Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 286 Banquet (Part )

Chen Yonghua saw that the situation was a little awkward, so he hurriedly tried to smooth things over, saying, "Prince Zhou has recaptured the Southern Capital, repeatedly defeated the enemy army, and has almost never been defeated. It is indeed inappropriate to compare him to Prime Minister Cao. From my point of view, he can be compared to the former Prince of Fenyang. The one who revived the Ming Dynasty must be Prince Zhou!"

Bai Yongfu felt something was not right no matter how he listened to it. He wanted to refute but couldn't find the problem, so he muttered a few words in anger.

Meng Jun took a closer look at Chen Yonghua. This man's surname was Chen and he was under Zheng Chenggong. Could he be the leader of the Tiandihui who said, "If you have never met Chen Jinnan, it would be in vain to call yourself a hero"?

Having been in this era for so long, there are brave men and those who are not afraid of death, but I have never heard of or seen a martial arts master who can climb walls and climb roofs in the midst of thousands of troops and take the head of a general as easy as taking something out of a bag. Meng Jun saw that Chen Yonghua looked like a modest gentleman, and he didn't look like the top master in the martial arts novels at all.

This matter only passed through Meng Jun's mind for a moment, and then he looked at Zheng Chenggong. Holding a banquet to welcome him was one aspect, but the most important thing was to discuss the issue of the command of the two armies.

Meng Jun and Zheng Chenggong's eyes met. Zheng Chenggong's eyes flickered for a moment. At this time, Meng Jun slowly spoke, "Guo Xing, you and I are both military men. We know that issuing orders from multiple places is a taboo in military warfare. Now the Qing court has mobilized the entire country's army and is heading south. I propose that the two armies establish a unified command center. Once the military order is issued, no matter which side it is, it will follow the order. What do you think, Guo Xing?"

Zheng Chenggong bowed and said, "I agree with King Zhou's idea of unified command and unified orders. But what if there are different opinions?"

Gu Yanwu said calmly at this time: "Lekdehun and Geng Zhongming, one is the newly promoted prince of the King of Lu, and the other is one of the three Shun kings conferred by Huang Taiji in the past. How could they be conferred the title of king without great merit by the Qing court? But now, these two have long been beheaded. Your Majesty's achievements are known to the world."

After hearing this, Zheng Chenggong was speechless. Yes, although his navy was powerful, his infantry did not have any outstanding achievements. Taking Taiwan, in the eyes of the world, was just the expulsion of a thousand sea barbarians. It was not considered a military achievement. Compared with Meng Jun's dazzling brilliance, it was indeed not impressive.

Meng Jun smiled and nodded, and said gently: "I am not a person who seeks to seize power. When two armies clash, things change rapidly. If I send out too many orders and the soldiers are confused, they may be taken advantage of by the enemy. I will consult with you every time I fight. I am not a person who sits back and watches the success or failure of my allies. Please do not worry about this."

After hearing this, Zheng Chenggong pondered for a moment and nodded in response: "The King of Zhou has fought many battles in the east and west, and he is a veteran general on the battlefield. I am convinced."

Hearing this, Meng Jun smiled and praised: "I deeply admire the heart of the national surname. We will fight side by side for the world, for the people, and for the people, and face the difficulties together."

"I hope that we can work together and defeat the Tartar invaders and wipe out the barbarians in one fell swoop! Recover our land!"

…………

The music ended and the crowd dispersed. The banquet went smoothly without any problems. There were no assassinations or poisonings. Everything went well except for a weird remark by Meng Jun that he sounded like Cao Cao.

Zheng Chenggong also returned safely to his military tent. At this time, only Chen Yonghua and Zheng Chenggong were in the tent.

Chen Yonghua asked with some uneasiness: "General, if King Zhou orders us to attack the city by force, or to serve as his vanguard to consume the Qing army's strength, what should we do?"

Zheng Chenggong was not surprised by this, as it was human nature to think so. He said calmly, "The King of Zhou offered Fujian as a reward, so how could our army obtain it without suffering losses? Besides, in my opinion, the King of Zhou is not a mean person."

Chen Yonghua seemed to want to remind Zheng Chenggong that it was inappropriate to compare him to a gentleman and a villain. But before he could open his mouth, Zheng Chenggong continued, "Besides, our army is better than the navy, and the infantry is also under the control of our generals. If there is any mistake, we have warships and artillery to cover us. There is no need to worry about the retreat."

Chen Yonghua thought about it and it made sense. Meng Jun used Fujian as a bargaining chip in exchange for the Zheng family sending troops and supplying food to the Zheng army. Naturally, it was impossible for him to give up land, provide food and listen to the Zheng family's command.

After Chen Yonghua left, Zheng Chenggong stared at the candle flame, his eyes flickering with the flame. In fact, Zheng Chenggong was now very undecided. He didn't know where his great achievements would lie, whether to become a minister of the Ming Dynasty's revival, or to covet the position of the master of the world. But what was certain was that he had to strengthen himself and wait for changes in the times.

The life trajectory of Zheng Chenggong in history may be different from his current one. His mother did not die at the hands of the Qing army, and he also took Taiwan earlier than in history. But what is certain is that his ambitions have not changed. If he retreats, he will become a famous minister, and if he advances, he will become an emperor.

Meng Jun invited Zheng Chenggong to send troops with the reward of Fujian. On the one hand, Zheng's navy was powerful, and on the other hand, he wanted to increase his own military strength to deal with the Qing army. However, Meng Jun also had hidden worries in his heart.

In history, Zheng Chenggong's repeated attacks on friendly forces also made Meng Jun feel uneasy. If his main force was all in Huguang, and Zheng sent troops to attack Fujian, with the strength of the Zhou army in Fujian, it would not only be difficult to defend, but also be attacked from both sides. The situation would be even more difficult at that time, and he might be defeated without being defeated.

In the camp outside Jiujiang City, thousands of tents surrounded Meng Jun's tent. The candles in the tents flickered. In addition to Meng Jun, there were Gu Yanwu and Bai Yongfu in the tent.

Bai Yongfu stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, although the Zheng family agrees to let you be the leader, what if you don't obey orders in battle, or just patrols perfunctorily and doesn't move forward?"

Meng Jun's fingers moved slightly. At this moment, he really wanted to smoke a cigarette to relieve the depression in his heart. Meng Jun felt Zheng Chenggong's arrogance in his heart. Although he had no objection to Meng Jun being the master tonight, there was always a hint of dissatisfaction between his brows.

The Zheng army had just disembarked and needed to rest for two days. Meng Jun only had confidence in the Zheng navy, and felt that the Zheng infantry would definitely not be able to do well. If they could, why had he never heard of any impressive achievements of the Zheng family on land?

No matter what, the arrival of Zheng's army made Meng Jun feel a little relieved. The reason was that the Qing court mobilized the entire country's troops and marched south with all its strength, and Duoduo, a Qing prince with outstanding military achievements, personally led the army, which put Meng Jun under great psychological pressure.

In terms of military affairs, Meng Jun felt relieved, but the documents sent by the shogunate in the rear made Meng Jun worried again. The military rations were consumed too much. In the direction of Changsha, Li Dingguo was short of food and wages before and after Sun Kewang stopped supplying the army. Although there were supplies from several grain-producing areas in Changsha, it was still not enough. Meng Jun had already transported two batches of military rations from Nanchang to Changsha to supplement the Jin army.

Meng Jun single-handedly supplied Li Dingguo, Zheng Chenggong, his own army of more than 100,000, and tens of thousands of auxiliary troops. Even though Jiangnan was prosperous, it was becoming increasingly difficult to supply the army.

Yang En has sent letters several times, explicitly and implicitly mentioning the difficulty of supply in the rear, but Yang En did not dare to urge Meng Jun to fight immediately. He only said that he had opened the Nanjing treasury and purchased grain from various places to supplement military rations. He said that grain prices were gradually rising in various parts of Jiangnan, and life was becoming increasingly difficult for the people.

Meng Jun suddenly remembered the Battle of Changping in ancient times, when the armies of Qin and Zhao were confronting each other. The King of Zhao abandoned Lian Po's strategy of defense and adopted Zhao Kuo's strategy of rapid attack. The core reason for this was probably that the armies were in a long-term confrontation and the military food supply in the rear was difficult to sustain.

But in such a crucial battle, how could Meng Jun dare to throw away his army lightly? No matter how difficult it was, he had to persevere.

…………

Changsha, temporary Prince Jin's Palace.

Li Dingguo's adviser Jin Weixin was advising Li Dingguo in the mansion: "Your Highness, Meng Jun has invited the Zheng family to send troops, and their power is enough to deal with the Qing army."

Li Dingguo showed some doubt and asked, "Chulin, what do you mean by that?"

Jin Weixin responded, "Your Highness, as the saying goes, it is better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of a phoenix. Our army here will be clamped by the Zhou army. Although our army is large, if they let us face the Qing army directly, we will inevitably suffer heavy losses. How can we protect the emperor and recover the two capitals?"

Li Dingguo chuckled, waved his hand and said, "Chu Lin, if we win this battle, the Qing army will be defeated. We can recover the two capitals and restore the country. There is a lot to be done. In this situation, you can't talk nonsense."

Hearing this, Jin Weixin hesitated for a moment, then frowned and said in a low voice: "Your Highness, everyone in the world knows what Meng Jun is thinking. If the Qing army is defeated in this battle and Meng Jun wins, even if the northern capital is recovered, will the world still belong to the Ming Dynasty?"

Li Dingguo's inner worries were bluntly pointed out by Jin Weixin. On the one hand, Li Dingguo admired Meng Jun for taking over Jiangnan inch by inch from the Qing court. On the other hand, from his actions, he really didn't see that this man was loyal to the Ming Dynasty.

Li Dingguo lowered his head and said nothing for a long time. He then looked up at Jin Weixin and said, "No one knows what will happen in the future. I only know that if I retreat from this battle, future generations will despise me!"

Seeing that Li Dingguo still insisted on his opinion, Jin Weixin said again: "Your Highness, even though Meng Jun's future is unknown, the emperor is in danger today. During the Kunming Rebellion, the King of Qin controlled the court, acted arrogantly, and killed ministers. The throne of the emperor is now in jeopardy. A secret envoy came from Kunming. The King of Qin intends to depose the emperor and repeat the Daxi Dynasty!" Jin Weixin said in a low voice.

Li Dingguo was shocked when he heard this and rebuked him, "Chulin, don't talk nonsense. Although my elder brother is a bit overbearing, my foster father's words are still ringing in his ears. How could he have such thoughts!"

Jin Weixin said, "Your Highness, if this is a general secret report, I would not dare to speak nonsense. However, this is a matter of the King of Shu's general, who sent his confidant to come and tell you in person. If Your Highness does not believe it, you can summon him to question him."

Li Dingguo's face was gloomy and uncertain, and then he asked Jin Weixin to bring someone over. After a while, the person who came turned out to be Wang Fuchen, a subordinate of King Shu Liu Wenxiu.

When Wang Fuchen saw Li Dingguo, he immediately knelt on the ground and said, "Your Highness, Prince of Jin, the King of Shu ordered me to travel day and night to Changsha to invite Your Highness, Prince of Jin, to return to Kunming."

"Third brother, don't you know that this is the time for a decisive battle? How can I withdraw? If the army returns, all the lands gained in Huguang will be lost. Tens of thousands of troops have fought bloody battles for nearly a year in vain. How can I face the families of those soldiers who died in the war!" Li Dingguo said at the end, his voice choked with sobs.

Wang Fuchen also looked sad when he heard this. They were all men who had fought in the army. Who would have thought of sacrificing their lives in return for nothing? However, the situation in Kunming was becoming increasingly tense. All the court officials were in a panic. The party struggles that had lasted for so many years had almost come to a halt. It was obvious how tense the situation was.

Wang Fuchen hesitated for a moment, then said: "Your Highness, the situation in Kunming is critical. Even the army is discussing it. Some say they want to restore Daxi, while others say they want to support Ming. I am afraid that if this continues, the army will be divided and fight will break out."

Li Dingguo turned back and sat at the table, feeling a little depressed. Whenever there was a turnaround in national affairs, something would happen in the rear. If the King of Qin continued to supply military rations and send reinforcements, there would be no need for Meng Jun to send troops to Huguang, and he might be able to capture Wuchang. Even though there was no food, no pay, and no soldiers in the rear, he had persisted until now. Now that a war was imminent, should he retreat?

Li Dingguo asked in a low voice and with a depressed look, "What's the point of my third brother asking me to go back? Do you want me to fight with my eldest brother? We are both sons of the Western Army. We have fought for so many years. Do we have to fight against each other?"

Wang Fuchen immediately shook his head and hurriedly replied: "No, no, no, your highness the Prince of Jin has misunderstood. Your highness the Prince of Shu has absolutely no such idea. It's just that your highness has returned to the army and has a firm position. If you want to support the emperor, the King of Qin will naturally not risk everyone's opposition and insist on his own way."

Li Dingguo's mind was in a mess. Seeing that Jin Weixin was about to say something, he raised his hand to stop him from talking and said, "You guys go down first, and leave me alone!"

Just when Li Dingguo's mind was in a mess, the military letter sent by Meng Jun in Jiujiang just arrived in Changsha, and the letter was quickly delivered to Li Dingguo.

Meng Jun sent a letter to Changsha, inviting Li Dingguo to Jiujiang for a military meeting to discuss a tripartite alliance to fight against Duoduo.

Li Dingguo looked at the letter. His words were sincere and his fighting spirit was high. He looked like he took the world as his responsibility. He said: "The current situation is like a torrent. We are the boats and we must work together. The Liao incident has been going on for more than 50 years. When the enemy entered the pass, the national situation was extremely dangerous. But this battle is the battle to decide who will rule the world. If we win, we will sweep away the decadent national situation in the past few decades. If we lose, the world will be in danger. But I firmly believe that if the three armies join forces, we will be able to overcome the difficulties together and restore our northern capital. I sincerely invite you to Jiujiang to discuss national affairs and defeat the powerful enemy!"

Li Dingguo received the letter, which was sincere, full of fighting spirit, and full of passion. Li Dingguo's heart was also boiling with passion, and his annoyance was swept away. He had decided to put the matter of the evil spirits in Kunming behind him, and all other matters would be decided after the war. Li Dingguo was determined to go to Jiujiang to discuss the major plan with Meng Jun, to hold a meeting, and to join forces to fight against the enemy.

But before leaving, Li Dingguo still wrote a letter himself and sent it to Kunming. In the letter, he sincerely requested his elder brother not to think of deposing the emperor. He also said that a big war was about to break out in Huguang, and if his elder brother was worried about the country, he could send troops from Yunnan to Huguang, and work together. In the future, their stories would be recorded in history and passed down through the ages, and would surely become a good story.

(This chapter is two-in-one, big chapter O)