Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 233: 4 Smoke of War

"Director Yang, the intention to admonish King Zhou is nothing but a misunderstanding. It is rare that there is no dispute over the throne in the Ming Dynasty. If King Zhou is wise and puts the country first, and withdraws from Jinling, when Your Majesty returns to Nanjing, the history books will surely cite King Zhou in great detail!" Wang Huacheng bowed to Yang Enshen and said slowly.

"Oh, our king is withdrawing from Jinling?" Yang En said with narrowed eyes.

Wang Huacheng, Jin Bao, and Ma Jixiang were all smart people. How could they not hear the sarcastic tone of Yang En's voice? The three of them looked at each other inconspicuously.

In the end, Ma Jixiang said, "The Zhou king's army is gathering in Nandu, which may disturb the emperor!"

Yang En stroked his chin and said slowly, "The Kunming court is in the hands of the King of Qin. I'm afraid you no longer have the final say on whether to move the capital."

“If King Zhou is willing to withdraw from Nanjing, I think the court will change its policy and return the capital to Nanjing. Then the southern troops will be gathered in one place. King Qin will attack Sichuan, and King Jin will recover Huguang. After the army is cut off from the Yangtze River and rests for three years, it will be divided into five armies and march north to the Central Plains. Then the major event will be settled!” Jin Bao became more and more excited as he spoke, and in the end he looked excited, as if it was right in front of him.

Yang En couldn't hold back any longer after hearing this. He laughed so hard that tears came out of his eyes. He shook his head and said to Jin Bao, "There are five armies. Li Chengdong and Jin Shengheng are ready to join forces. Li Chengdong is attacking Fujian, and Jin Shengheng is attacking Nanjing. The civil war is starting again, and you are still planning to unite the armies!"

Hearing Yang En's words, Jin Bao was horrified. He asked in disbelief, "How could the Second Lord of Huichang mobilize the army without permission? This... this... this..."

Ma Jixiang asked uneasily: "Master Yang, is this true? You can't talk nonsense!"

"I never speak nonsense. The war is imminent. Haven't you noticed that the people in Jinling City are all in a hurry? The army has already started to march to the front line. The war is imminent and it is inevitable!"

The three of them looked at each other, and Yang En no longer wanted to argue with them, so he used the excuse of being busy with work. Wang Huacheng and the other two had different thoughts, so they took their leave.

On the streets of Jinling, looking at the hurried passers-by, Jinbao sighed: "The state affairs are in chaos, these military commanders, none of them have a loyal heart, they are selfish and self-centered, the situation eases a little, and the internal strife breaks out again, alas!"

Wang Huacheng rarely did not argue with Jin Bao, and agreed: "The King of Qin escorted Your Majesty to Yunnan, far away from China, in order to expel the Tartars in the future. I'm afraid..." In the end, Wang Huacheng did not say anything else, but the three of them all knew what he meant.

Ma Jixiang didn't want to think about things that were too far away. He only cared about the present. He then said to the two of them, "My lords, what should we do now? Should we return to Kunming, or..."

"Let's go back to Kunming. There's no point staying here!"

…………

Li Chengdong and Jin Shengheng saw that Meng Jun had already noticed their actions and was continuously sending troops to the front line. Without waiting for Wang Huacheng and others to come to any conclusion, they decided to strike first. Then Jin and Li jointly issued a manifesto to attack Meng. After the manifesto was issued, Li Chengdong began to attack Fujian, while Jin Shengheng's army entered Nanzhili and headed straight for Nanjing!

"Between heaven and earth, the moral code is the most important, and the righteousness between the monarch and his subjects cannot be abandoned. Meng Jun, who stole the south of the Yangtze River, was arrogant and claimed the title of king. He abused his power and wanted to do whatever he wanted. His heart was unpredictable, and his behavior was outrageous to heaven and man. He had no loyalty to the monarch, was greedy for money and lustful, and killed the people at will. The people of the south of the Yangtze River wanted to eat his flesh alive to vent their hatred.

I, Jin Shengheng and Li Chengdong, have been entrusted by the will of heaven and have been loyal to the cause. We have sworn to fight against the thieves and to punish these beasts. The elders of Jiangnan are so innocent. We must save the people from their misery and eliminate the traitors for the country. This is the proclamation to announce to the world that Meng Jun's crimes are too numerous to list. He is ambitious and wants to usurp our throne and split our country. How can we sit back and watch and let him run rampant? Therefore, we raise the banner of justice and call on all loyal people to fight against the traitors together.

All the people in the south of the Yangtze River should know what is right, do not be deceived by the treacherous and the tyrannical, do not be forced by the violent Meng, and should be brave and fight back. We will be armed and sharp, and go straight to Huanglong, and we will capture Meng Jun, return our southern capital, and recover our old territory, in order to repay your majesty's kindness and to reassure the people. "

When this manifesto reached Nanjing, Meng Jun was so angry at this shameless statement that he almost laughed. Two executioners who slaughtered the people, who were able to change flags repeatedly just because they were dissatisfied with the Qing court's rewards, actually had the nerve to call themselves "trusted by heaven and loyal" and said that they were lustful? Killing the people at will?

After reading the manifesto, Meng Jun threw it to the ground and cursed: "Bullshit, slander! Shameless villain!"

He then ordered Gu Yanwu to refute it in person, and ordered Qian Biao to lead his troops to Xuancheng immediately. Meng Jun began to gather a large army to prepare to fight Jin Shengheng.

When Meng Jun gave the order, the scouts of Lin Shiqi's troops in Xuancheng had already begun to fight with the scouts of Jin Shengheng's troops, and the battle began in various places.

Jin Shengheng's 300,000 troops naturally would not gather in one place to attack. The main body of the army was divided into three routes. Jin Shengheng led the middle route, along Xiuning and Jixi, to attack Ningguo Prefecture. Wang Deren led the right route army, along Shangrao, to attack Jiangshan City, intending to enter Zhejiang. The left route army was led by Hu Zhan, through Huangshan, Qingyang, to attack Tongling, and down along the Yangtze River to attack Wuhu and Ma'anshan.

Gu Yanwu, after receiving the order, pondered for a moment and immediately wrote: "I have heard that the rise and fall of the country is the responsibility of every man, and the way of a gentleman is to keep his integrity. Now there are Jin Shengheng and Li Chengdong, who are called to fight against the bandits, but in fact they are the worst bandits. They surrendered to the Ming Dynasty in the past, and then rebelled against the Ming Dynasty and surrendered to the Qing Dynasty. When the Qing Dynasty was in decline, they returned to the Ming Dynasty again. Their behavior is inconsistent and their hearts are worthy of death.

Such villains confuse right and wrong and black and white. The crimes of Jin and Li are heinous. They committed the three massacres in Jiading, bullied the king, and killed the emperor. Their actions are despicable. They are truly a great pest to the country and are hated by the people.

When the country was in danger, war broke out everywhere. I, Meng Jun, was filled with indignation and could not bear to see the country broken and the people displaced. I raised my arm and called for the righteous army to rise up, vowing to turn the tide and save the collapsing building. I vowed to drive out the Tartars, defeated Li the thief in one battle, fought Bolo again, recovered Zhejiang, killed the Tartar Duolo Prince, recovered Nandu, and restored Jiangnan.

We have written this manifesto to make it known to the world: Jin Shengheng and Li Chengdong are the leaders of the bandits. Their so-called fight against the bandits is nothing more than using the bandits to fight justice. The justice of heaven is broad and will not let any person escape. The followers of Jin and Li will eventually reap what they sow, and the army of justice will surely have many supporters. "