Chapter 442: Sudden Victory
Shi Lang's old boss was already in despair. Not only was he unable to defeat the imperial navy, but he was also extremely disappointed with his younger brother Zheng Zhifeng.
"I still haven't seen any sign of Zheng Zhifeng's fleet. What's going on? Even you are betraying me, are you?" Zheng Zhilong roared in his heart.
Of course, Zheng Zhifeng wouldn't come to support them. He had already colluded with his nephew Zheng Sen. To keep the Zheng family alive, they had no choice but to sell Zheng Zhilong to the imperial court. They knew that even if they won the war temporarily, in the long run, the Zheng family would eventually lose. It would be better to surrender to the imperial court now and get better conditions.
The conditions Zhao Xiaofei offered were that Zheng Zhifeng be appointed admiral of the South China Sea Fleet, and Zheng Sen be transferred to Beijing to serve as Minister of Rites. If Zheng Zhilong was captured alive, he would not be killed, and the Zheng family's previous property would not be confiscated.
Faced with such conditions, the Zheng family naturally knew what was going on. Therefore, Zheng Zhifeng divided his troops and headed directly north to Tianjin to surrender.
Zheng Zhilong stood on the deck and lowered his head silently. He saw a gun on the deck and pulled it out without hesitation.
Did he intend to commit suicide, or perhaps escape with it? Zheng Zhilong had no choice. With a bang, the sword flew out of his hand.
Shi Lang's sailors had already jumped onto his flagship and were pointing their muskets at him.
"Good! Shi Lang did a good job! The east side of Nanjing has been opened. How long can Shi Kefa and Zhang Huangyan in the west resist me?" Zhao Xiaofei was very happy when he received the report.
In his eyes, Shi Kefa and Zhang Huangyan's 100,000-man army was nothing more than a mob. A pincer attack from both land and sea, both east and west, was already underway. Nanjing was within reach, and the world would finally be truly stable.
At this moment, the guards outside the door came in and reported: "Your Highness! Shi Kefa committed suicide, and Zhang Huangyan has disappeared!"
"What's going on?" Zhao Xiaofei was stunned upon hearing this news. A hundred thousand strong troops were reduced to ashes in an instant, and the two commanders, one committed suicide and the other disappeared. The city of Nanjing was now open before his eyes, and the road ahead was clear!
"According to the news from the internal guards, the pseudo-emperor and Yang Tianhe in Nanjing escaped by boat, and the people of the pseudo-court are in a panic. Maybe Shi Kefa and Zhang Huangyan acted like this because they received this news." said the personal soldier.
"Escaped? Is he imitating Emperor Jianwen? If he escaped, he could escape. He can't compare to Emperor Jianwen." Zhao Xiaofei said to himself.
A few days later, Zhao Xiaofei continued to head towards Nanjing, and the state officials who had been watching came to pay their respects.
Zhao Xiaofei knew in his heart that these officials were fence-sitters and it was impossible to kill them all. If they really killed them all, who would rule the country for their family?
As he was heading towards Nanjing, he received a letter from Shi Lang, who had already led his troops into Nanjing and the flags on the city walls had been changed.
Logically, Shi Lang should have given the credit to Zhao Xiaofei, but Zhao Xiaofei no longer needed to make any contributions, so the credit for taking Nanjing was given to Shi Lang.
As Zhao Xiaofei entered Nanjing, he received a letter from the King of Tang. He declared that he didn't want to be emperor, believing it was forced upon him by these southern officials. He simply wanted to be a peaceful prince. Now that the situation was hopeless, he simply wanted to save himself and his family and become a wealthy man overseas. He also hoped that the King and the court would not pursue his case any further.
After reading the letter, Zhao Xiaofei raised the corners of his mouth slightly and threw the letter away.
In the Forbidden City, Princess Kunxing was surprised to receive the battle report. She had never expected the Nanjing court to collapse so quickly, without too many twists and turns, and without much bloodshed.
Liu Rushi knelt on the ground and said, "Congratulations, Your Highness! Long live the Emperor!"
"What do you mean by 'long live'? Who can live for ten thousand years? It's good enough if he can live for a hundred years! If he really lives for a hundred years, he will lose his beauty and become old with wrinkles all over his face. This is not what I want." Princess Kunxing said.
Women! They always care about their looks, even if they want to be emperors!
Officials from across the country began submitting petitions requesting Princess Kunxing be granted the title of Empress. When news of the fall of Nanjing spread throughout the nation, other officials, watching out for the situation, also submitted petitions requesting Princess Kunxing be granted the title of Empress. They argued that her reign was completely different from Wu Zetian's, that her reign had prevented the Ming Dynasty from falling into foreign hands. Furthermore, with the previous emperor's son serving as crown prince, her ascension to empress was in accordance with Heaven's will.
After reading the internal security report, Zhao Xiaofei thought to himself: This group of civil servants are so shameless!
In Nanjing, Zhao Xiaofei took Shen Yunying to visit the Forbidden City in Nanjing. He planned to return to the capital next month.
But Shen Yunying advised: "Prince, is it really okay to return to the capital? I am afraid of what the princess did before..."
"It's okay! Will she divorce me or lock me up after she becomes the queen?" Zhao Xiaofei said without any concern.
"Your Highness, I may have been worrying too much. I hope that after we return, Your Highness and the Princess will explain the misunderstanding clearly." Shen Yunying said.
"What misunderstanding? Just go back and coax her well, that's what women are like!" Zhao Xiaofei said proudly.
At the dock, Shi Lang and others knelt on the ground to see Zhao Xiaofei off before he returned north. The huge fleet was lined up in rows like a series of hills.
A breeze blew, and the battle flags on the warships fluttered, and the red flags were like dancing flames.
Everyone boarded the boat, and the last one to board was Zheng Zhilong, who was supported by two soldiers of the Kenan Army. This was Zhao Xiaofei's victory, and he was to present the captives to the capital as a token of his victory.
At the Tongzhou Wharf, most officials in Beijing had arrived three days in advance to welcome Zhao Xiaofei's fleet.
A Ministry of Rites official in the crowd said to a colleague, "This time, the prince led the troops to suppress the rebellion. His contribution is quite extraordinary. How do you think we should reward him?"
"He's working hard for his family, of course. His wife is going to be the empress soon, so as the son-in-law of the Ming Dynasty, he's naturally doing his best. Even if he makes a huge contribution, it's what he deserves!" said another official.
An official from the Ministry of Justice heard the two chatting and joined in. He said, "The Ming Dynasty has finally calmed down, but we haven't seen anything like this in thousands of years. A princess becoming empress, and her husband becoming a prince. I wonder what the people of the Wu Zhou period of the Tang Dynasty thought and how they dealt with these things?"
"What's the use of thinking about these things? The imperial court is now powerful, and all the surrounding countries have surrendered. Even those Western countries have to come to pay tribute. I heard that some princesses and princes from small Western countries have come to attend the Queen's coronation ceremony!" said the official from the Ministry of Rites who spoke first.
"Has the date for the empress to ascend the throne been set?" asked the official from the Ministry of Justice.
"The first day of next month is an auspicious day according to the Imperial Astronomical Observatory. The reign title will be Taiping!"
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