Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 327 Taking over the city?

It is easy to set a goal, but it is very difficult to stick to it.

Take writing a novel for example. Maybe your initial desire is just to express yourself, and the excitement and pleasure are not even considered at all.

But as you write, you will find that without the assistance of these things, no one will be interested in your work, and your writing career will eventually become a stand-alone business.

Obviously, this single-player thing can't last long.

After learning from your mistakes, you will gradually give up your original ideas and then spend a lot of time and effort on things that are natural and need no further explanation.

At this point, although the number of readers is unlikely to increase much, the downward trend has finally been curbed.

Then you will find that those things that don’t help the plot itself are not completely useless.

I will even make up my mind to write the next book into a completely enjoyable one.

see it?

The original goal was changed.

In comparison, it is no exaggeration to call Zhu Cilang a heroic ruler because he gave up Hubei, which was within his grasp, and focused on the strategy he had originally set.

Of course, leaving Jin Shenghuan behind did not mean that the Ming army would continue to waste time in Ji'an.

After all, his actions have brought great changes to the situation in Jiangxi. If he does not take advantage of it, how could it be Zhu Cilang's style?
In Ji'an City
"Report~~~~! Your Majesty, half of the Ming army's boats have just gone north along the river!"

Going north?

Upon hearing this, Shang Kexi was stunned at first. After the thought turned over in his mind for several rounds, he suddenly stood up from the chair.

"Is there any land camp accompanying you?"

"Only four or five thousand."

"Is it true?"

"It is indeed true. We saw it clearly from the city wall. There were indeed only four or five thousand Ming troops on board."

After hearing these words, Shang Kexi, who had been somewhat delighted by the unexpected changes, suddenly began to hesitate again.

The loss of four or five thousand troops would not have any impact on the situation in Ji'an, but he had to consider what these Ming troops were going to do.

To cut off the retreat?

It's impossible. If I want to escape, this small number of people will not be able to stop me.

Go attack the city behind?
It is impossible. Attacking a small one is useless, and there are not enough troops to attack a large one.

One guess after another arose in his mind, but they only existed for a moment before being extinguished by Shang Kexi.

After all, under the current circumstances, the role that a few thousand troops can play is too small. Even though Shang Kexi has taken the role of the navy into consideration, he really can't think of the reason why the Ming army did this.

"Come on, take me to have a look."

After ruling out all the possible guesses, Shang Kexi finally decided to go and take a look in person.

Ji'an City was not very big, and it only took him a few incense sticks to reach the top of the city wall.

At this time, several military generals had heard the news and came over, and there was a lot of formality when they saw Shang Kexi.

He didn't care too much about this. He waved to the generals and turned all his attention to the Ming army camp.

"Your Majesty, the Ming army's actions are indeed somewhat inexplicable."

"Your Majesty, in my opinion, the Ming army must have some plan. Why don't we retreat to Nanchang first and make plans after the situation becomes clearer."

"Your Majesty, the Ming army neither attacked nor besieged the city. It is obvious that they have other intentions. If we continue to waste time here, even Hubei may be in danger."

"Your Majesty, the situation is very strange, it is better to make plans early."

Shang Kexi naturally wanted to see the situation in the Qingming Army camp first, but the generals didn't care about that. When they saw him coming, they came up with all kinds of excuses, as if they would all be defeated in Ji'an if they were a step later.

He is not Ajige after all.

We have done our best to keep these troops who were frightened by the Ming army in Ji'an, so how can we shut them up?
While verbally dealing with the generals, he used a telescope to observe the Ming army camp. After a careful look, he confirmed that the main force of the Ming army was still outside the city.

"Your Majesty, please say something."

As the saying goes, a good man is often bullied, and a good horse is often ridden.

On the surface, this bullying and exploitation comes from "goodness", but if you dig deeper, this "goodness" is just the result of "weakness".

Due to the Qing court's vigilance against the Han people, Shang Kexi did not have many direct subordinates.

After the defeat in Ganzhou, he was about to become a bachelor, and the generals in the army, who were backed by the Manchus, naturally became more and more excessive.

"Prince Ying's life or death is unknown, and I am the leader of this army. If you want to disobey military orders, you can lead your troops back north, but before that, you must think about your identity!"

After saying this, Shang Kexi raised the telescope again, but the young man from before seemed to have something blocking his throat.

Seeing that the Han generals were frightened by a single sentence, the Manchus had to stand up even though they were disdainful in their hearts.

"Your Highness is right, but according to the court's rules, you cannot control the Eight Banners. So can we just act accordingly?"

Hearing this, Shang Kexi couldn't help feeling annoyed. For a moment, he really wanted to abandon Ji'an and return directly to Jiangbei.

After all, nailing him to Ji'an was not for the sake of their Manchu world? But in the end, it was still the Manchus who caused the most trouble.

If it weren’t for the late emperor!
The thought turned over several times, but in the end it could only turn into a long sigh.

Afterwards, he calmed himself down and prepared to appease the Manchu generals, but before that, a loud shout came from under the city.

"The Emperor of the Great Ming has ordered that Ajige's head be beheaded in front of the battle line in two quarters of an hour. Anyone who wants to surrender can leave the city and surrender before then!"

Snapped!
The priceless telescope fell from Shang Kexi's hand. When he turned around and looked outside the city, he saw several soldiers pinning a figure to the ground.

He thought that Ajige would die in battle and that he would be captured, but he never expected that the Ming Emperor would treat the enemy commander in this way.

"Who is willing to lead the troops to fight?"

His hands were tightly clasped on the bricks of the city wall, and his voice became low and hoarse.

But after he finished speaking, there was silence on the city wall, and the expected scene did not appear.

"You're not even willing to rescue the Prince of England?"

Shang Kexi's eyes swept across the famous Manchu generals, but these brave generals who should have been fearless seemed not to have seen him, which made him feel disheartened.

"I know that none of you are the direct descendants of Prince Ying, but he was captured for you and for the Qing Dynasty!" "Why are you saying that, Your Majesty?"

Fortunately, there were still some Manchu generals who had some dignity and immediately stood up after hearing Shang Kexi's words.

"The southern barbarians' plan is so obvious, they just want to use the British prince to lure us out of the city. If we can get the prince back in exchange for our lives, we will accept it. The only thing to worry about is falling into the southern barbarians' evil plan!"

"That's right. Our lives are not worth worrying about. What we are afraid of is that Hubei and Jiangxi will be ruined because of this."

"Your Highness, you underestimate us. We have all fought our way through mountains of corpses and seas of blood. If we ruin the overall situation because of our momentary bravery, we will not be able to face the late emperor again even in the underworld!"

The generals spoke passionately, but how could Shang Kexi not know what they were thinking?
Before entering the Pass, they were indeed all outstanding heroes, but now they are all wealthy and have many wives and concubines.

It is no longer possible to expect these people to keep their heads on their belts like they did in the past.

This must be the real reason why the princes made this plan.

With this in mind, Shang Kexi said no more. When he saw that the generals seemed to want to say more, he simply turned around and left his back to them.

The Qing Dynasty is probably no longer able to fight for the world.

"Two o'clock has come~~~~~!"

As the Ming army below the city shouted, several soldiers carried Ajige forward for a distance. But when everyone on the city was surprised that they had not seen the executioner, they saw a fairly familiar figure walking out from the Ming army formation.

Jin Shenghuan!
Why him?!
How could it be him?!

Could it be.

With the appearance of Jin Shenghuan, there was an uproar on the city wall of Ji'an.

The generals who had been so passionate before were now pale, and one or two even sat down on the ground.

"Brothers in the city~~~~! The Tartars are doomed! If you don't turn from darkness to light, there will be no way out!"

After shouting this, Jin Shenghuan looked back, and when he saw Hu Maozhen's encouraging eyes, he calmed down and continued shouting.

Originally he thought that he would never be able to turn things around in this lifetime, but who would have thought that Hu Maozhen, who was highly valued by His Majesty, came to him an hour ago.

The other party's purpose was very clear, which was to help him.

As for the reason
Probably because we are weak and alone.

No matter what, Jin Shenghuan finally grabbed the straw rope.

When the Ming army executed Ajige according to the order given by His Majesty before his departure, he replaced the original executioner under the arrangement of Hu Maozhen.

"The time has come~~~! Execution!"

puff!
With one slash of the sword, Ajige, who had been dominating for many years, was beheaded. At this moment, Jin Shenghuan only felt his neck tighten, as if he was an animal in a bridle.

Zhu Cilang had no idea what was happening outside the city of Ji'an.

Before he left, he only ordered the use of Ajige's head as a sacrifice, and did not deliberately arrange who would carry out the execution.

To put it bluntly, as the battle in Jiangxi came to an end, both Jin Shenghuan and Ajige had become worthless, and he would not spend any more time on these two people.

Of course, if he knew about Hu Maozhen's little trick, he would also punish him lightly, but it is human instinct to stick together for warmth, so he would not blame him too much.
-
two days later
Nanchang
Inside the governor's office, several of Jin Shenghuan's confidants were sitting around a table, but they had different expressions on their faces, and it seemed that their attention was not on the delicious food.

According to the original plan, Jin Shenghuan would send someone to deliver the message immediately after meeting the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

Afterwards, the Nanchang troops would head directly north to capture Hubei for their new master.

But as of today, there is still no news from the south, and the generals who remain in the city are getting a little anxious.

"Is there something wrong with the Marshal?"

The man who spoke was named Song Kuiguang. He was Jin Shenghuan's military officer and his most trusted confidant.

Jin Shenghuan had not originally planned to be away for long when he went south this time, but considering the current situation, he still ordered him to take charge of all matters in Nanchang together with the shogunate secretary Wu Zunzhou.

Originally, no one took this seriously.

After all, Jin Shenghuan brought a great gift this time. Even if he was not promoted on the spot, the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty would certainly commend him.

All they had to do was wait patiently in the city, and everything would be settled after their commander returned.

But as the day was about to end, there was still no sign of the Marshal outside the city. Although Song Kuiguang did not think anything was wrong, he still found Wu Zunzhou at the instigation of others.

"It's alright, Song Zhongjun can rest assured."

After replying with a smile, Wu Zunzhou planned to pick up a piece of fish belly to taste it, but when he raised his chopsticks, he saw Song Kuiguang still looking at him with burning eyes.

Seeing this situation, he was naturally a little contemptuous, but considering that the other party was a powerful general, he still patiently explained.

"Although our Majesty is young, he has great talent and strategy in his actions."

After praising it, Wu Zunzhou put the belly of the fish into his mouth. Afterwards, he tasted it briefly and found it very delicious. Then he continued speaking.

"Since he is a man of great talent and strategy, he will not be content with dividing the country by the river. In this case, taking over Hubei will be his top priority. The Marshal's trip will not go wrong."

After he finished speaking, Wu Zunzhou turned his attention to the other dishes. However, to his surprise, even though he had made his words so clear, the fierce man still kept asking questions.

"Mr. Wu, that's true, but we have just rebelled, and the Marshal doesn't have Nikan's head as a token of his loyalty, like Hu Maozhen. If..."

"No ifs," Song Kuiguang only said half of his words, but Wu Zunzhou, who was still quite leisurely, suddenly interrupted him. Then he put the chopsticks back on the table and said in a deep voice: "This plan was personally deduced by me, and then it was decided by the commander-in-chief. General Song Zhongjun doesn't know how to plan and strategize, but he can't follow his own thoughts."

Having said this, Song Kuiguang already realized the problem with his words. He drank three cups in a row as an apology, and then asked again tentatively.

"This plan was made by the Marshal and Mr. Wu, so it was naturally well thought out. However, we all know what the situation is like in the Ming Dynasty. If someone is jealous of the Marshal, they will inevitably gossip in front of Your Majesty."

"This"

Wu Zunzhou would not admit the loopholes in this plan, but at the same time he had to admit that Song Kuiguang's concerns were not groundless guesses.

"Of course not. This emperor is not like his father. He is not the kind of person who is easily influenced. Moreover, he is quite capable. Even the civil officials in Yingtian were completely subdued. The military generals here probably don't have the courage to make trouble in front of him."

Wu Zunzhou seemed a little unconfident when he just said this, but when he mentioned the word "civil servant", all the information obtained by the Qing court came to his mind, and his subsequent words seemed confident.

However, he did not notice that when he said this, his contempt for the general was clearly revealed. Although Song Kuiguang's expression only changed slightly, it returned to its previous state in just a moment.

Having said this, everyone seemed to have no more questions, and after some toasts and conversations, the news they had been longing for came through.

"Report~~~! A Ming army has arrived outside the city, saying they are here to take over Nanchang."

(End of this chapter)