Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 280 It depends on how well you answer
As the battle of Jiangxi was passed in the court, the entire Jiangnan region immediately began to move.

Your Majesty attaches great importance to this battle. It is not only the first major battle after he ascended the throne, but also a decisive battle to stabilize the area south of the Yangtze River.

Therefore, when the Ministry of War and Yue Qijie were planning, they were prepared to do their utmost to gain an absolute advantage in military strength over the Qing army in Jiangxi.

This is easy to say.

After all, at that time, the Ming Dynasty had nearly 300,000 troops with certain field combat capabilities stationed in Jiangnan alone, but the Ming Dynasty did not occupy the Lianghuai area at that time. When facing the Yangtze River defense line, which was full of natural barriers but full of loopholes, it had to use a large number of troops to block it.

As a result, temporarily withdrawing troops from various defense zones became a somewhat helpless emergency measure.

Of course, this helplessness is just a little bit.

According to the current situation, places like Suzhou, Songjiang and Zhejiang do not have to face the Tartar army directly. These areas are not only stationed with Huang Fei, Wu Zhikui's land camp and Shen Tingyang's navy, but also with tens of thousands of newly recruited militiamen during the Battle of Hangzhou.

If more than 30,000 troops are transferred from here and a little more is added from Wuhu and Zhenjiang, the number of troops under Yue Qijie's command will be around 100,000.

But there is still a problem here.

Although there are a lot of troops stationed in Suzhou, Songjiang and Zhejiang, their command is somewhat confusing.

Under such circumstances, Huang Fei, who was temporarily in charge of the defense of this area, naturally had to summon all the generals to discuss which troops to transfer.
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January 2

Songjiang is only about 200 miles away from Suzhou. It took Wu Zhikui only three or four hours to reach the outskirts of Suzhou after he received the news.

It is worth mentioning that during this process he met Qian Sule, who came all the way from Ningbo, which was beyond his expectations.

Qian Sule once served as a deputy minister of the Ministry of Justice. He escaped the fall of Beijing only because of his mourning period. Later, the Qing army crossed the river and the Ming army was almost unable to stop them. At this critical moment of life and death, he used his status as a registered official to recruit volunteers in Ningbo to prepare for a decisive battle with the Tartars.

I don’t know whether it is because they share a common hatred of the enemy or because the people are tough.

During that period, several rebel armies appeared all of a sudden around eastern Zhejiang, and Zhang Guowei happened to be there. After some discussion, the two decided that Zhang Guowei, who held a slightly higher official position and had fought in several battles, would lead the troops to support Hangzhou, while he would continue to stay in eastern Zhejiang, responsible for the supply of troops, money and food.

There is no need to say much about what happened next. Zhang Guowei was appointed Minister of Revenue, and even though Qian Sulue was not familiar with military affairs, he had to temporarily take on the heavy responsibility of leading the rebel army.

Therefore, when the two teams met in the suburbs of Suzhou, Wu Zhikui did not feel anything was surprising.

"I have heard of the great reputation of Commander Qian for a long time. It is a great honor to meet him today."

"No, no, General Wu is the one who has made great contributions and is the pillar of our country."

Although the two men were different in terms of civil and military abilities, the atmosphere was harmonious when they met in the wilderness.

The reasons behind this are of course complicated, but it is undeniable that after the baptism of war, the status of each person has become related to the power and strength in their hands.

This is understandable. In times of peace, military generals were bound by various rules and were no match for the civil officials. But now, those rules have gradually lost their effect as the world has become more chaotic.

Under such circumstances, any civil servant with a bit of brains would no longer act arrogantly in front of the military generals as they did in the past. The emergence of such a scene is naturally reasonable.

After some formalities, the two of them went to Suzhou together.

I don't know if they were worried that the lack of topics would make the atmosphere awkward, or if Qian Sule really wanted to seek advice, but in any case, the topic between the two of them always remained on the war in Jiangsu.

"General Wu, in your opinion, which troops will be deployed this time?"

"this."

When Qian Sule asked about this, Wu Zhikui, who had originally been unwilling to answer any questions, began to ponder.

It's not that he was unwilling to answer or had concerns. The key point is that the situation in this area is quite complicated. It makes sense to transfer any unit to the south, and there are also suitable reasons not to transfer any unit.

Under such circumstances, even he, who could be called a veteran, couldn't help but feel a little hesitant.

"To be honest, I have been thinking about it for the past few days, but I still can't come up with a clue."

According to common sense, the topic would have fallen into the hands of another person at this point, but Wu Zhikui still wanted to establish a good relationship with Qian Sule, so he immediately began to analyze the matter.

Currently, there are not only government troops and volunteer troops stationed in Suzhou, Songjiang and Zhejiang, but also tens of thousands of surrendered troops under the command of Hu Maozhen, Li Chengdong and others.

At first glance, it seems that it would be most appropriate to transfer Hu Maozhen's troops south. Not only are they powerful, but they can also reunite with their commanders after moving south. However, if you think with a darker mind, Your Majesty has finally separated Hu Maozhen and most of his subordinates. It would obviously be a pity to let them return to one place.

The rest were Li Chengdong and the government troops and the rebel army.

The rebel army need not consider this, after all they are going to fight a tough battle with the Tartars when they go south, and their combat power is probably not enough to handle such a heavy responsibility. Wu Zhikui also thought about this and found it difficult to choose between Li Chengdong and the government army.

"General Wu's words make sense, but I think that His Majesty would be inclined to transfer the government troops south."

After listening to Wu Zhikui's analysis, Qian Sule also had to express his own opinions. However, after he finished speaking, Wu Zhikui fell into deep thought and, contrary to his usual behavior on the road, did not respond immediately.

From the perspective of safety, transferring a few government troops to the south is naturally the best option.

After all, Li Chengdong not only surrendered by force, but also failed to make a sufficient pledge of surrender like Hu Maozhen. If they had turned against their allies in the middle of the battle, it would have been an extremely heavy blow to the war in Jiangxi.

But Your Majesty rarely plays by the rules.

Not to mention that he used his navy's random punches to almost paralyze the battle-hardened Duoduo, even his operation to subdue the Chuang army was beyond their expectations.

Under such circumstances, it became difficult to predict which route the imperial court would dispatch to the south, and Wu Zhikui naturally did not dare to jump to conclusion.

They walked like this for more than half an hour, and before they could figure out what was going on, they finally arrived at the gate of Huang Fei's camp outside Suzhou City.

After some notifications and procedures, it took them a long time to finally enter Huang Fei's military tent.

According to common sense, even if Huang Fei had a title, he should not act so arrogantly in front of a general like them. But he was in charge of the defense of Suzhou and Songjiang after all. Although Wu Zhikui, the general of Wusong, was somewhat dissatisfied, there was nothing to say when you look into it in detail.

"Zhennanbo has more and more rules."

“Maybe it’s because this time it’s more formal.

After making a complaint with a smile, Wu Zhikui and Qian Sule entered the big tent together.

According to common sense, although his status can barely rank second among the generals of Susong, this advantage is only caused by a slight gap.

But who would have thought that when his eyes had just adjusted to the different lights inside and outside the tent, he was surprised to find that there were not only more than a dozen neatly dressed generals standing on both sides of the tent, but also a middle-aged man in a flying fish suit staring at him sinisterly. "I pay my respects to the Lord of Zhennan."

What's happening here?
How come the Jinyiwei are here?
Could it be that he was sent by His Majesty to supervise the army?

It doesn't make sense.

Is it
impossible! Absolutely impossible!
How could they find out about me in just a few days?

but
Although he was going through the process on the surface, his thoughts had already turned several times in his mind. He felt that his plan was flawless from the moment he started planning it, and even if he thought of a certain possibility, he decisively rejected it.

But things have developed to this point, so what can he do even if he really guessed something?

After kneeling on the ground for four or five breaths, Wu Zhikui still didn't hear the words "no need to be polite". Under such circumstances, although he still had a glimmer of hope, his eyes slowly looking towards Huang Fei were gradually filled with despair.

"There is an imperial decree."

"Long live my emperor, long live, long live."

Just when Wu Zhikui felt that the strength in his body was slowly dissipating, the middle-aged man in Feiyu suit took out a bright yellow scroll from his sleeve. Then a strong voice came into the ears of the generals, and then all the generals, including Huang Fei, fell to the ground.

"Fengtian Chengyun Emperor, the imperial edict said:

Wu Zhikui, the general of Wusong, had only made minor contributions, but I entrusted him with the defense of this important town because I considered that he had not surrendered to the Qing Dynasty. However, I had no idea that this beast not only exploited the local people, but also killed officials from the Ministry of Justice. Such behavior is not only insane and inhumane.

Now, Huang Fei will work with the Jinyiwei to arrest this beast and bring him to justice. I decree this."

After he finished speaking, Wu Zhikui no longer had any hope. He then felt several large hands holding down the important joints of his body, and then he was dragged out like a dead dog.

"We were able to successfully capture this beast this time, and the Earl of Zhennan played a great role."

"Your Majesty, you are over-praised. If it weren't for your majesty's careful planning and the Jinyiwei's careful actions, how could a murderer like me come up with such a safe and reliable method?"

After hearing Wang Fuping's praise, Huang Fei naturally had to deal with it well, but although he didn't show it on his face, he felt mixed emotions in his heart.

Originally, he summoned everyone here simply to discuss the time to move troops south, but the sudden appearance of the Jinyiwei last night gave this meeting a different nature.

He was completely unprepared for this.

After all, in everyone's eyes, the incident of Ruan Dacheng being ambushed and killed had ended with the several house raids in Huzhou. No one could have imagined that this was just a smokescreen released by the court, and the real murderer was actually Wu Zhikui.

Thinking of this, the people in Huzhou.
Thinking of this, Huang Fei's eyes became complicated. At this moment, Wang Fuping, who was facing him, turned around and spoke to the generals in the tent.

"Now that the murderer has been caught, I may as well tell you about the case."

"Thank you, King, for the command."

"Oh, I'm curious too."

The words rang in their ears. No matter what the soldiers present were thinking in their hearts, they all pretended to be listening attentively. Afterwards, Wang Fuping explained in detail how the two groups of people had mistakenly come to terms with each other. Without waiting for anyone to react, he said goodbye and left the tent.

“Huh~~~~~~.”

I don't know who was more arrogant, but he breathed a long sigh of relief as soon as Wang Fuping left the tent. However, Huang Fei seemed to be unaware of this and sat back in his chair in a daze before he reacted.

“This time we are heading south.”

Wang Fuping probably didn't care much about which group of people were transferred south. After all, in the eyes of others, although Ruan Dacheng's case had ended with the arrest of Wu Zhikui, for him the real big thing had just begun.

"Keep an eye on the surroundings, no strangers allowed to approach?"

"Yes."

After leaving Huang Fei's tent, his pace immediately quickened. After walking in the camp for a while, a military tent guarded by the Jinyiwei appeared in his sight. Then Wang Fuping gave an order to his men and walked straight in.

"General Wu, did you ever think about today when you committed the crime?"

Faced with Wang Fuping's slightly teasing words, Wu Zhikui, who had already given up any hope, just glanced at him indifferently and continued to sit cross-legged on the ground like a clay sculpture or wooden carving.

He lived up to the name of a fighting man, and in just a moment he had recovered from his initial fear and panic.

After all, killing an imperial official was a crime of treason, not to mention that the person who died in his hands was the Minister of Justice.

Having committed such a serious crime, not only will he not be able to escape death, but even the old and young in his family will be beheaded in the autumn. Under such circumstances, why should he still deal with the Jinyiwei?
"You have done everything carefully, but His Majesty has already received the news when you were blackmailing the gentry and nobles. It's a pity that you are so cruel and mad that you dared to kill the ministers of the court. Even if His Majesty thinks of friendship, he has no choice but to do so."

"Your Majesty has known this for a long time?"

"Do you think that all my Jinyiwei are vegetarians? If His Majesty didn't want to give you a chance, we would have arrested you long ago."

After hearing these words, Wu Zhikui suddenly felt some regret in his heart, but what was the use of regretting given the current situation?

"It's too late to say anything. I can only blame myself for being blinded by greed and letting him down."

At this point Wu Zhikui suddenly paused, as if he had thought of something because of these two sentences of dialogue.

Seeing this situation, Wang Fuping just waited quietly by the side, as if he had expected it.

Time passed minute by minute, and just when Wang Fuping felt that he should give more advice, Wu Zhikui suddenly knelt in front of him and began to beg for help.

"My Lord! I have earned nearly two million silver coins in the past few months, but I will give them all to you to dispose of. I only ask that you spare my young son."

"Two million?!"

"Yes! Two million! I will confess whatever you tell me to pay to Your Majesty! I only ask that you show some mercy and let my youngest son go!"

According to what Wu Zhikui thought, no one could resist the temptation of so much silver, but who knew that Wang Fuping's expression was uncertain for a long time, and in the end he smiled and said.

"We absolutely dare not take your money, but we are not without means to protect your young son, but..." Wang Fuping glanced at Wu Zhikui again, and when he saw that his face was full of hope, he continued, "It just depends on how well you answer."

Hmm again.
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(End of this chapter)