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

Chapter 334 Great Changes in Zhejiang and Fujian
The farce of the emperor personally leading the army finally came to an end. For several days, Shunzhi summoned princes and ministers to discuss the use of troops against the Southern Ming.

The Red Army annihilated the main force of the Qing army in eastern Guangdong, swept across Guangdong and Guangxi, and shocked the whole court. The killing of Zhang Cunren, Shang Kexi, Bashan, and Li Qifeng made the officials even more terrified. These people were all top talents in the current court, holding great power, with strong troops and abundant food and grass.

But I never thought that the Red Army was unknown, and Cen Danchu, at such a young age, could defeat famous kings and generals one after another. Even Zhang Cunren, who had rich experience and outstanding achievements, had his hands and feet chopped off and his scalp cut off. It was shocking to hear about it.

Fortunately, although Huguang and Guangdong were in a state of devastation, the Qing army gained considerable gains in Zhejiang and Fujian, which was an unexpected surprise.

First, the Qing side learned of internal strife within the Lu Regent regime and decided to launch a large-scale attack.

At the beginning of the fifth year of the Yongli reign, after conquering the Siming Mountain Stronghold, the Qing army launched a massive attack on Zhoushan, trying to destroy the Lu Regent regime. Chen Jin, the governor of Zhejiang and Fujian, the general of Pingnan, Gushan Ezhen Jinli, Gushan Ezhen Liu Zhiyuan, the admiral Tian Xiong, the governor of Zhejiang, Xiao Qiyuan and other senior officials gathered at the front line, determined to capture Zhoushan.

Zhongzuo and Zhoushan were in a desperate situation, but Zhu Chenggong, the Prince of Yanping in the Ming Dynasty, had no intention of rescuing Zhoushan. He was smart enough to lead the main force of the navy south to eastern Guangdong in the name of "serving the king by imperial order", preparing to capture Chaozhou and Huizhou to completely solve the problem of food supply.

In the first month of this year, the Cixing Fan Navy arrived in Nan'ao and encountered a storm at Yanzhou Port on February 25. Zhu Chenggong's own ship almost disintegrated and capsized, and all the utensils on the ship, including the cooking stove, were abandoned. Zhu Chenggong himself also went hungry for two meals.

It was not until the afternoon of the 26th that the storm subsided and Zhu Chenggong's main and deputy ships returned to the shore and joined the fleet. Zhu Chenggong had been sailing smoothly since he started his army, and this time he encountered extremely dangerous dangers. However, he was determined and unmoved, and continued to lead the fleet southward, arriving at Guangdong Daxingso (now Pinghai Haikou, Guangdong) in March.

The Qing army learned that Zhu Chenggong's navy was heading south, and the defense of Zhongzuo was empty. The Zheng family monopolized foreign trade, and the huge wealth accumulated was stored in Zhongzuo, which the Qing army had long coveted.

Fujian Governor Zhang Xuesheng, Provincial Inspector Huang Shu, and Fujian Right Route General Ma Degong held a secret meeting, kidnapped Zheng Zhibao in Nan'an, obtained a number of ships, and crossed the sea to attack Zhongzuo on the 27th day of the intercalary February.

Zheng Zhiguan, who was in charge of guarding Zhongzuo Station, was panic-stricken and only cared about transporting his own belongings and escaping by boat.

On the first day of March, the Qing army entered Zhongzuo City. The Cixing Fan army was in a state of disarray. Princess Dong of Yanping took her eldest son Zheng Jing and the ancestral tablets in her arms and fled to Zheng Zhiwan's ship in a small boat.

Grand Secretary Zeng Ying, who was living in Zhongzuo, committed suicide.

After the Qing army occupied Zhongzuo, they plundered all the gold, silver and treasures of the Zheng family, and then slaughtered the families of the vassal soldiers on a large scale.

The amount of this treasure was staggering. According to historical records, Zhu Chenggong wrote to Zheng Zhilong, saying that Zhang Xuesheng, Huang Shu, and Ma Degong "plundered more than 900,000 pieces of gold, hundreds of taels of jewels, and hundreds of thousands of bushels of rice from us. The rest of the treasures of the generals and soldiers, and the money and grain of the people are too numerous to count."

Zhongzuo was the base of the Cixing Fan clan. Zheng Hongkui was shocked to hear about the changes in Zhongzuo and hurriedly led his troops to reinforce it. He happened to meet the Qing army returning home at sea and besieged it.

Ma Degong, the general of the Qing army, threatened Zheng Hongkui with the lives of his mother and brother (Zheng Zhilong), so Zheng Hongkui had to let Ma Degong go.

……

Today, Shunzhi summoned ministers to the Qianqing Palace to discuss confidential matters. The Qing army was defeated in Lingnan, but made great gains in Zhejiang and Fujian. Shunzhi was quite interested in this and asked as soon as he took his seat: "Is there any news of victory from Chen Jin recently?"

Chen Jin was the Governor-General of Zhejiang and Fujian. His courtesy name was Tianzhang. He was a member of the Han Army's Zhenglan Banner and his native place was Jinzhou. He was in charge of the war against Zhoushan.

Jirgalang stood up from his seat and said, "A few days ago, Chen Jin submitted a secret memorial, stating the strategy for capturing Zhoushan."

"Yes, I know that." Shunzhi had an extraordinary memory and still remembered Chen Jin's military deployment very clearly.

According to the plan, the Qing army will attack Zhoushan from three directions. Chen Jin led his army from Quzhou, passing through Taizhou and Ningbo to Dingguan. Gushan Ezhen Jinli and Liu Zhiyuan led their troops from Hangzhou to Shaoxing and Ningbo to Dingguan. This was the main force. Jinhua General Ma Jinbao led the naval and land forces from Taizhou to the north by boat, and Wusong Navy General Wang Rong led his troops to the south. These were two detachments. Shunzhi was very satisfied with this and readily approved Chen Jin's plan. However, only more than ten days had passed, and the main force of the Qing army had not yet arrived at the front line. Shunzhi was impatiently waiting for the victory report, which made Jirgalang smile bitterly.

He calmed down and said, "Your Majesty is concerned about military affairs, which is a sign of a noble ruler. In my humble opinion, Chen Jin will be able to recapture Zhoushan in one fell swoop."

"Oh?" The Qing army was defeated in Huguang and Guangdong, and the military and civilians were discouraged. Shunzhi needed a big victory to boost morale, so he asked, "Uncle, what do you mean?"

"First, the Siming Stronghold has been conquered and the leader has been killed. The fake Lu King is entrenched in Zhoushan, relying on the Siming Stronghold as a corner. Siming Stronghold has been destroyed, and Zheng's pirates have already moved south. The fake Lu King is isolated and helpless, so it will be easy to defeat him.

"Secondly, Zhoushan had just experienced an internal conflict, and the people were divided. Zhang Kentang attempted to murder Wang Chaoxian, and Wang Chaoxian's generals Zhang Jiming and Lu Tingji surrendered, told the truth about Zhoushan, and were willing to act as guides."

"Very good, very good." Shunzhi was very happy and asked, "What's going on with Zhu Chenggong recently?"

"Uh," Jirgalang said awkwardly. Mandahai and Bolo looked at each other, and then looked at Nikan at the same time.

Mandahai, Bolo and Nikan were all members of the Aisin-Gioro clan and had made great military achievements. When Dorgon was in power, he often attacked the three and demoted them from princes to county princes. After Shunzhi took power, he immediately raised the status of the three and promoted them to princes, ordering them to govern the country. They were Xun Prince Mandahai, Duanzhong Prince Bolo and Jingjin Prince Nikan.

These were the "Three Kings of Government". Man Dahai was only 29 years old and Bolo was only 38 years old, both of them were famous generals in the Manchu Eight Banners. However, plague broke out in the capital from time to time, and the two were in poor health, making it difficult for them to devote themselves to government affairs.

On the contrary, Prince Jingjin Nikan, who was 41 years old at the time, was in his prime and full of energy. He was very concerned about the military situation in the south and said:

"Fujian sent a secret report yesterday, saying that Zhu Chenggong was shocked to hear that Zhongzuo was attacked, and pretended to be calm, intending to continue to seize Chaozhou and Huizhou coastal counties. But his soldiers missed home and heard their cries everywhere, so he had to turn his oars and head east, apparently to Zhongzuo."

"Zhang Xuesheng is a bastard!" Shunzhi was impulsive and could not help cursing, "After attacking Zhongzuo, why didn't he seek to hold on? He only cares about the treasures of Zhongzuo and doesn't care about the court's plans! I will send an imperial envoy to Fujian to find out how much money Zhang Xuesheng has embezzled!"

Zhu Chenggong's navy was the best in China. Even if the Qing army in Fujian attacked Zhongzuo by surprise, they were unable to occupy it. Emperor Shunzhi was angry because Zhang Xuesheng, the governor of Fujian, took advantage of the situation and pretended to be clever in the victory report, saying that there was no treasure in Zhongzuo.

Jirgalang hesitated for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, the people are in turmoil now, and it is not appropriate to execute the frontiersmen. Since Zhang Xuesheng has embezzled money, he must have gone into hiding overnight. Why not find a censor to report the matter first, and then the court can send an imperial envoy to investigate it strictly, which will be justified."

"Well, I'll do as you say." Shunzhi sighed and said, "Zhu Chenggong monopolized the trade, so he must be rich. Zhang Xuesheng, Huang Shu, and Ma Degong have failed me. They really shouldn't have embezzled this wealth. If it was used for military expenses, I don't know how many firearms camps could be built."

Everyone looked at each other, not daring to respond. The court was short of money, and they didn't want to donate to support the military.

The firearms camp was very expensive, and Shunzhi was also quite troubled. At this time, the Qing government was deploying troops on a large scale in the southwest, southeast, and central and southern directions, and military pay was stretched to the limit.

"Alas," Shunzhi sighed again and said, "Now that Zhu Chenggong has returned to Zhongzuo, the Red Bandits will no longer be hindered from invading eastern Guangdong, and Cen Danchu will become even more rampant."

This? Shunzhi was young, but he had a long-term vision, which made Jirgalang deeply admire him: "The emperor is wise, the soldiers are brave after knowing the shame, and there will be no problem in recovering Guangdong and Guangdong."

Such feeble and weak words only caused Shunzhi to smile bitterly.

Suddenly, there was a sound of hurried footsteps outside the palace. The chief eunuch Wu Liangfu shouted at the top of his voice: "My Lord, the King of Pingxi, Wu Sangui, won a great victory in Sichuan!"

(End of this chapter)