Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 18: All
The inner city of Yingtian is divided into three parts: one is the imperial city, one is the residential area, and the other is a large military camp.

Before dawn yesterday, Ma Ge Lao led more than 20 guards from Guizhou to flee south.

Fortunately, the remaining soldiers had never experienced a battle, so they were a little weak in blood. Otherwise, if they were replaced by those guys from Jiangbei who bathed in blood, Yingtian would have been destroyed in a mutiny long ago.

Afterwards, various pieces of news were transmitted to the camp from different channels. Even though these soldiers had never seen the world before, they all knew that there would be major changes in Yingtian.

At this time, the camp was brightly lit and everyone was sleeping with their clothes on, but how many people could actually fall asleep?
Li Chaodong was a centurion of Gaoqiao Guard. Although this official position was not high, he could still learn some inside information from the thousand-householders.

He knew that all the changes today were caused by the emperor's escape, and he also knew that all the commanders had been summoned to the palace by the lord to discuss matters. But what he wanted to know most was whether to fight or surrender, but even the thousand households did not know. Where would a small centurion like him get this information?
To be honest, he was afraid of fighting. I heard from the older generation that none of the Qi family soldiers who were transferred outside the Great Wall came back.

One does not have to experience the dangers personally; just thinking about them is enough to scare one.

But what else could we do if we didn't fight? Would we really let Yingtian be massacred by the Tartars like Yangzhou?

"Sir, is there any news?"

Just as Li Chaodong was lost in thought, several of his subordinates entered his room.

"No."

He replied in a bad mood, but the flag bearers said in a playful manner, "Sir, why don't you go to the captain to ask?"

"You bastards, you always make me get scolded!" Li Chaodong cursed but he jumped off the bed. It was obvious that he couldn't hold back anymore.

"The governor has ordered that the crown prince enter the camp and the thousand households go to the central army to discuss matters. No one else is allowed to leave without permission. Anyone who disobeys the order will be executed!"

"The governor has ordered that the prince enter the camp and that the thousand households come to the center..."

Just as several small flags made way for the door, a loud shout was heard from outside. They had just heard what was being shouted before the voice became increasingly distant.

"Sir! This..."

"What the hell! Go back now and stop being the first to come forward!"

Li Chaodong kicked the last flag-holder on the butt, and when he saw the others leave in a hurry, he sat back on the bed.

Whenever something big happens, these soldiers are the most nervous.

There was a fight with Jiangbei last year, and there was a fight with Zuobu a month ago. Although it was not their turn to play in the end, this feeling always makes people anxious.

What's more, now even the imprisoned prince has come out, who knows what the final situation will be.

Li Chaodong thought that the prince was most likely telling the truth, otherwise why didn't the emperor execute him for such a serious crime?
Now that the emperor has fled, I think it was the governor and other loyal ministers who rescued the prince.

But there is no news yet whether this is a war or surrender.

As he thought about it, Li Chaodong's eyelids closed unconsciously.

The entire camp has been holding on all night until now. It is getting closer to dawn, and there are many people like Li Chaodong who are squinting their eyes.

". Gather together. No one else is allowed to leave without permission. Anyone who disobeys the order will be executed!"

"The Crown Prince has ordered that all 100 households gather at the parade ground, and the rest..."

When Li Chaodong was awakened by the shouting outside, the voice was getting farther and farther away. After he figured out the meaning of the words, he realized that the matter must have come to a conclusion, otherwise why would they, the centurions, be called.

He packed up in a hurry, and when he went out of the room, he saw several of his own flagmen peeking out from the barracks.

"Sir! How is it decided?"

"Go back quickly!"

Li Chaodong snorted and rushed over to a familiar captain. "Captain Zhang, any news?"

When the captain named Zhang saw that it was him, he frowned, shook his head, and just kept on walking without saying a word.

The parade ground was next to the central army camp. When the two men trotted over, there were already quite a few people standing on the parade ground.

While Li Chaodong was trying to find his position, he looked towards the platform in the parade ground and saw a young man standing in the center of the platform with two people standing behind him.

The young man was thin, but stood very tall. By looking at the positions of the other two, he could tell which one was the Crown Prince.

After a long while, hundreds of centurions finally returned to their positions, and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince in the center of the high platform began his speech.

"On the 25th, Yangzhou was massacred, and hundreds of thousands of Ming people were killed. Now the Tartars have crossed the river, and Your Majesty is on a tour. I have no choice but to take charge of the defense of Yingtian City. But I didn't know that Zhao Zhilong colluded with the Tartars and wanted to offer the heads of all the people in the city in exchange for his family's eternal wealth!"

As soon as the words fell, there was an uproar in the training ground.

Zhu Cilang's words actually don't stand up to scrutiny, but with Yangzhou in front of us, and this matter concerns everyone's family members, who can not treat it with caution?
Li Chaodong thought about the rumors from a few days ago, and then thought of his wife and children at home. All kinds of scenes emerged in his mind, and the anger in his heart was about to burst out.

"Luckily! With the help of the Duke, Chang Guanlin, and Chen Si, the people of Yingtian were spared from being harmed by Zhao Zhilong!"

Who helps?
Li Chaodong was immersed in anger and did not hear the first half of Zhu Cilang's sentence, but he heard "free from being poisoned by Zhao Zhilong" clearly.

Fortunately, the prince is here, otherwise...

"Zhao Zhilong's accomplices have been captured, but he has been in charge of the Beijing camp for a long time. I am afraid that there are fish that have slipped through the net, so I will arrest all the thousand households in the army and deal with them after verification."

There was an uproar in the parade ground again. The governor and the commander-in-chief were both high-ranking figures, and these centurions did not really care what they did.

But the Qianhu is their immediate superior, and many of them are his direct subordinates. How can they take them lightly?

"But the army must be led by a commander, and I want to find a suitable candidate from among you to take the position of a thousand households."

As soon as the words fell, the noise in the field suddenly stopped, and then the buzzing sound started again.

"Do you have any objections?"

The training ground suddenly became quiet, as if they were afraid that any noise would make His Highness think that they had objections.

"Since you have no objection, you must obey my orders. If you disobey, not only will you lose your position as a captain, but you will also have to be careful of military law! Return to the camp."

The crowd was full when it gathered, but it dispersed quickly. Chang Guanlin looked at the dispersed crowd and finally couldn't help but say:

"Your Highness, this won't do."

"what?"

"The thousand households are the backbone of an army. Now that you have captured them all, the army is in disarray. What should we do if the Tartars attack us now?"

It can be said that Chang Guanlin was very obedient. He did not ask any more questions and arrested more than 90 thousand soldiers of the army according to Zhu Cilang's instructions.

Looking at his current state, I'm afraid he has just realized that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is planning to abandon all those thousand households.

"Didn't we say that we would select some thousand households from among the hundred households?"

"Your Highness, even if we promote a few centurions, we still need some time to get used to each other. If the Tartars attack now, they will be defeated at the first blow!"

"Won't the situation collapse at any moment if we keep them?" Zhu Cilang looked at Chang Guanlin with a smile, but the words he asked made him freeze in place.

(End of this chapter)