Strategy for the Revitalization of the Late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 39: Capture the thief first and capture the king first

In the Palace Army camp in Jiangbei, Zhu Cilang was summoning his generals to discuss military affairs. He knew very well that Lu Jiude would find ways to provoke a war early tomorrow morning.

Judging from the performance of the troops in Fengyang, he was not late. At this time, all parties definitely did not swear to support Fu, otherwise they would not have such a wait-and-see attitude.

Zhu Cilang chose to arrive at the north bank of the Huai River at sunset in the afternoon so that he could have more time to react and make judgments, and also to give all parties in Fengyang a night to react so that they would not have to rush into a decisive battle in a panic.

He believed that these were all smart people. They might not be good at fighting, but they were capable of observing people's expressions and judging the situation.

With Zhu Cilang's high-profile exposure of his identity, Lu Jiude has little time left. As long as the two sides do not start a war, the longer it drags on, the more disadvantageous it will be for Prince Fu.

Everything Lu Jiude had done before was a lie. As long as there was enough time for the troops and officials in other places to react and the identity of the real prince was confirmed, his lies would naturally be exposed.

Therefore, only when the two sides go to war will the situation be truly irreversible. The party that first joins the war will definitely try its best. If it wins, it will be the first to be rewarded, and if it loses, its entire clan will be exterminated.

As for the other parties, of course we will help whoever wins. This is the simplest choice!
At this time, Zhou Shixian, who also realized the critical situation, took the risk and volunteered to be the vanguard. But with his battlefield experience, how could he be a vanguard?

Zhu Cilang naturally wouldn't use people that way.

Chen Fu and Chang Denggui also put forward their own opinions. Although they were quite nervous at this time, they all agreed that as long as the vanguard of the southern army was defeated, the latter would lose the will to fight, so they planned to concentrate their forces and strike back with one punch.

Zhu Cilang also knew that the troops under his command only looked strong and unstoppable. In fact, he was not sure that he could defeat the Ming army in the south in a head-on decisive battle.

Liu Liangzuo is still okay, but after Gao Jie and Huang Degong died in battle, the army under his command performed outstandingly after surrendering to the Qing Dynasty in the original history, especially Gao Jie's army, which produced many famous generals from the Green Camp.

These trackers are led by their respective leaders and are surrounded by relatives, friends and fellow villagers. If they are on the battlefield and have a supervisory team, they should fight very hard. However, without long-term training, they will probably lose their composure quickly once the fighting starts.

Such an army can only fight a battle with the wind in its favor, but not a battle against the wind!
You know, no matter how excellent a commander is, or how perfect and thorough the battle plan is, it will be in vain if the soldiers under his command do not have the ability to execute it.

Although Zhu Cilang was confident about the situation, he also made plans for the worst. If a war really broke out tomorrow, he must win in one battle to intimidate those military leaders.

After making preparations for the worst, Li Benshen finally returned from the south bank. He not only brought back Gao Jie's handwritten letter, but also brought Xing to Zhu Cilang's tent.

Zhu Cilang originally wanted to contact Huang Degong, but there was no one in his army who was familiar with Huang Degong. In this situation, let alone gaining the other party's trust, even crossing the river and entering Huang Degong's camp in such a short time was a difficult hurdle to overcome.

Although Chen Fu and Chang Denggui were members of the Beijing camp, they had no connection with Huang Degong. Even if they crossed the river, Huang Degong probably wouldn't dare to believe them.

Huang Degong has been following Lu Jiude for the past four years. He is still hesitating whether to send someone across the river to confirm Zhu Cilang's identity.

However, as Xing entered Zhu Cilang's tent, he had lost the initiative.

Gao Jie was very hesitant at first, but when he saw Li Benshen trying his best to persuade him, and he looked so confident that he had met a great leader of all ages, he finally nodded and agreed to let Xing secretly cross the river on his behalf.

And he must be in the camp. The people sent by Lu Jiude are still monitoring him in the military camp!
When Xing was crossing the river by boat, she asked some more questions and finally concluded that Zhu Cilang was very courageous and his aura was probably not comparable to that of the bloated, round-faced Prince Fu.

As for the others, a teenager of fifteen or sixteen was probably just putting on an act. She was not even afraid of Li Zicheng, so how could she be afraid of a young boy who was still wet behind the ears?
However, when Xing entered the tent and saw Zhu Cilang for the first time, her heart was filled with excitement. She felt that the young man in his sharp military uniform was truly handsome and extraordinary. Then she was startled again, because she quickly noticed that ten steps away, between Zhu Cilang's handsome brows, there was a majesty that looked down upon everything. Zhu Cilang was also a little surprised when he saw the beautiful woman entering the tent. Although his posture was respectful, his eyes did not show any fear at first, and even showed a hint of frivolity.

"I, Gao Xingshi, pay my respects to His Highness!"

Xing leaned forward slightly, her chest suddenly cascading down, and the curve of her waist was even more exaggerated. Zhou Shixian, who was extremely alert at the moment, stared blankly. He was still young, and although he had seen the world, those were only little maids. He had never seen such a scene.

Not only him, but also Chang Denggui and Chen Fu, who were regular customers of rouge and powder, had never seen such a woman. Perhaps it was because she came from a wealthy family and was protected by Gao Jie in the camp, living a life of luxury. At this time, Xing still looked young, delicate and lovely.

Zhu Cilang's heart couldn't help but move, but there was no change on his face. He just said a few words of comfort and sympathy in a low voice, and then went straight to the point.

"Your Highness, among all the camps in Fengyang, only Huang Degong's troops are capable of fighting. If we can subdue them, then Lu Jiude, Liu Liangzuo, the Huaiyang Governor's Battalion and other troops will be nothing to fear."

Xing was also straightforward. She cupped her hands and said frankly, "As long as Your Highness can subdue Huang Degong, Liu Liangzuo, Wang Hui, and the others will surely surrender as well, and Lu Jiude will be destroyed without a fight."

She had already learned from Li Benshen the strength of the so-called "Palace Front Army" - only two or three hundred armored soldiers. She was surprised that Li Benshen was willing to follow him even though he knew that the other party was bluffing. At the same time, she understood that it would not be so easy for Gao Jie to win a complete victory with only his troops.

"Your Highness, doing this would be equivalent to cutting off Lu Jiude's hands and feet. He would then have no choice but to accept his death!" Li Benshen also spoke up immediately.

Zhu Cilang had taken a great risk by sending Li Benshen, who had seen the "mere appearance" of his army, across the river. Fortunately, his reputation as a crown prince proved useful. Li Benshen not only returned from the river but also brought Xing with him, indicating that Gao Jie was truly tempted.

"Well, you're right!" Zhu Cilang nodded, then changed the subject and raised an eyebrow, asking, "But Lu Jiude is so intelligent, he wouldn't have failed to think of this. If we act rashly, we might end up making things worse, right?"

Upon hearing this, Xing was slightly startled, then bowed and said, "Your Highness is wise. Lu Jiude did divide his personal soldiers into five groups, four of which were sent out of the city to monitor the various armies. But..."

After saying that, she immediately thought of something and was horrified. It seemed that this handsome and extraordinary Crown Prince was really not simple at all. No wonder Li Benshen had vowed to follow him to death in just a few days.

Xing was worthy of being Gao Jie's think tank. She was not only shocked by Zhu Cilang's bravery, but also by the fact that he had chosen the most direct and effective method of "capturing the leader first" instead of the safest method of winning over various forces to join him. She was also shocked by Zhu Cilang's meticulous considerations and the courage and boldness behind these considerations.

It’s not that she hadn’t thought of this trick, but she never thought Zhu Cilang would dare to use it!
You must know that if Zhu Cilang had "captured the leader first", he would not only have been able to quell the rebellion directly, but also fundamentally suppress the forces of all parties. The so-called merits of the parties in supporting him would definitely not be as great as winning them over and then relying on them to quell the rebellion.

After all, once Lu Jiude was defeated, what could the round-faced Prince Fu do without support? Did he have the courage and determination of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and the hundreds of armored soldiers who would fight to the death for him?

And what else can these ministers do except to pledge their loyalty and support and submit to him?

With such foresight and strategic planning, it seems that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is really the heroic and wise ruler of the Nine Provinces as Li Benshen just said!

With this thought, Xing no longer hesitated and immediately said, "But I am willing to provide cover for the army. We will enter the city and attack Huanglong directly to take the eunuch's head!"

It is good to have achievements, but if you follow the wrong person, all your efforts will be in vain, and you may even lose your head. Xing knows clearly what to choose!
Women are born to like playing by the rules. Zhu Cilang's identity as the crown prince is actually much more intimidating to women than to men.

(End of this chapter)