Southern Ming Rebel Army

Since the second year of the Longwu reign of the Ming Dynasty (1646), although the current situation in the world has been very different from the original history, Meng Jun has risen in Jiangsu and Zhejiang and dealt a heavy blow to the Qing court. However, from a global perspective, the Qing court holds the two capitals and controls the north. Overall, the Qing court still has an absolute advantage.

After Meng Jun led his troops to Xianxia Pass, he sighed at the sight of the pass and had no choice but to withdraw his troops. Meng Jun then left Han Xiongzhi in Kewu Town in Quzhou Prefecture, ordering him to restore military strength while appeasing people's livelihood. Although it was unlikely that the Qing army would enter Zhejiang from Xianxia Pass, it was still necessary to guard against it. Dingyang County to the east directly faced Jiangxi, and although the road was also tortuous, it was still necessary to leave troops garrisoned.

Meng Jun looked at Han Xiong solemnly and said in a deep voice: "This place is a strategic point. I hope you can go all out to reorganize the army and actively prepare for war. At the same time, you must recruit more soldiers to strengthen the military. In addition, you must also work hard to restore the local economy, let the people live and work in peace and restore people's livelihood."

Afterwards, Meng Jun began to lead his troops back to Hangzhou. Just as Meng Jun was leading his troops back, the situation in the world began to change again.

In Hunan, after the defeat of the Loyal Camp, He Tengjiao, who was stationed in Hunan, was panicked, and Lekedehun pressed forward step by step. The battle situation in Huguang was extremely grim for the Ming army.

In Sichuan, Zhang Xianzhong led the Dashi Army to move to the north of Sichuan, apparently wanting to recover Shaanxi as a base. The Qing court appointed Prince Su Haoge as the General of Jingyuan and led his troops into Shaanxi. Wu Sangui's troops obeyed his orders and prepared to fight Zhang Xianzhong.

In Fujian, Zheng Zhilong did something so stupid that he invited the wolf into the house! This move directly led to the Bolo Division to march straight in and cross the Xianxia Pass as if it were no one's land.

Although Zheng Zhilong had made up his mind to surrender to the Qing Dynasty, he still had a bottom line in his heart. Unlike traitors such as Ma Degong and Tian Xiong, he did not tie up Emperor Hongguang and offer him to the Qing court to seek credit. After all, Emperor Longwu was raised up by him personally!

Zheng Zhilong simply chose to open the Xianxia Pass and waited quietly for Bolo to lead his troops into Fujian so that he could solve all the problems himself.

However, not everyone in the Zheng family agreed with Zheng Zhilong's surrender to the Qing Dynasty, such as Zheng Cai who was guarding Xiamen, Zheng Hongkui in Kinmen, Chen Bao in Nan'ao Island, and his son Zheng Sen.

Zheng Zhilong looked at his son with an annoyed look on his face. He only heard Zheng Sen's earnest words: "Father always holds great power, so you can't change your mind easily. Think carefully, the land of Fujian and Guangdong is not as easy to drive as in the north. If you rely on the high ground and set up an ambush to defend, even if you have a million people, I'm afraid it will be difficult to fly over in one day. Win the hearts of the people to consolidate their foundation; open up the sea route, promote trade in various ports to meet their expenses. Then select generals to train troops, call on the world, and it will not be difficult to advance."

Zheng Zhilong was furious when he heard this and said, "You are a child, you are talking nonsense. You don't know the weather and the situation. With the natural barrier between us, the four towns can't even stop the enemy, let alone a small corner. If you can't draw a tiger, won't you look like a dog?"

Zheng Sen heard this and advised: "My father only saw the general situation, but he did not make a detailed assessment of the situation. The weather and the terrain are different. Although the Manchu army is strong, it cannot advance far. Our dynasty has no one to appoint and the civil officials abuse their power, which led to the tragedy of Coal Hill. Therefore, we should seize the right time, open the door and enter directly, eliminate the evil and ugly, and inherit the throne.

When we arrived at the Southern Capital, it was not because the Yangtze River had lost its support. After careful investigation, it was found that the emperor was not a monarch who could suppress the rebellion, and his ministers were mostly mediocre, which made the heroes of the world regretful and difficult to overcome. If my father had taken advantage of the ruggedness and the strategic location, the geographical advantage would still exist and the people's hearts could be won. Moreover, there were also heroes in Jiangsu and Zhejiang who rose up. Even though Bolo was in a state of embarrassment, there was still room for improvement in the world. Today's emperor is determined to make progress and is definitely not a mediocre monarch. Father should think twice."

Zheng Sen meant that Zheng Zhilong only saw a general situation. Although the Manchu army was strong, it could not march straight in. The Ming Dynasty was not without talents, but the civil officials were in power, which eventually led to the tragic ending of the Coal Hill Incident. So they got the right time and were able to break through the pass.

When they arrived in Nanjing, it was not because the Yangtze River had lost its defensive function, but because the monarch was not a wise ruler who could quell the rebellion, and most of the ministers were mediocre and incompetent. Even if there were natural barriers, it would be difficult to rely on. If Zheng Zhilong could take advantage of the rugged and steep terrain and hold the key locations, then the geographical advantages would still exist and people's hearts could be won over. Moreover, Meng Jun of Suzhou had defeated the Eight Banners Army of Bolo several times, which proved that the Qing army was not unbeatable, and Emperor Longwu seemed to be a wise ruler. I hope Zheng Zhilong will think about it again.

Zheng Zhilong said angrily, "A wise man knows how to handle affairs of the time. If you recruit me and respect me now, you must treat me with respect. If I compete with you, once I lose, I will beg for mercy. It will be too late to regret it. You are a scoundrel, so don't talk too much."

Seeing that Zheng Zhilong would not follow his advice, Zheng Sen pulled his clothes, knelt down and cried, "A tiger cannot leave the mountains, and a fish cannot leave the abyss. If it leaves the mountains, it will lose its power, and if it leaves the abyss, it will be trapped and killed immediately. Father, you should think twice before acting."

Seeing Zheng Sen talking more, Zheng Zhilong simply pulled his clothes and left. Zheng Sen cried behind him, "Father, if you surrender, the country will be overthrown and the people will suffer. Are you worried?"

Zheng Zhilong was furious when he heard this and cursed: "I really shouldn't have let you study the teachings of that corrupt scholar. You are so pedantic. My Zheng family is a pirate family, how could we have a saint like you?"

Afterwards, Zheng Zhilong ignored Zheng Sen and turned away. Zheng Sen was silent for a long time alone, then as if he had made up his mind, he stood up and walked out.

As the three routes of the Qing Eight Banners Army moved south, Prince Su Haoge entered Shaanxi, General Pingnan Lekedehun entered Hunan, and the remnants of Bolo entered Fujian, these three Eight Banners Armies were unstoppable and the fighting was fierce. However, in the heart of Jiangnan, Suzhou and Hangzhou were strangely calm. Hong Chengchou in Jiangning was merely drawing Green Camps from all over the country to station in Jiangning, and had no plans to continue the siege of Meng Jun.

The Qing court's envoys who set out from Jiangning rushed to Suzhou in waves. It was obvious that Hong Chengchou had changed his strategy and temporarily switched from conquering Meng Jun to conquering him. Bolo's troops had suffered heavy losses in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas, and this loss was unbearable for the Qing court. Therefore, the focus of the expedition became Zhang Xianzhong, He Tengjiao, and Zheng Zhilong.

The Qing government lost the three prefectures of Suzhou, Songjiang and Hangzhou, and the entire Zhejiang province, thus losing a vital source of financial resources. The north had been devastated by natural disasters and man-made tragedies at the end of the Chongzhen period, which made the Qing government extremely uncomfortable. Only by sending heavy troops to seize Sichuan, known as the Land of Abundance, and Hunan, known as the Land of Eden, could it use it as a new source of money and grain.

And as Zheng Zhilong opens the border and surrenders to the Qing Dynasty, the Longwu regime will inevitably collapse, which will be like a heavy hammer hitting those who have been fighting against the Qing Dynasty.

The news of the Qing court's recruitment also reached Meng Jun's ears. In order to recruit Meng Jun, Hong Chengchou spared no effort and promised him high positions and generous salaries. Meng Jun looked at the increasingly high conditions and sneered, saying, "Prince of Pingnan, haha, it doesn't look bad. The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty gave me a Duke and appointed me as the Governor-General of Jiangsu and Zhejiang. It seems not bad either."

As long as Meng Jun was willing, he would become the fourth Han prince of the Qing Dynasty, after the three Shun Kings and the Hepingxi King. Meng Jun shook his head and threw the letter of surrender aside. At this time, Meng Jun was concentrating on implementing the strategy of storing grain and training soldiers, and making full use of the abundant human, material and financial resources in Jiangnan.