Xie Ming

Chapter 4 Something bad happened
On the evening of March 22th, at : p.m. (:).

"My Lord, according to the intelligence we just received, His Majesty and Wang Chengen have already headed towards Coal Hill!"

Inside the central army tent at Deshengmen in the capital, Zhu Chunchen was holding a small ivory chopstick, carefully fiddling with the steamed West Lake mandarin fish in front of him, slowly picking up a small handful and putting it into his mouth.

The person standing beside him and speaking was his trusted military advisor Wu Daoquan.

"Well, the Ming Dynasty is doomed."

"Siyi (Wu Daoquan, courtesy name Siyi), do you think the Ming Dynasty can still be saved in the current situation?"

Zhu Chunchen put down his chopsticks and looked lost.

"Hehe, Duke, Daming's illness is not on the surface but on the inside. It has penetrated deep into his bones and is incurable. You can't save him!"

As he spoke, Wu Daoquan bent over and glanced at Zhu Chunchen slyly again.

"In my opinion, you should stop hesitating."

"Li Zicheng sent another letter of persuasion to surrender. He has basically met the conditions you proposed, which is already a big concession."

"If we delay any further, there may be complications, which will be bad!"

Speaking of this, Zhu Chunchen suddenly opened his eyes wide, raised his hand to stop Wu Daoquan from speaking, and looked outside the tent nervously.

After a while, he slowly let out a long sigh.

"Siyi (Wu Daoquan), how many years have you been with me?" Zhu Chunchen asked.

"If you want to know the Duke's story, it has been twenty years!" Wu Daoquan replied.

"It's been twenty years. You should understand my thoughts."

"No matter how incompetent I am, my ancestors were famous generals in the Jingnan Campaign. Surrender to the enemy? Alas, I have no choice but to do so. This is not what I want."

"You said, now that I have the crown prince in my hands and have received the imperial edict of Chongzhen, if..."

Zhu Chunchen was wavering in his thoughts and frowned, wanting to discuss something with Wu Daoquan.

But before he could finish his words, Wu Daoquan immediately shook his head and interrupted him.

"Oh, my Lord, it's a different time now!"

"I understand what you mean. His Majesty will never retreat south. It is of no value to us."

"The prince is young, fifteen years old and ignorant of worldly affairs, and is raised by the women in the palace. Are you thinking about taking the prince with you when the city is breached and rushing to Nanjing to establish a new court?!"

"By then, if a Northern and Southern Dynasty can be established, your contribution in protecting the country and supporting it will not only help you escape from danger, but also preserve the reputation of your ancestors for generations!"

"Besides, if you still want to make progress, it is not impossible to use the emperor to control the princes!"

"My Lord, am I right or wrong?"

Wu Daoquan's words hit the nail on the head and he had already guessed what was in Zhu Chunchen's mind.

Seeing this, Zhu Chunchen scratched his head with a miserable smile but did not deny it.

"But right now, the entire north of the Yellow River and Huai River is almost lost!"

"The bandits are so powerful and well-armed. Even if you can get out of Beijing, it's thousands of miles to Nanjing. How can you break through the blockade?"

"Of course, there is also the water route. Wu Sangui of Luanzhou Prefecture has stationed his troops there!"

"But Wu Sangui claims to have 5 Guanning cavalry. If you run after him, you won't be afraid of being beaten by a weakling. Once you go,

"Ugh!"

Wu Daoquan explained the pros and cons and tried to persuade them earnestly.

"Si Yi (Wu Daoquan), how could I not know these key points?"

"But if Li Zicheng surrenders, will he really fulfill his promise?"

"Promise me a lifetime of wealth and glory, humph!"

"You also read the letter of persuasion, it didn't mention the issue of handing over military power!"

"If I surrender to him, I won't even be able to lead an army and defend an area!"

"How can we negotiate terms? Can we take his words seriously?"

Zhu Chunchen raised his eyebrows and spread his hands, looking like he was feeling very aggrieved.

He does not care about traitors and traitors. He values ​​profit over righteousness and is an expert at stealing the country to enrich himself. He is truly a great traitor and a huge thief!
"My Lord, this is just a temporary solution. There is no other way."

Wu Daoquan also secretly accepted a lot of gold and silver from the thieves. He appeared to be loyal, but he was actually a sinister villain.

Just before he finished speaking, suddenly, a figure floated outside the tent!
"Who?!" Wu Daoquan shouted.

"Greetings, Commander-in-Chief!" The deputy general of the left camp of the Shenji Camp hesitated, but upon hearing the voice, he hurried into the tent to pay his respects.

"Oh? It's Lieutenant General Liu, what's the matter?" Zhu Chunchen stroked his beard and asked in a serious manner. "Reporting to the General, it's a matter concerning General Xiao's troops."

"Just a quarter of an hour ago, Xiao Jingchuan's deputy Sun Peizhong took his badge and secretly transferred 500 elite soldiers from General Xiao's headquarters."

"General Xiao has always acted decisively. Who knows, he may have other plans, so I dare not stop him."

"But after thinking it over, I decided that since the commander-in-chief is in the tent, I might as well come here to report a few things, and I will not fail in my duty to my subordinates."

Lieutenant General Liu is Xiao Jingchuan's immediate superior. If someone else were to secretly mobilize troops, he would not let them go easily. But Zhu Chunchen is behind Xiao Jingchuan, so it is understandable that Lieutenant General Liu is so cautious in his actions and words.

"Secretly transfer the troops from our headquarters?"

"Okay, I get it, you go ahead!"

Zhu Chunchen frowned in confusion and waved his hand to tell Lieutenant General Liu to leave.

After the man left, Wu Daoquan started talking to him.

"This Xiao Jingchuan has been acting quite strangely in the past half month!"

"My Lord, looking at your expression, it seems that you are not aware of the secret deployment of troops."

"The situation between us and the enemy is tense right now. What is his intention in mobilizing troops?"

Zhu Chunchen sighed and remained silent for a long time.

After a moment, he seemed to suddenly think of something. He stood up, walked to the couch, and rummaged through the cabinet.

"broken!"

"This traitor!"

"Huh? Why are you so panicked?" Wu Daoquan also followed to the bedside.

"The letters between Li Zicheng and I were placed in this brocade box, but now they are gone!"

"Besides you and me, only that evildoer has ever entered my bed."

When Zhu Chunchen said this, Wu Daoquan was also shocked.

"My Lord, this guy took your letter and secretly mobilized troops. Could it be that he went to see the emperor?"

"What should I do?" Wu Daoquan stamped his feet in anxiety.

"Si Yi (Wu Daoquan), don't panic!"

"Let me think about it, let me think about it"

"You just said that the reconnaissance report has already been sent to Coal Hill!"

"If that's the case, the evil obstacle may not be able to succeed in a short while."

"Go and make arrangements now. Tell all the patrol teams in the city to go out on the streets and arrest Xiao Jingchuan and his gang!"

"If there is resistance, kill them on the spot!"

"Also, send someone to the palace to investigate the situation. If Xiao Jingchuan is seen, capture him as soon as possible!"

"Si Yi, this rebellious son has misled me!"

Talking about this, Zhu Chunchen looked extremely regretful.

"Si Yi, after finishing these, we should prepare to push forward the matter of surrendering the city as soon as possible!"

"Delay will lead to changes, delay will lead to changes!"

After he finished speaking, Wu Daoquan did not dare to delay at all and hurriedly followed the order and ran out of the tent!

"Wait, wait!"

"Also, send someone back to the palace to see if the prince is in trouble. Whether he surrenders or not, we will always have more bargaining chips if we hold the prince in our hands. Go quickly, and take a patrol team with you and guard outside the palace!" Zhu Chunchen urged.

"Yes, I understand!" Wu Daoquan replied.

After saying this, Wu Daoquan hurried out of the tent and went away to complete his mission.

Zhu Chunchen was the only one left in the tent, and he sat back down in front of the desk.

He was stunned for a moment, and the more he thought about it, the angrier he became, until he was so furious that he overturned the table in front of him, and the wine, dishes, cups, bowls and plates scattered all over the floor, making the tent a mess.

Half a quarter of an hour ago, outside the Mansion of Duke Chengguo, in the dark alley of Renshoufang.

"Old Xiao, where is the person who is waiting outside the mansion?" Qiu Zhizhong asked in a low voice.

call out!
Xiao Jingchuan whistled, and suddenly two figures rushed towards this side from the shadows not far away!

(End of this chapter)