Lord of Ming Dynasty

But now he has to choose whether to accept the win over of the two power groups, their ending and their incompetence. People who know the history will not choose them, but they can choose the Tartars, which is not in line with the psychology of later generations, so Zhang Qiang is very is tangled.

He looked at Zhou Porridge beside him, "Don't think about it, let's put it aside for a while, let's focus on development."

Zhou Porridge didn't know that he had made such a big turn in his head for a short while, so he could only nod along.

Zhang Qiang walked a few steps forward with his hands behind his back. He felt that his injury had recovered well in the past month.

Since Jin Sheng is obviously inclined to the customary thinking of the officials of the Ming Dynasty and recognizes that the Southern Ming court is orthodox, he must do something for his own kingdom.

In fact, Zhang Qiang did this, just like Zheng Zhilong and Zheng Hongkui brothers who supported Longwu Zhu Yujian. They were all trying to separate the territory and support their own self-respect. They did not consider the meaning of restoring the lost land of Ming Dynasty from the perspective of a Han Chinese, but from another perspective , he wants to be king himself and restore Daming, but the Zheng brothers just want to consolidate their strength in the southeast coast, and they are the only ones.

Different considerations, same result, although he thought so, he would not allow his subordinates to be loyal to other forces.

"Decree, Wei Wuji handed over the work of Longyou County to his subordinate Qianhu. He brought the guards back to Jinhuafu City and took over your position as Jinhua Guard Commander. At the same time, he also served as the Guard Commander in Longyou County. Work in Jinhua Prefecture, and at the same time promote him to the post of Tongzhi of Jinhua Prefecture, and you will be the prefect and fellow magistrate of Taizhou Prefecture here."

"My lord, isn't this a little..." Zhou Congee was a little embarrassed, he had cooperated with Jin Sheng quite well these days, and he didn't have the kind of mind of those veterans who traveled all over the world and got knocked out of the officialdom. His courage and vision, he is a family member, a down-and-out scholar, and he admires and admires Jin Sheng, a person like Jin Sheng who can pass the Jinshi examination and once served as a high-ranking official in the central government. Hearing Zhang Qiang's words, I feel a little not suitable.

Maybe his loyalty to Zhang Qiang has not changed, but it is human nature, he still can't accept Zhang Qiang's way of doing everything to benefit himself and the development of his kingdom, never caring about favors and power, and the psychology of the people of Ming Dynasty.

He was also smart, knowing that Zhang Qiang wanted to promote Wei Wuji and limit Jin Sheng's development in Zhang Qiang's group.

Chapter 90 Court Council

Now that he decided to ignore the courts on both sides, Zhang Qiang's forces fell into isolation.

On the one hand, the forces of the Tartars surrounded the Jinhua Rebel Army, on the other hand, the attitude of the sea forces of Zheng's pirates was not very friendly, and on the other hand, the Southern Ming court may adopt an isolation policy towards Zhang Qiang's forces, which made Zhang Qiang's Jinhua Rebel Army look a bit different and in a difficult situation. It's getting harder.

This is Zhang Qiang's own choice.

Zhang Qiang made up his mind to stop ignoring the disputes of the outside world, and devoted himself to strengthening his power in a down-to-earth manner.

Emperor Longwu, who was far away in Tingzhou Prefecture, had no intention of paying attention to Zhang Qiang's Jinhua Rebel Army, because Li Chengdong's Han army banner and the Green Army Qing army were stepping up their offensive on Tingzhou Prefecture. The entire Tingzhou Prefecture was besieged by the Qing army on all sides. Washington was besieged by the Qing army.

Emperor Longwu was already in danger of protecting himself, so he was in no mood to care about a rebel army.

The fighting on the city wall of Tingzhou Mansion became fierce. Every moment, the Nanming army fell, as well as the Han army flag and the green battalion soldiers fell.

The strange thing is that even with such an attack, the Qing army couldn't take down the Tingzhou capital city for a while. Following the sight of the Qing army from the height of the watchtower car in the distance, the city walls were all dominated by the people and the Nanming army , At key positions, many elite Nanming troops dressed in red battle robes of the Ming army and silver-gray chain mail assaulted the troops that attacked the city wall from time to time, suppressing the arrogance of the attacking Qing army.

Further improve the field of vision, behind the city wall, on a wooden ladder, many Ming soldiers are climbing, jumping on the city wall from time to time to reinforce the Nanming soldiers on the city wall, and at a distance of about 50 meters not far away, you can see To the familiar second city wall.

The soldiers holding firecrackers above were carefully aiming at the Qing army on the first city wall, and when they seized the opportunity, they shot. The Qing army who was fighting with their knives was shocked, then dropped the knife in their hands, and fell down helplessly. Immediately, four or five Nanming soldiers rushed forward, unleashing their swords and guns, and ended up killing the Qing soldier.

In the distance in the city, the walls of the large square courtyards are being reinforced. A large number of people in Tingzhou Prefecture are busy. There are such construction sites in the entire Tingzhou Prefecture, and towers are rising from the ground. , standing in the middle of the yard, with crossbows and archers standing on it, and watchmen on top.

In the center of several such courtyards, there is often a larger courtyard or a larger courtyard transformed from a rich household's courtyard. On the walls of the courtyard, artillery or bed crossbows are piled up, and soldiers are standing there.

Extending from all sides to the Tingzhou Fuya, the Tingzhou Fuya is a huge fortress. The line of sight passes through the courtyard of the Fuya, through the canopy of several hundred-year-old locust trees, and extends in. The lobby was full of officials and generals, and a middle-aged man in a golden dragon robe sat on a large ornate chair in the center.

At this moment, he was sitting there, and said to an old man who was bowing down in the lobby below: "Aiqing, Zhu Aiqing, tell me, how long can this method last?"

The old man in the hall said: "Your Majesty, if the soldiers and civilians in my city are well-fed and the food and grass are sufficient, two months will not be a problem. There are only [-] Qing troops outside the city, and there are no soldiers as brave as the Tartars. If there are no more artillery, I will believe , They won’t be able to take down Tingzhou’s capital city in three months.”

The middle-aged man sitting in the hall breathed a sigh of relief, leaned against the chair covered in sweat, and said weakly: "At least, in the short term, we don't need to worry, Zhu Aiqing, you are doing very well, I did not misunderstand you, Come on, draw up an order, ennoble Zhu Aiqing as Minister of the Ministry of War, and command all the soldiers and horses in Tingzhou Prefecture."

"Your Majesty, although Zhu Dadian's strategy has been successful, it is only a temporary measure. Now that the enemy is heavily besieging the city, the Emperor must think of a way out. After all, although Zhu Dadian was able to resist the Tartars for several months, he finally abandoned the city and fled. The current situation Although the situation in Jinhua is the same as that of Jinhua at that time, we don’t have so many people and strong people who can fight against the Tartars for your majesty for several months, if we don’t wait for reinforcements and the emperor is in danger, we might as well send envoys out of the city to find reinforcements.”

He Kai on one side came out and played.

He Kai, Longwu Zhu Yujian's household secretary when he was in Fuzhou, because of Zheng Zhilong and Zheng Hongkui's meritorious support, they proudly stood up to the officials and were domineering. He Kai dared to speak out, and immediately gave him the official title of Zuoqian capital censor.The Zheng brothers held a grudge and made things difficult for them everywhere. He Kai was forced to ask to be appointed as an official and return to his hometown. Emperor Longwu agreed against his will to return to his hometown temporarily to recuperate.Zheng Zhilong still refused to give up, and sent Yang Geng to cut off one of He Kai's ears on the way to demonstrate to the court.

When Long Wu finally fled to Tingzhou Mansion, experienced the crisis of being captured by Li Chengdong's Qing army in Tingzhou Mansion, saved his life, and re-established his court in Tingzhou Mansion, he was recalled by Long Wu again and became a household again. Minister of the Ministry.

Long Wu was also worried, and he was obviously more concerned about He Kai's proposal. He glanced at the ministers in the court hall, "Dear dear ministers, do you have a good plan to offer to discuss with all the ministers?"

During the incident, Zhang Jiayu said: "Your Majesty, the son of Zheng Zhilong, after Zheng Chenggong retreated to Quanzhou Prefecture after his father surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, Xiamen, Jinmen and other places continued to raise the anti-Qing banner. How about the Emperor issue an edict for my ministers, and my ministers are willing to go Convince his son to lead the army to help."

Longwu Zhu Yujian's face was a little gloomy. He really didn't want to see anyone from the Zheng family again. In Fuzhou, he had had enough of the Zheng family's unreasonable troubles and their domineering. He looked at Zhang Jiayu, and Zhang Jiayu felt that the atmosphere was not very good. Alright, I raised my head slightly to meet Zhu Yujian's eyes, then immediately lowered my head, stopped talking, took a step back, and retreated to the civil servants.

He Kai looked around, then turned to a general on the side and asked, "Does the personnel sent to He Tengjiao's Department and Wanji's Office reply?"

The general said: "The day before yesterday there was an envoy who went out of the city and fought back and forth to pick up the envoy. However, both of them said that King Gui has been changed to the orthodox court and will no longer be dispatched by His Majesty."

Zhu Yujian stood up fiercely, "Rebellious, rebellious, rebel, I will kill him in the future."

The ministers in the court trembled with fear, and Emperor Longwu, who had gotten rid of Zheng's control, was getting stronger and stronger. Even if he still relied on them, the emperor was the emperor, and they admired and feared from the bottom of their hearts.

At this time, a guard quietly entered from the side of the lobby, leaning sideways and whispering something in Zhu Dadian's ear, as the only one that Tingzhou Mansion needs to rely on now, he has used his own merits to make the Qing army face Tingzhou Mansion for a long time. The hero, Zhu Dadian, who has proved himself, has now fully controlled most of the army in Tingzhou Prefecture. Even the guards outside the court have his subordinates. Therefore, the arrival of this guard did not make everyone think about it. Come in if you are allowed, and you don't need to report to the emperor first, but reporting to Zhu Dadian first is a violation of behavior.

After listening to the guard's report, Zhu Dadian coughed, and everyone focused their attention on him. Zhu Yujian looked at him, "What's the matter with Aiqing?"

Zhu Dadian said: "The envoy sent by the minister to Jinhua Mansion has returned, Zhang Qiang, the commander of the Jinhua Rebel Army, has not received the reward from our court."

Chapter 91 Fields

Zhu Yujian's face became very gloomy. He didn't expect that a mere leader of the rebel army would ignore him, a descendant of the Zhu family who has the legal inheritance right. This made him feel that his face was damaged, and he was about to get angry, and he slapped his hand violently. The armrest of the chair, when he lifted his body up, he was about to stand up and curse. When he was halfway up, he suddenly sat down again and sighed, because he realized that he really had nothing to do with the leader of the rebel army. Method.

Needless to say, now that the Qing army is attacking the city, Tingzhou Mansion is in danger of being destroyed at any time. Even if he has soldiers in his hands and a large number of civil and military officials in the court, he does not have any strength separated by 10,000+ Qing troops, separated by a few days. A mansion, hundreds of kilometers away, to fight a rebel army with strong combat effectiveness that has just defeated the Qing army with a total strength of nearly [-].

This made him feel disappointed and hopeless about himself and his current situation again.

Zhu Dadian looked at the state of Zhu Yujian on the dragon chair who wanted to get angry but suppressed himself, and couldn't help thinking of the conflicted state of mind he had after knowing that he was under control in Jinhua Mansion and winning a battle to defend Jinhua in a daze. , also sighed.

At this moment, a guard ran in again in a hurry. When everyone glared at him and wanted to reprimand him for being rude, the guard shouted loudly: "There are defeated soldiers from Ganzhou who say that Ganzhou has fallen. All officials died in office."

"What, Ganzhou fell?" Su Guansheng, a bachelor, sat down on the ground, He Kai and others looked even more depressed, and Zhu Dadian's face turned pale with fright.

Zhu Dadian understood that the fall of Ganzhou was of key significance to the Longwu court in the Southern Ming Dynasty, because southern Jiangxi with Ganzhou as the center was an important area connecting Fujian and Hunan, and it was also a barrier for Guangdong.

With Ganzhou, the two Southern Ming courts can rely on each other. Even if the Longwu court loses the Tingzhou mansion, it can still retreat to Guangzhou. The Yongli court is a cowardly court that dare not even establish a court in Guangzhou. Thinking about running away at any time, I first ascended the throne in Zhaoqing, and now I have already gone to Guilin. Even so, as long as Ganzhou is not lost, Longwu can still go to Jiangxi or Hunan. I can go to Quanzhou.

The problem is that Quanzhou is also in chaos. Quanzhou currently belongs to the Zheng family's territory, but Zheng Zhilong, the principal of the Zheng family, has surrendered to the Tartars. They didn't let the Zheng family go because Zheng Zhilong surrendered. They were still under the command of Li Chengdong and the governor of Zhejiang and Fujian, and launched an attack on Quanzhou and Tingzhou at the same time.

But Zheng's navy is too powerful. The navy of the Qing army fought with them. It was like a child fighting with an adult man. Therefore, Quanzhou was safe and sound. The problem is that they can't go to Quanzhou now. Zheng Hongkui in Quanzhou will not accept them.

It can be said that the Longwu court has come to an end at this time, losing all its territory, and the ministers under him who have soldiers to fight all fall to the Yongli court.

Emperor Longwu Zhu Yujian sat on the chair in a daze as if his last courage had been taken away.

The attendant on one side looked around, then at Zhu Yujian, Zhu Yujian waved his hand weakly, and the attendant shouted loudly: "Retire."

Walking out of the mansion, Zhu Dadian said to the guards beside him: "Choose a team of cavalry with high martial arts skills and good at fighting, and escort my daughter Zhu Panpan out of the city to Jinhua Mansion. You will lead the team yourself and bring my letter. After Zhang Qiang read my letter, he quickly brought troops to help."

Not to mention how difficult the Longwu court in Tingzhou Prefecture is, but Zhang Qiang, who has decided to go his own way, is currently in the fields, inspecting his territory, and talking to the common people about this year's harvest.

Although it is only February at this time, the cold wind still makes people feel very uncomfortable, and occasionally it is biting, but the weather in the south is still warmer than that in the north. At this time, some people have begun to dig the ground to prepare for this year's planting. something happened.

In the barren hills in the distance, in the valley road, cavalry were galloping back and forth, assassinating with lances, hacking with sabers, changing formations, shooting with short muskets, harassing with bows and arrows, and the training was not at all vague.