Southern Ming: A boy soldier at the beginning, supporting the world

Chapter 212: Conquer the King of Liao

After bidding farewell to Jiao Lian, Danchu and his companions boarded a speedboat and sailed down the Li River. The wind and the current were favorable, and the oarsmen took turns day and night, so the boat moved very fast.

The weather was fine, and the weather was hot in July. The air was humid and hot, and the men and horses were sweating profusely, as if they were in a steamer.

Looking into the distance, there is a fog deep in the mountains. The ancients called it miasma and feared it like a tiger. When the court punished officials, they often exiled them to miasma areas. Northerners are not adapted to the climate of Lingnan and will die of illness within a few years.

Danchu had been traveling for more than two years and had finally adapted to the hot and humid weather. Most of the Red Army soldiers were from Guangxi, born and raised there, and were used to the miasma.

The war in Huguang gradually subsided. The Qing army began to withdraw its troops and prepare to retreat to the north to escape the summer heat. The Eight Banners soldiers were all from the north and could not stand the scorching heat in the south, so they had to return to the north in summer.

The next afternoon, Danchu arrived in Zhaoping.

Yu Houji, the left assistant general, was already waiting at the reception pavilion in the east of the city. After a brief greeting, he said, "Marshal Jue, I should have gone to Pingle to greet him in person, but Yang Weizhi wanted to leave several times, so I had no choice but to stay and deal with him."

Yang Weizhi was Sun Kewang's envoy. He left Kunming in the first month of the year. Now half a year has passed, and he is anxious to go back and report.

Before Sun Kewang entered Yunnan, Yunnan was already in chaos. Yang Weizhi was a local official in Yunnan at the time. He showed outstanding military and political talents in suppressing the rebellion and was promoted by Emperor Longwu to the position of Governor of Yunnan. Although he had already committed himself to the Dashi Army, he was actually loyal to the court and was a person worth winning over.

"Where is he now?"

"He's still at Yin Hotel. Do you want to ask him to come out?"

"No," Danchu said without hesitation, "Yang Weizhi is my fellow Shaanxi native. He is very intelligent and talented, and is highly regarded by Sun Kewang. I will go to Yin Hotel to visit him in person."

Danchu wanted to make friends with Yang Weizhi, and he had another far-reaching consideration: to support the Shaanxi faction. The Red Army continued to grow, and gradually formed three factions of officials: the Shaanxi faction headed by Cen Danchu, the Guangxi local faction headed by Yu Houji, and the Nanzhili faction headed by Fang Yizhi.

In the traditional environment, factions are inevitable, and factional struggles are also inevitable. To resist the Qing Dynasty and to revive the country, we must overcome party struggles. How to eliminate party struggles and abolish factions?
This is obviously impossible. Where there are people, there are factions. Danchu has established absolute prestige in front of his subordinates, which makes it possible to avoid factional disputes. However, this is far from enough.

He wanted to establish a permanent and effective system and eradicate the soil for party disputes. The first step was to cultivate a strong faction that had an overwhelming advantage over other factions.

The Wubei Academy and Yongan University were not able to take on this task, so Danchu could only settle for the next best thing and focus on cultivating officials from Shaanxi. Most of the bigwigs in the army were from Shaanxi, but there was still a lack of civilian officials like Yang Weizhi.

When they met Yang Weizhi, they exchanged a few pleasantries and sat down as host and guest. Yang Weizhi complained, "I am an envoy from the West Camp and was about to go back to report. But the commander ordered someone to stop me. It's called an invitation, but it's actually house arrest. This is really not the way to treat guests."

Dan Chu clasped his fists and said with a smile: "If I have been disrespectful, I will investigate and thank you. However, I forced you to stay, not with any ill intentions, but for the sake of the West Camp and you."

"Oh?" Yang Weizhi became interested and said, "Marshal, please go ahead."

"I heard that Sun Kewang occupied Yunnan and Guizhou, proclaimed himself the ruler, established six ministries, and named himself the King of Pingdong. He also appointed you as a university scholar."

At this point, Danchu paused and waited for Yang Weizhi to explain. Yang Weizhi looked calm and said, "It is true, but I am an old official of the Ming Dynasty and I will not accept the title I expect."

It is true that he was in Cao's camp but his heart was in Cao's camp. When Sun Kewang entered Yunnan, Yang Weizhi led his troops to resist the battle, was defeated, and drowned. He was rescued by Sun Kewang. The two sides agreed on three articles, broke arrows as an oath, and decided to cooperate. Sun Kewang wanted to rely on Yang Weizhi's reputation to pacify Yunnan, and Yang Weizhi also wanted to unite with the Western Camp to resist the Qing. Historically, Sun Kewang's ambitions grew, and Yang Weizhi fled back to the court, and was eventually executed by Sun Kewang.

"Sun Kewang requested to be named the King of Qin, but the court unanimously opposed it. The emperor overcame all objections and reluctantly named Sun Kewang the Duke of Jing, and Li Dingguo and Liu Wenxiu the Marquis. Once the imperial edict arrived in Yunnan, Kewang would not accept it. You are Kewang's chief envoy, and you have disgraced your mission. Kewang will be angry and will take his anger out on you, won't he?"

Yang Wei knew the pros and cons of this clearly, and sighed, "The court officials all opposed it, from the cabinet ministers to the military governors. I was a promising envoy, but I was also attacked by the officials. I was humiliated and exhausted, so I didn't want to fight anymore."

"Otherwise, for the sake of the country, we have to fight for what we should fight for." Dan Chu said, his eyes were deep and his expression was resolute, seeming unfathomable.

He leaned forward and said, "When I was in Guilin, I had already made friends with the two deputy envoys Pan Shirong and Jiao Guangqi. Before I left, I gave them gifts of money and tried my best to win them over. These two are safe for the time being, so you can rest assured, sir."

Pan Shirong and Jiao Guangqi were both former generals of the Dashi Army and Sun Kewang's confidants. Although they were guards, they were responsible for monitoring Yang Weizhi. In order to appease the two, Yang Weizhi sent his deputy envoy Gong Yixian to Guilin.

Gong Yi was from Shunning Prefecture, Yunnan, and was a Jinshi in the fifth year of the Tianqi reign. Like Yang Weizhi, he was an old official of the Ming Dynasty and was forced to cooperate with Sun Kewang, but in fact he still had his heart set on the court and was committed to uniting with the invaders to pacify the enemy.

Yang Weizhi felt relieved, but then he heard Danchu say, "I have written a secret letter to Du Gebu, asking him to mediate and win the title of king for Sun Kewang."

Du Yinxi was brave enough to take on tasks and was not afraid of criticism. Cen Dan's initial plan with Du Yinxi was undoubtedly feasible.

Yang Weizhi was extremely delighted and said, "Sun Kewang is the remnant of the western bandits and the leader of the bandits. He has strong troops and horses and controls the people of Yunnan and Guizhou. Even if the court does not confer a title on him, how can we stop him from becoming king?
"He sent envoys to the court to ask for a title, which shows that he still has the court in his eyes. If we show him a favor of a higher rank, he will surely be eager to serve. The country is in a difficult situation. Wouldn't we use this false title to attract him and instead create a strong enemy?

"Du Gebu is brave and has won the trust of the emperor. With his help, Sun Kewang's request for a title may be successful. Sun Kewang can use this to control Li Dingguo and Liu Wenxiu, and the court can also use the West Camp for its own benefit. It can be said to be the best of both worlds."

Yang Weizhi had completely relaxed his guard, and was frank with Dan Chu, calling Sun Kewang by his name.

Danchu said, "According to the imperial custom, only the prince can be granted the title of prince. The Prince of Qin is the head of the princes. Sun Kewang's request to be granted the title of Prince of Qin is a bit extravagant. Even if the cabinet tries to mediate, it will be difficult for the emperor to approve it."

"Well," Yang Weizhi pondered, "Why not demote him to a prince? He originally called himself the King of Pingdong, but the word "Dong" is too broad, so why not change it to "Liao" and make him the King of Pingliao to show the court's expectations."

Danchu agreed, and the matter was settled. They just had to wait for Du Yinxi to come over so that it could be implemented.

The two had a very pleasant conversation. Danchu wanted to make friends with Yang Weizhi and said, "Sir, you are my senior and we are from the same hometown. I admire you very much after meeting you today. If you are not satisfied in the West Camp or have been wronged by Sun Kewang in the future, you can write to me or simply condescend to come to my camp. I will welcome you at any time."

Yang Weizhi's expression changed, and he said, "I will keep your kindness in mind, Marshal."

(End of this chapter)