Chapter 281 Regrouping
Zhao Xiaokun took Liu Rushi and left Nanjing overnight, and took a small boat with Mao Jiu and several bodyguards to Jingzhou.
Before leaving, Zhao Xiaokun specifically emphasized that without him, they should never use the jade pendant to travel through time again. Otherwise, if they were discovered, their family would be in trouble there.
Princess Kunxing nodded in agreement and only said to bring back the supplies in the warehouse and definitely not go anywhere else.
Zhao Xiaokun hugged Liu Rushi on the boat and said, "You've had a hard time this time!"
"As long as I follow my husband, it doesn't matter where we go," said Liu Rushi.
"The helm tower sings of the vast Yangtze River, and the vast expanse of the sky stretches out in a single breath. The waves of the river and the sea reverberate to the extreme, and the islands before my eyes appear and disappear. Clouds and rain wash the sky blue, while the sun and wind turn the water red. Only the waves are like silver threads, and the white chariots and white horses fight the winter wind." Even at this moment, Zhao Xiaokun did not forget to act cool and recited a poem by Chen Qubing of the Qing Dynasty. With just a few minor changes, Liu Rushi's eyes lit up.
"My husband has the world in his heart, and his aura is no less than your brother's!" Liu Rushi said.
Hearing Liu Rushi mention her brother, she couldn't help but sigh and said, "I don't know how he is doing. I have a feeling that Xiaofei must be fine! I just don't know where he is now!"
The next morning, Li Zichu arrived at the palace early and asked to meet the princess.
Princess Kunxing met Li Zichu in the study and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Princess, something big has happened. Yesterday, many ministers and wealthy businessmen in the palace were killed by the Queen Mother on the charge of treason. Even those who were not killed were imprisoned in the palace. The Queen Mother sent new troops to surround Nanjing City. Now people are only allowed to enter Nanjing but not leave. A large number of Jinyiwei were also sent to confiscate the property of major Zhejiang merchant families." Li Zichu said.
"Is the Queen Mother crazy? Where does she get the confidence from?" Princess Kunxing asked in surprise.
"She killed all the Donglin Party officials who supported the wealthy businessmen behind the scenes! Not a single one of them could escape. This way, no one would inform the wealthy businessmen!" said Li Zichu.
"Are those officials so stupid? Did they all go?" asked Princess Kunxing.
"Before, the Empress Dowager and the Cabinet issued an edict to promote those Donglin Party members, which led to internal strife for power among them. The Empress Dowager simply stepped in and used the name of a banquet to mediate the internal conflicts within the Donglin Party. So now they all went, and they were just caught by the Empress Dowager in one fell swoop!" said Li Zichu.
"Mother, you're truly formidable! First, you throw a piece of meat to those old dogs of the Donglin Party, letting them fight among themselves for it. Then, you exploit their conflicts, appearing to mediate, while secretly preparing to kill them. Mother, you're truly ruthless!" Princess Kunxing exclaimed. She felt that her mother had changed a lot. Although she used to be strict with us, she wasn't this cruel. What happened today?
The palace was filled with the stench of blood, and corpses were carried out one after another. The remaining wealthy merchants were trembling in fear.
Wang Erxi came to the Empress Dowager and said, "Your Majesty, the surviving merchants are willing to pledge 15 million taels of silver! I have had them write a written agreement and have sent several eunuchs with the East Factory barbarians to their homes."
"Is there anyone who is blind?" asked Queen Mother Zhou.
"There were actually a few families who didn't want to pay, so the Jinyiwei killed them on the spot! As soon as they saw the blood, they immediately handed over the money obediently!" said Wang Erxi.
"Well done! I didn't want to do this, but for my son, I am willing to do it even if it means I will be cursed for eternity!" Queen Mother Zhou said this in a cold tone, and Wang Erxi felt like he was shivering after hearing it.
During the month of the Jinyiwei's extensive search, Zhao Xiaokun had already arrived in Jingzhou by boat. Upon hearing the news, Wanshan and Zhou Shuai immediately led their troops out to greet him. They were extremely excited to see Zhao Xiaokun.
Wanshan said, "Brother Zhao! You're finally here. I thought your brother wouldn't be able to come back, and you wouldn't be able to come either!"
Zhao Xiaokun said, "Brother Wan! What are your plans if I don't come back?"
General Zhou then said, "If you don't come, I have two choices: swear allegiance to the Queen Mother, or raise the flag of rebellion. We are stronger than Zuo Liangyu anyway, and we know the weaknesses of the Ming army. We have no confidence in conquering all of China, but we should have no problem conquering Jiangnan!"
"Brother Zhao! What are your plans now that you're back?" Wanshan asked.
"Regroup! First, conduct an internal purge to find out all the traitors. Then we will confront Nanjing. If they intend to coexist peacefully with us, we will first march north! After the external threat is eliminated, we can negotiate. If Nanjing wants to turn against us immediately, then we will use the name of clearing the court of evildoers and march into Nanjing! But now we have to find my brother first!" said Zhao Xiaokun.
Upon hearing about Zhao Xiaofei, Wan Shan said with some guilt, "We sent people to look for him, but there was no news. We sent thousands of people to look for him!"
"Then send tens of thousands of people to look for him together. My brother won't die so easily! Even if he's dead, I want to see his body!" Zhao Xiaokun said firmly.
"Okay, boss! I'll arrange it right away!" said Zhou Shuai.
"It's best for us to search in two directions, one openly and one covertly. Given my brother's personality, he's probably afraid of spies and doesn't dare to use the prince's name. He plans to sneak into Sichuan and look for Fang Xinyu and the others!" Zhao Xiaokun said. As expected, the eldest brother understood his younger brother quite well. Unfortunately, his brother guessed the beginning but not the ending.
At night, when the three of them were meeting to discuss how to train their troops and how to deal with the Jianlu cavalry, they heard someone outside the house report: "Sir! There is news about the prince!"
"Come in!" Zhao Xiaokun's voice was trembling with excitement. He was afraid of hearing bad news.
The messenger entered the room, knelt on one knee, and said, "My Lords, the prince has gathered 5,000 defeated soldiers along the way and has already joined up with the White Spear Army. We are now preparing to attack Chengdu!"
"Why do we want to attack Chengdu?" asked Zhao Xiaokun.
"Zeng Ying of Chengdu must follow the court's instructions and not allow the White Spear Soldiers to enter Chengdu City," said the messenger.
"Go down!" Zhao Xiaokun said. He was first happy that his brother was alright. Secondly, he was a little surprised. Why did Zeng Ying listen to the imperial court? Didn't he have any idea? Could his ragtag group defeat the White Rod Army? Add in the Kenan Army, and there was no hope!
Zhao Xiaokun suddenly understood. Because no one knew that he was back, they thought that the Kenan Army lacked logistics and could not hold out for too long, so they were so arrogant.
"Raise my flag and send someone to deliver supplies to Xiaofei!" Zhao Xiaokun said to Wanshan and Zhou Shuai.
In Nanjing, within the Imperial Palace, Empress Dowager Zhou listened with delight as Wang Erxi reported the amount of property seized. In just two months, nearly 50 million taels of silver had been seized. Numerous other items, including jewelry, jade, antiques, calligraphy, and paintings, were also seized. Her son's securement of the throne was assured. Now, she had the money to train more new troops.
Just as Queen Mother Zhou was feeling elated, Wang Erxi ran in, trembling, and said, "Queen Mother! This is bad! Zhao Xiaokun is back! He's in Jingzhou now! And Prince Li has been located. He's gathered his defeated troops and joined forces with the White Spear Army. He's now attacking Chengdu!"
"What?" Queen Mother Zhou was shocked after hearing this!
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