Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 50 Awakening from Dream
"Your Highness! Your Highness!"

In a daze, Zhu Cilang noticed someone constantly chattering in his ear.

When he opened his eyes, he saw a middle-aged man with a short beard and a green robe looking at him anxiously. Not far behind him stood an officer holding armor and a handsome young man wearing armor.

"Your Highness, please return to the inner city to take shelter from the Tatars' night attack."

Your Highness? Tartar? Night attack?

Zhu Cilang was still half asleep and half awake. Although he felt that these words were very familiar, he was unable to connect them with his memory for a moment.

Not only had he to endure physical fatigue and pain in the past few days, but he was also under tremendous psychological pressure. So when he learned that his plan to delay the Qing army's attack had succeeded, he fell into a deep sleep.

"Your Highness, please return to the inner city to take shelter from the Tatars' night attack."

Ji Qingyuan repeated it again, and then stood anxiously by the side waiting for him to fully wake up.

"Mr. Ji?"

"Yes, Your Highness, please return to the inner city for a while."

After a while, Zhu Cilang finally woke up from his half-asleep state. Although the face in front of him corresponded to his memory, he didn't understand what had happened until Ji Qingyuan repeated it again.

"Dodo is not..."

After receiving a positive answer, Zhu Cilang suddenly felt a little bit unbelievable, but before he could finish his question, he swallowed the rest back into his stomach.

When he first came here, he conquered the forces represented by Wang Fuping and Chen Si with his words, and later he seized the military power with a small investment.

Although he was always dancing on the edge of a knife during this period, neither Zhu Guobi, Qian Qianyi, Wang Duo, nor Zhao Zhilong were able to have a substantial impact on his plan.

As a result, Zhu Cilang, who was able to kill people everywhere, naturally became arrogant.

In fact, this is nothing. With his knowledge that transcends hundreds of years and a certain degree of foresight, he already has a huge advantage in this era.

But his mistake was that when Duoduo appeared on the way forward, he habitually mistook him for the dignitaries in Yingtian City, which was why he was completely crushed in the confrontation with him.

Thank God, Zhu Cilang never underestimated this nation.

How can a tribe with a population of less than one million fight its way from the White Mountains and Black Waters to conquer China simply by saying "good luck"?

How could their leaders be compared to those losers in the dynasty struggle in Yingtian?
Thinking of this, Zhu Cilang couldn't help but let out a bitter smile, but this bitter smile was seen as dejected in the eyes of others.

"Your Highness, please go back to the inner city first. After defeating the Tartars, you can reward the soldiers later." Ji Qingyuan's advice came at the right time.

"Hmm? Why do you want to go back to the inner city?"

"Swords and knives have no eyes after all. Your Highness's worth a million gold."

Before Ji Qingyuan could finish speaking, Zhu Cilang waved his hand to interrupt him.

At this time, he had completely come back to his senses and realized that Ji Qingyuan was just looking for a decent reason to escape.

In Ji Qingyuan's mind, as long as Zhu Cilang was still there, the Ming Dynasty would be able to conquer the world and bring peace to the people with its vast land and huge population.

But he didn't know that holding on to Yingtian was the Ming Dynasty's last chance to win over the people's hearts and reverse the downward trend.

Once this opportunity was missed, the Qing Dynasty's momentum to unify China would no longer be stopped.

Listening to the faint shouts and screams, Zhu Cilang couldn't help feeling a little panicked, but at the same time he knew that as the commander he must not retreat at this time.

It's just the morale...

Now that the thought came to his mind, he did not delay any longer. He stood up, walked to the door, and pushed it open under the gaze of several people.

"boom!"

With this push, the two doors crashed directly into the wall. Dozens of soldiers who were clinging to the battlements and looking to the south were instantly attracted by the noise.

"Mr. Ji, where is Yingtian's way out?"

Since that night, Zhu Cilang's reputation for being stubborn has been known to everyone. Coupled with what he said, Ji Qingyuan immediately realized that he could not persuade His Highness to return. Realizing this, he rolled and crawled to Zhu Cilang's side and wailed, "Your Highness~~~~! Swords have no eyes, please return to the inner city for shelter!"

"Mr. Ji, if we lose the outer city, can we still defend Yingtian?"

"Your Majesty Fu is not sure whether he is alive or dead. Do you want Ming Dynasty to be involved in the struggle for the throne again? "

Ji Qingyuan's words not only made Zhu Cilang fall into silence, but also made the soldiers, who were originally buzzing, fall into silence.

Since ancient times, all parties have used every possible means to fight for the throne, but because these things are circulated in small circles of the upper class, they are not known to the common people.

But when it came to Hongguang, under the propaganda of some people with ulterior motives, everyone attributed the difficult situation of the Ming Dynasty to this, so Ji Qingyuan's words about the struggle for the throne had such great power.

After a moment of silence, Zhu Cilang pointed at the soldiers outside and asked Captain Liu, "Are they here to escort me back to the city?"

"Yes," Captain Liu responded, and then he held the cotton armor in his hand in front of Zhu Cilang and said, "There is also this set of armor."

"Is it quick to put on?"

"Hurry up, just put it on and tie it tightly."

"bring it on."

Captain Liu took a few quick steps, put the armor on Zhu Cilang, and then carefully put it on him.

Zhu Cilang's behavior made others think that he had finally decided to retreat back to the inner city after weighing the pros and cons.

Needless to say, Ji Qingyuan was a little surprised as to why His Highness was persuaded so easily, but he finally loosened his grip on his clothes.

However, Xu Renjue couldn't help feeling mixed emotions.

He naturally knew that it was the most sensible decision for His Highness to withdraw to the inner city.

He thwarted Zhao Zhilong's plan to surrender while in prison, and repaired the tattered frame to its current state within a few days.

Such a prince is not even the hero in the storybook.

Perhaps this is what the disillusionment of an idol is like.

"How's the situation?"

"Your Highness, the Tartars are climbing the city from the south, and Captain Li is leading his men to intercept them. We only need to leave from the north to avoid the Tartars." Captain Liu answered and continued to arrange his armor, while the shouting and screaming in the distance seemed to be louder than before.

"Your Highness, it's ready."

"Ah."

Zhu Cilang responded and walked towards the soldiers. After he had some distance from Ji Qingyuan, he said loudly, "Mr. Ji, I can escape, but where can the people of Yingtian escape to?"

This question made everyone stunned, and the soldiers thought of the tragic situation in Yangzhou.

"If I cannot stop the Tartars today, I will die for my country in Nanjing."

At this point, Ji Qingyuan knew what His Highness was planning, but before he could make any move, he was stopped by Xu Renjue, who received instructions from Zhu Cilang's eyes.

"Your Highness, you can't do that! You can't do that!!"

As a civil official, Ji Qingyuan naturally couldn't break away from Xu Renjue, who had practiced martial arts for many years. Seeing that Zhu Cilang no longer paid attention to him, he said in a hurry: "Zhu Cilang! Are you worthy of our ancestors by disregarding the country and the people?!"

"If I die today protecting the people," Zhu Cilang paused, as if wondering how the ancestors would view it, but after a moment he spoke loudly, "I think the ancestors would be pleased."

"Is there anyone willing to follow me to kill the enemy?!"

As he spoke, Zhu Cilang turned his head and looked at the team of soldiers who were supposed to protect him as he escaped.

"I am willing to lead the way for Your Highness!"

(End of this chapter)