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

Chapter 330: The Second Defeat of the Famous King
As the Red Army approached, Shang Kexi lost his chance while waiting in hesitation and was left isolated and helpless.

On April 2, the Red Army mobilized the people to dig trenches, preparing to dig two trenches in the west, north and east of Guangzhou City to completely block the Qing army's retreat. To the south of Guangzhou City is the Pearl River, which is controlled by the Nanyang Fleet.

Shang Kexi was extremely frightened, fearing that trouble would arise from within, so he held a banquet in the parade grounds in the name of rewarding the soldiers to entertain Fan Chengen's subordinates.

Fan Chengen was very alert and ordered his soldiers to wear armor and hold weapons to attend the banquet. After testing the poison, Fan's army relaxed and indulged in drinking. Late at night, Shang Kexi mobilized the vassal army to surround the parade ground and slaughtered all of Fan Chengen's troops.

Without Fan Chengen, it would be more difficult for the Red Army to break into the city. The Green Army soldiers in the city were also frightened and did not dare to surrender easily.

Danchu was furious upon hearing the news and issued an order to the three armies: "Shang Kexi has recognized the thieves as his father. The Pingnan vassal has committed many evil deeds, which is an unforgivable crime. After the city is captured, not a single Pingnan soldier will be left alive."

Some said: "The Red Army will not kill prisoners, and the United Front has a good reputation. If the Pingnan clan is not pardoned, the clan army will surely hold on to the city and resist stubbornly, which may be inappropriate."

Danchu rejected the opinions of the crowd and said, "It has always been the case that the enemy army defends the city to the death. The Tartars are violent and often massacre the people after conquering the city to intimidate others. The Red Army is kind and often pardons the prisoners after conquering the city to influence others.

"Fan Cheng'en is determined to rebel and has repeatedly sent money. Shang Kexi is cruel and merciless, and the feudal army is helping the tyrant. If we don't kill all the Pingnan soldiers, we won't be able to deter the small fry. If the Green Camp generals rebel in the future, we can rest assured that they will rebel."

In Guangzhou, Shang Kexi, Li Qifeng and others seemed to have run out of tricks. They thought that killing Fan Chengen would stabilize the situation in the city. But they did not expect that the Red Army would react violently and threaten to massacre the Pingnan soldiers.

The soldiers of the feudal army deserted in droves, and the army and civilians scrambled for red cloth, because there was a rumor in the city that as long as one hung a red cloth at the door of one's home or wrapped a red cloth around one's forehead, one would be pardoned by the Red Army.

The Red Army's blockade also caused considerable difficulties in Guangzhou. Guangzhou was a large city with a population of nearly one million, and the daily consumption of firewood and rice was astonishing. There was still some food and rice in reserve, and they could survive for a while by plundering. The key was firewood, which had to be cut on the mountains outside the city. The Qing army sealed the city gates, and there was no way to raise firewood. The soldiers and civilians in the city had to dismantle the wood of the doors and windows to make firewood for cooking.

That evening, Guangdong Governor Li Qifeng came to Shang Kexi again to ask for advice on battle and defense.

Li Qifeng, a native of Wuwei, Gansu, was the son of Li Weixin, the general of Sichuan in the Ming Dynasty. He surrendered to Huang Taiji as a student and was affiliated with the Han Army's Red Banner.

The success or failure of Guangzhou affected the whole world, and Li Qifeng had the responsibility to defend the city, and should have defended Guangzhou to the death. However, he was afraid of death and had no hope of holding on to Guangzhou, so he tried his best to encourage Shang Kexi to break out.

"Your Majesty, the Red Bandits are gathering and Guangzhou has become a hopeless situation. In my humble opinion, our army should speed up its breakout. As long as we have the green mountains, why worry about running out of firewood?"

"According to the governor's advice, where should we break out?"

"We should break out to the north and join forces with Nanxiong, Shaozhou, and Jingnan."

"The Red Bandits are gathering outside Guangzhou. Qingyuan and Conghua have already been lost. If we break out, how can we break through the siege outside the city? How can we break through the Red Bandits in Qingyuan and Conghua?"

Ma Bao was brave and good at fighting. He had accumulated merits and was promoted to deputy commander. He was ordered to attack Conghua.

"The Jiangxi Green Camp has been through many battles, and has defeated several groups of Li Chengdong, Jin Shenghuan, and Wang Deren. The prince sent elite troops to break through to Conghua, and together with the Jiangxi Green Camp, they will surely be able to open a passage."

In order to save the situation, Zhang Cunren and Shang Kexi urgently dispatched reinforcements. However, the reinforcements from various places of the Qing Dynasty were already frightened and mostly waited and watched. The Jiangxi Green Camp boasted that they could fight and advanced to Conghua to fight.

"Too late." Shang Kexi said dejectedly, handing over a newspaper. The handwriting on it was sloppily signed the day before, saying that the Red Army General Ma Bao attacked the Jiangxi Green Camp in Conghua and killed Gao Jinku, the deputy general of Nangan.

Ma Bao was originally a general under Li Chengdong. He was defeated twice in Ganzhou by the Jiangxi Green Camp. In the Battle of Aid to Guangdong, Ma Bao led his elite cavalry to attack Qingyuan, but was defeated by Gao Jinku again. This time, killing Gao Jinku in battle was considered revenge.

"Look at this news report, it's from the day before yesterday. Yesterday's and today's news reports haven't arrived yet. Does the governor still want to counterattack Conghua?"

According to military rules, the news must be reported at least once a day. The Qing army's news was cut off, which showed that the Red Army's blockade was tight. Li Qifeng collapsed to the ground, unable to speak for a long time.

There was a commotion outside, and suddenly a personal guard rushed into the hall in a panic, saying, "Lord, something terrible has happened!"

Shang Kexi was very displeased and scolded, "Why are you panicking? What's the matter?"

"Jinglüe had his hands and feet chopped off, was put in a cage, and was sent downstairs by the Red Army."

"What?" Shang Kexi stood up in shock and asked, "Is he still alive?"

"can not see clearly."

"Go and have a look."

Soon, Shang Kexi, Li Qifeng and others climbed up to the Zhenhai Tower near the Great North Gate and saw a horrifying scene through the telescope:
Zhang Cunren was without hands and feet, his scalp was also shaved off, and he was put in a cage naked. On both sides of the cage, there were several tall signs, which showed Zhang Cunren's official titles: "General Manager of Guangdong, Guangxi, Jiangxi, Fujian, Zhejiang and other places, Governor-General of Military Affairs, and Manager of Food and Pay", "Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince", "First-class Jingqinihafan and Toshalahafan", "Minister of War, Minister of Revenue, and Left Vice-Chief Censor"...

Not far away, Gao Jinku's corpse was even more horrifying. His head was sewn onto a dead horse, with the horse's body and the human head placed on a prison cart. On both sides of the prison cart were also several tall signs with Gao Jinku's official title inscribed on them.

The Qing soldiers climbed up the wall to watch, and were terrified and lost all their will to fight.

"Ugh..." Li Qifeng couldn't bear it anymore and vomited out his dinner.

Shang Kexi pretended to be relaxed and said with a smile: "Governor, I have received the grace of two dynasties, been granted the title of king and established a government in Guangdong, and have seen all the wealth and honor in the world. What happened today is nothing more than death. After I die, I will return to Liaodong for burial. If my soul knows, I will still serve the former emperor."

Li Qifeng knew that Shang Kexi was cunning and did not believe that he would surrender. He said, "I will stand with the prince and die for the country. After death, I will still serve the emperor."

"It's too late, too late." A man dressed as a Confucian scholar said with a wry smile. He was Shang Kexi's strategist Jin Guang.

"A righteous man will have many supporters, while an unrighteous man will have few. East Guangdong has become a dead end, and no one can do anything about it."

Shang Kexi had seen all the dangers of the world, and he was still a little scared when he really faced life and death. What was even more terrible was that the Red Army had already made a harsh statement that no Pingnan soldier would be pardoned. As the lord of Pingnan, he had almost no chance of survival, and he could not even hope for a complete body after death.

"Everything depends on human effort," Shang Kexi said stubbornly, "If our clan spends all its wealth, there will be soldiers who will fight to the death."

On the third day of April, the Qing army organized a group of death squads to launch a surprise attack outside the city, but they were defeated and returned.

The Red Army's siege became increasingly severe.

On the 24th, the trench was dug.

On the 28th, the Red Army used red cannons to break through the city wall and rushed into the city.

The Qing army was defeated, and Shang Kexi committed suicide by burning himself. Li Qifeng was captured and, following Zhang Cunren's example, he wrote a confession before being beheaded.

(End of this chapter)