Chapter 129: Death of Zhu Guobi 1
Li Yan stormed Tianjin several times without success, suffering heavy losses. Over 8,000 soldiers were either killed by explosions, blinded by sulfuric acid, or killed by the Ming army while their eyes were blind. The scene was horrific, even worse than the Jianlu army's defense of Gongji County. Because most of these peasant soldiers lacked armor, their skin and eyes were exposed, making them more vulnerable to injuries.
This was the first time Li Yan had seen someone using water to defend a city; it was too extravagant. However, he had no other choice but to call off the battle after watching his soldiers die tragically.
Empress Dowager Zhou, persuaded by Zhao Xiaofei, Li Banghua, the Prime Minister, and Ni Yuanlu, the Second Minister, finally agreed to take the Emperor from Tianjin to Dagukou. However, Princess Kunxing refused to leave Zhao Xiaofei's side and wanted to defend the city with him, but Zhao Xiaofei firmly disagreed.
Zhao Xiaofei didn't let Princess Kunxing be with him because Qin Baobao was about to give birth. He wanted to go back to the modern world to be with his wife and children. He probably didn't know how Qin Baobao would scold him at home!
Empress Dowager Zhou said at the dock: "You have also seen it on the city wall these days. My Ming army is still capable of fighting. Even if Tianjin City cannot be defended, these soldiers will still be able to escort the prince consort to Nanjing without any worries!"
"No, mother! I won't leave! I won't leave unless my husband leaves! Even if I die, I want to die with my husband!" Princess Kunxing Zhu Mianzhu knelt at the dock and begged crying.
"Someone come! Tie up Princess Kunxing for me!" After Queen Mother Zhou said this, a soldier immediately took a rope and tied her up.
Princess Kunxing struggled desperately, and Zhao Xiaofei said, "I'm fine! I can't concentrate on defending the city with you here! Believe me, I will definitely go to Nanjing to find you!"
"No! No!" Princess Kunxing shouted as she was dragged towards the boat.
"Brother-in-law! I'll wait for you to come back in Nanjing!" said Zhu Cijiong.
"Your Majesty, you must call yourself "I"! I will definitely go back to find you!" said Zhao Xiaofei.
"Brother-in-law! I will personally welcome you when the time comes!" Zhu Cijiong said.
"Okay! I will definitely bring the soldiers to Nanjing to meet up!" said Zhao Xiaofei.
"Brother-in-law, what do you like? I will find it for you when I get to Nanjing! Of course, it must be beautiful women, otherwise my sister will be angry!" Zhu Cijiong said with a smile.
Zhao Xiaofei was terribly embarrassed, and even Queen Mother Zhou frowned. Everyone could only pretend they hadn't heard this! Everyone boarded the boat, and Zhao Xiaofei waved goodbye. Princess Kunxing was not released until the boat was far from the shore. She waved desperately to Zhao Xiaofei on the shore.
Of course, Zhao Xiaofei didn't leave immediately. He stood at the dock and watched the boat gradually go away. He also saw Zhu Mianzhu standing by the boat and waving at him, so he raised his hand and waved twice. Then he made a flying kiss gesture, a gesture that only he and the princess knew.
Princess Kunxing shed tears and cursed, "You are never upright!"
Back in Tianjin, Zhao Xiaofei handed over all power to Wanshan. He then returned to the modern era to visit Qin Baobao and went to the hospital. Qin's mother complained, "Xiaofei! No matter how busy you are at work, you have to come back early for such a big event as the birth of your child!"
"Mom! You came back as soon as you finished your work! What did the doctor say? When will the baby be born?" Zhao Xiaofei asked.
"The doctor said it will be within these two days! You can go in! The baby has been asking when you will be back these days!" said Qin's mother.
Zhao Xiaofei nodded and entered the ward. Qin Baobao was very happy to see Zhao Xiaofei back. But then she suddenly pouted, thinking about the grievances she had suffered recently. She felt like crying!
As soon as Zhao Xiaofei entered the room, he said with a smile, "Thank you for your hard work, honey! I'm back late, don't be angry! Look, I brought a golden safety locket specially for the child from Africa! Does it look good?"
Qin Baobao ignored him and didn't even look at Zhao Xiaofei. Zhao Xiaofei said, "Look! What is this?" Zhao Xiaofei took out a diamond necklace.
Qin Baobao still refused to give in. She said, "Nothing you buy for me can make up for my feelings! It's been so long, and you still haven't come back! I'm so scared!" After she said that, tears started to flow.
"Don't cry, don't cry! Crying is bad for your health!" Zhao Xiaofei quickly hugged Qin Baobao and stroked her hair.
"Stretch out your arms!" Qin Baobao suddenly said.
"What?" Zhao Xiaofei asked, but without hesitation, he stretched out his left arm.
Qin Baobao came up and bit Zhao Xiaofei, making him cry out in frustration. Qin Baobao said, "I told you not to come back earlier!"
While Zhao Xiaofei was accompanying Qin Baobao in the hospital, Zhao Xiaokun in Nanjing, Ming Dynasty, was preparing to deal with Zhu Guobi! Zhu Guobi, just as he had done in history, withheld the silver destined for the capital and secretly recruited soldiers. This Grand Canal Commander commanded an army of 200,000 men!
Zhao Xiaokun brought Zhaoren and Concubine Yuan to Nanjing, where officials from all six Nanjing ministries met them at the dock. Zhang Huangyan and Shi Kefa had already ordered the Nanjing Imperial Palace to be cleaned up. Uninhabited for years, the palace was overgrown with weeds. Some buildings were dilapidated and uninhabitable. They had hired craftsmen to perform some simple repairs, but the place was barely habitable.
Zhao Xiaokun asked, "Is there no more money in Nanjing?"
The two men, facing the young Nanjing governor, naturally answered every question he asked. Zhang Huangyan said, "Governor Zhao! Grand Canal Governor Zhu originally had silver, but he withheld it, citing the current situation as unclear. We had no objection, but he actually used the money to secretly recruit soldiers and expand the canal transport army!"
"I understand! This palace must be renovated, leave it to me! You two should focus on welcoming His Majesty and the Queen Mother!" said Zhao Xiaokun.
"Okay! Then I'll have to trouble Admiral Zhao!" Shi Kefa said. They really didn't want to do this kind of work, it was a thankless task. Is money that easy to get? Zhu Guobi now has 200,000 troops at his disposal, so whether he listens or not is another matter!
Zhao Xiaokun thought to himself, "It seems the old man didn't learn his lesson from before! It seems he's still not satisfied with the way he treated me. This time, I'm going to show him who's in charge of Jiangnan from now on!" He brought Concubine Yuan and Princess Zhaoren to Nanjing, and you didn't even come to greet them. You don't even give me face, and you're still thinking about recruiting troops? Damn it! If I don't punish you, who else should I punish?
At this time, Zhu Guobi, Ruan Dacheng, and Ma Shiying were drinking and chatting together. Zhu Guobi said, "You two! Now that the new emperor has ascended the throne, the north has been completely destroyed, and the emperor is on a southern tour. Among the six ministries of the court, there is only one Zhang Huangyan. Should we make an effort to fight for him?"
"Yes! Now there are few people from my Donglin Party holding important positions in the court, which may be detrimental to my Donglin." Ma Shiying said.
"The most powerful person in the court now is Lord Kenan. We can try his connections. His elder brother is now the governor of Nanjing. We can give it a try!" said Ruan Dacheng.
"What kind of person is his elder brother? What are his hobbies?" Zhu Guobi asked.
Ma Shiying smiled and said, "Mr. Mu Zhai's beloved concubine Liu Rushi was driven out by Chen after Mr. Mu Zhai passed away. Now she has become the beloved concubine of our Lord Zhao!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
