With 100,000 elite soldiers at the start, what should you call me?

……

"Why is the Prince of Yunxi here in Fuzhou instead of guarding Jianning Prefecture?"

Inside the Duke of Jianguo's mansion, Zheng Cai sat in his seat, sipping tea and looking coldly at the Prince of Yunxi below.

Zhu Changhu, the Prince of Yunxi, forced a stiff smile as he stood below, his heart filled with unease and anger.

He was a member of the Ming imperial family and a prince, yet he was standing while the other was sitting, facing a duke from a different clan.

This is simply disregarding him.

Extremely rude and presumptuous behavior.

However, Zhu Changhu will not break off relations yet, because whether or not he can send troops to rescue Wang Qi probably depends on the attitude of this Duke of Jian.

"When Jianning Prefecture was besieged, Qin Shilang and I escaped with our lives. We returned to Fuzhou to ask Prince Lu to send troops to rescue us."

Zheng Cai narrowed her eyes slightly; "His Majesty has already dispatched troops to rescue you. Didn't you encounter Jie Chongxi?"

"Furthermore, I've heard that the Qing army has completely surrounded Jianning Prefecture. How did the Prince of Yunxi manage to escape?"

The court had already received Zhu Changhu's letter requesting assistance. However, due to the great commotion caused by Prince Lu, Zhu Yihai, the court had no choice but to hand the letter over to the current emperor, the Yongli Emperor, Zhu Youlang.

Zhu Youlang, far away in Guilin, finalized the plan and ordered Jie Chongxi, who was making waves in Jiangxi, to send troops to support Jianning Prefecture.

However, Jie Chongxi was blocked in Shaowu and was unable to provide support to Wang Qi as expected.

Currently, Prince Lu, Zhu Yihai, is acting as regent in the Fujian region to resist the Qing dynasty. The current emperor is Emperor Yongli, Zhu Youlang.

The Prince of Lu nominally respected Zhu Youlang, but in reality, he was an independent regime.

After all, at present, Prince Lu, Zhu Yihai, is still engaged in a power struggle with Zheng Cai.

"Jie Chongxi?"

Zhu Changhu was clearly taken aback when he heard the name, and then he was even more confused when he heard that it was reinforcements sent by Emperor Yongli, Zhu Youlang.

He sought help from Fuzhou, but the request was passed on to Emperor Yongli, who was far away in Guilin.

The final reinforcements came from Jiangxi; no wonder they were so late in arriving.

At this moment, Zhu Changhu clenched his fists a little tighter.

This is clearly another internal political struggle.

Zhu Changhu quickly guessed the outcome of this internal political struggle. As expected, reinforcements would not arrive, and he would be besieged by the Qing army in Jianning Prefecture, where he would eventually die.

"On King Naru's side..."

Before Zhu Changhu could finish speaking, Zheng Cai immediately interrupted, her brows furrowing in a sorrowful expression.

"Of course, Prince Lu also sent reinforcements, and the Duke of this country added elite guards, but they were wiped out by the Qing army. Now we are also worried about this matter."

"Your Majesty, you must be tired. Please have a seat."

Only then did Zheng Cai put on a warm attitude. He had noticed that something was wrong with Zhu Changhu, so he was just putting on a show.

We sent reinforcements, but they were wiped out. It's not that we didn't want to save you, it's that the enemy was too strong.

In that case, Zhu Changhu can't blame them.

"..."

Zhu Changhu sat down, seemingly unwilling to continue speaking.

He found his dealings with Zheng Cai very annoying and felt a deep disgust for the warlord in front of him.

"The Prince of Yunxi hasn't told me how we escaped. Could it be that Jianning Prefecture has already fallen?"

Zheng Cai then pressed for an answer.

Zhu Changhu: "When I left Jianning Prefecture, the Imperial Preceptor was still guarding it. However, a rebel army suddenly appeared around Jianning Prefecture, which attracted the attention of the Qing army, allowing me to leave Jianning Prefecture."

"I see. Another rebel army has emerged. This is obviously a good thing. Let the Prince of Lu draft an edict to bring that rebel army under my command. This will strengthen our army's power."

Zhu Changhu smiled bitterly and shook his head: "I'm afraid the Duke can't take over that rebel army, because I just received news that the rebel army is attacking Jianning Prefecture."

Zheng Cai raised an eyebrow and said angrily, "This is still a righteous army? This is a rebel army! They are utterly lawless."

"I will report this matter to Prince Lu and ask him to approve my dispatch of troops to support Jianning Prefecture."

Zhu Changhu looked at Zheng Cai with some surprise upon hearing this.

He didn't expect Zheng Cai to actually agree.

"On behalf of the people and elders of Jianning Prefecture, I thank the Duke of Jianguo."

However, Zhu Changhu was quite sensible and stood up to bow to Zheng Cai.

Zheng Cai quickly stepped forward to help the other man up; "Your Highness, you are too kind to me. I should be the one bowing to you."

After exchanging pleasantries, Zhu Changhu revealed some more information about the rebel army before returning to his residence to await further news.

However, shortly after Zhu Changhu left, a person came out from a nearby cubicle.

"Are we really going to attack the Duke of Jian Guo?"

"That bandit army numbers 100,000. Even if they're poorly equipped, like country bumpkins, there are still 100,000 of them. How many men should we send to deal with them? What if something happens to our rear?"

The speaker was named Wu Hui, Zheng Cai's most capable and trusted subordinate.

Wu Hui was the one who forced Marquis Zheng Zunqian of Yixing to commit suicide.

"Hmph, they're just a hundred thousand commoners. They have no swords, spears, or armor, but they do have muskets. I bet those muskets are just made of bamboo sticks."

Zheng Cai sneered, "Defeating that band of thieves is just a piece of cake."

"What I want is a reason to send troops."

Wu Hui: "The Duke is indeed farsighted."

They are now at odds with the Prince of Lu and other civil officials. If they send troops out recklessly, they may be betrayed by friendly forces from the rear.

Therefore, we must be careful.

If they lose to a foreign race, they may be considered inferior, but they can still live and enjoy life. However, if they lose to a heretic, their families will be wiped out, all the men will be killed, and the women will be thrown into the brothel. No one can afford to lose.

In particular, Zheng Cai, who had defeated countless political enemies, now has a beautiful concubine in his household who is Zheng Zunqian's daughter.

"This time, we're sending troops to teach Liu Zhongzao a lesson. That guy's been getting a bit too cocky lately, thinking that taking Fuzhou gives him the right to challenge us?"

"Hmph, do you think I don't know that all the court officials are flirting with him?"

A cold glint flashed in Zheng Cai's eyes; if given the chance, he would definitely kill Liu Zhongzao.

He would never allow anyone to threaten his position.

This time, under the guise of supporting Jianning Prefecture, he wanted to teach Liu Zhongzao a lesson and make him understand his own position.

The very next day, a memorial from the Duke of Jian Guo was delivered to the Prince of Lu.

After the Prince of Lu submitted his memorial, he no longer concealed the arrival of Zhu Changhu, the Prince of Yunxi, and brought him to the court.

"Supporting Jianning Prefecture is of utmost urgency. I think the Duke of Jianguo's memorial is feasible. Grand Secretary Qian, please take it and approve it as soon as possible."