Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 95 Eating Meat
Zhenjiang is less than 100 miles away from Yingtian, and because it is located at the intersection of the Yangtze River and the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, it has become an important node for water and land transportation.

However, after the fall of this place, the merchants were confused about the situation for a while, and thus the scene of boats, carriages and horses blocking the road was rarely seen as before.

However, although this situation has a significant impact on people's livelihood, it is not a bad thing for the current Qing army.

After all, Zhenjiang is an important node connecting the north and the south, and all the supplies of Duoduo’s army are stored here. If it is too congested, it will always have an adverse impact on the supply to the front line.

"Ustu, now that it's out, don't keep it to yourself."

Seeing the depressed Ustu, his superior, the White Banner Jiala Ezhen Ordu, couldn't help but try to persuade him.

The battle that night not only caused Ustu to break an arm, but also stripped him of a second-class medal. This was a heavy loss for him.

In fact, any one of these events alone would not have made him so depressed, but the combination of the two made the future of that half of Niulu seem to be getting further and further away from Wusitu.

Ever since the day when the team escorting the fake emperor was dispersed by the prince, each group of soldiers wanted to leave the camp with all kinds of strange excuses.

Originally, Wusitu thought that these people would have a good meal, but who would have thought that the prince would just give them a few instructions and let them go?

This was a little hard for Ustu to accept.

Judging from the situation in the past few days, the teams that dispersed have not encountered any decent resistance at all.

Even though some cities had their gates closed, they still hesitated and opened the city walls to surrender when they heard the news that the false emperor had been captured.

This was naturally a good thing for the Qing army, but it was terrible news for Ustu.

Why?

It is obvious from his current condition that he will not be able to go into battle in the short term, and the smoother the war progresses, the closer it is to withdrawal.

If the war in Jiangnan really only takes one or two months like the war in Lianghuai, then what hope would he have for his half of Niulu?

"Master, I feel aggrieved."

"Why are you howling? You're just making a fool of yourself."

As one of the most brave warriors in the flag, Wustu was naturally highly regarded by Ordu, but his current appearance made Ordu couldn't help but say a few words to him.

The situation of the battle that night had spread in the army. Everyone knew that Ustu had suffered a setback this time, but who had not suffered a setback on the battlefield?
How many people stronger than Ustu have gone to hell just because of a minor injury. He should be thankful that he was able to save his life. How could he still show himself in this state?

"General, the quantity has been counted. Please sign your name here."

Just when Ordu was about to say a few more words to Ustu, a man in Ming Dynasty official uniform walked cautiously to his horse holding a booklet.

"Why haven't you changed into your official uniform yet?"

"General, the court has not yet appointed me, so I dare not make the official uniform privately."

Hearing this question, the civil servant's legs went weak and he immediately knelt on the ground. But to his surprise, Ordu only asked one question and then threw the signed booklet on the ground as if nothing had happened.

"What are you afraid of? Since the prince said that the official will stay in office, you should be bold. You wear this weird outfit all day long, which makes me a little dazed."

"Yes, yes, I understand. I understand."

Erdu's words were casual, but the civil servant was so frightened that he kept kowtowing on the ground. God knows what the Eight Banners soldiers in front of him would do when they were in a trance. "By the way, store the things of each banner separately to avoid bringing the lawsuit to the regent prince."

"Yes, yes, I understand. I understand."

The civil servant responded and slowly withdrew. Erdu did not intend to embarrass him anymore. He turned around and said to Wusitu, "Well, it's just a second-class medal. We can make it up by occupying a city."

"Master, how can I make up for it in this state?"

"What are you afraid of? The southerners are weak. They can open the city gates with a shout. When the time comes, you can go and knock on the gates. You can always get a second-class medal in return."

"Thank you, Master!"

Hearing this, Wusitu immediately jumped off his horse and bowed deeply, while Erdu said after completing the whole set of etiquette: "Let's kowtow."

When Ustu was captured from the forest, he was assigned to their Jiala. Ordu was not too old at that time, so the two of them often played together.

Later on, Ordu was promoted all the way, but Ustu was still mixed in with the soldiers. They both understood that friendship is friendship, but they still need to pay attention to the things that need to be paid attention to.

This is not to say that Ustubih is any worse than Or.

In terms of combat power, three or two Erdu are probably no match for Ustu; in terms of experience, Ustu is far ahead of him.

But some people can command an army, while others are just an excellent soldier. God created everyone to be different, so we cannot be too demanding in this regard.

Of course, the gap between the two is not entirely caused by different talents.

Erdu was born into the Namudulu clan. Although this clan was not very large, it had considerable influence among the middle and lower classes of the Bordered White Banner.

In this situation, even though the Eight Banners had strict military discipline and there was almost no possibility of taking credit, as long as they used this surname, they could get some convenience here and there, and naturally they would be able to put a considerable distance between themselves and Ustu.

Wusitu was naturally aware of this, but he did not feel that there was anything unfair. After all, their people had been the backbone of the Jianzhou Jurchens for generations, so why would he, a Jurchen who came out of the mountains, be dissatisfied?

"Master, where are you going?"

"I haven't made up my mind yet. I heard that Naruto has occupied Changzhou. I plan to go further east."

Upon hearing this, Wustu recalled the location of Changzhou in his mind, and when he realized that it seemed to be some distance away from Yingtian, he asked hesitantly.

"Master, is it too far?"

"It's a bit far, but if everything goes well, it will only take four or five days to go back and forth. It will take quite some time to build the city and manufacture equipment, so it won't delay His Majesty's siege."

Ustu's worries are not unreasonable, but Erdu's words are very consistent with the current situation.

When they marched south, they compared the Ming army with the Chuang army, but as soon as they entered the Huai River and Huai River regions, the various military towns surrendered. The Qing army thought it was just an internal conflict and did not underestimate the Ming army's combat effectiveness.

After crossing the river, they were even more cautious and took a steady approach. However, Nikan led his troops in a rapid pursuit of more than 200 miles and destroyed Huang Degong, one of the four towns of the Ming Dynasty, in one battle. Then Tulai captured several cities without any effort.

At this point, even a fool could probably see that the Ming Dynasty was strong on the outside but weak on the inside. In addition, the Qing troops were jealous of the "outsider" Yu Tulai who was enjoying such a good life, so naturally they began to think about leaving.

"Master, now that we are out, why don't we gather some more people to attack the big city?"

(End of this chapter)