Yangzhou, Tianning Temple, the palace of the Ming Emperor.
The officers and soldiers of the new army to overcome the difficulties formed a neat four-row queue outside the mountain gate of Tianning Temple, carrying blunderbuss and spears with bayonets, and holding the military flag of "The Rebirth of Emperor Taizu Gao". All the soldiers stood silently, motionless. Several officers holding swords on their waists walked up and down in front of the team, their backs straight.
The gate of Tianning Temple was wide open, and the courtiers and nobles from Nanjing were all waiting outside the gate for the carriage of the Emperor of Heaven and the Crown Prince. All of them held their heads high and looked like winners. They didn't look like they had come from desolation at all.
Today is the first day of September in the seventeenth year of Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Cixiang personally selected an auspicious day. The pilgrimage will leave Yangzhou, first go to Guazhou, then cross the river to Zhenjiang, and then take the overland road to Liudu.
We will arrive in Nanjing around September 5th!
Emperor Chongzhen began to feel a little depressed after Han Zanzhou and Zhang Shenyan left. He was not feeling well anywhere, his meals were no longer good, and his sleep was uneasy. When he was about to go out today, he felt a little dizzy again, so he wanted to go out. Stay in Yangzhou for a few more days.
Because he knew that after arriving in Liudu, the two sides would have a showdown! But he doesn't know what the result will be? If those corrupt officials and nobles in Nanjing were defeated...
His filial son Zhu Cihong and Empress Zhou, as well as Chongzhen's sister-in-law Empress Zhang, were urging him to leave as soon as possible.
"Father, today is an auspicious day for traveling, and there are no winds and waves on the river, so it is suitable for sailing... In a few days, we will be able to reach Nanjing, the city where our ancestors made their fortune. When we arrive in Nanjing, Father wants to You can rest for as long as you like!”
"Yes, yes. When your Majesty arrives in Nanjing, he can travel and enjoy himself, live in peace and contentment, and no longer have to worry about the affairs of the world."
"The prince and the queen are right. When you arrive at your home in Nanjing, your majesty can rest however you want..."
After listening to these words of persuasion, Emperor Chongzhen felt even sadder. When I arrived in Nanjing, I had to take a long rest. Maybe I would no longer be the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, but the Supreme Emperor of the Ming Dynasty. I can only watch helplessly as my unfilial son usurps the throne and becomes the emperor, and then leads the Ming Dynasty to achieve ZTE!
ZTE seems to be easy for this traitor to do, so why can't I do it myself?
Now Emperor Chongzhen doesn't pay attention to anyone. He just sums up in his mind what he has learned from watching his son take power these days...
Zhu Cixiang's methods don't seem to be very clever. It's nothing more than sharing the blessings and sharing the difficulties with the people below. If there are any scapegoats, you should take the biggest blame. If there are benefits, you should take the biggest responsibility and put them in your pocket. When there are no benefits, you should do everything possible to find where the benefits are?
In addition, you must have an elite soldier who is both obedient and capable of fighting!
Thinking of this, Emperor Chongzhen let out a long sigh. He thought about how when he first became emperor, his conditions in all aspects were much better than that of a bastard named Cixi, but he just didn't understand!
Ancestor, can't you give the unscrupulous descendants another chance?
"Brother Chun," Emperor Chongzhen prayed to his ancestors in his heart, and then asked his son, "Is there any news about your third brother?"
If Nanjing's nobles were defeated, he felt that the only one he could count on was the acting king Zhu Cijiong.
"I have sent someone to contact you," Zhu Cixi said with a smile. "My son asked the third brother to stick to Datong, be careful against Tatars and rogue bandits, and build a secret fortress on the Luliang Mountains. In case of a large-scale invasion by the Eastern invaders, we must first Move to the secret fortress in Luliang Mountain."
There has always been a secret communication channel between Zhu Cixiang and Dai Fan, but the person he contacted was not his third brother Zhu Cijiong, but Luo Xiushen, the commander of the guards of the Dai Palace.
Long before he left Yanzhou, he sent the Jin Yiwei secret envoy to Datong to convey his highest instructions to Luo Xiushen and ordered Luo Xiushen to open up the Luliang Mountain anti-Qing base as soon as possible.
Because in Zhu Cixiang's view, Datong City cannot be defended after all. The question is when will it fall? However, the base area in Luliang Mountain is relatively easy to maintain for a long time.
And Zhu Cijiong is undoubtedly the most suitable to go to Luliang Mountain to serve as the banner of the anti-Qing struggle - he is the third prince in history, right?
A third prince of Zhu was king on Luliang Mountain. How could the Manchus be confident and bold enough to go south?
Thinking of this, Zhu Cixi smiled proudly and said to Emperor Chongzhen: "Father, it's getting late, it's time to set off... When you get to Nanjing, you will be able to see Wang Banban soon. I know There’s news about the fourth and fifth brothers.”
Chongzhen nodded and asked tentatively: "There won't be anything going on over there in Nanjing, right?"
Zhu Cixi smiled: "What can happen? Huaiyuan Hou and Chengyi Bo have already left with their troops...Huaiyuan Hou took his 3,000 clan soldiers to the boat where Chengyi Bo was sitting to protect the Tang Dynasty. After going west, neither of them got involved in Nanjing's affairs. Over in Nanjing, they were the only ones who were slightly more capable, and the rest were not worth mentioning. The child was very polite not to cause trouble for them. Do they still dare to seek death themselves?”
Really? Emperor Chongzhen thought to himself: If you really think like this, you traitor, you will be underestimating the enemy! But you are so cunning, you are probably deceiving your father!
...
"The fifth day of September...it's less than five days away. We can't delay it any longer. We must set off immediately!"
Inside the Fengyang Governor's Office, Governor Ma Shiying slammed the table, startling Huang Degong and Huang Shu who were present. The two of them looked at the stern-faced Governor Ma Da, who pretended to be loyal, and they both couldn't laugh or cry at all.
Who is delaying and refusing to send troops these days? One moment he said he had no money to reward him; the other moment he used the excuse that Xu Dingguo, the commander-in-chief of Guide Guard who had just been recruited by Shi Kefa, had made some changes and wanted to raid Fengyang!
It was not until today that someone from Yingtian Mansion came to report that the Holy Emperor and the Crown Prince would arrive in Nanjing on the fifth day of September. The Governor of Madagascar became anxious... Why did you go there so early?
"The governor will personally lead the troops to Nanjing for King Qin!" As Ma Shiying spoke, he took out the "Handkerchief Edict" he carried close to his body and displayed it in front of Huang Degong and Huang Shu. King Zhaoqin!"
Huang Shu glanced at Ma Shiying's "Handkerchief Edict", and his slender face became much longer. These days, he has been running around for King Qin's affairs, contacting nobles from the Southern Capital, lobbying among the scholars in Jinling, and writing letters to Zuo Liangyu, a friend of his, urging him to send troops to participate.
But in front of me, Ma Shiying, who had done nothing, took out a handwritten edict from Emperor Chongzhen and wanted to take the lead. It was so abominable!
Ma Shiying looked at Huang Shu's elongated face, smiled and said: "This governor has 3,000 Guizhou soldiers. They are brave and good at fighting and can endure hard work. It is just right that I will take him to King Qin."
Ma Shiying is also a Jinshi with military status. His family ancestor Ma Cheng led his troops to Guizhou in the early Ming Dynasty and was promoted to the commander of the Guizhou Guard due to his military merits. His descendants inherited this position hereditary. Ma Shiying's grandfather Ma Yunlong and uncle Ma Yuqing both served as commanders of the Guizhou Guard. Although Ma Shiying's lineage has been transformed into a scholar of poetry and rituals, the Ma family still has influence in the Guizhou army, and is also closely related to many Guizhou chieftains. Therefore, it can recruit 3,000 Guizhou people who obey its orders and are relatively capable of fighting. Soldiers serve as supervisors. In today's troubled times, these 3,000 Guizhou soldiers are a huge amount of money!
Although Huang Shu had the support of some Donglin Party members, the Donglin Party did not have much force and could only serve as a leading party at most. But now no one wants them to lead the way, so they always miss a breath at the critical moment!
Huang Degong really wanted to save Chongzhen, and he never thought about fighting for power with Ma Shiying. He immediately handed over his hands and said: "Please give the order to control the army. If you win the victory, you can only follow the lead of the army!"
"Okay!" Ma Shiying said with a smile, stroking his hands, "With the help of the general army, great things can be done! There is no need to mobilize the soldiers here in Fengyang. The soldiers are dispatched slowly for fear of delaying the time. This time, I will dispatch the governor's supervision and supervision. The servants of the general. A total of 6,000 elite soldiers, set off immediately, march under the stars, and must enter Nanjing before the prince!"
Then he raised his hand to Huang Shugong and said, "Zhong Lin, please rush back to Nanjing first, inform Duke Wei and Uncle Xin, and ask them to make complete preparations in Nanjing!"
Huang Shu nodded: "Okay, I'll set off back to Nanjing...see you in Nanjing!"
