Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 10 Change of Thoughts
Can Yingtian be defended? Can the Tartars be driven away?
shit!

Maybe it was because Zhu Guobi’s previous words contained too much nonsense, anyway, this was Xu Yinjue’s first reaction.

Although he had never actually led troops into battle, with the blessing of more than two hundred years of family heritage, how bad could his vision be?
When Yangzhou City was broken, he thought about it for a long time in front of the map, but in the end he still couldn't figure out how to resolve the crisis.

The walls of Yingtian City are high and thick, and the forty-eight garrison troops alone have a total of 270,000 troops.

The entire Jiangnan region was still in the hands of the imperial court. Once Yingtian was besieged, reinforcements would arrive in a moment.

It does make sense to think that this is what we must do, but if we think about it more deeply, anyone would feel disappointed.

To defend the city, one must have food and military pay, but as far as he knew, most of the granaries in the city were empty, and the government treasury had long become a rat's nest.

In this situation, the Tatars don't even need to attack the city. They only need to besiege it for three to two months and most of the people in the city will be eaten.

As for things like weapons and training...

To be honest, Xu Yinjue didn't want to think about it anymore.

If they could really hold on, would the emperor have to flee overnight?
Why would these people, instead of being nobles, entrust the lives of their entire clan to the mercy of the Tartars?
"Ugh."

Xu Yinjue sighed and then slumped in the armchair, imitating Zhu Guobi's example.

Why don't you ask me how to defend the city? Why don't you ask me how to proceed?
The reactions of the two made Zhu Cilang feel a little frustrated, but Master Xu's main attack arrived in time again.

"Da Lang, how should we defend?"

“It’s hard to say, but it’s also easy to say.”

"Humph!"

"cut!"

With a sneer and a mockery, Zhu Cilang could no longer suppress the anger in his heart.

"You two are unworthy of being the pillars of the Ming Dynasty! Are you really willing to give away all your wealth and leave your families to be trampled by the Tartars?" After saying that, he sat down on the armchair and said, "At worst, we can surrender to the Tartars together. After all, I still have the title of crown prince, which can be of some use to the Tartars. As long as you behave respectfully, you may even be able to learn from Liu Chan and become a Duke of Anle. You just wish for the best!"

After he finished speaking, there was no other sound in the study except Xu Yu's sighs.

After a while, Xu Yu spoke out to persuade them.

"Da Lang, the two dukes are also worried. If you have any ideas, please tell us. Even if we cannot escape death in the end, we will not be ashamed to see the late emperor in the underworld."

Although the two of them still looked the same, their ears were unconsciously directed towards Zhu Cilang.

"Defending a city requires nothing more than a strong city, food and reinforcements. A strong city is a piece of cake, and food and reinforcements are not difficult to come by."

"Where does the food come from?"

Xu Yinjue's question stunned Zhu Cilang for a moment, and he suddenly realized that he had made a serious mistake.

In his concept, since there is a granary in Yingtian, there must be food.

But he forgot that this was the end of the Ming Dynasty! If there really was grain and silver, would his father have been hanged on Coal Hill?

Oops! I didn’t review this knowledge point!

At this point, more than ten years of examination experience suddenly came in handy.

No matter what, you must not hand in a blank paper!

Even if you have to edit it, you have to write it down!

"Food and grass are indeed a problem, but there is a way out."

But how to edit it?
Zhu Cilang began to pace.

"Yingtian City has nearly a million people, and consumes several hundred tons of food every day."

Zhu Cilang turned around and continued pacing.

"Such a large consumption cannot be supported locally."

"Tell the important point!"

"We'll be there soon." Zhu Cilang replied and continued pacing in the room.

"It must be shipped in batches. It can't be that some are shipped today and some are shipped tomorrow."

"My family doesn't trade in grain." Zhu Guobi straightened up a little. "Well? What about the Earl of Xincheng?" Old Zhu had a clear mind, and Little Zhu was not slow to react.

"How can he not engage in grain business when he holds military power? The biggest grain merchant in the city is his son."

"Duke Baoguo is wise."

"Your Highness is wise."

Xu Yu had never done anything dirty, and Xu Yinjue had only been in charge of the family for a short time, so the two of them couldn't understand what was happening when they saw this scene.

Zhu Guobi came here originally intending to join forces with Duke Wei to seize Zhao Zhilong's military power and add some value to himself. Now that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has the same idea, doesn't that increase the legitimacy of this matter?
As for the identity of the prince...

It was the court and the emperor who denied his identity, but the people all recognized this guy.

The two chatted enthusiastically, and after a while, Er Xu also reacted.

"What good will it do if we rob the Zhao family?"

"My dear nephew, the Zhao family's granary is not necessarily smaller than the government granary."

"What about the reinforcements?"

"Zuo Liangyu."

"Huh, do you think he really came to save you?"

As soon as Zhu Cilang said a name, Xu Yinjue refuted it.

During the time of the previous emperor, Zuo Liangyu was already known for his arrogance. Now, he is heading to Yingtian under the pretext of rescuing the crown prince. Currently, he is fighting with Huang Degong's troops in the Tongling area.

It’s ridiculous that this kid actually thought Zuo Liangyu really came to save him.

"I met Zuo Gong when he came to Beijing. He gave me a gift. My father also said that although he was domineering, he had no choice. When it comes to loyalty to the emperor and patriotism, there is nothing wrong with that."

When Zhu Cilang was halfway through his speech, Xu Yinjue said with a mocking expression: "The past was the past, and the present is the present."

"Even if Zuo Gong really has some intention, it is better to fall into his hands than into the hands of the Tartars." After saying this, Zhu Cilang saw that the two were in deep thought, so he added: "Cao Cao did not massacre the nobles of the Han Dynasty."

The room fell silent again. Zhu Cilang did not disturb the two of them from thinking. He just opened the door and shouted, "Send us some food."

Of course, he had never met Zuo Liangyu, and he didn't know what his cheap father thought of him, but the old man seemed to have died a few days before Yingtian surrendered to the Qing.

After Zuo Liangyu died, were you still afraid that Zuo Menggeng, who was eager to find legitimacy to command the troops, would not come to rescue Yingtian?

Zuo Liangyu is domineering, and his subordinates are even more domineering than him!

If Zuo Menggeng was not in a hurry to find an authority to help him suppress his soldiers and generals, he would have the territory and the soldiers. Even if he wanted to sell them, he would have waited for a good price. Why would he surrender in such a hurry?

Of course, the quality of Zhu Cilang as the crown prince is still a little inferior, but does Zuo Menggeng, who is desperate, have any better choice?
A moment later, the servants in the mansion brought in plates of delicious dishes. But apart from the malnourished Zhu Cilang, who had the time to pay attention to these?
He didn't know what this body had gone through in prison, but the scars all over it and the empty stomach gave him a rough idea.

"Your Highness remains calm despite the collapse of Mount Tai. You are truly a royal orthodox."

"If Your Majesty could be half as good as Your Highness, the court would not be in this situation."

Zhu Guobi sighed, and Xu Yinjue also changed his previous attitude and started to flatter him.

Zhu Cilang didn't feel any appreciation for this seemingly sincere but actually useless flattery.

He knew very well that the starting points of these two people had not changed, and they were just saying some polite words after the negotiations.

"Mr. Xu, let's go."

After eating and drinking, Zhu Cilang said something to Xu Yu and prepared to leave, but Xu Yinjue stopped him.

"Your Highness, you haven't figured out how to take the military power from Zhao Zhilong yet."

"I have already sent someone to do this. You just need to figure out how to stabilize the morale of the troops after Zhao Zhilong surrenders."

After saying that, Zhu Cilang opened the door and left. Xu Yu followed closely after saying goodbye.

When they were no longer visible, Xu Yinjue said to Zhu Guobi, "Does he have any more help?"

"This prince is no pushover."

(End of this chapter)