The Rise of Ming Dynasty 1646

Chapter 377 A Surprise for Hong Chengchou

"Oh, it's Qian Qianyi." Zhu Linmei smiled immediately.

Qian Qianyi was originally the official secretary of the Hongguang Dynasty.When Jianlu soldiers came to the city of Nanjing, Liu Rushi, his concubine, wanted to join him in drowning for the country.So Qian Butang bravely jumped into the pool in the backyard, but immediately climbed up again, shouting repeatedly, "The water is too cold to go down."

In the end, this person still surrendered to Jianlu and became the Minister of Rites of the Manchu Qing Dynasty.

However, according to the information Zhu Linming learned from historical materials, although Qian Qianyi is a person who is greedy for life and afraid of death, he still has some feelings for Daming.He once secretly reported to Yongli the deployment of Jianlu's troops, and persuaded Jinhua's general soldier Ma Jinbao to rebel against the Qing Dynasty.

If he wanted to instigate rebellion against the senior officials of Jianlu, Zhu Linming felt that he should be the first choice.

Gu Yanwu also remembered Qian Qianyi's allusion of "the water is too cold", and couldn't help but smile, "The subordinates will send someone to contact him when they turn around, and try to persuade him to turn around."

Zhu Linmei suddenly remembered that Gu Yanwu had just mentioned the problem of the firing rate of the flintlocks made by Jianlu, and said, "Master Gu, do you know how high the firing rate of the flintlocks made by the captives is?"

"Returning to Your Highness, it should be between [-]% and [-]%."

Zhu Linmin nodded and thought for a while, then greeted outside the door: "Come here, call Zheng Dudu back."

As soon as Zheng Guangying walked to the gate of the palace, he was summoned to the main hall again. When he entered the door, the assistant king looked at him and said, "Excuse me. You said earlier that there were thieves and merchants who secretly communicated with Jianlu?"

"Yes."

"Then there's no need to arrest people." Zhu Linmei smiled, "You send someone to contact them pretending to be a merchant. I have a big deal for them."

Zheng Guangying's eyes widened, "Your Highness is serious?"

Zhu Linmei then briefly told him about Jianlu's ordering Tang Ruowang to imitate flintlock guns, and said: "Since Jianlu wants to make this thing at any cost, we might as well help him.

"However, Dorgon has to be willing to spend money. Maybe he will pay for the food, grass, and money for this Northern Expedition."

Although Zheng Guangying did not understand, he still accepted the order, "This subordinate will do it now."

Finally, it was dusk when Chen Hongmi had an audience, and he hurriedly led two people dressed as bearers into the main hall.

The three of them saluted, Chen Hongmi looked around, and confessed: "This is a confidential matter, Your Highness, please hold back."

Zhu Linmi waved her hands, "They are all my personal soldiers, but it's okay to say."

Only then did Chen Hongmi signal to the "bearer" behind him to come forward, and said: "Your Highness, these two people are the confidantes of Mr. Qian Sule, Zhejiang. The lower official and Mr. Qian are old acquaintances, so he sent someone to ask the lower official to pass them on to him." Call for help."

Qian Sule is a scholar of Dongge University under the regime of King Lu. He sent someone to ask Tai Zhengchao for help?Zhu Linming took the letter and opened the seal, only to find that there were only a few lines on the letter, to the effect that Qiantang was in danger, and His Royal Highness the Assistant Zhengwang sent troops to rescue Zhejiang in the righteousness of the Ming dynasty.

At the end of the letter, Qian Sule, Xiong Rulin, Zheng Zunqian and others signed the letter, all of whom were powerful officials of the Lu clan.

Zhu Linmei looked at the two "bearers", and raised the letter in her hand, "What does this mean?"

The two men knelt down immediately, and the older one said anxiously: "Your Highness, the villain is Du Yuan, the student of the Qian Pavilion department. The letter from the cabinet should not be too detailed, but in fact, two days ago, the general's army was ambushed by captives. , big crash...

"Now Xiaoshan only has Zhang Yushi and less than [-] defenders left. It is in danger."

Chen Hongmi saw that the assistant king frowned slightly, and hurriedly explained that the General Fang he was talking about was Fang Guoan, and Zhang Yushi was Zhang Huangyan.

Du Yuan continued: "According to reports from Nanjing, the main force of the captive army left the city and went south a few days ago, and its vanguard arrived at the south bank of Qiantang within half a month. The bandits must be accompanied by cannons, and Xiaoshan will be in danger at that time.

"When Xiaoshan falls, Shaoxing will be in danger, and Zhejiang will be restored to the hands of thieves. Now only His Highness sends troops to aid Zhejiang, so there is a chance of survival..."

Zhu Linmi didn't answer him, but read Qian Sule's letter again, and said slowly: "Since it's so urgent, why didn't King Lu ask for help in person?"

Du Yuan kowtowed and said, "To tell you the truth, Your Majesty, the king of Lu has not served Zhengshuo in the court for a long time, and he is worried that he will be punished for serious crimes. This is one of them.

"Half a month ago, Admiral Wu Shengzhao of the Jian captive Su Song contacted Master Shen Tingyang of our navy, saying that he was suspected by the captives, and that time was running out, and he wanted to lead the troops to fight against it. General Fang immediately said that with Su Song's 8000 troops, more than a thousand allied rebels , but when the captive army goes south to attack its waist and abdomen, the captives will be in chaos. Then the Zhejiang army will cross the river and join Su Song's soldiers and horses to attack the bandit army, and they will be defeated. The king of Lu believed in it, so he stood firm and did not turn south to become a vassal. This is the second."

Wu Shengzhao?Zhu Linmei quickly thought of this person. In history, he was known by Jianlu from the very beginning.The reason why Hong Chengchou didn't catch him was because he was waiting for his "conspirator" and Zhejiang reinforcements to show up, so that he could catch him all at once.

Later, before Wu Shengzhao could mobilize his troops, he was captured by Qing army standard general Gao Yongyi. The reinforcements of Shen Tingyang and Zhang Mingzhen were not ambushed by the Qing army because they encountered a storm on the way.

But Zhu Linmi couldn't say that Jianlu had premeditated plans, she just shook her head and said: "Su Song is in the hinterland of Nanzhi, and it is really hopeless to rely on Wu Shengzhao's thousands of troops to turn the tide of the battle."

Du Yuan nodded vigorously and said: "Your Highness sees clearly! The Qiange Department and the Xiongge Department and others also think the same way. I am afraid that Zhejiang will be trapped before Su Song's rebellion. Please help your Highness to save Zhejiang!"

Military aid to Zhejiang was originally Zhu Linming's established plan, but at this time he deliberately murmured: "If I send troops to retreat from the captives, can the Qian Ge Department be sure to persuade King Lu Guifan to abdicate?"

Du Yuan immediately said: "General Fang is the only one in the court who insists on King Lu's supervision of the country. Now that he has defeated Xiaoshan, the prestige of the court has plummeted. If Your Highness can ask the emperor to issue an order not to pursue the crime of King Lu's self-reliance, the cabinet will It is [-]% sure that King Lu can be persuaded."

Only then did Zhu Linmei nod her head and said: "It's urgent, so you should go back immediately and order Zhejiang Province to mobilize everyone to guard Xiaoshan.

"For me, half a month at most, or eight or nine days at least, can solve the danger of Xiaoshan."

Calculated by time, Zheng Chenggong should lead the navy to set off northward in the near future.With the combat effectiveness of the Daming Navy, it should not be difficult to seize control of the Qiantang River.

If the Qing army lost Qiantang, the 4 troops surrounding Xiaoshan would become a lone army, and at the same time lose their food and grass supplies.With Zhang Huangyan's ability, facing such an enemy army, he can defend the city for the first half of the year without any problem.

As for the main force of Jianlu who attacked from Nanjing, even if there were more troops and no boats to cross the river, it would be impossible to send a single soldier to the south bank.

This is why Zhu Linmei is absolutely sure of solving the crisis in Zhejiang.This Daming Navy, which did not exist four months ago, will give Hong Chengchou a huge surprise.

He finally said coldly: "But let's talk about the ugly words first. If the King of Lu still does not return to the domain this time, I will lead an army to attack Shaoxing! Let's see if your Zhejiang army is stronger than Boluo's 7 horses!"

In fact, he didn't intend to have a civil war with the king of Lu at all. If he really didn't abdicate, he would have other backers to make him submit.But the harsh words that should be said still have to be said.

Du Yuan kowtowed hurriedly when he heard the words: "Don't dare, dare not. The cabinet will definitely persuade King Lu to honor Zhengshuo again!"

(End of this chapter)