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

Chapter 234 Ning Guogong

The eighth day of the second month, Chenzheng.

Spring is back and the sun is shining brightly.

The morning meeting of the Military Affairs Office started on time.

As the highest decision-making body of the Red Army, the Military Affairs Council did not have a grand building, but was just a small courtyard. There were only three people in the council, Dan Chu as the director, and Yu Houji, the left councilor, and Fang Yizhi, the left councilor, as members.

But here there were many guards, all selected from the imperial guards, with tall stature and solemn expressions. The soldiers hurried around and the documents were frequently processed, giving the impression of a solemn and strict privy council.

The first thing to do at the morning meeting was to discuss whether to send troops to reinforce Zhaoqing.

The Military Affairs Commission has the right to read briefings from the Intelligence Bureau and has a clear understanding of the current situation.

Ma Jixiang, the "Ma Emperor", entered the cabinet and was extremely powerful. He tried to understand the intentions of Emperor Yongli and advocated "touring" Guangxi on the grounds that the Qing army was too powerful to be defeated.

If the emperor went to Guangxi, Dongxun would certainly lose his power. Therefore, Du Yonghe, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, tried his best not to move the emperor to prevent the people in eastern Guangdong from losing their morale.

Zhu Youlang was hesitant and sent Liu Yuansheng, the Minister of Military Affairs, and Jin Bao, the Minister of Rites, to Guangzhou to explain. Du Yonghe cried, "If the emperor goes west, he will abandon Guangdong and hand it over to the enemy. Those loyal and righteous people who followed Cheng Dong to rebel will also be handed over to the enemy and killed. How miserable it is for the emperor to draw up this plan!"

Liu Yuansheng also advocated staying in Zhaoqing, but he came up with a bad idea: "Maybe ask the two palaces to move to Wuzhou temporarily, and the emperor stays for a while to call for reinforcements."

Let the two empress dowagers flee to Wuzhou and let the emperor stay in Zhaoqing? Zhu Youlang would not do such a stupid thing, nor would the treacherous ministers and eunuchs.

Li Yuanyin is Li Chengdong's adopted son and Cen Danchu's sworn brother. He is in charge of the Jinyiwei and the commander of the imperial camp, and plays an important role in the court. As Dongxun's representative in the court, he naturally advocates defending Zhaoqing and not entering Guangxi.

On the eighth day of the first lunar month, eunuch Xia Guoxiang took matters into his own hands and carried Empress Dowager Cisheng to the gate of the temporary palace on a sedan chair. Then, in the name of the Empress Dowager's decree, he urged Zhu Youlang to board a ship and flee to Wuzhou.

Since the Empress Dowager had given the order, Zhu Youlang no longer cared about the ministers and hurriedly boarded the ship to escape.

"All officials hurriedly set out on their way. People from eastern Guangdong all rushed back..."

On the first day of February, Zhu Youlang and his ministers fled to Wuzhou and "stayed in the Water Palace".

Wuzhou was Chen Bangfu's territory. As soon as Zhu Youlang arrived in Wuzhou, the court's direction changed immediately. The Wu party overwhelmed the Chu party and finally gained power.

Chen Bangfu secretly planned to "fight tigers". Minister of Revenue Wu Zhenyu, Vice Minister of Rites Guo Zhiqi, Vice Minister of War Cheng Yuan, Wan Ao and other 14 people jointly submitted a memorial to expose the "Five Tigers" of the Chu Party, namely Yuan Pengnian, Liu Xiangke, Ding Shikui, Jin Bao and Meng Zhengfa, attacking them for "controlling the government and doing private things without the knowledge of the emperor."

The Five Tigers relied on Li Chengdong and Li Yuanyin, father and son, and were arrogant and rebellious. Zhu Youlang had been dissatisfied for a long time, and immediately decided to arrest Liu Xiangke and the other four, and tortured and interrogated them in Jinyiwei prison. "Tiger Head" Yuan Pengnian was the son of Yuan Zhongdao, had a close relationship with Li Yuanyin, and was also mourning his mother. The court was cautious and spared Yuan Pengnian from punishment.

At the same time, the Qing army was stepping up preparations to try to attack Guangzhou directly. On the 27th day of the first lunar month, Shang Kexi and Geng Jimao led the army southward from Shaozhou and arrived in Yingde County on the 29th day. General Xu Erxian and deputy general Jiang Dingguo led their troops to attack Qingyuan by water.

Qingyuan is located in the north of Guangzhou and is the gateway to Guangzhou. If the Qing army captured Qingyuan, they could march straight into Guangzhou. …

The left military officer Fang Yizhi was in charge of military affairs and first made a report:
"Last night, the imperial court sent another imperial edict, requesting the Red Army, the Loyalty Camp, and Chen Bangfu to send troops to Sanshui to stop the Qing army. The edict was publicly announced and was issued on the second day of the second month at the Wuzhou Water Palace."

There were many types of central documents in the Ming Dynasty, mainly including 10 types: imperial edicts, decrees, imperial edicts, imperial edicts, edicts, edicts, edicts, edicts, edicts, etc. Among them, the most important ones were imperial edicts and imperial edicts.

As the name suggests, an edict is an imperial decree announced to the world. It is usually announced publicly and requires a specific ceremony.

The imperial court requested the Guangxi military leaders to send troops in the form of an imperial edict, which was not grammatical, but the intention was very clear: to announce it to the world and let everyone know, forcing Cen Danchu, Li Chixin and Chen Bangfu to send troops.

Last month, the Ministry of War had issued a military order to dispatch Cen Danchu and others to the battlefield. At that time, the situation was unclear, so the three of them kept their troops in place.

This time, the small court fled to Wuzhou in a panic. In addition to using imperial edicts to announce it to the world, it also tried to win over the three people.

As for Cen Danchu, the court sent him another imperial edict, which promoted him from Dinglu Marquis to "Ningguo Duke". The court also recognized the Red Army's occupation of Xunzhou and Yulinzhou, and ordered Cen Danchu to "be promoted to the title of Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, and to be the governor of the officials, volunteers, local militias, soldiers and horses in the southwest of Guangxi, and to be in charge of money, grain, horses and weapons".

This imperial edict was of great significance. From then on, Cen Danchu could legitimately control the official troops, volunteer armies, local chieftains' troops, and militia in southwestern Guangxi, and collect money, grain, horses, and military equipment from all over the place.

Fang Yizhi continued, "The court issued a public decree and conferred the title of Duke of Ningguo on the commander. Saving Guangdong or not is related to the world's view and the people's will. No matter what, we must send troops to Guangdong."

Yu Houji was in charge of government affairs and had a negative attitude. He said: "The state affairs are so corrupt, the court does not restore them, but is still busy fighting tigers and fighting among the people. It is simply hopeless.

"Although Marshal Jue and Gao Bizheng are brothers, the Red Army is not affiliated with the Loyalty Camp. Chen Bangfu is also our enemy, and now he has hijacked the imperial carriage with ulterior motives. The court has no prestige, and the armies are not under control. When we reach the front line, we will be lucky if we can avoid internal strife, let alone fight side by side.

"Even if we send troops to Guangdong, Nanning and Guangzhou are thousands of miles apart, and it is difficult to transport food and grass. The army is living in a foreign land and relies on others for food. How should we fight this war?
"What's more, the Red Army is still expanding, the personnel are not yet fully staffed, and the equipment is even more lacking. Warships and rifles are in short supply, and they cannot be assembled in a timely manner. Kong Youde is still in Hunan and may enter Guangxi at any time.

"In my opinion, we can send troops, just for show, but we can't really fight, and we can't lose our own troops."

There are many reasons why we cannot fight militarily, but we must fight politically.

"At this critical moment, the court named me Duke of Ningguo, hoping that I would respond to the call and send troops to aid Guangdong. I am determined to fight against the Qing Dynasty, and the Red Army also uses the slogan of expelling the Tartars and restoring China. Now the situation is critical, and the court has announced to the world that if I don't send troops to fight against the Qing Dynasty, won't I be laughed at by the world?"

Danchu was granted the title of Duke of Ningguo, and from then on he was on an equal footing with Jiao Lian, Li Chixin, Hu Yiqing, Ma Jinzhong, Du Yonghe and other meritorious officials. The court intended to encourage him to send troops to aid Guangdong, which undoubtedly played a role.

He continued, "Li Chixin is far away in Liuzhou, and has been repeatedly excluded and has no fighting spirit. Chen Bangfu has ulterior motives and only cares about preserving his strength. The two of them will definitely not be willing to send troops to aid Guangdong. If I respond to the call and send troops to fight against the invaders, I can gain reputation throughout the world. This time, no matter how hard and difficult it is, we must send troops."

There were still many difficulties in the military. Except for the Imperial Guard, other troops were short of equipment and the new recruits were poorly trained.

Danchu decided to dispatch the personal soldiers and the navy to participate in the war, and planned to march east on the first day of March. The navy was short of warships, so only the first and baggage ships of the navy were dispatched. The entire army planned to dispatch about 12,000 people.

(End of this chapter)