Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 328 The Sinner Understands

According to the ideas of Ming army generals such as Hu Maozhen, if Jin Shenghuan was taken to Nanchang, it would greatly reduce the difficulty of taking the city.

But Zhu Cilang did not do so.

In response to this, the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty did not give any explanation or even any suggestions. He just led a small number of warships and a few thousand soldiers and went directly along the river to the outskirts of Nanchang City.

"May I ask which general's subordinates are outside the city?"

Everyone in the city was naturally surprised by the sudden arrival of the Ming army.

According to their original idea, if Jin Shenghuan went to the Ming army camp, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty would definitely agree to some of their requests because of Hubei.

Afterwards, these tens of thousands of troops will march northward as the vanguard of the Ming army to attack the Qing Dynasty. Once they take over this fertile land, their power will be greatly enhanced.

It would be fine if the Emperor Ming was sensible by then, but if he made any small moves, then these people would be able to advance and retreat calmly and get the best of both worlds.

This is not something they think too much.

Whenever there is troubled times, there are countless people who have their own troops and are self-reliant. Even the Han princes in the early Qing Dynasty became difficult to control in the process of defeating the Ming Dynasty time and time again. The Qing court was forced to divide the land and confer titles of kings.

To put it bluntly, such principles as "Are kings, princes, generals, and ministers of different species?" and "The emperor is the one with the strongest soldiers and horses" have long been deeply rooted in people's minds, but how can we not take a chance when we have the chance?
But the ideal is very full, and the reality is very skinny.

When Jin Shenghuan's confidants in Nanchang City climbed to the top of the city wall, they did not find their own commander-in-chief.

This made them a little confused about the situation.

"I don't think I'm seeing the Marshal."

"Is nothing going to happen?"

"Let's see what they say first. Maybe the commander is having a good chat with the generals in the back."

This unexpected situation was of course the most difficult to deal with. While the generals on the city were waiting for a reply from the Ming army, they could not help but express their own guesses.

"Listen up everyone in the city. We are under the command of General Xiang of the Central Guard. General Chang of the Front Army is also on the way."

When these words came out, Song Kuiguang and the others couldn't help but look at each other.

The purpose of their questioning was very clear, which was to find out Jin Shenghuan's whereabouts, but the Ming army outside the city pretended not to know and only answered the questions in a superficial manner, which made them have some bad guesses.

"So it's Generals Xiang and Chang, but I wonder if my commander-in-chief is coming with him?"

"No, General Jin is more familiar with the Qing army, so Your Majesty left him in Ji'an."

When the voices from below the city were heard earlier, a few people on the city wall were still in the mood to express their opinions, but when this sentence was heard, the people were still the same people, the place was still the same place, but the atmosphere immediately became a little suffocating.

We are all thousand-year-old foxes, who doesn’t understand the meaning hidden behind it?
I'm afraid the commander won't be back.
As the thought came to mind, the atmosphere in the city became increasingly weird.

"How to do?"

Normally, since things have gone beyond original expectations, the people in the city would have to discuss it first.

However, given the current situation, no matter what they said, there seemed to be a problem. All the military generals and staff on the city remained silent.

"General Song, Mr. Wu, the Marshal's safety is uncertain right now. As the leaders of the civil and military forces, what advice do you have?"

I'll take your M!
I don’t know who said this, but it made Song Kuiguang curse in his heart.

We all have two shoulders to support one head. If given the chance, who wouldn’t want to be a person whose words are law?
But he knew clearly that now was not the time to take action.

If the city gates were opened to welcome the Ming army, it would inevitably provoke a counterattack from Jin Shenghuan's diehard followers. If the gates were not opened, the Ming Dynasty would be in grave danger.

It's neither left nor right. Unless he is mentally ill, he will never pretend to be a big shot at this time.

"Mr. Wu, I am a rough man. I am not afraid of fighting in battle, but I hope you can give me some advice on how to plan and strategize."

As he said this, Song Kuiguang bowed, which scared Wu Zunzhou, who was also a little dazed.

"Why do you have to do this? Why do you have to do this? The Marshal's safety is uncertain. I am also confused and have no idea what to do."

"Mr. Wu, the Marshal relies on you very much. Now we don't know whether he is alive or dead. You can't just ignore us."

"General Song, what are you talking about? Now we are all grasshoppers tied to the same rope. If there is no way out, how can I cherish my own things?"

This is probably because there is no leader.

Without the leader Jin Shenghuan, the remaining people all had their own thoughts and were wary of each other.

Even though they are facing a "formidable enemy", they are still blaming each other, and no one has the courage to stand up and make a decision.

"You guys on the city wall! If you want to open the city gate, open it. If you don't want to, just give us a clear message. You are really arrogant for wasting our time here!"

The soldiers who came to deliver the message naturally had no idea what was happening on the city wall.

In his opinion, Marshal Jin had already rebelled, but these subordinates were still hesitating.

In such a situation, it was either that the person had two minds or that there was an internal conflict. Naturally, as someone who was following the emperor's orders, he had to reprimand him.

"Don't be upset, sir. It's not that we don't want to open the door. It's just that we didn't expect the soldiers to come so quickly. In a hurry, we inevitably lost our manners. So... So please tell the two commanders Xiang and Chang to give us one day and invite the soldiers into the city after the streets are cleaned tomorrow."

"Row!"

After hearing so many words from the city wall, the soldier only responded with this one word and turned his horse back.

Although there was nothing wrong with this behavior, the military generals and staff in Wuchang City were once again shocked.

"So easy to talk to?"

"It's probably because they've got us."

After the voice fell, although no one said anything else, they felt mixed emotions in their hearts.

As the saying goes, if you can't beat, you can't run?

Their current situation is that they can neither fight nor escape.

The Ming army came from the south, and if they wanted to escape, they had to go north, but Nanchang was located between a river and a mountain.

If they really wanted to escape, unless they had the courage to cross the mountains, they would have to go north along the Gan River.

Ha ha.

If we go north along the Gan River, we will probably be smashed to pieces by the artillery of the Ming navy.

"Let's go back first. We must come to a conclusion today!"
-
Let's talk about two things. Without mentioning the military generals and staff in Ganzhou City, let's just say that the soldier reported the whole process to Zhu Cilang immediately after returning to the camp.

"Okay, you go down first."

As the soldiers retreated, they bravely took a peek at His Majesty's expression, but to their surprise, His Majesty was not angry at all. Instead, he was smiling, as if he was not surprised at all that Nanchang refused to open the door.

"Your Majesty, these rebels must have some plans. Why don't we attack them first to make them less cunning?" The soldiers noticed it, and the generals in the tent naturally noticed it too. After they retreated, Chang Guanlin stood up directly.

He happened to meet Zhu Cilang when he was heading south. He then handed over the task of leading the troops to his deputy general, but he himself followed them.

Returning to his roots, among the five imperial guards, his vanguard army has the largest number of soldiers and is also the one that Your Majesty has the highest hopes for.

But in the battle in Jiangxi, except for Mei Chun who had other missions and he who was blocked in Fuzhou, Xiang, Fang and Hou all followed His Majesty to defeat the powerful enemy and won great military exploits.

How could Chang Guanlin, who always cared about his reputation, remain calm about this?

Therefore, when he found the trace of His Majesty, he immediately turned into a dog-skin plaster and stuck closely to Zhu Cilang, the commander with the greatest military achievements.

"That's fine. Everyone has their own aspirations and we can't force them. Let's wait and see what they decide tomorrow."

"Yes."

Based on Chang Guanlin's understanding of his Majesty, this matter would definitely not be that simple.

However, seeing that His Majesty had not revealed any intention for the time being, he retreated in disappointment.

"Oh, by the way, have the local noble families made any moves along the way?"

At this time, Chang Guanlin's mind was all focused on how to achieve some military merits, but he did not expect His Majesty to say such a thing out of the blue.

If it were in the past, he would not have understood the meaning of these words, but after this year, he has more or less figured out the meaning.

After a brief recollection, he stood up again.

"Your Majesty, in the past few years, bandits have plagued various provinces, but the area east of Jiangxi is relatively stable, so all the local gentry and elders along the way have come to welcome the royal army with food and drink."

The bull's head is not the horse's mouth.

This was Zhu Cilang’s first reaction after hearing these words, but at the same time he also understood the meaning of Chang Guanlin’s words.

Local forces were not affected by the war and were relatively welcoming to the Ming army.

"Well, it's good to be safe and sound. It's good to be safe and sound. Okay, you guys should go and have a rest for a while."

Regardless of whether Chang Guanlin tasted some different flavor, Xiang Rensheng was really confused.

Although His Majesty's trip south this time was slightly different from previous times, he at least explained everything in detail to the generals after entering Poyang Lake.

However, after chasing Shang Kexi to Ji'an, His Majesty's actions were still somewhat strange, but this time he did not explain it to them.

But this is nothing. After all, Xiang Rensheng knows that he is different from the others. Apart from his bravery, he can lead the central army only because of the majesty's appreciation of him.

Moreover, in the past year or so, His Majesty's wisdom and bravery had been engraved in his bones, so after vaguely sensing something was wrong, he just felt that he was dull and unable to understand the Holy Heart, but he really didn't think about anything else.

Time passed little by little, and the sky gradually darkened.

After finishing the meal, Zhu Cilang originally wanted to go around the camp, but at this moment, someone quietly entered the Ming army camp.

"Your Majesty, someone is coming from the city."

"Oh? So early?"

Zhu Cilang was not at all surprised by what the soldiers reported. After calling Chang and Xiang over, he ordered his men to bring them into the tent.

"General Song Kuiguang, may I ask if the person in front of you is General Chang or General Xiang?"

"How dare you! How dare you do this in front of His Majesty?!"

As soon as he entered the tent, Song Kuiguang bent down and took the initiative to ask questions. However, who would have thought that his humble attitude was not only not treated with courtesy, but the generals standing on both sides of the tent actually scolded him directly.

When Fang heard the word "bold", Song Kuiguang was still a little dissatisfied.

But when he heard the last sentence, his legs couldn't help but go weak. When he raised his head to take a look at the figure sitting at the top of the big tent, his whole body immediately bowed heavily to the ground.

"I was unaware that Your Majesty was here, and I did not mean to disturb you on purpose!"

"It's okay, get up."

When facing Song Kuiguang, Zhu Cilang's attitude was obviously much better than when he treated Jin Shenghuan. Seeing him kowtow continuously, although he only said one sentence, the smile in it could ease Song Kuiguang's uneasiness a little.

"Thank you, Your Majesty. Thank you, Your Majesty."

He thanked the master profusely, but his body remained on the ground, not daring to move.

On the surface, Song Kuiguang and Jin Shenghuan are of similar rank, but the deterrent power of the Ming Emperor is incomparable to the two of them.

In the final analysis, no matter what Jin Shenghuan's final fate was, he was a man with a heroic temperament, and Song Kuiguang was at best a high-level worker. How could he possibly withstand the power of Zhu Cilang, who was invincible in every battle?

"Won't you come to a conclusion tomorrow?"

"Your Majesty, I wanted to open the gates and let the soldiers in during the day, but I was surrounded by Jin Shenghuan's confidants, and I was afraid of chaos, so I tried to delay."

"Well, you are a loyal person. Why did you come here tonight?"

"Your Majesty, I am here to ask for help."

Zhu Cilang seemed extremely surprised when hearing these words. After thinking for a while, he continued to ask, "Why are you asking for help? Are the Tartars coming?"

"Your Majesty, it's not the Tartars, but Jin Shenghuan's aide Wu Zunzhou and several generals who don't want to rebel. I'm afraid my troops won't be able to suppress them quickly, so I want to ask Your Majesty to send someone to help me put down the rebellion."

After saying this, Song Kuiguang instinctively wanted to see the other party's reaction, but the muscles in his neck were about to exert force but he suppressed it again, obviously thinking that this occasion was different.

Time passed little by little, but the nobleman in the tent still said nothing.

Although Song Kuiguang was sure that the emperor would agree to his request, he still became increasingly uneasy.

"The army doesn't know the roads and terrain inside the city, nor does it know who is the enemy and who is the friend. If we rush in rashly, there will inevitably be trouble. It's better for you to hold the line outside the city."

"This"

Zhu Cilang's answer obviously exceeded Song Kuiguang's expectations again.

In his opinion, entering the city at night was the best opportunity to take control of Nanchang. If he really waited until he had quelled the internal chaos, there was always the possibility that power would fall into the hands of others.

But now.
"Why? Song Qing feels powerless to suppress the rebellion?"

The indifferent tone startled Song Kuiguang, whose mind was racing. After he understood the meaning hidden in the words, he immediately answered.

"Your Majesty, with the combat power of my subordinates, it is no problem to defeat these clowns. However, if this chaos continues for a long time, innocent people will be hurt. If the people in the city are harmed, it will damage your majesty's reputation."

"It's okay. My reputation doesn't depend on this. Just do it with confidence. But anyone who colludes with the Tartars or the rebels will be wiped out. Do you understand?"

"Ah! I understand, Sin-sin-sin."

(End of this chapter)