Xie Ming

The northern and southern factions acted independently, each fighting their own battles.

A handful of beans were scattered, and they turned into soldiers, truly putting the arrogant Prince Dodo of the Jurchen people in a difficult situation, unable to attend to both ends.

However, on the other hand, Xiao Jingchuan, who was stationed on the south bank of the Yangtze River and lived in Nanjing, also had his own worries and troubles at this moment.

Enough of this rambling, and I will leave these two points aside for now. In fact, there is one more thing that I cannot say at this moment.

That was the latest news about the Southern Ming court's predicament in Hangzhou.

In short, the contents of the secret letter written by Yao Zuyin and Qiu Zhizhong, which Yue Xiu brought back to Xiao, can be glimpsed from the letter and reveal the whole story.

Of all these matters, the most pressing concern is the current illness of Emperor Hongguang, Zhu Cilang.

According to a report from an informant within the inner court, the Emperor has recently fallen seriously ill and is beyond medical help. It is feared that his passing is imminent.

In response, with such a major event looming, preparations must begin immediately both internally and externally.

Xiao Chu, Yao and Qiu Yi, believe that given the current situation, the former commanders of the four garrisons in Jiangnan and Jiangbei are now merely nominal figures.

Only Huang Degong remained. He was in dire straits and went north to Shandong, but was blocked by Qing troops on the north bank. At this point, he was too far away to help and could not play any role in the matter of coming to Hangzhou to serve the Southern Court.

Amidst the ever-changing political landscape, the only one who truly commands the army is Xiao Jingchuan, the commander of Xiao Jun's forces.

They have a large force at their disposal!

Such an opportunity is a once-in-a-lifetime chance.

Given this, the current predicament is one that Xiao Lang can resolve, and perhaps things will be much easier for him.

First, the war in the north has been protracted and exhausting; we must not allow the Qing troops to advance south again. This is the premise.

Secondly, Yao and Qiu believed that the enemy chieftains currently roaming in the Jiangnan region could be apprehended and suppressed slowly.

As for the imperial court, especially with the Southern Party holding it back, it is highly unlikely that military supplies and provisions will be available in the short term.

Xiao Chu gathered tens of thousands of troops, incurring huge expenses, which he had to raise himself.

In the Ningguo, Suzhou, and Songjiang areas, there were many powerful and wealthy families and gentry.

Why not drive the thief to steal the stolen goods, then indirectly recover them, thus reaping the benefits of the sparrow and the fisherman?

No matter what they say, the titles of Grand Tutor and Commander-in-Chief are nothing more than a smokescreen put up by the Cabinet.

With Xiao Chu leading the army in the field, he must firmly grasp military power and guard against his subordinates' secret collusion with Southern Party figures.

At the same time, such mercenaries guarding the borders can also sit alone on a cloud platform and ride the wind.

At this moment, the Southern Court is rife with infighting, with everyone harboring their own ulterior motives and vying to take sides and undermine each other.

Things are really in chaos, and Xiao Jue should not return to court at this time.

Even if there is a divine decree, one must still find excuses to shirk responsibility and distance oneself from it; this point must be firmly remembered.

These are all matters that Xiao Chu can accomplish in his capacity to expand his influence.

In addition, within Hangzhou, there was also a hidden undercurrent of scheming, with Zhizhong preparing to take action.

This matter was briefly mentioned in the letter.

One aspect of this internal connection is that the central government will intensify its arrangements and closely monitor any actions taken by the palace and the court.

The demeanor and appearance of all officials must not be overlooked.

At this critical moment, I must, as the person in charge of intelligence work, go to the front lines.

As for the second one, it involves even more sinister schemes.

Yao and Qiu Yi plotted and schemed after Hongguang's death, fearing that the Third Prince would be a big problem.

Right now, Yuzhen is about to give birth, and the only male heir will be born here.

If a prince were to be born, then the succession would either be passed down from father to son, or from brother to brother.

Whether the prince can give birth smoothly is not a concern for the time being.

But if he were to pass away, Zhu Cilang, in a final burst of energy before his death, would make arrangements in advance.

At that time, Liu Wenbing and Gong Yonggu, wielding over ten thousand imperial guards, would blockade Hangzhou, summon all officials to the Ming court, and legitimately seal the deal, making the situation utterly hopeless. Meanwhile, the Third Prince Zhu Cijiong successfully ascended the throne.

Just because of the great hostility and resentment that the person had towards Xiao in the past.

Whether something terrible will happen in the future is anyone's guess.

At that time, the country was beset by internal and external troubles, and on top of that, there was a ruler who was not obedient to his authority, making the situation difficult to manage.

Therefore, Yao and Qiu conspired to eliminate the Third Prince as soon as possible. They secretly planned to eliminate the hidden dangers first, and only by killing the enemy first could they finally achieve an invincible position.

Fortunately, in Hangzhou at present, all parties are still unsettled and everything is in a state of chaos.

If Zhizhong were to do it, he could still get a better share.

The above is a summary of the beginning and end of Zhi Zhong's letter.

With the assistance of these two virtuous men in the inner court, Xiao Zhen felt more at ease in Nanjing.

Subsequently, at the beginning of the following month, the Yuan and Li ministries changed their orders and held a banquet in Yangzhou to replenish military supplies, all of which were inextricably linked to this letter.

However, as the old saying goes, if you bury a dead person in the snow, the truth will eventually come out.

So, Guan, a wealthy merchant from Hangzhou, had over eight million taels of silver. Xiao, in league with Ma and Shen, had just finished a banquet to finalize the deal and was preparing to pocket six million of it.

Unexpectedly, the Southern Ming court in Hangzhou, sensing the danger, sent people to get involved.

Thinking about it, I realize there's really nothing I can do about it.

The matter was not kept secret, and there was really nothing that could be done.

Perhaps it was when Lao Ma and his men abandoned their ship and landed at Qingpu that someone had already secretly colluded with the Southern Party of the Imperial Court, which is why the news spread so quickly and exposed everything.

Otherwise, the imperial court would not have acted so swiftly.

In other matters, such as the supply of military provisions, they shirk responsibility.

But then Qing was waiting to get his share of the money, so his reaction took a complete 180-degree turn. Using strange and unpredictable methods, he arrived from the north in the blink of an eye.

It's truly both laughable and frustrating.

Thinking about it, if either Xiao or Ma had been a couple of steps slower, or even a couple of days slower, who knows what would have happened to the money?

As the saying goes, "When you're poor, no one cares if you live in a bustling city; when you're rich, distant relatives come to visit if you live deep in the mountains."

When it comes to a real fight, they're nowhere to be seen; they run faster than rabbits.

But now that the food is served, everyone is drawn to the aroma and comes over again.

What kind of world is this?
Furthermore, the person dispatched by the imperial court with the imperial decree was no ordinary person.

It was Zeng Ji, the newly promoted Minister of War in the cabinet.

This man had dealings with Xiao and Ma Ye when he was in Jiangning. He was cunning and worldly-wise, and extremely difficult to deal with.

The fact that the court sent this person to represent them suggests that he is not as well-intentioned as the newcomer.

So they continued on.

On the fifth day of the sixth month, this man hurriedly arrived in Nanjing with a troop of over a hundred imperial guards, carrying out an imperial edict in a grand manner.

After entering the city, the carriages and people were exhausted from their journey and had no time to think about anything else.

Around 3 PM (the beginning of the Shen hour).
Upon entering through the South Gate of the city, he hurried straight to Xiao Lang's residence, where he would temporarily rest.

At this time of year, Nanjing had been ravaged by the northern enemy. Inside the Duke of Jingguo's mansion, several courtyard walls had collapsed, and all valuables inside had been taken.

However, the Jurchens were anxious at the time and were eager to destroy the Southern Court and pursue the emperor. Of the four city gates in Nanjing, only the North Gate suffered large-scale damage to its walls. In reality, the fires inside the city did not cause serious damage to houses.

The same applies to the palace, and also to the private houses, wine shops, and entertainment venues.

It can be considered a stroke of luck amidst misfortune; the common people were fortunate enough to escape a large-scale massacre.

(End of this chapter)