Heavy snow fell in Luoyang, covering the entire city, and the streets and alleys were covered in white.
The cavalry galloped casually on the street, meeting almost no one, and the snow was so thick that people almost forgot their direction.
"Report——"
The cavalry quickly came to the governor's palace and handed over the letter.
Hong Chengchou is a thin man with gray hair on his temples and piercing eyes. He is burying his head at the desk and holding a pen in his right hand, which is vigorous and powerful.
The Chinese characters dragon and snake are flying around one by one, which is really beautiful, but unfortunately, no one appreciates it.
"Dong dong——"
"Come in!"
"Sir, urgent military report!"
"Huh?" Hong Chengchou frowned and said angrily: "It's the twelfth month of winter, so there must be no good news."
When he spread it out, Hong Chengchou's face was full of gloom.
All I saw was a simple line in the letter: Li Zicheng was defeated and retreated, and Zhu Yixi took control of Xi'an.
"Damn it!" Hong Chengchou immediately became angry, roared, and tore up the calligraphy in his hand: "A great situation was ruined in one day."
After a long time, he recovered and fell into silence again.
Now that the British Prince has arrived in Nanjing, it will not take long to conquer it. The Hongguang court will be destroyed, and the mere King of Yu will not be able to hold on for long.
"It's just that this ambitious vassal king may have been looking for such an opportunity a long time ago!"
Hong Chengchou's face turned extremely ugly when he thought about the possibility of breaking away from his restraints and spreading his wings.
It's a pity that Fangcheng's defense line is as solid as a rock and difficult to shake. Otherwise, how could Huguang be safe?
Thinking of this, he sighed: "It seems that our hope can only be placed in the south, and we can go upstream and wipe out Huguang."
Thinking of this, he suddenly looked at the map, and the three huge characters "Anqing Prefecture" came into view.
"This place must never change hands!"
Thinking of this, he immediately started writing and couldn't wait to write, preparing to be sent to the south.
At the same time, Hezhou.
When the light snow was about to stop, Xu Mo, a student, suddenly heard someone running outside, and the sound of ticking was endless.
He hurriedly opened the door, only to see the night outside was hazy and there was no one around.
Just as I was wondering, I followed the sound and realized that there were many torches not far away. They were constantly patrolling along the street, knocking on doors and making loud inquiries.
Seeing this, he was shocked.
At this time, suddenly there seemed to be a figure at my feet.
"Li De?" He hurriedly walked over and called softly.
When he didn't see a response, he turned the other person's body over and found that he was paralyzed on the ground with a pale face.
He carefully put his fingers under the other person's nose and found that there was still breath, and he breathed a sigh of relief. As long as the person was not dead, that was all.
Immediately, he carefully lifted the person up and carried him into his room.
And he quickly returned and cleared away the blood-stained snow on the ground outside.
Not long after, the bloodstains on the ground were buried by snowflakes, leaving no trace at all.
In the secret room, the two people sat opposite each other.
"Hundred households!"
After drinking hot water, Li Decai calmed down and said in a deep voice: "Hezhou has learned about the situation in Anqing Mansion and is now investigating the spies."
"This is to be expected."
Xu Mo nodded and sighed: "The matter has come to this. It seems that these people have already made their choice."
Anqing Prefecture was almost defeated in one battle, during which it was revealed that it was a traitor who opened the city, causing the fortified city to fall.
King Yu's efforts were in vain, and the entire state capital was shocked.
With the siege of Nanjing, the civil and military forces of Hezhou moved north one by one, and they were not optimistic about the King of Yu and even the court.
They hope to sell Chizhou City at a good price instead of falling for no reason.
Therefore, the search department must naturally be more cautious in its actions.
"You came to Hezhou this time to do something big?"
Xu Mo's face darkened and he asked.
"Nanjing?"
"That's right!"
Li De sighed and said helplessly: "The city of Nanjing is in critical danger and is on the verge of collapse. I heard that Huang Degong was hit by several arrows and was wounded while defending the city."
"Is this already the case?"
When Xu Mo heard this, he couldn't help but feel a little sad.
"Zhao Baihu asked me to leave the city early and come to Hezhou to deliver news. There is news from the palace."
Li De exhaled, his face serious.
"What's the news?"
"The emperor intends to leave the city and escape from Nanjing."
When Xu Mo heard this, his expression changed drastically: "Doesn't this mean that even the emperor has given up on Nanjing?"
"South Zhili collapsed in just a moment."
After a long time, he finally recovered and asked, "Are you sure of this news?"
"It's almost like ten."
Li De thought for a while and then said bravely: "Many eunuchs in the palace have sent news that although the emperor's diet has not changed, the concubines have not been present, and they have obviously escaped from Nanjing long ago."
"So, it seems we have to make preparations in advance."
Xu Mo nodded, his face solemn.
Hezhou (Ma'anshan) is closest to Nanjing and is its western gateway. If Zhenjiang and Yangzhou fall, the emperor is most likely to come to Hezhou.
The search department must take measures in advance to get close to the emperor.
In fact, for the fall of Nanjing City, the Search Division had already made a preliminary plan: get close to the emperor and never let him fall into the hands of the enemy.
Even, when necessary, the emperor was forced to voluntarily commit suicide and die for his country.
Of course, jade seals, national seals and other things must also be prepared in advance to prepare for the legal succession of King Yu.
"Have a good rest!"
Xu Mo left urgently, notified all members of the search department in Hezhou, and reported the news to Xiangyang.
…
At this time, on the Yangtze River outside Hezhou, several small boats were slowly wandering on the river, brightly lit, simple and unpretentious on the outside, but luxurious and gorgeous on the inside.
Zhu Yousong's fat body sat on the couch, looking at the dark river surface and the bright moon that was about to set, and he was in a trance for a while.
It seems that although his body is on the ship, his soul still remains in Nanjing.
After urgent discussions with Ma Shiying, he left Nanjing, which had been besieged for five or six days, and came to Hezhou.
Escape from the war was something his father personally and solemnly ordered when he was in Luoyang.
Although he came to Nanjing from Huai'an, he was always worried.
Not only were they afraid of the Jiannu in the north, they were also afraid of the invaders who were entrenched in Shaanxi, and now they were also afraid of the King of Yu in Huguang.
But Jian Nu came faster.
"Your Majesty, Hezhou has started to clean up, will you enter the city later?"
Lu Jiude, the personal eunuch, expressed concern.
"It's too close to the state."
Emperor Hongguang shook his head. Judging from his many years of escape experience, Hezhou was not stable.
"Your Majesty, we have been escaping all night, but the most important thing is to go to Hezhou for some repairs and have the sergeants escort us."
Lu Jiude added.
"You're right!"
Emperor Hongguang suddenly realized that there were too few people like him and it was too dangerous along the way.
So, at dawn, the group left the ship and entered Hezhou City.
Hezhou was all busy, eager to welcome the emperor with great enthusiasm.