From the mouth of the Yangtze River to the outside of Jiujiang City, the prosperous scene of Jiangnan in his imagination never appeared in Zhu Cixiang's eyes.

What we saw along the way were basically dilapidated villages, and many villages were in ruins, obviously signs of being burned by fires.

The refugees I saw along the way were dressed in tatters, their faces were sallow and thin, and there was no smile on their faces. This place did not look like the prosperous Jiangnan, and was no different from Henan before the land reform.

Zhou Yuji and Cao Bianjiao rode on horseback to the side of Emperor Shenwu. Seeing the emperor's gloomy expression, they knew that Emperor Shenwu wanted to kill him again.

Zhou Yuji cupped his hands and said:

"Your Majesty, I have long heard that Zuo Liangyu's army is rampaging through the countryside, burning, killing, looting and committing all kinds of evil. It turned out to be true when I saw it today..."

Zhu Cihong looked back at Cao Bianjiao:

"What does the general think of this?"

Cao Bianjiao cupped his hands and said:

"Reporting to Your Majesty, I worked with Zuo Liangyu to suppress the bandits. The military discipline under his command was really bad. Zuo Liangyu almost never restrained them. When the bandits crossed the border, they would leave some food for the people. Zuo Jun would not hesitate when encountering them.

Take it away, they will never care about the life or death of the vest. I believe that if the Ming Dynasty is to revive, this person cannot be retained..."

Zhu Cixi nodded:

"This is also the reason why I put the first stop across the river in Jiujiang. Otherwise, I would have crossed the river directly from Taiping Mansion. Have the Shenwu Army and the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry made arrangements?"

Zhou Yuji and Cao Bianjiao cupped their hands and said:

"Don't worry, Your Majesty, the arrangements have been made. As soon as they see the signal, they will take action immediately!"

"Ah, very good!"

Zhu Cihong nodded slightly and then asked Yue Yang:

"What arrangements should be made in the city?"

Yue Yang cupped his hands and replied:

"Don't worry, Your Majesty. When they see the signal, they will seize a city gate and will not delay the army's entry into the city to fight!"

Several people walked and talked, and soon arrived at the foot of Jiujiang City.

Under normal circumstances, upon hearing the emperor's arrival, Jiujiang officials would have been waiting outside the city to greet him, but at this time the city gates were still closed, apparently not wanting to let the emperor into the city.

Jiujiang Prefecture, Jiangzhou Road was established in the Yuan Dynasty. At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, Chen Youliang proclaimed himself emperor, the country was named Han, and Jiangzhou was established as the capital.

After Zhu Yuanzhang defeated Chen Youliang, Jiangzhou Road was renamed Jiujiang Prefecture.

Jiujiang Prefecture is located at the mouth of the Three Rivers and has always been an important military town guarding the passage of the Yangtze River.

Zhou Yuji hurriedly raised his horse and shouted loudly:

"Who is the guard on the city? I am Zhou Yuji of the Shenwu Army. Emperor Shenwu is coming. Please open the city gate to welcome him!"

Zuo Liangyu had been standing at the top of the city for a long time. When he saw Emperor Shenwu arriving with only a few thousand troops, he was slightly relieved. It seemed that the little emperor would not dare to deal with him.

But he was a little scared and had never ordered the city gates to be opened to welcome the holy driver. Now he had to find a reason not to welcome the holy driver, which was to pretend that he didn't know anything.

Therefore, when he saw Zhou Yuji calling the door in person, he stuck out his head and angrily scolded Zhou Yuji:

"Don't talk nonsense. Why did Emperor Shenwu arrive with only a few thousand troops? I was not notified and did not see the emperor's guard of honor. Are you bandits pretending to be the Holy Lord to deceive the city? Do you know what the crime of pretending to be the Holy Lord is?

You say you are Zhou Yuji, who knows whether it is true or not, and I have never met Zhou Yuji, so what should you do if you are Li Dingguo pretending to be the Duke of the country?"

Zuo Liangyu described Zhou Yuji and others as rogue bandits. At this time, there were no rogue bandits anywhere in the south of the Yangtze River. Liu Guoneng and Gao Yigong had already surrendered.

As for Li Dingguo, he had long since taken his men to sea and disappeared without a trace. Zuo Liangyu said this, which was tantamount to shirking all the responsibility for his refusal to welcome the emperor.

However, one thing he was right about was that Emperor Shenwu did not notify the Jiujiang garrison and officials in advance before his arrival.

Zhou Yuji almost got angry when he heard this. If Zuo Liangyu stood in front of him and said it, Zhou Yuji would definitely give him a big mouth.

Since Zuo Liangyu was pretending to be stupid, Zhou Yuji was no longer polite. He laughed and said:

"Zuo Liangyu, no wonder you were beaten by Lao Huihui when you were suppressing the bandits, so you abandoned your armor and almost committed suicide. It turns out that all the scouts under your command are just for a living, and their intelligence capabilities are really poor.

His Majesty's tens of thousands of troops took a whole morning to cross the river, but you don't even know how you can defend Jiujiang if the bandits are like this, and quickly open the city gates to welcome the Holy Emperor!"

The battle in Henan in the ninth year of Chongzhen's reign was a great shame and humiliation in Zuo Liangyu's life.

He was beaten all the way back to Ma Shouying by the leader of the thieves, and was ambushed many times. He was so angry that he attempted suicide, and finally saved his life.

I wanted to find an excuse to open the city gate again, but now Zhou Yuji brought up the scandal in front of his face. Zuo Liangyu was so angry that he was shaking all over. He couldn't help being furious, pointing at Zhou Yuji and saying:

"Bold thief, leave quickly, otherwise I will shoot you into a hedgehog. Send the order, the archers are ready..."

When he heard that Zuo Liangyu had falsely accused him of being a bandit and was about to shoot an arrow, Zhou Yuji did not retreat. He shook his head helplessly. Emperor Shenwu was definitely going to kill Zuo Liangyu even more now.

Seeing Zuo Liangyu about to order archery, the deputy general Jin Shengheng standing next to Zuo Liangyu hurriedly raised his hands and said:

"Commander, don't do it. If the city is really lucky, and there is a hail of arrows, we really have no way to turn back. The general thinks that the top priority is to open the city gate to welcome him!"

Jin Shenghuan, courtesy name Hufu, was born in Yulin, Shaanxi.

At the end of the Ming Dynasty, Chongzhen revolted in northern Shaanxi, named "Yi Dou Su", with more than 10,000 people. Later, he surrendered to the Ming general Zuo Liangyu.

During the Hongguang period, he was awarded the title of Chief Military Officer and Commander-in-Chief. The next year, Zuo Liangyu's troops went eastward to Jiujiang. Liangyu died, and his son Zuo Menggeng surrendered to the Qing Dynasty.

Jin Shenghuan first became a general of the Qing Dynasty and led his troops to capture Nanchang, Jiangxi. In the second year of Shunzhi, the Qing government appointed him the governor of Jiangxi and ordered him to guard Nanchang.

Although Jin Shenghuan surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, he still longed for the Ming Dynasty in his heart. He and Wang Deren had a private conversation. Deren also had the idea of ​​returning to the Ming Dynasty. The two had similar feelings and jointly planned to fight against the Qing Dynasty.

After Emperor Yongli came to the throne, they secretly sent people to Guilin and Nanning to pray and surrender to the Yongli court.

Emperor Yongli made Jin Shenghuan the Duke of Yu, and ordered him to oversee southern Zhejiang, Jiangsu, and Fujian. They acted in an expedient manner. Jin and Wang openly rebelled against the Qing Dynasty, and Chu and Fujian were shocked.

They sent envoys to Gao Jinku to guard Ganzhou, but Gao Jinku was unwilling to follow them in their rebellion against the Qing Dynasty, and insisted on guarding Ganzhou to fight against the Qing Dynasty.

Jin and Wang sent troops to besiege Ganzhou, but they could not defeat it after more than a month.

This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! After hearing the news, the Qing army sent troops from Anqing, crossed the river and occupied Jiujiang, captured Guangxin and Raozhou, and besieged Nanchang.

When Shenghuan heard that the Qing troops were arriving, he withdrew his troops from Ganzhou and returned to Nanchang. However, his foothold was not yet stable, and the Qing troops had already reached the gates of Nanchang City.

The Qing army was outnumbered and sent troops to fight with great force, but was unable to break through the siege. Nanchang City had very little food, and the Qing army intercepted the boats sent by the garrison generals Yuanzhou and Ji'an to deliver food.

After hearing the news, the Yongli court sent Li Chengdong's troops from Guangdong to assist, but were blocked by Gao Jinku on the way.

In February of the third year of Yongli, Nanchang City ran out of food, and they issued an order to open the east city gate to allow the people to flee in search of food. The Qing army also relieved the siege, allowing the people to escape.

Seeing this, the soldiers of Shenghuan's army scrambled to flee, but Shenghuan could not stop him. Seeing that the city was about to fall, Shenghuan killed his wife, burned his house and died.

When Zuo Liangyu said he was shooting arrows, he was actually just talking about it. He really didn't dare to shoot arrows at Zhou Yuji at this time. At this time, Zhou Yuji was the Duke of the Ming Dynasty.

Deputy General Jin Shenghuan persuaded him and gave him a step down. Zuo Liangyu thought for a moment, then waved to the archer, who hurriedly put down his bow and arrow.

Zhu Cixiang didn't say a word. He sat on his horse and watched Zuo Liangyu's performance coldly.

If Zuo Liangyu really doesn't open the city gate, he can only order the troops behind to besiege the city.

Seeing that the situation was not right, Cao Bianjiao hurriedly raised his hands to Emperor Shenwu and said:

"Your Majesty, I know Zuo Liangyu, let me try it out!"

Zhu Cixi nodded:

"Go for it!"

Seeing Emperor Shenwu nodding, Cao Bianjiao urged his horse forward and said with a smile to Zuo Liangyu on the city:

"Shuai Zuo, do you know Mr. Cao?"

Cao Bianjiao is now also the Duke of the Ming Dynasty. Jin Shenghuan and others all know Cao Bianjiao, and of course Zuo Liangyu knows him even more. He and Cao Bianjiao have fought together many times.

Seeing that the person coming was Cao Bianjiao, Zuo Liangyu hurriedly raised his hands and said with a smile:

"It turns out that Duke Xiangguo has arrived, and Zuo is so polite!"

Cao Bianjiao smiled and nodded:

"Your Majesty is here, open the city gate quickly!"

Zuo Liangyu pretended to be surprised:

"Oh, it's really His Majesty who has arrived. Zuo deserves death. Hurry up and open the city gate to welcome His Majesty!"

Soon, the gates of Jiujiang City were opened wide. Zuo Liangyu led a group of generals to urge their horses out of the city. They dismounted about fifty steps in front of the formation, then trotted all the way to Emperor Shenwu and bowed before his horse:

"The guilty minister, Zuo Liangyu, did not know that the Holy One was coming and was late to greet him. Please forgive me, Your Majesty!"

Zhu Cihong looked at Zuo Liangyu, but he did not dismount to help him, and said calmly:

"I will be fine without any courtesy. If there is any matter, please come to the government office to discuss it later!"

"According to the decree, thank you Your Majesty for your grace!"

Zuo Liangyu hurriedly thanked him for his kindness, and then led the way to the Jiujiang magistrate's office...

Zuo Liangyu lived in the Governor's Mansion. Zhu Cihong had already found out about this and decided to place his residence in the Magistrate's Yamen.

Because Zuo Liangyu blocked the news and strictly prohibited people from entering and exiting the city, some civil servants in Jiujiang did not know that Emperor Shenwu had entered Jiujiang Mansion.

It wasn't until the team arrived at the Jiujiang government office that Zhang Anchang, the prefect of Jiujiang, received the news. He hurriedly led a group of local officials out to greet them.

"The guilty minister, Zhang Anchang, the prefect of Jiujiang, is paying homage to Your Majesty. He didn't know that the Holy Emperor was here and was late to welcome him. Please punish him!"
To be continued...