Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 230 Prince, stop acting
Confused.

When the Qing soldiers, led by the two generals, shouted "Long live His Highness", most of the Ming soldiers, except Hu Maozhen, were stunned.

Normally speaking, no matter how reluctant the soldiers were to continue fighting, they would still feel somewhat disappointed when their commander announced his surrender.

But looking at the Qing army now, they are shouting "Long live His Highness" and their faces are flushed with excitement. If someone who doesn't know the situation sees them, they might think they are the true descendants of His Highness the Crown Prince.

At this point, the development of the matter was far beyond everyone's imagination.

To be honest, when General Hu came forward to persuade the enemy generals earlier, everyone in the Ming army had great expectations of him.

You have to know that they have worked in the same army for more than ten years. Even if they don't have much personal relationship, they will not have too many concerns about surrendering with this precious example in front of them.

But who would have thought that the two of them didn't even reply to the letter!
The Ming army soldiers thought that since the other side was like this, they would have no intention of surrendering, and the battle of Suzhou seemed inevitable.

This was not the soldiers' wild imagination. After Hu Maozhen failed to persuade them to surrender, his troops were pulled to the outskirts of Suzhou just after they were reorganized.

In this situation, although the Ming army was afraid to attack the city, they also knew that a great battle was about to begin.

As for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince personally coming forward to persuade the surrender
Both generals and soldiers knew that the symbolic significance of this matter was far greater than its actual effect.

But to everyone's surprise, when the Crown Prince who was the regent of the Ming Dynasty came forward, he only needed a few words to make the two enemy generals burst into tears and bang their heads on the ground.

The city of Suzhou, which had been besieged for more than a month, surrendered just like that.

There is no need to say much about what happened afterwards. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's prestige in the Suzhou and Songjiang armies was naturally so high that it was beyond words, and the work of gathering and reorganizing the Qing army in Suzhou went extremely smoothly.

Seeing that the largest Qing army in Suzhou and Songjiang had been eliminated, Zhu Cilang planned to return north to Yingtian after appeasing the local gentry and begin to clean up the local area.

At this point someone may ask, if the government wanted to clean up the local area, why didn't they take direct action against Suzhou while the military was at its peak, but instead came forward as the Crown Prince Regent to appease the local gentry?
Well, if Zhu Cilang has to bear all the bad reputation, what are so many ministers for?
This is a normal method used by those in power, and there is no need to make a fuss about it. The key point is that when Zhu Cilang was planning to leave Suzhou and return north by water, he received a piece of news that surprised him greatly.

"Is the news reliable?"

After reading the letter in his hand carefully several times, Zhu Cilang still didn't quite believe that things would develop in this way.

"Reporting to Your Highness, when we asked Governor Ding, he was vague and only said that he had fallen into a trap. However, seeing that his army was in disarray and only had 3,000 to 2,000 men left, it doesn't seem like he was lying."

"Got it. This matter needs to be kept strictly confidential. You guys go down and rest first."

After saying this, the soldier retreated, and Zhu Cilang couldn't help but think in his heart.

Earlier, he had directly ordered Ding Kuichu to lead the troops from Guangdong and Guangxi to quell the rebellion of Prince Jingjiang as soon as possible. If he failed, he would lead the troops personally. However, when the messenger arrived in Guangzhou by sea, he found that Ding Kuichu had already left Guangzhou for Wuzhou several days ago.

The messenger failed to find the real owner and chased him along the way. However, when the group met Ding Kuichu in Zhaoqing, they learned that his troops had suffered a major defeat in Wuzhou. Not only did they fail to pacify the Prince of Jingjiang, but they also lost several cities.

In the original history, Ding Kuichu not only won the battle, but also won it extremely easily due to various reasons.

Therefore, Zhu Cilang thought of ordering him to send troops to pacify Prince Jingjiang first, and then when rewarding him for his merits, he would not exclude Qian Qianyi, the student, as he did in Longwu.

In this way, Guangdong and Guangxi would check and balance each other, and the imperial court would be able to exert influence on them.

But who would have thought that Ding Kuichu actually lost, and it seemed that he lost miserably.

Under such circumstances, the previous methods are naturally no longer useful, but we have to plan carefully again.

After a while, Zhu Cilang slowly walked to the side of the map. His serious face showed that he had taken the news very seriously.

This is no wonder, as Prince Jingjiang’s identity is too special.

As the descendant of Taizu's brothers, he had no qualifications to inherit the throne, but in the eyes of ordinary people he was the prince of the Zhu family. Who knew his true background?
If it were just that, it would be fine. At worst, he could just become an ordinary member of the royal family and establish his own rule. If he could, he would do so. If not, he could learn from Longwu and Prince Lu.

But what is disgusting is that the gentry and officials know that there is no essential difference between the Prince of Jingjiang and the Duke of Yingtian and the ministers in the court.

If Zhu Cilang's small court really compromises with him, who knows, tomorrow someone related to him or her might come up with all sorts of inexplicable reasons and claim that he or she is qualified to inherit the Ming Dynasty's legal system.

In this case, how worthy is his identity as the crown prince?

With foreign enemies eyeing the country covetously, if the legal system of the Ming Dynasty was in jeopardy, how could it withstand the counterattack of the Tartars?

It's disgusting. How could Ding Kuichu lose?

After thinking for several times, Zhu Cilang had some ideas in mind. However, all the departments were now being reorganized, so he needed to consider some methods and techniques to decide how to proceed.

"Go and call all the generals," the voice was about to be spoken, and the guards outside the tent took the order and left. But he had only taken two steps when he heard His Royal Highness the Crown Prince say, "Call Wu Shengzhao and Li Chengdong as well."

"Yes."

Seeing the guards leave, Zhu Cilang turned his attention back to the map, constantly perfecting the general idea in his mind.

Guangdong and Guangxi must not be lost. In terms of connecting the East and the West, their importance is even greater than that of Jiangxi.

Why?

Even if Jiangxi was lost, Zhu Cilang's small court could still maintain contact with the southwest through Fujian and sea routes. But if Guangdong and Guangxi were lost, not to mention Fujian, even the sea routes would be cut off.

If the Prince of Jingjiang continues to be treacherous, even the ships going to Champa to buy grain will be affected.

Judging from the circumstances, once Ding Kuichu is defeated, the rebellion of Prince Jingjiang will no longer be a minor problem.

"I pay my respects to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

"Oh? Please sit down."

Just as Zhu Cilang was pondering in his mind, the voices of the generals paying their respects suddenly reached his ears.

Normally, he should have told his troops what he was thinking at this point, but he just casually greeted them and turned his attention back to the map.

Zhu Cilang at this time was no longer the same person as before. Under the halo of successive victories, although he did not make any moves, the generals did not even dare to breathe. They just quietly sat down according to their respective identities and there was no movement anymore.

Time passed little by little, but His Royal Highness the Crown Prince still stared at the map without saying a word.

In such a situation, the generals naturally became confused.

After spending so many days together, all the generals knew that the Crown Prince was approachable and not the kind of person who put on airs. Considering that there seemed to be a messenger coming earlier, they all guessed that something must have happened.
Where did this change come from?
"I have some ideas today, so I invited you all to help me discuss them."

After hearing what His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said, everyone said they dared not.

joke.

This is the Crown Prince who is the regent of the Ming Dynasty, and everyone present here has either been forced into a desperate situation by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, or was left with a desperate situation before His Royal Highness appeared. Even if these defeated generals are really shameless, who dares to bear such a reputation according to etiquette and law?
"The messenger came earlier and said that Ding Kuichu has led his troops to pacify the rebel king of Jingjiang."

As soon as he finished speaking, people like Huang Fei and Wu Zhikui, who were originally from the Ming army, suddenly realized what was going on, while generals like Hu Maozhen and Wu Li could not help but feel confused.

Seeing this, Zhu Cilang naturally told the story of how the rebel King of Jingjiang wanted to establish himself as an independent ruler with only three or two scattered troops from the prefectures, and Hu Maozhen couldn't help but laugh after listening to him.

"This Jingjiang traitor is too bold. Your Highness, please allocate three to five thousand troops to me. I will tie up the traitor king in front of your tent within ten days!"

After hearing this, the generals knew that they had lost the initiative, and they all requested to fight, as if they regarded the rebel king as a means of advancement.

"Well, with veterans like you, it will be easy to capture him. However, I am not saying this for the sake of the rebellious king. I have other ideas."

Since His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said so, the generals naturally stopped talking. But when Zhu Cilang really said what he was thinking, everyone couldn't help but move closer to the map.

"I am thinking of sending an army to land in Guangdong, and then go out from Shaoguan, or go to Jiangxi to stop the Tartars, or go to Hunan to join He Tengjiao. In short, we can act at the same time as the army in Zhejiang, which can also be regarded as opening up another battlefield."

I have to say that this is an extremely bold idea, but if it succeeds, the benefits will be huge.

If they enter Jiangxi, they will be able to stabilize the remaining territory, and then form a pincer attack with the Zhejiang army against the Qing army that cuts off the east and west.

If we enter Hunan, the benefits will probably not be immediately apparent, but as long as there are troops here, it means that the court has the ability to control Hunan and thus form a deterrent to the southwest.

However, great benefits also come with great difficulties. Not only does this group of people need to be composed of elite troops, but their leader not only needs to be capable of fighting, but also needs to have the prestige and status to compete with local governors.

Thinking about it this way, it seems.
just
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had finished speaking, but none of the generals in the tent who had been eager to fight dared to respond.

Seeing this reaction, Zhu Cilang was not too anxious. He scanned everyone's expressions one by one, then smiled and said, "This is just a private discussion. You can speak freely if you have anything to say. Do you think you will be punished for speaking in front of me?"

Now that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has said so much, everyone has to understand the situation. However, their concerns are still in their hearts, so everyone's eyes fall on Zhennan Earl Huang Fei.

It was strange to say, Huang Fei was standing at the front, so naturally the only person in his sight was His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. But when the words fell, he clearly felt a bunch of expectant gazes falling on him, which made him stand up involuntarily.

"Your Highness, in my opinion, sending an army to attack the enemy's rear would be like a divine army descending from the sky. If we can succeed, it will be a great benefit to our Ming Dynasty."

Having said that, Huang Fei secretly glanced at the Crown Prince's expression. Seeing that he looked satisfied, he sighed in his heart, gritted his teeth and continued.

"It's just that it's easy to find elite soldiers, but it's very hard to find someone to lead them. So it's probably going to be difficult to succeed."

After uttering the last word with difficulty, Huang Fei immediately felt weak all over.

He didn't spend much time with the Crown Prince, but according to the court bulletins and many rumors, this gentleman was not at all the kind of person who was spoiled in the palace.

He dares to draw his sword when facing the enemy, and becomes even more ferocious when seeing blood.

In other words, this gentleman was far lacking in military strength, otherwise who knows whether the Ming Dynasty would have another emperor who only thought about going into battle and killing enemies all day long.

Based on this, when His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said that, even the three talented generals Hu, Wu and Li who had surrendered to him heard the sound of abacus beads in his heart, not to mention the "old man" like Huang Fei.

"The one who leads the troops. The one who leads the troops."

After hearing Huang Fei's words, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince kept muttering to himself, as if he was really considering whether he had a suitable candidate under his command.

Seeing this, the generals were speechless, but for various reasons they could only watch His Highness perform there.

"Isn't it possible for the Duke of Wei?"

"The Duke of Wei has enough status and reputation, but he is not good at leading troops."

"Where is the Duke of Baoguo?"

"The Duke of Baoguo is probably in a similar situation to the Duke of Wei."

"Then can Lord Ma do it?"

After hearing the Crown Prince's round of questions, Huang Fei felt so helpless that he wanted to reply "sure", but joking aside, even if he knew the Crown Prince's true plan, how could he dare to joke about such an important military and national issue?

"Mr. Ma probably won't be able to do it either."

Having said that, Huang Fei should have waited for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to ask more questions, but for some reason an idea suddenly flashed through his mind, and he immediately asked another question: "Why not send a capable general to assist him?"

"Oh~~~~~~? Lord Zhennan is really a mature and prudent person, but I wonder who is the general who can fight?"

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince first drew out a long note, and then said something that seemed to be praising, but when Huang Fei saw that half-smile expression and heard that light tone, he wanted to slap himself twice.

Why can’t you change your bad temper?
Just agree to it, why do you have to provoke this gentleman!
"Your Highness, please forgive me. I spoke too hastily. Although generals and commanders have their own duties, trouble is bound to arise in such a complicated situation. So my decision is not very prudent."

"Well, Lord Zhennan's words are not completely rude. It's fine if the generals and commanders are in agreement, but if they really have a disagreement over something, wouldn't that put the entire army in danger for nothing?"

Huang Fei, knowing that he had passed this hurdle, stopped talking after he finished speaking. The generals in the tent also knew that if they were not careful, they would end up in a situation where they would be in a difficult position.

Under such circumstances, no one in the military tent said anything. After thinking for a moment, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said directly: "This matter concerns the fate of the Ming Dynasty. Since there is no suitable person to be the commander, then I will have to go there myself."

"temple"

"I have made up my mind. No need to say more. Pass the order!"

When they heard that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was going to go behind enemy lines, the generals wanted to stop him as if under pressure, but just as they were about to raise their fists, they saw His Royal Highness the Crown Prince suddenly wave his hand.

In this situation, how could the generals dare to say more? In the end, they could only listen attentively.

"Order the Chongming Island navy and Xu Renjue's troops to come to the defense. Order Hu Maozhen to lead 5,000 elite troops from our own army to come to the defense. I want to see whether the south and north of Hunan are still under the rule of the Ming Dynasty!"

(End of this chapter)