Strategy for the Revitalization of the Late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 43: Ridiculous Farce
The messengers sent by Zhu Cilang from Fengyang traveled day and night, relying on the post stations along the way, and hardly stopped for a moment. Finally, on the morning of the second day after the rebellion was quelled, they arrived at the Pukou camp on the north bank of the Yangtze River at daybreak.

At this time, because of the news coming from the north, the Nanjing Jingying had already set up defenses along the river, and all passing ships needed to be checked. After the identities of these messengers were confirmed, Liu Kongzhao, the Earl of Chengyi who was in charge of the river defense, did not dare to slack off and immediately sent a large ship to personally escort several messengers across the river into the city.

Li Banghua fell ill on the road because of long-distance horse riding day and night. He should have arrived in Nanjing five days ago, on April 10, but he suffered an anal fissure due to the severe bumpy ride. He had to change to a carriage and continue his journey. He did not enter Nanjing until yesterday evening.

Before this, Li Banghua also sent a messenger to Nanjing in advance to convey the news that the prince had gone south, but the officials in Nanjing did indeed become suspicious of this, especially since the news that Emperor Chongzhen and the prince had died for their country in the north had already spread widely in Nanjing.

In the end, only Shi Kefa summoned the troops of the Nanjing camp and wanted to go to Fengyang to welcome the emperor. But before leaving, he gave up the action because of the news that the fake prince was found in Fengyang, Xuzhou, Huai'an and other places.

Although these anxious ministers "forbade spreading rumors" to the outside world, they had actually believed these rumors privately a long time ago and were all thinking about supporting the cause.

After all, there was no doubt that Beijing had been breached by the rebels, and so much news that sounded "extremely real" came from the north. Emperor Chongzhen had no plans to move south before, so how could they not have their own judgment?

However, there are many things that you can think about in your mind but cannot say out loud, otherwise you will get into big trouble!
Moreover, no matter whether Emperor Chongzhen is dead or alive, no matter whether it is to support the new emperor or to welcome the emperor who moves south, Nanjing, the deputy capital, will inevitably become the official capital. The ministers of various departments, descendants of nobles, and even eunuchs who have been sitting on the bench here for many years are about to turn over and usher in great wealth.

So, although the country was clearly destroyed and the family was ruined, most of the ministers in Nanjing were secretly excited and looking forward to this day coming sooner.

However, due to the appearance of Zhu Cilang, Li Zicheng accelerated the spread of the news of the fall of Beijing and the martyrdom of Chongzhen and the prince to the south. The historical trajectory had already deviated, and Qian Qianyi arrived in Nanjing earlier than originally recorded.

Although he is only a registered official now and is not a formal official, his reputation in the literary world and his qualifications as an official in his early years are there. The officials of the Donglin Party in the south now have a tendency to regard him as the leader of the party. Of course, he will not miss such a major event as "supporting the new monarch".

The Nanjing court was now filled with members of the Donglin Party, and Lü Daqi, the Minister of War under Shi Kefa, was one of them. Previously, he had personally invited the powerful officials of the Nanjing court to discuss the selection of a new emperor.

It is said that Qian Qianyi came all the way from Changshu specifically to take charge of the matter and accumulate capital for his future return to the court.

To this end, he lobbied everywhere and his position was very clear: he firmly opposed supporting Prince Fu Zhu Yousong and supported the enthronement of Prince Lu Zhu Changxun to revive the Ming Dynasty with a wise monarch.

Among the people he lobbied, in addition to Han Zanzhou, the eunuch who was in charge of military power in Nanjing, there were also Nanjing's Minister of Revenue Gao Hongtu, Left Censor-in-Chief Liu Zongzhou, Right Censor-in-Chief Zhang Shenyan and others.

In other words, almost all the powerful figures in Nanjing, the backup capital of the Ming Dynasty, are here. If they did not look down on local ministers and military men, perhaps Fengyang Governor Ma Shiying, the current four generals of Nanzhili, Gao Jie, Huang Degong, Liu Zeqing, Liu Liangzuo and others would also be here.

The Donglin Party members in Nanjing, led by Qian Qianyi, had deep grudges against the Prince of Fu and were worried that Zhu Yousong would retaliate against them once he ascended the throne. So they planned to oppose the enthronement of Prince of Fu Zhu Yousong in the name of "establishing a virtuous person."

Zhu Yousong was indeed not a good person. When he was the crown prince, he was famous for his greed and lust.

In the original historical record, Shi Kefa even wrote in a letter to Ma Shiying to win him over that Prince Fu was guilty of seven crimes: "greed, lust, alcoholism, unfilial piety, cruelty to his subordinates, lack of education, and interference with the government." Ma Shiying ultimately used this as leverage and a powerful weapon against him. It can only be said that Shi Kefa, the most powerful figure in Nanjing at the time, was politically naive.

Last night, when these people were discussing in the government office, Qian Qianyi had also received the approval of Gao Hongtu, the Minister of Revenue. Just when he was about to convince everyone, an official from the Ministry of War suddenly rushed in from outside. Before he could catch his breath, he stammered and shouted:
"Your Highness has arrived in Fengyang on his journey south. I hereby order all ministers in the Southern Capital to immediately travel north to meet the Emperor. There must be no delay!"

Lu Daqi had originally wanted to scold the other party for not knowing the rules, but now he was completely speechless. The prince had not died for his country. Not only had he not died for his country, he had already arrived in Fengyang. Most importantly, he had not gone to greet him immediately!

In the blink of an eye, the room was in chaos. Qian Qianyi had been running around for so long and was finally about to convince everyone. But with the arrival of Li Banghua, he immediately became a joke.

These ministers who claimed to be the pillars of the country were just discussing heatedly whether they should support Prince Fu or Prince Lu, and at the same time mocked Shi Kefa's pedantry. They had always insisted on waiting for the so-called accurate news from the north. Now, their "dispute over whether to support Fu or Lu" has become a ridiculous farce.

Now, in just a blink of an eye, these ministers have become staunch supporters of the prince. They are vying with each other to defend their recent remarks of "supporting Fu and Lu", and they are even attacking each other. It is so ugly and ridiculous!

However, these so-called ministers, after a night of consultation and so-called preparations, have not yet set off.

On the one hand, they were worried that Shi Kefa would take the credit, so they did not immediately notify this loyal "pedantic guy" who had been waiting for news from the north; on the other hand, at this time, they were still arguing about whether the Crown Prince should come to Nanjing or they should go to Fengyang to welcome him, and what kind of etiquette should be used to welcome him.

After all, this was the first battle between the new monarch and them, and these ministers had not yet fully understood the situation.

As a result, the powerful officials in the Nanjing court argued all night about the matter of welcoming the emperor. By the next morning, there was still no conclusion, and no one was satisfied with the order of their own welcoming the emperor.

At this time, Shi Kefa had already seen Li Banghua, who had anal fissure, and received the news.

It was not until this time that the dignitaries in the Nanjing court finally made up their minds to go to Fengyang to welcome the emperor in order to prevent Shi Kefa from taking the credit.

But at this time, Liu Kongzhao brought the news that Zhu Cilang had "suppressed the rebellion in Zhongdu and commanded all the troops."

After hearing the news that Lu Jiude, the eunuch guarding Fengyang, was sentenced to death and that the troops from northern Jiangnan gathered in Fengyang, even Shi Kefa and Ma Shiying were shocked!
Escape in a panic?

The way His Royal Highness the Crown Prince appeared was completely different from what they had imagined!

　There are a lot of things to do in the New Year, so the author will still update twice a day as usual.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)