Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 309 Eight Hundred Miles Expedited

January 3

Yingtian
The new emperor was born in Beijing, but he actually made his fortune with the support of this big city.

Therefore, since he came to power, officials from Southern Zhili no longer had to live in fear of their future as they did during the Hongguang period, and this ancient capital gradually began to have the aura of being under the rule of an emperor.

The so-called "weather" is quite abstract. It can be reflected not only in the prosperity of the city, but also in the sensitivity of the people in the city to changes in the political situation.

For example, in the past few days, the news that the Qing army had launched a major attack had leaked to the public through various channels.

Even though the people of Yingtian were full of confidence that their emperor could defeat the enemy again, related discussions were always inevitable in conversations on the streets.

"Aunt, is Uncle Zhou in Marshal Chang's army?"

"I think so. Your uncle seemed to have said so when he came back last time."

Having nothing to do this morning, Zhou Xiancai's wife was doing needlework at the door with several other women in the alley.

Originally, the women's topic was mostly gossip about other people's families, but with the interruption of a teenager, the topic gradually shifted to the war.

"Oh, that's incredible. I heard from my uncle that Marshal Chang is leading our Yingtian soldiers to drive the Tartars back to Jiangbei. If Uncle Zhou makes a contribution, he might even be able to earn an imperial decree for Aunt."

"Look at what you said, kid. If imperial edicts were so easy to earn, wouldn't everyone in Yingtian City have imperial edicts?"

As soon as the words fell, the group of women burst into laughter, but the boy's face turned red after the laughter, and it was obvious that he was embarrassed by the laughter.

"What are you laughing at? The teacher in the public school said that the Tartars have made a huge investment this time, and Your Majesty must fight a good battle in the south."

The public school that the kid mentioned was established after the new emperor ascended the throne, and the teachers there included not only scholars who failed to gain fame, but also soldiers who had retired from the army due to injuries.

So, when the words came out of the child's mouth, although the other women did not take it seriously, Zhou Xiancai's wife asked a little nervously.

"What else did you say, sir?"

Seeing that someone took his words seriously, the young boy seemed to be greatly encouraged. He then told him in detail what he had heard in the public school, and only stopped when his mother pinched him secretly.

According to him, the current situation of the court was quite unfavorable, so His Majesty led the guards to go into battle personally.

But he was so happy when he said that that he forgot that Uncle Zhou was in the army. Only after he was hit hard did he notice that Aunt Zhou had a sad face.

As the saying goes, "One general's success is the result of the sacrifice of thousands of soldiers." The bigger the war, the more people will be rewarded, but at the same time, more people will die on the battlefield.

For a young child who is not very worldly-wise, being rewarded with honors and titles would probably have great appeal, but for Zhou's wife, Zhou Xiancai's safety is what she cares most about.

"Sister Zhou, don't listen to this kid's nonsense. Since the emperor is gone, what else can the Tartars do? Your shopkeeper will be fine."

After hearing the voice, although Zhou Xiancai's wife was still worried about the child's words, she finally forced a smile on her face. But when she was about to say something else, there was a noise outside the alley. When they looked in the direction of the sound, they saw a luxuriously decorated carriage about to pass by the alley.

"It seems to be the carriage of the Duke of Wei's Mansion," a woman said hesitantly after seeing this. But after only half a breath, the hesitation disappeared directly. She also explained the reason for this change: "Yes, it is from the Duke of Wei's Mansion. My brother's brother-in-law works there. It seems that he is the one following behind the carriage."

In Yingtian, it was not uncommon for common people to recognize the carriages of nobles. But what they did not know was that this carriage not only belonged to the Duke of Wei, but also the person riding inside was the future empress of Ming Dynasty. Xu Shaoyue was not an ordinary person after all. She not only knew how much money the Tartars had invested this time, but also how much crisis these investments had caused to Ming Dynasty.

Guangzhou fell, Ji'an was defeated, Ganzhou was besieged, and the army suffered a setback.

As pieces of news arrived, the seemingly stable half of the country immediately became precarious. In the end, His Majesty even had to go into battle again and try to resolve the crisis by leading the army in person.

Originally, Xu Shaoyue, like the common people in the city, had great confidence in His Majesty's personal expedition.

But by this time, five or six days had passed since His Majesty left, and apart from one message sent back when they joined forces with the navy, there had been no news from this large group of people.

Until today, Xu Shaoyue still couldn't suppress her anxiety, so she thought of going to the palace to find out the situation under the pretext of paying respects to the Queen Mother.

"Girl, here we are."

As the carriage slowly stopped, a light cry was heard from outside the carriage. When Xu Shaoyue lifted the curtain and looked outside, he saw that in addition to the soldiers guarding outside the palace gate and his own attendants, there were actually several people dressed as eunuchs waiting on the side.

"This servant Zhou Quan has met Miss Xu."

comprehensive?

Isn’t that the eunuch beside His Majesty?
Why is he waiting here?

Although Xu Shaoyue had a few puzzles in her heart, she did not show them on her face. It was not until after the greeting that she tentatively asked, "Thank you for waiting for me here, eunuch. I am really overwhelmed."

"Miss Xu, you misunderstood. I didn't come here specially to meet you. It was purely a coincidence, purely a coincidence."

After hearing this, Xu Shaoyue thought she was overthinking, but when she was about to say goodbye and enter the palace, her mind moved slightly, and then she asked Zhou Quan directly.

"I wonder if you have any news about His Majesty?"

Zhou Quan's smiling face immediately turned sad when she heard the words: "To be honest, young lady, there has been no news from His Majesty since he joined forces with General Zhang's navy. I have nothing better to do so I am guarding the palace gate."

Zhou Quan had served the emperor for such a long time, so he naturally knew how fatal the failure of the waterway advance would be to the entire war situation. But he was only a eunuch after all, and what mattered to him most was Zhu Cilang's safety.

Therefore, it would be more accurate to say that he was waiting for news about the emperor rather than waiting for military intelligence from the front.

In fact, Xu Shaoyue could more or less anticipate such a result.

After all, although Xu Yinjue had not returned home for several days, he had not cut off contact with his family. If there was really news from the front, how could he hide it from his daughter who had put all her thoughts on His Majesty?
Let’s go into the palace and take a look.

With this in mind, Xu Shaoyue said goodbye to Zhou Quan and went towards the palace. However, she had only taken a few steps when she heard a hurried sound of horse hooves from behind. When she turned around, she saw a knight with several small flags on his back galloping towards her.

"Eight hundred miles urgent!"

It seems that I have found my form and the speed is much faster than the previous few days.

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(End of this chapter)