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

Chapter 277: The Conquering General

On the 17th, Kong Youde led the Qing army of Dingnan to occupy Guilin.

On the same day, Bashan, the Manchu Jiangning governor, arrived in Guangzhou with 5,000 Manchu and Han soldiers, and joined forces with Shang Kexi and Geng Jimao to attack Guangzhou.

Wuzhou received two bad news successively from Guilin and Guangzhou, and the emperor and his ministers were terrified. Zhu Youlang did not even inform the nine ministers, and immediately boarded a ship to flee to Nanning.

Historically, the escape from Wuzhou was so hasty and unplanned that Wuzhou was "empty for three months". The ministers did not receive any notice at all, and only found out that the emperor and his family had fled when they went to court the next day. This was a huge blow to the Yongli court. Liu Yuansheng, Lu Kezao, Qian Bingdeng, Wang Fuzhi and others all left the Yongli court during this period.

Cen Danchu's time travel accelerated the course of history and also changed the direction of history. Nanning was prosperous and the people were well off, and the Red Army was strong and powerful, which brought hope of survival to the small court in desperate situation.

This time, after Emperor Yongli fled to Nanning, the small court did not show a situation of monkeys scattering when the tree fell, and many officials rushed to Nanning. However, some people followed Emperor Yongli, and some followed Cen Danchu.

On the 24th, Grand Secretary Wang Huacheng rushed to Nanning and asked to see Cen Danchu.

Wang Huacheng had a bad reputation as an official. He once advocated joining forces with the Zhongzheng Camp and the Dashi Army to fight against the Qing Dynasty, which made him hostile to the officials. Wang Fuzhi once impeached him for "making friends with traitors and ruining the country", and Jin Bao once impeached him for "being corrupt and incompetent and ruining the country".

This man is quite capable. When the country was in crisis, he volunteered to go to Nanning to meet Danchu.

After all, he was a university scholar and an angel officer, so he had to meet him. Danchu left Wang Huacheng alone for a long time before meeting him in the second hall of Ningguo Mansion.

The situation is different now. If the imperial court seeks refuge in Xunzhen's territory, it must look to Xunzhen's eyes. Wang Huacheng is flexible and dare not show off in front of Danchu.

After the greetings, Wang Huacheng was not in a hurry to announce the decree. Danchu also pretended to be confused and sat opposite him, saying: "The court has issued twelve edicts in a row, urging me to send troops to fight against the invaders. It's not that I don't want to send troops, but I really need to plan a major plan and prepare food and grass. The hardships and twists and turns involved are not worth telling to outsiders."

This is quite disrespectful. The Art of War says: "When a general is on the battlefield, he may not obey the orders of the emperor." However, the Ming Dynasty was highly centralized and strictly guarded against military power. When a general was on the battlefield, he never dared to disobey orders. Even a commander with hundreds of thousands of troops could not defeat a piece of paper from the court.

At the end of the Ming Dynasty, rituals and music collapsed, and military generals began to act arrogantly. Cen Danchu looked down on Emperor Yongli and his ministers from the bottom of his heart, and spoke rudely to Wang Huacheng in front of him.

Wang Huacheng was not offended at all, and said with a smile: "The general is extremely wise, and I have always admired him deeply. In this world, the only one who can compete with the Tartars and is willing to compete with the Tartars is the general. The only one who can save the current situation is the general. If the general does not abandon me, I am willing to fight for a title for the general."

Among the four ministers in the current cabinet, Wang Huacheng deserves to be ranked first in terms of profound vision and flexible tactics.

Danchu's mind moved, and he said, "Please speak, Lord."

"I heard that the general is determined to be appointed as the general who conquers the enemy. I would like to ask for your approval and confer the title. I ask you to control the dukes, marquises, and barons, civil and military officials, so as to restore the country."

According to official customs, the recommender must be of high rank, so that the recommended person can feel at ease. The title of General of the Conquering the Enemy is an important title for a general, so if he is recommended by the Prime Minister, it would be the best.

Wang Huacheng was a senior official, and had enough experience to recommend the general to conquer the enemy. But his reputation was not high, which was a bit regrettable.

The current situation is so chaotic, it is good enough to be appointed as the General of Conquering the Enemy, and there is no need to care about the recommendation. If the words "control the dukes, marquises, and barons, big and small, civil and military officials" can be added to the edict, it will be even better. The Duke of Yun Gao Bizheng, the Duke of E Ma Jinzhong, the Duke of Kaiguo Zhao Yinxuan, etc. can all be controlled legitimately.

Danchu was very happy and said, "I appreciate your kindness. I will reward you handsomely after the matter is accomplished."

Wang Huacheng saw things quickly and thought that Cen Dan had the potential to be a leader and had the intention to submit, so he tried his best to please him and said, "If the general changes his title to the general who conquers the enemy, he can control the various towns and work hard to restore the country.

"I have been planning this with my uncle for a long time, and it will surely succeed. A few days ago, Qiu Weng (Chief Minister Yan Qiheng) gave up his position and Tie Weng (Wen Anzhi) was promoted to Chief Minister. Tie Weng was recommended by Jia Weng (Qu Shisi), and he will not offend the general as he has just taken office as Chief Minister." In her early years, Queen Wang of Yongli lived in Ji'an, Jiangxi with her family. Her brother was Wang Weigong. Wang Huacheng was from Jinxi, Jiangxi. He became a Jinshi in the seventh year of Chongzhen. He befriended Wang Weigong through hometown folk songs and became brothers with Wang Weigong.

The current situation was difficult, and the court moved to Nanning, so it was necessary to win over Cen Danchu. Emperor Yongli was a smart man, and he would not be ignorant of the current situation and be reluctant to give up the title of the general who conquered the enemy.

Wang Huacheng had a bad reputation, and most of the civil officials who prided themselves on being upright regarded him as a traitor. But traitors do flattery and do not avoid criticism. If they can be properly controlled, they can be of great use.

You see, Feng Quan clung to the eunuch party and was denounced as a villain by the Ming emperor and his ministers, and was never employed. The Manchu Qing did the opposite, appointing Feng Quan as a Grand Secretary of the Inner Court, ranking ahead of Manchu and Han Grand Secretaries such as Hong Chengchou and Qi Chongge, and favoring him greatly. Feng Quan was also extremely grateful to the Manchu Qing and tried his best to surrender.

Wang Huacheng was a high-ranking scholar, and he was willing to come over to ask for credit. Danchu was just trying to make friends with him, so he said, "When I was young, I was determined to become a general who conquered the enemy. If I can do that, I will die without regrets. I will definitely accept your kindness, and I will repay you in the future."

Wang Huacheng felt relieved and said with a smile, "General, you don't have to be polite. I am doing this for the sake of the country and the world, not for my own personal gain."

The two wanted to talk happily, and Wang Huacheng saw that Danchu was in a good mood, so he said, "General, the emperor has an order."

Danchu understood, hesitated for a moment, and said, "I'll have someone arrange the incense table and music."

The imperial court sent angel officials to issue imperial edicts. The etiquette was quite complicated and included kneeling, music, salutes, official uniforms, etc.

With Danchu's status and qualifications, he was already fed up with this. Since Wang Huacheng promised him the post of General of Conquering the Enemy, he reluctantly held the ceremony normally to save Wang Huacheng's face.

Wang Huacheng was very obedient and said, "General, the current situation is difficult and military matters cannot be delayed. We don't need to be bound by conventional etiquette and just start reading here."

Danchu took advantage of the situation, stood up, bowed deeply towards the northeast, which was considered a great ceremony, and then began to read the imperial edict.

The content was very simple. Emperor Yongli was going to "tour" Nanning, and asked Cen Danchu to prepare official residences in advance and accommodate the palace family and ministers. The imperial edict naturally encouraged him, and gave him the title of Taibao, and other rewards were countless.

Taibao is one of the Three Dukes, and only those with outstanding achievements and deep prestige can be appointed as one of the Three Dukes. Danchu's prestige will be further enhanced by adding the title of Taibao.

It is undoubtedly a good thing for the imperial court to move here. Danchu can use the emperor to command the princes, unite more talents, and integrate more resources. However, the stationing location is very important. It is definitely not appropriate to place it in Nanning, which will have an adverse impact on the military government. If it is too far away from Nanning, it will easily lose control.

Danchu pondered for a moment and said, "Nanning is a battleground for military strategists. The Tartars will certainly send troops to fight for Nanning. If the emperor stays in Nanning, the palace family may be disturbed."

Wang Huacheng understood and said, "What the general said makes sense. Why not put it in Xinning?"

Xinning Prefecture is located in the upper reaches of Zuojiang River and is rich in coal and iron ore. The Red Army encouraged industry and commerce, and officials and civilians established Yongning Company and Xinning Company to vigorously develop Xinning's mineral deposits. After two years of development, Xinning Prefecture was prosperous and the people were well-off, with a scene of peace and prosperity.

Danchu did not want the Yongli Emperor to move to Xinning, saying, "Xinning Prefecture is close to Jiaozhi, which is inconvenient. It is better to visit Long'an County."

Long'an County, like Xinning Prefecture, belongs to Nanning Prefecture, but is located in the upper reaches of Youjiang River, which is farther away. Prefectures are larger than counties, and Long'an County is definitely not as good as Xinning Prefecture in terms of conditions. In addition, Long'an County is surrounded by Si'en Prefecture and Taiping Prefecture on the left and right, and Tian Prefecture is located in the upper reaches of Youjiang River, where many chieftains of the Cen clan are located.

Wang Huacheng responded quickly and said, "Long'an means Dragon's Peace, which means auspiciousness. The general's suggestion is very good."

This Wang Huacheng is such a well-behaved guy. Danchu looked at him with admiration and said with a smile: "Then change Longan to Longan. Please go back and explain it to please God."

(End of this chapter)