.

"If the city is breached, won't Yingtian repeat the same fate as Yangzhou? How can you be at peace when so many lives are lost?!"

"Mr. Yushan, I understand the truth, but I, Zhao Zhilong, have been a loyal minister all my life. How can I lose my integrity in my later years?!"

"Sir, you are wrong!"

"How?"

Qian Qianyi was heartbroken, Zhao Zhilong was extremely shocked, while Zhu Guobi and Xu Yinjue, who were sitting together, one turned a blind eye and the other sneered.

One of these two men planned to seize Zhao Zhilong's military power and then act accordingly, while the other one changed his mind but was not too determined. However, they had both thought about surrendering to the Qing Dynasty, so how could they not see Zhao Zhilong's thoughts by judging from their own experience?
"Reputation is a minor matter, the people are a major matter! How can you put the people of the city into an irretrievable situation just for your own reputation!"

Zhao Zhilong was silent.

"Please think twice, sir."

"Mr. Yushan is right!"

"Uncle, the people are the most important!"

Zhao Zhilong hesitated.

Qian Qianyi saw that Zhao Zhilong was wavering and was ready to launch a final attack, but before he could open his mouth, someone else said, "Absurdity!"

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw Xu Yu walking towards the center of the study.

"It turns out to be Lord Xu." When Zhao Zhilong saw who was coming, he stood up and welcomed him to the center. Then he put on an appearance of listening attentively, as if he was happy to find someone with the same ideals as him.

"Sir, Mr. Yushan's words make sense, but can the people enjoy peace if the Tartars surrender?"

When Qian Qianyi saw someone refute him, his strong competitive spirit was instantly aroused.

"Why do you say that, Lord Xu? The disaster in Yangzhou was caused by the heavy casualties among the Manchus. If we open the city and surrender, Yingtian will become Qing territory. How can they massacre their own people then?"

"Master Qian! The area outside the Great Wall has been occupied by the Tartars for a long time. Are the people there living well?"

Xu Yu seemed to be older than Qian Qianyi, and he was extremely tired after running around with Zhu Cilang for half a day. But when he asked this question, Qian Qianyi was speechless for a long time.

Ordinary people might not know how the people outside the Great Wall lived, but those present were all people who could read the imperial newspapers. Who of them did not know that in the eyes of the Tartars, all ethnic groups were just objects like property? If they did not like someone, they would kill them. At most, they would feel sad as if they had accidentally broken a dish.

It is simply wishful thinking to expect them to pity the people.

Seeing that Qian Qianyi was at a disadvantage, Zhu Cilang secretly moved to another place to observe everyone's reaction, but this move attracted the attention of Grand Secretary Wang Duo.

"Xu Yu! Why did you bring the fake prince here?"

(End of this chapter)