Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 345 Death from Illness

Traditional Chinese medicine is indeed profound and extensive. After Duoduo took the medicine, he woke up slowly in less than half a minute. Jirgalang came over and took a look, and Duoduo's face seemed to have become a little rosier.

Seeing that Duoduo was in good spirits, Jierhalang told Duoduo that he had taken the life-extending medicine. Duoduo remained silent after hearing this. After a long while, he acted carefree and said, "I have achieved success at a young age, rode my horse and traveled all over the country, enjoyed beautiful women and fine wine, and I have no regrets!"

Seeing that Jirgalang was silent, Duoduo said to him: "Bolo has talent and can be used!"

Jirgalang heard this and asked, "Do you have anything else to say? Can I convey it to you?"

Duoduo pondered for a moment, then said: "The Meng thief is now very powerful. According to the Ming court officials' behavior, they must be regarded as a serious threat. Our dynasty should contact Zhu Youlang, Sun Kewang and others to suppress the Meng thief together. The more violent these people are, the more beneficial it is for us."

After hearing this, Jirgalang said disdainfully: "Zhu Youlang's group is incapable of accomplishing anything, but is always causing trouble. Now, apart from claiming a righteous reputation, what else is there for them? Sun Kewang, on the other hand, is quite powerful, and perhaps we can contact him."

Duoduo nodded and said, "It is up to Prince Zheng to decide these matters. However, if you use the righteous cause well, I think you can stir up unrest among the Meng thieves."

After chatting for a while, Jirgalang asked again: "Is there anything else you want to tell me?"

Duoduo looked up at the beam after hearing this. After a long while, he shook his head and said, "I have said everything I should say. I have also submitted a petition to the regent for the rest. There is nothing more to say. The court will take good care of my children and family. I have nothing to worry about."

Seeing that Jirgalang was still in low spirits, Duoduo said with a smile: "Prince Zheng can go now. I only have one day left, how can I waste it?"

Jirgalang sighed and walked out of the room, only to hear a voice coming from inside the room: "Go, find all the prostitutes in the city, and put some good wine in front of the room. I haven't had any fun for several months, and I miss them very much!"

The third year of the Yongli reign, February 23rd, sunny.

Aisin-Gioro Duoduo, the youngest legitimate son of Nurhaci and the same-mother brother of Dorgon, the regent father of the Qing emperor, died in Xiaochang City.

When the news came out, the whole world was shocked. Although the Qing court said that Prince Yu Duoduo died of illness due to overwork, in the eyes of various forces, Duoduo clearly died of grief and anger due to defeat.

When the news reached Wu Sangui, he was both happy and worried. He was happy that Duoduo, the famous prince, was dead, and the Qing court was like losing an arm. But he was worried about Duoduo's death. Wu Sangui didn't know whether Dorgon would blame him and attack him with all his might.

Outside Jiangling City, Baiyintu had already packed his luggage and the army was preparing to withdraw to Wusheng Pass area. At this time, Li Qifeng rushed to Baiyintu's army from Jingzhou City.

As soon as Li Qifeng saw Baiyintu, he asked, "General, I see the army is already collecting supplies and loading the baggage onto the trucks. I wonder where the army is heading?"

Bai Yintu simply said: "This is a military secret and should not be discussed lightly."

Li Qifeng understood what Xuan meant and nodded, saying, "What the commander said is very true, but there are still 5,000 soldiers in Jingzhou. If Jingzhou is difficult to defend, it is better to withdraw the garrison in the city to preserve strength."

Bai Yintu was slightly stunned when he heard this, and thought to himself: "These scholars are really smart."

Of the 5,000 defenders in Jingzhou City, only more than 1,000 were those who had experienced the last siege of Jingzhou by the Loyalty Camp. The rest were newly recruited soldiers. These new recruits could only throw stones and rolling logs on the top of the city walls.

Then Baiyintu shook his head and said, "Whether a city should be defeated or not is not something that I can decide. Only Prince Zheng, who has an overall view of the situation, can decide."

After hearing this, Li Qifeng nodded and agreed, "What the commander said makes sense. I will set off to Xiaochang to meet Prince Zheng."

When Baiyintu heard this, he felt that this person was afraid of death and was quite disdainful. He then said coldly: "As an official, you have the responsibility to defend the land. Now that the enemy troops are approaching, how can you escape far away? Please ask Prince Zheng to make a decision. Send a messenger to travel day and night, which is faster."

Li Qifeng was not annoyed, and smiled and said, "The commander-in-chief has misunderstood. I am the governor of Huguang, not the chief official or garrison commander of Jingzhou. It is reasonable for me to go to De'an Prefecture. Whether it is to evaluate officials or supervise civil affairs, there is nothing wrong with it."

Bai Yintu was choked. He really didn't know the specific duties of these civil servants. Seeing that Li Qifeng's words were very convincing, Bai Yintu didn't want to pay attention to him and immediately said, "In that case, then you can leave." After that, he waved his hand, signaling Li Qifeng to get out as soon as possible.

But Li Qifeng shamelessly asked Baiyintu for twenty horses, but Baiyintu turned a deaf ear to him and directly ordered Goshaha to drive Li Qifeng out of the camp.

Li Qifeng was secretly resentful, so he flicked his sleeves and walked away with his hands behind his back.

After leaving Baiyintu's camp, Li Qifeng still felt sorry for Zheng Siwei who was guarding Jingzhou City alone, so he sent someone back to Jingzhou City to tell Zheng Siwei that he would ask Prince Zheng to transfer him out of Jingzhou, and asked him to stay calm and guard the city well.

He then wrote another letter himself and sent someone to rush to Xiaochang to present the letter to Prince Zheng. The letter naturally requested that Zheng Siwei's troops be transferred out of Jingzhou to preserve the military strength.

After doing all this, Li Qifeng looked back in the direction of Jingzhou and murmured, "General Zheng, I have done my best. As the saying goes, life and death are determined by fate. It all depends on your own luck."

Then Li Qifeng turned around and said to the servant, "Let's go."

………………

Jingzhou City.

At this time, the city of Jingzhou was already in a state of panic. The slightest disturbance would provoke a reaction from the defenders on the city walls. Zheng Siwei was in a state of panic because scouts from the Loyalty Camp had already appeared at the foot of Jingzhou City.

Until Li Qifeng's servant came over in a hurry and whispered to Zheng Siwei: "General, this is a message from my Lord Li. Lord Li asked Prince Zheng to transfer the general out of Jingzhou. Lord Li asked the general to be patient and guard the city well."

Zheng Siwei asked in disbelief, "No more?"

"Yes, general, he's gone." After the servant said this, seeing that Zheng Siwei did not respond, he saluted respectfully and turned to leave. He did not stop for a moment, and immediately left the dangerous place of Jingzhou and chased in the direction of Li Qifeng.

Zheng Siwei had a bad feeling in his heart. The situation this time was very different from the last time he defended Jingzhou City. At that time, the Qing Dynasty was like the rising sun in the east, but now it was setting in the west.