Most importantly, this cooperative defense was only temporary, which meant the Qing court had no intention of arranging a permanent position for him.
In other words, they had no intention of giving him a significant role at all.
Back in the Great Ming, he was at least the Fengyang General, so how was it that he was now even worse than before?
Liu Liangzuo had no rebellious intent, but if he had the chance to take out Hu Maozhen and become the Fengyang General himself, it wouldn't be out of the question.
As for defending the city, the soldiers in the city are currently divided into two groups; one part listens to Hu Maozhen and the other part listens to Liu Liangzuo. With such divided loyalties, how can the city be defended?
If he were the only one left, would that little Emperor on the other side, who hasn't even grown his fuzz yet, be his match?
Thinking of this, Liu Liangzuo's eyes shifted, feeling that no matter how he calculated it, Hu Maozhen's death would bring him nothing but benefits and no harm.
If he did not surrender, he could defend Fengyang until the General of State Stabilization's reinforcements arrived; by then, he would be a great hero, at the very least, he wouldn't miss out on being a Fengyang General.
If he surrenders, it will be the perfect way to use Hu Maozhen as a token of loyalty!
Liu Liangzuo wanted to kill Hu Maozhen, Hu Maozhen also wanted to kill Liu Liangzuo.
This Liu Liangzuo claimed to be assisting in the defense, yet he opposed him at every turn, constantly bringing up matters from the past. Back then, Liu Liangzuo didn't even hold Shi Kefa in high regard, let alone Hu Maozhen, who served under Shi Kefa.
Hu Maozhen was naturally unwilling to submit, occasionally throwing a sarcastic remark: "General Liu's every word revolves around the past; I fear his heart still lies with the Pseudo-Ming."
Under these circumstances, it would be strange if the two of them had a good relationship.
So after parting ways, each ordered his subordinates to find a way to take the other's head.
That night, Zhu Ci ordered a retreat, did not have his men continue the siege.
Liu Zhaoji and He Gang had already intercepted the Qing Army's reinforcements earlier, so far, the situation seemed fine. Therefore, he was in no hurry regarding Fengyang; there was no need to let his subordinates risk sudden death from staying up all night to fight for the city walls, especially since visibility was poor at night and the opposition was equipped with Birdlock Guns.
Zhu Ci only ordered his subordinates to strengthen their patrols before preparing to go to sleep—oh, before sleeping, he also had to first read the memorials sent from Huaian.
Over here, Huang Chunyao suggested that after the Emperor takes Fengyang, he should lead the army back to the capital and return directly to Nanjing, as the imperial court should also move back to Nanjing. Meanwhile, Fu reported all the current expenditures.
Actually, none of this matters much. Nanjing is a place he will return to sooner or later. Fengyang is a place of great symbolic significance; once it is taken, it would no longer be suitable for him to continue advancing.
Mainly, he felt that being here seemed to somewhat restrict his subordinates, making them live in constant anxiety regarding his safety, fearing that something might happen to him.
Given the current state of the war, the morale of Great Ming has been bolstered, the generals have gained confidence, the Emperor no longer needs to lead the troops in person to boost morale.
However, upon seeing a letter tucked inside Fu Chunsheng's memorial, he was first informed that those antiques had all been collected into the Emperor's private treasury and preserved using the best methods.
Immediately following that, he added one final sentence: "If Your Majesty has no time to practice calligraphy, you may correspond more frequently with Huaian through letters."
Zhu Ci: Forget it, why be in such a hurry to go back? Do you really love reading and practicing calligraphy that much?
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Author's Note: Zhu Ci: Tear it apart! Tear it even louder! The evil kitty raises its paws to applaud. jpg
Next update at 6:00 PM~
Chapter 113
Zhu Ci set the letter aside, deciding not to reply and treating the letter as if he had never seen it.
Better sleep; nothing cures sorrow like sleep.
Having exhausted too much mental energy in the struggle against Alna, he now needed to catch up on some sleep.
As a result, not long after he had lied down, he heard Jiang Quan asking in a lowered voice from outside the tent, "Is His Majesty asleep?"
“Yes, what is it?”
An unexpected incident. Never mind, let His Majesty rest; it isn't very important.
Zhu Ci could only sigh softly and sit back up, asking, "What happened? Come in and tell me."
After entering, Jiang Quan said with great guilt, "It was my fault for being too loud and disturbing Your Majesty's sleep."
Zhu Ci threw on an outer robe and said, "It has nothing to do with you. I haven't fallen asleep yet. What happened?"
A great fire has suddenly broken out within the city, the garrison on the city walls is scattering in all directions. I have already sent men to seize the walls.
Jiang Quan's first thought was to report it first and wait for the Emperor's approval before doing anything else, but then he realized that the Emperor had already granted him a portion of military power, meaning he had the authority to issue such orders.
If he never dared to issue orders or take responsibility, then in the future, he would be nothing more than a personal guard by the Emperor's side.
It wasn't that being a guard was bad, but rather that he was worried His Majesty would be disappointed.
Zhu Ci did not comment on whether he had done the right thing after hearing this; instead, he stood up, walked out of the tent, looked toward the city.
The fire Jiang Quan spoke of was indeed massive; even from this distance, he could see the flames soaring into the sky.
Strange, how did a fire suddenly break out?
He turned to Jiang Quan and said, "Well done, keep it up."
Zhu Ci looked into the city once more, then turned back to prepare to continue resting.
No matter what happened inside the city, it shouldn't be anything bad for them.
At worst, they failed to seize the city walls or fight their way into Fengyang Prefecture City, so it wasn't anything significant.
Zhu Ci slept soundly. Whether it was his previous life as an undercover agent or the turmoil of the past few months, it had granted him extraordinary abilities, allowing him to recover his energy quickly at any time and in any place, as long as he was given the chance to take a quick nap.
Not to mention that his camp was located at the very back, making it the safest place.
When he woke up the next morning, Jiang Quan had already been waiting for a long time.
While assisting Jiang Xueyan in attending to Zhu Ci's morning ablutions, he said happily, "Your Majesty, Fengyang City has been taken."
Zhu Ci was somewhat surprised: "So fast?"
He knew there would be an opportunity yesterday, but he hadn't expected it to go so smoothly.
Zhu Ci did not rush to ask what had happened, only asking, "What were the casualties?"
"Reporting to Your Majesty, fifty-three were wounded and sixteen were killed, with twelve of the wounded being critically injured." The joy on Jiang Quan's face faded slightly.
These people had all come from Xialiang with them. Although Jiang Quan had not trained with these people as one of the adopted children, his feelings for them were different after all.
Zhu Ci also felt a bit of regret, but he also knew that praying for zero casualties on his side was impossible; unless a deus ex machina appeared in the form of an unmanned aerial vehicle squad to violently crush the enemy, there would inevitably be casualties as long as people appeared on the battlefield.
“Collect the remains properly and record their identities; once we return, remember to place them in the Martyrs' Shrine.”
After giving his instructions, Zhu Ci asked, "What happened in the city yesterday? Did Liu Liangzuo and Hu Maozhen have an internal conflict?"
Jiang Quan said with a face full of admiration, "Your Majesty truly possesses divine foresight."
Zhu Ci smiled and said nothing; the fact that they could take over Fengyang Prefecture so easily meant that there must have been problems within the Qing Army.
Otherwise, the defending forces would have numbered at least ten thousand, with their birdlock guns, seizing the city walls might not have been as easy as blowing down the gates.
Of course, unless absolutely necessary, Zhu Ci would not choose to blow up the gates.
Blowing up the door brings momentary joy, but leaving the city undefended brings endless regret.
Whether it was repairing the city gates or manufacturing new ones, it would take a long time at the current rate of efficiency; if it was simply ramming the gates, at most, only some components would be broken.
What was happening within the city could be described as very simple if you wanted it to be, but in truth, it could be summed up in just four words: a series of unfortunate coincidences.
Ever since Zhu Ci's pursuit order was issued, Liu Liangzuo and Hu Maozhen had already become wary of one another.
They also planted spies near each other.
Initially, they had not ordered their spies to carry out assassinations, primarily because they wanted to wait and see; if they truly were no match for the Great Ming army, they would eliminate the opposition and present their severed heads as an offer of surrender!
As a result, a fire broke out in the city that very night, the location of the fire was the critical granaries within the city!
Initially, the place where the fire started belonged to Liu Liangzuo's granaries. After the incident, Liu Liangzuo decisively concluded that Hu Maozhen was the one who had done it, aiming to cut off his retreat and force him to surrender.
Liu Liangzuo slapped the table and immediately ordered people to notify the spies to take Hu Maozhen's head.
As a result, the spies sent by Hu Maozhen learned of this matter. The situation was urgent, he did not have time to report it, so he took it upon himself to attempt an assassination of Liu Liangzuo.
Under these circumstances, it was impossible for the Fengyang Prefecture City to avoid chaos.
Zhu Ci listened with great interest, feeling a bit of regret that there was no internet in this era; otherwise, he would definitely have posted a status update online: "Thanks to my Manchu brothers for putting these two together."
Liu Liangzuo and Hu Maozhen likely never had a good relationship to begin with.
Although Hu Maozhen had surrendered, he had at least been one of Shi Kefa's subordinates in the past. Liu Liangzuo had originally guarded the four towns of Jiangbei and should have been under Shi Kefa's command, but in the end, Liu Liangzuo had never shown any loyalty from the very beginning.
Dodo placed them together and even intentionally suppressed Liu Liangzuo, perhaps originally intending to have the two of them check and balance each other.
The result was a failure. When things were calm, these two could balance each other out, but when trouble arose, there was no such thing as the two of them working together to resist the enemy.
Zhu Ci asked curiously, "So, did Hu Maozhen actually set that fire?"
Jiang Quan shook his head. "Hu Maozhen doesn't admit it, his subordinates also say they received no such orders. Furthermore, Liu Liangzuo had ordered heavy troops to guard the granary at that time, everyone said that no suspicious persons approached it then."
Huh? Does that make it an unsolved case?
Zhu Ci pondered for a long time without coming to any conclusion; if he had to say something, the recent climate had been relatively dry, so a sudden fire was not impossible.
Anyway, he didn't need to solve the case, there was no need to seek an answer.
However, Zhu Ci looked at Jiang Quan's hesitant expression and asked, "What is it?"
Jiang Quan said hesitantly, "Your Majesty, there are rumors outside right now.."
Hmm? What rumors?
Zhu Ci took a sip of tea, not having taken any rumors to heart originally.
As a result, he heard Jiang Quan say, "Rumors are spreading outside that His Majesty is an immortal reincarnated, capable of calling forth wind and rain, so those who oppose His Majesty have all encountered various natural disasters."
Pfft~
Zhu Ci sprayed the tea in his mouth instantly.
He looked at Jiang Quan with a speechless expression: "Where did these rumors come from!"
Jiang Quan shook his head innocently. "I don't know, but anyway.. rumors are spreading all throughout Fengyang Prefecture City."
Zhu Ci frowned and said, "Find a way to explain it clearly. What could this matter have to do with me?"
Jiang Quan hesitated, but the outspoken Jiang Xueyan beside him added, "But it really is very strange. First the floods and the wind, then the ancient tomb collapsed, now.. this inexplicable fire.."
After hearing this, Zhu Ci also seemed to feel that something was not quite right.
He immediately shook his head to cast the thought aside; he could not let these people lead him astray.