Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 186 Confessing the King

Hearing Qian Biao's words, Huang Cheng was furious and said angrily: "Fight, fight, fight, you only know how to fight. If you were not a step slower, maybe Jiangning City would have been captured, and we would be in Jiangning Governor's Mansion now."

"How am I slow? Go ask all the officers and soldiers in the town. You have to avoid the guards and take a detour. No matter how fast you hurry, I, Qian Biao, will stop." Qian Biao retorted angrily when he heard this.

Qian Biao said to Meng Jun: "Governor, it is a bit strange that when we withdrew from the city gate, the Qing army on the top of the city did not fight back."

Huang Cheng also said: "When the Eight Banners fired, Tian Xiong was killed by the Eight Banners soldiers. The troops guarding Dinghuai Gate were all from Tian Xiong's army. Could this be related?"

"Even if we know that his troops have ulterior motives, it is not easy to do anything under the watchful eyes of Hong Chengchou," Meng Jun said, shaking his head. The Intelligence Bureau must have suffered heavy losses in Jiangning City and was no longer able to obtain any intelligence.

The generals were silent after hearing this. After a while, Lin Shiqi spoke up again, "Too much gunpowder was consumed in attacking Zhenjiang City. Our army should replenish more gunpowder and bomb the city from all sides. We will definitely be able to blow through Jiangning City. I still suggest retreating to Zhenjiang and wait and see the situation."

Meng Jun remained silent upon hearing this, and was undecided. Under the puzzled gazes of the generals, he walked out of the tent alone, took a long breath, turned back to the tent, and said loudly: "Retreating to Zhenjiang will greatly damage the morale of our army. I have made up my mind to defeat Lekedehun first and then besiege Jiangning!"

…………

At this time, Lekedehun had arrived at the city of Dangtu County, the seat of Taiping Prefecture, and was only four days' journey away from Jiangning City. Lekedehun's returning troops included 500 elite guards, 2,000 Manchu Eight Banners soldiers, 1,500 Mongolian Eight Banners soldiers, and 4,000 Han Eight Banners soldiers. He also incorporated the surrendered generals of Shun Army, including Tian Jianxiu, Zhang Nai, Li You, Wu Ruyi and others, and 12,000 surrendered soldiers of Shun Army. He captured Hunan and incorporated a large number of surrendered soldiers of Green Camp. Except for the troops left by Kong Youde to attack Guangxi, Lekedehun incorporated 30,000 surrendered soldiers of He Tengjiao. In total, Lekedehun's troops came to Jiangning with a total of 50,000 people.

At this time, the imperial edict of the Beijing court to commend Lekedehun had arrived at Lekedehun's army. Fulin (Dorgon)'s edict read: "The Emperor of Heaven and Mandate of Heaven, hereby proclaims that the land is distributed to serve as a vassal in the imperial court, the tung jade and jade are bestowed, the belt is sharpened in the royal family, the jade leaves are spread out, the grace is respected, the heavenly family is distributed, the courtesy is treated well, the ceremony is grand, the new imperial decree is conferred, and the Aixinjueluo, Lekedehun, is the great-grandson of Emperor Taizu, has made contributions to the country, has extraordinary strategies, and outstanding military exploits. He is indeed a pillar of our dynasty. Show his achievements, reward the loyal and good, and spread his grace.

Thinking of the cardinal's meticulousness and seeing the calmness of the ceremony, I hereby declare that I will honor you with a high rank, grant you a royal seal, and confer you the title of Duolo Shuncheng County Prince, to inherit the throne forever. I will encourage you to do good deeds and praise you for your good deeds. I admire you very much! "

The official who delivered the imperial edict spoke in a very proud and eloquent manner, shaking his head as he read out the edict. Lekedehun only heard his own name and the title of Prince Duolo Shuncheng. Then he gave rewards to a group of generals who had led the southern expedition to Hunan. Babutai was given the title of Duke of Fuguo, Jueluo Langqiu was given the title of a third-class light cavalry commander, and all other officials, both big and small, were rewarded.

Lekedehun was overjoyed, knowing that the regent still trusted him, and that his father and son had been loyal to him for three generations. In the eighth year of Chongde, Huang Taiji died, and his brother Adali was executed for disrupting state affairs because he publicly supported Prince Rui Dorgon. At the same time, his uncle Shuotuo was also imprisoned. Lekedehun was also implicated, deposed from the royal family, stripped of his title, and demoted to a commoner under Haoge.

All the generals congratulated him. Lekedehun was very proud and said to them, "The Regent has been so kind to me. How dare I not die for him? We will surely defeat the Meng bandits in this battle." Then the Qing army rushed all the way to Jiangning City.

Meng Jun led his troops to withdraw from Jiangning City and retreat to the foot of Jilong Mountain to set up defenses. The army moved forward slowly, with dust rolling and flags fluttering along the way.

On the Jiangning city wall, Hong Chengchou stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the figure of Meng Jun gradually moving away in the distance, and he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

His eyes revealed a trace of fatigue, but more of a sense of relief. Standing on this towering city wall, he witnessed two thrilling battles, whether it was the Meng army bombing the city or attacking the city gate, and now, the Meng army finally chose to retreat.

Looking at the Meng army moving further and further away, Hong Chengchou secretly felt lucky. However, he also understood that the war was not over, the Meng army had not suffered much damage in attacking Jiangning City, and Meng Jun would certainly not be willing to give up.

In the following days, Meng's army rested at the foot of Jilong Mountain. The place where Meng's army was stationed faced the river on the right, Jilong Mountain on the left, and Qixia Mountain in the right front. This was the battlefield where Meng Jun decided to fight a decisive battle with Lekedehun.

Although this place has a slight advantage over the Meng army, it is not a big difference. Lekedehun is not stupid. If it is really a place that is easy to defend and difficult to attack, he will not be so stubborn as to attack it. Meng Jun is determined to fight in the field because he has the advantage of navy. When the two armies are fighting fiercely, the navy will rush over, fire cannons on the river bank, and attack their flanks.

Meng Jun kept passing urgent orders to the rear, one after another urgent orders flew out of his hands, Shen Tingyang's navy, gunpowder in the rear, military supplies, troop replenishment... Each one was a bargaining chip in his hand, and was the key to turning the tide of the war.

Will Lekedehun come? Meng Jun thought he would come. Lekedehun's purpose of going south was to destroy Meng's army. If he decided to fight him in the field, would it be more difficult than defending the city himself?

Lin Shiqi suggested retreating to Zhenjiang, which was a conservative strategy. Meng Jun did not want to retreat to Zhenjiang. On the one hand, it would inevitably hurt the morale of the army, and on the other hand, there might be unusual movements in the rear. Meng Jun's rule over Jiangsu and Zhejiang was like walking on thin ice. Strategically, the Qing army surrounded them on three sides. If they retreated, rumors would spread, and the soldiers and civilians would be uneasy and would have no intention of producing. Moreover, if they retreated to Zhenjiang, the Qing army could divide its forces and march south, plundering the towns and villages. Even if Meng Jun won, Jiangsu and Zhejiang would become scorched earth and could no longer provide blood supply for Meng's army.

In Meng's army, Gu Yanwu was also extremely busy. At the request of the Grand Commander, he published two pages a day in the newspaper to promote the advantages of Meng's army, or the deeds of brave warriors in the army, or the stories of sharpshooters, in order to reassure the people of Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

Just when Gu Yanwu was so busy that he didn't even have time to drink the water, the invisible man in the army, Li Wenda, also known as Li Dashi, came to Gu Yanwu's tent.

"Master, I am extremely busy and have no time to practice Taoism in a quiet manner. You have found the wrong person," Gu Yanwu said without even raising his head.

"No, no, no, Mr. Gu, you are wrong. I am not here to chat with you," Li Wendao bowed and said with a smile.

When Gu Yanwu heard this, he put down his pen and said, "Master, please speak."

Li Wendao said in a confident tone: "The army withdrew from Jiangning this time, and the morale of the army was low. I have a plan to boost the morale of the army."

Gu Yanwu's eyes lit up, and he was about to ask a question, but then he said as if he remembered something: "If you have such a good idea, why don't you go find the governor yourself, why do you have to look for me?"

"Of course the governor would not approve my proposal, but Mr. Gu is quite prestigious in the army, and all the generals are very respectful to him. So Mr. Gu's proposal is just right."

"Okay, then please let me know."

Li Wendao bowed again and said in a deep voice: "Mr. Gu, please ask the generals to propose the title of king. The governor will be crowned king and the army will be rewarded generously. This will surely boost the morale of the army."

"what!"