Strategy for the Revitalization of the Late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 37 Lu Zhenfei's Accident

Hearing the tidal shouts of the army below, Li Benshen no longer had any doubts and immediately led his personal soldiers out of the city to welcome the emperor.

After all, if this army was really the Shun army in disguise, they would never dare to shout: "The sun, moon, mountains and rivers will last forever, the Ming Dynasty will last forever!"

After Zhu Cilang led his troops into the city, he did not stay. After asking about the details of Gao Jie's southward march, he immediately gave an order, asking Li Benshen to take the elite troops in the city and follow him south to Fengyang.

In the original history, at this time, Dong Xueli, Guo Sheng and other troops sent by Li Zicheng were ready to enter Xuzhou. The defenders in the city fled without a fight and handed over this bridgehead of Jianghuai to the Shun army. Even Suqian, the barrier to the north of Huai'an Prefecture, was captured by Dong Xueli.

However, Dong Xueli, Guo Sheng and other troops were originally Ming troops that had just surrendered to the Shun Dynasty. Their combat effectiveness was not strong. Moreover, they marched southward, constantly attacking counties and cities along the way. They divided their troops too much and were already at the end of their strength when they arrived in Xuzhou and Suqian. In the end, they were directly driven away by the troops sent by Lu Zhenfei.

Therefore, Zhu Cilang was not worried about the gains and losses of Xuzhou City, especially since he had already collected all the ships along the way, and the speed of Dong Xueli and others moving south would definitely be greatly slowed down.

Moreover, Zhu Cilang did not believe that Li Zicheng could defeat the Qing Dynasty. As long as the other side was defeated, this reckless Shun army would be empty-handed even if it occupied Xuzhou City and would soon retreat to the north.

At that time, he happened to be leading his troops north to recapture the city, and truly established the prestige of the emperor on horseback in front of these military leaders in Jiangbei.

It was impossible to defeat Dorgon, Li Zicheng, and the Ming army in Jiangbei, but it was easy to defeat a small Dong Xueli.

Now, the most important thing for Zhu Cilang is to gather all the troops that can be gathered, go to Fengyang to eliminate those traitors with ulterior motives, and regain the throne.

Faced with this unexpected wealth, Li Benshen certainly could not let it go. After all, he had followed Gao Jie around the country for more than ten years. How could he not know the importance of the crown prince?
As for whether this crown prince was real or fake, he had no doubt about it. The posture Zhu Cilang had just displayed under the city had completely frightened him.

If he was not the crown prince of the Ming Dynasty, how could he have such an arrogant and domineering attitude?

Zhu Cilang did not look down on this Ming army general who bowed down and seemed obedient. He took him with him as a sign of favor and contacted Gao Jie. He still needed such a go-between.

Perhaps it was because Zhu Cilang's daily words and actions revealed the noble, cold, even fierce and majestic temperament that a crown prince should have. Zhou Shixian, Chang Denggui, Chen Fu, Lin Yongan and others behaved very respectfully in front of him from beginning to end.

This atmosphere undoubtedly affected Li Benshen. Although he saw a kind and elegant crown prince, he did not dare to slack off in the slightest. As long as he was with Zhu Cilang, he would always be extremely alert, without any trace of his usual laziness and arrogance.

On the evening of April 12, after two days of rapid march and with Li Benshen leading the way, Zhu Cilang finally arrived at Guzhen and sent a vanguard to cross the river before dark. The main force of the Palace Army rested in the town for one night.

Li Benshen also knew some inside information. He volunteered and sent his trusted servants to ride south quickly, hoping to contact Gao Jie a day in advance so that he could make preparations early.

At the same time, Zhu Cilang also sent Tangma to accompany him, on the one hand to contact Lu Zhenfei, on the other hand to monitor Li Benshen's servants to prevent things from getting out of his control.

However, because the Palace Army was originally marching at a rapid pace, and there were many rivers between Xuzhou and Fengyang, the cavalry could not move very fast and had not returned yet.

Zhu Cilang is now basically certain that Gao Jie, Huang Degong, Liu Liangzuo and others have all gathered in Fengyang, while Liu Zeqing is still in Huai'an. It is probably because he has no relationship with Lu Jiude, so he was not lured in.

After all, supporting the new emperor was something that only close confidants could not be trusted with. Gao Jie, on the other hand, had previously defected to Ma Shiying, and was also under Lu Jiude's military supervision. Furthermore, his army was the strongest in Jiangbei, so Lu Jiude naturally wanted to win him over.

If the Palace Army under Zhu Cilang were to deploy their troops and engage in a head-on confrontation, they would definitely not be able to defeat Gao Jie. However, he has the title of crown prince and has also contacted Lu Zhenfei. Gao Jie will never take action unless he is forced to do so.

After all, if there were only a few dozen of them, it would be okay. They could be surrounded and annihilated quietly, and then their bodies could be destroyed. But thousands of people and horses are not so easy to deal with. Not being able to defeat them is one thing, but running away is easy!
If regicide was not done thoroughly, it would lead to universal condemnation. Furthermore, with so many people watching, Gao Jie and the others were no fools. Therefore, after Zhu Cilang gained control of the Palace Army, he planned to march directly south to Fengyang and take over the various armies.

The next morning, before dawn, the horses sent by Zhu Cilang and Li Benshen to contact Lu Zhenfei and Gao Jie finally returned to Guzhen. However, the news they brought back was very surprising.

"Your Highness, we haven't contacted Lu Zhenfei. Tang Ma caught a fireman who was out collecting firewood from the governor's camp outside Fengyang City. It seems that Lu Jiude came to the military camp in person, and Lu Zhenfei was asked to leave by him." As soon as Zhou Shixian received the report from Tang Ma, he hurried to Zhu Cilang.

After hearing this, Zhu Cilang frowned and asked, "When were you asked to leave?"

"According to the calculation now, it should have been around noon yesterday, when Lu Zhenfei's army had just set up camp outside Fengyang City."

"What about Gao Jie?"

"The servant we sent to monitor was worried that things might change, so he didn't dare to let Li Benshen's men go to see Gao Jie, and came back directly." Zhou Shixian bowed again and said.

"If Gao Jie harbors evil intentions and alarms Lu Jiude, the situation will probably get worse."

"Hmm!" Zhu Cilang nodded, thought for a moment, and then said, "Lu Zhenfei should be loyal, but I underestimated Lu Jiude's ambition and determination. He even dared to hold Lu Zhenfei hostage."

Based on the information he had, Zhu Cilang basically made a judgment on the matter. Since Lu Jiude had "invited" Lu Zhenfei to leave, it would probably not be long before he took over the Huaiyang Governor's Camp.

However, as long as Lu Zhenfei didn't give in, it wouldn't be so easy for him to directly take over the Governor's Camp. An old fox like Lu Zhenfei must have made preparations in advance. Moreover, fighting against one's own family requires a legitimate reason, which cannot be done by a few confidants alone.

"Pass the order down. Send out scouts to scout the road ahead. The entire army must assemble immediately and continue south. Before nightfall tonight, the front line must camp on the north bank of the Huai River!"

Zhou Shixian was shocked when he heard this. Having lost Lu Zhenfei, his great support, he was full of worries about going south to Fengyang.

"Your Highness, we still have time to change our route to Nanjing. Fengyang is probably controlled by Lu Jiude now!"

"Is there still time?" Zhu Cilang sneered twice and said firmly:
"At the latest at daybreak, our army's tracks will be discovered by the scouts sent by Lu Jiude. They are in the south, and we are in the north, nearly a hundred miles apart. How can we reach them in time?

Moreover, if I don't go to Fengyang, those soldiers and horses will be Lu Jiude's men. If I go, they will be my men!"

"But" Zhou Shixian wanted to persuade him again. He was still very worried about the safety of this trip.

"Go and pass the order immediately!" Zhu Cilang shouted sternly. At this time, he had to make a decision immediately.

"Yes!" Zhou Shixian had no choice but to bow and clasp his hands in response.

"Also, call Li Benshen over. I want to see him!"

　Thanks to book friends Yuekenlu Dazhuang and Luming Ye Jingqiang for their rewards!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)