The 32nd Group of British Volunteers (2)

  "Yes!"

  The reaction of the other party is also within expectation, Feng Kechang's father is the current Tianjin governor, Tianjin is an important sea port, in the Yuan Dynasty, maritime transport was developed, and Tianjin was already a crucial place. In the early years of this dynasty, maritime transport was still developed, and Tianjin was even more an extremely important strategic location.

  However, after the opening of the Grand Canal, the transportation between the capital and the south was changed from sea to land, and over time, the sea route was abandoned. Many people in the north no longer knew that there was a sea route from Tianjin to the south.

  But after all, Wang Jia Yan was the Minister of War, and he had always been concerned about these roads and transportation. He was also very familiar with Feng Yuan Fei and his brother, so it's likely that he had heard about it before and guessed it correctly, which wasn't strange at all.

  "Yes!" Feng Kai Zhang, in front of his elders, had a well-trained air of a young master from a noble family. He stood below the two old men and replied with a proper demeanor: "Father and Uncle, it's exactly as you said. Since the tenth month of Chongzhen 16, Father has already been working on this matter."

  "Oh?" Wang Jiayan asked with concern: "What's going on now?"

  "My father has prepared about 2,000 guards and horses, as well as 400 tons of large ships with two masts, totaling 200 vessels. The imperial carriage will depart from the capital and arrive in Tianjin within five or six days. From Tianjin, it will head south to Jiangnan, a sea journey of 2,440 li, which is expected to take no more than 20 days... Everything has been prepared, including the temporary palace in Tianjin, guards and defense troops, imperial bodyguards, ships and sailors, food supplies, medical personnel... All these have been fully prepared, and as soon as the court makes a decision, the imperial carriage can depart at any time. Within several dozen days, the capital of the Great Ming will be Nanjing."

  "Wow, wow, great, too good!"

  At the beginning, Wang Jiafan was not optimistic about Feng's uncle and nephew, as well as Li Banghua and Li Mingrui... The bandits were still far away in Shaanxi, although it is said that Shanxi was empty and the bandits could easily reach the capital, this is a fact known to all, but this process may take half a year or even a year. In such a long time, whether the court can think of a solution, fill up the border towns of Ju Yongguan, Zi Jingguan, etc., block the bandit's military edge, or deploy troops from Guanning to come and drive away the bandits... All this is still uncertain, now talking about moving south is a bit too early?

  But later on, Wang Jiayan also admired the uncle and nephew of the Feng family extremely.

  Unbeknownst to them, they had already done so many things in secret. He was also a seasoned old official, half-closing his eyes as he listened to Feng Kai Zhang talk about the preparations in Tianjin. In his heart, he knew that everything was indeed well-prepared, and as long as the Emperor arrived in Tianjin, everything would fall into place naturally, without needing too much effort.

  "Very well, then. Xian Qi is in the capital, has he already become a renowned master and explained things clearly to gain support? As far as I know, the Emperor still wants to move south in his heart, it's just that no minister has proposed it first, and the Emperor doesn't want to take this responsibility."

  "It's true." Feng Yuanbiao said on the side: "The emperor himself feels that he cannot bear the responsibility of abandoning the capital, and his reputation in history books is too bad, so he would rather wait for the ministers to unanimously propose it first before agreeing... Since that's the case, then we'll take the initiative to propose it." He turned to Feng Kechang and asked: "This matter has a great impact, you're just a young man, I'm afraid you can't convince too many people, but there will be someone who expresses approval, right?"

  In the next few days, under the operation of Fengshi brothers and Li Banghua and other old ministers, a series of actions will be unfolded. And getting more people's support is also warming up for the formal launch... Even if you don't support it, not opposing it is okay too.

  Seeing the expectant gaze of his uncle and Wang Jia Yan, Feng Kai Zhang slowly shook his head. Half a moment later, he said: "Replying to Uncle, these past few days I have been visiting various high-ranking officials, but neither Chen Shou Fu nor Wei Ci Fu would see me. They accepted my calling cards, but said that the matter of the southern migration was urgent and they couldn't discuss it privately in their residences, so they refused to meet with me. As for the other officials, they wouldn't even accept my calling cards."

  "Alas." Feng Yuanfeng sighed and shook his head, saying: "Since that's the case, let's just get straight to business... Have you gone to the Ministry of Justice?"

  "He's gone." As soon as he mentioned this, Feng Kai Zhang's handsome face was filled with anger: "My nephew went to the Department of State Affairs and explained that he was an envoy sent by the Tianjin Governor to Beijing to present a memorial, but the Grand Secretary saw the words 'leading a thousand soldiers to Tongzhou to welcome the Emperor' on the memorial and immediately returned it, saying it was absurd and unreasonable, and absolutely could not be presented to the palace. So my nephew's efforts were in vain, and the memorial was never presented."

  "Ridiculous! Ridiculous!"

  Feng Yuan puffed out his chest, glared with wide eyes and started stomping his feet and scolding loudly.

  Everyone present also smiled bitterly, this old man's temper is indeed getting stronger with age. If it weren't for this, he would have stayed in the position of Minister of War and his achievements would have been much better than they are now after his retirement.

  "It doesn't matter," said Wang Jiaxun, this guest, to comfort Feng Yuanfei: "After the new year, bandits will surely arrive in Shanxi, directly attacking Datong and Ju Yong. By then, they will have already gained an upper hand, and it would be a natural thing for us to suggest moving south, so there's no need to rush."

  "Anyway." Feng Yuanbao stroked his beard and sighed, saying: "The national situation is like this, I really don't know what the future will be like."

  "When one monk knocks against one bell."

  Up to now, Wang Jia Yan had only drunk a few mouthfuls of tea and hadn't even eaten dinner. However, they weren't people who liked socializing, so he stood up with a smile and said: "The sky has already darkened, the students need to go patrol the city walls. Now that it's evening on the city wall, there probably aren't even several hundred people, how can this be? What if some lawless scoundrels climb over the wall, wouldn't that be laughable?"

  "Lately, the capital has been quite unstable..." Feng Yuanfeng had also heard some things and thought for a moment before pointing to Feng Kechang and Wei Yue below him, saying: "My nephew has practiced martial arts since childhood, excelling in both riding and archery, and his swordsmanship is passable. That Wei fellow is the commander of the vanguard, who broke out from being surrounded by tens of thousands of people at Songshan; no need to mention his military skills. I think they two should accompany you on your trip, what do you say?"

  Wang Jia Yan was on patrol of the city defenses this time, originally just a Beijing garrison officer wouldn't stir up trouble, only planning to go alone, at most bringing one or two family servants with lanterns. Since Feng Yuan Biao spoke up, he couldn't refuse, and merely smiled: "This subordinate has many places to patrol tonight, don't call out in distress, young master."

  "It doesn't matter!" Feng Kai Zhang smiled slightly and said, "My young nephew can still bear this bit of hardship. Moreover, let's take a look at the city defenses in the capital. If His Majesty sets out to leave the city, I should naturally accompany him as his escort. The more preparations, the better."

  "Very well," Wang Jiayan appreciated this pragmatic attitude, looked out the window and smiled: "The weather is not good, so let's hurry up!"

  ……

  ……

  The weather was indeed very bad. When Zhu Ciyan left the palace, the sky had already darkened, and the cold wind was biting, blowing people's chests to be chilled to the bone.

  The sky has already turned dark, and he had just gone to the Palace of Heavenly Purity, met with Chongzhen and Empress Zhou, and stayed a bit longer before coming out. Tonight, it can be expected that they will stay late into the night, and it will be especially wonderful.

  At this time he had changed into another suit of clothes, and was not far from the East Flower Gate and the Golden Water Bridge, when several sturdy men came up to him, made a bow on the spot, and said: "We have seen our young master."

  "Don't be too polite."

  Zhu Ciwen's expression was stern, and he raised his hand slightly, saying: "Where are Old Duan and the others?"

  "In response to your words, Master," Li Gongquan took full responsibility for this matter and his expression was somewhat uneasy. He stepped forward and replied: "From this afternoon until now, everyone's homes have been visited, but they are not at home. They all left the house separately, and I looked for them in several places they often go to, but there is no sign of them."

  "Did they bring their stuff?"

  Because they often take action, and there are many people in each household, the various tools used for taking action are all hidden in several places within the city. Once someone uses them, it will be immediately known.

  "We brought them." Li Gong's expression became even more uneasy, and he stammered in response: "Seventeen people, we took the whole set of equipment."

  "Damn it!" Zhu Ciwen's face turned iron-green and said, "Why give it to them?"

  "This..."

  Li Gong and others hung their heads in silence, but the fact is that the East Palace had been unstable for a long time. After all, having killed many people, they became bolder, and looting was originally a matter of increasing audacity. Moreover, since many people were injured, those wealthy families were not to be trifled with, and their guards were very skilled. Therefore, the more the inner guards took action, the stronger the violent energy became. And the situation where they acted on their own and refused to obey orders became more and more severe.

  Of course, there is another important reason, that is, because everyone is a hundred officials, Zhu Ciyan is in charge, and everyone listens to the command without any doubt. Or if the prince issues an order, who is in charge, of course, is also no problem. But once there is a lack of instructions, or Zhu Ciyan himself is not present, the problem becomes big.

  "Hmm, I see." Zhu Ciwen naturally understood the reasoning behind this. This was his intention all along. The small group lacked a true core leader, and the only core was him. Because before he truly took control, he couldn't have a subordinate who could replace him in overseeing everything, otherwise, there would be the danger of being overthrown.

  Now, apart from these few out-of-control ones, his prestige in the military has been established. Whether it's his decisive decisions or generous rewards, or the skills he's shown, plus this position that is unquestionable in terms of legitimacy... have all determined that this small armed group is already firmly in his grasp.

  It is now time to promote several core military officers to replace him in command, and when he is not around, they can respond flexibly and handle unexpected events.

  If Li Gong were a higher-ranking military officer at the time, things might have turned out differently.

  Several secret bases in the city, command of usual actions, and management of horse grounds outside the city, also require professional responsible officers.

  Of course, this matter is not the most urgent... A hint of murderous intent flashed in Zhu Ci's eyes... The most pressing thing now is to find those unscrupulous scoundrels and mete out a fair but merciless punishment!

  Now is the time to discipline the army with strict rules and regulations, and to restrain the troops with punishment!