"General Soldier, General Soldier, the news is coming!"
A primary school confidant of Qiu Lei suddenly ran over and yelled outside the lobby.
"But Magistrate Du is back?"
Qiu Lei stopped when he heard the sound and hurriedly called people into the tent. The eagerness in my heart could not be concealed. He now knows that Zuo Mengeng and his entire family are hanging neatly outside the gate of the palace in Jiangling City!
Li Guoying, Lu Zuguang, Xu Yong, and Hao Zhongzhong also did not fare well. Each of them lost their military power, their troops were reorganized, and they themselves became General Guoyi or General Mighty of the Dashun Army. They never had the good life in the past. Yes - Li Zicheng's method of reorganizing and annexing miscellaneous brands is unexpected, but it is also reasonable. After all, after he defeated Shanhaiguan, he was constantly betrayed by the former Ming army generals who took refuge in him. It can be said that he has learned a profound lesson!
The primary school principal said to Qiu Lei: "Chief Soldier, Magistrate Du has not come back, but he sent someone a personal letter."
"A handwritten letter?" Qiu Lei was stunned, "Show it to me."
The principal glanced at the young prince Zhu Cizhao and the princess Zuo Mengmei who were sitting in the hall, and said softly: "...General soldier, the letter is for the princess."
"What? For the princess?" Qiu Lei was stunned and turned to look at his daughter.
Zuo Mengmei stretched out her hand and said, "Bring it to me."
Qiu Lei took an envelope from the primary school principal, asked the primary school principal to leave, and then handed the envelope to Zuo Mengmei.
Zuo Mengmei took the envelope, tore it open and took out the letter paper inside. After unfolding it, she looked at it carefully, and her beautiful eyebrows twisted together unconsciously.
"What did the letter say?" Qiu Lei raised his eyebrows and looked at Zuo Mengmei.
"Prefect Du said that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has arrived at Hukoudu Camp... Also, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince wants to see me!"
"What?" Qiu Lei was stunned.
"What does he want to do?" Zhang Yong also shouted.
"Don't go..." This is what the young prince Zhu Cizhao is shouting - he was still drowsy just now, but as soon as he heard that his brother wanted to see his wife, he immediately became vigilant.
"Prince!" Zuo Mengmei glared at Zhu Cizhao angrily. Zhu Cizhao immediately fell silent and looked at his wife with aggrieved eyes.
Only Jin Shenghuan remained silent and watched quietly.
"Daughter, look..." Qiu Lei had no choice but to ask his daughter what she meant.
"I'll just go!" Zuo Mengmei smiled, "His Royal Highness, can you still eat me?"
Zhu Cizhao nodded vigorously - the prince just wants to eat you! You must not go...
Zuo Mengmei saw Zhu Cizhao nodding, so she smiled and asked, "Prince, do you want to go with me?"
"Go...what are you going to do?" Zhu Cizhao asked.
"Go and apologize!"
"Please forgive me..." Zhu Cizhao said with a guilty conscience, "I, I am not guilty!"
Zuo Mengmei smiled and lifted up her slender jade fingers, "My lord, you have no control over your words. You are just talking nonsense about Qin Wang Qingjun. This is a crime that shakes the foundation of the country! Jingzhou Mansion is the prince's fiefdom, and now most of it has been lost. This It’s a crime of losing land!
These two crimes are not small, shouldn’t they be punished? "
"No, no, no..." Zhu Cizhao's voice trembled as he spoke.
He is a young man, although he is a bit silly, but he does not understand everything. The crime of losing land was okay, now half of the Ming Dynasty was gone, and he was not the only prince who lost land. And Jingzhou Mansion hasn’t lost everything yet, right?
But as a prince, fan Yao and his countrymen are plotting to reserve the throne... you can be punished with death!
"If you don't want to go," Zuo Mengmei said, "Then I will go...I will bear all the charges, and I will punish you as you please."
"No!" Zhu Cizhao burst into tears, "Don't go, the prince will not let you go!"
Zuo Mengmei smiled: "Your Majesty, if the prince punishes me, he will forgive your sins... Your Majesty, if I am not with you in the future, you must be more careful and stop talking nonsense." Don’t have any wrong ideas!”
"Wow..."
After being frightened by Zuo Mengmei, Zhu Cizhao could no longer hold back and burst into tears.
Zuo Mengmei ignored him, but said to Zhang Yong and Jin Shenghuan: "Brother Xiong, Mr. Jin, you two go with me... His Highness the Crown Prince has nothing to do with you. Now is the time." When employing people, I’m sure it won’t embarrass you two.”
Jin Shenghuan still looked like it had nothing to do with him, he just cupped his hands and said: "The last general takes orders."
Zhang Yong patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, Princess. If His Highness the Crown Prince wants to embarrass the Princess, I will definitely argue with him!"
Zuo Mengmei nodded at him: "Thank you very much, Brother Feixiong."
...
At the Hukoudu camp, Zhu Cixi's six dragon flags, Emperor Taizu Gao's reincarnation flag and the three-army commander's flag were flying high in front of a large golden-domed tent.
When the news that Zuo Mengmei came to plead guilty was reported to the big tent, Zhu Cixiang was drinking tea and talking with an old woman.
This old woman is in her seventies, dark-skinned, tall, and somewhat obese. She sits there like an iron tower.
But the most eye-catching thing is the old lady's dress. She is not wearing women's clothes, but is wearing the python robe of a first-class military attaché of the Ming Dynasty. There is a unicorn patch on the robe. In the entire Ming Dynasty, there was of course only one old lady who could wear this outfit, and that was Qin Liangyu, Shizhu's Xuanfu envoy and the governor's colleague.
Qin Liangyu Mrs. Qin's territory Shizhu is located in the northern part of Chongqing Wei's jurisdiction, about twenty or thirty miles away from the Yangtze River. But it does not guard the main road from the Yangtze River into Chongqing Prefecture, because Shizhu and the Yangtze River are directly separated by Shima Mountain, which runs from northeast to southwest.
Due to the mountain barrier, the Shizhu area is relatively closed. Since the Southern Song Dynasty, it has been hereditary rule by the Fufeng Ma family from Shaanxi. It has gone through the Song, Yuan and Ming dynasties until now. In the original history, the Ma family ruled Shizhu. It lasted until the liberation of Shizhu in 1949... It was almost a thousand-year-old family!
This mistress of a thousand-year-old family was invited by Zhu Cixiang to help - Prince Zhu was short of experienced generals around him. On the Jingzhou battlefield, where nearly 100,000 troops gathered, the only "general" Zhu Cixi could trust was Wu Guoyong. However, more than a year ago, he was just a middle- and lower-level officer commanding a thousand cavalry. Relying on him to command a 100,000-strong army was really frustrating. People are worried. Moreover, Wu Guoyong was from the Guan Ning Army, and the only time he fought against rogue bandits was during the Battle of Tianjin.
But he doesn’t understand his current opponent at all!
However, Qin Liangyu's Shizhu soldiers had been fighting life-and-death with the bandits for many years, so they knew the enemy's situation relatively well, so they could at least serve as a good adviser by recruiting her.
"Princess Xuan Chu, Zhang Yong and Jin Shenghuan." When Zhu Cihong heard his subordinates come to report the arrival of Princess Chu and others, he announced the summons with a smile, and then said to Qin Liangyu, "Captain Qin (she was just promoted one level by Zhu Cihong, and now she is on the right Commander-in-Chief), let me meet this Chu Princess together with me... She can be considered a husband among women, at least she is much better than the King of Chu."
Qin Liangyu chuckled: "Your Majesty is still young, what do you know? Teach him well and he will be fine."
Zhu Cixiang smiled: "That's what the governor said, but as an elder brother, I don't have time to teach him, so I have to let Zuo Mengmei, a lady, teach her. She should be able to teach her well."
While the two were joking, Zuo Mengmei, Zhang Yong, and Jin Shenghuan had already followed Du Yinxi in.
Du Yinxi and Zhu Cixiang went to the Hukou Ferry Camp, and they also said a lot of good things for the King of Chu and the Princess of Chu. Now that he knew that Princess Chu was coming, he hurriedly followed her, ready to help and say good things again.
"Concubine Chu Princess Zuo Mengmei respectfully invites His Royal Highness Prince Jin An!"
"Your Majesty Du Yinxi respectfully invites His Highness the Crown Prince Jin An..."
"Your Majesty Jin Shenghuan pays his respects to the Crown Prince!"
"Your Majesty Zhang Yong kowtows to the Crown Prince!"
The four of them knelt down and saluted respectfully, feeling very excited in their hearts.
"Everyone, get up and give me a seat."
Zhu Cixiang was as approachable as ever, and he greeted them with a smile - they were all loyal ministers and concubines! Prince Zhu likes it when he looks at it!
"Princess Chu, why can't you get up from your knees?" Zhu Cixiang found Zuo Mengmei still kneeling there and didn't know why.
In addition, this girl is not wearing the right clothes. She is all in white... She looks good, but she is not in line with etiquette! It's a bit like filial piety. Could it be that that bastard Zhu Cizhao died?
When he thought that his younger brother might be dead, Zhu Cihong began to sympathize with Zuo Mengmei... Such a good girl has been widowed twice! Couldn't it be Kefu's fate?
"I'm guilty of asking for a favor, but I don't dare to get up..." Zuo Mengmei answered in a soft and waxy voice that made people sympathize.
"Oh, then kneel down first!" Zhu Cixiang breathed out and looked at Jin Shenghuan and Zhang Yong. These two people also felt a little guilty and did not dare to sit down. "Why don't you sit down? Are you guilty of asking?"
Jin Shenghuan immediately shook his head: "No, I'm not guilty..."
Zhang Yong quickly said: "I'm not guilty either."
Zhu Cixiang smiled: "That's good, that's good... You two are my loyal ministers of the Ming Dynasty. They are loyal and courageous, and unspeakably loyal. How can you be guilty? Sit down, sit down and listen to Princess Chu together. What's the crime?
Brothers and sisters, don’t be afraid. No matter how serious your sin is, I will definitely give you a lighter sentence! I am not Li Zicheng, so I am not that unreasonable. "
Get a lighter sentence? Then explain it well! Zuo Mengmei also breathed a sigh of relief in her heart. Although she felt that Zhu Cixiang would not be angry with that silly boy of King Chu, it was difficult to talk about the affairs of the emperor's family.
Now that I have this sentence, it seems that it is no big deal.
