Emperor Chongzhen was too extreme.

Chapter 160 My Way to Make Money is by Robbery
After the death of the army commander Huang Wei.

Zhu Youjian did not order a pursuit to annihilate the remaining bandits.

On the one hand, the enemy has already been defeated and is now scattering and fleeing. Pursuing them relentlessly could result in more harm than good.

After all, Zhu Youjian's objective of destroying the enemy's manpower in Shuntian Prefecture had been achieved.

On the other hand, that is...

Killing 80 or 90 percent of the people would not be conducive to Lu Xiang-sheng's advancement.

We can't have everyone die, and then only Lu Xiang-sheng and a portion of the people go back, can we?

That would be a case of penny-wise and pound-foolish.

The strategic value of Lu Xiang-sheng and the destructive power he could cause far exceeded that of the remnants of the defeated army that were intentionally let go.

Ever since.

Such a scene appeared on the battlefield within Shuntian Prefecture.

With their commander-in-chief dead, the army suffered a crushing defeat.

Deputy Commander Lu Xiang-sheng was still making every effort to gather the remaining troops and led the small remaining force to fight their way out of the enemy lines.

Although the disheveled figures of these people as they fled were in stark contrast to their initial momentum during the charge.

But those who survived at this moment couldn't care less about any of that.

Especially the surviving generals.

The more dissatisfied they were with Lu Xiang-sheng before, the more humble they are now when following behind him.

After all, Lu Xiang-sheng had just saved their lives.

They ran for dozens of miles, only to find that no pursuers were following them.

The group of aristocratic generals calmed down a bit and were no longer as panicked as they had been at the beginning.

It was also at this time.

A group of people began to express their gratitude to Lu Xiang-sheng without prior arrangement.

They launched a fierce attack on Huang Wei, claiming that the crushing defeat was due to Huang Wei's underestimation of the enemy and his reckless advance.

Amidst these ups and downs, there's a subtle but clear indication that Lu Xiang-sheng is being groomed to become the core leader.

of course.

The reason this group acted in this way was not simply to "repay a debt of gratitude."

Everyone is harboring similar ulterior motives.

The battle was lost, and most of the troops in Shuntian Prefecture were wiped out.

That means we have to put all the blame on Huang Wei, who is already dead.

Otherwise, they themselves will be the ones to be punished when they return, and no one can afford such a loss.

Although the idea for this surprise attack was ultimately proposed by that kid Lu Xiang-sheng.

The problem is that Lu Xiang-sheng's action of rallying the remaining troops was witnessed by everyone who is still alive.

You could say there were some problems with the execution.

However, judging from his actions, Lu Xiang-sheng's original intention was good, and his abilities were also the most outstanding.

Even though everyone was jealous of Lu Xiang-sheng before and wished he would die suddenly, they dared not offend him now.

If anyone's to blame, it's Huang Wei, the head coach, for being so incompetent.

For everyone now, the only way to ensure their survival is to elevate Lu Xiang-sheng to a higher position and establish a certain degree of mutual benefit with him.

Lu Xiang-sheng had made significant contributions and was highly favored by the elders of various factions.

And what about them? Several defeats followed by today's devastating losses.

The elders probably wanted to get rid of them a long time ago.

Therefore, the surviving generals almost instantly reached a tacit understanding after exchanging glances.

Everyone openly and subtly expressed to Lu Xiang-sheng that once they returned, they would attribute all the credit for their survival to him alone.

In this regard.

Lu Xiang-sheng was well aware of what these people were thinking.

He also expressed his goodwill to "ally" with them.

Upon seeing this, the group of people couldn't help but secretly breathe a sigh of relief.

In any case, as long as I go back and listen to Lu Xiang-sheng obediently, my life can be saved for the time being.

As for the loss of Shuntian Prefecture, it was insignificant in everyone's eyes compared to that.

It's just a matter of gains and losses in a single prefecture.

Regardless of the circumstances, the advantage still lies with them.

Looking at these people's scheming and despicable behavior, Lu Xiang-sheng felt contempt while secretly pondering their intentions.

Why do these people still seem so confident of victory even though the situation is already like this?

Could it be that they still have some trump cards up their sleeve?
Filled with worry and doubt, Lu Xiang-sheng asked this question seemingly casually during his escape.

Someone with inside information told Lu Xiang-sheng that the elders had already sent people to urge Hou Jin to send troops.

It won't be long before the Jin army besieges the city, so the gains and losses of a single city or town now are insignificant.

Upon hearing this answer, Lu Xiang-sheng almost suddenly felt an urge to chop these people into minced meat.

These filthy creatures are beyond description.

For their own benefit, they were willing to commit acts of treason and betrayal, and it wasn't just one family or household doing this; the entire class was acting in this way.

Lu Xiang-sheng suppressed his murderous urges and gave a signal to a trusted confidant to quietly leave the group and deliver intelligence to His Majesty.

He then began to ponder how to prevent the aristocratic families' conspiracy from succeeding.

Judging from the current situation.

The powerful families must have been colluding with the Later Jin for some time.

However, there is no sign of the Later Jin sending troops at present. It must be that His Majesty has used some strategy to temporarily hold back the Later Jin.

But this is not a long-term solution after all.

For the Later Jin, no matter how much the Emperor delayed, it was ultimately not as tempting as the real money offered by the powerful families.

However, Lu Xiang-sheng couldn't think of a good way to continue helping His Majesty.

I'll have to think about it carefully when I get back.

Once he escapes back to the south, he will gain more trust, and with that, he will be able to obtain more unknown information about the aristocratic families.

Then we'll see how we can cooperate with His Majesty.

Think of this.

Lu Xiang-sheng lightly squeezed the horse's belly, increasing the speed of their escape.

Looking at the direction they were fleeing in, Lu Xiang-sheng suddenly realized that the place they were going to next was Zhen Ding Prefecture in Hebei.

As for Zhen Ding Prefecture, the central region in southern Hebei.

Lu Xiang-sheng had heard some rumors that there seemed to be a family's silver vault hidden in Zhen Ding City (now Shijiazhuang area), the capital of Zhen Ding Prefecture.

Lu Xiang-sheng narrowed his eyes and quickened his pace again.

Seeing this, the remaining soldiers following behind assumed that Lu Xiang-sheng might have sensed something was wrong again, and they hurriedly spurred their horses to catch up.

As Lu Xiang-sheng and his men fled and retreated.

Zhu Youjian, who remained in Shuntian Prefecture, sent men to attack the city of Shuntian Prefecture as quickly as possible.

The city's elite troops and generals had almost all been drawn away due to the reinforcement of Tianjin and the night raid, so the vast city was now completely vulnerable.

In just one or two hours, the capital city of Shuntian Prefecture was captured.

If the prefectural city was so easily taken down, then the other cities within Shuntian Prefecture would be even easier to conquer.

Zhu Youjian entered the city and immediately sent people to take over the rest of the cities, large and small, within Shuntian Prefecture.

In about one or two days, he will have control of the entire city in Shuntian Prefecture.

The control mentioned here refers to a very strong degree of control.

Because Sun Chengzong was recruiting soldiers in Baoding Prefecture, and his personal troops were stationed in various cities in Shuntian Prefecture. If the armies of the powerful families dared to enter these two prefectures from the south again, they would surely be met with a crushing defeat.

However, this is not what Zhu Youjian cares about right now.

His primary concern was Yongping Prefecture and Shanhaiguan, which were located far northeast of the capital.

Only by capturing these two places can the Later Jin be secured outside the pass.

I was just thinking about these things.

One of his men came to Zhu Youjian and told him the intelligence that Lu Xiangsheng had sent.

Hearing the news that the aristocratic families were urging the Later Jin to send troops, Zhu Youjian was not surprised, as this situation was already within his preparations.

The Later Jin can at least stall for some more time.

In principle, all we need to do is send Sun Chengzong to Yongping Prefecture as soon as possible to handle the relevant matters there.

However, in practice, he would need to provide Sun Chengzong with some additional support, such as large sums of gold and silver.

Because once the Later Jin realized they had been deceived, they would inevitably resort to any means necessary in order to invade the Ming Dynasty.

With the support of powerful families in various regions, their strength will be enhanced to an unprecedented degree.

Let's not talk about anything else then.

Regardless of whether the Later Jin forces would charge through at their strongest possible speed at each checkpoint, the fact that they spent large sums of money to bribe the checkpoints along the way was a major headache for Sun Chengzong.

Because it was impossible for Sun Chengzong to turn all the checkpoints in Yongping Prefecture into an impenetrable wall in a short period of time.

Although he had high prestige, it was ultimately no match for the power of money to win people's hearts, and Zhu Youjian had no unrealistic illusions about it.

Therefore, I must provide him with a large amount of gold and silver as logistical support in order to allow him to securely guard Shanhaiguan.

As for whether the Later Jin would choose to bypass Yongping Prefecture and attack the capital via other routes even if they managed to hold Yongping Prefecture, there's no need to worry about that.

Yongping Prefecture was a strategic pass that blocked Liaodong.

Zhu Youjian knew that Liaodong was now a mere shell of the Ming Dynasty.

As long as the Later Jin wanted to pass through, both Yuan Chonghuan and the cities controlled by other powerful families would readily agree and cooperate.

However, as long as Sun Chengzong can hold Yongping Prefecture, the Later Jin army will not be able to enter the pass from Liaodong.

If they wanted to take a detour, they would have to go further north through Mongolia to Shanxi, then cross Hebei from Shanxi, and then stumble their way to the capital.

The travel time alone would take at least one or two months.

And now winter has arrived.

Zhu Youjian was all too aware of the immense losses that would result from fighting in a foreign land during winter.

Therefore, it can be said that way.

As long as Yongping Prefecture remains intact, the Ming Dynasty can expect a good New Year; otherwise, the same applies.

As for the most important thing right now, silver, Zhu Youjian is sending people to plunder the city.

Of course, the looting was only targeted at the property left behind by the gentry and wealthy families when they had previously been stationed here.

The methods of looting were also very simple.

If someone's house is luxuriously built, just go in, kill them all, and make money.

With time running out and the task at hand, there simply isn't much time left to torment them.

These people should be grateful for this.

However, the outlook is not so optimistic.

Although a lot of valuable items and gold and silver were found in the city, it was not enough for the current situation.

the reason is simple.

A large portion of this silver was to be distributed to the people of Baoding Prefecture.

Although those people were stirred up with anger, if they couldn't even get what was originally promised, their despondency was inevitable.

There's nothing to blame for this.

Even in revolutions, you have to seize land from the landlords and distribute it to the peasants, right? Otherwise, why would anyone help you?
The remaining portion will be used for the basic operations within the two state capitals.

Although Zhu Youjian did bring back a lot of silver from the Kong family in Shandong a few days ago, after calculating all the miscellaneous items, it was really not enough.

What should you do if you don't have money?

For Zhu Youjian, it was, of course, to rob.

He turned his attention back to the map.

Because Shuntian Prefecture and Baoding Prefecture were close to the capital, it was impossible for wealthy families in Hebei Province to place their wealth in these two places.

However, further south, Zhen Ding Prefecture became an excellent choice for aristocratic families to hide their money.

Zhengding Prefecture was the central prefecture of Hebei Province.

Whether from an economic or transportation perspective, this is the most suitable place.

Further south, the economies of the prefectures also become more developed.

But for security reasons, those people certainly wouldn't hide their most important things there.

After all, there was a lot of infighting among the powerful families before Zhu Youjian ascended the throne.

Therefore, it can be concluded that even if these wealthy families in Hebei did not hide all their wealth in Zhen Ding Prefecture, they must have had a hideout there.

Think of this.

Zhu Youjian gave Lu Xiangsheng an order: to find out the specific locations where the aristocratic families hid their money.

For Lu Xiang-sheng, who is about to achieve another promotion, finding out this kind of news is not difficult.

Simultaneously.

Zhu Youjian also ordered his men to send urgent instructions to the cities in the border areas between Baoding and Shuntian prefectures and the southern prefectures of Hebei.

The soldiers and generals in these cities were instructed to simply defend their cities and not to invade the south again.

This creates the illusion for the powerful families that they are only prepared to maintain their positions and will no longer expand.

In this way, those people will not continue to flee south like frightened birds.

After all, they could temporarily retreat and place their hopes on the Later Jin.

Inside Zhen Ding Prefecture.

The sky gradually brightened.

After a long and arduous journey, Lu Xiang-sheng and his men finally escaped into the territory of Zhengding Prefecture.

Because Huang Ze was constantly deploying troops and generals in Zhending Prefecture and had put in a lot of effort for it, Zhending Prefecture was now under heavy guard.

The news of Lu Xiang-sheng's defeated army quickly reached Huang Ze's ears.

This almost made Huang Ze, who already had a bad temper, faint from anger.

When he met Lu Xiang-sheng amidst the crowd, and listened to the embellished account of the tragic events that had occurred in Shuntian Prefecture the previous day, he was overjoyed.

Huang Ze, whose hair was gray, suddenly felt a sharp, stabbing pain in his heart.

He wasn't really that heartbroken about the large number of casualties in the army, because in his eyes, consumables were ultimately just consumables.

But losing Shuntian Prefecture made him feel like he was being cut by a dull knife!
The loss of Shuntian Prefecture meant that Zhending Prefecture to its south would face the puppet emperor's army directly, with no room for maneuver.

In fact, whether or not there is room for maneuver is not that important to Huang Ze or the Huang family from a territorial perspective alone.

Because everyone knows that once the Later Jin enters the Ming Dynasty, the false emperor will surely die.

He'll have to give back all the territory he's conquered.

you could put it that way.

In their view, the so-called conquests and territories of the pseudo-emperor are now ineffective, and temporary gains and losses are insignificant.

At most, he's a pseudo-emperor who can fight.

But the problem is.

Within the city of Zhen Ding Prefecture, there is a treasure trove accumulated by the Huang family over generations.

If the emperor were to get his hands on it, the loss would be even more unacceptable to Huang Ze than losing ten Shuntian Prefectures.

And most importantly, this is irreversible!

(End of this chapter)