Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 115 Dark Jungle
Shen Tingyang is a very interesting person.

He was from a wealthy family, was a generous man, and admired chivalry, but at the same time he was also fond of talking about economics and compiled more than five volumes of "Book on Maritime Transport".

In the 13th year of Chongzhen, he built a sea vessel to solve the problem of transportation between the north and the south. Then he set out to sea from Huai'an in early June and arrived in Tianjin in just ten days.

He later held several official posts, but most of his actual assignments were related to water transport.

Overall, this is a rare technical official.

But precisely because his expertise was not in battle, he was unable to play any role when the Qing army crossed the river.

Otherwise, with the strength that was enough to crush the Qing navy, it would not be easy for Duoduo to cross the Yangtze River.

Speaking of this, we have to mention the Ming Dynasty's inland navy during the Chongzhen period.

Perhaps influenced by the Zheng family fleet, the Ming Dynasty's inland navy had abandoned the traditional naval warfare mode in the middle and late Chongzhen period and instead used broadside guns to bombard the enemy.

The Yingtian Ministry of Works even built a river defense gunboat modeled after the Minhai warship, equipped with ten red-gun guns and eight hundred-gun guns.

However, due to various reasons, the powerful inland navy did not have much impact on the Qing army's destruction of the Southern Ming Dynasty.

This makes people sigh that no matter how advanced the weapons and equipment are, they still need people to operate them.

Closer to home.

After a day and a night of sailing, Shen Tingyang finally returned to Chongming Island with Xu Renjue and three hundred Ming soldiers, and the generals on the island rushed to greet them after hearing the news.

"This is the younger brother of Duke Wei. He is here to negotiate with us on the orders of His Royal Highness the Regent."

"Xu Renjue greets the governor and the generals."

"Oh? He is the younger brother of Duke Wei. He is so handsome despite his young age."

As the highest-ranking official on the island, Huaiyang Governor Tian Yang praised Shen Tingyang after listening to his introduction. But before Xu Renjue could express his modesty, he changed the subject and talked directly about the soldiers.

"Who are these soldiers?"

"Didn't we think that the reason we couldn't defeat the Tartars was mostly due to the army? So I asked His Royal Highness the Regent to send some people to assist us."

"Oh~~?" Tian Yang let out a long sound, and then said something a little weird: "As expected, it is the Yingtian Army that attacked Zhenjiang. Do you plan to wipe out the Tartars with just these men and horses?"

Anyone could hear the hostility in such words, but Xu Renjue was calm and steady, not swayed by his personal emotions. If it was the young man from the Xu family who came here, Tian Yang would probably have really surrendered immediately.

But having said that, as a person sent by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince who is the Regent, he could not just sit there and do nothing when faced with such a provocation. Then Xu Renjue began to speak in a neither humble nor arrogant manner.

"Let the governor know that although our Yingtian Army is strong, it is not enough to defeat Duoduo with just these men. The reason why His Highness sent us here is, firstly, to accept the invitation of Lord Shen, and secondly, to make deals with the subordinates of the lords first."

Hearing this, Tian Yang seemed displeased, but after a moment he laughed "Haha", as if he admired Xu Renjue very much.

"It is true that heroes emerge young. It is truly a cause for celebration that the Duke of Wei has another talented person."

"Your Excellency, you are exaggerating."

After the two of them dealt with it, Tian Yang looked at the soldiers who were getting off the boat, and Xu Renjue stopped talking because of his status.

Taking advantage of this moment, Shen Tingyang seemed to remember something and asked a few people.

"Have you heard any news from Hangzhou?"

When in Yingtian, Zhu Cilang showed great interest in the news from Hangzhou, so Shen Tingyang couldn't wait to ask after the two sides exchanged greetings.

"No, why do you ask about Hangzhou?"

"According to your Highness's deduction, the Tartars are most likely in Hangzhou, so he wants us to find out."

"It's easy to find out. We can ask General Wu. Lord Shen, please tell us how Yingtian managed to survive these days."

Everyone was minding their own business. Shen Tingyang had just finished speaking when a burly, bearded general came over and asked the question that everyone was wondering.

At this time, all the people on Chongming Island were generals on the Huaihe River front line. Although he was unable to witness the combat power of the Tartars in person due to the surrender of various towns, he had heard of several battles outside the Great Wall.

Therefore, people are very curious about how Yingtian survived the Tatar attack.

"Peng Yi, don't worry. Let me explain slowly."

After the description, everyone seemed to be thinking about something, and Tian Yang, seeing that all the soldiers had disembarked, interrupted the generals' flattery of His Royal Highness the Regent.

"The soldiers from Yingtian are also guests from afar. Lord Shen, let them settle down first. I will prepare a small banquet to welcome you two in the evening."

This was only natural, so the two agreed. But after everyone on the island left, Xu Renjue asked a question out of the blue.

"Sir Shen, did this governor station troops in Huai'an before?"

Hearing this, Shen Tingyang was stunned for a moment, then he frowned and said, "How can we blame him for the situation at that time? Didn't people like us escape?"

"Don't blame me, sir. That's not what I meant. It's just..."

"How can we still blame them when the situation is so bad?"

Xu Renjue was about to explain but was interrupted by Shen Tingyang.

At this time, he also realized that he had said something wrong, so he stopped explaining and let Shen Tingyang take him to the station.

After a while, Shen Tingyang left, but Xu Renjue, after thinking for a long time, finally seemed to have made a decision and shouted to the soldiers who were settling in: "Brothers, please work harder and build a parapet around the camp and set up some guards."

Logically speaking, although Chongming Island is not under Zhu Cilang's command, it can be considered a quasi-ally.

There is no need for Xu Renjue to be so cautious.

But before leaving, he had been warned and understood the dangers hidden in this trip. In addition, he had some understanding of Tian Yang's past behavior, so after weighing the pros and cons, he finally decided to be cautious.

Tian Yang was exiled for corruption in his early years. After moving south, he also hindered Shi Kefa in every way due to the struggle for power. When the Qing army approached Yangzhou, he abandoned Huai'an with only 8,000 troops and watched Yangzhou fall.

Of course, considering the situation in Yangzhou at that time, it would make no difference whether he rescued them or not, but if we consider his previous actions comprehensively, we can find that this person is not very trustworthy.

No matter what, the soldiers of Yingtian finally built the women's wall.

just
Chongming Island

Tian Yang's residence
"Sir, it seems that the Yingtian soldiers have built a parapet outside the camp."

Tian Yang waved his hand to signal the soldiers to retreat, and then he said to Zhang Shiyi, the general of Huaihai Town, and Prince Yiyang, "I'm right, aren't I? If they didn't have ulterior motives, why would they build a women's wall?"

Before reaching Chongming Island, Shen Tingyang was close to the residence of the burly Zhang Pengyi, while Tian Yang was close to the residence of Zhang Shiyi.

In such a situation, people will naturally be divided into close and distant relatives when they get along with each other.

However, because the island had no contact with any small court before, it felt a bit isolated overseas, so when they shared the same adversity, they were able to stick together and get along harmoniously.

But now the situation has changed dramatically. The people who originally planned to jointly entrust Prince Yi Yang as regent have now had disagreements because they reconnected with Ying Tian.

It is at this time that individual nature re-emerges.

"Maybe. Maybe the soldiers in Yingtian have stricter discipline."

While Zhang Shiyi was still thinking, Prince Yi Yang said something hesitantly.

Like Prince Lu, he actually didn't want to be the regent in his heart, but everything was ultimately forced by the situation.

He knew that his bloodline was too far away, and even if he succeeded to the throne as regent, few people would listen to his orders. If he really succeeded to the throne as regent, not only would he not get any benefits, but he would also face the encirclement and suppression of the Tartars. It would be better to just bear the title of prince and find a proper place to live out the rest of his life in peace.

But in this chaotic world, if you have no soldiers, you can only be at the mercy of others.

Not to mention such a big matter as being the regent, even his words might not get a response.

"This soldier's arrival is strange."

"You think so too?"

"What else can I think?"

"That"

Zhang Shiyi spoke slowly, and Tian Yang immediately responded as if he had found a soulmate. Then the two of them asked and answered each other. It was not until they saw Prince Yi Yang with a puzzled look on his face that they realized that there was still a living person here.

"Your Highness is unaware of something."

When Tian Yang saw the expression on King Yi Yang's face, he knew that he had not yet figured out the key point. While he looked at him with contempt, he also showed some kindness and took the initiative to explain.

In the eyes of these people, everything must be done according to rules.

Just like asking Yingtian for troops, they proposed, Yingtian agreed, and then the two families discussed the details before moving on to the stage of sending troops.

But now that they have brought it up, Yingtian hastily drove a nail into the island. What else could this be but an ulterior motive?
"Does Yingtian want to eat us? But why is this necessary? Are they worried that you will support me as regent?"

"That's right."

"cocoa.."

Prince Yi Yang hesitated for a long time, but in the end he couldn't utter a complete sentence, and seemed to agree with Tian Yang's guess.

Can this be considered a misjudgment between the two companies?
Approximately.

But we need to go deeper into the root cause.

There is nothing wrong with what Chongming Island did, so it is natural for Yingtian to be more cautious.

However, if there is no sufficient restraint to make people feel fearful, these behaviors are likely to be seen as having ulterior motives in the eyes of the other party.

Many things gradually got out of control and eventually evolved into a fight.

Zhu Cilang had not thought of this, and he did not know whether Yue Qijie had thought of others.

However, there is no point in saying this now. After all, the seeds of fear and caution have already been planted. We can only hope that both sides will restrain their behavior because they face a common enemy.

"Don't bother the gentlemen to see me off. I can go back on my own."

"Hey~~ I think Xu Erlang can drink quite well, why don't we go to another place to have a drink?"

The welcoming banquet had already been set up, but Zhang Pengyi still seemed a little unsatisfied. No matter how Xu Renjue tried to persuade him, it was of no avail. If Shen Tingyang had not come to the rescue, he would have had to drink a lot of alcohol to get out of this situation tonight.

On the way back to the base, Xu Renjue recalled the performance of everyone at the banquet, and felt that he was a little suspicious.

Lord Tian's way of doing things makes people feel like they are in the spring breeze, while the two generals are generous and upright. Compared with the two, Lord Shen seems a little boring.

After walking for a while, the camp gradually appeared in Xu Renjue's eyes, but as he got closer, he seemed to see many figures swaying in the camp.

"Oh no! Someone is attacking the camp!"

As soon as he connected the scene before him with the memories in his mind, the drunkenness immediately dissipated completely.

Having been warned by the old man, Xu Renjue had been cautious in his heart, but how could he have imagined that he was drinking and chatting happily just a moment ago, and would be attacked the next moment?
"It's true."

By now he had realized that all the talk of being as refreshing as a spring breeze and as magnanimous and upright was, in the final analysis, just to numb him.

But why not just leave yourself here?
As soon as this thought came into his mind, Xu Renjue suppressed it immediately.

Then he drew his sword from his waist, turned around and headed towards the camp.

just
"Surrender! There are only 300 of you. Stop... um."

It was dark, and Zhu Jiancang had only intended to give it a try, but the sound stopped abruptly after the arrow was shot, which made him doubt whether his archery skills had reached perfection.

Xu Renjue went to a welcoming banquet tonight, and Chongming Island did not neglect these soldiers.

However, although the wine and meat were delicious, they were difficult to digest. Just as they lay down, the alarm sounded from the sentry post outside.

Although the guards were slower in getting equipped, the young men from Zhutang were lightly equipped and carried short swords and long bows with them. Only a few breaths after the alarm sounded, they all came out of the tents and shot arrows at the enemy troops that were about to rush in.

There is nothing much to say about what happened afterwards.

Although the young men from Zhutang could not kill the enemy with every arrow, they seldom missed. After thirty or forty of the enemies were lying on the ground, they withdrew from the camp and started shouting outside.

This is how the scene just now happened.

"We are sent by His Royal Highness the Regent. How dare you attack me?"

Zhu Jiancang shouted to the outside, but perhaps because of the power of the arrow, no one from the enemy dared to respond.

After a while, seeing that the other party had not made any movement, he was so angry that he decided to shoot a few more arrows to see if he could hit the target again.

"Build a position."

Just as he was drawing his bow and thinking about where to shoot the arrow, Xu Renjue finally came back to the camp from the side.

"There should be a lot of enemy troops outside. If they attack, I and the guards will be in the front, and you just need to shoot arrows."

"Second Young Master, why don't you just kill them directly?"

"Ok?"

The reason he walked around outside was not only to avoid the enemy, but also to find out how many people had come outside the camp.

Of course, it was so dark that he couldn't see the exact number, but based on the distance he had traveled, there were probably more than a thousand people.

In Xu Renjue's opinion, the enemy is strong and we are weak, so there is nothing else he can do except hold on and wait for help.

So when Zhu Jiancang said this, he just stood there in a daze.

"These navy troops have no other ability except to harm the people. If we can confuse them, they will be defeated in no time."

"Just rush out like this?"

"if not?"

"Don't you need to come up with some tricks?"

"No need."

Zhu Jiancang's contempt for the Ming navy was evident in his words, but Xu Renjue was really undecided.

After all, this is the Ming Dynasty's official army, how could it collapse at the first touch?
Is the progress in these days a bit too fast?

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(End of this chapter)