Chapter 237 Breaking the deadlock

"Fake Prince?"

Zhu Changfang's heart was thrilled and he quickly signaled the butler to go out.

There were only Zhu Changfang and the doctor in the room. Zhu Changfang asked in a low voice: "How do you know that the prince is fake?"

The doctor said: "The true prince has died in the prison in Beijing. How could he come to Nanjing to succeed to the throne?"

"Ah?" Zhu Changfang said in a lost voice, "The real prince has died in the Beijing prison? Yes, but Lord Wang Duo and a Hanlin Academy have a reviewer. How can the prince be said to be true?"

The doctor said, "This is not simple. Why is it difficult to find someone with a similar appearance in the world? Besides, is it necessary to say that Wang Duo and the Hanlin Academy's review must be true? With the power of Sun Chuanting and Wang Pu, it is not easy to threaten or bribe two sesame officials."

Zhu Changfang said: "But in addition to the prince, there are also King Yong, King Ding, and Princess Changping..."

The doctor interrupted bluntly: "Prince, are you sure that King Yong, King Ding and Princess Changping are real?"

"This..." Zhu Changfang was suffocated when he heard this, and then asked in a low voice for a while, "Do you dare to ask who is sir?"

The doctor smiled slightly and said in a pretentious manner: "I will only guide the prince to the people who are confused."

Zhu Changfang's face suddenly became solemn. He was not a fool. Of course, he would not easily believe a person who had met for the first time just because of a few words. He immediately said in a deep voice: "Sir, just based on the ruthless words you just said, if the Jinyiwei of the Fufu Department knew about it, you would be dead!"

The doctor smiled and said, "Prince, don't you believe it?"

Zhu Changfang said: "Sir, I doubt your intentions very much."

"For the first time we met, it is normal for the prince to not believe it." The doctor nodded, and suddenly took out a letter from his arms and handed it to Zhu Changfang, and said, "Your Majesty might as well take a look at this."

Zhu Changfang took the letter and read it quickly, then his face changed drastically: "Pingxi Bo Wu Sangui's handwritten letter! Is it..."

The doctor dusted his sleeves and said seriously: "I will join the army before I will serve as a military officer in Ping Xibo's tent... Cheng Wenfan."

Zhu Changfang said in awe: "It turned out to be Cheng Zongjun."

Cheng Wenfan asked Zhu Changfang: "Prince, what do you think about Pingxibo's introduction of Jiannu into customs?"

Zhu Changfang thought for a while and said, "Ping Xibo borrowed Qing soldiers to deal with the bandits, but unfortunately the situation lost control after the Qing soldiers entered the pass. Ping Xibo was afraid that he would have no choice but to do so."

Cheng Wenfan said solemnly: "It is worth it to be understood by the prince, no matter how great the grievances Ping Xibo suffered."

Zhu Changfang said in a calm voice: "What is the meaning of sir..."

Cheng Wenfan said: "Prince, Ping Xibo borrowed Qing troops to enter the pass to eliminate the bandits and avenge the late emperor. Unfortunately, the Qing soldiers lost control after entering the pass. However, now the prince has gained the trust of Jiannu and has led a province of Shanxi alone. He has another 100,000 elite Guanning Iron Cavalry under his command, and is planning to return to the Ming Dynasty."

"Oh, this is a good thing."

Although Zhu Changfang said it was a good thing, his tone was very cold. The current Ming emperor was not Zhu Changfang. What does Wu Sangui have to do with him?

"But..." Cheng Wenfan continued to say in a tone, "Ping Xibo was deeply confused about the prince's sudden appearance in Nanjing and inheriting the throne. Because after the Guanning Army captured Beijing, Ping Xibo had seen the bodies of the prince, King Yong and King Ding in the prison with his own eyes, so he sent him to Nanjing to investigate secretly."

Zhu Changfang had already completely believed Cheng Wenfan's words and asked in a lost voice: "So... Is this really a fake today?"

Cheng Wenfan said firmly: "It's definitely a fake!"

"It's outrageous!" Zhu Changfang slapped the table and said angrily, "Sun Chuanting and Wang Pu are too brave. They dare to use a fake to pretend to be the prince and also help the fake to the throne. In this way, will the country and country of my Zhu family fall into the hands of a villain?"

Cheng Wenfan said: "This fake emperor is just a puppet in Wang Pu's hands. When the time is right, Wang Pu will definitely usurp the Ming Dynasty and become independent. At that time, the Ming Dynasty will not have the surname Zhu, but will change its surname to Wang!"

Zhu Changfang clenched his fists and said with a neighing voice: "I will never let Wang Pu, the traitor, succeed. I will go to Master Ma, Lord Gao, Xingping Bo, Dongping Bo and Guangchang Bo. I want to contact all officials and Xunqi who can be contacted, and shake out the sins of Sun Chuanting and Wang Pu..."

After saying that, Zhu Changfang made a move to rush out.

"Prince." Cheng Wenfan rushed forward and grabbed Zhu Changfang and advised, "Now the court is full of Sun Chuanting and Wang Pu. I'm afraid no one will believe you. And if you tell the truth, wouldn't you force yourself to the dead end? Can Sun Chuanting and Wang Pu spare you?"

Zhu Changfang was not really going to find someone to reveal the truth, but he was just pretending to behave. Cheng Wenfan gave up as soon as he pulled him, but he had to continue to do his best on the surface. He said in tears at that time: "Oh, I am ashamed of being a descendant of the Zhu family, and I am ashamed of the ancestors and ancestors under the nine springs..."

"Prince." Cheng Wenfan advised: "The sinful conspiracy between Sun Chuanting and Wang Pu must be exposed, but the two have too much power in the court, so this matter needs to be discussed for a long time."

Zhu Changfang wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes with his sleeve and asked, "I wonder if sir, can you have a good idea?"

Cheng Wenfan paced back and forth with his hands behind his back, stopped and said, "It has been a few days since he came to Nanjing. According to the inquiries and observations in the next few days, the powerful Donglin Fushe seems to have secretly surrendered to Sun Chuanting and Wang Pu. Therefore, it is impossible to expect Donglin Fushe to overturn the case. The only opportunity now is to launch military advice!"

"Soldier Advice?" Zhu Changfang said in a lost voice, "This is even more impossible. Sun Chuanting and Wang Pu and his son firmly control the 100,000 most elite Central Army. Isn't it seeking death when launching military advice in Nanjing? Who has the courage to do so?"

"Why should we launch military admonitions in Nanjing?" Cheng Wenfan said, "Did the prince forget that there are 100,000 Guanning cavalry in Shanxi? What's more, Wuchang and the 800,000 army of Zuo Liangyu, the 800,000 army of the marquis of Ningnan! As long as the prince prepares a letter, he can go to Wuchang with his own handwritten letter. He persuades Ningnan Hou and Pingxibo to raise an army together, and enter Nanjing to support the prince to the throne and restore Zhu Ming's destiny."

Zhu Changfang was overjoyed when he heard this, saying, "Are you serious?"

"Take it seriously." Cheng Wenfan said solemnly, "I came here to Nanjing specifically to adjust the case of the fake prince. Since the truth of the case has been revealed, Ping Xibo will certainly raise an army for Zhu Ming Zhengtong. As long as Ningnan Marquis Zuo Liangyu is willing to raise an army, nearly one million troops will run to Nanjing. Sun Chuanting and Wang Pu's subordinates are only 100,000 Central Army, how can we resist?"

Zhu Changfang was completely an idiot about military affairs. In his mind, he only had a simple comparison of the number of troops. He didn't understand the issues of training, equipment, and logistics at all. At that time, he easily believed Cheng Wenfan's words and urgently ordered the housekeeper to take the four treasures of the study, grind the ink, and began to write quickly.

Looking at Zhu Changfang's quick writing, a cold smile flashed through Cheng Wenfan's eyes.

Liaocheng, Dorgon's residence.

A few days later, the Ming army still did not take the initiative to launch an attack, which made Dorgon feel even heavier. It seemed that Wang Pu was determined to compete with him for endurance, but Dorgon knew that his strength and endurance were definitely not able to compete with Wang Pu, and the Qing Dynasty would definitely not be able to compete with the Southern Ming.

Now, Dorgon can only place his only hope on Fan Wencheng.

But can Fan Wencheng really provoke a party struggle in the Southern Ming Dynasty? Can party struggle really force Wang Pu to withdraw his troops? What if Fan Wencheng fails? What if the party struggle cannot force Wang Pu to withdraw his troops? Dorgon only felt confused and had a big head, and everything became messy.

As the uncle regent and the actual supreme ruler of the Qing Dynasty, Dorgon had to make the worst plans!

Jiang Xiang, Wang Chengyin, and Tang Tong have always been three unstable factors. Even Wu Sangui might have betrayed the Qing Dynasty. If it weren't for the blood feud between Wu Sangui and Li Zicheng, Dorgon would not have been relieved to leave Wu Sangui to guard Shanxi. With the Ming surrendered troops in front of these four towns, Beijing would have always been in danger.

It is undoubtedly dangerous for only Ajige and 20,000 Eight Banners to station in Beijing. Once Jiang Xiang, Wang Chengyin and Tang Tong join forces to attack Beijing, these 20,000 people alone cannot resist it.

Dorgon had enough reason to believe that Jiang Xiang and the others would never dare to rebel, but it would be hard to say if Liaocheng was defeated or the war was delayed for a long time.

Dorgon was in a dilemma.

If the troops withdraw from Liaocheng to protect Beijing, as Fan Wencheng analyzed, nothing will be saved in the end. Maybe the 60,000 elite troops of the Eight Banners will be destroyed in the pass, which will definitely be a disaster for Jiannu! If he continues to confront Wang Pu in Liaocheng, Dorgon is worried that he will not be able to hold on first.

Should we divide our troops back to Beijing to strengthen Beijing’s defense?

This thought flashed through Dorgon's mind.

Now Dorgon has more than 40,000 Eight Banners soldiers and more than 90,000 Mongolian cavalry left under his command. With these 130,000 elite troops, Dorgon has enough confidence to block the Ming army's attack, but if he divides his troops back to the capital, even if he only sends 50,000 Mongolian cavalry, Dorgon feels that the balanced situation in Liaocheng will be broken.

If only 10,000 or 20,000 Mongolian cavalry were sent back, it would not be enough to reverse the situation in Beijing.

Dorgon felt very cowardly. Although he had 130,000 elite troops of the Eight Banners under his command, he had no choice but to take Wang Pu's only 40,000 Ming troops. He had to be on the other hand to beware of the Ming army's attack at all times. He had absolute advantage in his troops but could only passive defense. Just thinking about it can make people crazy.

While Dorgon was thinking hard and trying to solve the current dilemma, Duoduo suddenly walked in furiously.

When Dorgon saw Duoduo's angry look, his heart suddenly jumped, thinking that something must have happened in Beijing!

Sure enough, Duoduo shouted when he entered the door: "Fourth Brother, it's broken!"

Dorgon took a breath and asked in a deep voice: "What happened?"

Duoduo said: "Wu Sangui sent an urgent delivery to the capital with eight hundred miles, saying that it was Datong General Jiang Xiang who was preparing to rebel! His grandmother, if he had known this, when he was chasing the bandits and entering Shanxi, he should have taken the opportunity to conquer Datong and wiped out this bastard together."

When Dorgon heard this, he felt relieved. Preparing to rebel is different from having already rebelled!

As long as Jiang Xiang has not officially rebelled, the matter has not reached the point of irreversibility. Who is Dorgon? He knows too much about Jiang Xiang, Wang Chengyin, and Tang Tong. As long as the battle of Liaocheng has not yet decided on the outcome, they will never act rashly for their own wealth and life.

"Report..." Dorgon had just breathed a sigh of relief when a shrill sounded from outside the door. Then, Goshha stepped inside quickly and knelt on the ground and beat thousands of times, "Master, Zhending Mansion urgently reported."

"Zhending Mansion?" Dorgon said anxiously, "What's wrong with Zhending Mansion?"

Goshha gasped and said, "The Henan thief chief Hong Niang brought at least 50,000 bandits to cross the Yellow River north, and successively captured Guangping and Shunde prefectures, and now they have entered Zhending Prefecture."

"What? Henan bandits!?"

Dorgon and Duoduo were shocked at the same time. The two brothers really didn't expect that the bandits in Henan would get into a quarrel at this time. Isn't Henan the territory of the bandits? The bandits and Wu Sangui are blood feuds. Even if the bandits in Henan send troops, they should cooperate with Li Zicheng to siege Wu Sangui in Taiyuan. Why would they go north to attack Beijing?

Dorgon and Duoduo were surprised and confused. They didn't know that Hongniang had become enemies with the thief, and they didn't know that Hongniang had become friends with Wang Pu. The woman who was in love was irrational. Now, as long as Wang Pu said something, she would like to ask Hongniang to do whatever she wanted.

This unexpected situation suddenly disrupted Dorgon's overall plan.

Originally, the forces of all parties had reached a strategic stalemate. Dorgon and Wang Pu confronted each other in Liaocheng, Wu Sangui and Li Zicheng restrained each other, Jiang Xiang, Wang Chengyin, and Tang Tong did not dare to act rashly before the victory and defeat in Liaocheng. They just waited for Fan Wencheng to provoke party struggles in the Southern Ming court, and this balance would be broken and Wang Pu would be forced to withdraw his troops.

Once Wang Pu withdraws his troops, although Dorgon cannot take advantage of the situation to rob and annihilate Wang Pu's army, he can at least free up his hands to remove Jiang Xiang, Wang Chengyin and Tang Tong, and eliminate their worries first. In addition, with Wu Sangui holding Li Zicheng, Dorgon can concentrate on dealing with Nanming and Wang Pu.

But now the Henan army suddenly attacked north, but it suddenly broke the strategic stalemate.

Just because of the tens of thousands of bandit soldiers of the Henan thief chief Hong Niangzi, perhaps it is not enough to threaten the security of Beijing, what Dorgon is really worried about is the chain reaction caused by the stimulation of the Henan thief heading north, Jiang Xiang, who was already ready to move, would Wang Chengyin and Tang Tong react?

A terrible answer was about to come out. Jiang Xiang and the others would definitely raise an army to rebel and stab Jiannu from behind.

What to do? Now Dorgon must make the final choice!

"Brother, retreat!" Duoduo was so anxious that he jumped. "The Henan bandits launched a large-scale attack. Jiang Xiang, Wang Chengyin and Tang Tong, the three ungrateful wolves, will definitely rebel with the loss. At that time, the four armies will jointly attack Beijing, and Beijing will be in danger! Take advantage of the situation that has not lost control, hurry back to Beijing."
Chapter completed!