Travel back in time and become Chongzhen, watch me turn the tide

In the quiet study, candlelight flickered, and Shi Kefa was working at his desk.

Shi Kefa possessed an elegant appearance, a lean yet upright figure like a pine tree. His gaunt face held deep, resolute eyes, as if concealing an endless veil of worry and responsibility. Because of his unyielding integrity, his official uniform naturally exuded an awe-inspiring aura of oppression.

The Ming Dynasty was now in tatters, precarious, like a broken ship struggling on a raging sea. Shi Kefa toiled day and night for this precarious nation, his once jet-black hair now gray, each one a testament to his toil and hardship.

Since he asked to lead the army north of the Yangtze River, Shi Kefa had been patrolling the four towns without stopping, not daring to slack off for even a moment. Currently, he was leading the army in Huaiyang, dealing with numerous military and government affairs every day, keeping himself extremely busy.

Just as Shi Kefa was concentrating on handling official documents, a burst of hurried footsteps approached from afar, breaking the silence of the study like the beat of a drum. Then, the guards outside the door shouted, "Eight hundred miles, urgent!"

When Shi Kefa heard this, he was suddenly shocked and the brush in his hand paused unconsciously.

This 800-mile express delivery cannot be used casually. It is usually only used in major events such as border emergencies and large-scale rebellions that concern the life and death of the country. Once such an express document appears, it is definitely not a trivial matter!

"Please come in!" Shi Kefa quickly put down the brush in his hand and said solemnly.

A moment later, a messenger hurried in, and Shi Kefa solemnly took the letter. After seeing the messenger off, he opened the letter with trepidation and read it carefully. The moment he finished reading, Shi Kefa felt as if his mind had exploded with thunder, and confusion ensued...

The letter was sent in Gao Jie's name, saying that Gao Jie's troops had been attacked by Huang Degong and Huang Fei, suffering heavy losses. Gao Jie had even fallen into Huang Degong's hands, and his life or death was unknown! This news was like a huge rock, hitting Shi Kefa's heart hard.

An uncontrollable anger welled up in his heart. The country was already in such a state, why were these people still fighting among themselves?

The Ming dynasty was now in turmoil, with foreign enemies eyeing it covetously. Instead of uniting to resist the enemy, they attacked each other for their own selfish interests. Shi Kefa was heartbroken, as if he saw the future of the Ming dynasty becoming even bleaker.

He couldn't understand why these people couldn't put aside their personal grudges and desires and work hard for the survival of the country?

But after his anger, Shi Kefa fell into deep helplessness.

Nowadays, the imperial court's control over these vassal states is getting weaker and weaker. Although he asked to be the commander-in-chief of Jiangbei, the four states pretend to obey him but secretly disobey him and do not take him seriously at all.

What could he do? He didn't have enough power to stop their fighting, nor did he have enough troops to punish them. Shi Kefa felt powerless. He felt like a lone boat struggling to move forward in a storm, unable to control its direction and could only drift with the current.

At this moment, another urgent secret letter was delivered. This time it was a letter jointly written by Huang Degong and Huang Fei, but what was said in the letter was completely opposite to Gao Jie's.

The letter said that Huang Fei went to visit Huang Degong, and Huang Degong went out to greet him in person, but he didn't expect Gao Jie to ambush him halfway, and all 300 of Huang Degong's personal guards were killed in the battle. If Huang Fei had not arrived in time, Huang Degong would have died with hatred in his heart!

However, unlike Gao Jie's request to seek justice and severely punish Huang Degong and Huang Fei, Huang Degong and Huang Fei jointly requested Shi Kefa to come to the military camp to investigate the facts. They would only hand Gao Jie over to Shi Kefa. If the commander-in-chief did not intervene, they would declare war on Gao Jie's troops to avenge their fallen brothers!

Shi Kefa compared the two letters and came to a conclusion in his mind. He thought that what Huang Degong and Huang Fei said should be true.

Gao Jie was already domineering, and recently the Huai governor Huang Jiarui wrote to him crying, saying that because the gentry and people of Yangzhou did not allow Gao Jie to enter Yangzhou City for garrison, Gao Jie sent troops to attack Yangzhou, and asked Shi Kefa to return to Yangzhou to mediate.

Taking all these things into consideration, Shi Kefa knew that he had to go to Yangzhou no matter what. Now that the Ming Dynasty only had half of its territory left, it could not withstand any more turmoil. For the sake of the Ming Dynasty and the peace of the people, he had to mediate this fight.

Thinking of this, Shi Kefa resolutely ordered: "Prepare the horses, we are heading to Yizhen!"

From Huai'an to Yizhen, it was over 400 li. It would take an ordinary person at least two days to travel, and even a fast horse from the post station would take another day. But Shi Kefa was anxious. He did not take a carriage, but rode on horseback himself, changing horses along the way but not on the rider. Finally, he arrived at Huang Degong's camp within a day.

Upon hearing that Commander-in-Chief Shi Kefa had arrived, Chongzhen felt relieved.

Although Shi Kefa could not command the four towns, his personal charm and the orthodox status he represented made him extremely important in the entire Southern Ming Dynasty.

If Chongzhen just wanted to simply annex Gao Jie's troops, he could just let Huang Degong attack directly. But if he wanted to take over peacefully without causing any trouble, he would need the help of Shi Kefa.

Before that, Chongzhen had to first get Shi Kefa to recognize his claim to the throne! Chongzhen was somewhat confident about this.

"Sir Shi, the Marshal didn't expect you to arrive so soon. You just went out to inspect the city defense. We have sent someone to inform the Marshal. Please rest here for a while." The person who came to greet Shi Kefa was Ma Dai, the general under Huang Degong. He recognized Shi Kefa and saluted to Shi Kefa with an apologetic look on his face.

"General Huang is also on official business. I'll wait here. You can go down." Shi Kefa didn't care too much about it and waved his hand to let Ma Dai leave.

This is a very spacious study. Judging from the furnishings inside, the owner must be a man of elegance and refinement.

The tables and chairs are arranged in an orderly manner, as if telling of the owner's rigor and self-discipline; the hanging calligraphy and paintings are full of vigorous brushwork and profound artistic conception, showing the owner's deep literary foundation.

Opening the window of the study, you will see a small courtyard outside. The courtyard is filled with typical garden architecture, with rugged rockery, sparkling pools, and pavilions and terraces scattered around. It can be said that every step you take brings a new scene, and the scenery is breathtaking.

Shi Kefa was standing in front of the window, lost in thought at the beautiful scenery outside, when a familiar voice came from behind him.

"Xianzhi, you have a lot more white hair." Shi Kefa turned around quickly, only to see two people coming into the house. The person in the lead looked quite friendly.

"You...you are..." Shi Kefa widened his eyes and said in surprise.

"Xianzhi, how long has it been since we last met? How come I don't even recognize you?" It was Chongzhen who came in. He smiled and said, "You've lost a lot of weight since the last time we met!"

"Your Majesty?" Shi Kefa could hardly believe his eyes and said in surprise, "Is it really you? You... are not..."

"He didn't end up at the bottom of the sea, did he?" Chongzhen laughed heartily and said, "I'm lucky. God didn't take me away!"

"This..." Seeing Chongzhen, who everyone thought was dead, appear before him, Shi Kefa was shocked for a moment, then hurried forward and knelt down, saying, "Your Majesty..."

"Master Shi, please stand up quickly." Chongzhen pulled Shi Kela aside and said, "There's no need for us, the emperor and his subjects, to perform such grand formalities... Let's sit down and talk."

"Your Majesty, when we first heard that you were coming out to sea, we dispatched a fleet to greet you. However, after searching the nearby waters, we only found a few sailors who had luckily escaped the storm. They reported that your ship had sunk in the sea. We never expected..."

"I guess I'm lucky..." Chongzhen said with a faint smile, "It's just that my fleet lost its way in the storm. It took more than a month for us to find our way back..."

"I will report this to Your Majesty immediately..." Shi Kefa said halfway when he suddenly thought of the current situation of the Southern Ming court and didn't know what to do for a moment...

What would happen if the Chongzhen Emperor suddenly appeared? Which one was the legitimate emperor? The Chongzhen Emperor was certainly legitimate, but what about the current Hongguang Emperor? Would he abdicate? How could the Hongguang Emperor possibly give up the throne? Furthermore, the Hongguang Emperor was supported by the Four Commanderies. Would they agree?

"Xianzhi, do you know that I really died once?" Chongzhen did not continue Shi Kefa's words, but changed the subject.

"Ah? How could that be?" Shi Kefa was stunned when he heard this and said in confusion.