Chapter 367 Nanjing changes hands
It was a good choice to sink Zhu Yousong to death, but Chen Cao was not willing to sink Shi Kefa to death. This stubborn civil servant still had his uses, at least he was a civil servant who did practical things.
As for manpower, Chen Cao thought about it for a long time but didn't know who to send, so he called Zhao Xin after sending Xu Fuyuan away who looked aggrieved.
After hearing the cause and effect, Zhao Xin thought for a while and said, "Why don't you let me go down?"
Chen Cao smiled brightly: "Hey, Xin Zhao, do you know how Liao Yongzhong died in the end?"
Xin Zhao was excited, then quickly waved his hand and said urgently: "I'm not going, I'm not going... Hehe..."
It is difficult to do this thing. It is clear that Zhu Yuanzhang is unwilling to do it himself, and then he talks to his subordinates intentionally or unintentionally, allowing them to figure it out for themselves. However, Liao Yongzhong is the smart man, but this is also his death. One of the ways.
After all, any emperor cherishes his reputation very much after he ascends to the throne. People like Zhu Yuanzhang, who came from a poor family, naturally pay more attention to other people's opinions of him.
Seeing Chen Cao thinking, Zhao Xin was also thinking about a candidate. After a while, he thought of a person: "Your Majesty, I do have a candidate."
"speak..."
"Zhou Dingfang, the former guard of Tuanshan Fort, and Mr. Ke Guang, the son of Mrs. Ke..."
Chen Cao's eyes suddenly became sharp, and he heard Zhao Xin continue to say: "If Eunuch Wei's nephew Fu Yingxing is here, he can take over Zhou Dingfang's position."
Chen Cao turned to look at Xin Zhao, and after a long time he said: "The civil servants under my command are not good. It seems that you warriors and roughnecks are not good birds either..."
Xin Zhao chuckled: "I haven't been with you for a long time, Your Majesty, and I need to improve my methods..."
"Where are these two people?"
"Ke Guangxian is now the commander of the first division of the Dingwu Army, and Zhou Dingfang is also the commander of the Longwu Army."
Chen Cao nodded: "Well done, it's just them. You can arrange this matter yourself. Remember, it must be done flawlessly. I want to know the result before noon tomorrow."
"Don't worry, Your Majesty," Xin Zhao said solemnly, clasping his fists, "If this matter goes wrong, only my subordinates will ask."
When Chen Cao heard this, Lao Huai patted Xin Zhao on the shoulder with joy and said with a smile: "Okay, okay, with you as my subordinate, my great cause is close at hand. Xin Zhao, this matter must be done well. ..”
Xin Zhao nodded and laughed in response. Chen Cao held his shoulders and walked out with him for the first time. He smiled sweetly: "Haha, don't think I'm joking with you. Xin Zhao, if this is the case, If you fail, I will personally burn paper money for you tomorrow night, please bless me to ascend to the throne as soon as possible..."
Xin Zhao's figure stagnated and softened: "Your Majesty..."
.
"At this moment, various departments of our army have successively occupied the three cities in the east, south and north of Nanjing. Only in the west of the city are there a small group of Qin army remnants still raging in the city. I am confident that I will clear out the west city and completely occupy Qingliangmen before midnight tonight. Wait somewhere.”
Chen Cao sat on the main seat and listened carefully to Tang Kainian's report. He nodded from time to time and then added a few words. After all, Nanjing was now in his hands. Just like he said before, he would never give it up again. send out.
"The scouts who went to conduct reconnaissance have returned one after another. The Qin army is currently gathering at Dasheng Pass, and there seems to be no sign of withdrawing."
Xu Fuyuan frowned and said: "If this is the case, will Yang He's purpose be to occupy important places south of the river and north of the river, thereby forming a pincer attack on our Nanjing?"
"Your Majesty, many noble people in the city have chosen to surrender. Only some people have closed their doors tightly and will not respond."
Tang Yannian was furious when he heard this: "You son of a bitch, Your Highness, let me deal with them."
"Hey..." Chen Cao shouted to stop Tang Yannian's next move: "We are cultural people and intellectuals. Don't shout and kill at every turn. Don't let others misunderstand that Chen Cao's men are just a bunch of people who want to kill talented people. ..”
Many people blushed because their prince was said to be a cultured person and an intellectual. Many of them were indeed bumpkin refugees and had nothing to do with being a cultured person.
"After all the west city has been cleared, let the original five-city army and horse division come forward to maintain order in Nanjing, and send an order to Huang Chunyao to urgently mobilize some of the food stored in Zhenjiang to stabilize the market in Nanjing first and restore the prosperity of the city. This is First and foremost;”
Chen Cao looked around: "Secondly, the Longwu Army has all pulled out of the city and pushed towards Dasheng Pass and the passes along the river. I don't want there to be any Qin army left in the south of the Yangtze River. The surrounding areas of Nanjing must be in a stable state."
"yes..."
All the generals clasped their fists.
"Also, let all the students who have been prepared in Shanghai come to Nanjing. There are many official positions vacated after the purge in Nanjing. The city of Nanjing needs a lot of manpower to maintain order."
Just as Chen Cao finished speaking, Zhao Xin ran into the lobby in a panic and deliberately shouted: "Your Majesty, something bad has happened. There are remnants of the Qin army in the city who have kidnapped King Fu Zhu Yousong."
Only Chen Cao, Zhao Xin and Xu Fuyuan knew the inside story. At this moment, the insiders had an imperceptible smile on their lips.
Chen Cao pretended to be rude and yelled: "You bastard, do you know the importance of His Royal Highness Prince Fu? Send people to chase him quickly, go..."
Xin Zhao was rolling around and looking extremely embarrassed, but Chen Cao felt that this guy's acting skills were too exaggerated and completely superfluous.
The dozen or so generals in the hall were all curious as to how Lord Zhao, the commander of the dignified Jin Yiwei, had become so miserable.
Chen Cao coughed twice, and then said with a pretentious attitude: "Yang He's subordinates are not simple. Knowing Zhu Yousong's importance to us, they actually hid a dead soldier to kidnap him. If so, I, the title of King Liang, will lose my title." It's not the right thing to do, and besides, orders are changed in the morning and evening, I would like to see what kind of person Zhu Youjian is."
The meeting lasted until about noon. Xin Zhao returned again. His face had turned ashen. As soon as he entered the lobby, he bowed and clasped his fists: "Your Majesty, this subordinate is guilty."
Everyone in the hall looked sideways, only to hear Zhao Xin continue: "My subordinates led people to pursue them out of the city. The Qin army came out of Qingliangmen and boarded ships to enter the Yangtze River. When they left the Yangtze River and wanted to enter the river, they were discovered and intercepted by our ships. , for some unknown reason, the thieves of the Qin army fought to the death and refused to surrender, and the ship carrying King Fu caught fire..."
Chen Cao tried his best to turn his expression extremely green. Anyone who could see it could clearly see that he was holding back his anger: "What do you mean, Prince Fu is dead?"
Xu Fu saw the situation and said: "Your Majesty, please calm down. Prince Fu is dead, which is a good thing for us."
Everyone looked over, and Xu Fuyuan continued: "However, Yang He sent people to kidnap Prince Fu, so we can make a fuss about this matter."
"After all, it was the old master, Xin Zhao, who sent people to salvage Prince Fu's body. I want to see it with my own eyes..."
"yes..."
Zhao Xin hurriedly left, and Xu Fuyuan said again: "Make a fuss about this matter and push it to Zhu Youjian in the north. There are many Zhu family clans in the south..."
Chen Cao chuckled: "What do you mean?"
"Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, only Emperor Jianwen has done this to massacre the clan. That's why Emperor Chengzu took away this great country..."
Xu Fuyuanruo said to himself, as if he was telling a story, but it was clear that he was talking to the dozen generals in the hall. Chen Cao nodded: "Since they did it, it doesn't matter whether Zhu Youjian is real or not." This is the order. In short, the Chongzhen courtiers must have something to do with King Fu's death."
In the back hall, Chen Cao was listening carefully to Zhao Xin's report.
"Ke Guangxian and Zhou Dingfang boarded the ship, beheaded Zhu Yousong, and spread kerosene all over the ship. The fire burned the ship. After verifying their identities, the subordinates saw that Ke Guangxian had lit the fire himself, along with his few All the close eunuchs were also killed, and his bones must have sunk to the bottom of the Yangtze River at this moment."
Chen Cao patted Xin Zhao on the shoulder and sighed: "After all, it's a master-servant thing. Although I despise Zhu Yousong, I'd better restrain myself for him. After all, we still need his bones to make a fuss in the future and find some sergeants who are proficient in water properties." Go and do it, Prince Fu’s posthumous affairs will definitely not be simple..."
To give a blessing to King Fu is to help yourself earn a reputation. First of all, no matter what the cause of Zhu Yousong's death is, Zhu Youjian, the scapegoat for killing the clan, is definitely guilty.
Furthermore, it is said that Zhu Youjian has been rectifying the Zhu family vassal kings since he came to the throne. Especially in the vassal areas in the northwest border, there have been complaints.
On that day, Chen Cao once again performed at the level of a movie king. Zhu Yousong's burned black bones were put into a golden nanmu coffin by officials from the Nanjing Ministry of Rites. Chen Cao then asked Chen Cao to pay tribute to Zhu Yousong according to imperial regulations.
Not only that, Chen Cao also supported Zhu Yousong's coffin and cried loudly at Zhu Yousong's grand ceremony, almost fainting, which moved the old and young people in Nanjing.
Zhu Yousong, the Chongde Emperor of Emperor Aizong of the Ming Dynasty, was buried at the southern foot of Zhongshan Mountain, the mausoleum of Emperor Taizu. Of course, the coffin would have to wait until at least next year, so officials from the Ministry of Rites temporarily placed Zhu Yousong's coffin in Taizu's mausoleum. The emperor's Ming Palace is located in the east side hall and has people guarding it.
After a series of coquettish operations, Chen Cao's reputation reached a new height. At least he did not forget his old master. However, some thoughtful people still got clues from it, and some rumors spread in private, saying that Zhu Yousong was manipulated by Chen Cao. Damn, for proof, please refer to the incident when Emperor Taizu cried out for Han Lin'er. Maybe Liao Yongzhong knew the inside story, but if you want to know the truth, you must go to the underworld and ask Liao Yongzhong.
"I respectfully invite King Liang to ascend to the throne and rectify his throne..."
This is not a rumor, but a letter of surrender sent to Chen Cao by the surrendered nobles of Nanjing headed by Pu Xiang. Nanjing is the nominal capital of the Ming Dynasty. Now that the capital is in the hands, isn't it just a matter of fate?
"How many people are outside?"
Chen Cao sat firmly on the Diaoyutai and asked very comfortably.
Zhao Xin looked at the maids who were beating Chen Cao's legs, and sipped the saliva from the corner of his mouth: "Back to the prince, headed by the Marquis of Jinshan and Marquis of Yingyang, and the assistants of Uncle Chengyi and Uncle Fu Qiang, together with Nanjing Xun You are as well as a small number of officials and gentry from the former Six Ministries of Nanjing."
Chen Cao took advantage of the opportunity where Xin Zhao lowered his head and didn't dare to look at him, grabbed and kneaded the palace maid's breasts on the right, and then said: "Go, let them go back..."
...
