Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 480: 1 Unification (1)

When the emperor asked, Liu Chengyin stepped forward and said loudly: "Your Majesty, you must not go to the Meng thief's rule. There are still more than 100,000 soldiers of the Zhennan King in Guangdong and Guangxi, and tens of thousands of soldiers of the Nan'an County King in Fujian. They all have nearly a thousand ships. The Ming Dynasty still has something to do!"

At this time, Yang Guoting, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue, retorted: "The Prince of Zhennan and the Prince of Nan'an are more selfish. Last year, the Prince of Jin sent an envoy to ask for help to fight against the Wu bandits, but in the end, neither of them sent troops. This shows that these two people cannot be trusted!"

Liu Chengyin was furious when he heard this and angrily rebuked Yang Guoting in court: "What are you talking about? Do you want to destroy our Ming Dynasty?"

Yang Guoting asked back, "Then according to Lord Liu, do you want His Majesty to issue a decree to denounce Meng Jun as a traitor who usurped the country? Do you want to frame His Majesty?"

Liu Chengyin pushed and shoved in anger, and Yang Guoting was not to be outdone, and the two of them fought each other. The ministers either tried to stop the fight, or refuted, or cursed. Although the palace was small and the cabinet ministers were few, the noise was no less than that of the past party struggles.

Seeing this, Li Yuanyin had no choice but to follow Yongli's order and urgently summon the Jinyi Guards to forcibly pull apart the ministers. The court meeting was then adjourned. The matters discussed ultimately ended in vain, and after everyone had dispersed, the echoes were still lingering in the air.

Yongli sat alone, feeling mixed emotions. He then called Li Yuanyin to come forward and whispered, "Quickly invite the minister of Zhou Envoy, Meng Hong, to see me. I want to listen to his words in person and understand his intentions. Remember, do not make a noise and do it in secret!"

Li Yuanyin nodded, bowed and took the order and left.

When it was late at night and everyone was asleep, Meng Hong met with Emperor Yongli alone. In the hall, only a dim light was left, and Li Yuanyin stood beside the emperor.

Meng Hong had a feeling of unreality in his heart. He, an old scholar who had failed in the imperial examinations for many years, could actually meet the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty one day. But unfortunately, his purpose was to persuade the Emperor to abdicate. It was really unbelievable.

Yongli sat still, looking at Meng Hong who bowed and saluted, feeling unhappy, and asked: "Are you a Ming minister?"

Meng Hong was stunned for a moment, but he reacted immediately, straightened up, and replied: "Your Majesty is wise, I have failed in the examinations many times, and was selected by my king to be a lowly official. If it were not for my king to restore order, I would be a Qing official today!"

Upon hearing this, Yongli sighed and then asked, "King Zhou, why did you come here?"

Meng Hong replied, "Your Majesty, I came here for the sake of the people of the world and for your Majesty's safety. Times are different now. The Ming Dynasty is irreversible. The destiny has changed. King Zhou has received the destiny. I am willing to pave a smooth road for your Majesty and lead you back home to enjoy a lifetime of wealth and honor!"

Yongli's eyes were blurred and his thoughts were vague, as if he was recalling something, but it finally turned into a sigh, unable to be expressed in words.

Meng Hong's words made Yongli lose hope. Meng Jun wanted to take the last step to ascend the throne without any objection. He wanted both fame and profit. But for Zhu Youlang, this was like being nailed to the rack of shame as a king who lost his country.

If he were to be rich and noble for the rest of his life, Zhu Youlang could accept it even if he was no longer the emperor. But what he feared was that he would go to Nanjing or Beijing and die in obscure circumstances. Such things were not uncommon in history. Therefore, no matter how nice Meng Hong's words sounded, Zhu Youlang did not dare to believe it, because he knew that Meng Hong could not make any decision and he was just a messenger.

The next day, Zhu Youlang summoned Yang Guoting and asked, "The country is in danger. This is all my fault. However, if I abdicate, I am afraid that the same fate will repeat itself, such as Jin Gong, Song Shun, Qi He, and Liang Jing!"

Yang Guoting didn't dare to make a guarantee. How could he be sure that Meng Jun would do this? Facing the question of Emperor Yongli, Yang Guoting murmured and dared not speak.

Zhu Youlang was extremely disappointed. After sending Yang Guoting away, he summoned Liu Chengyin and asked, "If things don't go well, where should the court go?"

Liu Chengyin thought for a long time and thought he had come up with a brilliant plan. He said, "Your Majesty, the Wu bandits are eyeing us covetously, and the Meng bandits are heading straight for us. For your majesty's sake, you can go south to Burma."

Yongli hesitated and asked, "There is no precedent for the emperor to tour another country!"

Liu Chengyin replied: "The Prince of Zhennan is now rushing to attack Annan. Your Majesty can go through Burma and bypass Annan. In this way, you will return to the territory of Ming Dynasty again. At that time, with the protection of the Prince of Zhennan and the Prince of Nan'an, Your Majesty will have nothing to worry about!"

Yongli's eyes were filled with tears, and he cried out: "In times of turmoil, loyal ministers are known. Liu Qing, you are truly a loyal minister of the Ming Dynasty!"

Liu Chengyin immediately knelt down and cried, "The world has come to this, and Your Majesty has been traveling all the way. This is all our fault!"

Yongli hurried forward and helped Liu Chengyin up. After the two of them calmed down a little, Yongli whispered, "As the ancient saying goes, if a minister does not keep secrets, he will lose his chastity, and if a king does not keep secrets, he will lose his country. Liu Qing, you must not spread this matter. Remember Chen Xinjia's past!"

Liu Chengyin nodded repeatedly and swore again and again that he would not reveal a single word even to his wife and children.

Zhu Youlang thought about it day and night, feeling that he was not at the end of his rope yet, so how could he entrust his life to the hands of a usurper? So he decided to flee to Burma again.

At this time, Meng Bian was outside the city of Yongchang. Yongchang City was too small, which was not conducive for the Qingluan Guard to sneak in. Therefore, Meng Bian could only concentrate on his confidants Zhou Zhuo, Chen Ao and six others to sneak in secretly, contacting Meng Hong on the one hand and those officials who secretly surrendered on the other, trying to find out what the Yongli court was planning.

Zhou Zhuo secretly contacted Meng Hong, and when asked, Meng Hong said: "The emperor is in a complicated mood and has not yet made a clear statement. But from what I see in his expression, he seems to be moved, but he has many concerns."

Upon hearing the news, Meng Bian knew that the situation was confusing and he couldn't help but fall into deep thought. The Qingluan Guard had sneaked into Yunnan for a long time. Although they had contacted many officials, chieftains, etc., Meng Bian's own secret mission had not been completely accomplished.

But it’s okay. Wu Sangui has surrendered. It would be inappropriate to put the blame on him. Instead, it would make people suspect that it was the king’s doing.

Meng Bian secretly made up his mind that if Emperor Yongli was smart and accepted the king's request to abdicate, then everything would be fine. But if he was unwilling and insisted on making trouble, then the Qingluan Guard's death squad would come in handy. In the Yongchang Palace, Meng Bian had even planned the route. All they had to do was wait for Meng Bian's order to deal a fatal blow to Zhu Youlang.

However, from Meng Hong's reply, Meng Bian could not guess whether Emperor Yongli agreed to abdicate, and those officials who secretly defected to Zhou's army also replied that they did not know what the emperor thought.

Meng Bian angrily cursed: "Waste, good-for-nothing!"

Yongli's talent for escape was probably the best in all dynasties. No one could guess that the emperor was going to run away. The envoy of King Zhou was still in Yongchang City, and the court officials had not yet reached a conclusion. Under the protection of Li Yuanyin and hundreds of Jinyiwei, Emperor Yongli drove out of Yongchang City at lightning speed.

When the news reached Meng Bian's ears, he was stunned. After a long while, Meng Bian murmured to himself: "Zhu Youlang is indeed not an ordinary emperor!"