Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 213 White Armor Returns to Heaven

January 7

Yingtian
"Eat quickly. If you are late to welcome your father, I will skin you alive!"

Zhou Xiancai's wife looked up at the position of the sun, then shouted at the child who was making a fuss.

Yesterday, the government servants passed on a message in the city, saying that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince would be returning to Yingtian today, and anyone who wanted to greet him had to arrive outside Chaoyang Gate before noon.

When Zhou's daughter-in-law first heard this, she was a little bit unconvinced.

Although Chaoyang Gate is the gate of the inner city, if His Royal Highness the Crown Prince wants to enter the city from here, he must go through the Qilin Gate or Xianhe Gate in the outer city.

But as far as she knew, the Tartar camp seemed to be not far from the two city gates. How could His Royal Highness the Crown Prince get in when the army was blockading the city?
However, these words were spoken by a government servant. Although Zhou's wife did not believe them, she could not take them lightly.

After thinking it over for a while at home, she finally used her connections to get some information from a relative who worked in a noble mansion.

According to that relative, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince won another victory in the south, and the Tartars outside the city saw that the situation was hopeless and fled with their entire army.

This news was very vague. It did not specify where the south was, nor did it mention any details.
The Zhou family's wife didn't care much about this. After all, since His Highness had returned victorious, the army that had followed him to the battle should also return with him.

just
Will there be any men from my family among them?

Thinking of this, Zhou's wife suddenly felt a little uneasy, but when she remembered that the money and food sent a few days ago had not changed, she felt at peace again.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince not only increased the regular pay for the militiamen who participated in the war, but also provided varying amounts of rewards and pensions. If something really happened to Zhou Xiancai, the amount of money and food she received would naturally change.

"Mom, I'm done eating."

Just as Zhou's wife's thoughts were wandering, the child finally drank up the porridge in the bowl. Then Zhou's wife packed up a little and left the house with the child.

Ever since Yingtian was besieged, the streets have been getting colder day by day. But today, not only are the streets crowded with people, but every storefront is also decorated with lights, almost as if it were New Year's Day.

As we walked along, the closer we got to Chaoyang Gate, the denser the crowd became, and towards the end people were even touching each other.

Seeing this situation, Zhou's daughter-in-law was naturally a little worried, but when she thought about being the first to see Zhou Xiancai, who had been away from home for more than a month, she became a little shaken.

Ordinary people's homes naturally don't have so many requirements, but being so close to strangers really made her feel uncomfortable.

In this way, Zhou's daughter-in-law stopped in the crowd, and for a moment she didn't know whether she should move forward.

"Woman Tena! If you want to leave, leave. If not, leave now!"

The crowd was constantly moving forward, and her standing still attracted attention. But after just a moment, a burst of scolding came over.

After hearing the words, how could Zhou's daughter-in-law delay any longer? She gritted her teeth and planned to squeeze in. However, before she could move a step, another question came from the previous direction.

"But it's Zhou Xiancai's family?"

When the previous sound came, she didn't even look at it, but when this sound came again, she couldn't help but turn her head to look over.

"Is it Liu Shuban?"

In the past, Zhou Xiancai had to stay at the meat stall, so his wife would bring him food at lunchtime. However, he could not finish the meal in one gulp, and when someone came to buy meat, Zhou Xiancai had to stop and greet them.

Under such circumstances, Zhou's daughter-in-law had to stay at the stall for a long time every time she delivered food, so she would naturally recognize Liu Shuban who often came to buy meat.

"Yingtian has more than one city gate. Why don't you go out through another gate with a child?"

Zhou Xiancai's formalities were handled by Liu Shuban himself. When he saw this woman, he naturally thought that the mother and daughter were not just there to join in the fun.

"The clerk is fine. The detour to the other city gate is too far, and I'm afraid I'll miss the time."

Yu Zhou's wife thought that since the government said that he had to arrive before noon, then His Royal Highness the Crown Prince would definitely arrive around noon. If she went through other city gates for the sake of convenience, wouldn't she miss the opportunity to meet her own shopkeeper?
You have to know that Zhou Xiancai is now a government soldier. Although the Tartars have retreated, he will not necessarily be dismissed like ordinary soldiers.

Besides, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince loves to go to the battlefield in person. If he only stays in the city for half a day and then goes to fight the Tartars, we will miss this opportunity and we won’t know when we will see him again.

The Zhou family's daughter-in-law's idea was probably not wrong, but she was a housewife, and she only learned the news that the Tartars outside the city had retreated through someone else, so it was natural that she would have some discrepancies in her understanding of the Crown Prince's behavior.

"It's okay. Lord Qian and the other lords in the city are going to go ten miles out of the city to meet His Highness. They have just left for a while, so you still have time to go through other city gates."

After hearing what Shuban Liu said, Zhou's wife thanked him profusely. Then she took her child and left the crowd to go to another city gate.

For Liu Shuban, this matter was just a ripple in his busy schedule. When he saw Zhou's daughter-in-law walked away, he turned his attention back to the current flow of people.

Honestly speaking, if he had been given such an assignment in the past, he would probably have just moved a chair and sat on the street, watching the flow of people, and just treated it as a paid holiday.

But since His Royal Highness the Crown Prince took power, not only have the status of these clerks in the government greatly increased, but their regular wages have also increased significantly. There are even rumors that His Royal Highness wants to select some capable people from among them for external assignments.

In this situation, how could he be the same as before?
Of course, he probably just regarded the so-called overseas assignment as a rumor. Although there were precedents of promoting clerks to lower ranks in the imperial court in recent years, it was extremely rare to say the least.

Man Yingtian has so many clerks and clerks. Even if His Royal Highness the Crown Prince really wants to promote him, how could he promote so many people at once?
In this way, Secretary Liu, who has no one above him, naturally would not have any thoughts on such matters.

Moreover, he thought that if he was sent out, at most he would be an assistant official like a county magistrate. Although his status was very different from what it was now, in the final analysis, he would just be serving those local minor officials of the sixth or seventh rank. It would be better for him to serve those real big men in the central government.

"Old Liu, what are you daydreaming about?"

Just as Secretary Liu's thoughts were flying further and further away, the reminder from his colleague beside him pulled him back.

"Oh, nothing, I just thought that Your Highness is really amazing. He has only been away for more than a month and the Tartars are already in trouble."

Although this was a reason he made up, Secretary Liu was indeed very curious about it.

Being in the Ministry of Rites, he naturally did not know much about such military information, but as a clerk who had handled menial affairs for half his life, he knew that being able to defeat the Tartars and force them to flee in panic in just one or two months was something that no ordinary person could do.

Otherwise, how could the Tartars easily invade Jiangnan? How could Hongguang and the civil and military officials of the Manchu court escape in panic?
"Hey! I actually know something about this."

"Huh? Let's hear it."

"I have a relative who works in the Ministry of War. He happened to be working in the lobby when the military intelligence from outside came in that day. According to him, after reading the military intelligence, all the gentlemen were stunned for a long time before they came to their senses."

Seeing that he had been talking for a long time but still couldn't get to the point, Liu Shuban knew that this fellow had no good intentions. However, he thought that the Tartars had been repelled by His Highness, and the prices in the city would naturally drop, so after a little hesitation, he said, "Hurry up and tell me, I'll treat you to a drink after that."

"You know about the fact that His Highness wiped out a large group of Tartars in Susong, right?"

"Ah."

"After that battle, the Tartars were frightened by Your Highness. The enemy chieftains even abandoned their troops in Hangzhou and Xuancheng, and after joining forces with the Tartars outside, they fled."

Secretary Liu listened for a while, but what his colleague said were things he already knew. In this situation, Secretary Liu couldn't just give up the meal and drink in vain, so he waited for a moment for the colleague to speak before starting to ask questions.

"Didn't His Highness fight a battle in Wuhu?"

"Yes, that battle was indeed brutal. It was said that 60,000 to 70,000 people were crowded between several fortresses, fighting from morning till dusk. If it weren't for Your Highness personally leading the guards to attack the enemy's main camp, the outcome would be hard to predict."

"Your Highness is charging into the battle formation again?!"

Liu Shuban asked with a slightly surprised look and wanted to say something else, but before he opened his mouth, he felt someone pulling his clothes from behind. When he turned around, he saw that the person was a servant from the department.

When the task was assigned earlier, this person was settled near the outer city. Now that he appeared in the inner city, Liu Shuban instinctively wanted to ask the reason.

However, the officer seemed to have something urgent to do. When he saw Liu Shuban turning around, he did not give him any room to speak and immediately leaned over to whisper in Liu Shuban's ear.

"How.?!"

"This is an order from the Lord. I don't know the reason. You two can go on your own."

"then you?"

"We are short of manpower. I need to find someone else."

After saying that, the officer left on his own, and Secretary Liu did not delay too much. He pulled his colleagues beside him and went in the direction where Zhou's daughter-in-law left.

Let’s not talk about this here, and just talk about the mother and son of the Zhou family who had left long ago.

Following the instructions of Shuban Liu, the mother and daughter left the inner city through other gates. It took them about three or four minutes to return to the main road outside Chaoyang Gate.

At this time, both sides of the road were already filled with people who came to welcome His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. The mother and daughter walked towards the outer city for a long time before they found a place closer.

"Mom, can Dad come home today?"

"Well, I don't know. Whether your father can go home depends on whether His Highness will give him a holiday."

"Oh, then Dad will definitely be able to go home today."

"How do you know?"

Hearing this, Zhou's wife was inevitably confused, but when she asked a question, she heard her child answer confidently: "His Highness is a first-class good man in the world. Not only did he drive away the Tartars, he also sent food to our family. How could he not let Dad go home?"

As the saying goes, children speak without restraint, and the child's words naturally made the people around him smile knowingly, but among the people in the city, who was not able to save his life during the two-month siege because of the food sent by His Highness?

After a round of conscription, there were as many as 140,000 or 150,000 militiamen living in the camp north of the city.

For a city with a population of nearly one million, this number can be considered as every family having an army, but at the same time, when the three dou of grain per month is distributed, it means that every household has enough food to maintain the minimum living standard.

Of course, due to the size of the family, these foods are not enough to prevent every household from starving, but they are enough to ensure that the people in the city do not starve to death during the continued siege.

Therefore, after the kid's words spread, the people around him just laughed at the fact that he linked whether their father could return home to whether the prince was a good person.

"My child, you are right. I have read all the history books and have never seen a city besieged for two months without the people starving to death. Your Highness the Crown Prince is definitely a first-class wise ruler."

After hearing what the Zhou family boy said, an old man in Confucian robes in the crowd seemed to be very moved. After he finished speaking, everyone nodded continuously, as if they agreed with him.

There are all kinds of people waiting for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince here at this moment. If he says that they have read history books like that old man, no one will believe him.

However, Yingtian is the intersection of the world after all. After so many years of war in the north, the people of Yingtian have heard all kinds of news and rumors.

After hearing about the misery of other families, how could they not think that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was a first-class wise ruler? And how could they not be grateful to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?

"But whether your father can go home depends on the military situation. If the Tartars only retreat to Zhenjiang, then your father will have to follow His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to fight again, and he won't have time to go home."

As soon as he finished speaking, the boy from the Zhou family, who was originally happy that his words were recognized by scholars, immediately frowned, while the people around him could not help but criticize the old scholar's pedantry.

"Your Highness has arrived outside the city! Everyone please stop making noise!"

Just as the people were whispering, they saw a knight galloping from outside the city.

No one dared to say anything more in this situation, and the people who had been guarding on both sides of the road for a while all looked in the same direction at the same time.

“Tick! Tick! Tick!”

“Tick! Tick! Tick!”

As a burst of heavy footsteps sounded, Zhou's child felt his feet lighten, and then he was picked up by his mother.

But when his eyes passed over the heads of the crowd and looked towards the outer city, he found that the expected fiery red team did not appear, but instead what came into view were teams of soldiers in white armor.

The boy from the Zhou family had naturally seen funerals in other people's homes, but at his age he could not connect such things with the army returning victoriously from the defeat of the Tartars. When he heard the word "ashes" from the whispers around him, he finally understood a little, and his eyes involuntarily fell on the wooden boxes in the arms of the soldiers.

"My son~~~~!"

The originally cheerful and warm atmosphere became extremely heavy because of the white armor and the wooden boxes. There was even a white-haired old man who cried out directly regardless of the knight's previous warning.

There were people in the city who were ready to go and stop this situation, but before they could take action, a knight in white armor rushed out from the team.

"I, Zhu Cilang, hereby inform the elders that none of our Yingtian men retreat in the battle line! None of them surrender!"

(End of this chapter)