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

"My dear Liu, tell me, what can I ask you to do?" Chongzhen said with a smile.

"I support Your Majesty's restoration," Liu Liangzuo, a man of great opportunism and volatility, said without hesitation, a flattering smile plastered on his face, but a sly glint in his eyes.

"Is this your true heart?" Chongzhen couldn't see clearly about Liu Liangzuo, but the novice writer Zhu Youjian analyzed his character clearly.

Like Gao Jie, Liu Liangzuo was originally a general under Li Zicheng, but later surrendered to the Ming Dynasty. He was promoted to general through various military exploits and was now one of the Four Town Commanderies. Even so, when the Qing army marched south, he surrendered without hesitation.

This was a completely opportunistic and fickle villain. If he sensed that the wind was blowing in his favor, he would immediately change his position. Therefore, Chongzhen did not believe a word he said. If he did not currently command a large number of troops and still had an impact on the situation, Chongzhen would have killed him to prevent future troubles.

"Your Majesty, I am truly loyal. Your Majesty is the only one I am loyal to," Liu Liangzuo hurriedly knelt before Chongzhen and spoke earnestly, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. "If I had not received the confirmed news of Your Majesty's death, how could I have supported the enthronement of the Hongguang Emperor?"

"Well," Chongzhen nodded, his eyes revealing a trace of scrutiny. "Then you can write a letter and ask your general to lead the troops to Yangzhou. Lord Shi will send someone to take over."

"This..." Liu Liangzuo frowned, feeling conflicted. Although he knew that this was an attempt to deprive him of his military power, he was at a disadvantage at the moment. What could he do?

Now that Liu Liangzuo is under house arrest, and with the cooperation of the commander-in-chief Shi Kefa, he can basically control his troops. In this way, three of the four towns in northern Jiangnan fall into Chongzhen's hands. Together with Huang Fei's navy, Chongzhen has now surpassed Emperor Hongguang in military strength and can now march into Nanjing City.

However, whether they would directly reveal Chongzhen's identity and force Hongguang to abdicate, or send troops to capture Nanjing by surprise, this question requires careful study. However, this can only be done after they have control over Liu Liangzuo's town...

-

Two flowers bloom, one branch each.

After returning from the Governor-General's Mansion, Qu Shangzhong fell into deep panic. The reason was simply because he recognized Chongzhen!

When he first entered the palace in Beijing, he held a lowly position and was often ostracized. He later moved to Nanjing. While in Beijing, Qu Shangzhong's status was low, and he only occasionally glimpsed Chongzhen from a distance, so his impression of him was not profound. Furthermore, Chongzhen's appearance had changed significantly during his years of wandering, so when Qu Shangzhong saw him, he felt a sense of familiarity, as if he had seen him somewhere before, but he did not immediately recognize him.

However, he was particularly impressed by Wang Chengen, who followed Chongzhen! Because when Chongzhen first entered the palace, Qu Shangzhong had served Wang Chengen for a period of time, although it was only a short period of time, and then he was replaced by someone else. The most important thing is that Wang Chengen's appearance has not changed much in the past ten years. Although he was not wearing the clothes of a eunuch at this time, Qu Shangzhong still recognized him at a glance. Since he recognized Wang Chengen, Chongzhen's identity was naturally revealed! Because everyone knew that it was him who accompanied Chongzhen to escape from Beijing...

The fact that Chongzhen was alive was not scary in itself. After all, his death was just a rumor and had not been accurately confirmed. It was just rumored that he encountered a storm at sea and was buried at the bottom of the sea.

What frightened Qu Shangzhong was that he appeared in the Governor's Mansion, next to Shi Kefa! What did this mean? It meant that Shi Kefa had already joined Chongzhen's camp!

Even more terrifying is the news that Shi Kefa summoned the four governors to a meeting over the past two days. What was they discussing? Could it be that the four governors of Jiangbei have secretly defected to Emperor Chongzhen? In that case, could Emperor Hongguang still maintain his position on the throne? With the support of the four governors of Jiangbei and the legitimacy of Emperor Chongzhen, wouldn't Emperor Hongguang be forced to abdicate?

He had finally gained the trust of the Hongguang Emperor. If the Chongzhen Emperor ascended the throne, wouldn't he be ignored again? Qu Shangzhong had spent over a decade in Nanjing, despised and looked down upon. How could he willingly lose the power he finally achieved? Furthermore, when he was reprimanded by Shi Kefa, was he really doing it for him or for Chongzhen? If Chongzhen were to return to the throne, would he easily let him off? These questions swirled in his mind, and before he knew it, the golden rooster had crowed at dawn, leaving Qu Shangzhong sleepless all night.

When he heard that the three towns had arrived at the Governor's Mansion to discuss matters, Qu Shangzhong knew that he could no longer hesitate. He had to find a way to do something to prevent Chongzhen from regaining control of the court.

Finally, a crazy plan formed in his mind. He wanted to assassinate Emperor Chongzhen while no one knew that he was still alive!

However, this plan requires manpower, but he only has a personal eunuch by his side now, and it may not be in time to transfer people from Nanjing. After thinking about it, the only option is to ask for help.

"How strange! Let's go to Wang's house," thinking of this, Qu Shangzhong could no longer sit still and ordered the eunuch beside him.

As one of the largest salt merchants in Yangzhou City, the Puzhou Wang family's mansion is one of the best in Yangzhou City.

The Wang family's mansion spanned dozens of acres, stretching over a hundred meters from front to back. It contained nine courtyards and housed hundreds of rooms. As Shanxi natives, the Wang family maintained a rather low profile, so from the outside, the palace, with its black brick and tiled roof, appeared unassuming and simple, like any other residence. However, the sprawling architectural complex exuded a subtly grand aura of hidden wealth.

The Huaihai Hall in the Wang Mansion is spacious and bright, with exquisite architectural decoration. It is the most important hall in the Wang family residence. It is mainly used as a place to meet important guests and hold large-scale events.

Although Qu Shangzhong was just a small eunuch, he was a close associate of the emperor after all, and he was able to preside over the selection of concubines for Emperor Hongguang. He must have been a popular figure around him, so Wang Zheng attached great importance to his arrival and specially met with him in the Huaihai Hall.

However, Qu Shangzhong was preoccupied with many things at the moment and did not notice these details at all. Instead, because this place was too spacious and not suitable for discussing private matters, he asked Wang Zheng to move to the Lanxin Hall, which was smaller and more suitable for private meetings.

"Sir, is there something important that brings you here?" Wang Zheng saw that Qu Shangzhong looked very worried and felt a little nervous, so he couldn't help asking.

"Master Wang, do you know that a disaster is about to happen?" Qu Shangzhong said after asking Wang Zheng to send the others away.