Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 162 I will teach you how to break the situation
"Don't shoot! My prince is willing to redeem the body of Nikan Beile!"

redemption?

Just dream.

Zhu Cilang was planning to use Nikan's body to delay the Qing army's artillery fire, so how could he easily return the city protection talisman to the Qing army?

However, he did not intend to refuse directly, and was even prepared to discuss the matter with Duoduo in person.

After all, Nikan is dead. If the Tartars see no hope of redeeming him, they might just give up and directly bombard the city.

After some negotiation, the two sides decided to meet between the two armies, but when Zhu Cilang saw the person coming, he immediately became confused.

He knew that Duoduo was from the White Flag and was not too old, but the man in front of him was wearing green cotton armor and looked quite old, so it was definitely not him who came in person.

Thus, the meeting began with Zhu Cilang's ridicule.

"Dodo doesn't dare to come in person because he's afraid of being caught by me?"

"I am the Great Qing Dynasty's obedient prince Kong Youde. I am responsible for all matters concerning the front army, so it is natural that I should be the one to meet you!"

Hearing this, Zhu Cilang couldn't help but look at him again.

He originally thought that "Prince" referred to Duoduo, but he didn't expect it to be the other one of the "two famous kings".

But as far as he knew, the battle of Hangzhou was commanded by Duoduo himself, so why was it Kong Youde who came out to meet him?

Did Naduoduo feel that he was not qualified to meet him? Or did something happen that prevented him from meeting him?

Zhu Cilang couldn't analyze anything with such little information, but just as he was racking his brains, Kong Youde couldn't wait any longer.

In fact, he didn't want to come out and meet Zhu Cilang.

No matter what, he is also a Han Chinese with a large number of troops. Now that Duoduo has fainted, he is meeting with the Crown Prince of Ming in private. No matter how you look at it, he can't avoid the suspicion of being in compromising one's position.

But Nikan's body was hanging right before their eyes. If he didn't come, it would inevitably arouse the resentment of the generals of the Eight Banners. If someone deliberately made up a story about him, he would have no way to defend himself.

So he brought two Eight Banners Army generals as witnesses to this meeting, and he planned to just say a few words and leave regardless of whether the negotiation was successful or not.

"Although Huai Zong made many stupid moves when he was in power, he still managed to maintain his dignity. I never thought that you would resort to such a dirty method. It's really despicable!"

After finishing his words, Kong Youde waited for the other party's response.

But after a long while, Zhu Cilang just stared at him and didn't show any sign of speaking.

Kong Youde was naturally a little dissatisfied with this situation, and then he continued, "Since we want to meet, why don't you say anything? Are you ashamed of what you did? If so, you should hand over Nikan's body as soon as possible, so that you can face the ancestors of the Ming Dynasty in the underworld."

Judging from the current situation, Kong Youde obviously had the upper hand in the verbal confrontation. The two Eight Banners generals beside him were naturally somewhat proud, while Xiang Rensheng and Fang Guoan who followed Zhu Cilang were very annoyed.

However, the two commanders had no room for them to speak during the meeting, so the only voice left in the room was Kong Youde's.

"What a rude boy! You invited people to meet but didn't say a word. You are so ignorant. No wonder the Ming Dynasty has been tossed into this state by you!"

At this point, Kong Youde's dissatisfaction had turned into anger.

Back then when they were in Dongjiang Town, they were almost like beggars. Not only did they have to raise funds for their own military equipment, but even their money and food were repeatedly withheld.

But even in such circumstances, they still insisted on fighting the Tatars, not only retaining a piece of territory in Liaodong, but also restraining the Tatars so that they dared not deal with Korea and Ligdan Khan with all their strength.

Originally, he thought that he would eventually die in a battle with the Tartars. However, after the departure of General Sun and Minister Yuan, who supported Dongjiang Town, various disturbances occurred one after another. Even after he left Liaodong in despair, he was inevitably affected by the civil service struggles. In the end, he had to lead his remaining troops and their families north to surrender to the Qing Dynasty under the joint exclusion and suppression of various forces.

Kong Youde had never expected such a result. Even though Huang Taiji trusted him very much after he surrendered to the Qing Dynasty and the families of his soldiers lived a much better life than usual, he was always unhappy deep down in his heart, as if he was holding back a grudge that he couldn't release.

Fortunately, God had a good heart and brought the son of the tyrant before him, and he finally had the opportunity to vent his grief and anger.

"Can your Zhu family be worthy of the Marshal? Can you be worthy of the tens of thousands of soldiers in Dongjiang Town?!"

"sorry."

"what?"

"I say that the Ming Dynasty is sorry for Marshal Mao, and even more sorry for the tens of thousands of soldiers in Dongjiang Town."

Before he finished speaking, Zhu Cilang bowed deeply in front of Kong Youde's surprised gaze.

"I once heard my father say that the person I feel most sorry for in my life is Marshal Mao of Dongjiang Town," Zhu Cilang sighed slightly, and after glancing at the expressions of the two Tartar generals, he continued, "I was young at the time and didn't know the inside story. It wasn't until I grew up that I realized that it was indeed my father who was wrong about that matter."

At this time, except for the two Eight Banners generals, both Kong Youde and Xiang and Fang were so shocked that they could not close their mouths.

According to Kong Youde's idea, Zhu Cilang would certainly refute his words, and then the two of them would just have a few words and then go back to their camps.

As for Nikan's body.
Anyway, everyone in the Manchus knew that Kong Youde always called him the Marshal. Now that he finally saw the real master, who could find out that he was not the real master? If there was really someone who wanted to redeem Nikan's body, at worst, he could negotiate the terms himself. What did it have to do with him?

But now.
"You have already surrendered to the Qing army, so I shouldn't say this anymore. But I know that the general is helpless, so I won't say it."

"You little thief! How dare you do that!"

Zhu Cilang spoke sincerely, but who would have thought that Kong Youde acted as if his tail was stepped on when he was halfway through, and he actually drew the sword from his waist.

Xiang Rensheng and Fang Guoan had to be on guard all the time, otherwise they might be taken advantage of by Zhu Cilang and attacked.

"General Kong, why..." Seeing Kong Youde getting angry, Zhu Cilang looked incredulous, but when he glanced at the two Eight Banners generals, he immediately seemed to understand something: "I have no intention, I have no intention."

"Hey! Prince of Ming, you have always been treacherous. Don't you think we can't see that this is a plot to sow discord?"

"Insidious? I have always acted in an upright manner, please do not slander me."

"Bah! If you hadn't done something shady, how could Lord Beile, who has tens of thousands of troops, be harmed by you?!"

After hearing what Zhu Cilang said, the two Eight Banners generals naturally understood his evil intentions.

After he refuted, he saw that Zhu Cilang still looked innocent. He was so angry that he couldn't help but change the topic to Nikan's death.

"Nikan was killed by Hu Maozhen, not by our army. Could it be that none of the thousands of real Tartars escaped?"

After the words fell, the two Eight Banners generals seemed to want to say something, but Kong Youde seemed to have noticed something and stopped them. "If your purpose today is just to sow discord, then we will take our leave."

Originally, he thought that Zhu Cilang wanted to sow discord between him and the Manchus, but now he has realized that no matter whether his previous words were sincere or false, they were just a slap in the face.

The real target of this vicious boy was not himself, but the tens of thousands of surrendered soldiers in the camp.

As someone who had surrendered for more than ten years, he could understand what the surrendered soldiers were thinking at this time.

Take Li Benshen today for example. Didn’t he pay such a huge price just to gain the trust of the Manchus?
But after what Hu Maozhen did, who would dare to really trust these surrendered soldiers from the same town?

The Manchus knew this, and the surrendered troops knew it even better. Under such circumstances, no matter what their intentions were, they had to be prepared for the other side to turn against them.

"General Kong, please wait a moment. I have a letter for Duoduo."

Kong Youde had planned to leave directly, but before he turned around, he heard Zhu Cilang say another sentence, and then he saw him take out a piece of letter paper and started writing while leaning on the saddle.

After a while, the letter was finished and Zhu Cilang threw it out.

To answer or not to answer?
Under normal circumstances, Kong Youde would naturally take the letter back, but with Duoduo's current condition, if this sinister boy said something nonsense in the letter, his condition might worsen. The already difficult situation would certainly be made worse, and the future of their team would naturally be in jeopardy.
But this letter was for Duoduo after all. Why would he, a Han prince, stop the letter at such a sensitive time?
After thinking it over a hundred times, Kong Youde finally took the letter. Without waiting for Zhu Cilang to say anything, he said goodbye and rode back without even mentioning redeeming Nikan's body.

"The news that Nikan died at the hands of Hu Maozhen must not be leaked," Kong Youde told the two generals on the way back to the army. However, he seemed a little worried and continued, "You two are both veterans, so you should understand the seriousness of this matter."

"Don't worry, Your Majesty. We are not the kind of people who don't know the seriousness of the matter."

After about a cup of tea, Kong Youde returned to the camp from the front artillery position. When he saw Duoduo who was about to wake up, he finally felt relieved.

Ever since Duoduo fainted, he has been feeling a little uneasy.

This is not to say that he is pessimistic about the war. Although the situation is not favorable for the Qing army, the Ming army has not returned yet. As long as they deal with it properly, they will not really fall into a dead end.

The reason why he was worried was that if Duoduo fell into a coma, he, as the person with the highest rank in the army, would have to take over the command of the army. How would he handle the relationship with the Manchus then?

As the saying goes, every inch has its own strengths and weaknesses.

The reason why Kong Youde could reach his current status was, firstly, because he dared to fight and made many military achievements for the Qing Dynasty, and secondly, because Huang Taiji needed a horse bone back then.

But he was really not very good at coordinating relations among all parties and dealing with complicated situations. Otherwise, how could he be forced to flee north to the Qing Dynasty like a stray dog?
He was well aware of his own shortcomings, which was why he seemed a little lost after Duoduo fainted.

Fortunately, the military medical officer was very capable and woke Duoduo up in just a short while. He felt as if a heavy burden had been lifted from his shoulders.

"Earlier, Zhu Cilang said he wanted to discuss redeeming Nikan, so I went to meet him."

Kong Youde took out the letter, but when he saw Duoduo's pale face, he hesitated and said, "That guy is very sinister. Why don't I take a look first?"

"It doesn't matter. That guy is not Zhuge, and I am not Wang Lang."

Since Duoduo had said so, Kong Youde still had doubts in his heart but he had no choice but to believe it.

He was really afraid that Duoduo would get angry and do something bad. The forces of various banners in the army were complicated and intertwined. If something really happened, how could he, a Han prince, suppress it?

However, although Duoduo's expression was unexpected after reading the letter, his emotions were still stable, which made him feel more at ease.

After a while, Duoduo finally read the letter in his hand carefully. Seeing that his emotions did not fluctuate much, Kong Youde asked, "What did he say?"

"See for yourself."

After taking the letter from Duoduo's hand, he turned his attention to it. After seeing the handwriting that looked like dog crawling, he couldn't help but smile contemptuously.

"I have fought the general several times since the beginning of summer, but it is a pity that I have not been able to meet him in person.

Now Nikan's army has been defeated by us, and the troops in various places are also under our control.

The general is in a very bad situation. I would like to offer you three strategies to alleviate your danger:

The best strategy is to quickly withdraw to Jiangbei before our siege is completed. This way, we can save the lives of the soldiers and the merits of the generals.

The middle strategy is also to withdraw troops, but only retreat to a large city in the south of the Yangtze River to defend it. Although defeat is inevitable, there is also a chance to hold on and wait for reinforcements.

The worst strategy is just this one, and I don't bother to elaborate on it. But after thinking it over for a while, I finally feel that the two strategies are not what you want, so I will try to tell you a few. I hope you will be cautious.

The so-called distinction between up and down is not limited to a moment, a city or a place, but is a look at several years and the vastness of China.

For example, in the above example, the general seemed to have lost the south of the Yangtze River, but after returning to reorganize his troops, he still had the opportunity to fight again. Even the likes of Daishan and Haoge could be easily suppressed.

If the worst strategy of attacking Hangzhou hastily is chosen, any setbacks will lead to turmoil in the political situation and the fight for the throne will re-emerge.

That’s all I have to say. I hope you all will be happy.”

“Hiss~~~~.”

After reading the letter, Kong Youde couldn't help but take a breath.

This kid really has evil intentions!

The words in the letter are quite sincere, and the analysis of the situation is not unreasonable. If you don't know the relationship between the writer and the reader, you might think that this letter is a plan between good friends.

But in the past thousands of years, has China ever heard of giving advice to the enemy? Even if he said something flowery, he must have ulterior motives and other purposes.

"How should we deal with this?"

"I don't know."

At this time, Duoduo had already calmed down, but after thinking for a long time, he didn't know how to deal with it.

To be honest, Duoduo very much agrees with the analysis in the letter.

Although Dorgon is now sitting on the throne of regent, it seems that the entire Qing Dynasty will obey his orders, but Dodo, as his right-hand man, knows that neither Hauge nor Daishan have given up their thoughts, and even the woman hiding in the deep palace is eyeing them.

If we fail to capture Hangzhou within a few days, we may have to flee in embarrassment. By then, those people will find a reason to attack us, and we don't know what the situation in the court will be like.

"This kid is really vicious."

(End of this chapter)