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

Chapter 312: The King of Nanyue
The Qing army advanced faster than expected, and the vanguard arrived in Gaozhou and Luodingzhou on the tenth day of February.

Dongxun's former subordinates Li Mingzhong defended Gaozhou, and Li Yuanyin defended Luodingzhou, but they were both vulnerable. The generals were determined to die, but the soldiers had no intention of fighting, so they were defeated in succession.

Li Mingzhong and Li Yuanyin asked the Red Army for help, but the Red Army refused to send troops. Cen Danchu wrote a letter to the two Lis, saying that he wanted to lure the enemy deep into the country and repeat the strategy of the battle in western Guangdong, and suggested that the two preserve their strength and lead the army to withdraw to western Guangdong.

The two Lis were unable to resist the Qing army and were forced to retreat westward. Dongxun's military discipline was lax, and they lost the city. Most of the soldiers mutinied. The two Lis were in a very bad state. Li Yuanyin retreated to Deqingzhou, and Li Mingzhong retreated to Leizhou.

The Red Army failed to reorganize and was not in a position to fight a decisive battle with the Qing army. Cen Danchu rejected all objections and ordered the abandonment of Shicheng County, Suixi County and other cities, further shrinking the defense line and attracting the Qing army to advance westward.

Shicheng County is located in Gaozhou Prefecture, and Suixi County is located in Leizhou Prefecture. They were originally the frontier of the Red Army's defense against the Qing Army on the Leizhou Peninsula. The Red Army had no troops in the Leizhou Peninsula and Qinzhou Bay, so they simply gave up the scattered small towns and defended the three key points of Leizhou, Lianzhou, and Yulinzhou.

Wuzhou is the center of Guangdong and Guangxi, and its geographical location is crucial and cannot be lost. The Red Army held Deqingzhou and Fengkai County as usual to guard the gate of Wuzhou.

The First and Third Armies had already moved forward, and were ordered to defend Wuzhou, Leizhou, Lianzhou, and Yulinzhou. As long as these four cities were in the hands of the Red Army, the Qing Army would never be able to enter western Guangdong. The rest of the Red Army followed the routine, reorganizing while moving to the front line, and their response was slow.

The emperor was very anxious, as if a disaster was imminent. The Yongli Emperor conferred the title of King of Nanyue on Cen Danchu and sent his second assistant, Prince Huacheng, to Guilin with a golden book and a golden seal to urge the troops to march.

"Mr. Deng, is there any news from the emperor?" After the greetings, Danchu asked with a smile.

The Intelligence Bureau has a base in Anlong County. Wang Huacheng did not dare to lie and said, "There have been three major events recently. First, Yang Weizhi, on the orders of Sun Kewang, requested to be crowned the King of Qin, but all the court officials said no. Second, the emperor conferred three titles in one day. The vassal was crowned the King of Nanyue, Sun Kewang was crowned the King of Pingliao, and Zhu Chenggong was crowned the King of Yanping. All the court officials said that there is hope for the revival of the country, but Sun Kewang is domineering and disloyal, and Zhu Chenggong is selfish and cannot be relied upon. Third, the Tartars are pressing forward step by step. The emperor is panicked and urges the Red Army to send troops to fight back. All the court officials advocated prudence and said that the vassal has his own ideas."

Yu Houqi, the left councillor, was ordered to rush to Guilin to report to Danchu on the grain and grass matters. He was accompanying him at this moment and reminded him, "To do great things, you must first correct your name. If the name is not correct, then the words will not flow. I think the feudal lord is not as obedient as the national lord. Why not, from now on, the national lord will be called the feudal lord instead."

The princes of the Ming Dynasty were usually called the vassal, and their subordinates were called the vassal lords. The state lord was not a new thing. Ever since Hu Zhigong was falsely named the King of Qin, Sun Kewang had always called himself the state lord of Qin, and his subordinates also called him the state lord.

Wang Huacheng's mind was moved, and he thought of the feudal states in the Tang Dynasty and the feudal states in the Zhou Dynasty. The feudal states were domineering and did not obey the imperial court, which was the main reason for the demise of the Tang Dynasty. The feudal states in the Zhou Dynasty had greater autonomy. By the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, many princes had completely ignored the Zhou emperor.

"The general's fiefdom is in Nanyue, and the military and civilians all regard the general as their leader. It is legitimate for him to be called the leader of the country." Wang Huacheng said against his will.

"Yeah." Danchu was quite satisfied with Wang Huacheng. This man was highly intelligent and capable, and a good assistant to save the time. However, he was disdained by the censors because of his excessive pursuit of personal gain.

Only in this way, Wang Huacheng did things to curry favor with Danchu and took the initiative to get close to him. To do big things, you need all kinds of talents. Wang Huacheng is familiar with the court's rules and regulations, and understands the relationship between the anti-Qing forces in various places and the court. He is undoubtedly a person who can be reused.

Danchu asked, "I heard that the emperor has appointed Yang Weizhi as the Grand Secretary of the Eastern Pavilion and invited him to join the cabinet to assist in government affairs?"

"Yes. Yang Weizhi accepted the imperial decree and ranked last in the cabinet."

Danchu was slightly disappointed and asked, "Will Deng Weng be willing to resign his imperial mandate and serve as a councilor in the military government?"

This sudden question made Wang Huacheng a little surprised. He quickly reacted and realized that his efforts would eventually pay off. He smiled and said, "Thank you, Lord. I am willing to serve the Red Army."

"Originally, I was planning to hold the ceremony in Nanning. But because of the invasion of the Tartars, I had to hastily hold the ceremony at the headquarters. With the war approaching, it is necessary to reform the military government. Mr. Deng, please give me some advice."

Yu Houji took out a stack of drafts and handed them to Wang Huacheng. Wang Huacheng was quite excited. He had worked so hard for so long and had been looked down upon by his colleagues, but now he had finally squeezed into the core circle of the Red Army. He took out his reading glasses and read through the drafts at a glance.

This is a draft for reforming the military government. Because it was drafted in a hurry, the reform content is not very rich.

1. Change the name of the Red Army Government to the Government of South Vietnam. Change the ten departments in the government to ten ministries, and change the names of the clerks in each department to Shangshu. For example, the Lifang Department will be changed to the Ministry of Personnel, and the clerk will be changed to the Minister of Personnel.

2. The Privy Council was changed to the Privy Council, which was the highest decision-making body of the Nanyue State. The Executive Dali Temple was changed to the Dali Temple, and the Executive Yushitai was changed to the Metropolitan Censorate.

3. Establish a Council of State Affairs, parallel to the government, the Supreme Court, and the Censorate, to house senior officials and gentry for consultation. Set up advisory councils at prefecture and county levels and absorb local gentry and elders into the councils.

This must have been the intention of Cen Danchu, and was drafted by Yu Houji, with the purpose of undermining the imperial court and replacing the emperor's edict with the king's order. Emperor Yongli had no ambitions, and was content with a corner of the country, not wanting to make progress. Objectively speaking, Cen Danchu's undermining of Emperor Yongli was actually beneficial to the overall situation of the anti-Qing war.

Wang Huacheng did not dare to raise any opinions, and said: "Very good, very good. With a powerful enemy at hand, it is even more important to concentrate power. From now on, the king will be able to control his subordinates as easily as using his own arms, and will be able to unite all forces and concentrate all resources to fight the Qing."

Danchu smiled knowingly. Uniting all forces and concentrating all resources to resist the Qing Dynasty was a common slogan in Zhenxing Daily. Wang Huacheng was familiar with quoting these slogans, which showed that he really wanted to join the party.

"How are the houses in Xunzhou being prepared?" Danchu asked. With the war approaching, the families of the former Dingnan Clan members must be properly settled.

Yu Houji replied: "We originally planned to settle them in Xunzhou, but because of the urgency of the war, we had to disperse the families to Xunzhou, Pingnan, and Guixian. We requisitioned large tracts of land outside the city to settle ordinary families, and prepared wood, stone, bricks and tiles. We also requisitioned existing houses inside the city to settle the families of generals and officials."

Dingnan vassal burned, killed and looted during the southward march, plundering a large amount of silver and money. Kong Youde killed Liu Chengyin, the Duke of Anguo of the Southern Ming Dynasty, and defeated Cao Zhijian, the Duke of Yongguo, and seized millions of gold and treasures from them.

When the Red Army captured Guilin, many families of the feudal army resisted with their homes closed. The Red Army broke into their homes and seized a lot of money. From Kong Youde's family alone, the Red Army seized more than 400,000 taels of silver.

The expenses for relocating the families of the vassal soldiers to Xunzhou were mainly borne by the families themselves. The government mainly requisitioned land and then sold it to the families in Dingnan at a fair price.

"Although this is a small matter, it is also related to the stability of the old Dingnan clan and the stability of the rear. Ma Xiong of the Dingnan clan is still in eastern Guangdong, hesitating and unwilling to surrender, intending to wait and see. Old Yu, you have to pay more attention to this matter."

"Don't worry, Your Majesty. The first batch of families have arrived in Xunzhou and are satisfied with their placement. I have sent a letter to the Xunzhou government, asking them to properly place the families of the former members of the Dingnan Frontier as the families of the Red Army and not discriminate against them or make things difficult for them."

"Well," Danchu was relieved that Yu Houji was doing things, and asked, "How is the preparation of food and grass going?"

"If the entire army is mobilized, it can last for three months."

There is no fixed way to deploy troops. There are different ways of fighting for three months, six months, and one year.

This time the Qing army was almost fully mobilized, and the offensive was swift and fierce. The Red Army would have to mobilize its entire army as well. If they could occupy eastern Guangdong in the future, the Red Army's current strength might not be enough.

(End of this chapter)