Shi Kefa led Hu Dawei, Liu Zhaoji, and Wang Tingchen to Anqing in a hurry, accompanied by 10,000 soldiers and horses from the Beijing battalion. Nanjing Jingying was formed after the Yixing Change, and it was a new army built by following Fang Yuegong's construction and imitating the model of the Shandong Army, but it has to be said that the starting point of Emperor Zhu Yujian and Fang Yuegong of Longwu was good, but they ignored one of the most important factors, which was money.

The reason why the Shandong army is elite is that in addition to Zhu Ping'an's training and advanced military concepts, the most important thing is that it has the continuous support of Denglai Haimao and the Shandong merchant class, but Nanjing Jingying obviously does not have such superior conditions. After Lu Jiude handed over the military power of the Beijing camp, Zou Jing took over, but Zhu Yujian also knew that his henchman eunuch was not the material for leading the troops, so he entrusted the Beijing camp to Shi Kefa.

Now speaking, Shi Kefa, Hu Dawei, Wang Tingchen and other generals only know a little about the training and equipment of the Shandong army. Therefore, the current Beijing camp can only be said to be one of the few elites in the Southern Ming Army, but it can definitely not be regarded as the elite soldiers among the major forces in the entire world.

After arriving in Anqing, Shi Kefa asked to see him several times, but he never saw Zheng Zhilong and his person. In private, Shi Kefa also frequently asked Zheng Hongkui to introduce him on his behalf, but Zheng Hongkui was also powerless. Zheng Zhilong claimed to be recuperating behind closed doors, no matter how anxious and defeated the war outside was, he never showed up.

Shi Kefa was anxious for this, the war was corrupted to such an extent, but Zheng Zhilong, who controlled all the elites of Daming, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong, did nothing or did anything. Shi Kefa instinctively sensed that there must be some conspiracy hidden in this, but he really didn't want to think about the least likely aspect.

On the thirteenth day of the first month, Huang Gongfu, who was originally prepared by Huguang and was now a training envoy of the Huguang regiment and a squire of the military department, retreated to Anqing. After the fall of Baoqing Mansion, Huang Gongfu fought and retreated, and finally withdrew into Nanzhili, and there were only more than 3,000 remnants left under his command. Originally, he planned to go to Huangzhou to meet He Tengjiao. But halfway through, he got the news that He Tengjiao's soldiers were defeated and died, so he had no choice but to turn to Anqing.

Shi Kefa and Huang Gongfu met, but they were relatively silent, and the combined strength of the two was less than 20,000 people, but it had no effect on the war in front of them. Zheng Zhilong, who was always in charge of the army, hid and did not meet, so he could only let the two of them cry out in vain.

On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. Zheng Jun finally made a move, but it surprised Shi Kefa, Huang Gongfu and others.

In the middle of the night, Shi Kefa was awakened by Hu Dawei, Huang Gongfu and others who suddenly came to the door. "Cabinet Department, something is wrong! The soldiers and horses of the Zheng family began to go out of the city as a team, but they were pulling eastward one after another. ”

Shi Kefa was frightened, and he didn't care about freshening up, so he changed into his official uniform and rode towards the east gate of Anqing City with the generals.

Along the way, you can see the Zheng family soldiers who are hurriedly assembling and mobilizing, as well as carts full of baggage weapons. Depending on the situation, where is going to the front line to fight, it is clearly the posture of withdrawing troops.

Shi Kefa and the others looked at each other, what is Zheng Zhilong going to do? At present, it is the moment when the Qing army is pressing, and Anqing is at the throat of the traffic of Nanzhili, and it is an important town for the soldiers.

Shi Kefa eagerly searched for Zheng Zhilong's location. But when they arrived at the place where they lived, the building was empty, and they hurried to the east gate. Along the way, I didn't see a single general of the Zheng army at all.

Finally saw a familiar figure in the crowd at the east gate, Shi Kefa hurriedly dismounted, but was tripped by the stirrup, almost fell off the horse, dismounted with the support of his own soldiers, and staggered all the way to the front of the man.

"Dingjuhou!" Shi Kefa's voice was already a little choked. "Soldier Overwhelm, what are you going to do!"

Zheng Hongkui bowed to Shi Kefa with a flushed face, "Where the military order is, I can't help myself, thinking that the cabinet will definitely know about it." He has been waiting at this east gate, just to give an explanation to the cabinet! ”

Shi Kefa waved his hand again and again, "This official doesn't want the Hou Ye to explain anything, the character of the official knows very well, and the official just wants to ask the Hou to take me to see the Marquis of Ping immediately!" ”

Zheng Hongkui shook his head with shame, "The eldest brother has already left Anqing two hours ago, and he should have boarded the ship at this time!" ”

"What!" Shi Kefa almost fainted, "Wu Sangui's hundreds of thousands of troops are approaching step by step, the Zheng family's soldiers and horses are retreating, Nanzhili is suddenly empty, and the Beijing division is also in danger. ”

Zheng Hongkui shook his head again and again, wanting to defend Zheng Zhilong, but he couldn't think of any words, so he had to squeeze out a smile, "Cabinet Department, please relax, the eldest brother will personally go to Nanjing to explain this matter to His Majesty, and the eldest brother also plans to ask His Majesty to tour Fujian to the south and temporarily avoid the edge of the Qing army, in order to plan for the future!" ”

Zheng Hongkui's words made Shi Kefa like a lightning strike. He looked at Zheng Hongkui in a daze, and suddenly shouted loudly, "Zheng Hongkui! What the hell are you brothers going to do! Now that the war is still taking a turn for the better, but you are bent on withdrawing your troops, so even if you want to force Your Majesty to withdraw from Beijing and go to Fujian, is he Zheng Zhilong going to Wei Wu? ”

Zheng Hongkui kept waving his hand, but he couldn't explain it at all.

Shi Kefa laughed miserably, turned to leave, and shouted as he walked, "Oh my God! How unfair you are to my Ming Dynasty, I finally recovered a little vitality, but now it is the ministers who are in charge, and you have cut off the lifeblood of the Ming Dynasty! ”

Zheng Hongkui looked at the back of Shi Kefa and the others blankly, but he couldn't support it anymore, he fell to the ground suddenly, cried loudly, and kowtowed to the back of Shi Kefa and the others.

"Cabinet Department!" Hu Dawei suddenly roared, "At the moment, you have to come up with an idea, Anqing is an important place for soldiers, once it falls into the hands of the Qing army, Nanzhili will not be able to escape the doom!" ”

Shi Kefa brushed away the tears oozing from the corners of his eyes, and suddenly laughed, "What are you afraid of, and we are here, we can't let the Qing army take Anqing without spending a single soldier!" ”

Huang Gongfu, Hu Dawei and others were shocked, "The cabinet can't, you are an important minister of the country, how can you be in danger!" ”

Huang Gongfu clenched his fists, "If the cabinet department does not give up, Huang will guard this Anqing City, and there will be Huguang's defeated soldiers gathered in Anqing in the next few days, and there are thousands of soldiers under the command of the lower officials, and it should not be a problem to hold on for half a month!" Just now, Zheng Yue has made it clear that Zheng Zhilong is still going to Nanjing to hijack His Majesty into Fujian, and at this time, Nanjing needs the cabinet to go back to preside over the overall situation! ”

Hu Dawei, Liu Zhaoji, and Wang Tingchen nodded yes one after another, Shi Kefa calmed down and thought about it carefully, it is indeed the truth, but now that the Zheng army is retreating, Anqing will become a lonely city in the blink of an eye, guarding here, wouldn't it be to face the main force of the Qing army alone, where is there still a chance to survive!

How could Shi Kefa bear to let Huang Gongfu come to defend this lonely city.

But Huang Gongfu was determined, and smiled at Shi Kefa, "The cabinet doesn't have to be rigid, the lower officials are ordered by the emperor to guard Huguang, and now Huguang has been lost, and the responsibility of defending the land has been born, Anqing is the gateway to Nanjing, and the lower officials are stationed here, and they also have an explanation for His Majesty." Please also ask the cabinet to be completed! ”

Seeing Huang Gongfu solemnly bowing to himself, Shi Kefa's eyes were moist unconsciously, "Brother Zhenxi......!" ”

Hu Dawei laughed, "Zhuang, Huang Bingbei has such determination, how can he be without me Hu Dawei, the last general Yuan led the Beijing camp to hold Anqing, please allow the two adults!" ”

Liu Zhaoji and Wang Tingchen on the side also said in a deep voice: "The last general is also willing to stay and stick together!" ”

Huang Gongfu smiled and said to Wang Tingchen: "Brother Fengsheng is not necessary, the cabinet department will return to Nanjing, and there will be chaos along the road, and the Zheng family will be at both ends, and I don't know what ideas will be made, there must be someone to escort the cabinet to return to Nanjing safely." In addition to you, Brother Fengsheng, who else should this important task belong! ”

Wang Tingchen was stunned.

Huang Gongfu waved his big hand, "It's so decided, you and I are both for the country and the people, so why bother to distinguish each other!" ”

Wang Tingchen had no choice but to agree.

Without further ado, Zheng Zhilong was already on his way to Nanjing, and Shi Kefa had to rush back immediately, so he had to go on the road immediately.

At the time of parting, Huang Gongfu invited Shi Kefa to the side, "Cabinet, this farewell, when it is indefinite, there will be no time for the next official, and the lower officials still have some words in their hearts that are not happy!" ”

Shi Kefa said solemnly: "Brother Zhenxi, please speak, foolish brother listen!" ”

"Stick to Anqing, there is no luck, Huang knows this. But there are some things I have to explain to the Cabinet. On that day, it was still when His Royal Highness King Rui was sitting in Fengyang, Huang, the former Yixing Dynasty Celebrant Bingbi Wang Pin Wang Gonggong, Chen Jisheng's virtuous brother and now the Governor of Jianghuai, the five of us once swore to the sky that we would turn the tide and help the Ming Dynasty fall. Along the way, Rui Wang and us finally did something. When the crown prince was proposed, Huang was very grateful to the cabinet for being able to speak up, in fact, what Huang wanted to say was that in this world, there is still the Ming Dynasty, except for King Rui, who else can take care of the trust now? ”

"The cabinet didn't know that King Rui had won a complete victory outside the pass, and the Qing Dynasty Prince Zheng Ji'er Harang and others were all beheaded, and the thief's nest Shengjing was also conquered, and the land outside the gate had already belonged to the Ming Dynasty. It won't be long before King Rui will be able to launch a general attack on the Qing with the armies of Shandong, Liaodong, and Henan, and I want to say that the cabinet must now make a choice. Da Ming can't go on like this anymore, Da Ming needs a wise and resolute king! ”

"Zheng Zhilong and his party are in turmoil with the government, the Northern Expedition returned in vain, the advantages that the Ming Dynasty has accumulated with great difficulty have all been lost, and now the south of the Yangtze River is in danger, the two Guangxi are in danger, and Yunnan and Guizhou are in danger, and the cabinet is stationed in Nanjing, you can ask for help from Jianghuai and Henan, Yang Boxiang and the governor of Lu will definitely send reinforcements, as long as you hold Nanjing, the army of King Rui will be just around the corner!"

"And I, Huang Gongfu, will fight in Anqing until one soldier at a time, to maximize the time for the cabinet, and please live up to our trust!" (To be continued......)