In the early spring of Nanjing, the city was extremely cold and cold. Zhu Cixiang's family, two brothers, and Zhang Yan were all standing in front of the palace. They looked at the gray sky, quietly.
Luzhou City is not far from Nanjing City, but it is blocked by the Yangtze River. Originally, Nanjing had a Yangtze River defense line, but now it has no effect. As soon as Zhou Yuji walked to Nanjing, the city became a mess
Ma. Did the soldiers, led by the general, run towards Zhejiang, or did they disperse in a crowd and run out of the city to go back to their hometowns to avoid disaster.
The only ones left in the city now are some noble retainers and some soldiers from the old guard.
The civil servants were also running away, and there were not many senior officials left. The lower-level officials did not escape much, because they had known Beijing's policies. Those below fifth rank would basically retain their original positions, even if they would be dismissed in the future.
There will still be a way out if you get a real job.
Where did the senior officials go? There were three main directions. One was to Zhejiang to find Zuo Menggeng, Prince Fu, and Prince Lu. The other was to return to their hometown to see the changes in the current situation. The third was to run to Songjiang Prefecture.
Yes, going to Songjiang Mansion is also a mainstream option. Isn’t it the territory of the imperial court? In the past, they failed to surrender themselves to the trap? In fact, those people can see clearly that under the current situation, Songjiang Mansion is the safest. At least
There will be no disasters from rebels and bandits. As for the future, the imperial court will not hold all officials serving in Nanjing accountable, right?
At most, some of the main characters will be tried, and the others may continue to have official positions! Even if they can't become officials in the future, they can live as an apartment in Songjiang Mansion, and the family can do some business, and their lives will still be the same.
In recent years, their families have more or less made a living through the channels of Songjiang Prefecture, and their escape route has been paved long ago.
Whether they were military leaders or civil servants, when they ran away, they all forgot about the people in the Nanjing Palace. No one went to the palace to ask about the situation, and no one had the idea of hijacking the imperial family.
What's the use of coercing the emperor's family? Not only will it not help save your life, but it will also draw all the hatred on yourself, which is equivalent to taking the initiative to carry a bag of thunder. You can't do this kind of thing, even if you don't think about yourself, you must think about the family.
"Don't bring harm to your family" is the principle that Beijing has always adhered to when quelling the chaos. But if you kidnap the emperor's son and grandson, this principle may not be of much use. You still have to leave the escape route that should be left open.
The heavy palace door made a harsh sound and was slowly pushed open. Zhou Yuji, dressed in military uniform, stepped into the palace.
"Taibao Zhou, are you here to do something disloyal to me?" Zhang Yan stood on the steps in front of the palace, looking at Zhou Yuji who was slowly walking forward with burning eyes, and shouted.
"Your Majesty, I don't dare to do this because of my humble position. I entered the palace in this humble position to protect the safety of my Majesty and several other highnesses."
"How will you protect me and others?"
"I originally wanted to escort the empress and their highnesses to Songjiang Mansion, so that the safety of the Nanjing palace can be handed over to the emperor. But now, the imperial troops are close by, and the rebels in Nanjing have also fled, and then go to Songjiang
It is meaningless. Therefore, I decided to let the soldiers defend the palace city and wait for the soldiers from Beijing to take over the palace city."
"So, can the safety of the palace scroll be guaranteed?"
"I can guarantee that the generals who put down the rebellion in Beijing have already contacted Beizhi. They asked Beizhi to protect the palace city first, and then hand over the palace city after Ma Shiying, the deputy prime minister in Kaifeng Mansion, sends a special envoy to interview the empress."
"Waiting for Ma Shiying's special envoy? Did the general who contacted you say anything about Brother Hong?"
"I mentioned that the person who spoke for me told the special envoys to talk about specific matters. The sage's words are that His Royal Highness King Yu has no talent for governing the country. It is the right way to be a prince with peace of mind."
"I know it! Please also ask Taibao Zhou to do his best to protect the palace city." After Zhang Yan finished speaking, he glanced at Zhu Cixiang and walked slowly into the hall. Zhu Cixiang quickly followed in.
"Auntie, what should I do?"
"The matter has come to this, and your father's arrangement is the best way out. The emperor's family has no selfish feelings, and your father has done his best to take into account your father-son relationship."
"Hong'er understands! I don't know if this prince can be stable in the future."
"As long as you can put aside your distracting thoughts and forget everything in Nanjing, the prince will be able to feel at ease. Auntie, I will try my best to protect you."
Zhu Cixiang didn't speak, just found a seat in the hall and sat down. He really didn't dare to think about the rest of his life. As a prince, he would definitely not enjoy a relatively free life like other normal princes. The best treatment.
, should also be imprisoned in the palace and live like a prisoner.
But having said that, such treatment is already excellent. Zhu Cixiang still knows some allusions to the treatment of losers in the power struggle in the Ming Dynasty palace. Zhu Cixiang is not ignorant of how miserable the experiences of the common people of Jian and Wu were. I hope that he will
Don't be as miserable as them in your future life.
Just when Zhu Cixi was in a daze, he heard the sound of intensive firecrackers outside the palace city.
"Is this the news that they are entering the city?"
"It should be! Xun'er, don't worry about it! The king's flag is changed at the top of the city, and the people's expressions are also appropriate."
"My son won't care! I really don't have the talent to govern the country, as my father said! It's been ten years since I came to Nanjing, but in these years, there has been no peace for the people inside, no peace outside, and I have been in a state of confusion.
Being manipulated by those thieves like a puppet on a string, nothing was accomplished. In these years, his father, the emperor, trained strong soldiers internally and fought off bandits externally, leading the endangered Ming Dynasty to Zhongxing. During this period, his sons and ministers
It also caused a lot of chaos for him.”
"Hong'er, don't think about this anymore. Running a country is not easy, and it is not necessarily a good thing. You should have experienced the hardships your uncle and your father have endured in order to run the country in these years. The importance of a country is very important to everyone.
You can bear it. It’s a blessing that you are liberated.”
"It's relief!"
While Zhu Cixiang and Zhang Yan were talking in Nanjing Palace City, the people in Nanjing City had already fallen into a huge carnival. Master Wang finally entered the city.
What will Master Wang bring to them after he enters the city? The people are actually confused. But they are happy at the moment. The days to come should be better than now.
Ma Xu and Ren Shuangyou, who led the army into the city, were not as excited as the ordinary soldiers and civilians. They successfully recovered the city of Nanjing, but the Pingnan War was not over yet, and there were still a lot of urgent matters waiting for them to deal with. Nanjing should be restored as soon as possible.
The normal order of the city, the pursuit of the defeated army that fled south, the placement of a large group of surrendered troops gathered around Nanjing City, the reception and pacification of other prefectures and counties in Nanjing, and the pacification of the war in Zhejiang all required them to come up with plans as soon as possible and
solve.
There are so many things to do, and there is no time to enjoy the joy of victory calmly.