Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 68 Slave
This battle was not large in scale, but it was of great significance to the defenders of Yingtian.

However, surprisingly, Zhu Cilang, the victor, was plagued by lawsuits due to internal malice, while Duoduo, the defeated party, seemed calm and relaxed.

"It's okay. This night raid is mainly for testing. Each of you should receive ten lashes."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

As Duoduo's words were transmitted from Goshaha to outside the tent, the hundreds of men kneeling on the open ground could not help but feel willing to die.

Although escaping first would not be a serious crime punishable by death, it is possible that one's property would be confiscated and one might be enslaved.

Now Tudor only used ten lashes as punishment, evidently thinking that they had done their best.

For these warriors, this kind of recognition is what makes them feel at home the most.

"Your Majesty's generosity is truly a blessing to our Qing dynasty and our soldiers. I will do my best to serve you from now on."

The voices of the men outside the tent entered the tent, and Tulai immediately knelt in the middle of the tent.

In theory, he was not directly involved in this battle, so whether Duoduo was kind or harsh had little to do with him.

But he was a member of the Bordered Yellow Banner after all, and had just joined the army. How could he miss any opportunity to flatter Duoduo?
Honestly speaking, this is nothing. Most people in the account know the reason. Apart from being happy that their power has grown a bit, who would want to shirk responsibility so openly?

"Your Majesty is kind and gracious. I will do my best to serve you!"

Just when the atmosphere in the tent was extremely harmonious, a voice came from behind.

When everyone turned around to look, they saw Cao Hu also prostrating himself on the ground like Tu Lai.

"Asshole! How dare you call yourself a slave!"

Cao Hu, who was lying on the ground, was stunned when he heard the shout.

God have mercy on him, he has been running around for decades, and although he may not have seen everything in the world, he can be considered knowledgeable. However, he really has no idea about the qualifications required to call himself a slave!

"Ignorance is not a crime." Seeing that the generals in the tent were excited and seemed to want to tear Cao Hu to pieces, Duoduo whispered.

Cao Hu naturally didn't know what crime he had committed, but Duoduo had pardoned this crime that he had inexplicably committed, so how could he say anything else except being grateful?

"Your Majesty is kind and gracious. I will do my best to serve you!"

Duoduo waved his hand gently, and Cao Hu silently stepped aside under the angry gazes of the generals around him.

He had secretly made up his mind that he must not be so rash again before he understood the customs of the Manchus. Otherwise, he might inadvertently offend some important person and put himself in unnecessary danger.

"Ustu."

Duoduo called out softly, and then soldiers came out trotting. In a short while, they supported the half-dead Ustu and made him kneel in the tent.

"Tell me about it."

"Your Highness, what the surrendered soldiers said is correct. The Yingtian garrison is not worth mentioning in terms of weapons and training. The only person to worry about is the crown prince of Ming."

Ustu had been a scout for many years and was an expert in reporting military intelligence. After explaining the general situation in a few words, he gave a detailed description of the key points in the battle.

"Oh? He actually dared to come to the battlefield in person?"

"Yes."

"Although you didn't mean it, I can't let you off easily. I'll take away your second-class medal. Do you accept that?"

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your mercy!"

Duoduo asked a few questions and then changed the topic. He seemed to not take the abnormality of the Yingtian defenders seriously at all. However, he was much more cautious when arranging the subsequent tactics. "From now on, all units will go out to collect food and grass and soldiers. Once the equipment is ready, we will officially attack the city."

"Whoo!"

After Duoduo gave an order, the atmosphere in the tent suddenly became heated. Seeing this, he had to add one more sentence: "My Great Qing wants to conquer the world. You guys should not go too far. Do you understand?"

"Whoo!"

The reason why the military generals were in high spirits was naturally nothing more than that they could take the opportunity to plunder while collecting food and fodder and strong men.

Normally, they should have felt a little disappointed after Duoduo's words, which were clearly meant to restrict them. However, the Tartar soldiers at this time had already learned various tricks from the surrendered troops, and they were no longer the bandits who only knew how to kill and rob.

As various matters were arranged, the generals left the tent one by one. Only when Duoduo was the only one left did his expression become gloomy.

Although Yingtian was difficult to attack, he did not take it seriously.

In the early years, they fought countless battles with the Ming army outside the Great Wall to attack and defend fortresses.
Whether it was siege methods such as building earthen cities and high platforms, or strong attack methods such as using close weapons and bombarding the city with artillery fire, Duoduo's subordinates were extremely good at both.

Not to mention the predecessors from hundreds of years ago, even the Qing army was much stronger than the Ming army at that time.

So in Duoduo's eyes, if everything is ready, then Yingtian City will be his.

But then again, as long as you add words like if, were to, and hypothetically speaking, there will be many variables.

Building earthen cities and high platforms requires a large number of laborers, and equipment and artillery need to be built and mobilized. It will take a lot of time to complete all these preparations.

If it were any other time, we would just have to wait for a short period of time. Could it be possible that this dead city surrounded by an iron wall would produce any waves?
But here, Duoduo had to wonder whether the Crown Prince of Ming would have any strange reaction to the millions of people in Yingtian.

"Any news from Nikan?"

Thinking of this, Duoduo asked a question towards the empty tent, and then a voice came from outside the tent: "Your Highness, a messenger just arrived, saying that the false emperor has entered Huang Degong's army, and the prince has led his troops to chase him."

"Tell Nikan that the fake emperor is very useful and must be kept alive!"

Goshaha left as soon as he was told. The poor messenger ran hundreds of miles to report the news, but he had to run hundreds of miles back without even seeing Duoduo.

At such times, not to mention messengers who were destined to travel, even the refugees had to travel day and night in order to reach a safe place before the Tartars arrived.

But speaking of individuals, those who ran earlier were also exhausted, but at least they did not have to worry about being chased by the Tartars, while those who ran later...
Just like Mr. Xu San and Miss Xu at this time, not only were they physically exhausted, but they also had to worry about being targeted by the Tartars again.

According to Xu Yinjue's plan, after the two of them left the city along the river, they would go upstream, and after they were out of the patrol range of the Tatar scouts, they would go ashore and head south.

Unexpectedly, soon after leaving the city, their ship was targeted by the Tartar navy. If the old servant had not thrown them into shallow water and desperately led the Tartars away, the two of them would probably have appeared in the Qing army camp by now.

"Uncle San, have the Tartars retreated?"

"Ah."

"Then let's go back when it gets dark."

Go back? Xu Laosan naturally wanted to go back, but how could he go back in this situation?
Do you really think the Tartar scouts are just decorations?

"Let's go to Lord Jingguo's office."

"Duke Jingguo?"

"Well, I heard that His Highness has sent someone to deliver the order to Duke Jingguo. I think he and Marquis Ningnan will send troops to Yingtian after receiving the order. By then, the Tartars will retreat and we will be able to enter the city, right?"

"Okay, I'll listen to Uncle San."

(End of this chapter)