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

Chapter 299: The First Defeat of a Famous King
Wusheng Gate and Xiqing Gate were not far from Lize Gate. Kong Youde was supervising the battle at Lize Gate. When he saw the Red Army had already entered the city, he was immediately as sad as if he had lost his parents. Looking down from outside Lize Gate, the Red Army's cavalry was like a forest, and their armor and weapons were dazzling. Looking at Diecai Mountain in the north of the city, the Red Army's flags were clearly visible.

The situation was hopeless, and Kong Youde also wanted to surrender. He turned around suddenly and saw a sinister and ferocious Manchu guard with a pockmarked face, small eyes, a rosacea, a burly figure, fierce eyes, and a long scar on his forehead.

It was Bai Xiazi, with a dozen ferocious Manchu soldiers behind him. His face was gloomy, his eyes were murderous, and he said, "Your Majesty, please return to the palace as soon as possible to take charge of the plan."

The Manchu soldiers surrounded them, and not far away there was a guard of more than a hundred people. They were all wearing armor, with a golden rat tail behind them, and holding swords, bows and arrows in their hands, which was the typical dress of the Manchu soldiers.

These people obeyed Bai Xiazi instead of Kong Youde, and were sent by the Qing court to monitor Kong Youde. If Kong Youde dared to surrender to the Ming Dynasty, they would be the first to disagree.

A trusted general stepped forward, standing between Kong Youde and Bai Xiazi, and said, "Guard Bai, the prince has his own ideas, and there is no need for others to urge him."

Bai Xiazi looked at him with contempt, but did not answer. He continued to say to Kong Youde, "It's urgent. Your Majesty, please return to the palace as soon as possible to arrange the funeral."

This was a very blunt and rude statement, it was basically an order for Kong Youde to commit suicide.

The deputy general was very angry and turned to Kong Youde and said, "Please give me a few arrows, Your Majesty. I will go and tell my brothers to guard the palace."

Kong Youde raised his eyebrows, and a glimmer of hope arose in his heart. Although he was the King of Dingnan, he was held hostage by Bai Xiazi and could not act on his own. Now the situation was urgent, and Bai Xiazi was determined to force him to die for his loyalty. If he could kill Bai Xiazi, he might still have a chance of survival.

Bai Xiazi was ruthless and merciless. He gave a signal and two Manchu soldiers came forward, drew their swords and were about to assassinate the Dingnan vassal general.

The situation was urgent, and the deputy general also drew his sword to fight, but he was outnumbered and was stabbed in the face by the Manchu soldiers, and half of his nose was cut off.

"Ah!" The general covered his face in pain, but the Manchu soldier refused to give in and chopped at the general's hands with his sword.

Blood splattered on Kong Youde's battle robe, and Kong Youde roared, "Stop!" The Manchurian soldier then stopped and turned his eyes to Bai Xiazi.

Bai Xiazi looked indifferent and nodded to the Manchu soldier. The Manchu soldier then gave up and spared the general's life.

Kong Youde squatted in front of the deputy general and grabbed his hand, only to find that the deputy general was barely breathing and was dying.

"Old Feng!" Kong Youde called out the general's name, but got no response. How could the dignified King Dingnan not even protect his own trusted confidant? He was furious and wanted to send troops to kill Bai Xiazi immediately.

Looking around at the vassal troops on the Lize Gate, the soldiers had already lost their minds. Many of them were already wounded, with dull and stunned expressions. Even if someone saw the lieutenant general being killed by the Manchu soldiers, they remained indifferent, as if it had nothing to do with them and they just ignored it.

If Kong Youde had attacked Bai Xiazi at this time, he might have been killed by Bai Xiazi before he even started. The Qing court sent more than a dozen Manchu soldiers to monitor Kong Youde, and it was unknown how many spies they had sent secretly. At the very least, Guangxi Governor Wang Yipin, Inspector Zhang Quanke, and Provincial Government Envoy Zhang Xingguang were all henchmen of the Qing court.

Alas! Kong Youde sighed. If he had to blame anyone, he could only blame himself for not being decisive enough. He was controlled by Bai Xiazi in everything. He could only blame himself for getting carried away and sending all the important towns to the front line, which resulted in the defense of Guilin being empty and being taken advantage of by the Red Army...

Bai Xiazi forced him to return to the palace, but once he returned, he would surely die. Even if he did not commit suicide, Bai Xiazi would kill him to prevent the Dingnan Army from falling into the hands of the Red Army.

Thinking of this, Kong Youde was distraught. Looking back on his military career, from a small soldier to a famous general in Dongjiang Town, from a Ming general to the King of Gongshun in the Qing Dynasty, and from the King of Gongshun to the King of Dingnan, it was really like a dream.

He knew that this was impossible, and tried his best to maintain his dignity in front of the Manchu soldiers, and ordered: "Guard Bai, get up and return to the palace."

Bai Xiazi breathed a sigh of relief, forced a smile on his face, and said, "Your Majesty is wise."

Riding his horse to the gate of the palace, Kong Youde played a trick and said to Bai Xiazi and other guards: "I have received the grace of two dynasties, and was named King of Dingnan, and established a government in Guangxi, and experienced all the wealth and honor in the world. After I die, I will be buried in Tieling. If my soul knows, it will still serve the former emperor.

"You are all appointed by the imperial court. You are young and promising, and you have a bright future. You should not sacrifice your lives rashly. You should leave the palace quickly, pack up your belongings, and avoid the arrows of the soldiers. After I die, I hope you will speak up for the Dingnan clan and say a few fair words for the imperial court to send troops to wipe out the red bandits."

How could Bai Xiazi dare to leave without seeing Kong Youde commit suicide? He just smiled and said, "Your Majesty, I have been ordered by the Regent to guard you until the last moment. I dare not leave my post without permission."

Bai Xiazi brought out Dorgon, and the Manchu guards were shocked. They collected their thoughts and escorted Kong Youde into the palace. Kong Youde had no choice but to ride his horse into the palace. The news of the fall of the city had already come, and the people in the palace were in a panic. From the palace family and officials to the slaves and servants, they all packed up and fled.

When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter. Kong Youde was filled with grief and was too lazy to stop them. But he saw a beautiful girl dressed as a Guilin woman, who was very charming.

When the beautiful lady saw Kong Youde, she lowered her head quickly. Behind her were two maids, each carrying a bag, which was bulging with gold and silver. Kong Youde became suspicious and took another look at the beautiful lady. Wasn't this the sixth concubine Luo?
Luo was the most beautiful, the most favored by Kong Youde, and usually given the most rewards. But now she was in a hurry and wanted to escape without even saying hello. With her beauty, she would not have trouble finding a good family.

"Bitch!" Kong Youde stopped Luo and cursed, "I haven't left yet, where are you going?"

"My humble concubine, my humble concubine..." Luo was usually very well-behaved, but at this moment she was a little tongue-tied and came up with a poor excuse: "My humble concubine was just thinking of visiting the prince at Lize Gate."

"Come here, let me take another look at you." Kong Youde forced out a grim smile, and developed a strong possessiveness towards Luo. He finally understood that those kings who lost their country would kill their concubines before they died. Such a beautiful concubine cannot be left to others.

Kong Youde, who was at the end of his rope, was like the age spots on his face, which made Luo feel sick and resentful. She had spent her youth serving this old traitor. She could have hoped for his wealth and status before, but now that he was desperate, what else could she hope for?
Kong Youde had soldiers behind him, so Luo did not dare to disobey him. With resentment on her face, she walked in front of Kong Youde. As soon as she raised her head, she saw a flash of white light and a sharp blade cut her neck.

Luo was killed on the spot, and the maids behind her screamed and fled, but were killed one by one by the guards.

Kong Youde was determined to kill dozens of palace maids. When he entered the inner courtyard, he saw his wife Bai, wearing the official uniform of the imperial edict, and his son Kong Tingxun and daughter Kong Sizhen were waiting behind him, having been waiting for a long time.

"lady!"

"Your Majesty!"

Kong Youde was overwhelmed with grief and tears. He said, "Madam, the situation is urgent. I can only die for my country. You should take Tingxun and Sizhen with you, follow Guard Bai, and find a way to escape from Guilin."

Kong Youde had sons when he was old. Kong Tingxun was only twelve years old and Kong Sizhen was only fourteen years old.

Bai cried, "We are husband and wife, how can I bear to leave you and live alone?"

Facing Kong Tingxun and Kong Sizhen, Kong Youde could not say a word. He walked up to them, patted their shoulders, and touched their faces. Then he went to the dormitory and set himself on fire under the supervision of Bai Xiazi.

Soon, Bai Xiazi asked to see Bai and said, "Princess, the prince has died a martyr."

Bai was Bai Xiazi's younger sister. The situation was urgent, so Bai didn't care about etiquette. She said, "Brother, I have no choice but to die for the Princess of Dingnan. As for Tingxun and Sizhen, please protect them well."

"Don't worry, sister."

"When my elder brother returns to the capital, please try to make peace and ask for a posthumous title for the prince..."

Bai Xiazi interrupted her and said, "Sister, it's urgent."

"Oh!" Bai sighed, called Kong Tingxun and Kong Sizhen to her side, and entrusted them to Bai Xiazi.

Bai was reluctant to leave and told Kong Tingxun, "If you can escape, you can be ordained as a novice monk. Don't be like your father who was a thief all his life and ended up like this." She also said to Kong Sizhen, "You are very proud. You should be tolerant in everything from now on. If you can escape, you can marry an ordinary person and don't seek wealth."

The two sons burst into tears and threw themselves into Bai's arms. Bai Xiazi made up his mind, dragged the two sons away, took his trusted guards, and hurriedly fled the palace.

The Red Army had already entered the city, smoke was rising everywhere, and defeated Qing soldiers were everywhere. Bai Xiazi and his entourage were well-armored and riding strong horses, and they were very conspicuous as they galloped on the streets. He planned to go out of Wenchang Gate first, then rush to Yangshuo and Pingle to meet up with the expeditionary general Ma Jiaolin.

(End of this chapter)