Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 196: Fanzhen? Impossible

Anji is more than 300 miles away from Wuhu. If you go by land, it will take more than ten days and you will have to pass through Xuancheng.

This road was naturally not a good choice for Zhu Cilang who was eager to get to Wuhu.

Therefore, after some planning, his group first reached Guangde by land, then changed to boats from Guangde and headed north along the water network. In this way, they completed the journey of more than 300 miles within a few days.

Having said that, I have to single out Wu Yi for some praise.

Although this official of the Zhifang Department has a low rank and does not have a strong army under his command, he played an extremely important role in all of Zhu Cilang's plans after the meeting on Chongming Island earlier.

Take the suppression of local forces in Hangzhou for example. When the incident broke out, many people had already sensed that something was wrong. But after Zhang Yinli went to the prince's tent, who could still not feel superior?

In the past, the remaining people probably would not risk their lives to confront His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, but they would still do something sinister to get enough silver and no food.

But up to now, there has been no problem with the food supply of Zhu Cilang's armies, and each family has done their best in this matter.

Why?

Apart from being afraid of the knife falling on their own heads, it is probably because such a trick is useless.

As mentioned earlier, Wu Yi was ordered by Shi Kefa to return to Jiangnan to collect food and fodder for the Jiangbei garrison. However, when he returned after completing his mission, Jiangbei had already fallen into the hands of the Qing army.

Afterwards, Wu Yi, Huang Fei and others persisted in resisting the Qing Dynasty in Taihu Lake. After a while at Chongming Island, the generals came under the command of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and this batch of food and military supplies was also a matter of course.
Of course, Zhu Cilang has not actually used this batch of grain until now, and he doesn't even know the exact quantity of this batch of grain. But when this matter was planned, it caused a huge commotion, and all the big families in Jiangnan knew about the existence of this batch of grain.

In this way, everyone knows that they cannot cause trouble to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince on the issue of food and fodder, so naturally no one will bother to do such useless work.

Is the contribution great?

Of course it was a big deal, but in Zhu Cilang's eyes, Wu Yi's greatest contribution was that he relied on his familiarity with people and reconnected the Jiangnan region, which had been beaten to pieces by the Qing army, through waterways.

As a result, the troops from all directions could inflict a certain amount of damage to the Qing troops in various cities that were preparing to assemble, making it impossible for the 50,000 to 60,000 Qing troops to form a joint force, which in turn had an impact on the war situation.

It was only because of Guangde that he was able to quickly gather enough boats when His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was preparing to go north, and finally reached the vicinity of Wuhu in just a few days.

just
"Pity."

After the fleet anchored, Zhu Cilang looked at the docks with obvious regret.

There are waterways to Guangde and Anji, but the connection between these two waterways requires passing through Taihu Lake and a large area of ​​enemy-occupied areas.

Therefore, most of the boats carrying Zhu Cilang's troops were just civilian ships recruited locally, so there was naturally no possibility of breaking through the Wuhu defense line by relying on the power of artillery.

"Your Highness, I heard that Tulai has led his army to Wuhu. Liyang and Yixing must be short of troops. It would be better to send a group of troops to seize these cities and open up the waterway."

Hou Chengzu was not a man who was good at flattering others, but since he had been traveling with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, it was only right and proper for him to stay by his side. So after a few days of contact, he had gotten to know this Crown Prince a little better.

Therefore, as soon as Zhu Cilang finished speaking, he guessed what he was "regretting" about, and then came up with his own strategy.

Honestly speaking, during these two months, his mentality has changed again and again, far more than in the first few decades of his life.

When the news of the loss of Jiangbei first came, he was confused and hesitated, but in the end he made the decision to destroy his family and fight the Tartars to the death.

Afterwards, the Tartars marched southward, and news kept coming that cities in the south of the Yangtze River had surrendered to the Qing Dynasty one after another. However, despite his despair, he did not waver at all. He just trained his troops and made full preparations for war, waiting for the final moment to come.

After arriving at Chongming Island for a while, the sudden appearance of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was like a ray of light that shone into the hearts of every general who was determined to die, but no one thought that the Ming Dynasty could still do anything in Jiangnan.

until
No battle was taken!
Nikan surrendered! Some of the 40,000 Qing troops surrendered, some died, and Hou Chengzu, who was ready to die for his country, didn't even get to fight a single battle!
You know, even soldiers and bandits like Wu Zhikui fought a battle with the Tartars!
How could he be content with this situation?

Fortunately, His Highness made a new plan and sent him to Taihu Lake, waiting for the Tartars to retreat north from Huzhou and then follow and harass them.

But who would have thought that this time the Tartars would actually dive into Tianmu Mountain, and his mission along the way was once again in vain.

During those two days, Hou Chengzu really couldn't sleep or eat well!

You know, although His Royal Highness the Crown Prince does not value the first merit, the team that has fought in tough battles will definitely be more valued than those who have come back empty-handed. Even if he does not think about himself, he will think about his son, future generations, and family.

As a result, the desire for war became stronger day by day.

Fortunately, God did not despise him. Not long after, Hou Chengzu received a military order, ordering him to accompany His Highness to the north to Wuhu. However, he was not happy for a few days on the journey, because he discovered a disappointing situation from His Highness' words.

It seems that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has some way to defeat the enemy without fighting.

The focus of this trip was just to gather Yuan Zuo's two divisions, and there was no plan to fight in Wuhu.

In this way, he could only think of other things to gain military merit.

Zhu Cilang was naturally unaware of Hou Chengzu's thoughts. After hearing this suggestion, he didn't say anything. He just shook his head and turned his attention to the distance.

At this time, he was still three or five miles away from Yuan Jixian's camp. Although the soldiers had already disembarked, he was just waiting on the boat, far from taking the lead like other times.

What are you waiting for?
Naturally, they were waiting for Zuo Yuan and the other two to come and greet them.

This is not Zhu Cilang deliberately putting on airs.

He has always treated Xiang Rensheng, Wang Fuping and others as brothers, and even now people often complain about this but he has not changed at all. However, he has to be a little more cautious with these serious provincial governors.

What's more, this group of people had been raising the banner of clearing out the imperial court from the very beginning, and then completely cut off contact with the outside world. Almost no one knew what their attitude towards the small court was.

If Zhu Cilang was not worried that they would surrender to the Qing directly if the situation became unfavorable, he would definitely have tested them and determined the way to deal with them before bringing troops to support them.

But this is the situation now, and he has to face this provincial governor with a large number of troops when he knows almost nothing about it.

Therefore, whoever meets whom has the first opportunity to express their attitude, which naturally becomes more important.

"Your Highness, here you come."

Hou Chengzu's mind was probably still on how to gain some military merit, but Xiang Rensheng knew that His Highness attached great importance to this meeting, so he naturally focused all his attention on the faintly visible camp.

So when a group of people were about to come this way, he had already noticed the movement.

Seeing this, Zhu Cilang couldn't help but put down a big stone in his heart. Although being willing to come didn't mean that they were loyal to him, Zhu Cilang, it at least showed that these people had no objection to his small court.

As long as we have this understanding, there will be a basis for discussing everything.

"Your Majesty! Jiangxi Governor Yuan Jixian,
Commander, all the generals in the army pay their respects to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince who is the Regent."

An old man's vigorous and powerful voice reached his ears. Zhu Cilang's heart tightened at first, then relaxed again, and then he quickly walked down the boat.

Yuan Jixian was not Zuo Liangyu. After receiving the news that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was leading his troops to help, he had already started to prepare to "welcome the emperor".

After receiving the news that His Highness's fleet had docked three miles outside the camp, he and the generals in the army carefully packed up and hurried out.

Honestly speaking, Yuan Jixian's mind had been groggy for the past two days. He actually couldn't understand how His Royal Highness the Crown Prince could have managed the situation to this point.

But this is not a big deal. After all, the real owner is on the current ship. After meeting him, there will always be a chance to learn the whole story from him.

However, he had already gone through the procedures on the shore, and only the soldiers on the ship went ashore under the leadership of the general, but he didn't know when His Royal Highness the Crown Prince would appear.

"Thank you for your hard work, Commander-in-Chief and all the generals."

Just as Yuan Jixian's thoughts were in a mess, he heard a young voice suddenly come into his ears. When he looked up, he saw a "soldier" bending down to support him.

He naturally understood the situation. The young man in the soldier's armor was the Crown Prince whom he was going to support. However, as an old minister who had served four dynasties, when had he ever seen the "king" dressed like this?
As a result, he just stared at Zhu Cilang and for a moment he even forgot about the procedure.

"The officials of Yingtian disliked me for always being on the battlefield, so they forbade me to wear anything else."

Seeing the other party staring at him, Zhu Cilang could guess about 60% of the reason.

Although his armor was reinforced on the inside, it looked no different from that of an ordinary soldier.

Therefore, Yuan Jixian's reaction was understandable.

"I am sorry for the inconvenience."

After apologizing, the generals came forward to pay their respects.

Needless to say, the subsequent process took a lot of effort, even though most of the effort was saved due to the simple facilities.

This went on for half an hour before Zhu Cilang, accompanied by Yuan Jixian and other generals, entered the main tent in the camp.

Yuan Jixian has fully demonstrated his attitude to Zhu Cilang by taking the initiative to welcome him, and now it is time for Zhu Cilang to return the favor.

"You have tied down a large number of Qing troops in Wuhu. The victory of our Ming Dynasty these days depends entirely on this."

Recognized.

This sentence represents that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince regards the Wuhu battlefield as part of the Battle of Jiangnan, and it also fully demonstrates His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's recognition of the contributions of Yuan Jixian and Zuo Liangyu's corps.

As long as the Ming Dynasty can achieve the final victory in Jiangnan, the two armies of Zuo and Yuan will inevitably be included in the commendation of merit.

Does Yuan Jixian value this achievement?

Of course it is important.

But what he cared about was not the promotion, wealth and honor that this achievement could bring, but more the recognition from His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

"Your Highness, you are overpraising me. We have spent more than a month here without making any progress. If Your Highness had not sent people to rescue us, we might have been cut off from retreating. How can I claim credit for this?"

This statement is both humble and true.

It should be noted that a few days ago, Yuan Jixian had already prepared to die in front of the Wuhu defense line. Even before meeting Zhu Cilang, the entire army actually did not quite believe that the situation could turn out to this point.

If Yuan Jixian accepted the achievement without any hesitation, he would be looked down upon.

After some exchanges like this, the two of them fully demonstrated the harmony between the "king" and his subjects through their praise and humble words. When the group of generals were a little sleepy after listening, Yuan Jixian brought the conversation back to the main topic.

"Your Highness, our army lost contact with the court earlier. All matters were decided after consultation between this old minister and the generals. Now that you are here, please let me know what should be done next."

This was clearly a transfer of power, and Yuan Jixian was also sincere, but Zhu Cilang said directly after the other party finished speaking: "General Yuan has a good command of the army. Since the Qing army came south, there are not many people in our dynasty who can fight them head-on. Let's just keep it as it is from now on."

Zhu Cilang knew very well that no matter whether Yuan Jixian had ulterior motives or not, if this group of people were allowed to develop in this way, they would sooner or later become another Zuo Zhen.

But this group is different from Fang Guoan and Hou Chengzu after all. No matter in theory or in practice, they are an independent town. Even if their strength has been weakened a lot now, they still have to proceed slowly when dealing with them and must not act too hastily.

Some people may think that as long as the generals are loyal to the emperor and patriotic, everything will be fine.

However, this kind of group that has become a town already has its own interest structure. People like Zuo Liangyu and Yuan Jixian can only be regarded as spokesmen for this group, but are far from being the controllers.

Once the actions of these spokespersons run counter to the interests of the group, the Anqing incident is likely to happen again, and the situation will become unpredictable.

"Well, I think the army has also owed wages in the past two months. Governor Yuan will report it first, and we will distribute it together after this battle is over."

However, Zhu Cilang did have a solution to this situation. All he could do was to launch a monetary attack and then boil the frog in warm water.

At this time, most of Jiangxi had fallen into the hands of Ajige, and since they were thousands of miles away, they naturally lost their territory.

If it were the time of Hongguang, he would probably have designated another piece of land as a place for this group of people to settle down, but Zhu Cilang had already used various means, both decent and not, to turn several large families in Hangzhou into big gift packages. With money in hand, he naturally would not give them the opportunity to become a vassal state again.

As the saying goes, don’t hit the smiling person.

As soon as they met, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince admitted that he had owed wages in the past. Moreover, he was the top military leader in the Ming Dynasty, and most of the generals were convinced by his powerful record.

As a result, no matter what they had thought in their hearts before, now everyone was grateful to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and could not stop praising him.

until
"What do you think of the Wuhu battle?"

(End of this chapter)