Southern Ming Rebel Army

While Meng Bian was secretly training the local soldiers, Zheng Zhilong, who was far away in Fujian, was also in a dilemma. At his age, anything like holding the emperor hostage to control the princes and encroaching on the government and the public was not as important as passing on a stable family business.

From his own point of view, the Qing Dynasty is bound to win the world, but the Ming Dynasty seems to be in trouble. Huguang was defeated, and Zheng Zhilong was skeptical whether He Tengjiao could defend Hunan. Fujian was facing enemies on both sides. Zhu Yihai in Zhejiang had been destroyed, and only Ganzhou remained in Jiangxi. If Fujian went to war on both fronts, not to mention whether it could win, its own business would inevitably be affected.

Zheng Zhilong had no ambition at all. Apart from making money and his own land on the sea, he spent most of his time buying land and building houses. He had no interest in the Northern Expedition or the restoration of the old capital.

You should know that as early as the first year of Chongzhen, the Zheng family had more than 700 ships and more than 30,000 men. Later, they joined Yan Siqi and started a business that was half merchant and half pirate. After Yan Siqi's death, there was no leader, and Zheng Zhilong took over his job and became the pirate leader. His power soared to its peak today, with an army of more than 200,000 people and a fleet of more than 3,000 ships, making him rich enough to rival a country.

Zheng Zhilong himself was, after all, a sophisticated and selfish person. He defected to the Ming Dynasty because the Ming Dynasty gave him an official position. When the Qing army entered the pass and occupied the Central Plains, it was natural for him to defect to the Qing court.

The only concern was that the price offered by the Qing court was too low. It was only the post of Governor-General of Fujian and Guangdong, which was at least the rank of Duke. And this was only one aspect. The court in Fujian was also in chaos.

Emperor Longwu declared that he would personally fight in the north, but Zheng Zhilong didn't want to hear him out. The old minister Huang Daozhou saw that the Zheng family was not taking any action. Huang Daozhou, who was over 60 years old, said to Emperor Longwu: "Instead of waiting to die, it is better for the emperor and his subjects to fight together. As a minister, I should go before the emperor and set an example for other ministers." He wanted to go north to fight against the Qing before the emperor.

However, Emperor Longwu was determined to leave Fuzhou and break away from Zheng Zhilong's control. He then appointed Princes Tang and Deng as regents in Fujian. He and Empress Zeng left Fuzhou in a grand ceremony and embarked on the road of leading the army in person.

After reading the memorials from all over Jiangnan, Emperor Longwu said with emotion: "All the gentry in Jiangnan are crying for Ming and are ready to fight. I must personally lead the Yellow Axe and the six armies to comfort the hopes of my subjects. Civil and military officials, big and small, should always encourage your ambitions and do not get used to complacency!"

After receiving the news that Meng Jun led his army to conquer Hangzhou and defeat Bolo, he wept and said to his attendants: "In times of national crisis, we need good generals. I have been in power for nearly ten months, but Xiaoling Mausoleum is not visible, and the people are uneasy. The civil officials are stalemate inside, and the military officials are disturbing outside. The cause of national rejuvenation is at a loss. Now I hear the good news of Meng Jun, and I wish I could shake my hands and say happy, and sleep with my feet together. If all the military generals are like Meng Jun, then the world can be revived. Meng Jun is really the Yue Wumu of our dynasty."

Afterwards, Emperor Longwu immediately issued an edict: "Meng Jun's mother, Zhou, was kind and benevolent, and she had a good way of educating her son. She should be praised. Your son is loyal and brave, so I grant him the title of Lady Haoming, who is of the first rank." He conferred the title of Duke of Yue on Meng Jun, and appointed him as the Governor-General of the military affairs of Jiangsu and Zhejiang. At the same time, he posthumously bestowed the title of Zhongyi on Meng Jun's father.

At this time, Meng Jun was still on his way to attack Ningbo. Huang Cheng's scouts kept spying on the Qing army in the direction of Ningbo. After resting for a few days, Bolo was hesitant to fight, but under Tulai's persistent persuasion, he decided to retreat to Taizhou, and temporarily retreat to Jiangxi via Chuzhou and Hengzhou.

On March 5, Meng Jun's vanguard arrived in Ningbo. There was not a single Eight Banners soldier in the city. Without a single fight, Meng's army occupied Ningbo City. They then divided their troops into four parts and recovered all the counties under Ningbo's jurisdiction.

After Tulai attacked Ningbo, he killed all the county officials of Yinxian, Cixi, Fenghua, Zhenhai, Xiangshan and Dinghai counties. He originally planned to resettle the bureaucrats who surrendered to the Qing court, but after the news of Bolo's defeat came, Tulai was not in the mood to take care of these things. Until Meng Jun recovered the counties of Ningbo, there was no one in charge in each county, and only the chief clerk of the county government was temporarily in charge.

After Meng Jun arrived in Ningbo, the atmosphere in the city was extremely strange. Wherever he passed, the people were silent. The whole city was full of people who shaved their heads and kept their braids. Seeing this, Meng Jun sighed and said, "Ningbo has been lost twice. There are only a few people who miss their homeland and rush to resist."

Just as Meng Jun was resting his troops, a personal guard came hurriedly and said, "Governor, a fleet is approaching the port outside Ningbo City with the Ming flag flying above."

Meng Jun was a little confused as to who the fleet belonged to. "Could it be Zheng's?" Meng Jun muttered to himself.

At the port, a warship slowly approached the shore, and a man got off the ship. He was dressed in a refined robe, with an upright figure and elegant temperament. He had a handsome face, soft lines, and a wise look between his eyebrows, but his eyes were a little confused and melancholy.

"I'm Shen Tingyang, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War and the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, and the Governor-General of the Zhejiang Navy. Please inform General Meng that I have something to discuss with you," Shen Tingyang said to the alert soldiers.

Several soldiers lowered their heads and whispered for a moment. One of them nodded and said to Shen Tingyang, "Wait a moment, I'll go and inform the governor." Then he rushed into the city.

……

In the first year of the Hongguang reign, the Qing army marched southwards and captured Nanjing, capturing the Hongguang Emperor. Shen Tingyang led more than a thousand infantrymen and hundreds of ships to Chongming Island. Tian Yang, the governor of Huai'an, Zhang Shiyi, the general of Huaihe Town, and Zhang Pengyi, the general of Huaihai Town, recommended Prince Yiyang as regent.

In October, the Ming army marched to Liuhe and was defeated by the Qing army. Zhang Shiyi surrendered to the Qing, Zhang Pengyi, Shen Tingyang, and Wang Chenjin fled to Zhejiang, while Tian Yang went to the Prince of Lu in eastern Zhejiang, and the Prince of Yiyang also went with him. As a result, the Qing army arrived in Hangzhou, and the Prince of Lu surrendered without a fight. Shen Tingyang arrived at the Zhoushan Islands and went to the general Huang Binqing, and later followed the Prince of Lu.

At this time, Shen Tingyang had more than 120 warships and 3,000 naval forces. Prince Lu was ambitious and powerful. He led a large army to leave Zhoushan and counterattack Zhejiang. Unexpectedly, he suffered a great defeat. When Shen Tingyang heard the news, he almost collapsed. He had already determined that there was no hope for the revival of the Ming Dynasty. But just when he was about to collapse, he received news that Meng Jun had conquered Hangzhou, broken Bolo, and recovered Ningbo. Shen Tingyang was overjoyed, and then he summoned warships and arrived in Ningbo. Shen Tingyang decided to surrender to Meng Jun to recover his homeland.

"Governor Meng, you are truly a hero..." As soon as Shen Tingyang saw Meng Jun, he knelt down on the ground, tears streaming down his face.

Meng Jun was shocked and quickly helped him up, saying, "Sir Shen, everything is like this, please get up quickly."

"Your Highness the Regent's army has been defeated, and his life or death is uncertain. I am very worried," Shen Tingyang said painfully.

"Your Highness the Regent is a lucky man. I believe nothing will happen. Lord Shen, you must be more concerned. If there is any change, the enemy army will certainly publicize it widely. No news now is the best news," Meng Jun advised.