Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 378: There seems to be a chance?

The development of the war in northern Sichuan to this point, both the process and the outcome have exceeded everyone's expectations. However, when the Dashi Army was resting in Guangyuan, news from Jinniu Road forced Zhang Xianzhong to withdraw his attention from the south.

Hauge is stopping the military reorganization.

This terminal is a rare wide valley between Guangyuan and Hanzhong, and has always been an important post on the Jinniu Road.

Reorganizing the army in this way can not only minimize the losses caused by the soldiers' disintegration, but also ensure that the second half of the journey will not be congested due to chaos.

From the perspective of the Qing army, this was undoubtedly an extremely wise choice, but for the Dashi Army, it was an extremely dangerous signal.

In the end, this place is really close to Guangyuan.

Even though everyone knew that the morale of the Qing army had already fallen to the lowest point at this time, who could guarantee that the Qing army, which had not suffered too much loss in military strength, would not launch a surprise attack after the Dashi Army moved south?

Faced with such a situation, Zhang Xianzhong felt somewhat regretful.

If he had not been worried that the Ming army would take advantage of him after both sides suffered heavy losses, he would have given the Qing army a severe blow that night regardless of the losses.

But the situation has come to this point, and it is meaningless to talk about other things. The most urgent thing is to...
"Zhang Xianzhong wants to surrender?"

"Yes, my general was born in poverty, but he was forced to take this path of no return because he could not survive the war. Now, Your Majesty is not only managing the internal affairs of the court and defending against powerful enemies, but also ensuring the livelihoods of refugees and ordinary people, so there is no reason for my general to resist the court anymore."

Looking at Prime Minister Daxi who was bowing in the hall, there was no trace of joy on Zhu Cilang's face.

In the past few days, news came that Zhang Xianzhong defeated Hauge, and then the Prime Minister of the Great Western Kingdom appeared outside the city of Chongqing alone and on horseback.

He could understand the outcome of the Guangyuan War and the reactions of various parties thereto, but after thinking about it several times, he still could not understand why Zhang Xianzhong, who was about to win a great victory, sent people to discuss amnesty without even making any attempts.

But then again, no matter what Zhang Xianzhong was planning, Wang Zhaoling was extremely submissive.

Not only was he dressed in plain clothes, he also only addressed Zhang Xianzhong as a general. As a separatist force that had established its own country, being able to do this naturally showed enough sincerity.

But Zhu Cilang is not a four or five-year-old kid, how can he be coaxed by just a few nice words?
If he did not find out the true situation in Guangyuan, even if Zhang Xianzhong himself bowed before him, he would not be able to accept this surrendered and then rebelled hero with peace of mind.

"Are you Zhang Xianzhong's prime minister?"

"Students are terrified."

After the words fell, Wang Zhaoling was so frightened that he kept bowing his head. Zhu Cilang just waved his hand and said calmly: "It's okay. If you really want to surrender, I will forgive you. But if there is even a trace of falsehood in your words, then you will be charged with deceiving the emperor."

"Your Majesty is wise and wise. I will tell you everything I know."

"Are you Zhang Xianzhong's prime minister?"

"."

Is it necessary to worry about this kind of thing?

After hearing His Majesty repeat the previous question, Wang Zhaoling was speechless.

It has been nearly two years since the founding of the Dashi Kingdom. The imperial court is not unaware of his detailed experience, and should also be aware of his existence.

But now the Emperor Ming seemed to be asking questions even though he knew the answer, but no one knew what his plan was.

"I am a commoner. I am a commoner."

"Ah."

Not sure if he noticed the pressure this question brought to Wang Zhaoling, Zhu Cilang just nodded and said nothing more.

Up to now, what he cared about most was what happened in the north, but he couldn't say that he cared much about other things.

However, this situation must be extremely secretive, and I don't think I will get any useful information by asking directly.

Therefore, while putting a certain amount of pressure on the Prime Minister of Daxi, he tried his best to find some clues from his reaction.

"I heard that Zhang Xianzhong won the battle?"

"Your Majesty, our army did win the battle, but that battle was a bit tricky, so our army didn't suffer much damage."

Zhu Cilang's question was quite sudden, but Wang Zhaoling's answer came out before others could react.

It was obvious that he had been prepared for such problems at that time, and he might even have prepared a way to deal with the reaction of Emperor Minghuang afterwards.

But who would have thought that after these words fell, the Emperor Ming seemed to have heard something extremely happy. After laughing a few times, he said loudly: "Good, as long as there is no damage."

As Wang Zhaoling thought, the Emperor of Ming probably wanted to wait until they and the Tartars were both defeated before reaping the benefits, so he deliberately emphasized "the loss was not great" when answering the question.

In this way, although he could gain some initiative in the negotiations, the little emperor's plan would fail and he would probably not be in a good mood.

But now the little emperor didn't seem to show any signs of lying, which made the countermeasures he had prepared in advance useless, and his expression became a little unnatural.

"I know what you are thinking, but you all need to understand that Haoge's entry into Sichuan is both a danger and an opportunity for you. If it weren't for Zhang Xianzhong's understanding of the situation, the land in Sichuan would have been decided long ago. By then, anyone who resisted the imperial court would have been crushed to dust. How could you have the time to play tricks?"

It is said that serving the emperor is like serving a tiger, and the power of heaven is unpredictable.

Zhu Cilang was laughing heartily one second ago, but uttered such murderous words the next second.

Even Fan Yiheng, who was already quite familiar with his Majesty, was surprised by such a change, not to mention Wang Zhaoling, who had his background rehabilitated.

But then again, he came here on behalf of Zhang Xianzhong after all. Even though he had been extremely submissive for various reasons before, when it came to practical issues, he had to muster up the courage to say a few words.

"Your Majesty, how dare I have any such thoughts? It is true that our army suffered little damage, and I would not dare to lie even if I had the courage of heaven."

Wang Zhaoling understood clearly that everything is virtual and only an army with strong combat power is real.

If the little emperor had not been afraid of the troops in Guangyuan, he would have led his troops north long ago. How could he pretend to care about the world?

But he is still petty after all.

Although the Dashi Army had more than 100,000 people, the only ones that Zhu Cilang really valued were Sun Kewang and a few others.

Moreover, he had resolved the knot in his heart now, and had resigned himself to the fate of recovering these people. If he had not known that the north had sent people over, the army might have left Chongqing long ago.

But then again, since Zhu Cilang had said so much, he would not dwell on the matter any further. Seeing that this guy was still a little stubborn, he directly changed the subject.

"Tell me, what are Zhang Xianzhong's conditions?"

"Your Majesty, my general knows that his crime is unforgivable, so how could he have any unreasonable thoughts? I would like to lead my men to follow the old example of the Mu family and guard the riverside for Your Majesty."

Imitating the Mu family?
Guarding the river?
When Zhu Cilang heard these words, his first reaction was to laugh out loud.

But who would have thought that when he glanced at the ministers present with a smile in his eyes, he saw Fan Yiheng, who was familiar with the situation in Sichuan, with a serious face. Then several unclear pieces of information floated in his mind, and the smile disappeared in an instant.

It seems that at this time, the Khan, the imperial teacher who unified the plateau, had already surrendered to the Qing court.

Since the collapse of the Mongol Empire, various groups of people have been scattered across the Eurasian continent.

By this time, the Mongolian tribes around the Ming Dynasty had been divided into southern Mongolia, northern Mongolia and western Mongolia, and the western Mongolia was further divided into four tribes: Dzungar, Dzungar, Khoshut and Torghut.

This Khoshut was the tribe of the Imperial Master Khan.

Generally speaking, although Sichuan, like the Nine Frontiers, is located on the edge of the Eighteen Provinces of Han territory, before the Tartars entered the Pass, neither the imperial court nor the people had ever thought that this place would be invaded by the grassland ethnic groups.

But at this time the plateau had become the territory of the Khoshut Mongols. If the Tartars promised great benefits, there was no guarantee that a powerful enemy would emerge from Yazhou.

Originally, this information only existed in Zhu Cilang's vague memory, but after seeing everyone's reactions, he realized that the situation at this time was completely different.

In the original history, the Khan, the national teacher of the Khoshut Mongols, took the plateau into his possession right after Beijing was defeated. Afterwards, he took the initiative to express his intention to submit to the new generation of the Central Plains dynasty.

But now?

The Qing Dynasty, which was also a northern border resident, had suffered successive defeats, while the Ming Dynasty, which had the hatred of its country being destroyed, was trying to rise from the ashes.

If Zhu Cilang was the Imperial Tutor, he would try to assist the Qing government in conquering Sichuan, either out of the need to rally people's hearts or with the intention of gaining benefits.

Thinking about it this way, the so-called guarding the river bank is not so ridiculous after all.

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Would Zhu Cilang be afraid of them?

"There is only one Mu family in the Ming Dynasty, and there is no need for you to guard the Sichuan border. If the Imperial Master Khan dares to attack, I will follow the example of the Second Ancestor," Zhu Cilang said with a sneer. He then glanced at the hall. When he saw that Wang Zhaoling seemed surprised, he continued, "Go back and tell Zhang Xianzhong that there is only one way for him to survive, and that is to follow the example of Li Guo, Hao Yaoqi and others."

When Wang Zhaoling heard the words, his surprise turned into astonishment.

He naturally did not think that the Emperor Ming would agree to such a request, but he also did not expect that the Emperor Ming would refuse so straightforwardly.

You know, the Ming army had behaved quite friendly a while ago, and even when most of the troops in central Sichuan had been transferred to Guangyuan, they did not take advantage of the situation to invade.

Therefore, he felt that even if the Emperor Ming would not agree to such a request, there would at least be room for bargaining.

But who would have thought that the Emperor Ming not only did not care about the more than 100,000 troops in Guangyuan, but his attitude also became extremely tough compared to before.

Under such circumstances, even if Wang Zhaoling had already made many contingency plans, they were all useless in the face of the Emperor Ming who did not play by the rules.

Things had come to this point, and it was naturally difficult to continue the negotiations. Then several guards entered the hall, and no matter how unwilling Wang Zhaoling was, he had to retreat sadly.

Zhu Cilang had somewhat anticipated such an outcome.

After all, Zhang Xianzhong had repelled Hauge with minimal losses, and was no longer in the situation of being attacked from all sides as before. Even though the Ming army had several advantages in central Sichuan, if the forces were equal, he, the Dashi, might still have a chance of winning.

With this in mind, Zhang Xianzhong's intention of sending people south becomes very interesting.

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"Your Majesty, Wang Zhaoling is trying to delay our army's march north by discussing the matter of recruiting the amnesty."

After Wang Zhaoling left, Fan Yiheng's voice was audible. After hearing this, Zhu Cilang, who had already figured out the key, nodded in approval, but did not speak any more nonsense.

"Well, that's right. After spending so much time in Guangyuan, the enemy should be exhausted even if they are made of steel."

Although his tone was still quite calm, Zhu Cilang felt somewhat disappointed and angry in his heart.

After all the trouble, he finally became enemies with Sun Kewang and others.

If he had known that the situation would turn out like this, he should have headed directly north when Zhang Xianzhong and Hauge were in a stalemate. Even if he had forced Zhang Xianzhong to surrender to the Tartars, it would still be better than letting central Sichuan experience the harm of war again.

This is not because he is compassionate.

The key point is that Zhang Xianzhong was no longer restrained at this time. If he started guerrilla warfare in central Sichuan, or sought an opportunity to leave Sichuan, then the war would take a long time before it became disorganized.

By then, not to mention Sichuan, even Huguang may be affected, and the situation that he had worked so hard to stabilize would become chaotic again.

Faced with such a situation, how could Zhu Cilang remain calm?

"Your Majesty, in my opinion, there must be other possibilities."

"Any other possibilities?"

"Yes."

Just when Zhu Cilang's mind was a little confused, Fan Yiheng's words perked him up again. Then, the young man who shouldered the responsibility of the Ming Dynasty leaned forward, obviously trying to find other possibilities from Fan Yiheng.

"Your Majesty, when I retreated from Shaanxi to Sichuan, I walked along the Jinniu Road. This road is several times more difficult than the Ancient Tea-Horse Road. How could Haoge's more than 100,000 defeated troops retreat safely in such a short time?"

Well, that makes sense, but what does this have to do with the current situation?
As Zhu Cilang heard Fan Yiheng's words, he couldn't help but have such thoughts in his mind, but such a high-ranking official would not speak without purpose unless he was quite sure, so he listened to the next words with great attention.

"In my opinion, although Hauge has been defeated for some time, his army has probably only passed Qipan Pass," Fan Yiheng bowed and then walked to Zhu Cilang's side and pointed at the map: "The bandit must be trying to delay time by pretending to recruit the Qing army, so that he can deal with our army with peace of mind after all the Qing troops have retreated."

It seems to make sense.

Zhu Cilang weighed the distance between the location pointed out by Fan Yiheng and Guangyuan, and then recalled the difficulties of crossing the Ancient Tea-Horse Road. Even if according to Fan Yiheng's thoughts, Haoge had not been able to walk even two or three hundred miles in such a long time, he still believed this rather outrageous guess in his heart.

"If this is the case, is it possible to detain Zhang Xianzhong in Guangyuan?"

(End of this chapter)