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

Chapter 365: Eternal Justice
In mid-March, Cen Danchu entered Ji'an.

Ji'an, formerly known as Luling, is bordered by Lingnan and Guangdong, and is located on the upper reaches of the Ganjiang River. It is a key junction between the north and the south. During the Zhengde period, Wang Shouren led an uprising army in Ji'an and suppressed the Chenhao Rebellion. Ji'an has a vast territory and abundant resources, and is a prominent county. It is close to the narrow pass of Ganshi and is connected to the powerful Nanchang. It has the best geographical advantages.

Huben Town captured Ji'an, but the results were unremarkable. Oboi was unwilling to send troops to rescue the defeated Manchu army. The defenders of Ji'an were from the Jiangxi Green Camp, and they were able to resist the Red Army infantry with the help of the city walls at first. When Huben Town arrived, the cavalry was like a forest, and the sound of artillery was deafening. The defenders did not dare to resist and fled the city.

Ji'an was an important town, and was then surrendered to the Red Army. This place was rich in culture and had the best selection of scholars in the world. When Jin Shenghuan and Wang Deren rebelled and returned to the Ming Dynasty, many famous scholars in Ji'an responded, and some of Jin and Wang's former subordinates fled into the mountains after the failure of the rebellion.

When the Red Army arrived in Ji'an, many volunteers responded and many Ming loyalists also came out to serve.

That day, Ma Bao came to pay his respects and said with great joy, "Lord, a fellow countryman has returned."

During the Ming Dynasty, Shaanxi was an important frontier town. In addition to Shaanxi Province, there was also a Shaanxi Xingdusi, which roughly covered the current three provinces of Shaanxi, Ningxia, and Gansu. Shaanxi was involved in many wars and also produced many military generals.

Jin Shenghuan and Wang Deren were both from Shaanxi. Jin Shenghuan was from Yulin, and Wang Deren was once a subordinate of Li Zicheng and a fellow villager of Mizhi. Since they were from the same hometown, they must have been former subordinates of Jin and Wang.

Danchu asked, "Is he Jin Shenghuan's old subordinate or Wang Deren's old subordinate?"

"He is Wang Deren's brother-in-law, Huang Tianlei, from Chang'an. I have an old relationship with him, and I have even received some favors from him."

Ma Bao also came from the Dashun Army, but he had less experience and was not well-known. Wang Deren was a brave general in the later period of the Dashun Army, nicknamed "Wang Zamao".

When Li Zicheng was defeated and tried to cross the Yangtze River, Wang Deren led the vanguard and explored the way. Li Zicheng was killed in Tongshan, and Wang Deren attached himself to Jin Shenghuan. Jin Shenghuan summoned the defeated soldiers of Zuo Liangyu, and Wang Deren summoned the defeated soldiers of Li Zicheng. They were so powerful that they occupied Jiangxi.

After Jin and Wang rebelled and returned to the Ming Dynasty, Huang Tianlei was appointed as the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War and assisted Wang Deren in defending Nanchang. Later, the Qing army surrounded Nanchang day by day, and Wang Deren secretly ordered Huang Tianlei to take his young son out of the city and go to the mountains of Ji'an.

After the defeat of Jin and Wang, Huang Tianlei gathered his old subordinates and formed a team in Wugong Mountain. They set up a camp and cultivated the land, and the Qing army was unable to suppress them. Many people successively attached themselves to Huang Tianlei, including:

Song Kuisheng was from Linchuan County, Fuzhou Prefecture, and was the younger brother of Song Kuiguang, the Earl of Nan'an. Song Kuiguang had served as the garrison commander of Shanhai and Nanhai of the Ming army, and was the commander of the Jin Shenghuan army. He was the most trusted by Shenghuan and had many wise strategies. When Nanchang fell, Song Kuiguang was captured. Tan Tai felt sorry for his talent and personally persuaded him to surrender, but Kuiguang died unyielding.

Guo Tianzhi, a native of Fengjie, was the younger brother of Guo Tiancai. When the Guo brothers were young, they followed Xiong Tingbi to Liaodong, and later they were subordinate to Zuo Liangyu and were under the control of Jin Shenghuan. During the Battle of Nanchang, Jin Shenghuan and Wang Deren advocated entering the city to defend it, but Guo Tiancai could not argue with them, so he led his troops out of the city and stationed in Huangnizhou, becoming the corner of Nanchang. Most of his troops were Sichuan soldiers, who were good at using white-pole long spears, and the Qing soldiers were afraid of them. After running out of food, Guo Tiancai led his troops into the city, and lived and died with Jin and Wang. Guo Tianzhi led a small number of his family to seek help and ended up in Ji'an.

Quan Mingshi, courtesy name Shouyi, was from Pei County. He was a man of both civil and military talents, and was a knight-errant in all directions. When Nanchang was under siege, Quan Mingshi went in and out of the city several times, delivering documents and spying on the Qing soldiers. His motto was "Avenge the wronged, rescue the needy, and keep away the unjust."

Yang Huan, a native of Xiushui County, Ji'an Prefecture, was a descendant of the minister Yang Shiqi.

Yan Fuming was born in Fenyi County, Yuanzhou Prefecture, and was a descendant of the minister Yan Song. Yan Song was reviled by the world, so Yan Fuming was determined to restore the Yan family's reputation, so he changed his name to Fuming and was determined to overthrow the Qing Dynasty and restore the Ming Dynasty.

……

These people were either former subordinates of Jin and Wang, or local gentry in Jiangxi, and they came together because of the resistance against the Qing Dynasty. Wugong was a barren mountainous area with poor people, and the Qing army disdained to suppress them. They persisted in resisting the Qing Dynasty until now, which was not easy. After the meeting, the two sides sat down as host and guest, and Danchu said: "You are all predecessors, with eternal integrity and righteousness, and you persisted in resisting the Qing Dynasty until now. This vassal is deeply grateful to hear about your deeds."

Huang Tianlei answered on his behalf, saying: "Back then, we were unable to follow Prince Yulin and Duke Jianguo, and we are still alive today, feeling deeply ashamed. All that remains is a sincere wish to kill all the Tartars and restore Chinese culture."

Yang Huan added: "The people of Jiangxi have been looking forward to the royal army for a long time. Now the king has led a large army into Jiangxi, beheaded Chen Tai, and Aobai fled. The whole of Jiangxi is excited, and everyone is willing to follow the king and die to recover Jiangxi first, and then recover the Central Plains."

It was not easy to recover Jiangxi. Although the Red Army defeated the Qing reinforcements in Yudu, it did not annihilate a large number of Qing troops. Oboi led the defeated troops to defend Nanchang, and cooperated with Tunqi in Huguang and Zhumala in Ganzhou, stabilizing the situation in northern Jiangxi.

Five years have passed since the Red Army occupied Lingnan, with 200,000 people. It was not easy to defeat the Manchu elite in a field battle. But we have to admit that the Red Army rose too fast and had too few elite troops. Looking at the more than 200,000 land divisions, only the more than 30,000 people in Huben Town could compete with the Manchu elite.

Next, it is imperative to expand Huben Town and increase the number of elite soldiers who can maneuver in the field. Now that the war has eased, it is the right time to use Jiangxi grain and grass to feed the troops and Jiangxi volunteers to strengthen the team.

Quan Mingshi offered a suggestion: "The royal army has besieged Ganzhou for more than a month, and the blockade has become increasingly strict. The defenders are a mixed bag, and they were originally looking forward to reinforcements to relieve the siege. The king killed Chen Tai and forced Aobai to leave. Ganzhou's reinforcements have been cut off, and the defenders are isolated and hopeless, so they will definitely have second thoughts. Quan is a humble man, and I am willing to sneak into Ganzhou, incite the defenders to revolt, and recruit the gentry and people."

When the intelligence chief Feng Jiali heard about Quan Ming, he said, "I've heard for a long time that Brother Quan is a chivalrous man, and his deeds are widely known. This trip to sneak into Ganzhou is like a den of dragons and tigers. How will Brother Quan deal with it?"

"You can't get a tiger cub without risking its den. I plan to disguise myself as the White Lotus Bodhisattva and go into the city to spread rumors that the king has received the mandate of heaven and has come to the world to enforce justice. Those who obey will prosper, and those who disobey will perish. If the defenders refuse to change their ways, they will be punished by heaven."

Since the middle and late Ming Dynasty, land annexation intensified, refugees emerged, and various religions became popular. The White Lotus Sect was the most widespread religion, with many believers among the people. Its eight-character mantra of "True Emptiness Hometown, Unborn Mother" was very attractive to the people.

The Red Army won many battles, Cen Danchu knew everything and could speak the foreign language, and the theory of destiny had been around for a long time. Using the name of the White Lotus Sect to preach obedience and win the hearts of the people might be more effective than a violent attack.

"I heard that when the Tartars besieged Nanchang, they sent spies disguised as Mahakasyapa. Jin and Wang were fooled by them and stopped fighting, which made it easy for the Tartars to besiege the city."

Danchu asked. Although he was young, he had rich experience and a deeper understanding of human nature. When the defenders were in a desperate situation, they would have unrealistic fantasies. Quan Mingshi's strategy was actually quite feasible.

Song Kuisheng said: "It is true. At that time, my brother was the commander of the Yulin King's army, responsible for the city defense. He knew that Mahakasyapa was a spy and wanted to get rid of him. But the Yulin King had run out of tricks and believed in him, so he sent troops to protect him.

"Two months had passed since the incident. The Tartars were besieging the city more and more. The Manchurian main force arrived, and the army and civilians were quite suspicious. The Prince of Yulin still did not realize it. My brother executed the spies first and reported later. He captured the spies and tortured them to extract a confession. Only then did we know that they were sent by the Tartars."

Zhumala was a famous Manchu general and was not easy to fool. Quan Mingshi said, "I regretted not dying in Nanchang for three years. This trip to Ganzhou can atone for my sins. There must be a knight in the city. I will contact him and hopefully everything will be fine."

Yang Huan and Yan Fuming looked at each other and said, "Ganzhou City is big, and we have many old friends in the city. You can write a letter to Brother Quan and ask them to help you."

Danchu praised: "Good, you are loyal to your country, Ganzhou will be captured soon."

(End of this chapter)