Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 112 Intention
In the study room of Yong'an Prefecture, two people sat opposite each other. Tong Yangjia sat at the first seat on the left, and Li Chengdong sat at the first seat on the right. Both of them had a long braid behind their heads.
Tong Yangjia picked up the teacup and took a sip, then looked at Li Chengdong opposite him and said

"Brother Tingzhen, have you received the imperial decree?"

"Yes, the imperial edict arrived in Tingzhou the day before yesterday. I have already begun to prepare the army and can go to Guangdong Province at any time to help the court eliminate the rebels against the Ming Dynasty," Li Chengdong cupped his hands and replied softly.
"Beile is stationed in Fujian Province to persuade Zheng Zhilong to surrender, which has eliminated the trouble for us."

"This time the court has entrusted Guangdong Province to you and me. How trustworthy it is. Brother Tingzhen is a famous general in Jiangnan. I will have to rely on you a lot this time," Tong Yangjia said tentatively.
"I dare not. I am only the general of Guangdong Province, and Brother Tong is the governor of Guangdong Province. I will have to serve under Brother Tong in the future, so I should ask Brother Tong to take care of me." Li Chengdong smiled and bowed again.
Tong Yangjia looked at Li Chengdong opposite him, his eyes flickered. Li Chengdong had always been unruly, but his behavior today was not like Li Chengdong's character.
Although the Qing court appointed him as the governor this time, Li Chengdong is now quite famous in the Qing court. The soldiers under his command are so murderous that even the Manchurian army is awed by them.
He and Li Chengdong each had their own troops. Although he was the governor of Guangdong Province, he actually had no way of bypassing Li Chengdong to mobilize the soldiers under Li Chengdong.

Although he is Li Chengdong's superior in name, if there is something wrong, he can only discuss it with Li Chengdong.

Tong Yangjia didn't understand Li Chengdong's intention for a moment, so he stopped probing and said directly
"Since Brother Tingzhen has received the imperial decree and is not in Tingzhou to speed up the preparation of military equipment and food, why did you come to me, Brother Yu, to give me some advice?"

"I dare not. I came to see the governor today because I got a piece of intelligence about the attack on Guangdong Province. I came to discuss it with the governor."

Li Chengdong did not beat around the bush. He straightened his face and began to talk about the information he had obtained from Gu Lin.
"So if what Gu Lin said is true, there are almost no soldiers in Guangzhou City now. If we can send elite troops to the outside of Guangzhou City, Guangzhou City has no soldiers and is unprepared, so we can definitely take it down in one go."

"Guangzhou is located in Guangdong Province. If Guangzhou falls, the whole of Guangdong Province will be shaken. At that time, the other prefectures will surely surrender and will no longer dare to defy the majesty of the Qing Dynasty."

A sharp light flashed in Li Chengdong's eyes, and he looked at Tong Yangjia opposite him.
Tong Yangjia thought for a moment, then shook his head slightly and said

"No, this is just a statement from a former Ming Dynasty gentry. How can we trust him so easily?"

Li Chengdong saw Tong Yangjia's refusal, but his expression remained unchanged, and he continued to speak.
"Brother Tong's concerns are reasonable."

"But Gu Lin said that they are willing to offer Chaozhou first as a sign of sincerity. If they really help us seize Chaozhou, it will prove that what he said is credible."

"We will lead our elite cavalry to raid Guangzhou, pacify Guangdong Province in one fell swoop, and achieve this great feat. What do you think, Brother Tong?"

Tong Yangjia looked at Li Chengdong, who had a determined look on his face, and a hint of understanding flashed in his eyes. He already knew what Li Chengdong was planning when he came to him this time.

If they follow the plan and attack Guangdong step by step, without Zheng Zhilong's Fujian army, Guangdong will be almost impossible to withstand their attack, and Guangdong will be taken by them sooner or later.
However, if he conquered Guangdong Province in this way, he, the governor of Guangdong Province, would be credited with the most merit afterwards, and the position of governor-general of Guangdong Province would definitely go to him, Tong Yangjia.
Li Chengdong came this time to seize the initiative to capture Guangdong Province and strive for the first credit for pacifying Guangdong.
Li Chengdong was so active because he wanted to compete with him for the position of Governor of Guangdong Province after pacifying Guangdong Province!
Countless thoughts flashed through Tong Yangjia's mind in an instant, but his face remained expressionless. He rolled his eyes and continued to shake his head.
"It's still not appropriate. Even if what Gu Lin said is true, it's still too risky."

"Although Gu Lin said that they could persuade Huizhou to surrender, who knows whether Li Shilian's surrender is real or fake?"

"Chaozhou and Guangzhou are thousands of miles apart. If we advance with light troops, and Gu Lin and Li Shilian block our retreat from the rear, our army will immediately fall into chaos."

"The court ordered us to manage Guangdong Province, so we should be more cautious. Although the pseudo-Ming Dynasty has run out of luck, there are still some stubborn rebels who do not know the situation and are determined to resist. This plan is too risky and must not be taken."

Tong Yangjia shook his head repeatedly. Li Chengdong looked at Tong Yangjia opposite him with his brows slightly furrowed.

After he learned about the information about Guangzhou, he came to find Tong Yangjia because he needed Tong Yangjia's cooperation in the plan to raid Guangzhou.
Although he could freely mobilize his soldiers, he had too few troops under his command. If he wanted to carry out the plan of a surprise attack on Guangzhou, in addition to having someone to lead the troops, there must also be someone to guard the rear.
If he rashly led his troops to advance without a retreat, once Li Shilian of Huizhou turned against him, he would really be cut off from retreat.
Even if he really captured Guangzhou, he could only plunder it. Without reinforcements, what would be the point of capturing an isolated city?

Only if Tong Yangjia is willing to cooperate and lead the army to guard the rear to intimidate Chaozhou and Huizhou, so that Gu Lin and Li Shilian will not dare to rebel after surrendering, can he calmly attack Guangzhou.
In this way, even if he failed to capture Guangzhou, he could still calmly retreat to Huizhou and make further plans.
But at the moment, Tong Yangjia obviously did not intend to cooperate with his plan.
Li Chengdong looked at Tong Yangjia who kept shaking his head, but his expression remained unchanged. He picked up the teacup and took a sip. His face was calm and he spoke softly.

"This time, Beile ordered us to attack Guangdong Province, not just Fujian Province, but also Gan Province has also received the order to attack Guangdong Province."

"Ganzhou has been conquered. If Gan Province advances, it can directly march into the heart of Guangdong Province."

"According to what Gu Lin said, the pseudo-Ming parties are now trying to establish a new emperor in Zhaoqing."

"Ganzhou and Zhaoqing are only a few hundred miles away. The governor can think about it. If the army of Gan Province suddenly attacks Guangdong at this time, how will the ruler and ministers of Zhaoqing respond?"

Tong Yangjia heard what Li Chengdong said, and the casual expression on his face disappeared, and his face suddenly darkened.

As Li Chengdong said, the imperial court's plan to attack Guangdong this time is not limited to this route.

The imperial court is preparing to attack Guangdong Province from Fujian and Jiangxi at the same time, in order to pacify Guangdong Province as quickly as possible.
Although the troops of Gan Province had just captured Ganzhou, no one knew how they would act.
Zhaoqing is currently discussing the appointment of a new emperor, and the pseudo-Ming Dynasty must be busy fighting for power.
If the Ganzhou army suddenly advanced at this time, based on their understanding of the pseudo-Ming court, the pseudo-Ming court would most likely flee and retreat to Guangxi Province.

This is not because Tong Yangjia underestimated the enemy, but because they attacked all the way from Nanjing to Fujian Province, and several Ming Dynasty courts along the way were in this style.
If the Ming court in Guangdong Province evacuates, the northern part of Guangdong will certainly be in chaos, and the troops from Jiangxi Province are likely to directly occupy Zhaoqing.
Once they are allowed to gain a foothold in Guangdong Province, all prefectures and counties in Guangdong Province will surely surrender. This is the same as their capture of Guangzhou.

By then, even if they had taken over Chaozhou and Huizhou, the first achievement of pacifying Guangdong would have nothing to do with their journey.
Tong Yangjia had an ugly look on his face. He followed Bolo all the way to Fujian Province. He didn't dare to think about Nanjing. Zhejiang Province had been sealed off. Bolo was still in Fujian Province and Zheng Zhilong's army was beside him. He didn't want to get involved.
But Guangdong Province was the fat meat that he had already placed in his bowl. How could he let Ganzhou take it?
Li Chengdong saw the look on Tong Yangjia's face, and a smile flashed across his eyes, and then he continued to speak softly.

"If we follow the governor's words and proceed step by step, it would be safe, but the first achievement of pacifying Guangdong would have nothing to do with us," Li Chengdong sighed softly. Tong Yangjia looked hesitant, but he remained calm and silent.
Li Chengdong saw the wavering look on Tong Yangjia's face and continued
"Although this plan is risky, if it works, we can achieve the great feat of pacifying Guangdong in an instant."

"If the governor has any doubts, you can lead the army to stay in Huizhou and guard the rear. I am willing to lead the elite cavalry to raid Guangzhou."

"Even if we fail to capture Guangzhou, we can still march to Huizhou calmly. What do you think, Governor?"

Tong Yangjia heard that Li Chengdong was willing to lead the army to attack Guangzhou alone, and he seemed to have finally made up his mind.
He suddenly stood up and bowed to Li Chengdong opposite him, with a serious look on his face.

"In that case, I'll leave it to Brother Tingzhen."

"The court ordered us to conquer Guangdong Province. How can we hesitate? If this extraordinary plan succeeds, I will report the credit to Brother Tingzhen."

Li Chengdong was delighted when he saw Tong Yangjia agreed. He stood up and said to Tong Yangjia:

"I dare not. I will definitely go all out to help the court eliminate the Ming rebels and restore Guangdong Province as soon as possible."

"This matter should not be delayed. Five days later, we will each lead our troops and gather in Tong'an, Tingzhou Prefecture, to take Chaozhou first. What do you think, Governor?" Li Chengdong said.

"Okay, let's do as Tingzhen said. Gather troops in Tong'an in five days and go straight to Chaozhou."

Tong Yangjia made a decision and did not hesitate any longer. The two discussed again about gathering troops to seize Chaozhou, and then left to prepare.
Outside the county government office, Li Chengdong looked back at the county government office behind him, with a look of disdain on his face, and spoke softly

"If one cherishes his body when doing great things, forgets his life when he sees small gains, and is indecisive when facing things, he is a mediocre person."

Li Chengdong snorted coldly, and then without thinking any more, he jumped on his horse and galloped out of the city.
In the back hall of the county government, after Li Chengdong left, a figure suddenly appeared from behind the hall.

A middle-aged man in martial arts uniform walked out of the hall and sat in Li Chengdong's original seat.

Tong Yangjia saw the middle-aged man appear, without any surprise on his face, but continued to sit in his seat, thinking about things, with a cold light flashing in his eyes.

Li Yangchen looked at Tong Yangjia who was silent opposite him, hesitated for a moment, and said

"Why did the governor agree to Li Chengdong's request? Although the surprise attack on Guangzhou seems feasible, if he really takes Guangzhou, then the first achievement of pacifying Guangdong..."

Tong Yangjia was indeed the governor, but if he really pacified Guangdong Province according to Li Chengdong's plan and let Li Chengdong take the credit, then Li Chengdong would really be qualified to compete for the governor of Guangdong Province.
Li Yangchen was halfway through his words when he was interrupted by Tong Yangjia.
"Do you think I don't know Li Chengdong's little tricks? Doesn't he just want to compete for the position of Governor of Guangdong Province?" Tong Yangjia's eyes flashed with contempt.

"Why did the governor allow Li Chengdong to carry out that risky plan?" Li Yangchen looked puzzled.

"What Li Chengdong said is correct. This time, the prince ordered us to attack Guangdong from two directions. Ganzhou does have the advantage."

"If we drag our feet here, it's possible that Jiangxi Province will take the credit for pacifying Guangdong first. This is absolutely unacceptable."

A hint of sternness flashed across Tong Yangjia's face, and then he sneered.

"If Li Chengdong really takes Guangzhou, I will naturally help him achieve success."

"As for the governor, Li Chengdong should not even think about it. He doesn't even want to think about my last name."

Li Chengdong was just a military man after all. He was too naive. Did he really think that if he made great contributions, the court would make him governor?

His surname is Tong, actually Tongjia, one of the eight surnames of the Qing Dynasty
The ancestors of the Tong family followed Taizu Nurhaci when he started his army with 18 sets of iron armor.

Li Chengdong, a slave of three surnames, actually wanted to compete with him for the position of Governor of Guangdong Province. It was simply wishful thinking.
He was sure that as long as they won the first merit in pacifying Guangdong, the position of Governor of Guangdong Province would definitely be his, Tong Yangjia, and there would be no second person.
Who is the slave and who is the master has long been determined.
Poor Li Chengdong, after receiving some appreciation from the prince, he became so carried away that he even thought of becoming the master himself. He really didn't know what he was doing.

If Li Chengdong succeeds in capturing Guangzhou this time, he will take the credit for pacifying Guangdong and become the governor of Guangdong Province. If Li Chengdong fails, he will annex Li Chengdong's troops!
He has been coveting those brave soldiers under Li Chengdong for a long time.
Tong Yangjia thought about the excitement on Li Chengdong's face just now, and a trace of disdain flashed across his face. Li Chengdong, a reckless man, what could he use to fight him?

(End of this chapter)