Xie Ming

Continuing from the previous article
"No, you're being ridiculous."

"There's no reason for that. If you go, neither of us will be happy, let alone Xiao'e."

“If I do not return to Hangzhou this time, even Commander Mei will not be able to break off his duties.”

"Xiao Jingchuan, you shouldn't have kept me here."

Xiao Yan was resolute in his decision, while Mei Cheng'an was utterly despondent and intended to help him achieve his goal later.

With the matter at stake, Yu-zhen unexpectedly refused outright.

How could Xiao not be angry at such a shirking of responsibility?
"you"

"Fine, fine, ha, it was just wishful thinking on my part."

Out of spite, Xiao Lang turned his head away, gritted his teeth, and began to put on his armor.

Yuzhen looked over and knew that she had angered him again, but for the sake of the bigger picture, and since he also had his own plans, she did not make any further concessions or soften her tone.

A spring in the cave is but a fleeting illusion, like a dream.

Right now, the Imperial Guards are blocking the entrance to the cave, along with Captain Mei.
Yuzhen thought, "Everything should be awakened by now."

The two of them were arguing like this, and Mei Cheng'an, who was standing nearby, could only watch helplessly and awkwardly.

To extricate himself from this predicament, he sighed and reiterated his promise.

"cough"

"Well, Lord Duke, in any case, if Consort Hui is willing to return to Hangzhou with me, I can guarantee with my life that I will do everything in my power to protect her and ensure that she does not suffer any further harm."

"Unless I die, I will protect Consort Hui to the best of my ability."

A gentleman keeps his promise; this statement carries profound weight.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yi couldn't help but feel sentimental. He turned around angrily, bypassed Yu Zhen, and went to Mei Cheng'an, where he sincerely clasped his hands in greeting.

The two heroes actually hit it off quite well.

Before long, the cave was busy sorting things out.

Suddenly, a noisy commotion broke out outside the cave again.

Before he could say anything, he saw Xiaochunzi staggering in.

Xiao Jiang then realized that his men had searched repeatedly in the pouring rain and exhausted themselves to find this place.

Afterwards, Yuzhen and Xiaochunzi had another tearful complaint, and the two chatted happily.

More than 25 minutes later, the group emerged from the cave and were back in the open.

Right now, a huge rainbow is hanging in the sky.

The setting sun casts an endless glow, each person swallowing their sorrows and anxieties.

After the Imperial Guards set off, they repaired the winding road and traveled down the mountain path they had come from.
Xiao was helped up by his subordinates, and Yuan Chuye remained stunned for a long time.

That night, under the protection of his personal guards, Xiao Jingchuan let himself go for a while before finally returning home disappointed.

Riding back up the Huzhou route, they suffered heavy losses. Halfway there, they were met by Yuan Ping, who had come to their aid, near Yuhang. I will not go into details.
Amidst the cries of wild geese, I stand in the vast emptiness; the icy moon, reflecting on my iron armor, shines through countless eons.

Deep marks on the sleeves, like blood-red jade; etched lines between the brows, like frost.

My heart's boat has long since shattered along with the starry raft; my ailing bones are now chilled by the cold shadow of a doctor's sword.

I want to sever the roots of our love and burn our old vows, leaving only ashes and the resentment of parting from our former attire.

叹哉
A sudden gust of wind blew, and the flowers remained unaware; the true path of humanity is indeed full of vicissitudes!
What's done is done, let it go with the wind.
The story continues. After a day of arduous travel, Mei Cheng'an successfully delivered the bodies of Consort Hui and Consort An back to Hangzhou.

Yuzhen suffered two deaths and was greatly frightened, but fortunately, both mother and child were safe after being treated by the imperial physician.

As for Consort An, Dong Ruining, she returned to Hangzhou, and her funeral arrangements were extremely hasty.

At this moment, the Hongguang Emperor was preoccupied with his own health, frail and ill, and had been in a coma for a long time, beyond the reach of medicine.

In the imperial court, due to the entanglement of interests among various parties, coupled with the unclear situation and everyone harboring their own ulterior motives, no one had the inclination to concern themselves with such matters. Consequently, the officials simply made up an excuse, saying that they had found an auspicious burial site in the suburbs of Hangzhou and hastily buried the person there.

Overwhelmed with grief, Mei Cheng'an feigned illness to avoid his duties, making it difficult for him to concentrate on his work. He was constantly traveling between the city and the countryside.

He was determined to keep vigil for Consort An.

Liu Wenbing noticed something amiss, but considering the Mei family's situation, or perhaps because he also had feelings for Ai Xian, he turned a blind eye and reluctantly let him come and go as he pleased for the time being.

Alas--

In truth, the affair between Mei and Dong is also another pair of ill-fated lovers.

Her fate was remarkably similar to that of Xiao and Zhen, but it was simply a matter of destiny; they shared the same fate but had different destinies.
Seven days passed in the blink of an eye, and it was early June.

Emperor Hongguang, Zhu Cilangye, was trapped in Hangzhou, and his condition worsened to the point where he could no longer eat or drink.

I fear that my time is drawing near.

At the same time, Yuzhen's fetal movements were abnormal, and she was about to give birth. She had already prepared for childbirth in the palace, and everyone hoped that she would give birth to a son of the emperor.

A little earlier, another urgent matter arose, and it was said that Yue Xiu had personally relayed the news of Xiao Jun's return to the city.

Yue Xiu, from the 24th route, headed straight for Hangzhou. Upon entering the city, he immediately reported the arrival of Xiao's army to provide reinforcements, thus stabilizing the court.

Regarding this good news, the cabinet also had a brief discussion. After several leaders were involved in the discussion, they finally came up with some ideas.

Emperor Hongguang then drafted an edict, bestowing upon Xiao Jingchuan the title of Duke of Jingguo and Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince, and exceptionally granting him the position of Commander-in-Chief, a military officer, to control the troops of Southern Zhili and jointly defend against the northern enemy.

The imperial edict ordered Xiao Jun to immediately begin the campaign to wipe out the remaining rebels in the south and to completely and resolutely block the Qing troops in the north from the Yangtze River, preventing them from advancing an inch south.

However, on the other hand, these titles and honors are nothing more than empty gestures.

The actual supplies, such as money, food, provisions, and military equipment, were not mentioned at all.

They're really pretending to be ignorant when they know the truth; they want the horse to run but don't even feed it properly.

They treat people like donkeys.

His heart is truly despicable, and his heart is even more deserving of punishment.

Let us stop here and stop with the pleasantries.
Let's set aside the matters of Hangzhou for now and proceed in parallel, while we turn our attention to the northern frontier.

At this time, after many days of fighting, Sun Peizhong has successively captured Mengcheng, Shouchun, Fengyang and other places in the area north of the Yangtze River since he advanced eastward from Xihe.

Later, they attacked Chuzhou and Lai'an, but because Dodo had to worry about his rear, he stationed a large number of troops there and the siege was prolonged.

However, this troop's arrival has already achieved its goal of helping Xiao's army along the Yangtze River stabilize the situation in Nanjing.

Seeing the predicament of Pei Zhong's troops, Xiao changed his decision and ordered the army to abandon the attack on Chuzhou, Lai'an and other places.

He ordered Pei Zhong to turn north and occupy Sishui, Taoyuan, and Suqian, and to mobilize most of his troops to head straight for the important city of Xuzhou.

This would pose a direct and significant threat to the route through which Dorgon's army could retreat north.

If Pei Zhong's army had advanced northwards, they might have truly achieved victory.

Therefore, the retreat route originally envisioned by Dorgon, which connected the Yangzhou-Huai'an line to Shandong, would become much narrower. If the war situation changed later and troops needed to retreat, Pei Zhong's army would very likely block them halfway, causing a major disaster.

The retreat of the army and the lack of reinforcements are both disadvantageous, posing a serious threat to their core.

Left with no other option, Dodo, seeing the situation, had no choice but to hastily redeploy half of his main force to reinforce and supplement the Huai'an line.

They also blocked Taoyuan City, and fought with Pei Zhong in Taoyuan and Suqian, pulling and fighting for every inch of land.

At the same time, he hurriedly rode north to the capital to report back to Dorgon.

Forget about saving face and saving face this time.

This is a heartfelt letter from my own hand, urgently requesting troops to reinforce Shandong.

The northern army was dispatched again to the Xuzhou line, aiming to force Pei Zhong to retreat to the southwest and abandon the struggle for Xuzhou.

(End of this chapter)