Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 363 Chaos

January 6

Kuizhou. Stone Pillar
This stone pillar is located on the south bank of the Yangtze River, between Yu and Kui, and is one of the six Xuanwei offices of the Tujia ethnic group.

In terms of strategic importance, although this place is located on the bank of the Yangtze River, due to its special terrain it cannot be regarded as an important place to control the waterway. In addition, Chongqing and Kuizhou to the east and west are only seven or eight hundred miles apart, so the strategic value of this place is further reduced.

From this point of view, this stone pillar is just an ordinary place, no different from other prefectures, counties, and xuanwei.

But Zhang Xianzhong occupied almost the entire Sichuan, and this place was still under the banner of the Ming Dynasty. If there was really nothing special about it, how could the Emperor of Dashi regard this tiny place as nothing?

"Grandma! Grandma! Good news! Good news!"

As a burst of excited shouts rang out, an old woman over 70 years old in the back hall of the Xuanwei Office cast her eyes outside the courtyard.

Qin Liangyu

The Grand Pillar of the Ming Dynasty, the Grand Master of Imperial Households, guarding Sichuan and other places. Commander-in-Chief of the Han and native officers and soldiers. Holder of the seal of the General Zhendong. Left Commander-in-Chief of the Central Military Governor's Office. Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince. Marquis of Loyalty.

The only female hero in Chinese history to be recorded in the official history; the only female general to be awarded a title of nobility for her military exploits.

In the 27th year of Wanli's reign, he fought against Yang Yinglong, the chieftain of Bozhou, in Sichuan and Guizhou.

In the 44th year of the Wanli reign, he sent his White Spear Soldiers to fight against the Jurchen chieftain Nurhaci in Shenyang.

In the first year of the Tianqi reign, he fought against the Yongning chieftain She Chongming in Sichuan.

In the third year of Chongzhen, he went north to serve the king.

In the seventh year of Chongzhen, the rebel army led by Zhang Xianzhong was defeated in Kuizhou.

In the 13th year of Chongzhen, the rebel army led by Luo Rucai was defeated in Kuizhou, and the flag of their commander was seized.

By the time Zhang Xianzhong entered Sichuan for the second time, the pillar of Shu who had been fighting for half her life was already seventy years old. However, despite her old age and frailty, she still led 30,000 white-pole soldiers to Kuizhou to join the war.

But at this time, the shortcomings of the Ming army were once again revealed.

Shao Jiechun, the Sichuan governor who was in charge of commanding this battle, knew little about military affairs, and the armies under his command were full of conflicts and mutinies.

In the end, the Ming army suffered a crushing defeat in Kuizhou, not only losing the veteran general Zhang Ling, but also annihilating all 30,000 White Rods.

At this point, there was no power left in central Sichuan to resist, and cities gradually fell into the hands of Zhang Xianzhong.

Ordinary people would think that an old woman in her seventies had done her best in such a situation. Since Zhang Xianzhong did not send troops to attack her because of her reputation, she should live a peaceful life in her territory.

But when the surrendered officials delivered the seal of Dashi to the stone pillar, Qin Liangyu, who had only one grandson left, destroyed it in public and made passionate remarks.

My two brothers both died in the service of the king. I, as a weak woman, have been blessed by the country for twenty years. Now I have come to this unfortunate state. How can I spend the remaining years serving the rebels? Anyone in Shizhu who dares to follow the rebels will be executed along with his entire family!
Afterwards, Qin Liangyu once again mobilized the local soldiers under her jurisdiction and took advantage of the terrain to defend Shizhu.

Although no soldier or general of the Dashi Army dared to invade, her body was still gradually weakened by grief and anger.

Therefore, as soon as the siege of Shizhu was lifted, her grandson Ma Wannian rushed over at the first opportunity.

"Grandma! Great news! Great news!"

Looking at Ma Wannian's excited face, Qin Liangyu's eyes were dead and calm.

She became a widow in her thirties, and her brothers and sons died in battle one after another, while the imperial court went from bad to worse.

By the time the stone pillar could no longer communicate with the outside world, the Ming Dynasty had already shown signs of destruction. Even though Qin Liangyu still held a glimmer of hope in her heart, she knew that it was nothing but a mirage and could never be achieved.

Under such circumstances, even if there was a great happy event, she would not be able to feel the slightest bit of joy.

"Grandma! All the bandits guarding the intersection have retreated!"

"Return?!"

When Qin Liangyu heard the words, a gleam of light flashed in her eyes, but in just a moment, the prestige of the veteran general disappeared, and then an aura of decline completely enveloped her.

"Yes, they have withdrawn. Not only ours, but also those in Chongqing and Kuizhou have withdrawn."

Ma Wannian knew that his grandmother at her age could not bear great joy or sorrow, so he revealed the news he had received bit by bit.

But what kind of person is Qin Liangyu?

She had fought in many battles throughout her life, and the geographical situation of Sichuan had long been deeply engraved in her mind.

As soon as she heard the news about Chongqing and Kuizhou, she immediately realized that Zhang Xianzhong must have encountered a major change.

"Have you investigated it clearly?"

Years of fighting had worn out her body, and even the simple act of standing up took all her strength.

"We have found out that the Tartars and the bandits are fighting in the Guangyuan area. They must have withdrawn their troops because the situation at the front was tight, so they spared Chongqing and Kuizhou."

"Tartar? Have they reached this point?"

Although Qin Liangyu frowned when she was questioned, she did not seem particularly surprised, whether because she had expected it or for some other reason.

Then she walked towards the room, waiting for Ma Wannian to tell her in detail the intelligence he had obtained. However, who would have thought that her grandson seemed not to care much about the change and directly changed the subject.

"Please sit down first. I have something to report to you."

Faced with such a situation, Qin Liangyu was somewhat dissatisfied.

Mentioning other things shows that Ma Wannian does not care about such changes, but Zhang Xianzhong's abandonment of Chongqing and Kuizhou is a small matter, and the information involved is quite serious.

As the contemporary Shizhu Xuanwei Envoy, if he cannot see through the inside story, how can he seize the opportunity to restore the country when changes arise?
"Wannian, Chongqing and Kuizhou are not small cities. Since the Xian thieves have withdrawn their troops here, the situation in the north must be extremely unfavorable," Qin Liangyu paused and turned her eyes to Ma Wannian before continuing, "You must know that the Xian thieves are unpopular in Sichuan. We still have a chance if we lie dormant for a while, but if the Tartars win..."

Although Qin Liangyu was only a military general, she was able to see some of the key points in political affairs with the keenness unique to women.

In her opinion, although it was bandits who broke into Beijing, these people did not even have a system to govern the place and could only be considered a makeshift team.

Of course, facing the Ming Dynasty, which was completely rotten from top to bottom, this little flaw was worthless.

But when they encountered the Qing Dynasty, which had a complete and effective governance system, it would be impossible for them to go back to the way they had been.

The logic behind it is very simple.

When facing the Ming Dynasty, you can adopt the strategy of fighting if you can defeat them, and running away if you can't. After all, the Ming Dynasty is full of holes, and it can't stop the bandits who are as slippery as loaches.

But after the opponent became the Qing Dynasty, if they were defeated, they were defeated, and if they retreated, they retreated. If they wanted to keep moving around as they had done in the past, they would inevitably gradually weaken under a series of blows and would never have a chance to turn things around.

Therefore, in Qin Liangyu's eyes, the Tatars were a more dangerous enemy than the bandits.

just
"Grandma, I understand. Please sit down first. Please sit down first." "You~~~."

Even Qin Liangyu, who had fought for half her life, felt helpless facing her only remaining relative. After she sat on the chair as Ma Wannian said, she turned her attention to her grandson again.

"Grandma, my grandson has some great news, but you have to be prepared," Ma Wannian said, and then he carefully looked at his grandmother's expression. After he was sure that she was ready, he told her in detail about the changes that had taken place outside in the past year.

For people outside, the situation has changed several times this year. Things like suppressing the Sha Dingzhou rebellion and seizing overseas islands are no longer a big deal.

But for Qin Liangyu, a veteran who had been out of touch with the outside world for nearly a year, all these events meant that the shaky Ming Dynasty was showing signs of revival.

In this situation, even though he had made some mental preparations with the help of his grandson, the cane that had been with him for a long time still fell to the ground.

Clang!

"Grandma, are you okay?"

As the sound reached his ears, Ma Wannian couldn't help but become nervous, but Qin Liangyu was so shocked by the news that her mind was in a mess. How could she hear her grandson's call?

"The late emperor. The late emperor"

He kept murmuring, but tears welled up in his eyes.

Although people say that Chongzhen was ungrateful, his grace towards Qin Liangyu could be said to be immense.

After hearing that the former emperor's prince had saved Tian Qing, she felt that God had a vision, but was also moved by the young man's difficult experience.

After a while, Qin Liangyu finally recovered from her excitement. When she looked at Ma Wannian again, the gray and decadent aura that had lingered for a long time had disappeared, and the commander who had once dominated the Ming Dynasty seemed to have returned to this aging body.

"Order the army to gather up. Kuizhou controls the road out of Sichuan. Our army must capture it before the Tartars enter Sichuan."

Having said that, Qin Liangyu walked straight out of the room with her walking stick, as if she was planning to lead the troops herself. However, she had only taken two trembling steps when she saw Ma Wannian blocking her way.

"Don't panic, grandma. I have good news for you."

"besides?"

Qin Liangyu's face darkened when she heard her grandson say this.

She was naturally delighted to hear that the Ming Dynasty was showing signs of revival, but Ma Wannian had already told her in detail about the situation outside, so she felt that he was just lying to stop her.

But who would have thought
"Grandma, His Majesty has arrived in Zunyi."

"Asshole! I know you don't want grandma to work any harder, but my family of Shizhu has always been loyal to the emperor. How could you fabricate the whereabouts of His Majesty?"

"Grandma, it's true. His Majesty not only came to Zunyi, but also sent a lot of officials and detectives to Chongqing to maintain order. This news came from them."

"really?"

"really."

After hearing Ma Wannian's decisive answer, Qin Liangyu was still a little unconvinced. However, he stared at his grandson's eyes for a long time but did not find any flaws. In the end, he could only hesitate and ask again.

"really?"

"really!"

The decisive answer came into her ears again, and the face of the child she had seen many years ago also appeared in front of her.

Afterwards, Qin Liangyu's brows gradually relaxed, and when Ma Wannian was still speculating, he said more decisively: "Go to Chongqing, I will wait for Your Majesty there."
-
Due to the sudden withdrawal of the Dashi Army from Chongqing, various changes naturally occurred in the border area between Sichuan and Guizhou.

However, most of these changes were made based on various speculations, and no one really knew what happened in the north, so there was some unpredictability in these changes.

Originally, this area was far away from the Guangyuan battlefield, so even though it was a little unpredictable, it would not have a big impact on the situation at the moment.
"Have you found out?"

"General, rest assured. I can guarantee with my head that the troops stationed in the south went north ten days ago. There are no more of our troops in Chongqing and Kuizhou."

Faced with the scout's confident answer, Liu Jinzhong couldn't help but think about it.

He was a general under the command of Zhang Hualong, the governor of the Right Army of Dashi. When Dashi was established, he was assigned to garrison in Dazhou, which was far away from Chengdu.

He didn't feel surprised about this.

After all, in order to prevent Zhang Xianzhong from killing indiscriminately, he had once contradicted the emperor of Dashi in public.

Isn't it reasonable that a person who has lost the favor of the Lord would be thrown far away?
Even though he felt that he had done nothing wrong and that everything he did was for the good of His Majesty, when things had come to this, what other choice did he have except to accept it calmly?

But things took a subtle turn a few days ago.

While inspecting his jurisdiction, he discovered traces of a large army's march along the border. He then sent people to inquire at the garrisons in various places, and at the same time asked scouts who were good at tracking to investigate in the opposite direction along the traces.

But to his surprise, the people sent out to inquire did not bring back any valuable information, but those who followed the traces tracked them all the way to Chongqing.

It was not until then that he realized that Chongqing and Kuizhou had been abandoned, and the local garrisons had headed straight north.

"Have you seen the generals in Guang'an?"

Realizing that the situation was a bit strange, Liu Jinzhong began to ask the envoys who went to the garrisons in various places. However, most of these people were just ordinary soldiers. How could they easily meet the commander of a battalion?
So when they heard their general's question, they all shook their heads and said nothing. It was obvious that no one had ever seen other generals.

If it were someone else, when things came to this point, he would have no choice but to look for some connections up there.

But since he was settled in this place, both his immediate superiors and his colleagues in the army had become much more distant from Liu Jinzhong. Even if he really went to look for the commander-in-chief of the rear army, he would probably only be scolded.

Under such circumstances, Liu Jinzhong was obviously at a loss.

According to common sense, where the Chongqing troops were transferred to was actually none of his business, but in the past few days he learned from certain special channels that his situation was not as stable as it seemed.

As he was already on guard, he naturally saw everything as if someone was trying to attack him.

I was a little suspicious. Maybe these troops were heading north to support the front line. Besides, even if Your Majesty wanted to attack me, he should have waited until the powerful enemy retreated. How could he cause internal strife when we were facing such a powerful enemy?

Thinking of this, Liu Jinzhong couldn't help but smile bitterly.

But when he was about to ask the messengers and scouts to leave, another idea came to his mind.

Why didn't he know about the tribes along the way? Why didn't the messenger even see a single commander?

As one thought after another came to his mind, Liu Jinzhong couldn't help but waver. But when the thoughts came and went, his face couldn't help but become cold and stern.

"Go and ask the people from the north to come over."

(End of this chapter)