Zhu Ci glanced at him. "Resist the Tartars, what else can be done?"
Zhu Ci's expression was solemn: "The Tartars are unstoppable now; you must think this through."
Zhu Ci only asked three words: "Are you afraid?"
Zhu Ci fell silent for a long while.
He did not want to admit it, but he had to admit it: he was terrified deep down.
Zhu Ci did not wait for his answer, nor did he care; he simply said, "If you are worried, I will send you away. Whether you go south or head out to sea, the world is vast, there will always be a place for you to settle."
He would not demand that everyone fight to the bitter end against the Qing Army just as he did.
He was holding a grudge in his heart; ever since he learned that the Qing Army had rushed to Nanjing to burn, kill, loot, he could not stop thinking about modern history.
How similar!
If he couldn't vent this frustration, he would truly die of suppressed anger.
Zhu Ci looked at him with a complex expression and asked, "Aren't you afraid?"
Zhu Ci said softly, "Everyone must die eventually."
He was indeed afraid, perhaps if things truly reached a point of hopelessness, he would choose to leave, but to make him flee now—he could not swallow that insult!
Zhu Ci nodded without saying anything, then said in a gentle voice, "Eat something, get a good night's sleep, make your decision after you've rested well. Don't worry, it's still relatively safe here."
Zhu Ci suddenly said, "By the time I reached Nanjing, Gao Hongtu was already dead."
“What?” Zhu Ci was somewhat surprised. “How did he die?”
That shouldn't be right. Didn't Gao Hongtu live until the Qing Army's Southward Advance, only to die of a hunger strike after the Qing Army captured Hangzhou?
Zhu Ci said in a low voice, "They say he died of illness, but I don't know the specifics. While Gao Hongtu was dying, Ma Shiying was arbitrarily arresting members of the Donglin Party.. Sigh.."
At this point, he let out a sigh.
In truth, even without him saying it, Zhu Ci knew that without the help of the Donglin Party, it would be extremely difficult for him to reclaim the throne.
Zhu Ci was not simply sitting around waiting for death; the leader of the Donglin Party was gone, but he, the Crown Prince, was still here. He just needed to gather these people to his side.
It was only because Zhu Ci's whereabouts were unknown that rumors began to spread, claiming that Zhu Ci had ruthlessly murdered his cousin for the throne.
Under the instigation of the Emperor and Ma Shiying, these rumors had nearly become facts, in a short time, Zhu Ci had lost the support of the people.
Zhu Ci..
He also didn't expect it would have such a huge impact.
One could only say that everything was heaven's will.
He could only say to Zhu Ci, "Don't worry, they won't have a good time."
Fu is not the type of person to go back on his word, but even if he cannot kill Zhu Yousong, it doesn't matter; as long as he can hold off the Qing Army, he will personally go to claim Zhu Yousong's head sooner or later.
Zhu Ci nodded; whether it was the Marquis of Huating or the Tartars, neither would make things easy for Zhu Yousong.
Perhaps it was because he had a little alcohol, or perhaps because he had finally relaxed, but he was somewhat dazed.
Zhu Ci spoke more and more, talking about things from his childhood, his father, his mother, his teacher.
Zhu Ci listened silently, until he was slumped over the table, muttering "Father Emperor" under his breath.
By the time Zhu Ci woke up again, the sun was high in the sky, two young men who looked like servants walked in to help him wash up.
Zhu Ci had already composed himself by this time. When he went to find Zhu Ci, he discovered that most of the people coming and going in the government office were actually men. There were few maidservants; while some women did pass by, they did not look like they were there to serve; instead, their attire and mannerisms made them look like wandering female martial artists.
When he saw Zhu Ci, he happened to run into Gu Rouqian coming out from inside.
Gu Rouqian was stunned when she saw him, but after a moment of hesitation, she cupped her hands and said, "Your Highness."
Zhu Ci nodded and stepped inside.
At this moment, Zhu Ci was holding an account book. Upon hearing that Zhu Ci had arrived, he said without even looking up, "Sit for a while. Once I finish what I'm doing, I'll take you somewhere."
Zhu Ci sat there silently, observing this small study.
Zhu Ci was truly busy; many people had been coming in and out all morning to report to him.
Zhu Ci had been raised to be an emperor, after all; as he listened to those reports, he began to get a sense of the situation.
However, the more he listened, the more surprised he became.
He was not only surprised by the troops under Zhu Ci's command, but also by the supplies in his hands.
How on earth was this achieved?
One must know that traveling all the way south from Beijing, he once had quite a few men under his command, but when facing the pursuit of the Qing Army, let alone using these people to grow his strength, even launching a counterattack was difficult.
This.. it hasn't even been six months, how did he do it?
Zhu Ci had long known that Zhu Ci had been watching him.
After all the supplies had been inventoried and entered into the warehouse, Zhu Ci handed the ledger to Jiang Xueyan and said, "File it away. If any mistakes occur, I will hold only you responsible."
Jiang Xueyan responded immediately, "Rest assured, Young Master, there will definitely be no errors."
Zhu Ci put down the brush in his hand and said, "I've had horses prepared. Let's go; I'll take you to see."
Zhu Ci didn't know what they were going to see, he didn't care either; he simply followed and asked, "All those military supplies just now.. where did they all come from?"
Zhu Ci mounted his horse and looked at him with a smile, saying, "They were traded from the Marquis of Huating."
The Marquis of Huating?
Zhu Ci also mounted his horse and rode side by side with him: "What.. did you use to trade with him?"
Zhu Ci turned to look at him. "Did you hear the sound of firearms yesterday?"
Zhu Ci's eyes widened suddenly: "You.. you have firearms?"
Zhu Ci laughed loudly and gave the reins a tug. "Come, I'll take you to see!"
Since they met this morning, Zhu Ci had been saying he would take him to see something, but at the time, he didn't know what it was and wasn't particularly curious.
At this very moment, he suddenly felt his long-dormant heart begin to beat once again.
He hurried to catch up with Zhu Ci's pace and made his way all the way to the Xialiang military camp.
Because there were too many people, the soldiers were not all stationed here; most of them were stationed at strategic locations in Suzhou.
Well, at least they were strategic locations in Zhu Ci's opinion.
But no matter how many other military camps there were, the Xialiang military camp contained the most elite warriors.
In Zhu Ci's eyes, this military camp was truly too dilapidated, the environment was far too poor.
But the people here, every single one of them was different from the soldiers he had seen before; even the Jinyi Guard seemed unable to compare to the soldiers here.
It wasn't a matter of comparing individual abilities, but rather that there was a spark in their eyes.
The patrolling and training squads all stood with straight backs and chests out; they even saluted their superiors in an orderly fashion depending on the situation.
Even their salutes were perfectly synchronized.
Zhu Ci followed Zhu Ci through the military camp, upon turning his head, seeing that Zhu Ci seemed somewhat dissatisfied, he couldn't help but ask, "Are these.. the soldiers you trained?"
Zhu Ci gave a response and said, "Yes, time was too tight, so there wasn't enough time to train them properly. For now, just consider them good enough."
You call this making do?
How could that be anything but mediocre?
Never mind the soldiers, Zhu Ci even felt that the existing firearms were not very good; they were merely passable.
And seeing the rockets, which were a hundred times more useful than before, Zhu Ci somewhat understood why Zhu Ci had the confidence to trade with Fu Lang.
He turned to look at Zhu Ci and said with some concern, "You sold the firearms blueprints to him; what if he becomes your enemy in the future?"
Zhu Ci waved the riding crop with a look of complete indifference. "We are friends now."
Zhu Ci frowned and said, "That is only for now. Fu Lang is ambitious and intends to vie for dominance in the Central Plains; he has long wanted to rebel!"
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Author's Note: Zhu Ci: To tell you the truth, if it weren't for my status, I would have rebelled long ago. Cat making a straw man. jpg
Next update tomorrow morning at six o'clock~
Chapter 81
Zhu Ci grew interested and turned to look at Zhu Ci: "Does he truly harbor rebellious intentions?"
“That is natural. If it weren't so, why would he secretly maintain so many troops?”
How many retainers could a Marquis possibly have? After Fu rebelled, the troops he mobilized far exceeded the upper limit his title could afford, even numbering more than those under a Prince.
Not only that, but weapons, firearms, grain, other strategic supplies were all fully provided; no one would believe it if someone said he had no intention of rebelling.
Zhu Ci rubbed his chin. "I wonder how the foolish Emperor managed to offend such a ruthless person."
Zhu Ci no longer wanted to argue about how he addressed his father; calling him the tyrant was already giving Zhu Yousong a great deal of face.
He said with a serious expression, "In any case, you must be careful of him."
Zhu Ci glanced at him and said, "I know what I'm doing. For now, I can only be his friend, not his enemy. We'll deal with future matters when the time comes."
Zhu Ci was somewhat worried: "But.."
No buts!" Zhu Ci interrupted him forcefully. "Now is not the time for internal strife! When the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman profits; do you really want to watch Yangzhou, Suzhou, even Hangzhou all be occupied by the Tartars?
What time is it, he is still thinking about how to suppress Fu? What benefit would he gain from fighting Fu until both sides suffer heavy losses? Would he just hand over the great mountains and rivers to the Qing Army?
Fu had already shown his sincerity; otherwise, no matter how good Zhu Ci's firearm blueprints were, he would have had no way to prevent people from seizing the opportunity to drive down his prices.
Fu might not necessarily need the firearm blueprints, but he certainly needs strategic supplies like grain and fodder.
Zhu Ci was slightly stunned, only then did he fall silent.
He seemed to have grown accustomed to resolving immediate conflicts first, but his cousin seemed different from him.
Seeing that he remained silent, Zhu Ci finally said, "To compete for dominance in the Central Plains, the Central Plains must first belong to the Han people."
They have all been driven south; if they can't even hold onto the south, they shouldn't even dream of competing for the Central Plains!