The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 597 Zuo Liangyu's Death Is Approaching

There were three Ming troops that reinforced Jiangxia, namely: the Eastern Army led by Jin Shenghuan, the Central Army led by Hui Dengxiang, and the Western Army led by Wang Yuncheng.

Together with Li Cheng and Ma Jinzhong who were guarding Jiangxia, there were five groups of troops in total.

These five armies formed Zuo Liangyu's core team. They were the capital for Kunshan Gong and the Hongguang court to compete with Zheng Chenggong.

According to the plan previously formulated by Zuo Liangyu, he first used Jiangxia City as bait to attract the Fifth Corps of the Qi Army from the Huguang direction to attack, and then mobilized the army to eliminate Pu Gang between Huangpi and Jiangxia. After eliminating the threat of the Qi Army, the army marched north and took control of the Central Plains.

I have to say that this plan is perfect, but unfortunately, there is no execution.

Because it ignored one variable, that is, the sudden appearance of the main force of the Qi army.

Zuo Liangyu believed that the Ming army would go north first and then south, and would rescue Huguang after dealing with Zheng Chenggong (or being dealt with by Zheng Sen).

Unfortunately, Kunshan Gong was wrong.

In February of the first year of Guangde, the main forces of the First, Second and Seventh Corps of the Qi Army successfully joined forces on the Jianghan battlefield.

The arrival of the main force of the Qi army announced that the countdown to the destruction of Zuo Liangyu's army had begun.

As soon as the three reinforcements from the left wing set out, their whereabouts were detected by the Qi army's scouts.

Jin Shenghuan and others didn't even see the Jiangxia city wall before they were blocked by the Qi army that had been deployed in advance.

In the next few days, Duke Kunshan, who was commanding the troops in Chongzhou, first witnessed the fall of Jiangxia City and the surrender of the Ming army in Wuchang and Hankou. Then, he received rescue reports from three reinforcements.

Jin Shenghuan said in the Tangbao that at least 100,000 Qi troops had crossed the Yangtze River and were unstoppable. He pleaded with Marshal Zuo to allow the Ming army to retreat immediately.

Before Duke Kunshan could react, news came that the three armies had suffered a disastrous defeat.

Not only did the reinforcements fail to rescue Jiangxia, they couldn't even save themselves.

In early March, the Ming troops in the Jianghan Plain ran around like headless flies, looting towns along the way as they fled.

The Ming army was afraid of the strong and bullied the weak, and was called bandits by the people of Huguang.

On the third day of March, the reinforcements from Chongzhou and Xianning returned along the original route after a series of disastrous defeats.

On the fourth day, the Ming army looted Chongzhou and Xianning.

After looting, they set fire to the city and fled to Ezhou overnight. There were a large number of ships there, which allowed them to escape back to Nanjing faster.

Wang Zengbin commanded the cavalry regiment to follow closely behind. Five thousand elite cavalrymen killed and hacked their way through the enemy and chased them all the way to Longpanji on the Yangtze River.

The post road from Xianning to Ezhou was littered with the corpses of Ming soldiers. The camps on the left trampled on each other, and thousands of people died.

~~~~
On the fifth day of March, the retired emperor personally went to Baoan Gate in the south of Wuchang City to review the three armies.

The five major corps, with a total of more than 30,000 soldiers, held a grand prisoner presentation ceremony in front of Baoan Gate.

In the Battle of Wuhuang, a total of 3,000 Ming soldiers were beheaded and more than 10,000 were captured.

The retired emperor ordered the execution of more than 500 of those who were stubborn and guilty of serious crimes. The rest who surrendered to the Ming army were pardoned and became the vanguard of the southern expedition, ready to advance eastward with the Qi army to attack Ezhou, Jiujiang and other cities.

The troops took a short rest in Wuchang. On the eighth day of March, the army went down the river to the east and continued to pursue the remaining troops of the left wing.

At this point, the Qi army completely eliminated the threat from the Ming army in the Huguang direction, and the empire's territory further expanded southward.

Zuo Liangyu's original strategy of ambushing and annihilating the Qi army from all sides has now become a laughing stock. Of his five generals, except for Li Cheng, the general of Zhenjiang who died for his country, the other four all surrendered to the Qi and became the vanguard of the Eastern Expedition, preparing to counterattack the Hongguang court.

The Ming army's Jiangbei defense line collapsed.

Nanjing is in danger.

Seeing that the situation was hopeless, Duke Kunshan did not choose to escape immediately, but retreated to Ezhou.

On the one hand, he sent envoys to beg Da Qi to withdraw its troops, and on the other hand, he sent people back to Nanjing to force Emperor Hongguang to abdicate.

Until this time, Zuo Liangyu still wishfully believed that as long as Zhu Changying voluntarily abdicated and the Southern Ming Dynasty submitted to the Great Qi, Liu Zhaosun would accept peace talks and give up advancing eastward.

After all, Zheng Chenggong landed in Liaodong and besieged southern Liaoning day and night, and Shandong was in ruins. Liu Zhaosun must have faced great pressure.

"Emperor Wu Ding is willing to negotiate peace with the Ming Dynasty. He just wants more silver and women as gifts. He is a smart man and knows when to stop."

Ezhou, at the foot of Baizhi Mountain, the Ming army camp.

Duke Kunshan, with a tired face, patiently assured the envoy. He had become a little nervous due to a series of failures. It was more like comforting himself than admonishing the envoy.

"He is different from before. He did not massacre the city or kill everyone in Jiangxia. This is a good sign. It shows that he is not a madman. So, the Ming Dynasty can talk, right?" The envoy was holding Marshal Zuo's handwritten letter in his hand and was about to go to the Qi army camp five miles away to hand the letter to the Qi army commander Wang Zengbin. When he heard the Marshal ask this, he nodded in agreement.

Wang Zengbin and the cavalry regiment he commanded had been pursuing Zuo's army for half a month. They were currently the Qi army closest to Zuo Liangyu.

Therefore, if we want to negotiate, we cannot avoid this person.

"Go early and come back early. If you don't come back within two hours, I will kill your brother and your parents."

According to the experience of the Ming army in dealing with the State of Qi, being an envoy to the State of Qi was a high-risk job, with almost no chance of death.

The guard held the scabbard with his hand and looked fierce. The messenger no longer hesitated, and quickly stood up to say goodbye. He carried the letter and rode out of the left camp at full speed.

~~~~~
"It's too late to negotiate peace now! Go! Aren't you going to attack Xuzhou this year?"

Wang Zengbin tore the letter into pieces and threw it at the messenger's head.

"No surrender, let him continue fighting! If he surrenders, you can ask him to hand over his head as a tribute to the soldiers and civilians who died in Xuzhou!"

The messenger knelt on the ground for a long time, not daring to look up.

Cavalry Regiment Instructor Guan Wujiang pulled Wang Zengbin aside and whispered:
"Old Prince, the peace talks must be reported to the Emperor, and then a decision can be made. We can't be hasty. Have you forgotten the lesson of General Qin?"

Wang Zengbin scratched his head and said disapprovingly:
"Qin Jianxun lost the battle, and a traitor appeared in the Fourth Corps, so the emperor punished him. Don't compare the cavalry regiment with the Fourth Corps. All of my men are brave men, not cowards."

Fang Wujiang waved to the guards, indicating that the Ming army envoy should be taken away first.

The messenger saw someone coming up to drag him, and begged:

"Generals, superiors, please don't kill me! I have an eighty-year-old mother, a crying infant, and two unmarried nieces. Killing me means killing four of them!"

Wang Zengbin said impatiently, "I didn't say I was going to kill you. You're just a messenger, why would I kill you? Get out!"

The guards loosened their grip, and the messenger, as if pardoned, kowtowed repeatedly, turned around and ran away.

Fang Wujiang looked at the envoy's retreating figure and sighed, "General Wang, what does this mean?"

Wang Zengbin smiled and said, "The Emperor said that at critical moments, the commander must act prudently. Now is the critical moment. Before we can send anyone back to Wuchang, Zuo Liangyu has already escaped. We must attack immediately and not let this thief escape."

On the tenth day of March, Zuo Liangyu's troops arrived in Ezhou and invited the Governor of Huguang, Yuan Jixian, to meet him on the boat.

Duke Kunshan took out a secret decree from "Prince Zhu San (the third son of Emperor Tianqi Zhu Youjian)" from his sleeve, set up an altar on the boat to sacrifice animals, killed a white horse, summoned all the generals to drink the horse's blood, and swear an oath of alliance.

All the generals showed joy on their faces, and the warriors keenly realized that something big was about to happen.

Zuo Liangyu wept bitterly facing southeast, then stood up and said to Yuan Jixian:
"During the Wuxu Rebellion (the second year of the Tianqi reign, when Liu Zhaosun murdered the emperor and usurped the throne), Crown Prince Zhu San survived the ordeal and, adhering to the late emperor's will, planned to command the Jiangnan army, restore the Central Plains, and drive out the Qi invaders. However, treacherous ministers like Ruan Dacheng, Shi Kefa, and Liu Zongzhou hindered him, allowing Prince Zhu Changling of Gui to seize the throne first. Zhu Changling falsely accused him of being a false crown prince and imprisoned him in Nanjing. Now, the Ming Dynasty is plagued by internal and external troubles, and people like Ruan Dacheng are living a life of debauchery. The country is about to perish, and this is the day! We, loyal ministers, cannot sit idly by!"

He wiped away his snot and tears, drew his sword and shouted:
"Do you dare to follow me to purge the imperial court, support the Ming Dynasty, and save the Third Prince Zhu?!"

The generals said in unison: "Don't dare to disobey!"

Yuan Jixian saw through the conspiracy at a glance. The Qi army was following closely behind, and Zuo Liangyu was already a lost cause.

The left wing was no match for the Qi army and had nowhere to go. This was a bad move to purge the court of corrupt officials in order to plunder Nanjing.

This fool is still harming the people before his death.

"The authenticity of Prince Zhu San is still unknown, and I don't know who delivered the secret message. Besides, the kindness of the late emperor must not be forgotten, and the grace of the current emperor must not be betrayed!"

He bowed to the generals and pleaded:

"Everyone, what have the people done to deserve this war? I hope you will have mercy on us and not cause more trouble. Don't purge the emperor!"

Zuo Liangyu said in surprise, "Governor Yuan cares for the people. Don't we, the military commanders, care for the people? Governor Yuan is judging others by our own standards! It makes us feel disheartened!"

Zuo Liangyu waved his hand, and the guards came forward and helped Yuan Jixian, who was kneeling in front of everyone, to his feet.

"Come here, show the proclamation to Governor Yuan for his review!"

"General Yuan, what do you think of this writing? Does it need any revisions?"

"Humph!"

Yuan Jixian didn't even look at him and just stood up.

He returned to the shore and rushed to Jiujiang overnight. He ordered his generals to guard the city gates and not allow the left troops to enter the city. He also predicted:
"Zuo Liangyu's death is approaching."

(End of this chapter)