Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 234 Reactions from all parties

Jin Shengheng and Li Chengdong jointly issued a manifesto, and the news of Meng Jun's counterattack soon spread to the ears of various forces. Li Dingguo, who was invincible on the battlefield of Huguang, sighed: "I thought the southern land would return to the Ming Dynasty, but in just a few months, the war broke out again. Jin and Li are villains, and Meng Jun is ambitious. The two of them are fighting, which will only damage the military strength!"

When the news reached the Yongli court, the Wu and Chu factions, which had been at peace, started fighting again. The Chu faction said that Meng Jun was ambitious and should be controlled. They should issue an imperial decree to reward Li Chengdong and Jin Shengheng, and issue an imperial edict to declare Meng Jun a traitor. The Wu faction said that an imperial decree should be issued to order both sides to cease fighting, to work together to plan the Northern Expedition, and not to engage in internal strife. The two sides fought each other fiercely.

Sun Kewang, who was in control of the overall situation, turned a deaf ear to the fight between Jin and Li and Meng Zhou. To him, these two were stepping stones for him to take a step forward. As long as he consolidated internal affairs and trained elite soldiers, he would be able to sweep the world after he was ready. Whether Meng Jun was defeated or Jin and Li were destroyed, it would not benefit Sun Kewang. It would be best if the two fought as long as possible.

The Yongli court fought for several days, and Zhu Youlang was in a trance due to the quarrels between the two sides. Finally, the Chu party, led by Ding Shikui and dozens of censors, forced Zhu Youlang to abdicate day and night. The annoyed Yongli simply agreed to their demands, issued an edict to reprimand Meng Jun, ordered him to withdraw from Nanzhili, and rewarded Jin and Li.

Unfortunately, as soon as the two decrees left the palace, they were intercepted by Sun Kewang's subordinate Bai Wenxuan, who reported them to the King of Qin overnight. Sun Kewang was furious. Wouldn't this ruin his own plans? Then Sun Kewang rebuked the emperor, saying, "Your Majesty is so ignorant. These three are all generals of the Ming Dynasty. How can you take sides?"

Afterwards, Sun Kewang killed three censors who had spoken harshly and used force to quell the factional disputes. As a result, the Yongli court turned a blind eye to the impending war, as if nothing had happened.

As for Zheng Chenggong, after receiving the news, he knew that a war was inevitable. Zheng Chenggong said nothing about this matter, but his confidant Chen Yonghua said to Zheng Chenggong in private: "Master Guoxing, now the two capitals are in conflict, and Fujian is about to go to war. Why should we get involved? As the saying goes, when the snipe and the clam quarrel, the fisherman gains. When their power declines, we can recover the old master's foundation!"

Zheng Chenggong pondered for a long time and did not say whether he agreed or not. However, the next day, he ordered the troops besieging the city to prepare for a strong attack. He had decided not to use siege to force the barbarians to surrender.

Yangzhou, the main camp in the north of the Yangtze River.

In the central military tent, several Eight Banners generals were having a secret meeting.

Suo Hong frowned in confusion and asked Bai Yintu, "General, Jin Shengheng and Li Chengdong have formed an alliance to fight the Meng bandits to the death. Isn't this a great opportunity for us? Why would the court want to negotiate peace with the Meng bandits at this time?"

Baiyintu shook his head and said, "How wise the regent is is beyond our comprehension. However, the regent has not ordered us to cease fire. In my opinion, this is just to paralyze the Meng bandits. If the war becomes urgent and the Meng bandits transfer the river defense division, we can take the opportunity to cross the river, recapture Jiangning, sweep down, and re-establish the achievements of the former Prince of Yu."

Lai Ta, who was standing by, said excitedly, "These southerners are really a bunch of snakes and rats, rotten vegetables! It hasn't been long since they started a civil war again!"

Hearing this, Baiyintu couldn't help but sneer and said, "The Han people are like this by nature. From my point of view, it will be difficult for the two bandits Jin and Li to defeat them. However, they have brought so many young men, which is enough to give the bandit Meng a headache. It depends on whether the bandit Meng will transfer the river defense division!"

Afterwards, Bai Yintu secretly ordered the spies lurking in Jiangning and other places to monitor day and night whether the river defense division had any signs of troop deployment, and at the same time ordered his subordinates to prepare for crossing the river!

While officials at all levels of the shogunate were busy preparing for the expedition, there was only one person who was extremely leisurely and had nothing to do. He set up a stall in Jinling City all day to tell fortunes. The news had already reached Meng Jun's ears, but Meng Jun just smiled and said nothing.

When Yu An heard the news, he was a little worried about Li Wenda and went to the street to look for him. It must be said that Li Wenda's fortune-telling skills were very high. He asked any passerby and they all knew about his reputation as a fortune-teller.

Soon Yu An found Li Wendao who was still telling fortunes at the stall. He walked to the stall quickly and heard Li Wendao sitting in front of the stall. A woman came to ask for a fortune with a worried look on her face. She must have something to ask for. Li Wendao took the tortoise shell, threw a copper coin, muttered something, and then carefully deduced the hexagram.

After a moment, Li Wendao looked up and said to the woman, "Don't worry, madam. Judging from your daughter's horoscope, she is blessed with great fortune, and the hexagrams show a good omen, which indicates a happy marriage. She will surely find a good husband in the future. Don't worry."

The woman was delighted when she heard this and asked hurriedly, "Are you serious, sir? Is my daughter's marriage really so smooth?"

Wen Dao nodded and smiled, "What the hexagram shows is absolutely true. Your daughter's marriage is like the blooming of flowers in spring. You just need to wait patiently, and your perfect match will come to you."

The woman was overjoyed when she heard this, and then asked, "But this son-in-law is an official!"

"Well, don't worry, you will get what you want!"

The woman thanked him repeatedly and placed the silver on the table. Li Wendao looked at the woman's back and smiled slightly. Yu An couldn't help but said to Li Wendao, "Master, the army is about to set out. How come you still have time to set up a stall here to tell fortunes?"

Li Wendao laughed, took a closer look at Yu An, and said, "Your face is peaceful and upright. You have a broad forehead and a straight nose. You are indeed a lucky person."

"Master, stop teasing me now and come back with me. The shogunate is extremely busy, and you are still so idle. Won't you be hated by others?" Yu An said anxiously.

Li Wendao was puzzled when he heard this and asked, "As a Taoist, what else do I need to do if I don't have any practical work?"

Yu An blinked and was speechless. After a long while, he said, "Didn't you say you wanted to train with the king? I haven't seen you for days."

"Haha, let's go back then," Li Wendao said with a smile, and then began to clean up the things on the table.

…………

The fifth day of July, the second year of the Yongli reign.

Meng Jun officially dispatched his troops, including three battalions of 6,000 people of the Firearms Breaking the Enemy Army, 1,000 personal guards, 3,000 heavy armored troops, 10,000 soldiers from Wusheng Town, a total of more than 20,000 troops, and 30,000 auxiliary troops and able-bodied men. They swore an oath to march to the battle outside the city of Nanjing.

Lin Shiqi also had the Ningwu and Wuxing infantry troops stationed in Xuancheng, as well as ten battalions of the service army, totaling 50,000 people, and Huang Cheng's cavalry of 3,000 people. Qian Biao's troops were about to arrive in Xuancheng. Jin Shengheng divided his troops into three routes. Hu Zhan's troops had about 40,000 people and were about to arrive in Tongling. In order to prevent Hu Zhan from attacking Wuhu and threatening the Ma'anshan iron ore base, Lin Shiqi sent Wang Fugui's troops to garrison Wuhu.

Jin Shengheng's right-wing army, composed of about 50,000 troops under Wang Deren, attacked Dingyang City along Shangrao, intending to enter Zhejiang. Although the road from Jiangxi to Zhejiang was difficult to travel, Liu Ruyu, who was stationed in Dingyang City, had only 2,000 infantrymen.

Han Xiong only had 1,000 Kewu soldiers left in Quzhou. Although there were still defenders in Quzhou, they were all former Ming surrendered soldiers who had never seen a battle. The one left in Quzhou was a 1,000-man commander of Kewu Town, named Xu Shilin. He knew very well that Dingyang City was the main road to Zhejiang. If Wang Deren's troops broke through Dingyang City and entered Zhejiang to burn and loot, there would certainly be heavy losses. Xu Shilin led his 1,000 men to leave Quzhou and head for Dingyang City. Meng Jun also knew that Dingyang City must not be lost. When Jin Shengheng issued the manifesto, he ordered Changlin Town to move south to defend Dingyang City.