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

Chapter 64 Emperor Yongli Moves to the Water Palace

In October, Danchu led his army to escort Emperor Yongli on his tour of Liuzhou. He was supposed to marry Qu Xuanhui in September, but he was unable to get away due to military duties.

It was about 300 miles from Liuzhou to Guilin by land. Danchu kept in touch with Qu Shisi, passing messages at any time. He even exchanged letters with He Yun and Kuang Shi in Yong'an Prefecture twice, and was relieved to learn that everything was going well in Yong'an Prefecture and that the boy soldiers were studying hard.

However, Emperor Yongli was living in shame and refused to leave Liuzhou. Danchu had the mission of protecting the emperor, so he couldn't stay in Liuzhou forever.

On the eighth day, Tan Mingke finally launched an uprising. He mobilized a thousand Tusi soldiers, gathered local natives and militia, and in the name of revenge, he besieged Liuzhou City and demanded that Emperor Yongli kill Zuojiang Daolong Wenming.

The Tan family had been Tusi for generations, and their power was deeply rooted. In order to fight for the salary of Tusi soldiers, the old Tusi offended his superiors and was assassinated by Long Wenming, which made it easy for him to gain the sympathy of the local natives. Tan Mingke seized this opportunity, created public opinion, and gathered more than 4,000 troops, which was quite powerful.

Liuzhou was a place where Yao and Dong people lived together, with few Han people. Many local people sympathized with Tan Mingke. Long Wenming could not recruit enough soldiers and horses, and could not defend the city at all.

The Tusi soldiers were besieging the city more and more tightly, and a war was about to break out in Liuzhou City.

Emperor Yongli was timid and afraid of trouble, so he asked for advice from the Prime Minister Yan Qiheng.

Yan Qiheng just wanted to calm things down, and said, "Qin Mingke has gathered a crowd to besiege the city, and the people are in turmoil. We should not suppress them forcefully, so as not to provoke a civil uprising. Moreover, Tan is seeking revenge for his father and is determined to kill Long Wenming, so he would not dare to offend the emperor. The current plan is to immediately summon the generals to deploy defenses and protect the court officials and palace families."

Emperor Yongli had no idea and immediately summoned generals including Hou Xing, Ma Jixiang and Cen Danchu.

Ma Jixiang was the commander of the Jinyiwei, responsible for protecting the imperial carriage. He said bluntly: "Your Majesty, although our army has more than 2,000 soldiers, most of them are the remnants of the defeated army. Only Cen Danchu's 500 men are capable of fighting."

Hou Xing hung his head and remained silent. He was named Xiangfu Hou for his service in protecting the emperor, and he had the most soldiers and horses under his command, but they were vulnerable.

The ball was kicked to Danchu, who was unmoved and said: "Your Majesty, the soldiers under my command are to protect Your Majesty, the court officials, and the palace families. They cannot leave the palace easily.

"War is a dangerous thing. The local people are very excited. If we rashly send troops to suppress them, it may provoke a civil uprising. The local chieftains and barbarians are ignorant of education. If they are desperate and offend the emperor, where will the prestige of the court be?"

Danchu had already figured out the character of Emperor Yongli and deliberately exaggerated the situation.

The Yongli Emperor was so frightened that his face turned pale, his dignity was lost, and he asked in a trembling voice, "According to your plan, how should I deal with it?"

"I think it would be better for us to stay at the Water Palace first to avoid the chaos of war."

The term "water palace" is used to cover up one's shame, but it actually refers to the boat that Emperor Yongli rode. Emperor Yongli's life was a life of wandering and escape. Whenever he encountered a critical situation, he would prepare a boat in advance, work and rest on the boat, so that he could escape at any time.

Emperor Yongli was at a loss and had to accept Cen Danchu's advice and ordered the emperor to move the throne to the Water Palace.

Danchu and Tan Mingke had a tacit agreement not to invade each other. He led his army to escort the palace and court officials out of the city, while Emperor Yongli, the six ministries of the cabinet, and the imperial family stayed in the Water Palace. All officials and soldiers crossed the Liujiang River through the water gate to avoid the Tusi soldiers.

Qin Mingke had no more scruples and led his army to attack Liuzhou City. When the defenders saw the emperor leaving the city, their morale dropped further.

On the morning of the tenth, Tan Mingke broke through the city, killed Zuojiang Daolong Wenming, and let his troops plunder.

The Daotai of the Ming Dynasty was a fourth-rank official, belonging to the Provincial Administration Commission or the Provincial Surveillance Commission, in charge of one or several prefectures or directly-administered counties, and was an official appointed by the imperial court.

In contrast, Tan Mingke was just a small chieftain in Liuzhou. He dared to raise troops to kill the governor, which was really a great rebellion. The most lamentable thing is that the Yongli court actually stayed out of the matter and allowed Tan Mingke to attack the city. The prestige of the court was completely gone.

In fact, this kind of thing has happened a long time ago. For example, in the first year of Hongguang, Cao Zhijian, the leader of the Huguang army, attacked and killed Zhu Yan, the Prince of Yuan'an, in Chenzhou. He Tengjiao did not dare to ask about it, and the small Hongguang court also pretended not to know.

After experiencing the Fengtian catastrophe, Emperor Yongli and his ministers had already become numb.

In the afternoon, the order in Liuzhou City was in chaos, and bullies and scoundrels took the opportunity to rob. The defeated soldiers retreated to the ferry in the south of the city, trying to get closer to the water palace and obtain the protection of Emperor Yongli.

The Tusi soldiers chased the defeated soldiers and shot arrows. Arrows rained down on the water palace, and a Jinyiwei Tiqi was shot and fell into the water, and two eunuchs were injured.

Danchu took the opportunity to ask for an audience with Emperor Yongli and said, "Your Majesty, the defeated soldiers are in chaos and order is greatly disrupted. Please move your majesty to Guilin immediately!"

When he heard about Guilin, Emperor Yongli was terrified, as if Guilin was a den of dragons and tigers. With the rebels right in front of him, Emperor Yongli became decisive and said, "There are Qing invaders in Guilin, so it is inconvenient to visit. Send an order to move the emperor to Xiangzhou. Cen Danchu, you lead the army to cover the rear!"

Xiangzhou is located in the lower reaches of Liujiang River, southeast of Liuzhou, in the opposite direction of Guilin.

Danchu was very disappointed, but it was inconvenient for him to object, so he could only reluctantly respond, "Yes."

It was winter, and the water in Liujiang River was shallow. When the boat reached Jiangkou Town, it ran aground. Ma Jixiang jumped into the river and took the lead in pulling the rope. Seeing their superiors trying to curry favor with them, the Jinyiwei cavalry also jumped into the water and pulled the boat out of trouble.

Emperor Yongli was standing at the bow of the ship. He was deeply moved by the scene and said, "Your loyalty is commendable. I will remember it in my heart. When there is peace in the future, I will not forget the difficulties today."

Danchu was riding his horse along the east bank of Liujiang River and laughed it off when he heard the news.

Liu Yuansheng was from Fuping, Shaanxi Province. He served as the Minister of Military Affairs and was a colleague of Cen Danchu.

The Minister of Military Affairs was in charge of the Beijing Camp, but Liu Yuansheng was a commander without troops. Because they were from the same hometown, Liu Yuansheng and his brother Liu Xiangke were able to borrow war horses from the Danchu Army, saving them the pain of walking.

Liu Yuansheng learned riding and shooting in his early years, was familiar with military strategy, and was good at using troops. He once worked as a civil servant in Jiangxi. In the 17th year of Chongzhen, the capital collapsed, and the Dashi Army was rampant in Huguang and Jiangxi. Liu Yuansheng was ordered to organize soldiers to resist and recover Ji'an, Chenzhou and other places, showing outstanding military talent.

He said to Danchu: "Ma Jixiang went into the water to seek favor, and he was very good at flattering the emperor. Why don't you follow suit? Send a hundred soldiers into the water to pull the boat, and you will definitely win the emperor's favor."

Danchu smiled disdainfully and said, "My soldiers are there to fight, not to do hard labor. Ma Jixiang and his cavalry are incompetent in fighting but good at abusing the people. They should also go into the water and taste the bitterness."

Anyway, he has already become the commander-in-chief and will not be promoted in the short term. There is no need to let the soldiers suffer.

Liu Yuansheng smiled, but Liu Xiangke said viciously: "This is a treacherous villain. If we don't get rid of him, we won't be able to restore order, let alone revive the Ming Dynasty."

"Rising Star!" Liu Yuansheng stopped his brother and said, "You are so outspoken that you will get into trouble sooner or later!"

Danchu changed the subject and said, "You are going to Xiangzhou. I heard you are going to Nanning as well?"

Liu Yuansheng sighed and said, "Nanning is located in the south of Guangxi, close to Jiaozhi. If the emperor goes to Nanning, he will ignore the people and the country! I just hope that Zhao Yi of Nanning and Chen Bangfu of Xunzhou will fight each other and stop the emperor from coming, so that the emperor can return to Guilin."

(End of this chapter)