Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 133: Longwu's Sorrow

The second year of Longwu, early May.

The Bantan Army led by Huang Daozhou encountered the Eight Banners led by Bolo near Longsong Town, Jianning Prefecture. When Bolo first received the news reported by the scouts, his heart skipped a beat. Now he has a headache when he hears the name of the rebel army. However, as more and more military reports were sent back, Bolo discovered that this was an army that was not even equipped with basic swords and guns. It could barely be called an army, and in fact could only be regarded as a militia.

Huang Daozhou was a Jinshi, and served as a Hanlin Academy editor and a junior secretary of the Zhanshi Palace, both of which were noble positions, but he had never experienced a real war. The soldiers he recruited were all peasants who relied on their bravery but lacked actual combat training, and even had few decent armors. How could such a team compete with the Eight Banners Army, which had experienced hundreds of battles and countless life-and-death struggles? The result speaks for itself.

Once the battle started, the battlefield situation quickly became clear. More than 20,000 soldiers gathered together and could hardly form a neat formation. In contrast, the elite cavalry of the Eight Banners led by Bolo rushed back and forth like a tiger descending from the mountain. These elite soldiers of the Eight Banners had been on the battlefield for a long time, were skilled in tactics, and had strong combat effectiveness. Faced with such a powerful opponent, the soldiers of the Pole Army were simply unable to resist and soon fell into chaos.

The elite cavalry of the Eight Banners rushed into the rebel army like a raging torrent, brandishing sharp swords and spears, galloping on horseback, and full of murderous intent. Huang Daozhou's subordinates Cai Chunrong, Lai Jijin, Chen Xiongfei and others fought back and boosted morale, but under the powerful impact of the Eight Banners cavalry, their defense line was gradually torn apart and divided into several areas by the Eight Banners soldiers.

The shouts of the Eight Banners cavalry resounded throughout the battlefield. Their terrifying aura frightened the rebels, and every time they swung their swords and guns, a rebel fell. Facing such a brutal enemy, some of the newly recruited rebels fell without being able to fight back, their bodies trampled mercilessly by the horses' hooves, while others were terrified, shouting and fleeing in all directions, trying to find a chance to survive, but it was all in vain. The cruelty of the cold weapon battlefield was unimaginable for a farmer who had never seen blood. Some were even frightened and at a loss, and suffered mental breakdowns.

The battlefield was filled with the smell of blood, so strong that it made people sick. The blood dyed the ground red, forming a shocking pool of blood. This tragic scene made Huang Daozhou, who was behind the battle, feel heartbroken and grief-stricken. He stared with wide eyes, watching his subordinates being slaughtered but unable to do anything. Anger and pain intertwined in his heart, making it almost impossible for him to breathe.

As time went on, the morale of the rebels gradually declined, and their resistance became increasingly weak. Finally, the rebel line collapsed completely, and the remaining soldiers of the Bantan Army fled in all directions like scattered stars.

The Eight Banners cavalry galloped across the battlefield, chasing down the defeated rebels. The entire battlefield was plunged into blood, and Huang Daozhou was also captured by Bolo.

Tulai wanted to kill him directly on the battlefield, but was stopped by Bolo, who said: "This man is famous for his literary talent and is also the chief minister of the pseudo-Ming Dynasty. If he surrenders, it will appease the people of Fujian."

With Huang Daozhou captured, the Qing army rushed forward as if they were in an empty land, chasing all the way to where Emperor Longwu was. At this time, Zheng Zhilong withdrew his troops and stationed heavy troops in his hometown of Anping, and even gave up on Fujian.

When Emperor Longwu arrived in Yong'an, the emperor's guards became demoralized after hearing the news that Huang Ge Lao was defeated and captured. Some people escaped at night despite repeated bans. The ministers were worried. Even ministers in the court escaped in the middle of the night. Emperor Longwu immediately ordered the guards to speed up and rush to Guangdong. At the same time, he ordered Li Yuanyin to rush to Guangdong to transfer Su Guansheng to lead his troops to defend the emperor.

Su Guansheng, courtesy name Yulin, was a native of Dongguan County, Guangzhou Prefecture, Guangdong Province. During the reign of Emperor Hongguang, he served as the head of the Ministry of Revenue. Later, he and Zheng Hongkui and others were sent to Fujian by Emperor Longwu Zhu Yuqin. When Emperor Longwu ascended the throne, he was appointed Grand Secretary.

In the second year of Longwu, he was promoted to the Minister of Personnel and Military Affairs, and was sent out as the Grand Secretary of Wuying Palace and the Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince to be the General Manager. He went to Nan'an to recruit soldiers. However, he failed due to the lack of funds. Later, he was ordered to recruit soldiers in Guangdong and stationed in Meizhou, recruiting 10,000 soldiers.

While Li Yuanyin was galloping towards Meizhou day and night, the Eight Banners soldiers behind him were also trying their best to hunt down Emperor Longwu. In the end, Emperor Longwu was caught up by the aggressive pursuers led by Bolo in Tingzhou.

At this moment, there were only about 500 guards left by the Emperor Longwu, and the other soldiers had already fled and disappeared. Faced with such a difficult situation, the Emperor Longwu said helplessly to his followers: "My ambition has not been fulfilled, it is God's will, you can go your own way."

His voice was filled with grief and despair, as if he had accepted his fate. However, at this critical moment, the remaining guards did not choose to leave, they tightly surrounded Emperor Longwu. The remaining soldiers all said: "I am willing to die for the emperor" and then fought to the death to protect the emperor. No one retreated, and they fought to the death with the Eight Banners soldiers until the last moment.

Empress Zeng said to Emperor Longwu: "Your Majesty, as an empress, I must not fall into the hands of the enemy and disgrace my ancestors. I should die quickly." Emperor Longwu also sighed: "Since I am the Son of Heaven, the mountains and rivers are broken, I sleep with my weapons and shed tears, I have ordered to stop eating meat and drinking wine, but I have no place to live. Now that it has come to this, how can I think of cowardly survival?"

As the guards around Emperor Longwu were all killed, Bolo walked up to Emperor Longwu, looked at his body, and laughed, "He still has blood in his veins and lives up to his throne. However, the Qing Dynasty finally got the Mandate of Heaven, but he went against the trend and cut himself off from Heaven."

As the news of Emperor Longwu's suicide in Tingzhou reached Fujing, people in Fuzhou were in panic. Longwu left behind Prince Tang and Prince Deng as regents and fled the city in a hurry, taking a boat to Guangzhou, while Prince Lu Zhu Yihai fled to Xiamen under the protection of Zheng Cai of Xiamen.

Bolo entered Fuzhou without losing a single soldier or losing a single person. At this point, the entire Fujian province fell, but Zheng Zhilong still stationed his troops in Anping, without making a fuss.

The news soon reached Meng Jun by sea. Meng Jun sighed over the news of Emperor Longwu's martyrdom and was in low spirits. Although he had made some preparations, he still couldn't help sighing. Among the emperors of the Southern Ming Dynasty, only Emperor Longwu was ambitious and determined. What a pity.