After Ma Shiying led everyone from Liaodong, they went through many hardships and finally arrived in Nanjing in early August. He immediately began to visit the dignitaries of the Hongguang court. Relying on the contacts he had accumulated in Nanzhili, Ma Shiying quickly came into contact with people from the Qing Dynasty in the Ming Dynasty. Nanjing officials welcomed this old friend who had come all the way to deliver gifts.
Especially when the giant Lin Yu carried boxes of treasures in front of the adults, the mainstays of the Hongguang court showed expressions of joy and appreciation on their faces. They believed that Ma Shiying was worthy of being a gentleman. Even if the war was raging, he would not forget the reconciliation between the two countries.
Several Donglin bosses patted their chests and promised that tomorrow they would write a memorial to impeach Liu Zong, Zhou, Wu Sangui and others. They must ask the emperor to issue twelve gold medals to recall Supervisor Liu immediately.
We can no longer condone the imperial court's risky actions that waste people, money, and resort to war. The constant floods, droughts, and locust plagues in the north and south are warnings from heaven. In short, the Ming Dynasty and the Qi Dynasty should value peace and stop the war immediately.
Moreover, Emperor Chongzhen Zhu Youxiao is still in the hands of the Qi army. If the situation becomes too urgent, with Kang Yingqian's character, it is very likely that Zhu Youxiao will be sent directly to Nanjing to compete with Emperor Hongguang for the throne, which will be difficult to handle. .
Soon after giving the gifts, news came of the tragic defeat of the Jiangbei Fourth Battalion. The defeated generals who fled back to Nanjing recalled the Linqing War with horror in their eyes. The Linqing Qi army had at least 300,000 troops, and the enemy soldiers were every one to ten. They were very ferocious, especially Emperor Wu Ding even descended from the gods to compare one to a hundred. He held a spear in his hand, weighing eight hundred kilograms, eight hundred kilograms. The tiger he waved in his hand was so powerful that even if he touched it, he would not die or be crippled. That day he was beaten by the emperor. There were not even ten thousand but eight thousand dead Ming troops. Three of the four generals were killed, and the surviving general Zuo became frightened. It is said that he now dreams every night and shouts "Emperor Wu Ding, spare my life!"
Ma Shiying didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He came to Nanjing this time to stop the Northern Expedition. Now that the Ming army was crippled, there was no need for the Northern Expedition. Unfortunately, the gifts had already been sent out. He could only lament that his colleagues in Nanjing received the gifts too quickly. The elder of the pavilion made a little show and declined for two days, and the treasure could no longer be sent out. But since I don’t want the things back, let’s just treat it as a convenient favor.
Ma Shiying has been welcoming and sending guests to Kaiyuan all the time, so he naturally understands official relationships. Anyway, the two sides will have to deal with each other in the future, and he is not afraid that these Nanjing civil servants will not return the favor to him in the future.
It's just that Ma Shiying didn't believe that Emperor Wu Ding was still alive, and he didn't believe that Liu Zhaosun wielded an eight hundred kilogram spear, went in and out of the enemy's formation, and killed thousands of people in a row - this is better than the popular "Jin Baya after the Battle of General Xuanwu" in the capital at that time The plot of "Assassination" is even more absurd.
In any case, Southern Zhili is not a place to stay for a long time. Ruan Dacheng, the current head of the Ministry of Rites, who is the same age as Ma Shiying, kindly reminded Lao Ma and Hou Xun to escape and go north quickly.
Zuo Liangyu was eager for revenge and was about to send someone to intercept and kill them.
Ma Shiying fled in a hurry. Before leaving, his friends in Nanming told them another sad news.
Ruan Dacheng said that the pirate leader Zheng Zhilong had just been ordered to peace by the imperial court, and the emperor appointed him as the chief military officer of Fujian and asked him to quell the pirates of Guangdong.
The chief Japanese minister (translator) under Emperor Wuding, a general trusted by the emperor, rebelled so quickly when Da Qi was in crisis.
It should be noted that Emperor Wu Ding always treated the Zheng family well, and even cultivated Zheng Zhilong as a confidant. After pacifying the Japanese country, he not only granted him an official position and rewarded him, but also gave him a large sea area for trade.
Ma Shiying didn't know much about Zheng Zhilong's past and present lives, otherwise he wouldn't be surprised by his capriciousness and treachery.
In the original history, Zheng Zhilong was first a pirate in Fujian, and later the imperial court ordered him to be a pirate. With his shrewdness and ability to play both sides as a great pirate, he became a dominant figure in the history of the Southern Ming Dynasty. In 1645, King Zhu Yujian of the Tang Dynasty went south to Fujian and was proclaimed emperor by brothers Zheng Zhilong and Zheng Hongkui. He changed his name to Longwu and became the "Emperor Longwu".
Due to his meritorious service, Zheng Zhilong was named the Marquis of Nan'an and was also granted the power to handle all military affairs of the Southern Ming Dynasty. He was considered to be the leader of one man and more than ten thousand people. However, a year later, Zheng Zhilong responded to the Southern Conquest General Dorobelebolo's inducement to surrender. Regardless of his son Zheng Chenggong's repeated cries and remonstrances, he rebelled against the Ming Dynasty and surrendered to the Qing Dynasty.
In the tenth year of Yongli (1656), Zheng Chenggong supervised his troops to go north, conquered Min'an and Luoxingta and other cities, and killed the Qing general Age Shang at Huguoling. The Qing court was shaken, and Zheng Zhilong was forced to send his family members to express their gratitude and hold a letter from Governor Tong Dai to Ningde to meet Zheng Chenggong, and once again persuaded Zheng to return to the Qing Dynasty, but Zheng Chenggong refused again. The Qing court saw that Zheng Zhilong no longer had any use value, so he beheaded him at Caishikou of the capital in October of the 15th year of Yongli.
In the final analysis, Zheng Zhilong was just a pirate. Pirates were basically the targets of severe crackdowns by the court in any ancient dynasty. This background also determined that he could not enjoy the treatment of Wu Sangui, Hong Chengchou and others in the Qing court.
~~~~~~
On the way back from Nanjing, Ma Shiying and others continued to encounter defeats by the Ming army.
Many defeated Ming troops did not follow their general Zuo Liangyu and fled back to southern Zhili. Instead, they turned into bandits in the Huaiyang area, entangled the refugees, continued to expand their strength, and gradually formed ruthless bandits.
Ma Shiying carefully avoided the large group of troops. With Lin Yu and Wei Zhao around, the defeated soldiers in small and five groups did not dare to trouble them. When Lin Yu put on the black uniform of the Guards, the defeated soldiers looked as if they had seen a ghost. Throw down your sword and run for your life.
Entering the border of Shandong, more and more broken soldiers and thieves broke out. At noon that day, everyone walked to a deserted path. A group of broken soldiers held long knives in their hands and blocked the road to rob. The leader just walked up and saw Wei Zhao's uniform. He turned and faced The woods ran wild.
"Hey! Stay with the money! Don't run away!"
Wei Zhao held the Yanling knife and chased him behind. He chased and shouted. The road was filled with smoke and dust, and the defeated soldiers burrowed into the woods like rabbits.
Lin Yu, who was guarding Ma Shiying, suddenly opened his eyes.
Seven or eight broken soldiers came out of the forest with sharp blades in their hands, chasing after Wei Zhao and shouting wildly. Seeing the overwhelming number of people on the other side, Jinmen quickly turned around and ran towards Lin Yu, cursing as he ran:
"Grandma, if you want to sneak attack on me, there is no way. I have no opponent in Tianjin Wei..."
Lin Yu glanced at his noisy companion, stretched his muscles, and picked up the fifteen-pound mace.
After drinking tea, five corpses of defeated soldiers were lying on the ground. The remaining people looked at the monster in front of them and went into the forest without looking back.
"Stop, don't run away!"
Wei Zhao wanted to pursue him, but Ma Shiying called on everyone to continue on their way.
"I wonder if the emperor is really in Linqing. Looking at this posture, the Ming army seems to be afraid of us."
Hou Xun said thoughtfully.
What they saw along the way made everyone more and more interested in the Fourteenth Army stationed in Linqing.
It should be noted that the army that followed Yuan Chonghuan southward was considered a mixed force in Kaiyuan. Unexpectedly, it could last for so long on its own and defeat an enemy with ten times the strength.
~~~~
Ma Shiying and his party finally arrived in Linqing Prefecture City on September 8th after a long journey.
On the day they entered Linqing Prefecture City, Emperor Wu Ding promulgated the "Qi Dynasty Land Acquisition System" to the people. The emperor killed a group of rebels by the way, which felt like he was offering sacrifices to the flag.
Emperor Wu Ding has many things to do now. He is busy compiling the Daqi code and suppressing the rebellion. He also has to stay in the palace at night and take good care of the beauties. In short, the schedule is very full. The dragon is not seen at all. It is not something that anyone can see.
So Zhang Dong greeted Ma Shiying and others at the city gate.
During this period, the guard followed the emperor, experienced nine deaths, and witnessed too many killings. Fortunately, he did not become as dark as Emperor Wu Ding.
Zhang Mazi was still the same as before, except that his face was more pockmarked and more ferocious, nothing else had changed. When he saw an acquaintance, he almost shed tears.
He told everyone everything that happened after the Wanggong Factory explosion, from Emperor Wuding taking the decoction to treat the plague, to being knocked unconscious by the explosion after entering the tunnel, and finally waking up to go on a killing spree, including killing a man on the Linqing battlefield. Hundreds of Ming troops.
Ma Shiying was stunned. If what Zhang Dong said was true, it would be much better than "Jin Baya La after the Battle of General Xuanwu"!
Zhang Mazi told the whole story, but he just passed by the emperor's massacre of merchants, gentry, and subordinate officials and didn't want to mention it more.
Finally, Zhang Dong hesitated and said:
"Be prepared, the emperor is a little different from before... Well, forget it, you will know after the audience tomorrow, hey..."
His face was heavy.
Ma Shiying noticed something strange, stared at the pockmark on Zhang Mazi's face, and asked where the emperor was.
Wei Zhao said loudly:
"Tell me! Where is the emperor now? Who is he with? It's not easy for me to go back and forth between the north and the south. If it weren't for the protection of my first sword in Jinmen, Brother Lin would have been sold to Qinhuai River by Zuo Liangyu in Zhenjiang. Become a little singer!"
Zhang Mazi looked Lin Yu up and down. Seeing that the big man Lin looked unhappy, he could only hesitate:
"Emperor, with a woman..."
Ma Shiying was stunned:
"Women? Your Majesty, isn't he a womanizer?"
Zhang Dong added awkwardly:
"Well, it's three women."
Ma Shiying was speechless.
~~~~~
In the early morning of the Double Ninth Festival, September 9th, Emperor Wu Ding met with Ma Shiying and others at Chaoguan Yamen.
"I can't remember many things in the past. You just said that I am the Supreme Emperor now? Is Liu Kan the Emperor?"
He was not surprised by the rebellion of Du Du and Li Zhu, but his son Liu Kan succeeded to the throne and he passively became the Supreme Emperor! This operation is like Li Shimin and Li Longji.
Ma Shiying was stunned for a moment, nodded, and the tears he had just wiped were about to flow out again.
"Your Majesty, Shenyang's soldiers are fierce and dangerous. There are rebels on all sides. The whole army of Jiannu came to unite with the Korean soldiers. They besieged the city for several months. The city suffered heavy casualties. I don't know how long it can last..."
Liu Zhaosun had not yet recovered from Chen Yuanyuan's gentleness. Hearing Ma Shiying cry about the situation in Liaodong, he thought for a long time before he remembered what Du Du and Li Zong looked like.
The loyal face on the bank of the Hun River once changed now.
"Du Du swore to be a guard for me all his life and guard the northern border, and he will do it. I will make him into a living figurine and place it at the entrance of the palace so that he can continue to be a guard."
Liu Zhaosun looked at Ma Shiying with bright eyes.
"Do you know how living human figurines are made?"
