Southern Ming Rebel Army

Meng Jun returned to the palace, still angry. Yu An advised him, "General, why don't you kill him?"

Hearing this, Meng Jun was stunned. After a moment, he shook his head and said, "Forget it, he is just a corrupt scholar. Killing him will damage my reputation. First, send people to closely monitor him and do not allow him to enter any confidential places."

Yu An nodded and said, "Yes, Governor. I will arrange it right away."

Moments after Yu An left, the guard came to report that Yang En wanted to see him.

"General, Zeng Daowei has ulterior motives. Don't bother with him. He is under close surveillance by only a hundred Jinyiwei and two aides. He can't cause any trouble." Yang En came here to comfort Meng Jun, fearing that General Meng would be furious and send troops to surround and kill him. Then his reputation would be ruined. At least one of him would be reckless. At this time, the Qing army was powerful and internal strife could not be allowed to break out.

Meng Jun chuckled and said, "Mu De, don't worry. How could I be so unwise? Zeng Daowei is in Suzhou and is safe."

Yang En nodded and said with a smile: "The governor has great ambitions, there is no need to bother with this corrupt old man."

Meng Jun was still somewhat puzzled: "How could the court do such an unwise thing, sending this old man here to humiliate me?"

"Zeng Daowei has been an official since the Wanli period. Although it is a chaotic time now, in his mind, he still treats the governor as a peaceful country and wants to restrain him with the righteousness of the monarch and his subjects," Yang En explained with a wry smile.

Meng Jun waved his hand and said, "Let's not talk about this person. Have you prepared all the supplies in the Governor's Office? The army is about to go out, and military rations and weapons are the top priority."

"The food and fodder have been counted, and two hundred thousand dan of food can be dispatched, which is enough to feed the army for two months. The military equipment has also been counted, but the gunpowder, medicinal materials, bedding, tents, horse feed, etc. have not yet been fully transported, and the newly made artillery from the Zhoushan Firearm Workshop has not been delivered. However, all the supplies can be completely assembled before the first month of next year." Yang En has been fully devoted to war preparations these days, so when Meng Jun asked, he answered like a treasure trove.

"Okay, then let the soldiers spend the New Year in peace, and we will send out troops in February next year."

After Zeng Daowei and Meng Jun had a quarrel at the welcoming banquet, Lu Zhenfei arranged to book an entire restaurant as the governor's residence. Zeng Daowei had no objection to this, but the staff accompanying him said angrily: "Governor, Meng Jun actually despised you so much that he occupied the government office and asked us to stay in this restaurant temporarily."

Zeng Daowei just shook his head and didn't say anything. He had seen through the test at the banquet today. Although Meng Jun was not as domineering as Zheng Zhilong, he also looked down on the court. The people of Suzhou only knew the Meng family but not the emperor. Zeng Daowei had been an official since the Wanli period. He had experienced seven emperors. The concept of emperor as emperor, minister as minister, father as father, and son as son had long been engraved in his bones.

Although he had a rich official career, he had never had experience in dealing with a vassal state. That's right, Zeng Daowei already regarded Meng Jun as a vassal state.

Thinking back to when Zheng Zhilong was in control of the court, although he suffered a lot of humiliation from the Zheng family when he was in Fujian, at least Zheng Zhilong was still respectful to the emperor. But look at Meng Jun's subordinates, especially Lin Shiqi. After Meng Jun left, he even dared to threaten him, saying that the Yongli pseudo-emperor was the orthodox one, and that the Shaowu emperor ascended the throne later than Yongli and so on. How could a common man like him comment on the order of succession of the emperors?

Seeing that the commander-in-chief was silent and still sitting upright, the staff member said with some boredom: "Alas, my lord is tired, so please take a rest first. I will take my leave."

At this time, Zeng Daowei said: "Look outside to see if there is any movement."

The staff said in disbelief, "Do you think Meng Jun dared to risk the world's disapproval and lead his troops to surround and kill the imperial commander?"

"The behavior of a warrior is unpredictable," Zeng Daowei said disdainfully, and then added: "Even if I die, I will never fall victim to the power of the imperial court."

After a while, the staff reported: "Commander-in-chief, there is no movement outside, but the Jinyiwei said that there are people watching. Do you want to send them away?"

Zeng Daowei seemed to be relieved, and his upright posture relaxed a little. Then he slowly said, "No need. If Meng Jun wants to stare at me, then let him stare. There is a long way to go, so there is no need to rush."

…………

As a notorious traitor and a key minister who helped the Qing court stabilize the Central Plains, Hong Chengchou was already over fifty years old. When he arrived in Jiangning, his hair had turned completely gray and his face looked haggard due to long-term hard work. The chaos in various parts of Jiangnan had put him under tremendous mental pressure, and even his back was a little hunched.

To be fair, Hong Chengchou was an excellent choice in state affairs and military affairs at the end of the Ming Dynasty. If he had not surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, he would have been remembered in history. However, he surrendered, which wasted the great honor bestowed on him by Emperor Chongzhen. Hong Chengchou also became a famous traitor in history books, and even Emperor Qianlong later despised his moral character.

At this time in Jiangning City, in the Governor's Mansion.

Hong Chengchou sat at the desk, straining to read the urgent order that came from Beijing over a distance of 600 miles. Hong Chengchou was old, and not only did he lack energy, he also had a serious eye disease, making it extremely difficult for him to read and write memorials.

Dorgon ordered Hong Chengchou to accumulate military supplies. The court was about to send Prince Yu Duoduo to lead the Eight Banners elite soldiers to the south, and Lekedehun would also return to Jiangning. Dorgon had already ordered Lekedehun to stop moving south, and the land of Hunan would be handed over to Kong Youde. This time, the stubborn enemy in Suzhou would be wiped out with a thunderous force.

In the third year of Shunzhi, which is this year, Duoduo led his troops to suppress the rebellion of Tengjisi and others from the Mongolian Sunite tribe. In just half a year, Duoduo won victory after victory.

Tengjisi and his brother rushed to the Chechen Khan's stronghold. Duoduo defeated the Sunite tribe in a battle at the Kerulen River and the Etek Mountains.

Tengjisi then fled to Burhantu in the territory of Tushetu Khanate. He fought Burhantu again, and Dodo killed Tengjisi's sons Dorji and Batu.

The third battle took place on the banks of the Tula River, where the two sides faced off again. At that time, more than 50,000 Khalkha coalition forces, including Benba, the son of Khalkha Chechen Khan Shuolei, Halahuli, a subordinate of Tushetu Khan Gunbu, and Danjin Lama of the Saiyin Noyan tribe, rushed to support Tengjisi. In terms of military strength, Duoduo was at a disadvantage, but the result was still a great defeat for the Khalkha coalition forces, and Tengjisi fled to the Selenge River again with hundreds of people.

This battle frightened the Khalkha Khans, and they sent envoys to the Qing court to apologize one after another. The crisis of Mongolia was resolved. Since Dorgon had withdrawn his hand, he naturally would not allow the fertile land in the southeast to fall into the hands of Meng Jun.

Hong Chengchou put down the military report and said to Mao Xiang without any precautions: "The court will soon order Prince Yu to go south, and Duolo Baylor will also return to Jiangning. With so many troops gathered this time, Meng Jun will definitely be defeated. It's a pity that the people of Suzhou and Songjiang have suffered from this war again."

Mao Xiang's heart tightened, and then he slowly said: "If we defeat Meng, the world will be stable. Guangdong and Guangxi are only a small corner, so it will be easy to defeat them."

Hong Chengchou stood up after hearing this, stretched his old muscles, and then exhaled, saying: "Meng Jun was just a playboy. He used to be a captain in Changshu. When the order to shave his hair was issued, he shaved his hair. But he rebelled outside Suzhou while transporting supplies. It has only been three years since then, and he has soldiers from seven towns. Together with the auxiliary soldiers, I am afraid that his number has exceeded 100,000. How fast he rose to power!"

Mao Xiang advised: "General, these 100,000 people are probably just a mob. In the past, when the bandits started a rebellion, they offended hundreds of thousands of people. They rose quickly and fell quickly. There is no need to worry too much."

Hong Chengchou shook his head and said, "Of course, not all of the 100,000 soldiers are elite. From what I have learned, they are at least the elite troops of three towns. They should not be underestimated."