Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 366 Private Visit on Weibo

After the conference, Meng Jun met with officials from various states and counties in the following days. The shogunate made detailed arrangements for the rough guidelines of the conference and the tasks of each state and county.

Just as Meng Jun was meeting with officials, Sun Kewang finally arrived in Jinling City.

The land of Jinling has always been prosperous. Sun Kewang had long heard that Jinling was the richest city in the world, and this was the first time he had come here in his life.

Although Sun Kewang now had no soldiers or generals and surrendered in a hurry, he was once the leader of the Western Army and controlled Yunnan and Guizhou for many years. Countless officials were promoted because of him. Therefore, Meng Jun was very concerned about Sun Kewang's surrender. Not only did he order local officials to make proper arrangements along the way, but when Sun Kewang was about to arrive in Nanjing, he even sent his own guards to greet him.

When Sun Kewang arrived in Jinling City, Meng Jun held a very grand welcome ceremony and arranged for Yang En to lead a group of high-ranking officials of the shogunate to go out of the city to welcome him.

As for Sun Kewang, after learning in detail about his administrative measures in Yunnan, Meng Jun believed that in terms of capabilities, except for his weak military capabilities, many forces in the Southern Ming Dynasty were inferior to Sun Kewang in other aspects, whether it was Zheng Chenggong, Li Chengdong, or Li Dingguo.

Sun Kewang possessed an ability that none of these people possessed, and that was the ability to build internal affairs in the rear. Stable internal affairs meant that the army did not need to worry about logistics and supplies. Internal affairs capabilities were an important factor in allowing the protracted war between the two countries to continue.

After Sun Kewang was settled, Meng Jun personally summoned Sun Kewang to the palace.

When Sun Kewang saw Meng Jun, he looked a little lonely. He bowed to the ground and said, "I am a defeated general. Fortunately, I met the king and was taken in. I am willing to serve you like a dog and a horse!"

Meng Jun personally helped him up and said, "King Qin, there is no need to do this. The battle between Qin and Jin, regardless of victory or defeat, will consume the Chinese army. Now that the King of Qin is willing to join me, I will welcome him with open arms."

Sun Kewang smiled bitterly and said, "I don't deserve the title of King of Qin. The emperor has issued an edict to take away my title. Now I am just a commoner, without any elite soldiers or generals, and I don't own any land. Your Majesty, please don't call me that."

Without strength, how could Sun Kewang dare to aspire to the title of king? Now that he was at the end of his rope, let alone restoring the Great Western Dynasty, if he had not fled to the rule of Meng Jun, he would probably have lost his life.

Meng Jun pondered for a moment and said to Sun Kewang: "A hero who loses power is like a dragon without water or a tiger without a forest. Although they are in a difficult situation, they still have lofty ambitions. The King of Qin or Lord Sun, how can you regard yourself as an ordinary person because of a temporary setback? Since you are here, I will treat you as a friend and entrust you with important tasks so that you can realize your ambitions again."

After hearing Meng Jun's words, Sun Kewang said with emotion: "I am deeply grateful for your words, Your Majesty. I am willing to go through fire and water for you, without hesitation!"

After chatting for a while, Sun Kewang advised Meng Jun: "The emperor is mediocre and incapable of great responsibility. Although I have been defeated, I assert that the system of camps in Yunnan and Guizhou will inevitably be destroyed. Li Dingguo will certainly not be able to control the court. At that time, civil strife will inevitably occur. Liu Wenxiu and Ai Nengqi, under the instigation of those idiots in the court, whether intentionally or unintentionally, internal friction is inevitable. Your Majesty, this is a heaven-sent opportunity. Once Kunming changes, Your Majesty can quell the rebellion and go south in the name of saving the emperor, take all the land of Yunnan and Guizhou, and then use the wealth of the south to march north to completely clean up the world and establish a foundation!"

Meng Jun smiled and said, "Jiang Xiang started the rebellion in Datong. A few days ago, news came that Taiyuan had been taken by Jiang Xiang. The Qing court has already lost all of Shanxi. I want to march north first and drive out the Jiannu completely!"

Sun Kewang pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Your Majesty, we are in trouble. How can we march north? Once the Yongli court realizes that the Qing court is no longer able to fight against you, they will do their best to unite the four parties and attack you together. By then, your elite troops will still be in the north, and once Nanjing is lost, the families of the soldiers will all be in the south. The morale of the army will be shaken, and the consequences will be disastrous!"

This was also the hidden worry in Meng Jun's heart. Although he had defeated Duoduo and was in the limelight, he was still a little hesitant about the Yongli court. Go south? Once he led his troops south, as the saying goes, if the name is not right, then the words will not flow. Going south to attack Yongli would be an unjust war without a reason.

Although the name is illusory, it can play an unimaginable role at the critical moment. Take Sun Kewang for example, who controlled Yunnan and Guizhou for several years, but after his defeat, it was difficult for him to make a comeback. Among them, it can be said that the edict of Emperor Yongli played no role.

As for the Northern Expedition, as Sun Kewang had just said, Meng Jun never dared to dream of their bottom line towards the Southern Ming monarchs and ministers. Once the elite troops fought in the north, if they won, the Yongli court would certainly do everything it could to restrain Meng Jun. This had nothing to do with ethnicity, but only with power.

There was no one around, and after a moment of silence, Meng Jun said to Sun Kewang hesitantly: "The court is far away in Kunming, how can I easily control it? Once the army is mobilized, it will be without a legitimate reason!"

Sun Kewang smiled and said to Meng Jun, "Your Majesty, there is no need to worry. Jiang Xiang is far away in Shanxi and cannot be reached for the time being. Even if we march north, we cannot use all our strength. We can make a big show and pretend that we are marching north, and gather our best troops to station in Yueyang. I dare to assert that in less than half a year, Kunming will be in chaos!"

Sun Kewang had been with Yongli's court officials for so long that he knew these people's behaviors very well. Even if he killed so many court officials, he could not stop their inertia of infighting.

A big reason for the fall of the Ming Dynasty and the rise of the Qing Dynasty was the internal cohesion between the two. Naturally, there were struggles within the Qing court, such as the dispute between Hauge and Dorgon, and the competition within the royal family, but to the outside world, they were basically able to maintain consistency.

On the other hand, starting from the Hongguang Emperor of the Southern Ming Dynasty, various forces either tried to protect themselves and survive in a cowardly manner, or fought among themselves. First, there was the dispute between Fu and Lu over whether to establish a virtuous person or a relative of their own, then there was the dispute between Longwu and Lu Wang in Fujian and Zhejiang, and finally, there was the battle between Yongli and Shaowu. As soon as the Qing troops arrived, all the forces collapsed and surrendered.

Meng Jun also agreed with what Sun Kewang said, but he didn't know how the internal struggle in the Kunming court would evolve by then.

………………

The city of Jinling was bustling with people. The markets in the city were bustling with people, and the sounds of hawking and bargaining were endless.

The army returned to Nanjing the next day after the campaign. Meng Jun ordered the shogunate to distribute the reward money that had been prepared long ago.

This meant that the soldiers and their families had extra money in their hands, and they would spend it on silk, cloth, pigs, sheep, grain, rouge, etc. Most of the soldiers were generous and were the favorite customers of the merchants.

In the afternoon of that day, Meng Jun put on a robe, dressed as a scholar, walked on the streets of Jinling, and observed the lives of the people up close.

With Meng Jun were Shen Congwen and Qian Biao. Normally, Meng Jun preferred to bring Gu Yanwu with him, but Gu Yanwu had been busy with newspaper matters these days and had no free time. As for Qian Biao, although Meng Jun had personally killed enemy soldiers on the battlefield, he was safer in white clothes with a burly man by his side. Of course, Meng Jun was now in a high position and his safety was enough to affect the situation in the world, so he was naturally closely protected by his personal guards.

Meng Jun and his two companions were walking on the street, surrounded by dozens of personal guards who were in disguise and standing not far from them. The personal guards stared at them nervously, fearing that something might go wrong.

Meng Jun saw that in various shops, soldiers on leave accompanied by their families would occasionally buy goods in the stores, creating a lively scene.

Qian Biao was very excited about following Meng Jun in disguise and going on a secret visit. He came over and whispered to Meng Jun, "It's really fun to go out with the king like this. King, how about we go out like this more often in the future?"

Meng Jun glared at Qian Biao and whispered, "Call me Master!"

Shen Congwen said with some worry: "Sir, there are too many people here. For your safety, it is better not to do this kind of thing."

Meng Jun nodded, then smiled and said, "It's okay if it's a spur-of-the-moment idea."

At this time, Qian Biao saw a brothel and hurriedly said to Meng Jun, "Sir, Ling Niang's opera performance is amazing. Do you want to go in and have a rest?"

Before Meng Jun could say anything, Shen Congwen responded, "Qian Biao, what kind of place is this? How can you enter such a rotten place?"

Meng Jun was a little curious, but he suppressed his curiosity (pure curiosity), ignored the greeting, and walked straight past. After passing a few shops, Meng Jun asked Qian Biao: "A rough man like you, do you know folk art?"

Hearing this, Qian Biao said aggrievedly: "Master, you are beating me up now. Even if I don't understand opera, I still can't tell whether it's good or not. She is handsome, has a good figure, and has a soft voice..."

"Okay, shut up."

In a teahouse, diners were discussing political affairs with great interest. Meng Jun stopped and listened for a while. This made Meng Jun feel a little emotional. No matter what era, men, especially middle-aged men, have always been most interested in national affairs and political struggles.

Although they are in different positions, the people's speculations about political affairs are mostly based on hearsay, fabricated, or even nonsense, which makes those who are truly in high positions laugh and cry. However, the people discuss state affairs and care about national affairs, which also shows that these people identify with the country and are loyal and righteous.

The three of them sat at the tea table, and Qian Biao shouted, "Boss, bring us a pot of good wine, no, a pot of good tea, and some good dishes, quickly."

Meng Jun looked around and saw a few notes on the wall of the teahouse asking people not to talk about state affairs. However, the diners around him ignored the notes and didn't care. They still talked about state affairs. Meng Jun listened to the diners' high-sounding discussions and looked at Shen Congwen and said, "It's a good thing to think about state affairs."

Shen Congwen wanted to say that all the rumors started from this, but after thinking about it, he felt that what the king said made sense, so he nodded in agreement.

the next table.

A diner: "Did you hear about this? Something big happened recently!"

"What's the big deal?" A guy at the same table who had a talent for supporting the main character asked.

"It's time for a change of dynasty!" the diner said confidently.

The other person waved his hands and retorted, "Oh, I thought it was something serious. The newspaper has already clarified that the king is summoning officials at all levels, not going to ascend the throne. Maybe the king wants to be Yue Wumu and return power to the emperor in the future."

The guest pretended to be profound, sneered, and said, "What a joke, the court, the emperor, if the king is Yue Wumu, then who is Qin Hui? Look how long it has been since the king recovered the Southern Capital, and the court has not issued an edict. The shogunate still uses the Longwu reign in the newspapers, which shows that the king does not recognize the Kunming court. These days, the king has summoned officials from all over the country and met with them one by one. Don't you think this is a sign of a change of dynasty?"

When people around heard such a well-reasoned interpretation, they all said it made sense.

It was just that the discussion was too loud, and the teahouse owner wanted to pretend he didn't hear anything, but when he heard the sensitive words "change of dynasty" and everyone was discussing it again, he hurried over and advised them, "Hey, guests, don't talk about state affairs, don't talk about state affairs!"

After hearing this, Qian Biao said to the shopkeeper with some dissatisfaction: "You old man, I haven't heard enough of what others have said. Why are you interrupting me?"

The shopkeeper looked back at Qian Biao and saw that he was a big, strong man with a fierce look on his face. He quickly smiled and said, "Sir, this is a major court matter, it is not for us ordinary people to discuss it casually."

"Why can't we discuss it? I'm going to say that the king should ascend the throne immediately. Tell me, do you not want the king to ascend the throne and have evil intentions?"

Qian Biao's words frightened the shopkeeper so much that he almost cried. He quickly explained, "No, no, I...I...how dare I think like that? The king is such a heavenly figure, how can I have any say in that!"

After he finished speaking, the shopkeeper hurried away. Meng Jun was a little speechless and said to Qian Biao, "Why are you scaring others? When you open a business, it is better to have less trouble than more."

Qian Biao chuckled twice. After this interruption, the discussion about the change of dynasties died down and everyone turned to discuss other things.

In Jinling City, people of insight all knew that if things continued to develop in the way that King Zhou was doing, the change of dynasties would no longer be an illusion but was actually happening.

As for the fact that Meng Jun surrendered to the Qing Dynasty and shaved his head, most people can see this from the perspective of a hero not being judged by his origins, and that Meng Jun suddenly came to his senses. But to be honest, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty was born a cowherd and even begged for food as a monk. The founding emperor of the Han Dynasty, Liu Bang, was also a scoundrel.

It has been five or six years since the fall of the Hongguang regime and the conquest of Nanjing by Meng Jun. During these years, the emperor of the Ming court seemed to have disappeared, and the people of Nanjing no longer knew the Zhu family, but only the Meng family.

Meng Jun and the other two drank some tea, ate some snacks, and then went for a walk on the street. This time, Meng Jun had the urge to go on an incognito visit, mainly to understand the current living conditions of the people.

Along the way, most of the people had rosy complexions, which showed that their lives were pretty good. Seeing this, Meng Jun couldn't help but smile with satisfaction.

(Today is September 18th. When I finish writing this book, I will write a book about Northeast China in the late Qing Dynasty. Place an order for reference books now →_→)

(One more explanation, today is also a big chapter!)