Southern Ming Rebel Army

Fujian, the sun is setting, Zheng family mansion.

Just as Zheng Sen was about to step out of the Zheng Mansion gate, a guard suddenly reached out to stop him and said respectfully, "Sir, please stay. The master has ordered that you cannot go out at this moment."

Zheng Sen's personal guards were furious when they saw this and shouted, "How dare you stop me!"

Zheng Sen was also furious, and shouted angrily: "I can go wherever I want, get out of my way!"

The guard was frightened and turned pale, shaking all over, and stammered to explain, "Sir...sir, please calm down. I am only following orders. I dare not disobey the master's order. The mansion is packing up and preparing to retreat to the old house in Anping. This is the master's order. Please don't make things difficult for me." After saying that, he secretly raised his eyes and glanced at Zheng Sen, his eyes full of fear and helplessness.

Zheng Sen looked at the guards at the door, gritted his teeth, turned back to the house, and then quickly wrote a letter on the desk, instructing his confidant Chen Yonghua to rush to Yanping as soon as possible and present the letter to His Majesty. After Chen Yonghua left, Zheng Sen looked at the desk, recalling the time in Nanjing.

It was the 17th year of Chongzhen, which was only two or three years ago, but it seemed like a lifetime ago. Zheng Sen was sent to Nanjing by his father Zheng Zhilong to study and entered the Nanjing Imperial College. Zheng Zhilong hired a teacher for his son, Qian Qianyi, a famous scholar in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Zheng Chenggong's childhood name was Fusong, so Qian Qianyi named him Sen, which means deep and solemn, and flourishing. In order to encourage Zheng Sen, Qian Qianyi gave him the courtesy name of Damu.

After the fall of the Hongguang regime, Zheng Sen immediately fled Nanjing and returned to Fuzhou. At that time, Zheng Zhilong was in charge of a large army. After the capture of Emperor Hongguang, he immediately supported Emperor Longwu. After Emperor Longwu ascended the throne, the main military force was dominated by the Zheng family, which was like a puppet.

After the establishment of the Longwu regime, Zheng Zhilong introduced Zheng Sen to the Longwu Emperor, who greatly admired Zheng Chenggong's talent and appearance. The emperor sighed and said, "It's a pity that there is no woman to match you. You should be loyal to my family and don't forget me!" In order to show his love for Zheng Sen, the emperor immediately gave Zheng Sen the surname Zhu and changed his original name Sen to Chenggong. From then on, Zheng Sen's name became Zhu Chenggong. Since then, Zhu Chenggong has been called the national surname by people inside and outside the court, and ordinary people respectfully call him the national surname master.

Zhu Chenggong was only in his twenties at this time, at the age of prime vigor and high morale. He was deeply grateful for the favor of Emperor Longwu. Zhu Chenggong was extremely reluctant for his father to abandon the emperor and surrender to the Qing Dynasty, but his father was unwilling to believe him. Zhu Chenggong had only one thought in his mind at this time, that he hoped the emperor could evacuate Yanping as soon as possible. There was no hope for Fujian, but if the emperor withdrew to Guangdong, there might still be hope.

At this time, Huang Daozhou, with his loyalty and righteousness, paid for the army with his own money and the help of his friends. He took only more than 10,000 taels of silver and several disciples to recruit volunteers. However, as Emperor Longwu had no money or food, and the money, food and weapons were all in the hands of Zheng Zhilong, Emperor Longwu could only give this old loyal minister a hundred blank letters of appointment, and could not give him even a tael of military pay or a single soldier.

The news that the Qing army had entered Xianxia Pass spread to all parts of Fujian like a flying bird. Huang Daozhou, who was still recruiting soldiers everywhere, cried angrily, "The thief Zheng is ruining my world!"

Huang Daozhou then raised the banner of rebellion and swore to go to war. The elders of Fujian sent their sons and daughters to join the army. After the oath, Huang Daozhou led his students Cai Chunrong, Lai Jijin, Zhao Shichao and others to recruit volunteers and raise food and money. As the anti-Qing cause was popular among the people, he recruited volunteers such as Chen Xiongfei and Ying Shiyan in Yanping, and Gao Wanrong and Ying Tianxiang in Jianning. Zhang Tianwei from Zhangzhou, Lin Yaozuo from Putian and Xinghua, etc., were all very brave and had some prestige in their hometowns.

These heroes led their recruited soldiers to join the fight. Many farmers along the way heard that Huang Daozhou was going to fight against the Qing Dynasty, and they followed him with hoes. They had no weapons, so they took farm tools and sticks to join the team. They were called "pole soldiers" at that time. When these recruited teams were combined, they suddenly became a 20,000-man anti-Qing army. The military was boosted, and these volunteers marched towards the direction of Bolo.

As more and more bad news reached the Emperor Longwu in Yanping, he was worried day and night. Although he was nominally leading the army in person, he only had more than 2,000 followers. How could he stop Bolo without money or food? Li Yuanyin beside him advised: "Your Majesty, we should not stay here for long. We should get rid of the shackles of the Zheng family and cannot go to Jiangxi. Only by entering Guangdong can we have a glimmer of hope."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Longwu remained silent and fled the country in a hurry. He did not want to bear such a bad reputation.

Since Li Yuanyin broke away from Li Chengdong and defected to Emperor Longwu, Emperor Longwu was very pleased to hear about it and immediately appointed him as the deputy commander of the Jinyiwei and kept him by his side as a guard.

When he received Zhu Chenggong's letter, Emperor Longwu could not help but sigh, then looked at Chen Yonghua and said slowly: "Since I ascended the throne, I have not started any civil engineering projects, nor have I indulged in luxury and debauchery. I have always been frugal in everything and have been concerned about the important task of recovering the two capitals. Why did the Duke leave me?"

Chen Yonghua was speechless and the scene fell into silence for a moment.

To be fair, the current emperor is open to all opinions, accepts advice with an open mind, clearly distinguishes rewards and punishments, and loves his people like his own children. In terms of behavior, he is a good emperor and an ambitious emperor. However, he has too many flaws, especially in times of chaos. These flaws in status, military affairs, and finance are all fatal. In terms of status, when Emperor Longwu Shuzong ascended the throne, important officials from all over the country were not convinced in their hearts. In terms of military affairs, Emperor Longwu had almost no military power to speak of, and the same was true for finances. When he was in Fujian, his food, clothing, and expenses were all controlled by the Zheng family. These flaws led to his having ambitions but being powerless to change the situation.

After a while, Chen Yonghua advised: "Your Majesty, this place is already in danger, we cannot stay here for long, the imperial carriage can go on a tour of Guangdong to see what will happen next."

Hearing this, Longwu shook his head and said, "Now the Prime Minister is recruiting volunteers to fight against the enemy army. At this moment, how can I retreat in a hurry?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Yonghua said bluntly: "Your Excellency the Prime Minister has no food or money, and only relies on his passion. The volunteer army he recruited is short of weapons and armor. How can he stop the Eight Banners Army?" After he paused, he continued: "Since the fall of Beijing, in just two years, the Ming Dynasty has lost an emperor, and the Lu Wang Regent has also collapsed militarily and politically. If Your Majesty has something you cannot bear to say, then the empire will collapse. Your Majesty should worry about the world."

As Chen Yonghua left, Emperor Longwu was still feeling anxious. The next day, the governor, the chief censor Zhang Kentang, and a group of civil officials urged Emperor Longwu to evacuate. Finally, Emperor Longwu decided to withdraw to Guangdong.

As the emperor prepared to evacuate Yanping, the people in the city were all sad. Some even stopped the emperor's carriage and cried, "The Tartar army is coming, and the emperor wants to abandon the people."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Longwu burst into tears and was unable to speak for a long time. Li Yuanyin then stepped forward, pushed aside the people who were blocking his way, and said angrily: "The Tartar army is approaching, and the emperor has no army to protect him. If he fails, the sky will fall. Do you want to ruin the world?"

Upon hearing this, the people around him made way for him without saying a word. Although there was silence, one could feel an endless sadness pouring out of their hearts, turning into tears that flowed down their cheeks. That silent crying was more heartbreaking than any crying.

Some people bit their lips tightly, trying hard not to cry out loud, some people crossed their arms and trembled slightly. However, more people just let their eyes blur with tears.