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

Chapter 296 Kong Youde is at his wit's end

As soon as Wang Yuncheng left, Kong Youde immediately summoned Li Yangxing to inquire about the city defense. Li Yangxing was the chief historian of the palace, and actually presided over the defense of Guilin. The King of Dingnan was a vassal king, and the palace had a chief historian who was in charge of the palace's political orders, and his position was quite important.

"Li Li, is there any news from Old Sun?"

Sun Long was ordered to Pingle to urge Ma Jiaolin to return to Guilin. When the vassal army first occupied Guilin, Kong Youde was arrogant and looked down on others, thinking that Guangxi was within his grasp. He favored some and neglected others, and sent his cronies such as Lian Guoan and Ma Xiong to plunder Liuzhou, Qingyuan, and Wuzhou to compete for military merits.

Ma Jiaolin was a general who followed the expedition and was not a direct descendant of the Dingnan clan. He was sent to Pingle to tackle the tough issue of Yong'an Prefecture and also to guard the Xiaguan Pass.

Now Guilin was in urgent need, and Ma Jiaolin was the closest to Guilin, so Kong Youde had no choice but to ask him for help. He had planned everything, but ended up losing his life.

"Old Sun sent someone to tell me that Ma Jiaolin had divided his troops to counterattack Zhenxia Pass and was unable to return to Guilin. He went to Lipu and Xiuren and received 2,000 reinforcements from Lianzhen. He is on his way back to Guilin."

"Ah?" Kong Youde was very disappointed and asked, "Where is Ma Jiaolin now?"

"Ma Zhen is still in Pingle and is already busy taking care of himself."

"When will Lao Sun come back?"

"He was still in Xiu Ren three days ago, and he will be back in the next two days."

Sun Long's family was in Guilin, and he had been engaged to Kong Youde since childhood. His return to the dangerous city at this time moved Kong Youde a little despite his despair.

Li Yangxing was one of Kong Youde's own people. Kong Youde said calmly, "In the morning, Wang Yuncheng came to ask for an audience, saying that Wang Yongzuo was calling for surrender at Xiqing Gate. Wang Yongzuo did not dare to act on his own, so he came to ask for instructions."

Kong Youde paused, hoping that Li Yangxing could offer some insightful comments.

Hearing the word "Red Army", Li Yangxing's heart moved, trying to figure out what Kong Youde meant, and asked, "I heard that the Red Army promised Wang Yongzuo the position of commander, I wonder what they can promise to the prince?"

"Wang Yuncheng didn't say that. However, he gave an example, saying that the Zhongzheng Battalion was all Red Army Infantry Brigade, and Dingnan Fan could cite this example."

Kong Youde always called Wang Yuncheng "Old Wang", but this time he called him by his name. Li Yangxing said without hesitation: "The Red Army only attacked the North Gate and Liangze Gate, and deliberately avoided the Xiqing Gate guarded by Wang Yuncheng, which aroused suspicion. He has been affiliated with Dingnan for a short time and may defect to the Red Army at any time."

"Well, you are right." Kong Youde felt helpless and said, "We can only let Wang Yuncheng do what he wants."

How could the great King Dingnan be unable to do anything to a small general? Thinking carefully, it was true.

Wang Yuncheng, nicknamed "Iron Cavalry King", served in Liaodong during the Chongzhen period and was a brave warrior. Although he was a small military leader, he fought in many battles for decades, and his men were all brothers who had risked their lives for him.

If Kong Youde dared to kill Wang Yuncheng, even if he succeeded by chance, Wang Yuncheng's subordinates would definitely rebel. Guilin was already in danger, and if the defenders were not united, they would be taken advantage of by the Red Army.

Li Yangxing was also filled with mixed feelings. Kong Youde was extremely arrogant and domineering. Now, he was at his wit's end. The palace was in a state of panic, and the lives of thousands of families of the Dingnan vassal army were in danger.

Pray for God's blessing? Li Yangxing had been through many battles, so he would not place his hopes on the illusory God. Instead of begging for God's blessing, it would be better to surrender to the Red Army as soon as possible. "Guilin has become an isolated city. Without reinforcements, it will be destroyed sooner or later. Rather than letting the Red Army destroy the city, it is better to pay the money and surrender. As long as the troops are still there, my wife and wealth can be preserved, and I can make a comeback in the future..."

Before Li Yangxing could finish his words, someone rudely pushed the door open without asking for permission.

The man who came was Bai Yunlong, the "White Shrimp". He was already wearing armor and had a sharp sword on his waist. He ignored Kong Youde's unhappy face and asked, "Is the prince discussing surrender?"

A woman flashed past behind him. She was thirty years old, covered in jewels and precious stones, and dressed like a Manchu woman. She was none other than Princess Bai of Dingnan.

When Kong Youde surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, he brought much-needed red cannons and warship technology to the Later Jin Dynasty, and was strongly wooed by the Later Jin Dynasty. After Kong Youde's original wife died of illness, Huang Taiji specially selected a woman from the Manchu nobles to marry Kong Youde.

"That's right," Kong Youde said frankly, "The Red Army sent someone to tell me that as long as the Dingnan Army surrenders, it can be reorganized into the Red Army. This vassal will still lead the vassal army, with Guilin as the base, and the palace will remain the same as before."

"Hahaha!" Bai Xiazi sneered unscrupulously, "How foolish your Highness is. It doesn't matter if we surrender to the Red Bandits. We can just cut off our braids, take off our hats, put on crowns, and continue to serve. We won't have to worry about our future.

"Your Majesty has established a government in the South and is extremely wealthy. If you surrender to the Red Bandits, what official position should you hold? Cen Danchu is only the Duke of Ningguo. Will Your Majesty be willing to be demoted to a marquis?
"In the past, the fake Yongming King sent people to confer titles on the Pingnan and Jingnan vassals, promising them the titles of Beiping Hou and Jingbei Hou, which made the world laugh. The Pingnan and Jingnan vassals ignored him and killed the fake envoy.

"The Dingnan vassal is above the Pingnan and Jingnan vassal states. The prince thinks highly of himself and once boasted in front of the regent that he is willing to pacify western Guangdong with the Dingxian vassal state. Now that western Guangdong has not been pacified, the prince surrenders first. Wouldn't that make the world laugh at him?"

Kong Youde's face turned red and white, and he couldn't argue.

Bai also refused to give in and said, "Your Highness was born a commoner, and was blessed by two dynasties. He was named the King of Dingnan and established his government in western Guangdong. He is extremely rich and powerful. Now that Guilin is in urgent need, Your Highness has the responsibility to defend the city, and he should live and die with Guilin.

"I have heard of Eight Banners soldiers dying in battle, but I have never heard of Eight Banners soldiers surrendering. I have heard of Eight Banners women dying for their loyalty, but I have never heard of women losing their loyalty. If the city is captured, my wife and I will die, and our reputation will be passed down through the ages. Isn't that a joy? If the prince surrenders to the Red Bandits, I will not follow him, but I will bleed three feet to preserve my reputation."

The Bai brothers and sisters sang in unison and spoke with righteous words, leaving Kong Youde speechless.

Li Yangxing was not convinced and said, "I dare not agree with what General Bai and the princess say. The prince is of noble status and cannot take his life lightly. There are still Xianzhen and Mazhen in Liuzhou and Pingle, and we can still fight. If the prince dies for his loyalty, the vassal army will have no one to lead it, and they will fight on their own, and will be taken advantage of by the red bandits..."

"According to the laws of the Qing Dynasty, if a military officer does not die in battle, he will die by law. Your Majesty is a noble man who is admired by the world. You should cherish your reputation and not break the law. When I left Beijing, the Emperor ordered me to guard Your Majesty and not to make any mistakes. If Your Majesty surrenders to the Red Bandits, it would be an injustice for me."

Bai Xiazi's words were a naked threat.

Who could believe that Kong Youde was arrogant and conceited, and acted arrogantly in front of his subordinates and the people. But in front of the Manchu guards, he lost his dignity and was so cowardly that he couldn't even say a harsh word.

"You two should go first. The Chief Secretary and I still need to discuss the city's defense."

After sending Bai Xiazi and Bai away, Li Yangxing's eyes flashed with ferocity, and he whispered, "Your Majesty, just say the word, and I will lead my troops into the palace and kill Bai Xiazi!"

"Ah!" Kong Youde had lost his temper, and sighed repeatedly, saying, "The palace guards are all Bai Xiazi's confidants, so we can't act rashly."

(End of this chapter)