Southern Ming Rebel Army

Among the emperors of the Southern Ming Dynasty, the Yongli Emperor of Guihua was undoubtedly the most legitimate in terms of bloodline closeness to Emperor Chongzhen. However, in the civil war between Yongli and Shaowu in Guangdong and Guangxi, Yongli suffered a series of defeats. When the military reports were sent back to Meng Jun, Meng Jun was a little confused. These military reports were too magical for Meng Jun to believe.

Emperor Yongli appointed Li Mingzhong, the Earl of Jingwu, to lead an army of more than 20,000 to attack Guangzhou again. When Emperor Shaowu was in a panic, Su Guansheng appointed Chen Jitai as the commander-in-chief to lead his own troops and the land bandits and sea pirates that Su Guansheng had pacified, and the total number of troops gathered was 10,000.

The two armies met at Sanshui, and then they clashed. In the melee, Chen Jitai was defeated again, and Lu Kou's Huashan Fort was the first to flee. Chen Jitai's troops lost a thousand people and retreated towards Guangzhou, while Li Mingzhong was overjoyed and forced his soldiers to pursue. For a while, the team stretched for several miles. After chasing for only twenty miles, the soldiers did not recognize the generals, and the generals did not recognize the soldiers. Li's troops actually dispersed their own army in the pursuit, and Chen Jitai was panicked when he withdrew, leaving only a few hundred people as the rear guard. His general Sun Qi only blocked the pursuers for a moment, and when he was about to escape, someone shouted, "Defeated, defeated!"

Li Mingzhong's 20,000-strong army suddenly became a mess, some rushed forward, some retreated, and they were crowded together. Sun Qi saw such a good opportunity and hurriedly beat the drum and shouted. Li Mingzhong was defeated again. By the time he retreated to Zhaoqing, 70% of the 20,000 troops had disappeared. Of course, these scattered soldiers would slowly gather together again, but this was undoubtedly another great defeat of the Yongli Dynasty, and another blow to the prestige of Emperor Yongli.

After Sun Qi returned to the court, he was very proud of himself and regarded himself as a good general of the country. Emperor Shaowu conferred Sun Qi the title of Marquis of Zhenguo and General of Guangdong. For a time, people in Guangzhou said that Sun Qi was the descendant of the military saint Sun Wu and that he inherited the legacy of his ancestors...

The Yongli Emperor was notoriously timid and afraid of death. After the defeat in this battle, he moved to Wuzhou, Guangxi. However, the Yongli Emperor was tall and strong, with a dignified appearance, a face like a full moon, a beard longer than his navel, and a proud look. As soon as he retreated to Wuzhou, the general Liu Yuanyin was amazed by his beauty. Since he had troops to protect the emperor, the Yongli Emperor was able to temporarily gain a foothold in Guangxi.

Meng Jun's occupation of Suzhou and Songjiang in Zhejiang naturally greatly changed this era. The most obvious butterfly effect was that the Shaowu regime, which was destroyed by the Qing army only one month after its establishment, suffered heavy losses under Bolo's troops and withdrew to Beijing after abducting Zheng Zhilong. Jin Shengheng and Li Chengdong were deeply mired in the quagmire of the Fujian rebel army and were temporarily unable to threaten Guangdong. This made the Shaowu regime free from external threats, and coupled with two major victories over the Yongli regime, its momentum suddenly soared.

However, although Emperor Shaowu won the struggle between the two feudal lords, he was still inferior to Emperor Yongli in politics to those bureaucrats who had deep-rooted ideas of orthodoxy. When Emperor Longwu ascended the throne as a distant and guilty vassal, he had already left behind controversy. Emperor Shaowu was only Longwu's younger brother, and could not be compared with Yongli.

The two courts were fighting, and although Meng Jun was far away in Suzhou, he was unable to avoid it. The edicts of the two courts arrived one after another. Today, Emperor Shaowu conferred the title of Commander-in-Chief of the Five Armies on Meng Jun, and Yongli promoted Meng Jun to Governor-General of the five provinces of Jiangnan, Fujian, Zhejiang, Jiangxi and Hunan. The only common requirement of the two courts was that Meng Jun should send troops to destroy the other side, which made Meng Jun very annoyed.

As for Fujian, as the saying goes, a lean camel is bigger than a horse. Although the Zheng family has collapsed, the Zheng family has been operating in the Minhai area for decades. As long as the backbone is still there, they can still gather the remaining strength and there is a chance for a comeback. This is obviously the person who was given the surname Zhu by Emperor Longwu and successfully changed his name to Guoxingye.

Emperor Shaowu even wrote a letter to Zheng Sen in person, saying: "Chenggong has been entrusted with the great kindness of my brother, the late emperor. The national hatred and family feuds are not yet destroyed, and Zhu Youlang has usurped the throne. I am eagerly looking forward to Chenggong's early return, so that with your talent as a pillar of society, we can work together to build a great cause for the country."

…………

Chen Zilong returned to his temporary residence and met Meng Jun. They had a very pleasant meeting. Chen Zilong had a good impression of Meng Jun. He felt that Meng Jun was not a domineering person. He was courteous, approachable and not arrogant, which made Chen Zilong very happy.

As soon as I entered the house, a clear voice came from inside: "Uncle, how was the meeting this time?"

Chen Zilong looked up and saw that it was the son of his former best friend, Xia Wanchun. After the fall of Nando, his father Xia Yunyi committed suicide by drowning. Chen Zilong then took Xia Wanchun's two siblings and several of their family members to his side.

Xia Wanchun's wife Qian Qinzhuan was from the Qian family of Jiashan. His elder sister Xia Shuji and younger sister Xia Huiji were both daughters-in-law of the Hou family of Jiading. However, their husbands had all died, and Xia Huiji became a widow before she even married into the family of Shenzhen.

There were three famous families in the south of the Yangtze River: the Hou family of Jiading, the Qian family of Jiashan, and the Xia family of Huating. The three families were related to each other. However, as the Qing army marched south and massacred the city, almost all of the Hou and Qian families were wiped out, and the Xia family only had one male left, Xia Wanchun.

"Cun Gu (Xia Wanchun's pen name), I have met Commander Meng. Although he commands a large army, he does not behave like a warrior. He lives and eats simply, does not own any gold or silver items, and is gentle and polite. I have recommended you to the commander-in-chief, and Commander Meng asked him to let you stay by his side," Chen Zilong said slowly to Xia Wanchun with a smile on his face.

Xia Wanchun was good at writing poems and ancient prose at the age of nine. He was known as a child prodigy and was talented and intelligent. Chen Zilong also wanted to hear his opinion.

Upon hearing this, Xia Wanchun said: "He has a strong army and a territory of thousands of miles. He is not greedy for money or lustful. He is respectful to the wise and humble. He has the ability to lead a general. Uncle, when has the Ming Dynasty ever produced such a person?"

After listening to this, Chen Zilong put away the smile on his face. After a moment of silence, he sighed and said, "Who can know what will happen in the future? Now the Tartars are so powerful and the court is in such a state of fighting, who else can be the one to do it except him?"

Xia Wanchun smiled and said, "God will give great responsibility to this person. Maybe the Grand Commander has the destiny of heaven."

"Don't talk nonsense. Follow the old ways. You can talk nonsense at home, but you must never talk nonsense outside. Now you are the only one left in the Xia family, so you must not throw yourself away lightly." Chen Zilong interrupted Xia Wanchun and warned him sternly.

Xia Wanchun nodded to show that he understood, and then returned to the room. His wife Qian Qinzhuan looked at him with concern, and then asked: "Husband, has your uncle said anything about the Grand Commander?"

"Well, what a talent," Xia Wanchun said absentmindedly.

Qian was a little annoyed and twisted Xia Wanchun's armpit. Xia Wanchun cried out in pain and then said anxiously, "Madam, how could you be so cruel?"

Qian said angrily: "The entire Qian and Xia families are wiped out. I hate that I am not a man. I am willing to die with the Tartars. Now I am here, and the national and family hatreds are tied to the commander-in-chief. How can I not care about what kind of person he is? But you are so perfunctory to me." After she finished speaking, her eyes were red and tears flowed out unconsciously.

Upon hearing this, Xia Wanchun hurried to comfort his wife. After his wife calmed down, he slowly said, "From what my uncle said, I know that Governor Meng is a man with great ambitions. His power in Jiangsu and Zhejiang is overwhelming. But you see, he has only one concubine, no land, and no prosperous place. I assert that if he drives out the Tartars, he will soon become the heir to the throne."

Qian was stunned for a moment, then asked, "My husband, what you mean is that the Tartars will eventually be destroyed. Will it be destroyed by Governor Meng?"

“I don’t know either.”