Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 154 To put it bluntly, they are all competing for favor!

July 7, noon
After the gentlemen came to a conclusion last night, it took only a cup of tea for everyone with sufficient status in Hangzhou to get the news.

In order to ensure the smooth retreat route, these people tacitly restricted the news to a certain range.

But is there any wall in the world that is completely airtight?

By noon, news that the adults were preparing to retreat to the south bank of the Qiantang River had spread throughout the city.

Earlier, Yangzhou only resisted for one day before being massacred by the Tartars. Now, not only have the Tartars been dragged in Hangzhou for such a long time, but they have also lost a lot of soldiers under the city. If Hangzhou really falls into the hands of the Tartars, how can it have a good ending?

Therefore, as soon as the people heard the news, they packed up their belongings and rushed out of the city with their families.

According to common sense, if local officials encountered a large-scale exodus of people, they would definitely try to stop it. However, in the current situation, local officials are basically packing their bags at home, and the soldiers guarding the city have not received any orders to stop them.

Even though everyone knew that such an evacuation would sooner or later cause huge chaos, in the end no one stood up to stop it from happening.

"Lord, if this continues, there will be a big mess."

"Ah."

Looking at the crowded crowd under the city, Li Yongmao couldn't help but say something to Ma Shiying, but the other party responded calmly after a long while after hearing it, as if such a scene could not touch him at all, or as if he had already expected it.

"Xiaoyuan, it's not that I'm cruel, but in such a chaotic world, not to mention ordinary people, even you and I are in danger from day to day, so how can we have the energy to care about others?"

"Can"

Li Yongmao was obviously unable to accept this statement, but before he could say anything, he was interrupted by Ma Shiying.

"I know what you are thinking, but Zhu Dadian and his men have only been gone for a few days. How can Hangzhou wait for them to bring troops to help?"

At this point, Ma Shiying seemed to be aroused by the depression in his heart, and he continued without caring whether Li Yongmao was listening or not: "Even if they come, what can they do? Except for Fang Guoan's few thousand remnants, the rest of the city is civilians recruited by the generals. Isn't it wishful thinking to expect them to stop the Tartars? It's just too greedy."

Hearing this last sentence, Li Yongmao immediately lowered his head.

Although Ma Shiying did not specify who he was talking about, he knew very well that this "greed" referred to the fact that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had transferred all the capable soldiers in Hangzhou away.

All the ministers were well aware of Zhu Cilang's plan, which was to weaken the Qing army through various means and thus turn the strategic initiative into an advantage in the battle.

But in the eyes of Ma Shiying and others, given the Ming army's ability to mobilize troops, it was too greedy to want to devour Nikan's tens of thousands of troops while defending Hangzhou. It could even be said that it was greedy to the point of wanting to swallow an elephant with a snake.

There was still no news from Dahuangpu, but Hangzhou was the first to be hit by the Qing army's artillery fire. Although there was some coincidence in this, it also proved to a certain extent what Ma Shiying and others were thinking.

"Your Highness has caught Duoduo's greed, but he will also be defeated by this greed. Isn't it destiny that determines every sip and every bite?"

"Please be careful with your words, old man."

"There's no need to be cautious. Everything I do is to extend the life of the Ming Dynasty. I'm better than those people who only know how to talk."

According to Ma Shiying's shrewdness, he should not say these words directly even if the person in front of him is someone close and familiar to him.

But I don't know whether he was depressed these days or had other intentions, he even added another sentence after saying this.

"When the Crown Prince came to Hangzhou earlier, you saw the faces of the Donglin people. Now that danger has come, they only care about moving their property. Who cares about Hangzhou being gone? Where should the Crown Prince retreat from?"

"Your Highness, we can use boats to return there."

"If Hangzhou is lost in the next two or three days, Duoduo will definitely send troops to relieve Nikan. By then, with their internal and external support, it will be difficult for the prince to evacuate calmly even if he has boats."

Ma Shiying's words were extremely direct, and he even regarded the worst case scenario as something that was bound to happen. However, such pessimistic words left Li Yongmao, who had come to help on his own initiative, speechless.

"Ah~~~~ The prince's plan is not without merit. If Hangzhou could be defended until he led his troops back for support, it would be a completely different story. It's a pity that he is unlucky."

At this point, Ma Shiying had already criticized everyone from Zhu Cilang to other officials, and it seemed that he had vented all the depressed mood in his heart in this way.

However, Li Yongmao only agreed but never made a clear statement. So he didn't say anything more. He just gave a few instructions and then went down the city wall and went inside.

Although he did not express his thoughts directly, Li Yongmao could probably guess some of it.

The result is that if he loses this battle, the prestige and power of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will inevitably be greatly reduced, and Xu, who has soldiers and money, will then have greater say.

In such a situation, he, who has more than 10,000 new recruits in his hands, would naturally be wooed by all parties.

just
"I'm afraid the Ming Dynasty is really hopeless."

Li Yongmao looked at Ma Shiying's carriage heading towards the city, and all the confusion in his heart finally turned into a long sigh.

Trying one's best to weaken the imperial power was the only consensus among the civil officials of the Ming Dynasty, and this consensus continued to play a certain role even during the reign of Emperor Yongli.

Li Yongmao was naturally well aware of this, but as a member of the civil service, even if he felt that such behavior was wrong, he could not escape the restrictions brought by his identity, and he had no intention of resisting the entire group.

In this respect, he is far inferior to Ma Shiying.

Ma Shiying was a man of quick thinking. When his own family was at a disadvantage, he would decisively join Zhu Cilang's army. However, when he saw an opportunity, he would not be bound by factional differences and would secretly bite someone.

It can be imagined that when this battle fails and Zhu Cilang's prestige and power are weakened to the point where they are no longer sufficient to completely suppress others, he will certainly stand firmly by his side as a loyal minister, helping His Royal Highness the Crown Prince stabilize the situation and regain power.

But by then, Ma Shiying's identity would change from a loser in the political struggle to Ma Gelao who could once again compete with the imperial power.

At this time, several main roads in Hangzhou were crowded with people preparing to leave the city. On such a crowded road, Ma Shiying's car, which was going in the opposite direction, naturally had difficulty moving.

Normally he had no property in Hangzhou, so after his ministers decided on the evacuation plan, he should have hurriedly crossed the river to gather his troops and lay the foundation for the subsequent struggle, but he should not have been wandering around in the city at this time.

But what kind of person is he?
As early as when Zhu Cilang instructed to mobilize reinforcements from eastern and southern Zhejiang, he had already arranged for Zhu Datian to cross the river.

At this point, he didn't dare to say anything else, but at least when retreating, he would not rush into the enemy's base camp like he did last time.

Time passed little by little, and although the crowded flow of people made the bicycle struggle like a snail, Ma Shiying finally arrived at his destination.

After some briefing, he was led by the eunuch to the courtyard where Empress Dowager Zou lived.

Through the gate, Ma Shiying saw more than a dozen eunuchs and maids busy packing their luggage in the courtyard.

This situation was not beyond his expectations. He just took a look and shouted loudly before walking in.

This time, Ma Shiying's etiquette was no different from the previous time, but the momentum he exuded always made people feel high-spirited. "Is it Lord Ma? Come in quickly."

After walking quickly for a while, when he was still about ten feet away from the door of the main house, he heard the voice of Empress Dowager Zou from inside. Then the young eunuch lifted the door curtain, and when he saw the situation in the room clearly, he couldn't help but be stunned for a moment.

The person sitting in the main seat was naturally Queen Mother Zou, and standing beside her was an unfamiliar girl, who must be the only daughter of Duke Wei.

These were normal, but he didn't expect that Zhu Guobi was also looking at him with a smile on his face.

Why is this?

Ma Shiying suddenly felt confused.

During the meeting last night, Zhu Guobi didn't say much, and people almost forgot that he was the one with the highest status among all the ministers present.

Previously, Ma Shiying was bothered by all kinds of information, and he felt that he was powerless to change the situation, so he hid himself aside. But when he appeared in front of the Queen Mother at this time, Ma Shiying felt vaguely in his heart that things seemed not as simple as he thought.

"The elder is here."

"This old minister has seen the Queen Mother. The Duke of Baoguo is also here."

"Ah, the Lord is well."

Ma Shiying's position as cabinet minister had been taken away long ago. If you think about it carefully, he is now just an old man who holds no official position and is idle at home.

But before, Li Yongmao called him the Grand Councilor, and now Empress Dowager Zou and Zhu Guobi also call him the Grand Councilor. This situation cannot but make people sigh.

"What's the matter, Lord?"

"Your Majesty, I am here to see how you have cleaned up here."

"Please worry about it, sir. These are things that I can't bear to throw away. It may take another half a day."

After hearing these two simple sentences, Ma Shiying was convinced that something was wrong.

When we left Yingtian earlier, the situation was not as serious as it is now, but time was extremely tight. Under that situation, didn't the old empress dowager only take a few hours to pack her luggage?

But why does it take more than a day to clean it up now?
Anything abnormal is a demon.

The performance of the two men made Ma Shiying conclude that there was some information he didn't know, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't find out what he had missed.

Under the influence of such emotions, Lord Ma's mind suddenly became heavy.

"Queen Mother, the people outside are rushing to leave the city. If we are late, the ferry will be blocked. You might as well evacuate first and let the eunuchs take care of the rest."

Ma Shiying's words were naturally very reasonable, but his intention in saying this was not just to state the facts, so when he noticed that the empress dowager inadvertently glanced at Zhu Guobi, he began to have some guesses in his mind.

"It's okay. The city walls are still there, but there's no need to rush to compete with the people for the road."

"The Queen Mother is kind and benevolent." With this guess in mind, Ma Shiying knew who his opponent was, and then said to Zhu Guobi, "I wonder why the Duke hasn't left yet."

"I am ashamed to say that Your Highness entrusted the affairs of Hangzhou to me, but I have no way to deal with the situation. If I leave before the city wall collapses, how can I see Your Highness again in the future?"

Hearing this, Ma Shiying couldn't help but complain in his heart.

If Zhu Guobi had clearly opposed the retreat during the meeting last night, it would be hard to say what the result would have been. Now that all matters have been settled, he is still acting so hypocritically, which is really despicable!

"Eunuch is loyal to his country and is truly a role model for our generation."

Zhu Guobi gave a hypocritical compliment, which was a bit humble, but after that, it seemed that the few of them had nothing to say, and the atmosphere instantly became cold.

Ma Shiying looked at his nose with his eyes and his heart with his nose. He said nothing more, but he also had no intention of leaving.

Queen Mother Zou knew that the two of them had their own plans, but she didn't want them to know, so she turned her eyes to the eunuchs and maids who were packing their luggage in the courtyard.

As a result, the pressure fell on Zhu Guobi.

According to common sense, as the person left behind in Hangzhou by Zhu Cilang, he should naturally have tried his best to safeguard the interests of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince during last night's meeting.

But he knew very well that the Tartars' firearms were so powerful that it would be impossible for him to persuade the officials in Hangzhou to give up the idea of ​​escaping with just his words.

In this way, he seemed to go with the flow and became a completely invisible person.

But last night, while he was observing everyone, he thought of a few things.

Will it really take Zhu Cilang months to deal with Nikan? Will Hangzhou really not be able to hold out until the army returns?
Zhu Guobi was not good at military affairs, but he knew that everyone thought Yingtian was undefendable at the beginning, and everyone thought that Duoduo would be unstoppable all the way until he met Ajige in Jiangxi.

But now?

Yingtian was still firmly in the hands of the Ming Dynasty, and Duoduo was forced to transfer a large number of reinforcements from Jiangbei.

Under such circumstances, how could he dare to assert that Hangzhou would definitely fall into the hands of the Tartars?
Of course, the current situation is extremely dangerous, but since the crown prince came to power, when has the situation not been dangerous? When has he not gotten through it smoothly?
Even now, although the Tartars have the upper hand in Hangzhou, they are still in a passive position in the overall situation. If they fail to capture Hangzhou in a short period of time, the Qing army may face the danger of running out of food.

Until then.
Then the question returns to the starting point, can Hangzhou be defended until Zhu Cilang leads his troops back?

Zhu Guobi really didn't have any idea about this matter, but he saw that Fang Guoan's attitude seemed to be somewhat confident, and considering the previous events, he naturally had the idea of ​​taking a gamble.

If an ordinary person thought about it, since he had placed his bet on the defense of Hangzhou, he should have strongly opposed the retreat.

However, the first reaction of this old minister who had fought for half his life after he came up with this idea was how to use this matter to get rid of certain competitors who were in the way.

Just imagine, when His Royal Highness the Crown Prince led the army back to Hangzhou, which was still struggling to hold out, he found that there were only a handful of ministers left in the city. So, those who had retreated to the south of the Qiantang River early had lost their foothold in the court.

Wouldn't it be possible that as a loyal minister to the emperor, he would be more valued?

In fact, if you think about it carefully, Zhu Guobi's thoughts are actually not fundamentally different from Ma Shiying's. The biggest difference between them is that one thinks Hangzhou can be defended, while the other thinks Hangzhou will definitely be lost.

just
Can Hangzhou really be defended until His Highness leads his troops back?

Do you want to leave a way out in advance?
Just as several people were silent, Zhu Guobi couldn't help but have other thoughts in his mind.

(End of this chapter)