Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 236 How dare the Zheng family come to Guangdong?

Opening up the sea route is a big thing and also a difficult task.

This not only involved negotiations with maritime powers, but also concerned the national strength of the Ming Dynasty.

Therefore, in the discussions with those retired officials, the local forces in Guangdong also behaved extremely pragmatically. The first step was just to let His Royal Highness the Crown Prince send a letter to Southeast Asia in the name of the Guangzhou prefectural government, in order to reverse the Ming Dynasty's indifferent attitude towards its overseas citizens.

To this end, they even abandoned Ding Kuichu, with whom they had cooperated for many years.

Don't think that Zhu Cilang is the only one who benefited from this matter.

The national policy of a country cannot be easily reversed, let alone that it is the ancestral system.

If Zhu Cilang had not brought out the Veritable Records of Emperor Shenzong, this letter alone might have caused a huge stir among the literati and had a great impact on his reputation.

In this light, it is hard to say who has gained the upper hand in this transaction.

However, after this incident, Zhu Cilang gained more than just the support of Guangdong.

When they were still in Jiangnan, it seemed that only Tan Changyuan and the forces behind him were busy with maritime trade, and the others obviously did not care about this.

Of course, this situation may also have occurred because Jiangnan has fallen into chaos, and various forces are either looking for ways to protect themselves or seeking greater benefits.

But no matter what, compared with Guangzhou, where all troops were mobilized within a few hours when they saw an opportunity, the reactions of Jiangsu and Zhejiang were still a little cold.

What does this mean?
This shows that the interests of the two forces are not consistent.

This is actually not difficult to understand. Although both places are close to the sea, Jiangsu and Zhejiang have maintained their status as a land of fish and rice for a long time. Under the huge inertia, the local forces in the south of the Yangtze River are more inclined towards landlords, and the so-called maritime trade and handicrafts can only be regarded as sideline businesses.

Looking at Guangdong, except for the Pearl River Delta, every place can be said to have high mountains and deep valleys, and the delta suitable for farming has just been developed. Therefore, the big families here tend to be businessmen, and the identity of landlords seems to be more like a source of stable cash flow.

With this understanding, Zhu Cilang’s decision is not difficult to guess.

At this stage, his base is limited to Jiangnan, and there is no possibility of remnants in Jiangxi. Although there are various contradictions among the various forces here, they are consistent in their fundamental interests.

It would be fine if Zhu Cilang was safe and sound, but if the core issue is touched, can the Prince Regent of the Ming Dynasty still gain a foothold in Jiangnan?
At this point someone will definitely bring up the hundreds of thousands of troops again.

Oh my God, looking through the history books, which rebel general has not been trusted by the emperor?

But when there is a conflict of interests, who will show mercy?
Under such circumstances, it is extremely precious to be able to obtain Guangdong's support. The reason is self-evident and there is no need to elaborate.

In short, after this banquet, all parties finally got what they wanted at an acceptable price, and Zhu Cilang immediately ordered Hu Maozhen to go to Zhaoqing to quell the rebellion after the banquet.

As for Xu Wenjue.
To be honest, since being sent to Chongming Island, the second son of the Xu family has been living a more and more miserable life.

He had no part in the rescue of Hangzhou, nor in the Battle of Suzhou and Songjiang. He only got a general idea of ​​Xuancheng and Wuhu from the guards when he went south this time.

In such a situation, how could he, a man who had fought in wars with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince a long time ago, not feel aggrieved.

But Mr. Xu II still knows the big picture after all.

He was fully aware of the importance of Chongming Island, and he also knew that being sent to guard this broken island was a sign of His Highness' trust in him.

Therefore, although he was still depressed, he was still diligent and meticulous in training the navy's land camp and strengthening Chongming's defense. He even formed a team of a thousand people on Chongming Island through selection and recruitment, so he did not waste more than two months.

When it comes to land warfare, this team is naturally no match for Hu Maozhen's troops, but because its troops are originally from the navy's land camp and the people of Chongming, this team is good at surface warfare. It is precisely because of this characteristic that Zhu Cilang deliberately brought them along on this trip south.

At this point we have to mention the topography of Guangdong.

Others may think that since this place is close to the sea, it must have a dense water network like the south of the Yangtze River. But in fact, if the delta is removed, Guangdong will only be a mountainous area. Although there are several large rivers that flow into the sea from the mountains, the water network is far from dense.

This is the characteristic of Guangdong. The delta area is covered with water networks, while the rest of the area is mainly mountainous. Zhaoqing is right on the edge of the delta and is surrounded by a large river called Xijiang in the shape of an inverted Chinese character "几".

Based on this, Zhu Cilang ordered Xu Wenjue to accompany him with the intention of being prepared.

Of course, when Ding Kuichu received the news from the south, he had already retreated to Zhaoqing. According to Zhu Cilang's idea, the battle with the Rebel King should take place in the delta, where there are many water networks.

But who would have thought that although he suffered several defeats in a row, he was able to block the rebels there after retreating to Zhaoqing.

On the one hand, this shows that the rebels lack experience and ability in attacking strongholds, but on the other hand, we have to admit that Ding Kuichu does have some ability.

"Any news of reinforcements?"

After seeing Lieutenant General Zhao Qiansi enter the lobby of Dezhou Prefecture, Ding Kuichu slowly put down the tea bowl in his hand before asking a question lightly.

Although the Guangdong Army, which had suffered several defeats in a row, could only defend itself with all its might, it remained extremely calm, as if the change from taking the initiative to quell the rebellion to being forced to retreat to Zhaoqing had not had much impact on it.

This is not surprising. Although he was sent back as soon as he arrived in Wuzhou, he also obtained detailed information about Guangxi in the process.

According to intelligence, although the various prefectures in Guangxi were pretending to be dead, no one dared to openly support the rebel king except Guilin and Wuzhou which had fallen into the hands of the enemy.

With such support, Ding Kuichu stopped worrying after seeing the rebels' lack of strength in attacking the city. He calmly waited for the arrival of reinforcements and dealt a thundering blow to the King of Jingjiang.

"not yet."

After responding, Zhao Qiansi looked up at Ding Kuichu's expression. Seeing that he was still as calm as usual, he began to weigh his thoughts again.

In the early years, the situation in Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan and Guizhou was generally normal, and their main energy was focused on the game between the raw and cooked barbarians.

However, in recent decades, with the continuous development of Guangdong and Guangxi, there have been few incidents of rebellion by indigenous people, and the imperial court has reduced the garrison here through various means.

In fact, if the garrison is simply reduced, it would not be a big deal for now, but the key point is that such an action represents that the court's attention to Guangdong's land defense is rapidly decreasing.

As a result, things like drawing a salary without doing anything have become commonplace.

Now, facing the military order from the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, the lieutenant generals from all over the place naturally attach great importance to it, but no matter how much they attach importance to it, they can't just come here alone.

Therefore, Zhao Qiansi thought that since the military mobilization order was issued, those generals might have just managed to gather enough manpower.

As for waiting for them to come for reinforcement, we will have to wait for some time.

Of course, Zhao Qiansi thought that although Ding Kuichu had only been the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi for more than a year, he was also a smart man and should have some understanding of the situation. Otherwise, if the reinforcements were delayed, anyone would be furious, so why would Ding Kuichu be like this?

just
"Anything else?"

Seeing that Zhao Qiansi was still hesitant after answering his question, Ding Kuichu knew that he must have something else to say so he took the initiative to ask.

"Minister, the army is running low on food and fodder."

"Ok?"

Hearing this, Ding Kuichu, who was originally in a state of panic, immediately raised his eyebrows. After a moment of thought, he regained his composure and calmness. "How many days can you hold on?"

"It will probably take only three or two days."

"Then let the prefecture government collect some from the people first, and then return it when the military rations arrive."

"Yes."

After a few words, the problem was temporarily solved, but Zhao Qiansi did not leave after responding, as if he had something to say.

Seeing this, Ding Kuichu, who was already somewhat dissatisfied, patiently asked, "What else?"

"Minister, should we send someone to Guangzhou to urge them?"

"I will take care of this matter. If you have nothing else to do, go down."

Having said this, even if Zhao Qiansi was a tactless person, he would have sensed Ding Kuichu's impatience. Moreover, Guangdong was far away from the war. Who among the generals who could get along with the governor here without a keen mind?
So as soon as the words were spoken, Zhao Qiansi bowed respectfully and left.

In fact, Ding Kuichu’s impatience was not entirely directed at Zhao Qiansi.

No matter how calm he looked, he had suffered a severe blow after all. Add in the fact that reinforcements had not arrived yet, so it was understandable that he could not control his tone.

However, Ding Kuichu was a man who had experienced many ups and downs, and he did not reveal any inner emotions just because there was no one else around.

However, the military rations involved a very wide range of issues, so he had to be cautious, so the sound of his fingers tapping on the table could be heard in the hall.

"Tick, tick, tick, tick."

Could something have gone wrong during transportation?
No, Zhaoqing and Guangzhou are only a hundred miles apart, not to mention that they are connected by water. Even if the rebel king sends people to bypass the city, it is difficult to have any impact on the food route.

Could it be that something went wrong with the food and fodder procurement?
No, food and fodder are delivered every seven days, and each time is no more than 300 dan. Even though there is not much food stored in the Guangzhou warehouse, it is not a problem to maintain the expenses at the front.

Then it can only be Gu Yuanjing.

But did he have the guts to do so? After all, he was the governor of Guangdong. Once Zhaoqing was lost, he would not be able to escape the consequences even if he fled to the ends of the earth, let alone Guangzhou.

Under such circumstances, how could he dare to attack the supply at the front?
unless
impossible!
As his thoughts drifted, ideas arose in Ding Kuichu's mind, but he suppressed them one by one after careful consideration. After ruling out all possibilities, he had to consider the worst possibility.

The possibility is naturally that the suppressed officials such as Gu Yuanjing, with the support of certain forces, stabbed him in the back.

But no matter how hard he racked his brains, he couldn't figure out which force could reach into Guangdong.

Judging from the current situation, there are actually only a few people with such strength, including He Tengjiao in Hunan, Zheng Zhilong in Fujian, the Prince of Yingtian and the Qing army in Jiangxi.

There was no need to consider the Crown Prince and the Qing army. One of them was thousands of miles away, and the other was still fighting with King Yongning in Jiangxi. Even if they really wanted to lend a hand, they were powerless.

The remaining He Tengjiao was still worried about how to deal with the relationship with the Chuang Army, and although Zheng Zhilong was entangled with the local forces in Guangdong, he would definitely be strongly resisted if he really wanted to extend his hand.

Thinking in this way, it was unlikely that these people had anything to do with the late arrival of military rations, so Ding Kuichu could only seek answers from other sources.

"Someone is coming."

"Superintendent."

"We will send a letter to the Guangdong Provincial Governor's Office in the name of this department, ordering them to deliver military rations within three days, otherwise they will be subject to military law."

As soon as he finished speaking, the aide took the order and left. But when Ding Kuichu was about to think it over carefully, he saw Zhao Qiansi running in in a panic again.

"Commander-in-Chief! Something terrible has happened!"

"Asshole! If the soldiers see you in such a panic, it will disrupt their morale!"

If it were an ordinary time, let alone Ding Kuichu being so stern, even if his expression was slightly abnormal, Zhao Qiansi would have been scared to death.

But now, instead of apologizing for the scolding, he said after catching his breath: "Commander-in-chief, there are more soldiers coming from the north of the city!"

Hearing this, Ding Kuichu was naturally shocked, but then he didn't care about anything else and went straight to the north of the city under the leadership of Zhao Qiansi.

Fortunately, the city of Zhaoqing was not big, and it took them only three or two incense sticks to climb up the northern city wall. When the military officials who came after hearing the news saluted, they found that the commander-in-chief, who was always very courteous, seemed not to have noticed them and was just looking out of the city.

The Jingjiang rebel king came along the Xijiang River, and his main camp was to the west of Zhaoqing. At this time, a fiery red army formation was slowly advancing to the north of Zhaoqing, as if they wanted to use the city and the river to block the rebels directly in this inverted river trap.

Seeing this, everyone knew that these were their own people, but Ding Kuichu was so shocked that he stood there in a daze, with only one thought in his mind.

Where did this group of people come from?!
Reinforcements?

impossible!
Not to mention that he had already known that there was no news of reinforcements, even if they were real reinforcements, they should have entered the city to see him first before talking about anything else.

What's more, how could the garrison in Guangdong have such courage?
"Commander! Look!"

Just when Ding Kuichu was confused, he heard someone shouting, and then he instinctively looked to the other side of the city.

The Zhaoqing city wall is about three or four miles away from the Xijiang River. At this distance, from the top of the city wall one can not only clearly see the warships slowly going upstream, but also see the size of the fleet.

Seeing this scene, Ding Kuichu suddenly woke up, and after an anxious search, he indeed found the fleet's flag on the largest warship.

just
Why doesn't this fleet fly the Zheng family flag, but instead uses bright yellow?
There is a geographical location map of Zhaoqing at the end of the chapter



(End of this chapter)