Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 232 You are an official

"Your Excellency! Your Excellency! Something terrible has happened!"

Following an extremely panicked cry, Song Yingsheng, the governor of Guangzhou who was leaning on the bed, couldn't help but frown.

He was from Fengxin, Jiangxi Province. When he was young, he and his younger brother Yingxing studied in his uncle's private school. Perhaps because the two brothers were fascinated by natural sciences, the two brothers, who could speak in rhyme at a few years old and had a photographic memory, failed in the imperial examinations repeatedly.

Fortunately, the Ming Dynasty did not bury this pair of brothers. During the Chongzhen period, they were both selected by the Ministry of Personnel to serve as officials in the court. Their subsequent careers were relatively smooth.

But in this chaotic time, to what extent can personal fortune play a role?
Just a few months after Song Yingsheng was transferred to be the prefect of Guangzhou, Chongzhen hanged himself and the Qing army entered the pass. The situation in the Ming Dynasty became worse day by day. When the news of Hongguang's capture came, Song Yingsheng, who was concerned about the country, fell ill due to worry and anger.

It is said that illness comes like a mountain falling and goes away like a thread being pulled.

Although news had been received recently that the situation in Jiangnan had been turned around by the efforts of the late emperor and the crown prince, he was already seriously ill, and Ding Kuichu had suffered a setback in his efforts to quell the rebellion, so he was unable to manage the affairs.

"What are you shouting for?"

Hearing the servant's shouting, the sick Song Yingsheng just raised his eyelids slightly, while the housekeeper who was serving medicine at the side took two quick steps outside, and when he left the bedroom, he lowered his voice and started to scold loudly.

In another festival, a small servant would remain silent after being scolded by the housekeeper. However, who would have thought that after the scolding, the servant not only did not restrain himself, but also pulled the housekeeper's sleeve and scolded him several times.

"Butler, something big has happened! Going into the city! Going into the city!"

When the butler heard these words, his heart suddenly skipped a beat.

Did Ding Kuichu lose?
If so
Thinking of this, the housekeeper couldn't help but pull the servant a few steps away from the bedroom before asking in a low voice: "Is it the Prince of Jingjiang who entered the city?"

"No, it's His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

Ding Kuichu was ambiguous about which side to follow as the orthodox one, and many powerful officials in Guangzhou were also wavering. However, Song Yingsheng was loyal to the emperor and the country. After learning about the situation in the north, he strongly advocated that the prince of the previous emperor be the orthodox one. He even dragged his sick body to the governor's office to try to persuade Ding Kuichu to lead troops to quell the rebellion.

So when the word "crown prince" came out of the servant's mouth, the housekeeper said sarcastically: "Humph, you are very good at changing your words, but I wonder if the crown prince will make you a general."

"It's not the Prince of Jingjiang, it's the real prince! The one in the north!"

"Nonsense! Jiangnan and Guangdong are more than a thousand miles apart. Even if Your Highness had sent troops as soon as he learned of the situation in Guangzhou, he would still have..."

After hearing the servant's explanation, the butler immediately refuted it. However, when he was about to use the travel time as his argument, he was stunned.

The time seems to be about the same.

Thinking of this, the butler didn't bother to say anything more. He took two quick steps and went straight to the bedroom.

"What happened?"

As soon as the housekeeper entered the room, he heard Song Yingsheng's weak voice asking, but he did not answer directly. Instead, he walked to the bed and said softly, "Master, someone just reported that the reinforcements sent by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will soon enter the city."

"Don't deceive me with false words,"

Hearing these words, Song Yingsheng couldn't help but smile bitterly. Then he seemed to feel a little tired, so he tried to prop up his body with his hands.

However, this illness was far from ordinary. He was a scholar who could not even carry anything on his shoulders or hands and had been bedridden for several months. Due to his extreme weakness, this attempt did not succeed.

"If Governor Ding really can't stop the rebels, I will sacrifice my life for my country, and you don't need to waste your time."

In the original history, after Longwu died for his country, Song Yingsheng committed suicide by taking poison when he saw that the Ming Dynasty had no hope. In this time and space, although the overall situation of the Ming Dynasty was much better, the situation in Guangdong was much worse.

In this situation, Song Yingsheng did not want to be captured by the Jingjiang rebels, and he also knew that he was ill and could not travel far, so he prepared poison early and was ready to die as soon as Guangzhou City fell.

Therefore, when he heard the housekeeper's words, he thought that he was trying to persuade him to give up suicide.

just
"Master, someone came from next door and said that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has entered the government office and asked about your health. Is it possible to go and see him?"
-
No one in Guangzhou, or even in Guangdong and Guangxi, expected Zhu Cilang's arrival.

On the one hand, according to what the visitor from Hangzhou said before, although His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had taken the initiative in the battle of Jiangnan, the Qing army still had several large armies and was not without the ability to fight back.

On the other hand, although the Ming Dynasty was not completely ignorant of maritime affairs, its way of thinking was still mainly based on land power. Even though people like Shen Tingyang had made various attempts at sea routes, they had only touched the surface when it came to specifics.

So when the huge fleet of warships docked at the Guangzhou wharf, although many people saw the prince's banner hanging high above the warships, the vast majority of people still regarded it as the Zheng family's fleet.

This was within Zhu Cilang's expectations. To put it bluntly, in the eyes of people along the southeastern coast, who else in the entire Ming Dynasty, apart from the Zheng family, could form a fleet of this size?
Misunderstandings are truly misunderstandings.

When it comes to seagoing ships, there is indeed no force that can compare to the Zheng family, but Zhu Cilang's trip south this time was mostly sailing along the coast. In the absence of strong winds and waves, these large inland warships could be used.

It's ridiculous to say that Zhu Cilang originally thought that Guangdong and Guangxi were at war and Guangzhou City must be on high alert.

But who would have thought that from the time the fleet docked to the time the soldiers entered the city, which lasted more than an hour, except for the coolie leader at the dock who came to ask if they wanted to hire people, the defenders of Guangzhou City did not even react at all.

Accident?
It was probably a little unexpected, but on second thought it seemed reasonable.

Guangzhou is a place that cannot be safer for a land-based empire like the Ming Dynasty. Apart from the fact that the Red-haired bandits tried to force their way into the river mouth with warships when they first rose to power, even the Japanese pirates in the early years when they were causing trouble never harmed this place many times.

Of course, this is only the general reason. In terms of details, the troops in Guangdong are in the same situation as those in other parts of the Ming Dynasty. Otherwise, in the original history, how could Li Chengdong easily capture Guangzhou with only some soldiers disguised as Ming army?
Having said that, let me say a few more words.

In the original history, after Longwu was killed, the officials of the Southern Ming Dynasty were divided into two groups. One group regarded Zhu Youlang, the Prince of Gui, as the emperor, and the other group regarded Longwu's brother, Zhu Youlang, the Prince of Tang, as the emperor.

Afterwards, the two sides started fighting in Guangdong. They were only concerned with fighting their own people, but were completely unprepared for the Qing army that followed them.

There is no need to elaborate on what happened next. In short, Li Chengdong sent an army pretending to be reinforcements, and the city of Guangzhou fell into the hands of the Qing army. The small court of King Tang Zhu Youlang was established less than a month ago and was wiped out with the fall of Guangzhou.

Zhu Cilang probably wasn't very clear about the details of the incident, but since he was able to enter Guangzhou without encountering any obstacles, he should be able to reconstruct some of it in his mind.

"Your Highness, the Guangdong Provincial Governor Gu Yuanjing requests an audience."

Although Zhu Cilang's entry into the city caused a lot of noise, he waited in the prefectural yamen for a long time before he met the first senior local official in Guangdong.

He had no complaints about this. After all, the efficiency of Ming officials was just like that. If they were all capable people, how could he enter Guangzhou so easily? "Let him in."

As soon as he finished speaking, the guards went out to lead the person away. About half an incense stick of time later, a middle-aged official in a bright red robe strode in.

"Your Highness, I, the Guangdong Provincial Governor Gu Yuanjing, pay my respects to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, the Regent."

"Oh? You Guangdong officials still recognize me as the regent?"

If any other official had come here, upon hearing the Crown Prince's murderous words, he would have at least been startled, even if he didn't fall to the ground in fear.

But to Zhu Cilang's surprise, after he finished speaking, although Gu Yuanjing was still kneeling on the ground, neither his actions nor his expression seemed to reveal the murderous intent in his words.

"Your Highness, you are the prince appointed by the late emperor, and you are the best candidate to inherit the throne. Moreover, you have saved the Ming Dynasty from decline. As an official of the Ming Dynasty and a native of Zhejiang, how can I not recognize you as the legitimate heir of the Ming Dynasty?"

"If that's the case, then why haven't you seen any congratulatory messages yet?"

"Reporting to Your Highness, although I strongly advocate submitting the congratulatory message first, with the Jingjiang Rebel King by my side, Ding Butang still thinks that we should first eliminate him and then use this to congratulate Your Highness for supervising state affairs."

Ok?
Is there a conflict with Ding Kuichu?
People have said this much, and since Zhu Cilang is not stupid, how could he not understand the implied meaning?

Guangdong is different from other places. Although its economy is developed due to trade, it is ultimately just a southeastern border area. Therefore, after Emperor Longqing, the post of governor has not been set up here.

In this way, Gu Yuanjing, the governor, was not like other provinces with governors. He had to experience the pressure of the governor personally. Over time, he could get along well with Ding Kuichu and truly underestimated the official system of the Ming Dynasty.

"Be flat."

"Thank you, Your Highness."

Since he had a conflict with Ding Kuichu, Zhu Cilang would not be so sullen. But when he was about to learn about Guangdong through Gu Yuanjing, he heard Gu Yuanjing speak first: "Your Highness's achievements in Jiangnan are truly a revival of the monarch. As far as I know, the people of Jiangsu and Zhejiang all praise you."

Obviously, this is flattery.

But according to common sense, since Gu Yuanjing has already expressed his loyalty, he should wait for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to inquire, but should not add unnecessary details.

Since this situation is unreasonable, there must be other reasons for his behavior. So even though Zhu Cilang was anxious to understand the situation in Guangdong, he couldn't help but patiently follow his words and ask.

"Oh? I wonder why you are so familiar with the affairs of Jiangsu and Zhejiang when you are so far away in Guangdong?"

"Your Highness, I am from Wuzhen, Zhejiang. After you defeated the Tartars, I received a letter from my family reporting my safety."

Oh~~~~~~~~~~~, it’s one of us.

Looking at the composition of Zhu Cilang’s small court, although it includes officials from various factions and provinces, those from Jiangsu and Zhejiang have considerable power in it.

In this era, your place of origin can largely determine which faction you belong to, and Zhu Cilang, who regards Jiangsu and Zhejiang as his base, will naturally gain Gu Yuanjing's natural favor.

This is not exaggeration. When Ma Shiying was in power, officials from Guizhou received his strong support. Earlier, whether it was Chongzhen or Tianqi, officials from whichever province was in power would gain power in the court.

To put it bluntly, in these days, people from the same hometown, classmates, and year are all strong evidence for forming cliques, but few people are immune to this.

"Well, tell me, how did Ding Kuichu fight the battle?"

Now that he understood all this, Zhu Cilang became much more direct when speaking. At this moment, since someone had already taken the initiative to approach him, if he continued to be evasive in his words, it would seem like he was pushing that person away.

"Reporting to Your Highness, Minister Ding originally planned to deal with the Jingjiang Rebel King in a feint, and then defeat him with a thunderous force after approaching Wuzhou. However, he somehow revealed a flaw, and the Rebel King actually attacked first, so Minister Ding was defeated first."

One game?
There are two or three more games?

Thinking of this, Zhu Cilang knew that the battle situation in Guangdong and Guangxi was not that simple, so he leaned forward again.

"After the defeat, Ding Butang originally planned to stop the enemy in Fengkai, but who would have thought that there seemed to be someone skilled in fighting in the rebel king's army? As soon as Ding Butang retreated to Fengkai, the rebels had already arrived. This happened several times afterwards, until Zhaoqing Butang finally stabilized his position."

A man who is good at fighting?

Hearing this, Zhu Cilang couldn't help but search in his mind, but for such a complicated history, he only remembered the general direction and some slightly famous figures. How could he possibly find a capable and warlike person in the southwest?

But it’s not a big deal.

Although he didn't remember any good warriors, he knew that the number of troops on both sides in this battle seemed to be no more than ten thousand.

Under such circumstances, as long as he could stabilize the situation in the Guangzhou area first, it would not be difficult for him to defeat the Jingjiang Rebel King with the thousands of elite troops in his hands.

Thinking of this, Zhu Cilang no longer worried about finding someone who was good at fighting. After talking to Gu Yuanjing for a few more words, he decided to rely on the Guangdong Governor to stabilize the situation in Guangzhou before advancing his troops westward.

"How many soldiers are left in the city?"

"this."

"How come you don't even know this?"

"Your Highness, I am in charge of civil affairs, but military affairs are the responsibility of Minister Ding."

There was nothing wrong with what he said. The governor was in charge of the administration and financial revenue of a province, while military affairs were either under the jurisdiction of the general or the governor. It was normal that he did not know how many soldiers there were in the city.

But you have to say what's appropriate for each festival.

There are wars everywhere in the Ming Dynasty now. As the head of a province, he cannot interfere with the governor's power and responsibilities, but what's the difficulty in finding a few ways to understand something?
This is probably just another embroidered pillow.

With this in mind, Zhu Cilang couldn't help but increase the difficulty of stabilizing Guangzhou in his mind. But when he was about to ask something else, he heard a weak voice coming from outside the hall.

"Your Highness, I know."

(End of this chapter)