Li Ruo Lian chuckled and said, "Your Highness Prince Ding, you are joking. I just came at the right time."
Zhu Cixiong asked with a smile: "What is Commander Li doing at the front line?"
Li Ruo Lian put away his smile and straightened his body: "There is an order."
Zhu Cijiong immediately stood up and knelt down with a group of generals.
Li Ruo Lian took out the imperial edict and read it loudly: "The Emperor of Heaven and Earth decrees that the eunuch Zhang Rong, who served as the governor of the East Factory, killed civilians and embezzled money and grain during the army's march south. His crimes are unforgivable. He is now dismissed from his post as the governor of the East Factory, and Prince Ding Zhu Cijiong is ordered to arrest him and behead him in public."
Zhu Cijiong raised his head and couldn't believe his ears.
Those bad things seemed to be done by Zhang Rong, but actually they were done by his father Chongzhen.
Zhang Rong was just a pair of white gloves for Chongzhen.
What he did was indeed excessive.
But Zhang Rong also solved the problem of money and food for the army.
Even if there is no credit, there is still hard work.
Logically speaking, he wouldn't be killed.
How could this decree be so cruel?
Seeing that Zhu Cijiong was still not accepting the order, Li Ruolian gently reminded him, "Your Highness, why don't you accept the order?"
Zhu Cixiong shuddered and took the lead in bowing: "I accept your order."
It's time to eat.
Everyone ate and chatted.
Zhu Cijiong kept trying to get close to Li Ruolian, trying to get something out of him.
Li Ruo Lian is a veteran in official circles.
When faced with Zhu Cijiong's questions, he was friendly and polite but knew nothing about them.
If you really can't get away with it, just use some irrelevant words to get by.
After asking for a long time, Zhu Cijiong got nothing.
Everyone finished lunch quickly.
Without waiting for the tea to be served after the meal, Li Ruo Lian stood up and said goodbye: "Your Highness, I have something else to do. Please leave first."
Zhu Cijiong was stunned: "So urgent?"
Li Ruo Lian nodded: "Well, I still have an important thing to do."
"Can you tell me something?"
Li Ruo Lian shook his head: "It is related to the war, but it has nothing to do with Your Highness."
Under Zhu Cixiong's puzzled gaze, Li Ruolian said goodbye and left.
Looking at Li Ruolian's receding figure, Zhu Cihong stood there and began to think.
The court's treatment of Zhang Rong was too sudden, and he was not mentally prepared at all.
Should Zhang Rong be executed according to the imperial decree?
Zhu Cijiong hesitated for a long time but couldn't make up his mind.
So he found Li Dingguo and Li Xianzhong to discuss countermeasures.
After analyzing it for a long time, I still couldn't figure it out, so I could only act according to the will.
He selected some elite troops from the army and had his trusted confidants lead the team back to Baoying County to prepare to capture Zhang Rong.
But Zhang Rong had already left Baoying County.
At this time, he had quietly crossed the Yangtze River and arrived outside Nanjing.
After entering the city, Zhang Rong used his connections and money to start making preparations in advance.
On November 26, Zhu Cijiong's troops arrived at the north bank of the Yangtze River.
He requisitioned a large number of ships in preparation for crossing the river.
Zhu Guobi remained silent for a long time after receiving the news.
Just when Liu Kongzhao was about to lose his patience, Zhu Guobi shouted outside: "Where is Zheng Zhilong?"
The herald officer stepped in and answered, "Zheng Zhilong and his navy are fighting the enemy navy near Chongming Sands."
"It's over!" Zhu Guobi sighed to the sky, "Zheng Zhilong, who has the most troops, is not working hard. Once the enemy army crosses the Yangtze River, we are completely finished."
Liu Kongzhao frowned and asked, "How is the situation with Ma Shiying?"
The herald officer replied: "I don't know! After Liu Zhaoji laid siege to the city, there was no news from Fengyang. There is not much food and grass in the city. Ma Shiying may not be able to hold out for long."
Zhu Guobi suddenly said: "Surrender!"
Xu Wenjue stood up suddenly: "Are you crazy?"
Zhu Guobi also stood up and shouted, "I'm not crazy! We have no soldiers and no money now, so what's the point of fighting?"
Xu Wenjue also shouted: "If we can survive, there is no need for us to rebel. Since we have rebelled, we will not survive whether we surrender or not. Rather than surrendering, we might as well fight to the death."
Zhu Guobi pointed at Xu Wenjue's nose and said, "What are you fighting for? Zhu Cijiong has 100,000 elite soldiers, and you and I only have 10,000 soldiers combined. If you surrender now, you will die at best. If you drag it out any longer, you may be exterminated."
Hearing the word "genocide", Xu Wenjue quickly shut his mouth.
The Xu family is a large and powerful clan, and he doesn't want the clan to be exterminated because of him.
Since no one spoke, the tent soon became quiet.
After a moment, the sound of footsteps outside disrupted the silence.
The herald officer opened the door curtain and walked in to report: "My Lords, Qin Yiming and Ma Wannian have arrived at Taiping Prefecture."
Taiping Prefecture belonged to Nanzhili.
It has jurisdiction over three counties: Dangtu, Wuhu and Fanchang.
Located 200 miles upstream from Nanjing.
As long as we occupy this place, we can go downstream and attack Nanjing at any time.
Zhu Guobi asked solemnly, "What is the attitude of Qin Yiming and Ma Wannian? Will they help Nanjing or the capital?"
The herald officer frowned: "They said they were helping Nanjing, but there was a prerequisite."
"What premise?"
"Pay the overdue military pay."
This sentence stunned Zhu Guobi. He tilted his head and asked, "Didn't His Royal Highness the King of Shu give them military pay?"
“Yes.”
"You still want more after I gave it to you?"
"They said that His Royal Highness the King of Shu only gave them three months' salary. They set out in June, and now it's already the winter month (the eleventh month of the lunar calendar). Not counting this month, they've already been owed two months' salary."
Zhu Guobi jumped up and said, "Bullshit, that's not the way it's calculated! They said they would send troops in June, but they actually did so in late October. We've already overpaid them, so how can it be said that they're in arrears?"
The messenger looked embarrassed: "Qin Yiming said that if they don't pay the salary, they will go to Nanjing to get it."
Having said this, even if Zhu Guobi was stupid, he would understand.
Qin Yiming and Ma Wannian would not help them at all.
The current situation is...
Zhu Cijiong led a large army to the border.
Qin Yiming threatened the flank.
Zheng Zhilong worked but did not put in any effort.
Ma Shiying was surrounded and his life or death was unknown.
With only the remnants of his army, he could not defend the Yangtze River, let alone Nanjing.
Liu Kongzhao coughed lightly and suggested: "Migrate south."
Zhu Guobi and Xu Wenjue were both stunned: "Migrate south?"
Liu Kongzhao nodded: "Yes! Nanjing is no longer safe. If we surrender, we will die. It is better to take the prince and move south."
Zhu Guobi asked: "Where to move to?"
Liu Kongzhao analyzed: "Fujian! The only person who is qualified to fight Zhu Cijiong now is Zheng Zhilong! Fujian is Zheng Zhilong's territory. Now he is just working but not putting in any effort. When the enemy army reaches his territory, he will have no choice but to put in some effort!"
"This..." Zhu Guobi stretched out his voice and looked at Xu Wenjue.
Xu Wenjue didn't want to leave.
The Xu family is wealthy and powerful.
Although gold, silver and other valuables could be taken away, one could not take away the Xu Mansion with its carved beams and painted rafters, nor the tens of thousands of acres of fertile land owned by the Xu Mansion outside the city of Nanjing.
Seeing that Xu Wenjue didn't say anything, Zhu Guobi understood what he meant.
If we have different ideals, we cannot work together.
Zhu Guobi no longer paid attention to Xu Wenjue's attitude.
He sent a message to the Ming Crown Prince Zhu Cilang, asking him to seek refuge in Fujian.
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