Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 449 You Wait in Huai'an

Wang Zhengzhi originally thought that the Emperor wanted him to return to the Guest House and wait for news, but who would have thought that in the afternoon of that day he would embark on the journey back north at the urging of the Minister of the Ministry of Rites.

Deep down, he really didn't want to stay in Yingtian any longer, but the Ming Emperor had won battle after battle, and Lianghuai and Xiangfan were about to be lost. If the contract could not be finalized before the other side sent troops, the capital would be exposed to the Ming army.

By then, the Tartars may still have a chance to retreat outside the Great Wall, but what should these surrendered ministers do?

"Master, I saw Huai'an City."

After the servant called him a few times, Wang Zhengzhi, who was worried, finally came to his senses. When he understood the meaning of the words, he looked outside the cabin, and then a huge construction site came into his sight.

When Duoduo returned to the north, he deployed personnel to strengthen the waterway defense. After Hong Chengchou took over, he showed some intention of intensifying the situation.

At this time, the fortifications on the river channel had naturally been largely completed, but Huai'an was located on the front line, so it was reasonable to make some arrangements.

Wang Zhengzhi didn't care about these mundane affairs. He just glanced around and let the curtains down. Then the boat he was on entered Huai'an city smoothly. After completing the procedures, he was brought to Hong Chengchou.

In terms of qualifications, Wang Zhengzhi had just passed the imperial examination when Hong Chengchou was serving as the counselor of the Shaanxi Provincial Governor-General. In terms of the court's regard for him, Hong Chengchou was the one Huang Taiji had to work hard to bring him back to the Qing Dynasty, while Wang Zhengzhi was just one of the many officials who surrendered from Beijing.

But after the meeting, Hong Chengchou did not put on the slightest airs of a "Prime Minister of the Ming Dynasty". After receiving Wang Zhengzhi in the courtyard, he led him to the study very cordially.

Needless to say, Wang Zhengzhi, who had been treated coldly in Yingtian, was even moved by the other party's enthusiasm.

But he also knew that his trip was extremely important to Huai'an, so the feeling of being touched would not last long.

"Zhengzhi, have you met the prince during this trip south?"

Hong Chengchou paused for a long time before he uttered the word "Crown Prince", but Wang Zhengzhi understood what he meant after a moment of confusion.

To be honest, this title is indeed difficult.

At the beginning, the Qing Dynasty could call the Hongguang regime a pseudo-dynasty without any pressure, but when facing Zhu Cilang, it obviously encountered legal problems.

In essence, Nurhaci was the Dragon and Tiger General of the Ming Dynasty, and Zhu Cilang was the crown prince appointed by Chongzhen himself. If we also add that the previous entry into the Pass was under the banner of revenge for Chongzhen, the legitimacy of the Qing Dynasty's occupation of half of the country would be questionable.

Therefore, although the Qing court was forced to negotiate peace due to the situation, it also wanted to confirm its own legitimacy through this treaty.

Of course, if the Southern Dynasty was still as powerless as before, then neither treason nor invasion would matter much. But now that the front has suffered defeat after defeat, such illusory things have become important.

"Return to Xiangguo and see it."

"Oh? What does he mean?"

When asking the questions, Hong Chengchou didn't seem to have much expression, but his eyes never left Wang Zhengzhi.

Seeing this, Wang Zhengzhi knew he couldn't escape, so he sighed in his heart and conveyed Zhu Cilang's meaning to the other party exactly.

That day, Zhu Cilang did not directly tell Wang Zhengzhi his intention, but waited until Wang Zhengzhi was about to leave Yingtian before proposing the conditions through the Minister of the Ministry of Rites.

His statement was quite clear: the Jurchens were originally a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty, and there was no possibility of peace talks at all.

However, Zhu Cilang did not intend to kill them all. If the Jurchens could retreat back to the outside of the Great Wall, he would only kill the main culprit and ignore the others. But if they still refused to change their ways, the only thing that awaited them was the extermination of their entire clan.

“So tough?!”

"Ah."

"You didn't mention Princess Kunxing?"

"Did not mention."

After asking two questions in succession, Hong Chengchou could only remain silent.

After all, he was also a high-ranking official in charge of a region, and he knew that the situation on the battlefield could influence the negotiations to a great extent.

The Southern Dynasty had just won the Battle of Ganzhou, and facing the Dutch overseas and the still powerful Qing Dynasty, it was willing to use negotiations to delay time.

But now the Dutch have been driven out of Taiwan, and the Qing Dynasty has suffered a disastrous defeat in the west. The Ming Emperor's reaction is understandable as the situation has reversed.

"Yes, it is indeed the seed of the old Zhu family," Hong Chengchou said lightly, and pointed to the tea bowl in front of Wang Zhengzhi: "Try it, I don't have much here."

Raising the bowl and drinking tea, this action only took three or two breaths, but this extremely ordinary action made the atmosphere in the study a little more relaxed.

"It is indeed good tea. I wonder if the Prime Minister has any more?"

"You have a good plan. I only have a little over one or two taels of silver here, so I have nothing to share with you."

As soon as the words fell, the atmosphere in the study immediately relaxed. Afterwards, the two talked about the customs of Lianghuai, and only after easing the pressure brought by the conditions in the Southern Dynasty did they turn the topic back to the main point.

"Since the prince is unwilling to negotiate, I will wait in Huai'an."

At first, Wang Zhengzhi thought that Hong Chengchou had just said some harsh words, but when he saw some vague confidence on the other party's face, he couldn't help feeling a little dazed.

In the wars in Jiangnan and Ganzhou, the Southern Dynasty only demonstrated the strength of its navy. However, when it came to the battle of Hanzhong, their firearms showed their power again.

With the two factors combined, the Southern Dynasty's army could already be called the strongest army in the world, and could win easily even when facing the Eight Banners.

Let’s look at Huai’an.

Although Hong Chengchou spent more than a year to build the fortifications to an almost impregnable level, the troops here were all surrendered soldiers. If he really had the "Crown Prince"'s ability to command the army, he should have directly pushed to Shengjing back then. How could it have come to this point today?

As his thoughts turned, the doubt on Wang Zhengzhi's face grew more and more intense.

However, he was not an official of Huai'an, so he could not ask without Hong Chengchou's advice. After a while, he could only squeeze out a sentence: "The Prime Minister has been operating here for a year, and I think it has achieved quite a lot. If the Southern Dynasty dares to attack, it will be beaten to a bloody pulp."

"You're too kind, Zhengzhi. I'm just trying my best." Having said this, Wang Zhengzhi seemed to have no need to stay any longer. But when he said goodbye to Hong Chengchou, the other party's performance was far beyond his expectations.

"Don't worry, just stay in Huai'an. The farming season will be over soon, and the southern army will attack within three or two months. I will fight a battle and see if there is a chance to negotiate peace."

Have confidence!
Very confident!

After listening to Hong Chengchou's words, Wang Zhengzhi immediately had this thought in his mind.

However, the Southern Army defeated the three princes miserably, and he couldn't help but ask the doubts in his heart.

"Prime Minister, forgive me for being blunt, but if you can inflict heavy damage on the Southern Army, I will be able to fulfill the trust of your Majesty and the Prince. But if something goes wrong, I will not be able to return for a long time."

Wang Zhengzhi’s meaning was very clear, that is, he did not believe that Hong Chengchou could achieve a result that would force the Southern Dynasty to negotiate peace.

The logic here is very obvious. No matter how many fortresses he built around the river, at most he could only block the Southern Army in the Yangtze River.

Such a situation can ensure the safety of Huai'an, but those fortresses are not mobile combat units after all. If the Southern Army stops at a superficial level, it will not achieve the goal of forcing them to negotiate peace.

By then, if he, the envoy sent by the imperial court, stays in Huai'an for a long time and does not return, once the higher-ups investigate, it may be a disaster that can destroy his family.

"It's okay. I have already informed His Majesty and the other princes of the situation. You staying in Huai'an can help me for a while."

After hearing the words, Wang Zhengzhi had no reason to refuse. After a few more words, the two of them chatted with each other and he was settled in the government office. However, he was still somewhat skeptical about Hong Chengchou's confidence.

This is not difficult to understand.

At that time, the Tartars were unstoppable, and some people came up with a saying: "If there are less than ten thousand Manchus, we cannot defeat them."

However, subsequent battles proved time and again that the so-called Eight Banners were only powerful compared to the rotten Ming army. Once the Ming army got rid of all the unfavorable factors, it would not be impossible to fight them back and forth.

At this time, the Ming army won victory after victory, and those people naturally became afraid of the Ming army's battle record and began to doubt Hong Chengchou's confidence.

In any case, the Qing envoys who came to negotiate peace were eventually sent back by Zhu Cilang. Even though he had not yet issued an order to his troops to prepare for war, with the departure of Wang Zhengzhi, the news that His Majesty was going to lead his troops to the north gradually spread.

According to what Zhu Cilang thought, although Liu Zongzhou was hit hard by him, the civil servants who had become the spokespersons of local forces would also be upset about it.

But to his surprise, Wang Zhengzhi had been gone for several days, but the court had remained calm and no one had commented on it. It seemed that the local forces south of the Yangtze River did not think that the Northern Expedition would have much impact on their own interests, and it was all just that Zhu Cilang was too suspicious.

When each dynasty was first established, the civil servants were basically just ordinary bureaucrats. Although there were representatives from various places, they only remained at the top level. But as time went on, collusion between the civil servants and various interest groups became inevitable. Looking at the entire Ming Dynasty, the only person who could be called innocent was Hai Gangfeng.

If there really were a few officials who used the excuse of "keeping the people's livelihood in good terms" to stop the Northern Expedition, that would still be within his expectations. But seeing the situation now, Zhu Cilang couldn't help but have some doubts in his heart.

"Fuping, is there any news from Zhejiang?"

"Reporting to your majesty, Liu Butang has found seven families who have concealed their land in the past month. Five of them have been closed, and the rest are still under investigation."

It was obvious that Wang Fuping knew very well why His Majesty suddenly summoned him. When he heard the word Zhejiang, he directly reported the progress of Liu Zongzhou's investigation.

"Oh? What about the Liu family?"

"Your Majesty, the first case that Minister Liu tried was the Liu family. Because the case involved many people, he investigated based on the clues provided by the people."

"Well, after all, you are an important minister of the country, and you have lived up to my high expectations."

The people who came to complain at the beginning only said that the Liu family had committed many illegal things, but Zhu Cilang's real purpose was not as simple as dealing with Liu Zongzhou. When he arrived in Zhejiang, people came one after another to find the imperial envoy to complain.

In the original arrangement, if Liu Zongzhou enforced the law impartially, he would be forgiven by the magnanimous Zhu Cilang when he returned to Yingtian. After all, if he could do this, it would mean that he was incompatible with the interest group he represented, and Zhu Cilang could use him with peace of mind.

But if he behaves in a manner that is biased for personal gain or violates the law, the Ming emperor, who is very observant, will naturally step forward to uphold justice. At that time, the class struggle will naturally be cloaked in the guise of political struggle. As long as he can control the intensity well, things will not cause any twists and turns.

Based on Zhu Cilang's understanding of Liu Zongzhou, there was a 60% chance that he would choose his own reputation over that of the interest groups. However, Zhu Cilang never expected that this Zhejiang leader would be so determined to preserve his reputation that he not only dealt with his own family, but also investigated all related clues to the end.

By this time, the local forces in Zhejiang had been thrown into chaos by Liu Zongzhou, and someone even planned a rather clumsy assassination.

After understanding these things, he also knew why no officials in the court jumped out, and he no longer had the desire to continue to understand the situation in Zhejiang.

"Do you have anything else to report?"

According to common sense, Wang Fuping would hand over the collected intelligence to the warm room every three days, and he had nothing else to report. But when Zhu Cilang finished speaking, he looked hesitant, and only spoke nervously after his Majesty looked at him.

"Your Majesty, I would like to ask for more silver."

Asking for money from the emperor is one of the most difficult things in the world, especially when the emperor himself is not well-off. But when Wang Fuping finished speaking, Zhu Cilang's face turned slightly red, and then he smiled embarrassedly before moving his eyes away from the question book.

"If you hadn't told me, I would have forgotten that it's time to give the Jinyiwei some money."

Zhu Cilang's embarrassment did not come out of nowhere.

In the early years, the intelligence system of the Jinyiwei was basically in a paralyzed state. After he came to power, he let Wang Fuping take up this burden, but apart from setting funding standards after taking control of Zhejiang, no matter how much territory he expanded, Wang Fuping only had that much money.

At this time, Jiangsu and Zhejiang need to be kept under constant watch, and the intelligence networks in Central and South China and Southwest China need to be reopened. If the infiltration of the Tartars is added, the little silver money agreed earlier will become a drop in the bucket. Zhu Cilang, the emperor who wants the horse to run but not eat grass, will naturally feel embarrassed.

"After that, you submit a petition. I will discuss it with the cabinet and then give you the award." Zhu Cilang paused for a moment, as if he had thought of something. After three or five breaths, he asked again, "Hao Ge has also returned to Xi'an. Have you found out what Beijing's reaction is?"

"Your Majesty, I only know that there are large-scale construction projects in Lianghuai, but I don't know much about the news in Beijing."

As soon as he finished speaking, Wang Fuping bowed heavily to the ground. However, everything in the world depends on money. He has done his best to focus on the important areas with such a small amount of funds. How can Zhu Cilang blame him?

"Alright, I'm not an unreasonable person. When the money is allocated, you just need to spend more time on the north side and stop kowtowing so easily."

(End of this chapter)