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

Chapter 377 Gladly Returning
After the review, Cen Danchu, surrounded by the crowd, entered the west gate and came to Huiyan Pavilion. The Auxiliary Soldiers Association had prepared wine and food in Huiyan Pavilion to entertain the townspeople.

"Gentlemen," Danchu had already taken off his golden armor and put on a python robe. He raised his cup and invited people to drink, saying, "Thanks to the soldiers' dedication, Tong Tulai was executed, Tun Qi escaped at night, and the Red Army captured the important town of Hengzhou. Today is the Yanwuping Alliance, and you have come from thousands of miles away to meet and review the Red Army. This is truly a grand event that has not happened in recent years."

Everyone raised their glasses. Ma Jinzhong, on behalf of all the towns, said, "We have heard of the great name of our leader for a long time, but we have not been able to see him because of the distance between us and the Five Ridges. Today, we have personally seen the heroic figure of our leader and the bravery of the Red Army. We know that there is hope for the recovery of our country and a promising future."

Ma Jinzhong was from Yan'an, Shaanxi. He gathered people to revolt in his early years and was nicknamed "Hun Shiwan".

The Ming people were fond of gambling, and the most popular game was "Ziyexi". Ma Jinzhong's nickname, like many peasant army generals, came from Ziyexi. He had a long beard and was nearly fifty years old. He had been on the battlefield for many years but was still heroic. He persisted in resisting the Qing Dynasty for many years in the Huguang battlefield, which showed his loyalty.

After three rounds of wine, the atmosphere at the banquet gradually became harmonious. Danchu smiled and said, "Since the migration to the south, the country has repeatedly suffered setbacks in its military operations, all because of the lack of control and the selfishness of the generals. The purpose of our meeting in Hengzhou today is to be frank and unify military orders.

"You are so happy to come here, which shows your loyalty and sincerity. This vassal has never been prejudiced. If you are willing to come here sincerely, I will accept you as a Red Army soldier and provide for your family. In the future, not only will there be hope for recovery, but also a prosperous future."

Cen Danchu held the title of deputy marshal of the army, which gave him the right to call all the towns to submit to his command. Sun Kewang had also done this. But Sun Kewang only asked the towns to submit to his command, while Cen Danchu went a step further and asked the towns to be incorporated into the Red Army.

The various townsmen looked at each other, hesitant, and signaled Ma Jinzhong to speak on his behalf. Ma Jinzhong was the most experienced and the strongest, so he asked tentatively, "May I ask the Lord, if our army surrenders to the Red Army, can it be incorporated into the Red Army infantry?"

This was nonsense. When Cen Danchu sent an envoy to announce the alliance, he had already made it clear that all the towns would be incorporated into the Red Army, and Xun Zhen would still hold military power.

"That's right." Danchu knew their concerns and said patiently: "If the townsmen are sincere in their willingness to surrender, they will still be the leaders of an army. Their ranks will be determined by the Red Army, their food and fodder will be supplied by the Red Army, and their families will be supported by the Red Army."

The generals felt relieved and smiled.

Danchu continued, "For example, Duke E has a strong army and a reputation for merit. If he is willing to submit to our clan, he can be appointed as the infantry assistant commander. Except for the instructors at the assistant and battalion levels and the director of the camp office, who will be appointed by the Red Army, the rest of the officers will be decided by Duke E."

This was a pleasant surprise, and Ma Jinzhong smiled brightly. He had only 10,000 soldiers under his command, and excluding his family and auxiliary soldiers, there were only more than 5,000 combat soldiers. He felt that he was not enough to be a standard commander, but he was unwilling to be an assistant commander, so he hesitated for a long time.

Cen Danchu was magnanimous and appointed him as assistant commander, which was equivalent to elevating Ma Jinzhong to the same level as Li Dingguo.

"Since the king is so generous, I will serve him wholeheartedly and am willing to bring my troops to join the Red Army." He seized the opportunity and pulled up his son Ma Weixing, who was sitting at the end of the seat, and said, "This son of mine has always led cavalry for me. He is good at using the Zhangba Snake Spear and can charge into battle for the king."

Danchu understood his intention, stood up and walked in front of Ma Jinzhong and his son, looked Ma Weixing up and down, and said, "He is a real tiger general!"

He suddenly had an idea, took off his precious sword and said, "Brothers fight against tigers together, and fathers and sons fight together in battle. This sword came from the palace and has been with our clan for many years. We have used it to cut off the heads of Tartars, no less than ten. I am giving this sword to the hero, hoping that he and his son will soon join the Red Army and establish special merits." This sword was snatched from the eunuch Pang Tianshou when Cen Danchu was the captain defending Guilin. Since then, Cen Danchu has also obtained many precious swords, but none of them is as precious as this sword.

Ma Jinzhong was overjoyed. He knelt with his son to receive the precious sword and said, "From now on, father and son are members of the Red Army. We will go through fire and water for the king without hesitation."

A total of three representatives came from the Thirteen Families of Kuidong, two generals of the Dashun Army, Liu Tichun and Yuan Zongde, and the other was Tan Wen, one of the three Tan brothers.

Liu Tichun is good at blasting and is a rare talent in the peasant army. He is very interested in the Red Army's firearms and said, "The king is open-minded and has no prejudice. He has incorporated the Loyalty Battalion into the Red Army and appointed Li Laiheng as the deputy commander of the infantry. We have admired him for a long time, but we were unable to submit to the king early because of the mountains and rivers. This time, the king has repeatedly defeated the Tartars and will soon recover Hunan. The remaining troops of our Dashun Army will surely cross the river and join the Red Army soon."

The Dashun Army was able to capture the capital because of its own strengths. Even after the Qing army entered the pass, the Dashun Army still persisted in resisting the Qing, and fought against the Eight Banners in Tongguan, Huaiqing, northern Shaanxi, and Jingzhou, and its combat performance was much better than that of the Southern Ming army.

Although the Dashi Army had internal strife, it was at least nominally integrated by Sun Kewang. The Dashun Army was still a loose group and at odds with the Dashi Army, which provided an excellent opportunity for the Red Army to incorporate it.

"Most of the backbones of the Shun army are from the Shaanxi army and Shaanxi people. I am also a descendant of the Shaanxi army. I feel very close to your accents." Danchu deliberately used the Shaanxi accent and said, "Hao Yongzhong is also from Shaanxi. Although there are some conflicts between us, he is still a good man. You can tell him that if he is willing to lead the army back, I will let bygones be bygones and appoint him as the commander of the infantry battalion."

If even Hao Yongzhong could be used by the Red Army, then others would be no problem. Tan Wen was also very excited and said, "Our army is far away in Zhongzhou, and we are also willing to cross the river and submit to the king."

Zhongzhou is now Zhong County, Chongqing. Tan Wen had two brothers, Tan Hong and Tan Yi, who were originally generals under Fang Guoan. Later, they were controlled by Grand Secretary Lu Daqi and persisted in resisting the Qing Dynasty in Zhongzhou. Historically, by the 13th year of the Yongli reign, Emperor Yongli had entered Burma and there was no hope of restoring the Ming Dynasty. The three Tan brothers failed to capture Chongqing and suffered heavy casualties. Tan Hong and Tan Yi wanted to surrender to the Qing Dynasty, but Tan Wen refused. The brothers quarreled, Tan Wen was killed, and the remaining two Tan brothers surrendered to the Qing Dynasty.

Danchu hesitated for a moment and said, "Your resistance to the Qing in Zhongzhou can contain the Tartars in Sichuan and help them cross the river to surrender. How about this? This clan appoints you as the commander of the Red Army's Zhongzhou Independent Battalion. Please stay in Zhongzhou and resist the invaders. When this clan leads its troops to the west to Sichuan, we will meet up with you in Zhongzhou."

Tan Wen was overjoyed and said, "As you wish."

The Dashi Army took advantage of the battle between the Red Army and the Qing Army to attack Qingyuan again. During this meeting, Yang Wu, the garrison commander of Qingyuan, learned about the news and came uninvited, showing his courage. Danchu also wanted to show off his military power in front of the Dashi Army, so he agreed to let Yang Wu attend the meeting.

Yang Wu was originally Sun Kewang's trusted general. When he was the general of Qingyuan, he was appointed as the rear army. He was Sun Kewang's retreat, which shows that he was highly trusted. Historically, when Sun Kewang surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, Yang Wu did not follow Sun Kewang, but led his army to pursue Sun Kewang. In the 14th year of the Yongli reign, Yang Wu surrendered to the Qing Dynasty. However, Wu Sangui thought that Yang Wu was unruly and difficult to control, so he killed Yang Wu the following year.

Seeing that all the towns had submitted to Cen Danchu, Yang Wu was very unhappy and said boldly: "In the past, when the King of Qin held a meeting with all the towns, you all obeyed his orders and promised to obey his orders. Today, you have submitted to the King of Nanyue again, which is contrary to your previous promise. How can you be at peace?"

Yuan Zongdi had a long career, having served as the General of the Right Camp in the Dashun Army. He had led his own army for a long time, fighting independently in one direction, and was quite talented as a general. He looked at Yang Wu with contempt and said:
"When I started my army, I called Zhang Xianzhong my brother. Who the hell is Sun Kewang? How dare he claim to be the ruler of Qin? Before his death, Zhang Xianzhong told his adopted sons, 'After I die, you should return to the Ming Dynasty immediately and do nothing unjust.' Sun Kewang still wants to be an emperor and establish a country. How can he control the various towns?"

(End of this chapter)