Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 82 Bad News

Wuhu is located in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, only one or two hundred miles away from Yingtian City. It is famous in China for being "a major port on the Yangtze River and the backbone of Anhui."

It was precisely because of this "huge port" that Hongguang asked Huang Degong to lead troops and station them here at the beginning of his reign as a barrier for Yingtian.

As for who this barrier is designed to protect against, different conclusions can be drawn from different perspectives.

But these are not important. After all, without the garrison, even the strongest city cannot defend against anyone.

"Let me be clear. Duke Jingguo has 30,000 to 40,000 men under his command. How could they be wiped out in one battle?!"

Yuan Jixian was in charge of military affairs in Jiangxi and Huguang. His shrewdness and magnanimity were both top-notch in the world. But at this moment, he was grabbing the blood-soaked collar of the soldier in front of him like a madman. He didn't look like a senior official of the court at all.

"Uncle, uncle, please let go of your hand first. Let him relax for a while before asking again."

Zuo Menggeng had behaved like this during the Anqing Incident a few days ago. Now that their situations were reversed, although he was happy in his heart, he did not show any sign on his face.

To be honest, it’s not that Zuo Menggeng is narrow-minded and vindictive. When he reaches such a position, personal likes and dislikes are no longer important. The only thing that can influence his behavior is interests.

That day, Zuo Menggeng finally gathered only 30,000 to 40,000 troops. On the contrary, Yuan Jixian's troops gained a lot of strength with their complete organization.

In the end, the army that Zuo Liangyu had built up for half his life was torn apart. Except for a small part that joined Zuo and Yuan, the rest were either lost in the melee or followed those generals up the river to surrender to the Tartars.

What can he do in this situation?

You have to know that because of the Anqing incident, those generals have been fighting him to the death, which is equivalent to cutting off his way to surrender to the Qing Dynasty.

Even though he now has slightly more troops than Yuan Jixian, how could he be willing to turn against Yuan Jixian over such a trivial matter as gathering troops?

"May I ask, what are the positions of the two lords?"

Just as Zuo Menggeng was trying to persuade Yuan Jixian, the soldier seemed to have calmed down a lot because he was among his own army.

"This is Yuan Jixian, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War and Right Censor-in-Chief, Commander Yuan."

"General Yuan! Why are you here so late~~!"

Zuo Menggeng was in an awkward position so he just introduced Yuan Jixian to the soldier. However, the soldier became agitated again after hearing what he had said, and even his words sounded a little rude.

"What's going on? Please explain it clearly. Are you really going to make me die of anxiety?!"

The soldier's cry made Yuan Jixian even more anxious.

In this situation, the people around had no other options except to continue to persuade them.

Fortunately, Yuan Jixian had been a high-ranking official for many years, and the soldier was no ordinary man. After a while, both of them controlled their emotions, and everyone knew what had happened.

That night, Tian Xiong and Ma Degong kidnapped Hongguang. Upon hearing the news, Huang Degong led his troops to chase them. However, he had no idea that the two had already colluded with the Tartars. In desperation, Huang Degong plunged into the Tartars' ambush.

Next, various generals tried to persuade Huang Degong to surrender, but were scolded back by Huang Degong.

Afterwards, the Tartars launched an attack. Huang Degong led his men to fight desperately and eventually died in battle.

It’s over.

After listening to the soldier's story, this was the only thought left in Yuan Jixian's mind.

It would be fine if the Qing army had penetrated into the hinterland, but the Ming still had several provinces. If the situation was really hopeless, they could still retreat. But now the emperor had been captured, and there was another fight for the throne. What could they hold on to in this situation?

"How could a soldier like you know so much? And how did you escape from the Tartars?"

At this moment, Zuo Menggeng's voice rang out, and Yuan Jixian, who was still at a loss, became alert again.

The two men's reactions after hearing the news were worlds apart, but this does not mean that Zuo Menggeng is better than Yuan Jixian.

As the saying goes: Too much concern leads to confusion.

Zuo Menggeng didn't care at all whether Huang Degong was alive or dead, or whether Hongguang was captured.

It can even be said that these two pieces of news can be considered good news for him.

Needless to say, when Zuo Liangyu started his rebellion, the reason he publicly stated was that he treated Zhu Cilang badly. Now that he first abandoned Yingtian and was captured in Wuhu, didn't it indirectly prove the correctness of opposing him?

As for Huang Degong's death, he was even more delighted.

That’s right, Zuo Menggeng’s first reaction after learning that Huang Degong had died in battle was joy, and the reason was very simple.

At this time, his military strength was similar to that of Yuan Jixian, so the subsequent route selection had to be discussed regardless of whether both parties were willing or not.

But what if Huang Degong’s troops were still there?

Does Zuo Menggeng still have room to speak?

To put it bluntly, in his mind, this matter has nothing to do with right or wrong, it only has to do with interests.

"My Lord, I am a guard in the army. I was also shot in the back of the head after the Duke passed away." The soldier looked sad when he said this, and he could only mutter, "How did I survive?"

The soldier's expression did not seem to be false, and considering his neck was soaked in blood, the two men no longer had any doubts.

However, if what he said was true, Zuo Menggeng and Yuan Jixian had different ideas about what to do with these tens of thousands of troops.

"Uncle, in such a situation, we still need you as our pillar of support. Please take good care of yourself."

Seeing that Yuan Jixian had recovered a little, Zuo Menggeng thought it was unlikely that he would die in the army due to anger, so he tried to persuade him.

"Yes, Commander, please take care of yourself."

"Sir, the court still depends on you, you must not..."

As soon as these words were spoken, all the generals present echoed them.

Fortunately, Yuan Jixian had experienced many hardships and had seen many things in life. Otherwise, if it were another person of his age, it would be hard to say whether he could withstand the shock of the bad news.

"Nephew, my mind is in a state of confusion. Please send someone to check ashore. If there is no trace of the Tartars, our army will go to Hangzhou."

"Hangzhou? Uncle, didn't we agree to go to Yingtian?"

Yuan Jixian spoke weakly, but Zuo Menggeng was shocked.

Honestly speaking, it made no difference to Zuo Menggeng whether he went to Yingtian or not, but it was somewhat unexpected that Yuan Jixian did not even bother to give him a chance to change his mind.

"Nephew, are you still going to hide it from me now?"

Hiding from you?

What did I hide from you?

The more astonishment appeared on Zuo Menggeng's face, the more Yuan Jixian thought that his judgment was wrong.

But when he thought of the tragic scene on the battlefield today, he became more determined: Even if the letter was really from the "Prince", even a veteran like Huang Degong died in the battle, so how could the "Prince" hold on for so many days?
"Nephew, we still need to work together to build our country. Please don't let such trivial matters create a rift between you and me."

The more Yuan Jixian spoke, the more confused Zuo Menggeng became.

Seeing his expression, Yuan Jixian simply stopped playing tricks and stated it directly.

"You must have forged the letter from the prince."

"Uncle, where did this come from?"

"How could that man, who was imprisoned, take control of Yingtian in an instant?"

"How should I know? It is indeed sent from Yingtian."

At this point, Zuo Menggeng already regretted extremely why he did not keep the messenger in the army.

Just when he was at a loss for words, he heard the soldier say, "My Lords, it was indeed His Royal Highness the Crown Prince who was in trouble in Yingtian City."

(End of this chapter)