1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 3877

The Ming army's resistance in southern Jiangxi was somewhat unexpected by Haihan. They originally thought that after taking Ganzhou, they could push all the way to Nanchang, but the reality was not so.

Leveraging their familiarity with the complex mountainous terrain, the Ming army continuously harassed the Haihan army during their advance. Although these small-scale guerrilla attacks could not truly defeat the Haihan army, the high frequency of these attacks significantly slowed their advance.

Of course, given the significant disparity in strength between the two sides, the Ming army's proactive attack inevitably came at a heavy price, with casualties far exceeding the number of targets they attacked.

In a single battle, the Ming army often had to suffer hundreds of casualties in order to successfully hold off the Haihan troops for one or two hours.

The local Ming army had limited manpower and could not withstand such casualties repeatedly. Moreover, due to limited logistical support capabilities, their operational range could not extend far from the few cities in the area. Ultimately, they still had to rely on the city defenses to engage in a decisive battle with the Haihan army.

Therefore, when the Haihan army advanced to the city walls, it meant that the defenders lost their room to maneuver, and once they entered a positional warfare situation, the Ming army had few tactics available.

Five days after the troops led by Shi Chengwu and Ha Jianyi captured Nankang Prefecture, the Third Division of the Lu Army, led by Xu Kaiyuan, finally broke through the city gate of Jianchang Prefecture on May 10th.

Meanwhile, Lu Ershi, led by You Zhiyuan, captured the three county towns of Dayu, Nankang, and Chongyi, which were under the jurisdiction of Nan'an Prefecture, on May 7th, 11th, and 14th respectively. During this period, a great deal of time was spent clearing out the mountains and forests, which greatly exceeded the originally expected operation time.

On May 20th, Lu Ershi finally captured Shangyou County, the last city controlled by the Ming Dynasty in Nan'an Prefecture. By this time, the Ming army garrison in Nan'an Prefecture had been almost completely wiped out, with nearly a thousand killed in battle and most of the survivors captured. They were essentially unable to organize a complete force to launch a counterattack.

By this time, Haihan had essentially completed its occupation of the five prefectures of Jiujiang, Nankang, Nan'an, Ganzhou, and Jianchang within Jiangxi Province. Eight more prefectures, including Nanchang, remained under Ming control.

Meanwhile, the newly appointed diplomatic ambassador of the Ming Dynasty hurried all the way and finally arrived in Hangzhou.

The official who was entrusted with an important mission and came to Hangzhou was named Meng Jinfeng. He was a colleague of Yue Shizong, and even held the same position in the Ministry of Rites as Yue Shizong, namely, a secretary in the Ministry of Rites.

Upon arriving in Hangzhou, Meng Jinfeng didn't even enter the city; he went directly to the Executive Committee building by West Lake, hoping to meet with the Executive Committee immediately.

However, the newly appointed ambassador, eager to meet with the Executive Committee, was turned away at the door.

Left with no other choice, Meng Jinfeng had to turn around and go to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to explain his identity and purpose.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Haihan required Meng Jinfeng to first complete the handover of his position with the former ambassador Yue Shizong, then submit an application to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and then the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would arrange a time to meet with the Executive Committee.

This was the normal procedure for diplomatic envoys to take up their posts, but at this moment, every second of delay was torture for the Ming Dynasty, which was at a disadvantage on the battlefield.

When Meng Jinfeng set off from the capital, Jiangxi had already lost the prefectures of Jiujiang and Ganzhou. During his southward journey, battles raged, and the defending troops were already fighting and retreating. If he had been delayed for a few more days, perhaps most of Jiangxi would have been lost.

The court's objective for him was to persuade the Executive Committee to cease hostilities and halt all military operations in Jiangxi as soon as he arrived in Hangzhou. The terms the Ming Dynasty would need to offer in exchange could be discussed later. In short, as long as a ceasefire was achieved and some buffer time was gained, any conditions were negotiable.

Meng Jinfeng understood that the task he had been given was certainly not a good one. If he did it well, he might receive some praise; if he did it poorly, he would become the scapegoat. If he could reach an agreement with the Haihan Executive Committee, that would be fine. But if they couldn't, he might be implicated in the future investigation into the loss of Jiangxi's territory.

But since he couldn't see the Executive Committee right now, he could only follow the instructions of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and go to Yue Shizong to hand over the reins.

However, the ambassador who recently resigned due to illness is not currently at the embassy.

"What? They went to the mountains to recuperate?"

When Meng Jinfeng arrived at the embassy, ​​he found it empty, and the reply from the embassy staff on duty surprised him even more.

During this extraordinary period of war between the two countries, this former official actually disregarded the diplomatic affairs of the embassy and went to the mountains to recuperate.

As far as he knew, Yue Shizong did not seem to be such an irresponsible person. His behavior suggested that something might have happened that the court was unaware of.

However, Meng Jinfeng's most pressing task was to quickly complete the handover with Yue Shizong so that he could meet with the Executive Committee. He couldn't bother investigating the truth anymore; he quickly found out where Yue Shizong was, then rushed out of the city and plunged into the mountains and forests on the west bank of West Lake.

However, it was already late when he left the city and entered the mountains that day, so he could only stay overnight at an inn in the mountains. The next morning, before dawn, Meng Jinfeng set off to continue up the mountain, and did not reach his destination until noon.

This temple, named Shangtianzhu, is not as famous as Lingyin Temple, which is a few miles away, but it still has a history of several hundred years.

However, the temple was destroyed at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, and after it was severely damaged, it was rebuilt and repaired by monks through fundraising for more than two hundred years during the Ming Dynasty. It never regained its former popularity.

Meng Jinfeng entered the temple, explained his purpose to the guest monk, and found Yue Shizong, who was recuperating there, without much trouble.

It is said that Yue Shizong, who is supposed to be unable to work due to a serious illness, is copying scriptures in his meditation room. When Meng Jinfeng entered the room, he saw Yue Shizong sitting upright at his desk, with a ruddy complexion and strong strokes, not at all like someone who was seriously ill. This made Meng Jinfeng even more suspicious.

After Yue Shizong finished copying a section of scripture, he looked up and saw Meng Jinfeng standing at the door. He immediately recognized his former colleague and showed no surprise. He put down his brush, nodded to him, and said, "Lord Meng, you've come!"

Meng Jinfeng cupped his hands and said, "I arrived in Hangzhou yesterday and heard that Lord Yue was recuperating in the mountains, so I came to visit him today. Lord Yue looks quite well; he must be getting along well, right?"

Yue Shizong gestured for Meng Jinfeng to sit down, then poured him some tea and said, "My problem is a mental one. Now that I'm in the mountains, I don't have to deal with official business. I eat and live with the monks in the temple every day, copy some scriptures, and enjoy the mountain scenery. Without too many worries, my mental problem has naturally eased."

Meng Jinfeng sensed a hidden meaning in his words and, without dwelling on it, quickly changed the subject: "Lord Yue, are you aware that our country and the Haihan are engaged in a fierce battle in Jiangxi, which has been going on for a month! The situation is critical, and the court is extremely anxious about it!"