Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 129 They are all old foxes

January 6

Hangzhou
Since the great victory outside the city that day, two fleets have been anchored in the Qiantang River.

One was the Chongming Island fleet led by Zhu Guobi, the Duke of Baoguo, and the other was the Zheng family fleet led by Zheng Hongkui.

In the eyes of others, since the Zheng family came from a pirate family, Zheng Hongkui must be a reckless man like a pirate.

However, when Zheng Zhilong was surrendered, he was only thirteen or fourteen years old. Later, he passed the military examination and served as the commander-in-chief of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. During the Hongguang period, he served as the general of Zhenjiang and the general of Zhenhai to guard against the Qing army on the river.

The positions he held made him look more like a general of the Ming Dynasty than a pirate at sea.

Of course, there are differences among the generals of the Ming Dynasty.

For example, Chengzu, the Marquis of Jinshanwei, in the original history, not only destroyed his family property to help the country, but also resisted the Qing army for three days and nights with a small number of soldiers in a small city.

After the city was captured, his son Hou Shilu was shot by more than 40 arrows, which pierced his cheek and heart. He died, chanting a poem before his death: "My body is soaked in rain and dew, but my heart cannot die. My flesh is covered in mud and sand, but my bones are still fragrant!"

After being captured and exhausted, Hou Chengzu denounced the surrendering officials and refused to surrender unless he died.

Compared with such a heroic figure, Zheng Hongkui's operation was obviously much more comfortable.

After the Qing army captured Yangzhou, it reached the north bank of the Yangtze River on May 5. On the 5th, Duoduo ordered the surrendered generals Zhang Tianlu, Yang Chengzu and others to land by boat at dawn miles west of Zhenjiang.

Afterwards, Zheng Hongkui's army pretended to fight with the Qing army, and then led the navy to retreat along the river, fleeing directly to Hangzhou in one breath.

The saying "To defend the Yangtze River, one must also defend the Huai River" means that if one wants to defend the Yangtze River, one must at least occupy both sides of the Huai River north of the Yangtze River. Only when the Yangtze River and the Huai River are integrated can a deep defense be formed. Otherwise, the Yangtze River defense line alone will not be able to stop the enemy in the north.

From this perspective, it seems reasonable that Zheng Hongkui failed to stop Duoduo in Jiangbei, and his decision seemed to be a helpless move.

But if you understand why "Huai must be defended", you will find that Zheng Hongkui's behavior is even worse than if he had directly surrendered to Liu Liangzuo.

The reason why "Huai" must be defended is that there are many places along the Yangtze River where people can cross the river. Having the Jianghuai area as a shield can change the situation where people need to defend everywhere but are unable to hold on to them all.

Secondly, due to the occupation of the Jianghuai area, the Northern Army no longer had a suitable place for shipbuilding, so the Yangtze River defense line could naturally rest assured.

However, when the Qing army was preparing to cross the river, they did not have enough ships to transport soldiers, and because Jiangbei had not been completely pacified, there were not many places suitable for large-scale crossings. As long as Zheng Hongkui made good warnings, he would be able to rely on the powerful navy to thwart the Qing army's plan to cross the river.

In this way, the Hongguang court would have enough time to get through the initial panic. Even if it still could not escape destruction in the end, it would definitely not be like it is now.

At this point, it is useless to say these things. After all, the Zheng family still controls Fujian. If Jiangxi and Anhui are lost, the areas of Jiangsu and Zhejiang will still need them as a rear support.

Zheng Hongkui was naturally well aware of this, so until now the Zheng family fleet has been safely parked on the Qiantang River.

"Your Majesty, why don't you let me send someone to take you back to Fuzhou first?"

In the dim cabin, King Tang Zhu Youjian had a worried look on his face. Seeing this, Zheng Hongkui thought for a moment and asked tentatively.

When the rebel king was enthroned earlier, all the ministers were on their way, and some did not react in time. By the time the empress dowager's decree was issued, even though there were still a few princes in Hangzhou, there was no room for others to turn around.

In such a situation, ministers like Huang Daozhou had no choice but to accept it, but Zheng Hongkui had made preparations in advance.

Not only did he let Zhu Youjian join his fleet, he also deployed manpower in the city early on, waiting for the situation to change so that he could take some ministers to Fuzhou to support Zhu Youjian.

It has to be said that his vision was very sharp. According to the situation at that time, even if Hangzhou could hold on, it would not be able to hold on for long.

As long as the situation develops according to the original trajectory, their Zheng family will naturally be able to become the top powerful family in the Ming Dynasty by virtue of their contribution to the enthronement.

But Zhu Cilang sent someone over.

The Yingtian Army not only won a great victory with its powerful combat capability, but also took advantage of this favorable situation to eliminate the surrender faction in one fell swoop.

In order to give an explanation to the soldiers, he even ordered the rebel king to be skinned alive in the downtown area.

By now, the entire Hangzhou, at least on the surface, was united around the Crown Prince Regent, and Zheng Hongkui's previous arrangements were of no use.

As for the King of Tang, he was in a state of panic all day long.

Of course, this is just Zheng Hongkui's guess. After all, Zhu Youjian is a man who has experienced a lot, and he probably won't show too much emotion before the knife is placed on his neck.

"If I leave now, I'm afraid it will arouse suspicion."

"What are you afraid of? Emperor Hongguang named you the King of Nanyang. Who can find fault with you passing through Fujian to Guangxi?" At this point, Zheng Hongkui leaned forward and whispered, "When we get to Fuzhou, even if he really wants to harm you, there's nothing he can do."

Just a show?

Hearing this, Zhu Youjian sneered in his heart, but his face was still frowning.

In his opinion, there was nothing wrong with the first half of Zheng Hongkui's sentence. After Hongguang conferred him the title of King of Nanyang, he also set his fiefdom in Pingle Prefecture, Guangxi. No one could find fault with him passing through Fujian to reach the frontier.

But in the current situation, the ministers who originally intended to accompany him to Fujian have changed their minds. If Zhu Youjian really listened to Zheng Hongkui, who can guarantee what the situation will be like when he gets there?
It should be noted that the Zheng family is like a local tyrant in Fujian. If there is no one to support them, how could Zhu Youjian dare to go to Fujian alone.

If ordinary people thought about it, since they were on guard against the Zheng family, they would just leave the Zheng family fleet. Anyway, they were not in Fujian at the moment. Could Zheng Hongkui really dare to keep them there by force?

It’s easier said than done.
In those days, Zhu Youjian was demoted to a commoner by Chongzhen because he organized an army to defend the king. When the rebellious king showed his intention to surrender, many ministers were willing to support him as regent.

If that kid is as petty as his father, he can easily find a reason to deal with this vassal king who has no soldiers or generals.

You have to know that the rebellious king who served as regent was skinned alive by a single imperial decree.

Therefore, although Zhu Youjian knew that the Zheng family was not easy to deal with, he had to choose the lesser of two evils and planned to follow the Zheng family to Fujian as soon as the situation was not right.

By then, there would be no hope for independence, but at least one could save his life.

"Hey~~~, the situation is unclear right now, but it's not good to cause trouble for Nan Anbo."

"Well, since the prince thinks so, let's see the situation and make a decision.
Although the situation in Hangzhou has eased, the enemy is still at hand.

If something goes wrong, I don’t know if I can get out of it.”

Zheng Hongkui's words were somewhat intended to scare Zhu Youjian, but the situation in Hangzhou was indeed not stable.

Although that battle was a great victory and several reinforcements arrived one after another afterwards, Fang Guoan's troops still suffered heavy losses, while the Tartars only suffered minor injuries at most.

After careful comparison, Hangzhou City can only be considered temporarily stable, but it is still far from being completely out of danger.

Thinking about it this way, what Zheng Hongkui said does make some sense. If he didn't have some calculations, he probably wouldn't have risked damaging his own fleet by standing under this dangerous wall.

After he finished speaking, Zhu Youjian neither said yes nor no. Except for a slight fluctuation in his eyes, he remained the same as before.

This kind of reaction was probably what Zheng Hongkui had expected, so he said goodbye and walked out of the cabin.

"Marshal, there is a boat on the river!"

Have a boat?

Is there a boat on the river?

Aren’t there many boats on the river?
As soon as the hatch was opened, a sound reached Zhu Youjian's ears. His first reaction was that the Zheng family sailor might be beaten up. But after a moment, he suddenly realized that if it was really an ordinary ship, why would the sailor come here to report?
Is there any variable?
With this in mind, Zhu Youjian wanted to go out of the cabin to take a look, but his brain interrupted the action before he could exert any force with his legs.

When he was demoted to a commoner, he was tortured because he had no money to bribe the eunuchs. From this he learned the skill of hiding his thoughts.

His current situation is naturally not as bad as it was back then, but it is still as dangerous as before. Therefore, the instinct he has developed over the years makes him hide his thoughts deeply when facing anyone.

"Don't you want to go and take a look, sir?"

"What's so good about a boat?"

"It must be the navy of Chongming Island."

"Oh? Yingtian does have quite a few warships."

After exchanging a few witty words with Zheng Hongkui, he slowly stood up and walked out of the cabin.

"It turns out there are only these few. There's nothing to see."

Seeing three or four warships approaching slowly from afar, Zhu Youjian complained but did not move an inch.

There were only a few boats, so naturally there was nothing interesting to see, but the few people waiting on the shore aroused his great interest.

"That person must be the Duke of Baoguo."

"Ah."

"Is the person next to him the general named Chang?"

Zhu Youjian almost never got off the boat during this period, so he had never seen anyone from Yingtian.

However, when they met that night, Chang Guanlin was in the camp stabilizing the abducted Yingtian soldiers and horses, so Zheng Hongkui was not quite sure whether the general was the fierce general who defeated the Qing army.

"About."

"Let them come and greet us in person."

"I guess so."

As the two men talked, a team of soldiers emerged from the boat, but the man they had guessed never showed up.

It was not until Duke Baoguo led the team of soldiers into Hangzhou that they began to feel doubts.

"Something is not right. If it wasn't him, why would the Duke of Baoguo come here in person?"

"Could it be that they are here just to receive this group of soldiers?"

"It's just a group of soldiers. Chang Guanlin can come. How can we alarm the Duke of Baoguo?"

"Who wouldn't want to join such a strong army?"

The two asked and answered each other, constantly speculating why Zhu Guobi appeared here.

At the end, Zhu Youjian almost revealed his true thoughts without realizing it. After he glanced at Zheng Hongkui who seemed unaware, he continued, "They are all people around the prince. It will be of great benefit to have a good relationship with him."

Zheng Hongkui naturally heard what he said. To be honest, they were both thousand-year-old foxes, so who could not see through whose Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio?
Anyway, the truth has not been revealed yet, so the two families are just acting tacitly.

However, he still agreed with Zhu Youjian's words.

Although there were many factors that contributed to the great victory that day, the fighting power of the prince's personal army left a deep impression on Zheng Hongkui, who witnessed the entire battle.

Unlike his elder brother who was a translator, believed in being content with a small fortune and had no big ambitions, Zheng Hongkui knew very well that this was an era of great contention. Given the size of his Zheng family, if he could not stand on his own, he would surely attract the covetousness of the victor.

Unfortunately, the Zheng family has few rivals at sea, but their situation on land is hard to describe.

Under such circumstances, it is naturally impossible to compete with any of the companies competing for China on land.

Therefore, after seeing the fighting power of the prince's personal army that day, he began to want to win them over.

just
Since they are the prince's personal soldiers, their loyalty is naturally unquestionable. If you want to win them over, you should be cautious.

While the two men with ulterior motives were still looking out from the boat, Zhu Guobi and Chang Guanlin had already led the team of soldiers into Hangzhou City.

Zhu Cilang was naturally among that group of soldiers, but he did not deliberately conceal his whereabouts from the officials in Hangzhou.

It was just that his intention of coming here was to integrate Hangzhou’s military strength for future actions.

If the Tartars discovered his movements, there was a high possibility that it would arouse Duoduo's vigilance.

That's why he notified Zhu Guobi and Chang Guanlin when he was about to arrive in Hangzhou.

"This is roughly the situation in Hangzhou."

On the way, Zhu Guobi took the time to report to Zhu Cilang on the various situations in Hangzhou City, and then remained silent, waiting for the response from His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

"As expected, the veteran is worth two. If it weren't for the Duke, Hangzhou would have faced many more setbacks."

"It was all thanks to the personal troops led by Your Highness that this went so smoothly. At most, I, an old minister, just talked a lot, but I didn't contribute much."

"Well, I certainly remember the contributions of General Chang and his soldiers, but there is no need for you to be modest."

Having said this, Zhu Cilang paused for a moment, then continued as if he suddenly thought of something.

"Oh, by the way, didn't you ask for jobs for the nobles last time?
I thought about it and realized that there are many things to do in Yingtian City, so I selected some of their sons and nephews who are suitable for use and formed a separate battalion. After they are trained, they will serve as my attendants."

"Thank you, Your Highness."

"Don't blame me. You know those people better than I do. If I really hand over the important task to them, it will harm them. After all, his sons and nephews will inherit the title in the future, but it can also ensure the prosperity of his family."

From the very beginning, Zhu Cilang had always been wary of Zhu Guobi. As a thousand-year-old fox, Zhu Guobi naturally knew this well.

But this time when they met, he found that the Crown Prince was less distant and more frank when talking to him.
This made Zhu Guobi, who was very experienced, a little unsure of how to deal with it.

"I understand your Highness's intention to protect me, and I think they can understand it too."

"Whether they understand or not is not too important. This is a time of great changes that have not happened in thousands of years. I think there will be many people in China who can keep up with me."

After saying this, Zhu Cilang didn't care whether the old Duke, who had lived in Yingtian for half his life, could understand what he meant. He then asked Chang Guanlin about the Yingtian army that had been abducted here.

It was simple for them. To be honest, they hated Ma Shiying deeply for deceiving them and leaving Yingtian, causing their families to "suffer the murderous hands of the Tartars."

At this time, with the two thousand soldiers brought by Chang Guanlin showing up to give their testimony, it would naturally not be difficult to win the hearts of the troops.

After this, the group arrived at the residence of the Rebel King in Hangzhou. Zhu Guobi waited for someone to notify the officials, but heard Zhu Cilang say: "I will go to pay my respects to Queen Mother Zou first, and also call all the vassal kings in Hangzhou."

(End of this chapter)