Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 233 Everyone is a little helpless

To be honest, when Zhu Cilang first entered Guangzhou, he had the intention to kill the Guangzhou prefect whom he had never met before.

No matter what Ding Kuichu was thinking, Guangzhou was already in wartime.

Under such circumstances, his group of people of "unknown origin" entered Guangzhou without any hindrance.

For this reason alone, the Guangzhou prefect who claimed to be seriously ill should be severely punished.

Yes.

Zhu Cilang thought that there was a 70% to 80% chance that the Guangzhou prefect was using illness as an excuse to avoid the meeting.

After all, Guangdong and Guangxi have been slow to express their stance on the matter of regent. If they rashly show up before figuring out the Crown Prince's intentions, who knows what the result will be.

Such behavior may sound a bit outrageous, but it is probably just normal operation for civil servants.

In short, the main point is to never act rashly when the situation is unclear.

But there are still huge differences between people.

For example, Shen Tingyang at the beginning and Zhang Guowei later, these technically oriented bureaucrats were lacking in the ability to fight, but when they found that the country needed them, they often did not care whether there were mountains of swords or seas of fire in front of them.

and so.

Song Yingsheng is here.

He appeared in front of Zhu Cilang, dragging a body that was half dead from illness.

"Your Highness, I am Song Yingsheng, the governor of Guangzhou. I am here to see His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

Seeing the pale figure who even needed two people to support him to kneel down, Zhu Cilang immediately walked out from behind the desk, hurried to Song Yingsheng, and said with concern: "Since Mr. Song is seriously ill, why don't you stay at home and take good care of yourself?"

"Your Highness, this is a heart disease that cannot be cured by medicine. If the Ming Dynasty can be revived, this disease will naturally be cured."

Zhu Cilang is not a person who is easily moved. Sometimes he even feels that he is somewhat hard-hearted.

But when such a scene appeared before him, he couldn't help but feel emotional.

Although the Southern Ming Dynasty was in a state of collapse and was almost completely powerless when facing the Qing army, during this process there were still countless people of noble character and lofty ideals who sacrificed their lives to save this extremely corrupt court.

This is truly a silent mockery of the ruling class.

just
"Your Highness, there were originally 12,000 troops stationed in Guangzhou. After deducting the vacancies and the 5,000 taken away by Ding Butang, there are still 3,000 old and weak soldiers left."

Just at this moment, Song Yingsheng's somewhat inappropriate voice suddenly sounded, and Zhu Cilang, who was full of emotion, was immediately startled.

What surprised him was not that there were only 3,000 old and weak people left in Guangzhou City, nor that the garrison was short of one-third of its troops. The source of his surprise was that Ding Kuichu only brought 5,000 troops to quell the rebellion.

As far as Zhu Cilang knew, Prince Jingjiang not only gained the support of some civil officials in Guangxi, but also won over Yang Guowei, the general of Guangxi, to his camp.

Even though the Guangxi general was unable to mobilize the chieftain's wolf soldiers, or even command the entire province's army due to the constraints of Qu Shisi and others, it was not difficult for him to gather tens of thousands of soldiers who could be pulled out for a walk.

Under such circumstances, Ding Kuichu dared to lead only 5,000 troops to quell the rebellion. Either he was extremely brave and wise, or he was sure that the Prince of Jingjiang would not be prepared.

It is almost impossible for Ding Kuichu to be very brave and strategic. When the Qing army entered Guangdong, his first reaction was to use a ship to transport away all the things he had plundered for many years. His second reaction was to bribe Li Chengdong, the commander of the Qing army, with gold and silver treasures.

However, Li Chengdong at that time also wanted to turn Guangdong into his own independent kingdom, so he broke the contract after Ding Kuichu surrendered.

Otherwise, this Prime Minister of the Yongli Dynasty might have to serve the Manchus as a slave for a few more years.

Based on this, it is obvious why Ding Kuichu dared to lead only 5,000 troops to quell the rebellion.

"Five thousand... five thousand..."

After listening to Song Yingsheng's words, Zhu Cilang paced back and forth under the gaze of several people.

According to his original idea, the purpose of his visit to Guangdong was, firstly, to urge the Guangdong army to quell the rebellion of Prince Jingjiang, and secondly, to force Ding Kuichu to express his position through his arrival.

These two purposes can basically be understood as cooperation with Ding Kuichu, so when he went south, he only brought seven or eight thousand troops with him.

But judging by the current situation, Ding Kuichu obviously has ulterior motives. If we really help him out of his predicament, there is a chance that trouble will arise again in the future. It would be better to take advantage of his weakness and completely pacify the Guangdong and Guangxi regions all at once.

In this way, with the influence of Guangdong and Guangxi, the other provinces will no longer be able to try to ignore the central government.

just
Can you put down the rebellion of Prince Jingjiang with just the limited number of troops you have?
If Ding Kuichu is taken down, will it cause a backlash from other governors and governors-general?
"Do you know how many troops the Jingjiang Rebel King has?"

After hearing what His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said, Gu and Song looked at each other but remained silent.

Seeing this situation, Zhu Cilang was a little confused, but after thinking about it, he understood the reason.

Even though Song Yingsheng is slightly stronger than Gu Yuanjing, at least he can tell the number of troops stationed in Guangzhou. But if Ding Kuichu is certain that the rebels will not be on guard against him, then this trip, which seems to be a mission to quell the rebellion, is actually a good opportunity to make merit without any danger.

Under such circumstances, how could those who could be kept in Guangzhou be Ding Kuichu's direct descendants? If they were not direct descendants, they might not even be able to protect their own rights and responsibilities. How could they know things beyond their rights and responsibilities?
This is not because he is overthinking.

As the saying goes: In the previous life, he who committed evil deeds was demoted to a county magistrate, and in the previous life, he who was full of evil deeds was demoted to a provincial capital.

One of them was the prefect of Guangzhou, and the other was the governor of Guangdong. How could they not be suppressed when they were stationed in the same place as the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi?
Of course, in peaceful times, these two "small officials" could naturally restrain the big official Ding Kuichu to some extent. But the world is in chaos now. How can these two people without military power play their original role?
"Gu Qing, please send someone to find out the details of the rebellious king first. I will send a team of people to help you pacify the garrison and the people in the city. After the task is completed, I will not hesitate to reward you." Zhu Cilang waited for Gu Yuanjing to take orders, but before he could make any move, he seemed to have thought of something and said, "Don't cause any trouble. Do you understand?"

Gu Yuanjing was indeed a figurehead, but this was due to the situation and did not mean that he was stupid. So even though Zhu Cilang's words were very obscure, he still understood the meaning and responded directly after he finished speaking: "Please rest assured, Your Highness. I will not let the scoundrels cause trouble."

After saying this, he left the government office under the guidance of the guards. Zhu Cilang then turned to Song Yingsheng and said, "Mr. Song, go back and rest first. If I have any more doubts, I will send someone to your house. You are in poor health, so don't overwork yourself."

If it were another time, Song Yingsheng would have already arrived, and Zhu Cilang would definitely take the opportunity to ask about his brother Song Yingxing. But now the situation in Guangdong has exceeded his original expectations. He should first think clearly about what to do next. How could he have the mind to ask other questions?
But who would have thought that just as he finished speaking, Song Yingsheng struggled and said: "Your Highness, please forgive me for being frank. After the news of Your Highness' supervision of state affairs came last time, Ding Kuichu has been waiting and watching. This time, he is even more involved in the rebellion of the Jingjiang Rebel King. Now that Your Highness has led the troops here, you should wipe out the disobedient people with the force of thunder and lightning, and you should not hesitate like you are now." Huh?
Isn't this a scientist?

How come he sounds more murderous than a military general?
Zhu Cilang was naturally surprised when he heard this, but before he could say anything more, Song Yingsheng seemed to have noticed the Crown Prince's confusion and began to explain.

In his opinion, although no one knew how many troops the Jingjiang rebel king had at that time, everyone knew that his behavior was pure rebellion. Apart from a few delusional rebels, there would definitely not be many people who would respond, and his military force would definitely not be very strong.

In addition, Ding Kuichu is now trapped in Zhaoqing, and Guangdong is in a situation of being leaderless. As long as His Royal Highness the Crown Prince leads the troops to attack, not only will the small rebel army be defeated like snow encountering scorching sun, but even the swaying Guangdong and Guangxi will be able to return to the rule of the court.

After listening to Song Yingsheng's words, Zhu Cilang did not give a clear answer. He just advised him to rest assured and take care of his health. Then he had Song Yingsheng sent back to the mansion.

Doesn’t what Song Yingsheng said make sense?

There must be.

Apart from anything else, Hu Maozhen's five thousand troops alone were no match for the cobbled-together teams of Ding Kuichu and Jingjiang Ni Wang.

If we take into account the five hundred guards and the nearly one hundred warships they brought this time, even if the two groups of people joined forces, they might not be able to hold out for more than half a day.

But can the problems in Guangdong and Guangxi be solved by military means alone?
The Jingjiang Rebel King is fine, although what Song Yingsheng said was a bit presumptuous, it is generally the case. And Ding Kuichu has been operating in Guangdong and Guangxi for many years, and his power is intertwined. If he really causes a rebellion in Guangdong by accident, can Zhu Cilang really ignore the Tartars and transfer heavy troops from Jiangnan?

Of course, if there was a chance, Zhu Cilang would naturally be willing to get rid of the old thief with a rat-like head. This was also the reason why he won over Gu Yuanjing.

It's just that the performance of the previous Guangdong Governor was too poor, so he had to be somewhat cautious and careful in his actions.

Thinking of this, Zhu Cilang couldn't help but rub his eyes with the back of his hand.

When he was about to arrive here, he had thought that one day he would have a large army in his hands and be able to kill any god who stood in his way.

By now, the power he could command was far beyond what it was back then, but he also had more and more concerns when doing things.

He even said that when he looked back on the past in the dead of night, he found that his way of thinking was becoming more and more like that of the civil servants. His mind was full of worries about this and that. Not to mention killing gods and Buddhas, it was almost impossible for him to speak freely.

Although Zhu Cilang was extremely helpless about this, he could only accept it silently.

After all, people are the sum of social relations.

When you are lifted to a high place by the vague causes and effects, aren't you also bound by them?
This probably means that if you want to wear the crown, you must first bear its weight.

Zhu Cilang's troubles are not isolated cases; they are common to everyone in a high position.

Of course, there are also people who ignore the reality and just want to realize what they want. However, looking through the history books, we only see those who were backlashed and either lost their reputation or their country was destroyed, but very few of them had a good ending.

Zhu Cilang had a deep understanding of this for various reasons, but the strange thing was that the Manchus, who had only been out of the White Mountains and Black Waters for a few years, seemed to know this clearly.

"What do you think of Prince Su's letter?"

Just when Zhu Cilang was thinking about how to resolve the Guangdong-Guangxi issue, Dorgon, who was in Beijing, was not worried about Duoduo's defeat. Instead, he took a more assertive stance and directly summoned several other princes to his mansion.

In fact, before Duoduo retreated to Jiangbei, various parties in the Qing court had already received news that his army had suffered a great defeat.

According to common sense, this was an opportunity to deal a heavy blow to Dorgon. Both the forces loyal to the young emperor and the forces loyal to Hauge should take advantage of the opportunity to attack Dorgon before he was ready to respond.

But who would have thought that nearly a month had passed, and although there were undercurrents in Beijing, no one dared to discuss the war situation in the south of the Yangtze River openly. Until yesterday, when a fast horse came from the northwest, all parties began to take some overt actions, and Dorgon leisurely summoned representatives of all parties in the capital to his residence.

"Although Duoduo was defeated, it's not a big deal. Haoge is still making a fuss out of nothing."

Putting the letter aside, Prince Zheng Jirgalang said something with some disdain. Afterwards, old Daishan even excused Duoduo from a tactical perspective, and seemed to think that Hauge should not make a fuss about nothing.

"That's right. Duoduo conquered cities along the way, and when he arrived in Jiangnan, he only lost some men and horses because of the strong navy of the southerners. If you look at it in detail, his contribution is enough to make up for the defeat in this battle."

Faced with the two people's words, Dorgon did not show it on his face, but he could not help sneering in his heart.

Since Nurhaci, the Manchus have rewarded those who have made contributions and punished those who have made mistakes. Even if they are descendants of the Great Khan, if they do not have enough merits, in the end they can only get a title like Beizi or even Fuguogong.

It was precisely because of this that the Manchus were able to fight bravely and eventually conquer the Central Plains with their small power.

If Dorgon really let Duoduo go this time, let alone other things, the loss of prestige would not be something he could easily bear.

"Doduo will definitely be punished, but we will discuss how to punish him later."

At this point, Dorgon wanted to say something else, but he only said half of the sentence, and then heard Daishan interrupt leisurely: "When Manggurtai rebelled, the late emperor only cut off his banner, and the punishment for Duoduo cannot be any heavier."

"Well, let's discuss this later. I have a way to deal with the southerners, but I have to discuss it with you first."

Upon hearing this, both Jirgalang and Lao Daishan looked puzzled.

In their opinion, Dorgon called them here to reduce the impact of the defeat in Jiangnan, but they didn't know why Dorgon would bring up something else.

However, despite their doubts, these two men were not impatient people. When they saw Dorgon acting mysterious, they tactfully moved over.

After a while, the three returned to their respective positions, but Old Daishan said directly: "Okay, for the sake of the overall situation, Duoduo will be demoted to a prince, and the three Niulu will be removed."

Seeing this, although Jirgalang was still somewhat unwilling, he had no choice but to agree as the alliance had already collapsed.

"Cut two more!"

"Okay, then I will report to the Emperor tomorrow!"

(End of this chapter)