Fu stamped the imperial decree while feeling somewhat helpless; with an imperial decree like this, even if he brought both Liu Liangzuo and Hu Maozhen to Huaian to be executed, there would be no criticism.
Forget it, no one is born knowing these things, not to mention he isn't from around here to begin with.
Judging by his words and actions, he seemed quite decisive and quick to settle scores; I'll have to teach him slowly once he returns.
After Zhu Ci sent out the imperial edicts, news regarding Zhu Yihai and Zhu Yujian also arrived.
Jiang Xueyan, upon finding out, said indignantly, "These despicable villains! If they truly have the ability, they should go and insult the Tartars. What kind of heroes are they, only knowing how to shoot arrows at His Majesty from behind?"
Zhu Ci did not care, only saying, "If they were truly heroes, they wouldn't be attacking one another."
Anyone with a functioning brain could analyze why the Great Ming declined, why, after its decline, half of its territory was occupied by the Manchus, whose total population was so much smaller.
Under these circumstances, they still choose to engage in internal strife; one can only say that these people are beyond saving.
Whether it was Zhu Yujian or Zhu Yihai, the so-called talents they valued were, in fact, not what Zhu Ci wanted.
Jiang Xueyan asked cautiously, "Your Majesty, what shall we do now? You cannot allow them to slander you; they.. they are all spreading rumors."
Zhu Ci stood up and said, "Never mind them."
Jiang Xueyan followed him out, her expression looking somewhat anxious, yet she knew that her Emperor truly did not care.
After Zhu Ci took over Fengyang, he worked on sorting out the situation there while simultaneously sending people to repair the Imperial Tombs.
Ever since Fengyang and Sizhou were occupied, both the Ancestral Tombs and the Imperial Tombs have been left in a complete state of ruin.
I don't know if those Manchu Tartars have also started believing in Feng Shui, but in any case, they've caused so much destruction that it won't be easy to repair in a short amount of time.
When Zhu Ci heard the report from below, he could only order that the outer perimeter be repaired first, ensuring that no major issues were visible on the surface.
During the ancestral worship, Zhu Ci offered incense while murmuring in his heart: "Renzu, I know I've wronged you, but it looks like our Great Ming territory is about to be lost. Let's just make do for now; we truly have no money left for repairs. We'll deal with it once we have money again."
After finishing his silent prayer, Zhu Ci placed the incense into the temporary incense burner, the smoke drifted upward in ethereal wisps.
Hmm, it seems they have agreed.
Buried here are the parents and siblings of Zhu Yuanzhang; they were all his direct relatives and likely would not wish to see the Great Ming lands fall into such a state.
Most importantly, the Great Ming empire is lost; even in death, they will find no peace, their ancestral rites will cease.
After Zhu Ci finished paying respects to his ancestors, he turned around and said, "Let's go, to Guzhen!"
Although he had previously split into three routes with Liu Zhaoji and He Gang, it was to ensure he had no lingering worries, allowing him to focus on attacking Xuzhou with peace of mind.
If everything goes smoothly, he will regroup at Guzhen and continue his advance.
If things also go smoothly on Shi Kefa's side, then he will also advance toward Xuzhou from Pizhou.
With two large armies advancing toward Xuzhou simultaneously, the Qing Army will certainly heighten its vigilance; it can be imagined that this will be a very difficult battle.
As for the fact that while he was marching ahead, the Censorate's memorial requesting his return to the capital was chasing after him.. he simply chose to pretend he didn't know.
Returning was out of the question; with Xuzhou right ahead, he was simply unwilling to turn back now.
“Your Majesty, let us return to Nanjing. The weather is getting hotter and hotter, marching is becoming far too exhausting.”
Jiang Quan said with great concern while helping Zhu Ci pat the powder onto his body.
Zhu Ci frowned. This powder had a strong scent of traditional Chinese medicine, but there was no helping it. As time entered June, the weather, which had not been particularly hot, suddenly turned sweltering, feeling as though the temperature had spiked sharply.
In this era, one shouldn't even dream of greenery. As the population increases, many trees have been felled, making it difficult to even find a bit of shade.
Zhu Ci had already developed heat rash from the journey, but he could not dress too lightly.
After all, with his status, he had to maintain the dignity befitting an emperor even while on the march.
Having no other choice, Zhu Ci had the accompanying physician prepare some medicinal powders.
Oh, this physician is Physician Yan; he had originally been by Fu's side constantly to help him recuperate.
However, as Fu's health improved, coupled with his worry over Zhu Ci being away on a military campaign, Fu sent Physician Yan directly to him.
Physician Yan also found it strange; he hadn't changed the prescription, yet the Marquis's health was actually getting better and better.
After Zhu Ci found out, he could only say that, aside from a portion of Fu's ailments being the fragility brought by being an albino, the rest were likely caused by psychological issues.
Even at this time, there were still very few records regarding people with albinism, in folk society, both discrimination and morbid curiosity existed simultaneously.
Under these circumstances, life for those with albinism was likely very difficult.
From the brief words of Physician Yan, Zhu Ci also heard that Fu Yi had a very difficult life, that his mother had died of melancholy after giving birth to such an anomaly as him.
Since he was a child, he had only one old servant to look after him, his maternal relatives did not want to acknowledge him as one of their own.
It would be strange if someone raised in such an environment didn't have psychological scars.
As for how he later inherited the Fu Family's legacy and further expanded the business in his hands, that is, of course, another story entirely.
According to Zhu Ci's speculation, it seems that all the direct and collateral blood relatives of the Fu Family were exiled by him.
Of course, this exile was different from an official exile; in any case, Fu had essentially packed them up and sent them to impoverished lands overseas, leaving them to fend for themselves.
Even so, Fu still couldn't get past that hurdle in his heart; perhaps many times he hated the heavens, hated everything around him, even hated himself.
It cannot be said that Fu's mental block has been resolved, but he should be at least somewhat more relaxed; after all, someone had come from four hundred years in the future to tell him that this was merely a disease, one for which there was no cure, but also one that had nothing to do with calamities or anything of the sort.
It was uncertain whether it was because the Emperor's attitude was so obvious, or because this imperial court was such a makeshift operation, or perhaps because Fu was someone with wealth and grain that no one dared to offend; regardless, everyone's attitude toward him was no different from that of an ordinary person.
At most, they would just steal a few extra glances at him from time to time, the reason for that.. was likely mostly because he was too handsome.
However, no matter how good-looking he was, he turned a blind eye to the memorial from Fu requesting his return to the capital.
Upon arriving at Guzhen, Liu Zhaoji and He Gang had already been waiting for him there.
Zhu Ci entered the County Town magistrate's office, took a sip of water, asked in his first sentence, "What is the situation over in Xuzhou?"
The Tartars have already stationed heavy troops in Xiaoxian, they have been fighting our army at Suihe recently.
Zhu Ci did not encounter any Qing Army along the way, mainly because Liu Zhaoji and He Gang had cleared almost everything ahead, but the Qing Army would clearly not just sit there and wait for death; they kept trying to advance forward.
The reason they haven't crossed the Suihe River yet is mainly because Liu Zhaoji blocked them all.
Wars of all sizes have been constantly occurring, it is impossible for the Qing Army to sit idly by while they advance all the way to Xuzhou.
Zhu Ci glanced at the map, remained silent for a long while, then looked at Liu Zhaoji and He Gang, sighing as he said, "You two are truly fine generals."
Regarding the Emperor's sudden outburst of emotion, the two men were clearly bewildered, but they still cupped their hands and said, "Your servants are trembling with awe."
Zhu Ci did not praise them without reason; it was primarily because the tattered map in their hands looked like a complete mess. If they could fight a war using such a map, what else could they be if not capable generals?
Setting aside everything else, when it came to judging terrain, these two were definitely extremely talented.
Zhu Ci set the map aside, had someone bring another sheet of paper, grabbed a piece of charcoal in the process.
Liu Zhaoji and He Gang watched the Emperor's dizzying series of actions with confusion, immediately after, they saw His Majesty begin to draw a map on the paper.
At first, they couldn't understand what was happening, but as he continued drawing, their eyes widened in surprise: the young Emperor was actually drawing a map with his bare hands!
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Author's Note: Zhu Ci: Ahem, just basic stuff, don't overreact. The kitty is proud, holding its head high and tail up. jpg
Next update at 6:00 PM~
Chapter 116
Drawing a map by hand was one thing, but it was done without any reference, this map before them was clearly better than the one they had used just now.
Zhu Ci didn't draw it with extreme care, so it couldn't be compared to the maps of later generations, but as long as it was better than the previous ones, it would suffice.
After he finished drawing, he wiped his hands and said casually, "This is something I drew by combining the *Imperial Ming Defense Map* with what I have seen on my journey. It might not be very detailed, but it should be sufficient."
Liu Zhaoji looked at it with great envy and hurriedly said, "Your Majesty is a master of painting; this map is already excellent."
Although He Gang was also envious of this map, he still noticed the main point and asked cautiously, "Your Majesty, I wonder how the 'Imperial Ming Strategic Map' is doing now.."
Zhu Ci sighed and said, "It has already been lost."
As he spoke, he felt the urge to scold Zhu Yousong again—what a useless fellow, incapable of accomplishing anything and only good for causing trouble, unable to even guard the most important things!
He also felt some regret; back then, when he was memorizing the maps, he had only looked at a small portion. Even regarding Fengyang, if he hadn't personally come here to awaken some of his memories, he wouldn't have been able to draw it even if he tried.
But who could have known that the world would change so rapidly?
Back then, all he thought about was how to escape, but in the blink of an eye, only six months had passed and he had already become the Emperor; there was simply no reasoning with such things.
Zhu Ci could not curse his father in front of his subjects—oh, or rather, in front of all subjects except Fu.
Among all the civil and military officials in the court, the only one he could speak to without any concealment was Fu.
Liu Zhaoji felt deeply regretful after hearing this: "How did it get lost? Doesn't Grand Secretary Fu have it either?"
He had just finished speaking when He Gang poked him in the back.
Liu Zhaoji immediately realized he had said the wrong thing.
Zhu Ci, however, looked indifferent. "The imperial palace was on fire at the time; there was no time to save them."
Fu took the risk of dragging him out directly for the sake of that昏君's head.
Of course, Zhu Yousong was also running out at the time; after all, the fire started because Fu had set it, not because he had set it himself.
He couldn't bear to die.
“Let's set that aside for now." Zhu Ci pointed at the map and asked, "First, let's see how we fight next."
Although the two sides had been clashing previously, it had all been minor skirmishes and still belonged to the probing stage; now that Zhu Ci had arrived at Guzhen, the bugles for a full-scale charge could finally be sounded.
Speaking of this, Liu Zhaoji gained confidence.
He pointed at the map and said, "The other day, I contacted the General of the Northern Expedition, the General of the Northern Expedition plans to advance northwest through Xin'an, Shuanggou, Fangcunjie toward Chacheng. If successful, he will then move on to Fengxian and Dangshan."
As Liu Zhaoji spoke, he watched Zhu Ci's expression, fearing that His Majesty might find it inappropriate.
Zhu Ci asked thoughtfully, "Does General Shi mean to cut off the Tartars' supply lines?"
Liu Zhaoji replied, "Exactly."
Zhu Ci nodded. "Issue the order: let the General of the Northern Expedition judge for himself. If he encounters urgent military matters, he need not report them."
In this era, messages are transmitted so slowly that opportunities are fleeting; by the time the news reaches him, it will be too late even if he agrees.
As the saying goes, a general in the field may not always obey the Emperor's orders.