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

……

"Haha, Imperial Censor Zhang, you've come at the perfect time! I'm holding a celebratory banquet in the army right now, Imperial Censor Zhang, we won't leave until we're all drunk."

Zheng Cai noticed that Zhang Huangyan's eyes were slightly narrowed, and she secretly made a guess in her heart;

"Zhang Huangye's visit is probably not to congratulate me on my victory, but rather to make contact with those envoys."

"He must not be allowed to contact the envoy before arriving in Fuzhou, to avoid any unforeseen circumstances."

"As long as I lead my troops into Fuzhou, I can suppress any trouble they may cause."

After the banquet, Zhang Huangyan got completely drunk, clearly because Zheng Cai had deliberately gotten him drunk.

He probably won't be able to complete his mission today; he didn't even catch a glimpse of the messenger.

Meanwhile, Wu Hui, who was guarding the envoy for Zheng Cai, also seemed to have received no useful information.

"How did it go? Did you get any information? What did the envoys from Jianning Prefecture say?"

After the banquet, Zheng Cai's face was flushed, but his behavior remained normal, indicating that he was not drunk.

After sending Zhang Huangyan away, he summoned Wu Hui.

"The Duke has news, but it's neither good nor bad for us, and I can't judge it," Wu Hui said in a low voice.

Zheng Cai frowned; "Tell me."

"The envoy said that they came here to form an alliance with our army to resist the Qing, not to submit to us."

"An alliance?" Zheng Cai's furrowed brows relaxed, and her eyes darted around.

He had considered surrendering, and he had imagined that the other party would come seeking rewards or protection, but he never expected that the other party would want an alliance.

The meaning of an alliance is very clear: alliances only occur between countries, when two equally matched forces cooperate, and when the weaker party seeks protection from a vastly different power.

Li Tian clearly regarded Jianning Prefecture as a country and wanted to be on equal footing with the Regent.

Who was Prince Lu, Zhu Yihai? He was a member of the Ming Dynasty imperial family, with an extremely noble status.

Li Tian was just an ordinary citizen, yet he dared to make a request for an alliance.

Zheng Cai suddenly burst into laughter.

"Why is the Duke laughing?" Wu Hui asked, puzzled.

"I laugh at that brat Li Tian for being arrogant and conceited, thinking that just because he has 100,000 men under his command he can establish his own country. How laughable!"

"Is this a good thing or a bad thing?" Wu Hui asked again.

"It should be considered a good thing. It's just a warlord who proposed an alliance. Prince Lu and the others will definitely be wary of Li Tian. As long as Li Tian cannot be won over by them, our position in Fuzhou will never be threatened."

"On the contrary, we will be highly valued by our superiors, because only we can stand against Li Tian."

After some analysis, Zheng Cai realized that he was initially afraid that Li Tian would surrender. After all, once he surrendered, the balance between the forces of the Lu King's small court in Fujian would be broken, and there would inevitably be a life-or-death struggle.

In this chaotic world, military power is the only true path to victory.

With 100,000 troops under his command, Li Tian possesses a natural advantage and poses a significant threat to Zheng Cai.

"Starting tomorrow, we don't need to keep an eye on those envoys anymore. Let them contact outsiders freely."

Zheng Cai felt much relieved after learning the other party's true intentions, but she still remained cautious.

What if they're lying?

Therefore, someone needs to be assigned to supervise.

Early the next morning.

Zhang Huangyan woke up with a hangover, his head aching.

After washing up, I remembered that there was something important to do.

"We must go and sound out the envoy."

Upon arriving at the envoy's residence, Han Yu and Wang Qi soon emerged together.

Zhang Huangyan was stunned when he saw the two. He knew Wang Qi. He had previously guarded Jianning Prefecture, calling himself the Imperial Preceptor and behaving presumptuously, but Prince Lu still acquiesced to it.

But unexpectedly, this imperial advisor actually helped Li Tian.

"I am Zhang Huangyan, Right Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Ming Dynasty."

Han Yu followed Zhang Huangyan's example and bowed with his hands clasped, thinking to himself, "So this is the Great Ming? Now it only has a few scattered pieces of territory left. It might as well be called Little Ming."

"My name is Han Yu, and this is Wang Qi."

"It's been a long time since I've seen Imperial Censor Zhang," Wang Qi said, bowing slightly to Zhang Huangyan.

"Oh? So you two know each other." Han Yu said.

Wang Qi replied, "Commander Han, I had contact with Imperial Censor Zhang when I revolted against the Qing Dynasty."

Han Yu nodded slightly. At this moment, the soldiers in the camp began to pack up their things, preparing to leave.

"Imperial Censor Zhang, why don't we talk as we walk?"

"Okay, let's talk as we walk."

Zhang Huangyan said with a smile, "Battalion Commander Han, I wonder where you're from?"

"I am from Jiangxi."

"There was quite a bit of commotion in Jiangxi before, with many people revolting. Battalion Commander Han was one of those who revolted and came to Fujian, right?" Zhang Huangyan looked at Han Yu.

"More or less." Han Yu gave a vague answer; how could he possibly reveal his true information?

"Is Fuzhou currently under the control of your Ming Dynasty, Imperial Censor Zhang?" Han Yu suddenly asked.

Zhang Huangyan nodded upon hearing this, but was puzzled by the sudden question.

"It is under the control of our Great Ming Dynasty. It was recently recovered by Liu Zhongzao, the Minister of War, and its advance was unstoppable. Now it is about to reach Zhejiang."

"Oh..." Han Yu nodded with a half-smile at Zhang Huangyan's boasting.

Wang Qi sighed and finally pulled Zhang Huangyan aside to speak in a low voice.

"Yesterday when we came to Fuzhou, we saw Zheng Cai's army plundering a troop of provisions. This is probably not good for Minister Liu."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Huangyan's face flushed red and then turned pale.

"How could Zheng Cai do such a shameless thing!"

"No, please excuse me, I have to go now."

This matter was of great importance. Instead of probing the envoy's purpose, Zhang Huangyan learned about the infighting within his own family, making himself a laughingstock.

He was too ashamed to travel with them, so he immediately ordered someone to bring a horse and ran back to Fuzhou to tell Prince Lu, Zhu Yihai, about the incident.

However, the army was not far from Fuzhou at this time, and Zheng Cai could return to Fuzhou today.

Wang Qi watched Zhang Huangyan's departing figure and sighed.

"It seems the internal struggles within the Ming Dynasty are quite intense. Was it like this before?" Han Yu looked at Wang Qi.

Wang Qi lowered his head, looking somewhat dejected. "Pretty much. After the Jia Shen Incident, the civil and military officials in Nanjing supported the Prince of Fu to become emperor, but the internal factional struggles were fierce. When the Qing army marched south, there was hardly any resistance. The dynasty was destroyed in less than a year."

"Later, Zheng Zhilong supported the Tang King to become emperor, but the Lu King did not obey the edict and did not recognize the Tang King as the emperor. Instead of fighting together to resist the Qing, the two sides fought each other for legitimacy. Later, Zheng Zhilong surrendered to the Qing and the Tang King was captured."

"After that, Zhu Yujian, the younger brother of the Prince of Tang, succeeded to the throne of the Prince of Tang and proclaimed himself emperor in Guangzhou with the reign title Shaowu. However, the situation was chaotic at that time, and the Prince of Yongming also proclaimed himself emperor at the same time with the reign title Yongli, who is now the Emperor of the Great Ming Dynasty."

"His Majesty the present and Emperor Shaowu refused to recognize each other and fought a fierce battle. Taking advantage of this, the Qing army marched south, and Emperor Shaowu hanged himself."

Wang Qi paused again, a lingering melancholy in his eyes; "The Ming Dynasty is not incapable of revival, but unfortunately, the officials from all sides who came to power only cared about eliminating dissidents, leading to constant internal strife, which is why it gradually fell to this state."

Han Yu nodded after listening; "I see. A group of selfish people together can't amount to anything."

Wang Qi's lips twitched upon hearing this.

Battalion Commander Han, weren't you being a bit too hurtful with your words?