Chapter 8 Lost Prince

Although Lu Daqi and others were doing their best to conspire and plan to support King Lu, Shi Kefa, Minister of the Ministry of War in Nanjing, was still a little hesitant about this matter.Undoubtedly, since the fall of the imperial court in Beijing, Shi Kefa, as the highest military officer in the Jiangnan region, has virtually become the person fully responsible for rebuilding the imperial court.But precisely because of this reason, he can't take a one-sided attitude like Lu Daqi and others, but must try to balance the opinions of all parties, so that the future court can gain the widest support and support, thus creating a situation of mutual assistance .Shi Kefa believes that such a situation is absolutely necessary to maintain the hearts of the people, revive the people, and even bring about the revival of the country.Therefore, in the situation where the two factions of supporting "Fu" and "Lu" advocated serious conflicts and were difficult to reconcile, Gao Hongtu proposed to change to support King Gui, which really moved Shi Kefa.However, Jiang Yueguang later pointed out that King Gui was far away in Guangxi, and it would be difficult to reach him in a short period of time, which made him have to consider it.It was precisely because of the dilemma that the committee could not let go, so after the meeting dispersed, Shi Kefa ordered Chen Zhenhui, who had been hired by him not long ago to participate in the staff affairs of the Ministry of War, to send out invitations to some Ming officials who had recently escaped from Beijing. On the morning of the next day, I came to the Yamen to meet, and I was going to inquire carefully about the whereabouts of the Crown Prince, Yong and Prince Ding.Because as long as any one of the three sons of the late Chongzhen Emperor is found, the day's big problem can be solved.

The next day, the guests arrived one after another.The servants in charge of serving in the flower hall walked around and refilled the guests' cups with tea three times, but the host still didn't show up.All we have to do is sit quietly and wait patiently. These eight guests, if only in terms of clothing and attire, are no different from ordinary gentry.However, their terrified expressions, their stupefied looks, and the undisguised scars on some of their faces and hands all suggest that not long ago, they were still suffering from some kind of terrible torment and extreme panic. .In fact, Beijing fell quickly while being heavily besieged by the peasant army.Most of the civil and military men of the Manchu Dynasty had no time to escape, so they all became captives.These few people were able to escape from the "magic clutches" purely due to various accidental opportunities.From the way they haven't recovered to normal until this moment, it's still not difficult to imagine how terrifying that nightmare of the sky collapsing must be.It was this discovery that made Chen Zhenhui, who was sitting with them, couldn't help shaking slightly again.

Chen Zhenhui rushed to Nanjing from her hometown Yixing only after learning the bad news that Beijing had fallen.With his usual heroism and conceit, he was not interested in serving as an aide.But he is also an extremely smart and flexible person, knowing that this kind of position can give him access to many top secrets.But in the current extraordinary period, timely and accurate grasp of the political situation is very important for him and his rehabilitation partners.Therefore, he approached Shi Kefa without hesitation.Facts have proved that this approach is wise.At present, it can be said that Chen Zhenhui is basically familiar with the situation Nanjing is facing, and her observation of many things is much deeper and more comprehensive than before.However, perhaps because of this, he fully realized that in the political field, the intertwining of various relationships, the conflict of interests, and the strife of power are far more complicated than he imagined in the past. Things that are fully justified are by no means accomplished by wishful thinking alone.What's more, there are some things that cannot simply be judged by success or failure.Therefore, if not long ago he still harbored an indignant hatred for the group of civil and military courtiers in Beijing, thinking that each of them was responsible for the crime, then now, facing these people who have escaped and returned, how much does he feel? Understandable, even sympathetic.

"Then Master Shi..." Perhaps it had been a long time since the master showed up, a younger visitor couldn't help asking.His leg was injured, and he couldn't walk easily, and he was leaning on a cane at the moment. "Oh, Mr. Shi took his servants out of the mansion at the first watch last night, and went to various gates to inspect the city defenses. He didn't return all night. However, he knows that all the lords will see you today, and it's time to come back soon. Please wait at ease, my lord." Chen Zhenhui replied.In order to appease everyone, he raised his teacup again and made a courteous gesture: "My lords, please use tea!"

"Please..." The guests raised their glasses one after another and said unevenly.Then came the sipping of tea, the flapping of sleeves, and the clinking of cups back on the side table.But after being active for a while, the flower hall returned to a dead silence, only the breeze was blowing the trees in the courtyard outside the wicker window lit by the rising sun, making rustling sounds. Faced with such a gloomy scene, Chen Zhenhui originally wanted to initiate the conversation to enliven the atmosphere.However, when his eyes fell on the eight guests who looked like clay sculptures and wood sculptures, his intention was replaced by a heavy heart again.In fact, these days, relying on the information collected from various channels, Chen Zhenhui has learned a lot about the situation after the fall of the capital.For example: Regarding the emperor who hanged himself and died for his country, I heard that because the body was found on the Longevity Mountain soon, Li Zicheng ordered to stop the search, sent someone to remove a door panel in the palace, and carried the body down; Bring a willow coffin, and use soil clods as pillows, and put the body under a thatched shed outside Donghua Gate, which can be regarded as "crying".As a result, except for the four old eunuchs who were designated as guardians and two monks who were chanting scriptures, few officials dared to cry.As for the next step, whether they will be buried according to the etiquette, it is even more difficult to predict.But it is certain that the evil "rebels" will never have a good arrangement...

Another example is the fate of the group of civil and military officials who failed to escape in time.Because Li Zicheng ordered the old officials of the Ming Dynasty in Beijing to go to see him within three days, as a result, a group of ministers and relatives such as the scholar Fan Jingwen, the Minister of the Household Department Ni Yuanlu, and the Zuodu Yushi Li Banghua committed suicide one after another.However, very few people were willing to do so. Most civil and military officials followed the chief minister of the cabinet Wei Zaode and Cheng Guogong Zhu Chunchen to the Forbidden City to perform the ceremony of kowtow on the appointed date.Unexpectedly, after waiting on the ground for a long time, Li Zicheng never showed up.On the contrary, the group of resentful "thieves" soldiers and "thieves" began to insult and tease them, pushing and beating them, taking off their hats, and even putting their thighs on their necks, laughing and making noise , making everyone extremely embarrassed, but no one dared to resist.As for their fate in the future, only God knows...

Of course, in the news from those who escaped, it is inevitable to talk about how some officials of the Ming Dynasty, who were desperate to survive, drove the coffin of Emperor Chongzhen with halberds and cursed heartlessly, and how they called friends to discuss refuge. Fake" court, or wearing a Tsing Yi hat, with a piece of yellow paper with the word "Shun" on his forehead, eagerly looking forward to being hired, and so on.Chen Zhenhui once noticed that whenever she heard such reports, Shi Kefa's face was always pale, his eyes were wide open, and his fists were clenched. Even his beard and hair seemed to stand on end with extreme grief and anger. , It was only with great self-control that he didn't let the violent emotions erupt immediately.However, Chen Zhenhui met several times. This minister, who was so serious and daunting on weekdays, would always walk into the mourning hall with the tablet of Emperor Chongzhen afterwards, prostrate on the ground, and cry heartbreakingly one after another...

Finally, there was a rush and forceful sound of official boots stomping on the ground in the aisle.Chen Zhenhui felt relieved: "Okay, I'm back!" He turned his head and stood up instinctively. Sure enough, Shi Kefa, who was not tall but dignified, soon appeared at the door of the living room.The former Governor of Water Transport, who was highly respected for his ability, shrewdness and outstanding achievements, succeeded the elderly Xiong Mingyu as Minister of the Ministry of War in Nanjing a year ago.Due to the rapid fall of Beijing, Nanjing, the remaining capital, became the main pillar and hope for the Ming Dynasty to retreat to the south of the Yangtze River overnight and carry out a stubborn resistance.Therefore, as the highest military officer who is still able to exercise his powers, Shi Kefa has naturally received the unanimous attention of the ruling and opposition parties.However, this sharp rise in personal prestige did not seem to make him feel the slightest excitement and pride; on the contrary, it only forced him to work harder and busier.Since he stayed up all night, his dark face looked even more gloomy.The eyes that were originally bright and shining were covered with streaks of red.But his steps are still so vigorous.As soon as he walked in, he arched his hands, bowed to the chest of the guests who stood up and prepared to salute, did not answer the usual greetings, only made a gesture of giving up his seat, said "please!", then turned his head, Chao Chen Zhenhui asked: "Did you tell Master Wan to come back to the office at this time?" After getting an affirmative answer, he nodded and quickly sat down in his seat.

Chen Zhenhui had already heard from Shi Kefa beforehand that the main purpose of finding these people today was to inquire about the whereabouts of the Crown Prince and the two princes.Chen Zhenhui was also very clear about the purpose of doing this.Originally, in his heart, he was somewhat anxious and dissatisfied with Shi Kefa's hesitation in supporting the new monarch.And out of instinctive guard against King Fu, he is more inclined to support King Lu.However, today's Chen Zhenhui is different from the past.Now that he has come to understand more and more that things in the political field cannot be controlled by personal will alone, he is more able to understand Shi Kefa's difficult situation.Therefore, even though he estimated that there was very little hope of finding the prince or princes in such a chaotic and urgent situation, he still held a sincere attitude and actively assisted Shi Kefa in his last attempt .

Now, Shi Kefa has finished his brief opening remarks expressing condolences, and asked the three officials who had recently fled back about two things he cared about: one was about the funeral of Emperor Chongzhen; Did Wu Sangui, the commander-in-chief of the Ming Dynasty in Shanhaiguan, surrender to Li Zicheng?The latter matter was directly related to whether the peasant army could be restrained so that it could not quickly send troops southward, so Shi Kefa was always very concerned about it. Every time he met people who came back from the north, he had to question them.However, when he found that there was no point to ask about these two things, he immediately stopped asking and turned to today's main topic.

"Everyone who came back from danger this time, have you heard of the whereabouts of the crown prince and the two princes?" He raised his voice slightly and asked, looking back and forth at the guests present expectantly. Perhaps everyone failed to react at once, and there was a moment of silence in the hall. "T-Prince..." Someone hesitantly uttered a sentence, then paused.Everyone followed the reputation and recognized this person as Wang Weixiao. He was a former engineer in the fall of Beijing. He had a dignified face, but at the moment he looked shy and nervous. "Master Wang, please tell me!" Shi Kefa immediately asked politely. "Oh, no, the students don't know, they don't know." Wang Weixiao quickly declined, and then gestured, "Everyone, everyone!" "Master Wang has something to say, it's okay to speak up!" Shi Kefa stared at him. "No...no..." Wang Weixiao looked even more flustered, almost retracting that handsome face into his neck. Shi Kefa's face was tense, and his eyebrows were raised, as if he was going to have an attack, but finally he turned to other people. "Then—" he asked expressionlessly, "I wonder which adult knows the whereabouts of the prince? You don't have to know for sure, it doesn't matter if you hear it." "Oh, the students know." A chubby middle-aged official named Zeng Wudian said, but immediately shook his hands again, "It's not the students who know, but Lord Wang told the students when he came to your ministry today." "Master Zeng, the student never said anything!" Wang Weixiao hastily denied. Zeng Wudian glanced at him: "Master Wang, why worry? Shi Gong has already said it just now, and it's okay to hear it." After speaking, he turned to Shi Kefa again, and lowered his head with a heavy heart: "When Master Wang was in Beijing, he once heard An eunuch said that the crown prince and the two kings Yong and Ding have unfortunately passed away!" The news was so sudden and astonishing, not only did Shi Kefa stand up from his seat anxiously when he heard it, even Chen Zhenhui felt a chill in his heart, as if the blood in his whole body had stopped flowing. But Zeng Wudian's statement was immediately refuted by several people.It's strange to say that even though these people were like clay puppets just now, once they talked about their experiences, they acted extremely fanatical and stubborn. "No!" "This is not true!" "The crown prince is not an idle person. If he was killed by bandits, there must be rumors in the capital. Why don't we hear about it?" "Hey, as far as the students know, the crown prince and the two virtuous kings may have escaped to the south!" An old-fashioned voice came over unhurriedly. Everyone was shocked again. Looking back, they found that the person speaking was Jiang Chen, the head of the Ministry of Industry.The man was tall and thin, wearing a square scarf, but a circle of short hair that was a few inches long was strangely exposed underneath.It turned out that he had shaved his head and escaped disguised as a monk. His hair hadn't grown fully yet. "Well, please tell me the details!" Shi Kefa said calmly after sitting on the chair again.Perhaps after the gaffe just now, he has realized that it is better to keep calm about these news before further inquiry. "This—" Jiang Chen turned around, then grabbed the railings of the chair with two big hands, stretched out his long, muscular neck, and said solemnly, "It happened that the students were going south by boat in Linqing. Encountered——The day before, the student met Zhang Eunuch from Neishutang on the road. At that time, he had already disguised himself as a merchant, wearing a green coat and a cap. Because he and the student were originally in the same place, so they recognized each other. Now the two They hired a car together and went to Linqing to change the boat. The student had already arrived on the boat, but when he turned around, he saw Eunuch Zhang staring at the first boat. The student called several times before he followed slowly I asked him what he was doing, but he didn’t answer. It wasn’t until the second day that he quietly told the students that yesterday he saw someone on the boat ahead, who looked exactly like a prince!” Hearing what Jiang Chen said was true, everyone believed it to a certain extent, so they all felt sorry for why eunuch Zhang didn't stop the boat at that time, and complained why Jiang Chen didn't catch up quickly.Jiang Chen had no choice but to explain that he didn't know that the boat sailed first; eunuch Zhang didn't dare to break the boat, for fear of accidents.But when they arrived at the next stop, the boat was gone... When Chen Zhenhui heard this, although she felt very sorry that such an important event was missed, she finally found a very valuable clue. As long as she found out that the prince had indeed come from the south, it should not be too difficult to find out his whereabouts.He got excited and looked back, but was surprised to find that Shi Kefa's expression was very cold, and he was staring intently at an official sitting on the top left.Chen Zhenhui remembered that the official came first, but she sat quietly without speaking.At this moment, a sneer appeared on the corner of his mouth, and he seemed to disapprove of Jiang Chen's words. "Brother Shenghai, do you dare to ask if you can see and teach me?" Shi Kefa greeted suddenly.The official's name was Zhang Bojing, and Shenghai was his nickname.He was originally the Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of War in Beijing. It is said that he was the first one to escape. Because he had returned to his hometown Taizhou first, he did not come to Nanjing until now. Hearing Shi Kefa's question, Zhang Bojing stopped smiling, stroked his beard, and fell silent for a while. When everyone calmed down again, he said in a low but very clear voice: "It seems that what you said just now is not true. As far as the students know, the crown prince and the two kings Yong and Ding have not been killed at this moment. He never came from the south, but is still in the capital, in the hands of the bandits!" After saying these few words, he seemed to understand that it would definitely arouse everyone's excitement and doubts, so he first stretched out a hand to signal everyone to calm down, and then continued: "Before the student left Beijing, he hid in the outer house of the eunuch Gao Qiqian. This is what he told the student himself - the first emperor ordered the eunuch Wang Zhixin, Li Zongzhou, and Wang Zhijun to protect the crown prince and Yong and Ding. The two kings went out of the palace to ask for refuge in the residence of Emperor Zhou. At dawn, the prince knocked on the door, but no one answered. Because the thief had already entered the city, the situation was critical, so they split up and hid. Later, Wang Zhixin died first, and the bandits searched urgently. Zong Zhou Fearing disaster, they sacrificed the crown prince and King Ding, but King Yong didn't know where he was going. Hearing that the intruder had no intention of doing harm, he didn't let him go. He sent the thief to Liu Zongmin and Li Mou. Therefore, it is absolutely impossible to say that the prince has escaped and came south!" After speaking so resolutely, he stopped and saw that everyone was sitting blankly without any expression. He added: "The eldest princess' arm was cut off by the late emperor, and she was seriously injured. It is said that the intruder was also taken in by Liu Zongmin. Immortal..." This last piece of news was quite beyond everyone's expectations: Why, those rebels who murdered without batting an eyelid, are still willing to spend their time treating the eldest princess' injuries?However, it was evident afterwards that it was taboo to express such a thought, and it was inappropriate even to contemplate it in the heart.So for a while, everyone became more and more dumbfounded and silent. Shi Kefa's complexion suddenly changed, his eyebrows stood up, the muscles of his cheeks twitched due to repeated clenching of his teeth, and the vertical lines on both sides of his mouth became thick and deep. "Then, what else do you want to tell the students?" He asked sharply, "If not, then today's meeting will be over for now, thank you all!" As he said that, without waiting for everyone to answer, he cupped his hands and stood up. ... "It's unreasonable, that Zhang Shenghai is so absurd that he sells it for the thieves, what a fool!" A moment later, Shi Kefa walked back to the hall, angrily said.Now that the guests had all been sent away, his pent-up anger finally broke out. Chen Zhenhui looked at the master, and persuaded her deeply: "Master Zhang doesn't seem to think that's the case. He's just speaking from what he knows..." "Brother, don't defend him!" Shi Kefa waved his hand roughly, then turned around, sat down on the chair, and said angrily, "Brother, have you ever thought about who caused the eldest princess' arm injury?" It’s the first emperor! Doesn’t Zhang Shenghai’s remarks make people think that the first emperor was lenient and tolerant, while the bandit was lenient and kind. This, this is simply nonsense!” Chen Zhenhui stopped ringing.As the leader of the Fushe, he was hired to work in Muli, so he naturally has considerable qualifications to speak up in front of the master.However, he didn't want to abuse this.In fact, he has long noticed that since learning the bad news of the fall of Beijing, Shi Kefa, who is known for being shrewd and capable, has obviously changed his temper. He has become calmer and less tolerant, and more impatient and strict. The last trivial matter unnecessarily caused a big anger.Chen Zhenhui also understood that this was because her heart was deeply stimulated and extremely painful.Speaking of which, the capital fell on March 19th.However, the civil and military ministers in Nanjing have been lingering on the sidelines, delaying until the first day of April to decide to swear to serve the king. Their information blockage and slow action have reached the point of ridicule.As the highest military officer, Shi Kefa naturally bears the main responsibility for this matter.Although no one has publicly criticized this, the wise and loyal Shi Kefa will never fail to understand this point. It is impossible not to think that he did not act at the most critical moment in the capital and the emperor's most desperate moment, and he did not even send out a single soldier. The pawn went to the rescue, and felt a deep sense of self-blame, and since then carried a strong sense of guilt.It was this inner torture that changed his character.However, Chen Zhenhui believes that since things have come to this point, the safety of the Jiangnan area and the survival of the Ming Dynasty are almost all dependent on Shi Kefa, and they are eagerly waiting for him to make a sober and correct decision. Because this kind of emotion is not only unnecessary, but also very harmful.He has been planning to speak earnestly to the other party once, but he can't find the right opportunity.It's the same this time.Originally, he tried to say a few more words about Zhang Bojing, but when it came to his mouth, it turned into: "Oh, Mr. Wan has arrived. See you in the signing room now." "What is he here for?" Shi Kefa asked with a sullen face, obviously not yet shaken off his anger. "This...wasn't your lord sending him here to see you?" Chen Zhenhui said with a slight sense of astonishment. Shi Kefa stopped ringing, but he undoubtedly came to his senses and realized that he was too impulsive just now.Finally, he let out an "um", stood up, and walked out.As soon as he crossed the threshold, he stopped again.He hesitated for a moment, then turned and said: "Brother Fan, ask someone to ask, those officials just now, they fled to the south, if there is any embarrassment, do what you can for them!" After finishing speaking, he took a step and hurried to the signing office.