Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 83 Wandering
"How do you know?"

Before the soldier finished speaking, Zuo Menggeng and Yuan Jixian asked in unison.

"The day before yesterday, someone from the Duke of Wei came from Yingtian to see the commander-in-chief."

After hearing this, the two became curious and then focused all their attention on the soldier's words.

After all, the soldier was someone close to Huang Degong, so his way of speaking was different from that of the other soldiers. In less than half an incense stick of time, he made everyone present understand the current situation in Yingtian.

".Afterwards, I don't know where they went."

After the words were spoken, there was silence.

Who could have imagined that the "Crown Prince" who was in prison would actually take control of Yingtian, and who could have imagined that he would actually repel the Tartars' night attack.

While everyone was still immersed in surprise, Zuo Menggeng fell to his knees with a thud.

"Father! You are not mistaken after all~~~~."

Although Zuo Liangyu initially raised his army under the banner of rescuing the crown prince, both the central government and local governors treated them as rebels.

Now Hongguang has fled, but the prince has turned the tide and blocked the Tartars outside Yingtian.

Doesn’t the comparison between the two prove that Zuo Liangyu’s uprising was correct?
In this way, although the left wing is still labeled as a rebel, the negative impact on military morale will be minimized because of the correctness of the uprising.

This was truly a timely help for the left wing, which had suffered setbacks and whose morale was already somewhat unstable.

Let’s talk about two things in different ways. Let’s not talk about how the news that Zhu Cilang is defending Yingtian will change the thinking of Yuan Zuo and others.

However, the uncle and nephew who brought the news to Wuhu encountered difficulties.

That day, Huang Degong led his troops to chase the two thieves, while Xu Wenjue and Xu Shaoyue waited patiently in the military camp.

But who would have thought that after waiting for a long time, Huang Degong did not return, but instead a large group of Tartars arrived.

In this situation, the Ming army, having lost its commander, was naturally defeated, and the uncle and nephew took advantage of the chaos to seize horses and escape from the camp.

I don't know whether they are unlucky or lucky.

According to Duoduo's military order, Nikan should have led his troops back quickly after capturing Hongguang, but when Tian Ma and the others saw Nikan, they immediately revealed the situation of the Ming army's lack of manpower.

Upon hearing this news, Nikan naturally did not want to miss such a good opportunity, but due to military orders he could only send people back to ask for instructions while sending out a large number of scouts to verify the authenticity of the news.

As a result, the uncle and nephew were forced to move further and further away from the Yangtze River due to the spread of the Tartar scouts.

In desperation, they simply gave up looking for Zuo Bu and headed straight for Hangzhou.

Originally, Xu Wenjue wanted to make a big detour before reaching the Yangtze River, but Xu Shaoyue expressed different opinions.

When she was in Huang Degong's army, she noticed that everyone thought Yingtian had been lost.

If this situation were to spread widely, then no one in the vast Jiangnan area would know that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was still struggling in Yingtian.

The most direct consequence of this situation is that reinforcements from all over the country are likely to stop moving forward.

Therefore, in Xu Shaoyue's mind, spreading the news that Yingtian is still holding on is far more important than looking for Zuo Bu.

Xu Wenjue was not a stubborn person. After listening to his niece's explanation, he immediately decided to go to Hangzhou.

Why choose Hangzhou?
As one of the largest cities in the Ming Dynasty, is there any place more suitable than here to spread news?

just
"The higher-ups have issued a strict ban on refugees from entering the city. The two of you should stop arguing here!"

Under the city gate, an officer dressed as a centurion thought for a moment and finally decided not to treat the two children in front of him as ordinary refugees.

The uncle and nephew traveled nearly a thousand miles in just a few days, and when they arrived in Hangzhou, they were already dusty and exhausted, and there was no trace of their former elegance. In fact, for them now, the most important thing was to inform the officials that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was still holding on, and they didn't care whether they were elegant or not.

But the Xu family has been a noble family for generations, and the uncle and nephew never imagined that their miserable state would prevent them from even entering the city of Hangzhou.

"How can you be so rude? I am a member of the Duke of Wei's family. If I make an important mistake, can you afford to offend me?!"

"A member of the Duke of Wei's family?"

After muttering something, the captain began to look at the two of them carefully again.

Honestly speaking, although the two men now looked down and out, and their clothes were the ordinary stuff they changed into when they escaped from Yingtian, if one looked closely one could tell the difference between them and ordinary people from their skin color.

As a result, the centurion's attitude naturally underwent subtle changes.

"It's not that I don't allow you to enter the city, but the higher-ups have issued a death order not to allow any refugees to enter the city. I have no other choice."

"Didn't Ma Shiying escape from Yingtian?"

"Uncle Three!"

Xu Wenjue was angry and spoke without restraint. Although Xu Shaoyue wanted to stop him, he let him speak out in the end.

Seeing this, the captain was certain in his heart that the two kids in front of him were probably real members of the Wei royal family, but at the same time he was determined not to let them enter the city, at least not through the gate he was guarding.

Why?

If this kid really offended Lord Ma, he, the person who let him into the city, might also be implicated. You know, Lord Ma massacred the people of Guangde.

One wanted to go in and the other wouldn't let him in. Although the captain kept trying to persuade them kindly, Xu Wenjue finally started making a fuss.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince is still holding out in Yingtian. It would be fine if you didn't care about serving the country, but you actually prevented me from entering the city to ask for help. What's your intention?!"

Originally, he had discussed with Xu Shaoyue that they should not reveal any information about Yingtian before meeting the officials who were on good terms with their family. However, after an argument, his reckless temper was aroused, and his words became somewhat reckless.

Looking around, the crowd that was originally watching the excitement suddenly started buzzing after a moment of silence.

"The prince? Is he the one in prison?"

"Yingtian is still holding on?"

"Don't listen to this kid's nonsense. How can Yingtian stop the Tartars with his few talents?"

"Baby, please explain clearly what is going on in Yingtian."

Hangzhou is now crowded with high-ranking officials who have escaped from Yingtian. If we use a mean mindset, what would they think if they knew Yingtian was still holding out? How would they treat the two kids who brought the news?

So, when the atmosphere around him gradually became heated because of this sentence, Xu Shaoyue grabbed Xu Wenjue and pushed out decisively.

Fortunately, the two of them were small in stature and there was no one here to stop them, so they disappeared from the centurion's sight in just a moment.

"what happened?"

Just as the centurion was still secretly rejoicing, a voice came from behind him.

When he turned his head, he saw a young man in armor standing behind him with a frown on his face.

"General Ma, someone was talking nonsense here just now, and I have driven him away now."

"Well, you guys should be alert and don't let the Tartar spies sneak into the city!"

(End of this chapter)