Now that he has a bit of capital, he could think about making money through legitimate means; constantly resorting to "house searches" wasn't a sustainable way to do things.
Small-scale mischief was fine, but if things truly escalated and the imperial court found out, he would be in a lot of trouble.
Zhu Ci was contemplating what to do when he suddenly saw Xi Zhenliu running towards him from a distance, dragging a mule.
He watched the kid racing forward while struggling against the mule and couldn't help but press his forehead.
“Young Master.. Young Master.. something terrible has happened.”
Zhu Ci looked at him and asked, "What big trouble?"
The Capital.. the Capital has been occupied by the Qing Army!
"What?" Zhu Ci stood up immediately, his expression one of utter shock.
This shouldn't be!
He stared fixedly at Xi Zhenliu for a long moment before asking, "Who gave you this information?"
Xi Zhenliu swallowed hard and said, "It was Master Huang. Master Huang just visited.."
Zhu Ci immediately flipped himself onto the mule and said, "Let's go, let's head back first."
Zhu Ci finally understood why Xi Zhenliu had grabbed the mule and rushed over; it was all prepared for him.
Fortunately, the mule was quite obedient in Zhu Ci's hands; although its speed wasn't particularly fast, it made it back smoothly without throwing a tantrum halfway through.
And throughout this journey, Zhu Ci had been reviewing the plot.
Roughly speaking, it is already March, according to his memory, the Zuo Liangyu in the book should soon be using the pretext of saving the Crown Prince to purge the Emperor's inner circle.
Of course, this Crown Prince refers to Zhu Ci, the so-called "clearing the Emperor's side" was nothing more than an excuse. The fundamental reason was that Ruan Dacheng had withheld supplies needed by Zuo Liangyu's army; furthermore, anyone with even a basic understanding of military affairs could see that the Qing Army would eventually make a southward advance, so Zuo Liangyu was actually fleeing from the Qing Army.
So after he started the uprising, he did not go directly to Nanjing, but instead headed east along the river toward Jiangxi.
The Qing Army should have attacked around April; why is it so early?
And shouldn't they have gone to Yangzhou first? Why did they go to Nanjing? Could it be that his letter had an effect? Has Alna already become capable of influencing Dodo's decisions within the Qing Army? How long has it even been?
Questions popped up one after another in Zhu Ci's mind, leaving him feeling that the whole situation was utterly inconceivable.
After returning all the way to the ancestral home, he did not engage in much small talk with Huang Chunyao, but simply asked, "Where did Mr. Huang get this news?"
Huang Chunyao's face was so grim it could have dripped water. "I have a contemporary who served as an official in the Capital; his family members risked everything to flee and seek refuge with me."
Zhu Ci immediately asked again, "Do you know who is leading the troops? How is the Capital now? Were there any omens before this?"
Huang Chunyao shook his head. "They don't know much, only that the Tartars launched a surprise attack. However, the Capital should have received news long ago; when the Tartars entered the city, they encountered almost no resistance."
Met no resistance?
Zhu Ci gritted his teeth and said, "The foolish ruler has fled?"
Huang Chunyao was startled. "Young Master, watch your words."
Zhu Ci gave a cold laugh, leaned back in his chair, asked directly, "Where did the foolish ruler flee to? And what about the Crown Prince? What are the movements of the Qing Army?"
Huang Chunyao sighed and said, "For the time being, it is unknown. The Tartars do not seem to have occupied Nanjing; instead, they burned, killed, looted before withdrawing."
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Author's Note: Zhu Ci: Where is the medicine? Where is my medicine? My blood pressure is about to explode! *Cat clutching its chest and falling over spinning. jpg*
Next update tomorrow morning at six o'clock~
Chapter 57
“Young Master, young friend?” Huang Chunyao was startled by his expression, unable to help but wonder if he had more relatives in Nanjing.
He leaned forward slightly, looking at Zhu Ci with great concern.
Zhu Ci took a deep breath and cupped his hands toward Huang Chunyao, saying, "Thank you, Master Huang, for bringing this news. I am heading to the county seat. Will you return home first, or will you accompany me?"
To the county seat? To see Magistrate Zhang?
Huang Chunyao thought for a moment and said, "I shall go with the Young Master."
The Magistrate might know some information, but Huang Chunyao and the Magistrate simply did not see eye to eye.
Zhu Ci looked at the mule and the donkey in his backyard and felt a momentary pang of regret. Had he known, he would have bought a horse instead; these two things were useless when there was a real emergency.
Fortunately, the attendants brought by Huang Chunyao arrived on horseback. Zhu Ci turned to Huang Chunyao and said, "The situation is urgent. I will ride to the county seat first. Mr. Huang, please take your time; there is no need to rush."
Unexpectedly, Huang Chunyao also flipped over and mounted his horse, saying, "I will go together with the Young Master."
Anyway, the bandits in the surrounding area had all been mostly wiped out by this Young Master, so even if the two of them set out without anyone else, they had nothing to fear.
If it weren't so, he wouldn't have come to find Zhu Ci immediately after receiving the news.
This young master possesses a relatively strong armed force. At this time, the imperial court likely lacks the strength to oppose the Qing Army, when the time comes, he may only be able to rely on himself for self-preservation.
Zhu Ci didn't bother to speculate as to why Huang Chunyao had come to find him first; he only wanted to know more information.
He wanted to know even more about what Zhu Ci was actually doing and what the Donglin Party was up to. Several months had passed, yet the throne had not been secured, nor had supreme power in the imperial court, they had just allowed the Qing Army to launch such a sudden raid on Nanjing?
After he arrived at the county magistrate's office at lightning speed, he felt something was wrong the moment he entered. Why did it feel like there were so few people in the magistrate's office?
Not only were there few people, but there were also far fewer supplies.
At that moment, a runner happened to be sneaking out, but Zhu Ci grabbed him and asked, "Where is the Magistrate?"
The bailiff was startled and said tremblingly, "My Lord.. My Lord is not in.."
Zhu Ci asked, "Where did he go?"
The runner shook his head and said, "This lowly one.. this lowly one doesn't know either."
Huang Chunyao looked around and suddenly asked, "Has he escaped?"
After seeing the constable's lips tremble, Zhu Ci was certain that Huang Chunyao had guessed correctly.
In an instant, he felt that his own way of thinking could hardly keep up with these people.
They're abandoning the city before anything has even happened?
Even if the Qing Army had arrived at the city gates, he wouldn't have thought anything of it, but now..
Zhu Ci pushed the runners aside and said to the hurriedly arriving Fu Chunsheng and Xia Lei, "Xia Lei, go to the camp and have Li Cheng come here to secure this place. Chunsheng, take the boys and follow me!"
After Zhu Ci finished speaking, he turned and walked out. Huang Chunyao hurriedly followed him and asked, "Young Master Xi, Young Friend Xi, what are you going to do?"
“Chasing the Magistrate!”
This.. who knows where he went?
Zhu Ci did not answer. What was there to analyze?
There are the Qing Army to the north, more Qing Army to the northwest, the sea to the east. Where else could the Magistrate run?
He also brought a large amount of gold and silver valuables, nearly emptying the county magistrate's office.
He would inevitably have to travel by carriage; besides the official roads, there were no other roads he could take.
Zhu Ci rode his horse at lightning speed in pursuit, while Huang Chunyao, following behind, felt as if his old bones were about to fall apart.
He found it a bit strange; did this Young Master have some kind of grudge against the Magistrate?
They had secretly left the city before dawn, now there was no telling how far they had gone. What was the use of chasing them like this?
Zhu Ci said nothing, merely gritting his teeth and pressing onward.
He was finally intercepted before the Magistrate's group could enter the borders of Kunshan.
The number of people the Magistrate took away was not small, there were many retainers as well, but unfortunately, they ran into Zhu Ci.
Although Zhu Ci did not bring his retainers with him, when he left, all the young men and women from his household followed him in full force.
These girls and boys had been practicing martial arts under Xia Lei's tutelage; if one were to speak of individual combat effectiveness, those big men in the military camps might not even be as formidable as them.
Zhu Ci waited for them to surround the Magistrate's family and, while they were at it, beat all the resisting retainers until they were lying on the ground wailing, before he finally rode over slowly, staring at the Magistrate and saying softly, "It has been a long time, Magistrate."
Upon seeing it was him, Magistrate Zhang actually asked, "What is the meaning of this, Young Master?"
I must ask, why is the Magistrate fleeing in such a panic?
Magistrate Zhang looked at Zhu Ci, his previous humility now gone, said with a hint of impatience, "If the Young Master has chased me all this way, he must already know what has happened. I fear your manor is now.. Young Master, do not linger here; you should hurry and save your own life."
Oh, so he thinks that because Nanjing has fallen and the Earl's Mansion might be in peril, he no longer has any reason to fear him?
Zhu Ci gripped the hilt of the saber at his waist and walked over slowly, saying, "The Qing Army hasn't arrived yet, yet the Magistrate is already abandoning the city and fleeing. Have you considered what will happen to the common people?"
Magistrate Zhang was somewhat impatient: "In these turbulent times, it is hard enough just to keep oneself safe, who would bother with.. ugh.."
Before he could finish, Zhu Ci decisively drew his saber and thrust it, piercing his heart.
“Young Master.. this.. this..” Huang Chunyao, standing behind him, was practically scared to death.
This man before you is, after all, an official of the imperial court; you just kill him like that?
No one expected him to be so decisive. It wasn't until Zhu Ci drew his blade and the Magistrate collapsed to the ground clutching his chest that his sons finally realized what had happened.
Zhu Ci took a glance and turned his head, saying, "Jiang Xueyan, you and your companions wait here for Jiang Quan and the others."
Jiang Xueyan held a dagger in her hand, her face stained with a few traces of blood as she asked sharply, "Young Master, why wait for them?"
Zhu Ci didn't even look at the struggling Magistrate's family as he said, "When he arrives, have him bring everyone to the county yamen, then carefully inventory these assets."
Jiang Xueyan immediately said, "There's no need to wait for Brother Jiang, we can do it ourselves!"
Zhu Ci paused for a moment, turned his head to glance at the girl, nodded, saying, "Fine, remember to bring the Magistrate's corpse back and hang it at the entrance of the magistrate's office."
He mounted his horse and left the place immediately.
After returning to the county magistrate's office, Huang Chunyao let out a long breath and said, "Sigh, young friend.. you.. how could you.."
Although Huang Chunyao had already witnessed how Zhu Ci suppressed bandits, he was still startled by his ruthlessness and decisiveness.
Although he also held the Magistrate in low regard, how could he.. just decide to kill him like that?
Zhu Ci glanced at him and said, "Did Master Huang not see those carts of wealth? How much annual salary could a magistrate like him have? All this wealth was extorted from the people's hard-earned money. He took the riches, yet when real trouble arises, he abandons the people of this place and flees. What kind of parental official is he? If this matter were not so urgent, I would personally see him executed by death by a thousand cuts!"
The most important thing is that the Qing Army hasn't even attacked yet, you actually ran away like this? Does this mean all the officials of the Great Ming are like this now?
Huang Chunyao fell silent for a moment, then sighed and said, "The main reason I refused to become an official back then was because the officialdom is so corrupt. Sigh.. But by killing the Magistrate like this, young friend, I fear there will be endless consequences."