Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 369 It’s all for my own life

Originally, Zhang Xianzhong did not intend to adopt Li Dingguo's suggestion.

After all, Guangyuan has been an important barrier to Sichuan since ancient times. Relying on the perfect defensive fortifications set up here, it is not difficult to hold out until the Tartars run out of food and grass.

But who would have thought that the group of docks he had built with so much effort only lasted three or four days, and the shortest even only half a day.

In just over a month, most of the forts had been reduced to ruins by their artillery fire, and the remaining ones might not be able to hold out until the Qing army ran out of food.

Under such circumstances, even though he knew that Li Dingguo's plan was extremely risky, he had no choice but to make this choice.

However, the same thing will appear differently in the eyes of different people.

Since Zhang Xianzhong knew how the old King Chuang was blocked in the mountain roads, he was skeptical about this plot.

But in Li Dingguo's view, the area around Hanzhong is mountainous and deep, and even if he cannot take the city, he can learn from Sun Shoufa and wander in the mountains.

As long as his troops are not completely wiped out, they will bring tremendous pressure to the Tartars' food supply.

By then, the supply of food and grass at the front would be insufficient, and Hauge would have no other choice but to withdraw from Sichuan.

Thinking in this way, Li Dingguo's plan can have a fundamental impact on the current situation.

But how can a good plan be subject to so many objective factors?

If an accident happens
"My Lord! It's unfair! My legs really hurt so much, I wasn't being lazy on purpose!"

Under the illumination of the torches, a ragged, skinny old man was dragged out of the laborers' team by the ferocious soldiers. As he begged desperately, a Manchu official not far away nodded expressionlessly. Then the old man's pleading stopped abruptly with the chopping of the sword, and the laborers' pace quickened as a result.

"How do you do this? Why can't you find some young and strong people with so much time?"

The Manchu official didn't care about the blood-spattering scene. After taking a quick glance at the laborers, he whispered a rebuke to the general beside him.

The official's name was Xing Ne. He was the Minister of Works of the Qing court and Meile Ezhen of the Plain White Banner.

Judging from his official title alone, his position was almost the pinnacle among non-Aisin-Gioro relatives. Even the Tong family, which was highly respected, could not compare with him at this time.

Under such circumstances, even if he really cared about national affairs, he would not stay at the construction site in the middle of the night.

As the saying goes, different times, different situations.

When he was granted this official position, the Dorgon brothers still held great power in the government, and Ajige, whom they valued highly, was still the supreme commander of the Qing army in the central route.

During that period, although he and the two white flag members of the Heluo Society were under Hauge's command, they were forced to exercise considerable influence over military affairs under the pressure of the general situation, and they were also able to deprive Hauge of his title on the charge of "slandering Dorgon".

But now, with Duoduo's defeat in Jiangnan and Ajige's death, not only has the situation in the court changed dramatically, even Dorgon has gone into hibernation.

If the last time Haoge was dealt with by the Heluo Society alone, he might not have gotten away with it.

Therefore, after receiving the military order to garrison Hanzhong, he, the Shangshu who had almost reached the pinnacle of his official career, focused all his energy on repairing the city defense of Hanzhong.

This was to prevent Haoge from finding a reason to make him follow in the footsteps of the Heluo Society.

"Master, it's not that we are not dedicated, it's just that we can't find anyone."

Faced with Xingne's rebuke, the general beside him felt quite aggrieved.

After all, this place has been plagued by war for more than ten years. Anyone who can still move has either joined a certain team or fled long ago.

The fact that these old and weak people are still here is the result of the Qing army's thorough search of the surrounding area. There is no way they could find any "young and strong" people.

Xing Ne was not unaware of this. The key point was that there were only ruins left in Hanzhong City, and the Ming army had just withdrawn from here.

If Sun Shoufa kills someone suddenly, it may give Hauge an excuse to accuse him.

Then
"Let the brothers go further away tomorrow. We will find out after we get through this period."

After he finished speaking, Xing Ne turned his gaze back to the group of laborers.

After all, he was a little far away from the core of power in the Qing court, and his control over the situation was much worse than those at the top.

In his eyes, although the Dorgon brothers suffered a huge setback, the Eight Banners soldiers under Dodo were basically intact, and Dorgon in Beijing also had his own direct troops.

Together, these two sides could muster at least 10,000 bannermen. Even if Ajige's entire army was wiped out, they would not be completely powerless to fight back.

Under such circumstances, the reason why Dorgon gave up the title of regent was probably just to give an explanation to his superiors and subordinates, not because he was afraid of anyone.

Of course, Dorgon still has a chance to turn things around, but it cannot change his situation. The progress of repairing the city defense is so slow that he still has to make more arrangements.

"Oh, by the way, let the scouts and scouts go further east to see whether the bandits are stationed in Xing'an or have simply run away."

As soon as he finished speaking, the general beside him planned to go forward to pass on the order, but he had only taken three or two steps when he saw several figures rushing over.

"Master! We caught some spies!"

The voices of those people could be heard from a distance. When Xing Ne turned around, he saw a Ming man tied up like a dumpling walking towards him, surrounded by several scouts.

At this time, Xing Ne was extremely sensitive to the word "spy". Even though he didn't need to interrogate them personally according to his identity, he still took a few steps forward when he saw several people coming.

"Master! We caught this guy in the west of the city, but he claimed that he was on a business trip to Sichuan by order of the general," the scout said, and then he kicked the Ming man hard on the crotch, and then cursed: "How could you be caught in the west when you were on a business trip to Sichuan!"

"Ask first."

Xing Ne simply said something about his servant's rather rude behavior. When the spy looked up, he began to think about it carefully.

"Were you sent by the general?"

"Ah."

"Are you going to Sichuan?"

"Ah."

"What is your mission then?"

The spy's reaction was extremely cold, and in the end he even did not respond to Xingne's questions.

Seeing this, the scout leader raised his whip and whipped him hard on the face. Before Xing Ne could react, the whip had left a deep bloody mark on his face.

If I were to switch sides and catch such a person, I would kill or let him go as I pleased.

But Xing Ne's situation was no longer the same as before, and the identity of this "spy" was quite strange. Although he did not say anything when he saw the whip falling, he was annoyed with this reckless guy in his heart. "You have to understand that our department is ordered to guard Hanzhong, and all comings and goings are within the scope of our investigation. If you are really sent by the general, you must provide evidence, otherwise we can only regard you as a spy."

Perhaps Xingne's words worked, or perhaps it was because of the whip, but after he finished speaking, a hint of hesitation appeared on the spy's face.

Normally speaking, the hesitation on his face meant that his mind was broken and he only needed to make a little more effort to get the whole story. However, contrary to Xing Ne's expectations, the hesitation disappeared after a moment, and then the spy brought up his previous excuse again.

"Reporting to the Lord, I was indeed sent by the General to Sichuan on official business, but this mission was of great importance and I did not bring the seal of the Imperial Guard with me."

"That's it."

Hearing the answer from the "spy", Xing Ne nodded and began to think about it in his mind.

However, what he was thinking about was not whether this "spy" was real or fake, but how to deal with the subsequent events.

When he first saw the spy, he had already noticed something different in his attire. After seeing his attitude, he had already believed about 70% of what he said.

But what does this mean?
Should we let this "spy" who was whipped go back?

Don't be funny.

If they were ordinary soldiers, he would just let them go. Anyway, those people might not be able to get to Haoge, and this whip would not have any effect on Xingne at all.

But this is completely different.

Not to mention how important this task is that cannot be carried with the official seal, and how caring a person must be sent to handle such an important task.

The fact that this spy did not lose his composure from beginning to end is enough to show that this person's identity is by no means ordinary.

Hit someone with a whip.

He whipped Hauge's confidant.

not to mention.
"If you are really someone close to the general, I think you recognize me. If you can tell me who I am, then we can let you go."

After a while, Xing Ne asked with a smile, and then looked straight at the expression of the "spy", as if trying to discern something from it.

"You are joking, sir. I am just an ordinary errand boy. How can I recognize you, sir?"

As the words came out, the spy's face showed some flattery at the right time, but he didn't know that when he was halfway through his words, all kinds of thoughts had already arisen in Xingne's mind one after another.

After all, you are still on guard against me.

I'm afraid he's going to attack me soon.

He tried his best to keep a smile on his face, but inside he was constantly thinking about what decision to make.

He could imagine that Hauge was on guard against him, but he never expected that even the envoy sent by Hauge would be so wary of him.

This conclusion was naturally due to the situation in the army, but it was not entirely because Xing Ne was a frightened bird.

This man first crossed Hanzhong and went straight to Guangyuan. This abnormal behavior was enough to show that he was wary of Xing Ne. If he also lied that he didn't know Xing Ne, this wariness became a foregone conclusion.

What can a lowly ant like him do to defend against Xing Ne?

Didn't you hear it from Hauge, or did you receive instructions from Hauge?
Under such circumstances, how could one not feel the malice coming from Prince Su?
Xing Ne indeed realized this later.

The first thing Hauge did after taking over the army was to get rid of He Luohui, the former commander-in-chief who was from the Bordered White Banner. On the one hand, he was taking advantage of Dorgon's weakness to avenge the previous frame-up, but on the other hand, wasn't it also to keep the army firmly in his hands?

After this happened, Xing Ne still foolishly thought that throwing himself into Hanzhong, a place with few inhabitants, was the limit of what Haoge could do, and as long as he was steady he could get through this and wait until the regent took power again.

In the end, I forgot to give the fallen dog a beating.

Thinking of this, Xing Ne's eyes flashed with ruthlessness, and then he turned around and signaled to the general beside him. Then, before the spy could react, a sword had already slashed across his neck.

"Next time there is such a mysterious person, just deal with it yourself and don't bother me with it anymore."

Faced with such a situation, the scouts naturally showed embarrassed looks. But when they were feeling annoyed about eating some leftovers, a small piece of silver light flew out from Xingne's sleeve.

"Since you are still loyal to your duties, this silver is a reward for you to have a drink."

"Thank you for the reward, Master!"

After receiving the reward, several scouts expressed their gratitude and retreated happily. However, after they left, Xing Ne's face suddenly darkened.

It is refreshing to kill with a single blow, but it also means endless troubles.

Although the spy did not reveal any information about the mission in his previous words, he had recruited so many Ming and Chuang troops to surrender, and Xing Nena had no idea what his real purpose might be.

And since the spy kept silent about the relevant matters, he was even more certain that this trip to Sichuan must have achieved some results.

Then the question arises, if the envoy who was entrusted with an important mission disappeared on his way back, how could Hauge not send someone to investigate?

By then, no matter whether the investigation reaches Hanzhong or not, the blame for this crime will inevitably fall on him.

Under such circumstances, isn't it a bit like courting death for Xing Ne to do such a thing at the risk of giving people a reason to talk?
But then again, how many of those who have managed to get to this point are real losers?

He knew very well that even if there was no spy today, Hauge would find other excuses tomorrow.

The two white flag forces in this group of people will definitely be wiped out by Haoge, so he might as well take action early to avoid regretting not fighting when the knife is on his neck.

"Send a message, have the scouts keep an eye on the mountain trails while they investigate the situation in the east."

"Yes, master."

After settling all these, Xing Ne found a pile of earth and sat down on it. While he was still wholeheartedly perfecting his plan, Liu Jinzhong, who was hundreds of miles away, had already bet all his wealth on that "spy".

"General, forget it. Since His Majesty has decided to kill you, we have no choice but to do this."

"Alas~~~~, Your Majesty is bloodthirsty and doesn't listen to others. This time he mobilized troops from Chongqing but excluded me from the group. Alas~~!"

Faced with the persuasion of his generals, Liu Jinzhong proudly talked about how he was forced to do so. Although he stared blankly in the direction of Guangyuan, he did not feel much guilt towards Zhang Xianzhong, but was calculating when the envoy of the Qing court would be able to return.

Although the person he was thinking about was intercepted by Xing Ne, their situations were quite similar.

In the final analysis, this world never takes human life seriously. Who would dare to put their own safety in the hands of others' generosity?

"We must have passed Daba Mountain."

(End of this chapter)