Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 57 Resurgence
After failing to stop the enemy at the city gate, Ji Qingyuan followed Zhu Cilang silently and never made any extreme moves again.

In his opinion, it was the limit for His Highness to personally go to the battlefield with his valuable body, so when Zhu Cilang snatched the sword from the soldier's hand, he was like everyone else and just thought that His Highness wanted to shout slogans to boost morale.

But who would have thought that His Highness not only shouted slogans, but also rushed into the battle formation with the sword in hand.

Seeing this, Ji Qingyuan was stunned where he was.

God bless you, Ji Shidu was not the kind of person who was afraid of death, otherwise, among so many civil and military officials who had served in Beijing, how could he be the only one who "cried bitterly in front of the prince"?
But, he really had not expected a situation like this.

He thought that if Yingtian City fell, he would go with His Highness to meet the ancestors of the Ming Dynasty; he also thought that if he was unfortunately captured by the Tartars, he would rather die than surrender and eventually die bravely.

But the only thing he didn't think about was how he would respond after His Highness rushed into the army.

"Your Highness, step back!"

The shouts coming from the front brought Ji Qingyuan back to his senses. When his eyes found their focus again, he found that His Highness was only a few feet away from charging into his own formation.

"As strong as the late emperor indeed."

At this point, he finally understood why Lord Xu often mentioned that "Your Highness is strong-willed."

"Forget it. It would be a good story if we, the king and his subjects, died together in battle."

In Ji Qingyuan's mind, Prince Fu was just a usurper, and the young man not far away who was trying to raise his sword above his head with both hands was the orthodox leader of the Ming Dynasty.

Now that the orthodox party has been defeated, how can he, as a subject, fall behind?

Glancing around, Ji Qingyuan realized that the soldiers who were originally protecting Zhu Cilang had already rushed out, leaving him with empty hands.

"Kill the Tartars!"

With a roar of strength he had never used in his life, Ji Qingyuan, a weak civil servant, rushed out without hesitation.

At this point, there was no one left on the more than ten feet long city wall between the battle group and the city tower.

China has lasted for thousands of years, and changes of dynasties are common. However, if we count carefully, the Southern Ming Dynasty is an extremely special one among these dynasties.

To say that no one was loyal and died for him would be a lie to deceive the world. Not to mention those ministers who would rather die than surrender, even the bandits and pirates fought to the death for him.

But even under such circumstances, it managed to completely defeat half of the country in just a few years.

This cannot help but make people wonder, could it be that the Eight Banners Army is more powerful than the Mongolian cavalry that swept across Europe and Asia?
No one knows the answer, but in the eyes of the nobles of Yingtian, the Mongolian cavalry is just a record in history books, while the Eight Banners Army is an invincible enemy in front of them.

"Nephew, you can't do this, you absolutely can't do this," Zhu Guobi said several times, and when Xu Yinjue turned around, he continued, "These militiamen have only been trained for a few days. If you take them out now, they will probably disperse immediately!"

"Are we just going to watch His Highness trapped in the outer city?!"

"this."

According to Zhu Guobi's true intention, it would be best if Zhu Cilang died in the outer city.

In this way, he could easily control Xu Yinjue and have the capital to negotiate with the Tartars.

Of course, relying on Yingtian without the outer city is not enough to maintain wealth and glory, but in the current situation, it would be a blessing to be able to keep his life. How could he dare to ask for so much?
"There are nearly 100,000 troops in the outer city. If even they can't save His Highness, what can these civilians do?"

"The highest rank of officers in the outer city is no more than a thousand households. How dare they leave the defense zone at will without a military order?!"

"Who can you blame? It's because you guys let His Highness do whatever he wants."

"you!"

No matter what Zhu Guobi was thinking, the reason he found left Xu Yinjue speechless. Zhu Cilang beat the Yingtian defenders into a pulp because he was worried that the nobles in the city would quietly seize his military power.

But it was also for this reason that when the beacon fire at Yaofang Gate was lit, except for the two centurions in front and the reserve troops directly under Li Chaodong, no one from the nearly 100,000 troops in the outer city dared to go to reinforce.

"You are so wrong, Duke." Seeing Xu Yinjue speechless after being rebuked by Zhu Guobi, Xu Yu stood up and said, "Your Highness must be saved no matter what the reason is, otherwise we are unworthy of being his subjects!"

"Your Highness will certainly be saved, but you must be careful about how to proceed."

After Qian Qianyi said this, he looked at the noble ministers present like a prime minister. After everyone looked at him, he frowned and said in a deep voice: "What Baoguogong said is right. These civilians can only be used to defend the city and must not be taken to the outer city."

"Then Your Highness..."

"Don't worry, Duke Wei," Xu Yinjue opened his mouth but was interrupted by Qian Qianyi: "Not only does your Highness need to be rescued, but the soldiers who retreated from the outer city also need to be rescued. Otherwise, how can these civilians stop the Tartars?"

Everyone knows that Qian Qianyi has always regarded entering the cabinet as his biggest goal in life, but he has never demonstrated the ability to match it, so many people secretly laughed at him for having no self-awareness.

But when these words were spoken, everyone realized that this literary leader was not so bad after all.

At this time, everyone focused their attention on His Highness and the people, and completely ignored Yingtian's most powerful force.

Whether fighting or surrendering, these soldiers are extremely valuable bargaining chips. It would be too wasteful to allow the Tartars to eat them up.

"Mr. Qian is right, but we still haven't received the troops to support Your Highness!"

At this point, Zhu Guobi naturally wanted to take on the task of gathering the troops, but if he acted too eagerly it would easily arouse suspicion, so he changed the subject.

"Jinyiwei."

"Jinyiwei?"

Hearing these three words uttered by Qian Qianyi, Xu Yu couldn't help but speak out to confirm. After seeing the other party nod slightly, he thought about it carefully.

Ever since the previous emperor abolished the Jinyiwei's power to monitor all officials, this institution that once made court officials shudder has become a pure guard, and the Southern Pacification Office has become just a decoration.

By the time the new emperor ascended the throne, those with connections had already used their connections to transfer elsewhere, and in the entire Southern Pacification Division, only a few hundred people without connections were left there. How could such a group of people save Your Highness?

"If, by some stroke of luck, Your Highness can escape from danger, then we only need a team of elite soldiers to rescue him. But if..." Qian Qianyi paused, as if he couldn't bear to say what was likely to happen, "what would be the use of sending more people?"

"How can the Jinyiwei be considered elite?"

"Experience! Experience! Is there anyone in Yingtian City who is more experienced than them?"

Everyone was stunned when these words were spoken. Even Xu Yu, who kept asking questions, opened his mouth wide, not knowing what to say.

The Jinyiwei back then were responsible for arresting and investigating crimes, so they were naturally good at tracking down and hiding people. What's more rare is that they also possessed a certain level of combat power. Aren't they the best candidates to pick up Your Highness?

"Then let me go."

"Lord Xu is too old to ride a horse. It just so happens that the king."

Xu Yu volunteered, and Qian Qianyi immediately refused. However, when he was halfway through his words, he heard hurried footsteps outside the tent, and then a soldier ran in.

"Report~~~~~! Beacons have been set off at all the gates in the southeast!"

This is what I think about the rhythm. Since it is difficult to choose the entry point, I have to explain many necessary details clearly, otherwise it is difficult to explain why the garrison troops can repel the elite Qing army led by more than a dozen white-armored soldiers. To be honest, if some things are not explained clearly, I can't write the following things, because in my mind such a plot is not valid.

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(End of this chapter)