Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 225: I devote all my efforts to the training of my old friend's son
Zhu Cilang's purpose of going south this time was very clear, which was to regard himself as the one being treated with both kindness and severity.

Just imagine, when the big boss needs you to change your position, will it have the same effect if you send a small scumbag to notify him directly or if the big boss comes to talk in person?
Moreover, after the reorganization and layoffs, Zhu Cilang did not intend to ignore these eliminated soldiers. Whether they were serving as local garrisons or cultivating on the spot, it could ultimately be considered a favor from the court.

Under such circumstances, how could His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, who is used to winning the hearts of the soldiers by various means, allow others to gain such gratitude?

As for why we should bring Yue Qijie with us when we go south.
After spending some time together, Zhu Cilang discovered that Li Yongmao's ability was not enough to cope with the situation in Jiangxi.

This is not to say that Li Yongmao is someone who got to his position through connections.

joke.

In a country with a large population like China, to say that someone who can manage a province is one in a million is too conservative, not to mention that Li Yongmao actually did some practical things for the people during his tenure.

But everyone has his strengths and weaknesses. During the Taiping Festival, he was indeed able to make the people live and work in peace and contentment, but when it came to facing the enemy, Li Yongmao seemed indecisive.

Therefore, when Zhu Cilang was settling various departments, he transferred him to the Ministry of Works, and appointed Yue Qijie as the Governor-General of Jiangxi.

Don't think that this arrangement is just to find a random position for Li Yongmao.

Although the Ministry of Works was the last of the six ministries, many of Zhu Cilang's subsequent ideas would be decided here. If an ordinary official were to be replaced, he would not necessarily be willing to entrust the important task concerning the future of the Ming Dynasty to him.

Of course, the purpose of making such an arrangement is not just this.

Contrary to what most people think, although Zhu Cilang himself possesses the most power in Jiangnan, he cannot do everything as he pleases. He has to consider the ideas of other forces in all matters, and sometimes he even has to give up something in exchange.

Based on this, every action he takes must naturally achieve more goals as much as possible.

Most of Jiangxi has been occupied by Ajige, and becoming the Governor-General of Jiangxi means playing an important role in the possible counterattack that may come later.

Under such circumstances, there are only three or two people qualified for the position of Governor-General of Jiangxi.

The first choice is naturally Yuan Jixian, but on the one hand, although he had no merit in the battle of Jiangnan, he had worked hard. If he was not rewarded, it would discourage the people along the way; secondly, he was the only one who was qualified to compete with the other two. If he was really settled in the local area, the struggle between the eunuch party and the Donglin party would inevitably become more intense.

Therefore, Yuan Jixian, the former governor of Jiangxi and several surrounding provinces, naturally had to return to the central court to assist Zhu Cilang in stabilizing the situation.

The only ones left are Zhu Datian and Yue Qijie.

Judging only from their resumes and abilities, Zhu Datian seems to be more suitable than Yue Qijie.

Although Zhu Datian was very close to Ma Shiying, on the other hand, he was also a Zhejiang native. With this foundation, he would be less constrained by the rear after taking office in Jiangxi, and would even receive considerable support from Zhejiang because of his native place.

In addition, he had rarely been defeated since he had the power to lead the troops, so it seemed that he was the best choice to command Jiangxi and fight against Ajige.

But then again, how can such an important position only consider these things?

If he were to be stationed in Jiangxi, he would inevitably become a powerful vassal with a large number of troops. Which lord would dare to place a person who has close ties with all parties in such a position?

Fortunately, Zhu Cilang had Yue Qijie in his lap. Although his military achievements might not be comparable to Zhu Datian's, he could be considered knowledgeable about military affairs among many civil officials.

What's more, he has been developing into a lone minister over this period of time, so Zhu Cilang can naturally feel at ease placing him in such an important position.

On the second day, the Crown Prince, who had just returned to Yingtian, finally went south again despite strong opposition from his ministers. The reason he used was ready-made: reorganization was a major strategy of the court, and no one could be exempted. However, as the Crown Prince who was the regent of the Ming Dynasty, he could not let the soldiers down.

Is it far-fetched?
It seems like that is the case a little bit.

But now all the forces in the court are focusing all their attention on how to deal with the disloyal officials. Who would anger His Royal Highness the Crown Prince over such a small matter?

Therefore, after the "king" and his ministers staged an extremely disgusting drama outside Yingtian City, Zhu Cilang finally embarked on the journey south.

This time he went south, his first stop was naturally Wuhu.

Not only were Yuan Jixian's troops stationed here, but there were also Chang Guanlin, Zuo Menggeng, and Hou Chengzu's troops on the side.

Judging from the military strength alone, this place is undoubtedly the most powerful place in Jiangnan. However, if there is an attack by foreign enemies, even if they cannot be defeated, they can still hold on and wait for help by relying on the fortress group.

But this is ultimately the view of people who don't know the inside story. For Zuo Menggeng who is in the middle of it, it is difficult to say whether the soldiers around him are enemies or friends.

"Report~~~~~~! Your Highness is still ten miles away!"

As the sound of horse hooves rang out, a red-jacketed knight carrying a flag approached the generals who were waiting outside Wuhu City at an extremely fast speed.

After hearing the news, Chang Guanlin and others showed joy on their faces, but Zuo Menggeng's face was obviously less pale than before.

He now regretted very much. After discussing their respective tasks with Old Man Yuan, he was blinded by greed and kept delaying on the way south to rescue Xuancheng.

If it were any other festival, it would have been fine to delay it. His father had delayed it a lot after receiving the order from Chongzhen. As long as he had a large army in his hands and gave the emperor a reason to save his life, what would such a thing be worth?
But he is not his father, and he is not his father either.

As the situation changed again and again, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince not only defeated the Tartars, but also made his troops fall into the encirclement of several powerful armies without knowing it.

In this situation, even if Zuo Menggeng had a heart as big as an ox or a horse, how could he not worry about his future?

“My Lord, don’t worry.” Seeing Zuo Menggeng’s expression of waiting to die, Chang Guanlin stepped forward to persuade him: “Your Highness is a man who cherishes the past. After all, the old Marquis has spoken up for Your Highness. Even if you have made a small mistake, Your Highness will not punish you too severely.”

Why do you think Chang Guanlin dares to speak so clearly?

After the battle of Wuhu, Zuo Menggeng realized that he was surrounded.

Afterwards, he had thought of various ideas, but to no avail. In the end, he could only place his hopes on petitions for events.

Naturally, he sent people to Yuan Jixian, but Chang Guanlin, the Crown Prince's trusted general, was nearby. How could Zuo Menggeng, who seemed to have fallen into the water, miss him?

Therefore, under Zuo Menggeng's deliberate efforts to make friends with him, Chang Guanlin also spoke out his true thoughts two days ago. "General Chang, please don't address me like that! After my father passed away, the court did not allow me to inherit the title. I was helpless to lead the army as an ordinary military officer. How dare I be so presumptuous?"

As soon as Chang Guanlin finished speaking, Zuo Menggeng acted like a frightened rabbit.

Although he had been worried these days, while asking for favors everywhere, he also did not forget to use various channels to learn about the Crown Prince's way of handling things.

It didn't matter if he didn't understand it, but once he understood it, his heart immediately sank.

Everywhere people praise this gentleman for his kindness, and everyone thinks that he is compassionate to his subjects and cares for the people. But has anyone who has done anything wrong to this gentleman ever had a good ending?
Liang Yungou of Yingtian and the big families in Hangzhou, these are just the ones that are on the surface. Who knows how many more there are in secret?

Of course, on the surface, his problem was just that he was afraid of fighting, which was far from comparable to those two waves.

However, after years of teaching and instruction from Zuo Liangyu, Zuo Menggeng had his own understanding of military power.

Under such circumstances, the most he could hope to do was to go back and be a rich man. How could he dare to hope that the cruel and ruthless Crown Prince would give up the opportunity to seize military power out of "nostalgia"?

Chang Guanlin could more or less guess what Zuo Menggeng was thinking, but at the same time he also knew that unless one figured out the knot in one's heart, it would be difficult for others to untie it no matter how hard they tried.

Afterwards, Chang Guanlin comforted Zuo Menggeng with a few words and looked into the distance, waiting for the arrival of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. However, Zuo Menggeng still maintained a look of being ready to be killed, which made people wonder what to do.

About an hour later, black dots appeared in the eyes of the generals. Then Chang Guanlin called out, and everyone present quickly formed a welcoming formation.

Needless to say, what happened afterwards was just polite formalities such as "Greetings, Your Highness" and "Thank you for your hard work, generals". After all the procedures were completed, Zhu Cilang was led by Chang Zuo and the other man into Chang Guanlin's camp outside Wuhu city.

It is worth mentioning that the generals originally planned to invite His Royal Highness the Crown Prince into the city, but Zhu Cilang felt that the noise would be too loud, so in order not to disturb the people, he politely declined the good intentions of the generals.

"I came here this time for two reasons: first, to visit the soldiers, and second, to reorganize the troops."

As soon as he sat down, Zhu Cilang explained his purpose straight away. He then continued, without waiting for the generals who were slightly stunned by his frankness to recover, "I think you have heard about this matter, but I still need to explain it to you in detail."

Although it took Zhu Cilang four or five days to travel the three or four hundred miles from Yingtian to Wuhu, the news transmitted from the central government had already spread among the troops in Wuhu.

Regarding this matter, due to their different affiliations, the generals had different opinions, but it was undeniable that among all the armies in Wuhu, Zuo Menggeng's troops were the most opposed to it.

This is not difficult to understand. Chang Guanlin and Hou Chengzu are the prince's personal soldiers. Yuan Jixian's troops do not feel that reorganization will hurt their own interests because their old boss has joined the cabinet and has fought side by side with His Highness.

The only one left was Zuo Menggeng's group. In the battle of Jiangnan, not only did they not make any contribution, but they also lost their hard work because they had other thoughts.

Under such circumstances, although the generals on the left had no room to struggle because of the heavy troops at their side, it would be a lie to say that they were willing to accept it.

"Marquis Ningnan."

"Ah! I am here."

When Zuo Menggeng heard Zhu Cilang's words, he was stunned at first, and then he was ecstatic. However, this ecstasy only lasted for a moment and was completely washed away by the doubts in his heart.

As he said, Zuo Liangyu died at a time when the Tartars were invading. Moreover, he started his rebellion under the banner of "saving the prince and clearing the court", so the court never issued an edict to allow him to inherit the title.

And now His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, who holds great power in the court, addresses him as Marquis of Ningnan, which is obviously an acknowledgement of the fact that he inherited the title. It is natural for him to be ecstatic.

But he knew his own business well. Not only did he not make any contribution in the previous battle, but he was also looking ahead and behind, and had other thoughts in mind. Under such circumstances, he really lacked experience, so how could that ecstasy remain in his heart for a long time?

"Your troops hesitated when rescuing Xuancheng, and should be punished for delaying military operations."

Sure enough, when Zuo Menggeng realized that something was wrong, Zhu Cilang’s murderous voice came directly into his ears.

Delaying military flights!

If you still talk about saving the rich man under such charges, I'm afraid you may not even be able to save your life.

He has a cruel heart and ruthless hands. He is really cruel and ruthless!

If you want military power, I will give it to you. Why do you have to kill us all?

After several turns of thought, Zuo Menggeng asked himself if he had seen through the prince's plan, but he had been surrounded since the end of the Battle of Wuhu. What else could he do at this point except wait to be killed?
"But your old master once sent troops to help me when I was in trouble. Since our merits and demerits are offset, I will forgive you. After the army is reorganized, if you are willing to serve in the army, I will allow you to lead an army alone. If you do not want to fight on the battlefield, I will find you a position in the court. This can be regarded as repaying your uncle's kindness in the past."

After he finished speaking, Zhu Cilang slowly raised his head and then closed his eyes, as if he was tired from the journey, but also as if he was disappointed that the son of an old friend had evil intentions.

"Your Highness, I wish to return to the court to take up my post."

In this situation, Zuo Menggeng probably would not make any other choice. After ignoring the words "reorganization completed", he gave the answer directly after a little thought.

"May."

"Thank you, Your Highness, for your grace."

After getting the consent of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, Zuo Menggeng, who was originally full of thoughts, suddenly felt relieved. But when he was about to step aside after thanking him, he heard Zhu Cilang's voice again.

"You are not good at leading troops. It has only been a short time since your uncle left, and you have already led hundreds of thousands of troops into this state."

You want to be a big shot, but you also want to be a saint?
As soon as Zhu Cilang finished speaking, this idea came into the minds of the generals in the tent.

According to common sense, since Zuo Menggeng has given up his military power, the matter should be over. However, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince still insulted him with words under such circumstances. Isn't this the behavior of a mean person? !
However, Zhu Cilang's purpose of coming here was to win over the hearts of the people, not to leave such a bad influence in the minds of the generals. Just when Zuo Menggeng was trying to suppress his anger and prepare to accept this humiliation, he heard the voice of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince again.

"After you return to the court, you will join the cabinet as my tutor and see if you can learn to be a civil servant by working with those cabinet elders."

(End of this chapter)