Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 140 Your Highness, Please Forgive Me
"Order the palace guards to follow me into battle!"

How should this sentence be understood?
The year before last, rebels invaded the heart of the Central Plains and headed straight for the capital. Under such circumstances, Sun Chuanting was rescued from prison and ordered to enter Guanzhong to form an army to rescue Kaifeng.

However, there was an epidemic in Guanzhong at that time, the army was short of food and fodder, and lacked soldiers and ammunition. Sun Chuanting wanted to recruit soldiers, develop production, purchase weapons, and accumulate food and fodder, and then go to war only after he was quite confident.

However, Chongzhen urged him every three days and requested him to do so every five days. Finally, Sun Chuanting could not resist the pressure from the emperor and went into battle rashly. He was defeated and killed. The Ming Dynasty also lost its last force capable of fighting in the field.

This is why Li Zicheng entered Beijing and Chongzhen was hanged on Coal Hill.

Huang Daozhou compared this incident with the current situation, obviously saying that both the late emperor and the crown prince were self-righteous, stubborn, disregarding the actual situation and not caring about the lives of the soldiers.

On this basis, the ministers would naturally interpret Zhu Cilang's words as being provoked by Huang Daozhou's words and acted out of anger.

After all, it is difficult to argue that people have different understandings of the actual situation, but His Royal Highness the Crown Prince can prove that he is not indifferent to the lives of his soldiers by personally participating in the battle.

"Huang Daozhou! Your Highness has the potential to be a wise ruler. You are the only hope for the revival of the Ming Dynasty! If Your Highness makes any mistake, I swear to kill you!"

After saying these harsh words, Ma Shiying turned around and chased after him outside the hall. When the people who stayed in the hall looked at Huang Daozhou again, their eyes were full of blame.

Let's talk about the matter. Why do you mention my father? This is because Your Highness is kind. If it were those people before, who insulted our ancestors, would you, Huang Daozhou, still have a chance to survive?

"Your Highness is even more resolute than the previous emperor. I'm afraid there is no way to change the matter of going north."

As a minister who came from Yingtian, Zhu Guobi said something at the right time, and afterwards the ministers looked at Huang Daozhou with even more unfriendly eyes.

It was certainly not Zhu Cilang's intention to cause such a result, nor was he provoked. When Sun Chuanting's defeat was mentioned, he did not even feel the slightest bit of humiliation.

But why did he lead his guards north?
After hearing what Huang Daozhou said earlier, Zhu Cilang suddenly realized a problem.

If even such a minister felt that he was stubborn and disregarded the lives of the soldiers, then what would the soldiers who were actually on the front line against the enemy think? What would the generals think? What would the commander think?
Would they feel that even though the Qing army had increased from the originally planned 10,000 or 20,000 to the current 30,000 or 40,000, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince still forced them to proceed according to the original plan, and that he did not care about their lives at all?
So, in this case, is it possible to win this battle even with the help of a powerful navy?

The answer is naturally no.

Among the more than 60,000 Ming troops who participated in the war, except for Hou Chengzu's troops who had fought some battles, the rest, no matter how long they had been trained or had served in the army, could not change the fact that they had never fought a battle.

Once the morale of the army is shaken by problems of one kind or another, let alone victory, the entire army will be defeated at the slightest setback.

Therefore, according to Zhu Cilang's original intention, he went north purely for the purpose of war, and he never considered acting out of provocation or suppressing Huang Daozhou.

just
"Your Highness, after you leave, how will Hangzhou be handled?"

After Ma Shiying caught up with Zhu Cilang, he did not try to stop him. He just accompanied him silently all the way. Only when the guards and boats were all ready and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was about to board the ship did he ask a question.

In fact, his feelings towards Zhu Cilang were extremely complicated. It was the appearance of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince that proved all the mistakes he and Hongguang had made. But at the same time, if it were not for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's acceptance, he, the former Prime Minister whose reputation had been completely ruined, would not know where to go.

But no matter what, he would not look down on Zhu Cilang like Huang Daozhou, nor would he act like an old minister in front of him.

About half of the reason for this is that his power suffered a severe blow and he no longer has such qualifications, but the other half is largely because he is a man who gets things done.

He knew very well how difficult the situation in Yingtian was at that time, and he also knew how complicated the situation in Hangzhou was. However, his Royal Highness the Crown Prince single-handedly defended the city that even he, the Prime Minister of the Ming Dynasty, dared not defend, and suppressed all kinds of contradictions that gave him, the Prime Minister of the Ming Dynasty, a headache just thinking about it.

Under such circumstances, if he was foolish enough to treat Zhu Cilang the same way he treated Hongguang and Prince Lu, he would have been defeated in the court struggles many years ago.

Therefore, when Zhu Cilang made a decision that he did not understand, Ma Shiying's first reaction was not to try to stop it like Huang Daozhou did, but to do his best to make up for his master's mistakes.

Otherwise, why do people say that emperors always like to employ treacherous and corrupt people?
After taking a deep look at him, Zhu Cilang felt somewhat emotional. If Ma Shiying could be used by him with peace of mind, it would indeed be a great help in helping him sort out the chaotic court situation.

"The affairs of Hangzhou will be discussed by you, Mr. Huang, and Lord Baoguo. If it is related to military affairs, please listen to Fang Guoan and Li Yongmao. In addition."

Previously, Zhu Cilang's attention was all on how to stabilize the morale of the army. It was only after Ma Shiying's reminder that he remembered that Hangzhou would return to its previous state after he left.

But after he decided who would be responsible for settling the matter, he remembered a lot of things. He talked on and on for a long time before he finally finished talking about what he thought were the key issues.

At this time, people like Zhu Guobi, Li Yongmao, and Fang Guoan had also caught up one after another. After hearing the arrangements made by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, they were surprised, but they couldn't help but think of what Ma Shiying had said to scold Huang Daozhou.

"Your Highness has the potential to be a wise ruler. He is our only hope for the revival of the Ming Dynasty!"

Regardless of whether he is wise or not, His Highness’s arrangement is not all-encompassing, but it grasps the key points of each aspect.

For example, the connection with various states and counties.

The density of the water network west of Taihu Lake is far less than that of Suzhou and Songjiang to the east, so His Highness asked Hangzhou to pay close attention to the news in this area after he left, and try its best to get in touch with the forces that are willing to oppose the Qing Dynasty, so that it will have enough cards to play when the situation changes.

Another example is the rebel army in southern and eastern Zhejiang.

Since Yingtian was still in the hands of the Ming Dynasty and the news of the burning of the Tartars' food supplies spread, many rebel armies of various backgrounds in the area have been rushing to Hangzhou.

According to what His Highness said, the large groups can be left alone for now, but the small groups must be reorganized. But at the same time, the leaders of the various rebel forces must not be treated with disrespect.

For example, Zhu Cilang made corresponding arrangements for the responses from governors and governors-general in various places regarding the prince's regent and the movements of Ajige's troops.

After this, even though the ministers had some complaints about Ma Shiying's previous actions, they had to admit that what he said was correct.

"In that case, I will leave."

After settling the matters that he considered important, the guards had also boarded the ship.

At this time, the Tartar army had been on the march north for nearly a day, and Zhu Cilang did not intend to waste any more time.

But just as he was about to turn around and leave, he saw Huang Daozhou, with a flushed face, standing behind the ministers.

"Mr. Huang, please don't think too much. This trip is entirely motivated by war considerations and has little to do with what you said."

After saying this, Zhu Cilang turned around and boarded the ship without waiting for the other party to say anything else, causing Huang Daozhou to feel a mixture of gratitude, self-blame, embarrassment, etc., but he had nowhere to express them, and he felt extremely uncomfortable.

In such a situation, the ministers did not know how to deal with it. When Zhu Cilang's warship disappeared from their sight, they were still staring into the distance, not knowing whether they were worried about the Crown Prince or how to face the old man with tears in his eyes. Zhu Cilang could not have imagined such a scene, but even if he could have imagined it, he would not have paid much attention to it, because he was worried about a math problem.

About half a day had passed by the time Hangzhou received the news that the Qing army had dispatched troops. After that, it took another half a day for discussions and the guards to get ready.

By the time Zhu Cilang left by boat, the Qing army had already been on the march for a whole day.

So the question is, can he reach the designated ambush site before the Qing army?
As mentioned before, there are two routes from Hangzhou to Suzhou, one is through Nanxun and the other is through Jiaxing.

If the Qing army took the Nanxun route, the ambush would be at the junction of Wujiang and Nanxun; if they took the Jiaxing route, the ambush would be northwest of Huating and southeast of Dianshan Lake.

These two routes have their own advantages and disadvantages, but Zhu Cilang thinks that the Qing army is much more likely to take the Jiaxing route.

The journey via Nanxun would naturally be shorter, but this road would pass through an area densely covered with lakes. Under the pressure of the Ming navy, the Qing army would not choose this route no matter what.

Although the route through Jiaxing is longer, according to the map there are only two large rivers on the road, the Huangpu and Wusong. From a safety perspective, it is much safer than taking the Nanxun route.

Of course, this is not absolute. After all, the two armies are fighting, and it is expected that the Qing army will play some tricks.

Therefore, when Zhu Cilang was deploying his troops, he ordered them to wait at Dianshan Lake between the two places, and once they learned of the movements of the Qing army, they would quickly rush to the designated location by water.

It was also because he had an insanely large number of ships under his command. Otherwise, let alone waiting leisurely between the two places, even transporting tens of thousands of troops out of Hangzhou would have taken a lot of trouble.

At this point, some people may ask: Since the army is now in the Dianshan Lake, Zhu Cilang can just go along the waterway to join the group. Why should he worry about whether he will be in time?
This was not Zhu Cilang being pretentious, the main point was that he had better arrive before the war started.

If he went too late, and the army's morale was shaken by the fact that the number of Tartars far exceeded expectations, as he had imagined, then everything would be over.

Therefore, according to the current situation, the best option is to take a boat to Jinshanwei first, and then go to the ambush site by land, rather than going all the way to Dianshan Lake by water to join the main force.

That night, the fleet arrived at Jinshanwei safely, but they encountered considerable trouble before landing.

"Your Highness, the people of Jinshanwei will not allow us to dock."

Just when Zhu Cilang was still hesitating whether he should travel overnight after landing, Xiang Ren, who was going to negotiate with Jinshanwei, walked in angrily.

"Oh? Didn't you say we are family?"

"They said that even their own people can't do it, and we have to wait until dawn."

Since arriving in Hangzhou, Xiang Rensheng has been hanging out with the Yingtian army all day long at the orders of Zhu Cilang.

After the reorganization, Chang Guanlin got a real job leading more than 20,000 troops, but he continued to hang out with the old and weak who were laid off for quite a while as a captain of His Highness's personal army.

After waiting for so long until today, His Highness finally released him. Who would have thought that he would meet such an ignorant person at the first stop.

But then again, although the ban on landing was unexpected, it was reasonable.

After all, the two armies were fighting at this time, so it was reasonable for the defenders in such an important location as Jinshanwei to be more vigilant.

However, at this time, Jinshanwei Commander Hou Chengzu was leading his troops at Dianshan Lake and on standby. The soldiers under his command were still able to act according to the rules even without a commander, which made Zhu Cilang look up to the Jinshanwei, whose military strength was not very strong.

"Just say we are from Hangzhou and need to see the master of this place."

Xiang Rensheng took the order and left. After a long time, he returned to the cabin. Before, he was just a little angry, but now he was furious.

"What? Still not working?"

"I took a small boat to the shore, but the steward refused to come back with me. He also said that if you were really there, please go ashore and he would apologize, but the big ship was not allowed to approach."

"Oh, let's go then."

After Xiang Rensheng finished speaking, Zhu Cilang stood up without any other expression and prepared to go ashore by boat. However, when Xiang Rensheng saw him doing this, he directly stopped him.

"Your Highness, isn't it time for you to go and see him?"

"Who's visiting who? What's the important thing? Get ashore as soon as possible."

"Can"

Seeing that Xiang Rensheng seemed a little unwilling, Zhu Cilang seemed to have thought of something. After a little hesitation, he turned around and went out of the cabin without saying anything.

He is no longer the "fake prince" who was imprisoned in the Yingtian Military Prison. Although he only occupies two cities, Yingtian and Hangzhou, the army under his command already has 200,000 to 300,000 soldiers.

Under such circumstances, the people who have followed him from the beginning are naturally no longer the same as before.

It's okay for someone like Xiang Rensheng who is just a little arrogant, but for someone like Wang Fuping who holds great power.
However, Zhu Cilang thought that a smart man like Wang Fuping would not cause any trouble. After all, they had not even recovered Jiangnan yet, so it was too early to think about these things.

After a while, Xiang Rensheng led several soldiers and Zhu Cilang to the shore in a small boat.

Seeing him go and come back, the garrison commander said helplessly, "General, you don't have to bother with me anymore. It will be dawn in about three or two hours. It's better for us to go back separately. I will send someone to check it out before we go ashore."

"Are you the son of Commander Hou?"

Hou Shilu felt somewhat confused when he heard someone from the landing team directly reveal his identity.

However, it was still very dark at this time, and the light from the torch was not enough for them to see clearly more than seven or eight steps away, so they could only ask tentatively.

"Please forgive me for being so short-sighted that I don't know what you are saying in front of me."

Just as Zhu Cilang was about to introduce himself, he heard a general behind Hou Shilu say something in his ear, and then he took a few quick steps forward and bowed directly.

"Your Highness, forgive me!"

(End of this chapter)