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

Chapter 222: Breaking an Arrow as a Pledge
With Liu Fangliang's help, the Red Army and the Loyalty Battalion reached a reconciliation. The Loyalty Battalion promised to restrain its troops and advance to Liuzhou via the north bank of the Xunjiang River. The Red Army, in the name of escort, sent the Navy Battalion and the Fourth Infantry Battalion westward to Nanning to prevent any changes.

Danchu wanted to form an alliance with the Zhongzheng Camp, so he sent people to deliver medicine and food to the Zhongzheng Camp, and held a banquet to invite Li Chixin, Gao Bizheng and others. He also wrote a letter to Madam Gao in the name of Madam Qu and sent her silk and fabrics.

Li Chixin returned the favor by giving gold, silver and other valuables, and sent three generals, Gao Bizheng, Liu Fangliang and Dang Shousu, to attend the banquet.

Gao Bizheng is Gao Yigong, Li Zicheng's brother-in-law, who was in charge of grain and grass for Li Zicheng. Grain and grass were the lifeblood of the army, and Li Zicheng gave them to Gao Bizheng, which showed that he was cautious and careful, and was capable of taking on the important task. When the Dashun Dynasty was founded, Gao Bizheng was given the title of "Linqu Man".

Dang Shousu was also a veteran of the Dashun Army. He came from Li Zicheng's "Old Eighth Team". When the Dashun Kingdom was founded, he was granted the title of "Zai Hou" and stationed in Lanzhou.

Danchu was very happy when he heard the news and went out to greet him personally. Although Gao Bizheng was not the commander of the Loyalty Camp, he was a man of noble character and had the support of Madam Gao. His prestige was higher than that of Li Chixin. If he was willing to come to the banquet, great things could be accomplished.

After they met, the two sides exchanged a few pleasantries, and Gao Bizheng said, "Duke Xingguo has caught a slight cold and is staying in the camp to oversee important matters. He is unable to attend the banquet in person, and I feel deeply rude, so I was asked to convey my apologies."

Perhaps Li Chixin was really ill, or perhaps he was the head coach and was suspicious and did not dare to take the risk of attending the banquet.

Danchu suddenly remembered that in history, after the Zhongzheng Battalion came to Nanning, an epidemic broke out and Li Chixin himself died of illness in Nanning. Gao Bizheng took over the Zhongzheng Battalion. He once suspected that Chen Bangfu had poisoned the army, which led to the death of the Zhongzheng Battalion commanders one after another. The Zhongzheng Battalion could not stay in Nanning, so Gao Bizheng led his army to Kuidong, passing through Xiangxi and was besieged by the chieftain. Gao Bizheng was poisoned and died. Li Laiheng took over the Zhongzheng Battalion and insisted on resisting the Qing in Kuidong, forming the Thirteen Families of Kuidong. Until the third year of Emperor Kangxi, Li Laiheng committed suicide after his defeat, and the last anti-Qing armed forces on the mainland died out.

In ancient times, sanitary conditions were poor, and the army marched from place to place. Once they arrived in a strange area, they were easily acclimatized and epidemics broke out. No matter how strong you are, no matter how brave you are like Li Chixin or Liu Fangliang, you can't resist the attack of epidemics.

"Duke Yun has come to the banquet in person, which is a great honor for me." Danchu smiled and said sincerely, "I grew up in the army when I was a child, and later I followed Duke Xuan to Guangxi, where there were several epidemics in the army. The climate in Guangxi is humid and hot, and we are all from Shaanxi, so it is inevitable that we will not be able to adapt to the climate when we first arrive. I will have someone write a prescription later, and the commander will make a soup according to this prescription. During the hot summer, let the soldiers drink a bowl of the soup to prevent epidemic diseases."

Gao Bizheng's expression changed, and he said, "Thank you for your kindness, brother."

The banquet was held outside the camp, not far from the Xunjiang River, so that both armies could see it and avoid suspicion.

Before sitting down, they swore an oath. The personal guards delivered two arrows, Danchu nodded to Gao Bizheng, and the two walked forward side by side.

He took out an arrow, looked stern, and swore: "I am Cen Danchu, the general who conquered the Tartars. At this time, the world is in turmoil, the Tartars are rampant, the people are in hardship, and all lives are in ruins. Now I break the arrow as an oath, and the Red Army and the Loyal Camp should put aside their past grudges and personal grudges.

"The two armies should put national justice first and protect the peace of the people as their responsibility. From now on, we will not invade each other, work hand in hand, share the same hatred and resist foreign aggression together. If we violate this oath, it will be like this arrow, and there is no way we can survive. May God have mercy on us and help us succeed in driving out the Tartars and restoring China."

After saying that, there was a click sound, and Danchu broke the arrow with great force and threw it to the ground.

Gao Bizheng was not good at writing, so he swore: "I now swear by breaking an arrow that the Loyalty Camp and the Red Army will not invade each other from today onwards, and will work hand in hand to fight against the Tartar invaders. If you break this oath, you will be punished by heaven and earth, and be condemned by both humans and gods."

After the oath, everyone smiled and sat down as host and guest.

After three rounds of drinks, the atmosphere gradually became better.

Everyone talked about the current situation, and first talked about the benefactor of the Loyalty Camp - Du Yinxi. Gao Bizheng sighed: "I regret not listening to Du Gebu's words, which led to the conflict between our two armies. If Du Gebu was here at this moment and knew that our two armies had reconciled, how happy would he be?"

Danchu was also filled with emotion and asked, "Do you know that Du Gebu has returned to Zhaoqing?" The Yongli court was hostile to the peasant army and did not send any reports to the Zhongzheng Camp. Therefore, the Zhongzheng Camp did not know what was going on in the court.

"The emperor has appointed him as Junior Tutor, and concurrently as Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince, Grand Secretary of Wenyuan Pavilion, Minister of Personnel and Minister of War, and Governor of the Provincial Military Affairs, and in charge of the troops of the Zhongzhen, Zhongwu, and Zhongkai camps."

"Ah! Great news!" Gao Bizheng was overjoyed. He bowed to the east and said with a smile, "Your Majesty is wise. The Du cabinet is being given important positions. I, too, will have a chance to be proud of myself."

The Zhongwu Camp includes generals such as Ma Jinzhong, Wang Jincai, Zhang Guangcui, and Niu Wancai, and most of them are currently stationed in the area where Guizhou and Hunan meet. The Zhongkai Camp includes generals such as Yu Dahai, Li Zhanchun, Yuan Tao, Wu Dading, Wang Guangxing, Wang Youjin, Wang Chang, and Wang Xiang, and most of them are stationed in the area of ​​Kuidong.

In terms of numbers, the Yongli Dynasty of the Southern Ming still had a large army. The Zhongwu Camp and the Zhongkai Camp each had at least 100,000 soldiers, but the organization was lax and the generals lacked unified control, which was even inferior to the Zhongzheng Camp.

Danchu disagreed and sighed, "Lord Du is brave enough to take on responsibilities, but he is a member of the Chu Party. He is straightforward and has many enemies in the court. Although the emperor is wise, the power is not in his hands. Even if he wants to use Lord Du, the party struggles are getting more intense and the ministers will be constrained. Although Lord Du has great ambitions and talents, I am afraid it will be difficult for him to achieve his wish."

In terms of knowledge and understanding of government affairs, Danchu was far superior to Gao Bizheng and others. Yongli Emperor Zhu Youlang was not mentally retarded. He admired Du Yinxi very much and wanted to use him. However, the fierce party struggles and deep-rooted problems in the court were completely beyond the cognition of Gao Bizheng and others. It was almost impossible for Du Yinxi to take power and do great things.

"The talent of Lord Du is ten times that of Prince Zhongxiang. Prince Zhongxiang can gather all the generals and dominate Hunan, let alone Lord Du?" Dang Shousu asked with an incredulous look on his face.

"Zhongxiang Wang is a Chu Party member, and is on good terms with Qu Ge Lao. Many of the court officials are also Chu Party members, so he can let go and do things. Cao Zhijian is arrogant and does not dare to turn against Zhongxiang Wang, but dares to kill Du Ge Bu's personal soldiers and even imprison the Ge Lao. Why? Zhongxiang Wang is a Chu Party member, and Du Ge Bu is a Wu Party member."

Danchu patiently explained, "Besides, the elder is in charge of military affairs and wants to lead the army to war, but the ministers in the court are all members of the Chu Party. The Ministry of Revenue won't give money, the Ministry of War won't give people, and Zhenxia Pass, Mei Pass, and Yan Pass are closed. What can we do?"

Everyone was disappointed. Liu Fangliang had long been disillusioned with the court and said bitterly: "Wu and Chu are fighting, the ministers are loyal but suspected, and the villains are treacherous and in power. This rotten court, what hope is there!"

Gao Bizheng thought further. Du Yinxi and Chen Bangfu were both leaders of the Wu Party. The Zhongzheng Camp followed Du Yinxi and made friends with Chen Bangfu, so they had already chosen the wrong side. Li Yuanyin instructed the Wuzhou garrison to attack the Zhongzheng Camp's fleet, which was a clear proof. Chen Bangfu's troops were weak and his character was bad, so he was not worthy of reliance.

Perhaps, Cen Dan had just made his mark and was worth making friends with. The Red Army had elite troops and horses and was a good ally. He also had the seal of a general who conquered the barbarians and could call on the chieftains of Guangxi. When the Loyalty Camp arrived in Liuzhou, there were many chieftains around, so they had to take precautions early.

Thinking of this, Gao Bizheng resolutely said: "Marshal Jue has great ambitions and is young and promising. If you don't mind me being a former general of the Dashun Army, how about we become brothers? If so, the Loyalty Battalion will form an eternal alliance with the Red Army, support each other in times of trouble, and never betray each other."

Dan Chu had the same idea, so he exchanged orchid genealogies with Gao Bi Zheng and became brothers.

After the ceremony, Danchu said tentatively: "Chen Bangfu has ulterior motives and is said to be planning to hijack the emperor. If that is true, I will eliminate the traitor for the country and lead the army to attack him."

Now that he had made peace with the Zhongzheng Camp, Danchu was finally free to deal with Chen Bangfu.

Liu Fangliang was just about to repay Danchu for not killing him, so he said first: "Chen Bangfu is a villain. The commander is getting rid of harm for the people, and the loyal camp should cooperate."

This was very rude, but that was how the peasant army generals were, they said whatever they thought. Gao Bizheng was slightly displeased, but he also despised Chen Bangfu's character. Although he had taken Chen's daughter as a concubine, he also said: "My brother is doing justice, and I naturally agree with him."

(End of this chapter)