Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 473: 1 Unification (4)

In fact, Wu Sangui was extremely unwilling to surrender to Zhou in this way, but he was forced by the situation and had no choice but to do so.

Therefore, when Fang Guangchen left, Wu Sangui said to him: "The struggle for world hegemony has become increasingly blurred, but the agreement of the Qing court in the past to separate southern Yunnan still has a glimmer of hope. Therefore, my first choice is to still be a vassal state and govern Guizhou autonomously. The second is to hold the military seal and control the troops in my hands to garrison the border."

Wu Sangui originally thought that he could exchange the three provinces for the same treatment as the Mu family had received in the past. This was not something that could be easily achieved. Meng Jun would have to give him money, official titles, and promises to appease him.

What Wu Sangui had not expected was that once Wuguan was breached, all the cities in Guanzhong opened their gates and surrendered even before the imperial edict was received. Once Guanzhong was lost, Wu Sangui's hope of ruling Yunnan was slim. Sichuan is still sparsely populated, and there were even tigers on the streets of Chengdu. Wu Sangui, who had lost Nanyang and Guanzhong, would have difficulty maintaining his existing army for long, let alone competing with Lin Shiqi for Guanzhong.

Moreover, Guanzhong was lost even faster than Nanyang Prefecture. All the cities surrendered at the sight of the enemy, and the garrisons in various places surrendered without blinking an eye. This simply broke Wu Sangui's heart.

Fortunately, after Lin Shiqi's army captured Guanzhong, they were still stabilizing the local situation and did not directly attack Hanzhong, which allowed Wu Sangui to wait for news from Fang Guangchen.

………………

In the capital city, after receiving the news of the break of Wuguan, at the instruction of Meng Jun, good news came frequently from Beijing, and the Propaganda Department vigorously promoted the fact that Lin Shiqi, the commander-in-chief of the Huguang Camp, broke through Wuguan and advanced into Guanzhong.

Fang Guangchen, who was still arguing with Meng Hong, became blurry-eyed and suddenly felt dizzy after hearing the news. Meng Hong, who was standing by, quickly supported Fang Guangchen and said with a laugh, "Mr. Fang, are you okay?"

Then Meng Hong pulled a chair for Fang Guangchen and asked him, who seemed to be about to faint, to sit down and rest for a while.

Fang Guangchen leaned back in his chair and took a breath for a while before he recovered. He suddenly raised his head and said to Meng Hong in a deep voice, "I want to see His Royal Highness Prince Zhou right away!"

When Fang Guangchen saw Meng Jun again, he noticed that his eyes were bright and he didn't look unwell at all.

This time, Fang Guangchen went straight to the point and said, "Your Majesty, although our army has lost Guanzhong, this is because the main force is in Yunnan. If the main force of our army is still there, it may not be easy for General Lin to enter Guanzhong!"

Meng Jun nodded without comment, looked at Fang Guangchen, and motioned him to continue.

Seeing this, Fang Guangchen gritted his teeth and said, "If the king uses Yunnan as a vassal to place my lord, then I can help the king relieve his worries!"

Meng Jun was stunned. I myself don’t know what’s bothering me, so how do you, Fang Guangchen, know? Then Meng Jun asked, “Oh! What’s bothering me? Mr. Fang, can you tell me about it?”

"Your Majesty is now rich and powerful, and the trend of unifying the country is unstoppable. Although the Ming court is struggling to survive, Emperor Yongli still commands the world in the name of the Lord of the World."

Having said that, Fang Guangchen paused at the right time and did not continue. His meaning was very clear. Meng Jun had actually expelled the Qing court, but the world still belonged to the Zhu family in name, and Meng Jun could not just retreat like that.

Therefore, Fang Guangchen's meaning was that Meng Jun would use Yunnan, which was not in his hands, as a reward in exchange for Wu Sangui's Hanzhong, Sichuan and Yunnan, as well as more than 60,000 Wu troops, and help Meng Jun solve the problem of Emperor Yongli.

Seeing Meng Jun's thoughtful expression, Fang Guangchen continued, "Now there are many loyal and righteous people under the king's command, but those who want to accomplish great things should not be too particular about trivial matters. If the king agrees, the southwest will be settled, the Ming court will be destroyed, and the king will be able to take the next step without any obstacles!"

Meng Jun listened to Fang Guangchen's words, looked at Fang Guangchen kneeling on the ground, thought for a long time, and then asked: "Do you know why I was able to drive out the Tartars and restore the country in six years?"

Fang Guangchen replied respectfully: "It is all because of the king's wisdom and bravery, and his natural talent, that we have such a grand occasion now!"

Meng Jun stood up and said loudly: "If I were alone, how could I accomplish such a great thing? The Qing Dynasty entered the pass, seized land, shaved their heads and changed their clothes, massacred the people, and countless people gathered together. They sacrificed their lives and shed their blood. It was so heroic and magnificent that they finally restored the mountains and rivers. They did not fight for the Ming Dynasty, which had already lost the hearts of the people, but for the clothes and heritage of the Han family!"

Meng Jun walked up to Fang Guangchen and whispered, "So, you let me use thick black as a magic weapon and conspiracy as a foundation. How can I win the trust of the world? Zhu Youlang, if he wants to abdicate, it's fine. If he doesn't want to, it's fine. I will take over the world with integrity. Why should I be afraid of rumors?"

Fang Guangchen was speechless for a long time before he said, "But the land of Yunnan is not in the hands of the king now. Why not use the generosity of others to gain real benefits? As long as the king agrees, the land in the southwest can be pacified without losing a single soldier or spending a penny on food and money!"

Meng Jun shook his head and said, "Nothing is free in this world. If you gain something, you will lose something. Now we set up vassal states for the sake of profit. We can also cut down vassal states for the sake of profit in the future. Why should I leave a disaster for the future?"

After finishing speaking, Meng Jun looked at Fang Guangchen and said earnestly: "In all dynasties, the feudal lords have always been the source of trouble for the country. Wu Sangui wants to occupy Yunnan. Does he want to recuperate and plot something bad?"

It is impossible for Meng Jun to establish a large vassal state in the Han area. This is a matter of principle. If Wu Sangui is unwilling to accept it, Meng Jun would rather pay the price and eliminate Wu Sangui.

Fang Guangchen was silent for a long time, and then he said, "Your Majesty, you are worrying too much. How dare my lord have such thoughts? In troubled times, we only want to protect ourselves. Since Your Majesty said so, my lord is also willing to expand the territory for Your Majesty. However, my lord is now a king, and he surrendered by offering land, but Your Majesty rewarded him with the title of Pingxi Bo, and even demoted him by three ranks. This hurt the soldiers' hearts, and I am afraid that people will criticize him!"

Meng Jun said calmly, "Wu Sangui opened the gates to welcome the invaders. Although he claimed to be avenging the late emperor, war broke out all over the country and millions of people were killed. I will let him go because he is willing to surrender. Why bargain?"

Fang Guangchen argued: "Even if the prince did not open the pass, could the Qing army not have entered? The Qing army invaded five times in the past, which one of them entered through Shanhaiguan?"

Meng Jun did not want to argue with Fang Guangchen about the past events, and said bluntly: "If Wu Sangui surrenders, he can be promoted from earl to marquis, and hold military power, which is also possible, but at most the army of one town, and the rest must be reorganized. In this way, I can ensure that he will have a stable life in the future!"

Fang Guangchen's forehead was covered with sweat. Meng Jun's toughness was beyond his expectations. After a long while, Fang Guangchen whispered, "Your Majesty, I dare not make a decision on my own. I can only ask for the instructions of my Lord!"

"Yes, I will send a letter to the Huguang camp to have the army temporarily stationed in Guanzhong to stabilize the situation and let the three armies celebrate the New Year." After saying this, Meng Jun looked down at Fang Guangchen and said, "But I have no intention of changing my words!"