Chapter 465: Why Is the Crown Prince Angry? (A Request for Monthly Tickets)

Only after Jin Zhijun followed the sons and nephews of the Cheng Ducal House who were receiving him into Wolong City did he realize that the so-called Wolong City and Phoenix City were actually one connected whole.

These two fortresses were in fact two parts of a single multi-tiered citadel. Wolong City had been rebuilt on the foundation of the original forbidden-wall fortress, and was a "polygonal fortress" (a bastion). To its north, two tall "composite walls" — earth-filled sandbags on the outside, brick wall supporting from within — linked Wolong City with the southern slope of Phoenix Mountain into a single whole.

The trees that had once covered the southern slope of Phoenix Mountain had all been cut down, and the hillside was now covered with construction sites everywhere. Countless laborers toiled up and down, some leveling ground, some digging foundations, some driving piles with massive timbers, some laying up walls.

Jin Zhijun, dressed as a merchant with a hat covering his queue, passed through these worksites. He observed carefully and noticed that the grey bricks the craftsmen were using to build the walls were all absurdly large — clearly "old bricks" taken from the demolished gate towers, city walls, and the high walls of old Fengyang, and extremely sturdy.

And the buildings being raised with these "old bricks" looked, without exception, either like government offices in form or like the residences of officials.

Although most of these buildings were not yet finished, one could already see their solidity and defensibility — every single building could serve as a fortress!

The horse road up the mountain was also paved with "old bricks" from Fengyang city, very broad, ample for horses and carts, yet without the slightest superfluous ornament.

Apart from solidity and durability, there was only an air of grim severity.

After walking for he knew not how long, until Jin Zhijun's legs ached and went numb, he finally arrived before the gate of a mountain stronghold. Gasping for breath, he looked up and saw a gate tower with its face sloped into a ramp, standing imposingly. The thick wooden gates stood open, and ten soldiers wearing armor pieced together from iron plates stood in two rows, each shouldering a matchlock musket fitted with a bayonet, staring straight ahead.

The young man of the Cheng Ducal House turned back and smiled at Jin Zhijun: "Manager Jin, please wait a moment."

Jin Zhijun was a secret envoy, who had entered the territory driving several dozen Mongol horses under the guise of a merchant. It was because of these horses that he had made contact with Duke Cheng, Zhu Chunchen.

Under Zhu Chunchen's arrangement, today's trip to Fengyang had come about.

He only wondered how long he, a turncoat official and a living Jiang Gan, would have to wait before he could see the Ming Army-Fostering Crown Prince, Zhu Cilang.

The Crown Prince did not make this inconvenient "living Jiang Gan" wait too long before sending the newly appointed Fengyang Garrison Eunuch, Tian Shuchen, to personally receive "Manager Jin" at Phoenix Gate and lead him to the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion where he himself resided. The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion was an ancient structure, built in the Hongwu era, originally a villa for the Prince stationed at Fengyang. But after many years unoccupied, by the time Zhu Chunchen garrisoned Fengyang and was ordered to expand the Fengyang fortifications, it had long fallen into disrepair and was ruined beyond recognition.

Yet Zhu Chunchen had at once seen the value of the ground the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion occupied, and had used it as the foundation to begin building Phoenix City. Now Phoenix City was still unfinished, but the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion had been fully restored, and so it became the temporary palace of Zhu Cilang while he garrisoned Fengyang.

After the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion was completed, Zhu Cilang moved from the dilapidated Fengtian Hall down in "Wolong City" up to the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion on the mountain. He also brought Wu Sanmei and Zheng Chagu from Nanjing to Fengyang to reunite, and had Wu Sanmei bring along their daughter Fengjiao, who was diligently learning to crawl, so that the family of four could enjoy their happiness together.

At the same time, Zhu Cilang had the Chongzhen Emperor, who had been "personally leading the campaign" at the Jiangbei Grand Camp, return to the imperial palace in Nanjing. After "beating to death" the Qing's Grave-Raising Beile, Hooge, and smashing the Qing army's plot to dig up the Fengyang imperial tombs (the Qing army was wronged!), Zhu Cilang no longer feared any seizure of the throne.

Whoever thinks himself more formidable than Hooge and the twenty thousand Eight Banners heavenly soldiers under his command is welcome to come and try!

As for himself, he continued to garrison Fengyang Prefecture, on one hand raising high the banner of the Northern Expedition to rescue Confucius, and on the other supervising the construction of the Fengyang fortress and the defense arrangements for Huaibei and Xuhai — these two matters were of course not contradictory!

If he did not properly build up the great base of the southeast for protecting Confucius and defending the faith, how could he set his mind at ease to go rescue the tomb of the Sage Confucius? Even if the great cause of rescuing the Sage's tomb were delayed by the construction of the Fengyang fortress and the defense of Huaibei and Xuhai, it would not matter.

One must know that in the West, Christians had waged war generation after generation, wave upon wave, to liberate the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem!

So even if Confucius's "holy tomb" were lost, it would not matter. As long as the Duke for Perpetuating the Sage, Kong Yinzhi, "died gloriously," it would inspire the scholars of the southeast to cast aside their brushes and join the army, and together go rescue the "holy tomb."

Besides, the situation at Qufu was still passable for now. Dodo still lacked the strength to besiege the city, and had merely built a camp at Yishui near Qufu. Shi Kefa had sallied out several times, only to be bloodied each time, and seemed to lack the ability to root out this Qing camp.

But because Qufu was not besieged, it could still receive some supplies and evacuate some of the old, weak, women, and children, so the situation could still be maintained.

For Zhu Cilang, such a state of affairs was not bad either. Risking a sortie to attack the Yishui camp might well be falling into Dorgon's trap. Setting out from Xuzhou, the march north to Qufu would cover more than three hundred li. At a normal infantry pace that would take five or six days, and if one accounted for harassment and delay by Qing light cavalry, ten days would be normal.

With those ten days, Dorgon could fully concentrate heavy forces from all directions and force a decisive battle around Qufu. He could also temporarily abandon the Yishui camp and fall back to Yanzhou or even Jining and Dongping, and wage a protracted war of "the enemy advances, we retreat" against Zhu Cilang.

And how long could Zhu Cilang remain in Shandong? There were still many matters in the south awaiting his attention!

Just as Jin Zhijun was brought in trembling by Tian Shuchen, Zhu Cilang was frowning over a memorial sent by the Embroidered Uniform Guard Commander Zhu Chunjie — Zuo Liangyu was critically ill, perhaps already dead! In any case, he had not shown his face for many days. It was very likely he had already breathed his last, and Zuo Menggeng was keeping the death secret and concealing the news.

"Thousand Years," Tian Shuchen's voice interrupted Zhu Cilang's thoughts, "this slave has brought Manager Jin!"

Then came Jin Zhijun's voice: "Commoner Jin Zhijun respectfully wishes the Ming Crown Prince, Your Highness, golden peace!"

Zhu Cilang set down the memorial and glanced at the kneeling Jin Zhijun. "You are the Prince Regent's secret envoy?"

"This commoner was sent by the Qing Prince Regent."

"Oh." Zhu Cilang nodded. "How is he? He must be overjoyed, surely?"

"This..." Jin Zhijun stammered, "this commoner, this commoner heard that the Prince Regent's eyes were swollen from weeping."

Zhu Cilang let out a scoffing laugh: "He can really put on an act! Tell me, how does he plan to thank me?"

Thank you? Jin Zhijun felt something was off as he heard this, and the more he thought about it, the more wrong it seemed!

"The Prince Regent has agreed to marry the Gege to Thousand Years." Cold sweat dripped from Jin Zhijun's forehead!

There seemed to be something behind this. Would he be silenced once he returned?

"'Marry'?" Zhu Cilang looked at Jin Zhijun. "Did you hear his words clearly? 'Marry'? Not 'send'?"

"Th-this... it should be the same meaning, right?" Jin Zhijun wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead, then produced an envelope and handed it to Tian Shuchen with both hands. "Thousand Years, this is a letter in the Prince Regent's own hand."

The envelope and letter paper of the personal letter bore no name, only the four characters "the writer is known but unnamed."

Zhu Cilang unfolded the letter and began to read. At first he wore a smile, but halfway through his expression gradually darkened, and at the end he suddenly slammed the table with a crack, giving the Jin Zhijun below a terrible fright. But he dared not ask anything, and only trembled where he knelt.

After an unknown length of time, he finally heard Zhu Cilang speak: "Go back and tell Dorgon that if he can wait until the Gege Dong'e turns thirteen, We will send someone to Beijing to receive her. From then on, Dong'e will never suffer hardship here with Us."

Jin Zhijun was even more confused. Dorgon had already agreed to send his daughter over — what was the Crown Prince still angry about? With such a volatile temper, the Gege Dong'e's days ahead would probably not be easy!

(End of Chapter)