Chapter 342 Thunder

A group of old ministers from Jiangning, Nanjing promoted Zhu Yousong to the position of pseudo-emperor. Among them, Xu Hongji and Ruan Dacheng contributed the most.

The Duke of Wei, Xu Hongji, was old and died of illness in the autumn of the previous year. The news of Ying Yi's great defeat of the Tartars reached Yingtian, and Yingtian's old ministers hurriedly promoted Zhu Yousong to the throne. Xu Hongji died later. When Xu Hongji died, his son Xu Wenjue succeeded him, and he added Prince Shaobao to inherit the ancestral legacy.

Ruan Dacheng served the emperor for his meritorious service and was granted the title of Bachelor of Wenyuan Pavilion and the title of Minister of the Ministry of War. Then he entered the cabinet and became the prime minister.

Although Shi Kefa and others who opposed the promotion of Zhu Yousong were suppressed, they also gained some soup. Shi Kefa was awarded the title of Minister of the Ministry of War, Governor of Jianghuai, and became a bachelor of Dongge University.

Shi Kefa and others are undoubtedly loyal to the Zhu family. But Shi Kefa always believed that Zhu Yousong was unworthy and did not have the magnanimity of an emperor. It's a pity that Shi Kefa's political skills are inferior to those of Ruan Dacheng and others.

Even though many military generals supported Shi Kefa, Shi Kefa could not defeat Ruan Dacheng.

In the end, we managed to get some soup, probably because of the support of the army. Otherwise, Shi Kefa would have been beaten to the end.

After Zhu Yousong ascended the throne as the pseudo-emperor, there was a lot of overt and covert fighting. By the beginning of this summer, the dust had settled. The political factions gradually divided into three. The upper hand was a group of civil officials headed by Ruan Dacheng. Opposing them were the civil and military officials headed by Shi Kefa, with Xu Wenjue and other nobles caught in the middle.

As for the Donglin Party, which was the most powerful force in the early years, most of them were wiped out by Ruan Dacheng. Shi Kefa and others are not pure Donglin Party members.

Ruan Dacheng's faction can be seen as a continuation of the original eunuch party. In the early years, Ruan Dacheng vassaled Wei Zhongxian and was suppressed and framed by the Donglin Party. Now he has taken revenge.

And Yingtian's army is roughly divided into three parts. Zheng Zhilong's Fujian Navy is one point; the more than 30,000 generals headed by Shi Kefa who escaped their lives in the Battle of Fengyang and went to Jiangnan to recover a little Yuan Qi are one point; the last point is Wei Guogong The Governor's Mansion of the Southern Fifth Army and the distinguished soldiers such as Liu Kongzhao and Zhao Zhilong.

The number of honorable soldiers and horses is the largest, about 50,000.

The entire Jiangnan puppet emperor's small court had a total strength of more than 100,000. In addition to Zheng Zhilong's navy, more than 80,000 others were gathered on a front of just a few dozen miles centered on Jiangning, Nanjing.

Great victory.

Shi Kefa only slept for half the night and got up at midnight to inspect the city defense. Standing on the top of Dashengguan, looking at the dark river in the distance, listening to the faint sound of waves, and feeling the cool river breeze blowing past his face, his heart felt heavy.

The rebels in Jiangbei are powerful and have taken over half of the rivers and mountains. With his ability to confuse people's minds, few people remember the Hongwu Ming Dynasty. A few days ago, a large number of people from the south of the Yangtze River dragged their families and families across the river to the north. If it hadn't been blocked in time, there would probably be no one left in this prosperous south of the Yangtze River in a short time.

The rebels stationed troops on the other side, watching with eager eyes. There is no telling when they will cross the river to attack. Under such circumstances, there were still intrigues and intrigues in Jiangning City, which made Shi Kefa extremely uncomfortable.

He took the initiative to leave Jiangning and come to Dasheng Pass, probably out of sight and out of mind.

Although Shi Kefa is pedantic, he is not without wisdom. It's not that he couldn't feel the underlying undercurrent in Jiangnan. The building was about to collapse, and it was like a big stone weighing on his heart, and he couldn't breathe for a moment.

But there was nothing he could do.

He knew that in this land south of the Yangtze River, more than half of the officials, both civil and military, were shaken. I don't know how many people contacted Jiangbei secretly.

But he knew better that there was nothing he could do about it.

I can recall that on the eve of the decisive battle between Cao Mengde and Yuan Benchu ​​in Guandu, I don't know how many people under his command wrote letters to Yuan Shao and secretly sought refuge with him. And with Cao Mengde's skills, he could only turn a blind eye. Because he knew that once he turned a blind eye and made the slightest move, he would fall apart.

"Only by imitating Duke Cao and winning Guandu can we deal with it later." Shi Kefa sighed secretly.

I had received news before that the lights on the other side were bright and there was a lot of noise. Shi Kefa couldn't sleep. Fortunately, time passed and there was still no movement. Furthermore, Zheng Zhilong and the Fujian Navy were patrolling the river, so there must be nothing serious. Maybe it was just a bluff from the other side.

But no matter what, don't be careless. The more critical it is, the more careful you have to be. Shi Kefa knew very well that the rebels were tyrannical. Shi Kefa always remembered the devastating defeat at Fengyang City.

He knew very well that the rebels on the other side of the river were no more than Jiang Ze. Once you cross the river, the situation is over.

With only the few troops at their disposal, the old soldiers in Nanjing City were absolutely unable to withstand the rebels' front on land.

"Thankfully there is Zheng Zhilong, otherwise..."

Time passed quietly, Mao hour had arrived, and dawn was in sight. Shi Kefa stood at the top of the city for more than an hour, and by this time his hands and feet were getting cold. Zan Hua accompanied him and said: "Gebu, dawn is approaching. Gebu has been standing at the top of the city for a long time. Why don't you go back and rest for a while?"

Shi Kefa shook his head: "I can't feel at ease before dawn."

Praising the painting is silent.

At this time, there were horse hooves, tearing apart the quiet night.

Then I heard a roar from the city: "Shigebu! Shigebu!"

Shi Kefa was startled, and his heart skipped a beat for no reason. He quickly raised the torch and shined it under the city. He saw Yiqi wandering anxiously and said, "Who is it?!"

Replied: "Shi Gebu, this villain is a confidant of Governor Zheng of Fujian. Gebu, please send troops quickly to rescue Longtan!"

Shi Kefa's heart tightened and he shouted: "What happened in Longtan?!"

Then he said: "Someone, pull him up!"

Then a hanging basket hung down and pulled people up. Reflecting the firelight, Shi Kefa recognized this person. Every time he met with Zheng Zhilong, this person was always by Zheng Zhilong's side, and he was undoubtedly his confidant.

No wonder he called Shi Gebu directly under the city, but he also recognized Shi Kefa.

The man suddenly jumped out of the spider plant, bowed down with a bow, and said anxiously: "Ministry of the Cabinet, please send troops quickly to save my governor!"

Shi Kefa helped him up, and seeing how embarrassed he was, he quickly said warmly: "Don't worry, tell me first, what happened to Longtan?!"

The man took a breath and said: "Gebu, the rebels on the other side of the river have crossed the river! At Yin Shi, the rebels attacked Longtan by land and water. Fortunately, my governor saw the opportunity early, and the Longtan water village was easy to defend but difficult to attack. Otherwise, Longtan would have been Break. The rebels are tyrannical and the artillery fire is fierce. It is extremely difficult to resist. My governor knows that he cannot resist for long. When he came, he said to the villain: "Wei Shige of Jiangning is a loyal minister, so I asked the villain to ask for help from the Shige!"

When Shi Kefa heard this, his expression suddenly changed!

"A traitor crossing the river?!"

Shi Kefa yelled: "How is this possible?! When will the traitors cross the river? Governor Zheng doesn't even know?!"

The man said in frustration: "Not only did the rebels not know when they crossed the river, but they also didn't know about the hundreds of rebel navy warships! My governor believes that the two water villages of Chongming Island and Dantu have already fallen!"