Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 128 Conspiracy
In the main room at the backyard of Xichan Temple, Li Chengdong sat at the top, and Du Yonghe and several other captains in the army sat at the bottom.

Ma Bao walked into the room and bowed to Li Chengdong above.

"You fled in a hurry and brought shame to the general."

"Glad you're back. I was wondering how Brother Ma could be hurt by such a small battle."

Li Chengdong also stood up and patted Ma Bao's shoulder gently. After seeing that Ma Bao looked pale, he quickly asked him to sit down.

"Have you found any trace of Ying Yuan's nephew?"

Li Chengdong sat in the main seat and asked softly

In fact, when Ma Bao was talking with Ma Ziyuan, Yan Keyi had already sent someone to inform Li Chengdong of Ma Bao's return to the camp.

"It has not been found yet. It is probably lost outside the city."

Ma Bao replied softly, and then sat in silence.

"My nephew Yingyuan is a lucky man, so I think he will be alright."

Seeing the look on Ma Bao's face, Li Chengdong comforted him softly.

"General, you have more important things to do, don't worry about this."

"As for Ying Yuan's matter, I will send someone to look for him after dawn."

Ma Bao bowed to Li Chengdong, and Li Chengdong said nothing more and looked at Du Yonghe below.

"Where were we talking about?"

"Speaking of the group of prisoners, according to the captured soldiers who escaped, they were originally soldiers from the Guangdong and Guangxi Governor's Office."

"According to these people, half a month ago in Zhaoqing City, the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, Ding Kuichu, was found guilty of treason and was beheaded by the new emperor in the city. The Guangdong Army was also reorganized. They are the soldiers of the Guangdong Army who are accompanying the team to escort the silver this time."

Although most of the Guangdong Army was not moved during this reorganization, some of the old and weak were also cleared out of the army.
These people could not serve as regular soldiers, but it was not easy to dismiss them directly in Zhaoqing City, so Zhu Lang used them as laborers to escort the silver, and planned to disband them after arriving in Guangzhou City.

After leaving Zhaoqing, these dismissed soldiers were unable to cause any trouble in Guangzhou, a place they did not know.

And it was these laid-off Guangdong Army soldiers that Li Chengdong captured.
Li Chengdong thought for a moment and sneered.

"What treason? I think Ding Kuichu lost the power struggle with Su Guansheng, so Su Guansheng found an excuse to kill him."

"This Ding Kuichu is also a waste. He has 20,000 people under his command, but he was still overthrown by Su Guansheng."

Although it is not known how Su Guansheng did it, it is clear that Su Guansheng won a great victory in this Zhaoqing election.

Ding Kuichu not only died, but also had his Guangdong Army reorganized by Su Guansheng.

Zhaoqing is Ding Kuichu's home base. Although Su Guansheng succeeded in seizing power, he obviously feels uneasy in Zhaoqing.

Su Guansheng then moved the Regent Gui to his own territory, Guangzhou, and prepared to firmly control the Regent Gui and use it to command the court. This is why the Regent Gui's convoy appeared in Guangzhou.

After some thought, Li Chengdong became more certain of his guess. He looked at Du Yonghe below and asked

"How are those captured Guangdong soldiers? Are they elite? Have you found out how many troops are in Zhaoqing City?"

"The prisoners are either old and weak or veteran soldiers. They are completely useless. Anyway, if they were given to me, I would not want them."

"As for how many soldiers Zhaoqing has, we can't tell you. The captured soldiers are low-level soldiers and don't know this information at all."

"It's a pity that we retreated in a hurry this time and failed to capture a few armored cavalry. Those cavalrymen must be the elite of the Ming army. They must know the details of the Ming army," Du Yonghe said softly.

"Even if I can't ask, I can still calculate it. The Governor's Office of Guangdong and Guangxi has 20,000 soldiers, and Su Guansheng retreated to Guangzhou after his failed rescue of Jiangxi with 2,000 soldiers."

"Ding Kuichu and Su Guansheng had a fight in Zhaoqing, Ding Kuichu was killed, the Guangdong Army was reorganized, and Ding Kuichu's cronies in the army will definitely be eliminated. I don't know how many people were killed or dismissed. Now there are no more than 17,000 or 18,000 people in Zhaoqing."

The generals below heard Li Chengdong talking to himself, and their faces changed slightly.

Li Chengdong said it easily. They only had about 300 people left. Although there was a large army behind them, they didn't know when they would arrive.
Guangzhou and Zhaoqing are not far away. If these 17,000 or 18,000 people were allowed to arrive first, they would be crushed to death even if they were piled up like a human pile.

Du Yonghe exchanged glances with Yan Keyi, Ma Bao and others, and said softly
"We have failed in this surprise attack. The gates of Guangzhou are closed. Now there are only about 300 people left in the army. It is obviously impossible to capture Guangzhou."

"General, should we evacuate Guangzhou first, and then attack Guangzhou after joining forces with the rear army?"

Yan Keyi and others nodded when they heard this. In fact, after the surprise attack failed at noon today, some people in the army proposed to retreat first.
There were an equal number of elite soldiers in the city, and the city walls were also defensive. It was simply wishful thinking for them to attack the city with just a few forwards.

In this case, it is obvious that they should evacuate as soon as possible to avoid being surrounded by Ming reinforcements.
Guangzhou is the heartland of the Ming Dynasty. We have failed to capture the city, and we obviously cannot capture it either. What are we doing here if we don't leave now?

However, Li Chengdong directly ignored everyone's opinions and ordered the cavalry to disperse to intercept the messenger in the city, which also puzzled the people in the army.
However, Li Chengdong had been in the army for a long time, and when Li Chengdong issued an order, no one dared to disobey and had to obey it.

But when everyone saw that Li Chengdong himself admitted that there were still 10,000 or 20,000 people in Zhaoqing, they could no longer bear it and once again proposed evacuation.
Li Chengdong glanced at the generals below and spoke softly

"Although Zhaoqing has 20,000 Ming troops, we also have 6,000 troops on our way. I have already cut off the messengers in the city. As long as we travel light and fast, the army behind us will surely arrive at Guangzhou earlier than the army from Zhaoqing."

"There are only 300 imperial guards in the city now. As long as 6,000 soldiers from the rear arrive, we can still attack Guangzhou and achieve this great feat."

"If the Ming emperor is afraid of death and dares not leave the city, then we can capture him again, and this great achievement will still be ours," Li Chengdong said with a firm look on his face.

The generals below listened to what Li Chengdong said, but they were all silent, and no one responded.
Ma Bao looked around the field and saw that Du Yong and Yan Keyi were both silent. He rolled his eyes and spoke softly.

"The general's plan is feasible, but war is dangerous. Military books also say that when going into battle, you should worry about defeat before you worry about victory."

"I have some concerns about this matter, and I would like to ask the general to help me solve my doubts."

"Now is a military meeting, please speak up if you have any concerns."

Li Chengdong said in a deep voice

"I heard from the general that the messengers in the city have been cut off, but Guangzhou is a large city. Even if we try our best to intercept them, there will inevitably be some that slip through the net. At most, the news from Guangzhou will be delayed for a day or two."

"Although the 6,000 of us are ahead of Tong Yangjia's army, we are still in Huizhou Prefecture. Even if we try our best to rush here, it will probably take three or four days."

"Zhaoqing is only about 200 miles away from Guangzhou. The Ming army has few horses, so it will take three or four days for the Zhaoqing army to reach Guangzhou. That means even if our army arrives first, we will only have one or two days to attack the city."

"The Emperor Ming is now in Guangzhou. Once Zhaoqing knows that the Emperor Ming is trapped in Guangzhou, he will definitely come to help."

"If we fail to capture Guangzhou within one or two days, once the Zhaoqing army arrives, we will be attacked from both sides with only 6,000 people against Zhaoqing's 20,000 Ming troops."

"Although the Ming army is weak, six thousand against twenty thousand still seems too risky."

Ma Bao spoke in a deep voice, and without waiting for Li Chengdong's response, he continued

"If we evacuate first now, as long as we join up with the army behind us, we can proceed steadily and not give the Ming court any chance to take advantage of us."

"The emperor of the Ming Dynasty has always been afraid of death. The Ming Emperor is now in the city. Once he sees us evacuating, he will definitely flee Guangzhou as soon as possible and join the army in Zhaoqing."

"Emperor Ming is afraid of death and dares not leave the city. After the Zhaoqing army arrives, Emperor Ming will certainly dispatch a large army to garrison the city in order to ensure his own safety." "In this way, at the very least, we can take all the counties east of Guangzhou. Then we can choose a city to station and wait for Tong Yangjia's army to arrive."

"Once the two armies are united, we can march towards Guangzhou as a full-scale army. In this way, we can capture Guangzhou without having to worry about being surrounded by the Ming army."

Du Yonghe and other generals could not help but nod slightly after hearing Ma Bao's words.
If what Ma Bao said is true, they can not only take the military merits of the counties east of Guangzhou, but also do not have to take any risks.

They traveled all the way from the south of the Yangtze River, and fought several battles with the Ming army in the south. They knew that these southern soldiers were weak.
These southern soldiers were fine at defending the city, but as long as they were in a field battle, as long as their cavalry charged, these Ming troops would almost collapse at the first blow.

According to their estimation, if the 20,000 Guangdong troops were the same as the Ming troops they encountered in Jiangnan, then even if it was 6,000 to 20,000, they would be able to escape unscathed.
But this is just an estimate after all. No one can say for sure what the quality of the 20,000 troops in Guangdong Province is.

Reality is not a military deduction. There is no chance to start over. If they make a wrong estimate, they will pay with their lives.
Therefore, all the generals agreed with Ma Bao's proposal. Winning would be a great achievement, but losing would cost them their lives.
You can earn merit again if you lose it, but you only have one life.

Li Chengdong looked at the expressions of the generals and knew that they were probably all thinking of leaving. His face suddenly darkened and he said:

"No, we can't retreat now."

"We launched a surprise attack today, and the Ming army was able to roughly estimate the number of our troops. They blocked the city in the afternoon. The city sent messengers several times, but they didn't dare to send anyone to fight. This shows that the intelligence that Guangzhou was empty is true."

"There should be no available troops in Guangzhou, otherwise they would have sent people out to drive us away long ago."

"Now not only is Guangzhou empty, but there is also a Ming emperor in the city."

"As long as we can capture Guangzhou City, we will not only be able to take the first place in the pacification of Guangdong, but we will also be able to capture the new emperor of the Ming Dynasty and a number of central government officials. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that we must not miss."

Du Yonghe and others below heard this, but remained silent.
This attitude is actually opposition. Although what Li Chengdong said is reasonable, the premise of all this is to capture Guangzhou City.
Isn't the problem now that they have no confidence at all that they can capture Guangzhou within a day or two?

No matter how big the pie is, what's the point if you can't get it?

Li Chengdong saw that the generals did not respond, but his expression remained unchanged. He spoke in a deep voice.

"Brother Ma's proposal is sound, but if we take over Guangdong Province in this way, the credit for pacifying Guangdong will have nothing to do with us."

"I won't hide it from you brothers, I just want to fight for the position of Governor of Guangdong Province!"

"I am the general of the attack on Guangdong Province, and Tong Yangjia is the governor. Although Tong Yangjia is half a step higher than me, as long as I can capture Guangzhou and arrest the Ming emperor, the position of governor of Guangdong Province will definitely be mine."

"If I become the governor of Guangdong Province, then all the prefectures in Guangdong Province will belong to us brothers. At that time, our brothers in the army will each be in charge of a prefecture, and everyone will be a prefect or a general. Wouldn't that be happy?"

Du Yonghe and the others couldn't help showing excitement on their faces when they heard Li Chengdong's words.
If Li Chengdong became the governor of Guangdong Province, then what he said is very likely to happen.
They were Li Chengdong's subordinates. If Li Chengdong really became the governor of Guangdong Province, who else could he use if not them?

Li Chengdong saw the generals wavering, a smile flashed across his face, and he continued to speak

"But what Brother Ma Bao said does make sense. Although Guangzhou City has made great contributions, we cannot gamble our lives on it."

"Since our 6,000 people may be surrounded by the 20,000 Ming troops, let's ask Tong Yangjia's troops to come to Guangzhou as well!"

"If the siege goes against us, we can combine forces with Tong Yangjia to have at least 14,000 to 15,000 people. Even if all 20,000 troops from Zhaoqing come, we can still defeat the Ming army coming to the city."

The generals below looked at each other in bewilderment. After a moment, Du Yonghe spoke softly.

"We have always been at odds with Tong Yangjia's tribe. Even if we ask for help, I'm afraid Tong Yangjia may not be willing to come."

The generals nodded in their hearts. It was obvious that Tong Yangjia and Li Chengdong wanted to compete for the position of Governor of Guangdong Province.

If Li Chengdong's army was trapped in Guangzhou, Tong Yangjia would have considered the overall situation by not adding insult to injury. How could he have led troops to rescue them?

If Li Chengdong's plan was followed, Li Chengdong would have achieved great success and taken away the position of Governor of Guangdong Province.
If it fails, Tong Yangjia and Li Chengdong will face the risk of being attacked from both inside and outside by the Ming army.

This kind of thing is of no benefit to Tong Yangjia no matter how you look at it. How could Tong Yangjia do such a thing?
"Since we can't invite him, let him come on his own!"

Li Chengdong's eyes flashed with a gleam of brilliance. He glanced at the astonished expressions on the faces of the generals and said softly:

"Send a message to the rear army, tell Luo Chengyao to abandon the baggage, and the entire army to rush to Guangzhou with only five days of food and wages."

"No stopping or looting is allowed along the way. Six thousand people must arrive in Guangzhou within three days."

"After Luo Chengyao set out, he had someone leak the news to Tong Yangjia's army, saying that I had captured Guangzhou City and discovered the new Ming emperor who had moved the capital to Guangzhou."

"Let him know that I have now closed the four gates of Guangzhou. I have abandoned the baggage this time in order to send a large army to search for the Ming emperor hiding in the city."

"Tong Yangjia discovered that I had taken Guangzhou and that my army was marching fast. He also discovered that Gui Jianguo was a legitimate descendant of the Zhu family and that all the senior officials of the Ming Dynasty were in Guangzhou. What do you think Tong Yangjia would do?"

Li Chengdong had a smile on his face, and Du Yonghe's eyes lit up when he heard this. He said
"When Tong Yangjia saw our rear army abandoning their baggage, he must have concluded that we had captured Guangzhou. Otherwise, if there was no food and money support from the front, our rear army would not dare to march so fast."

"Tong Yangjia originally wanted to compete with the general for the position of governor. Now he knows that the general has already captured Guangzhou, won the first merit of pacifying Guangdong, and is about to capture the new emperor of the Ming Dynasty."

"In order to compete with the general for credit, Tong Yangjia will certainly march quickly, hoping to rush to the city of Guangzhou and compete with the general for the credit of capturing the Ming emperor."

"In this way, we don't have to do anything, Tong Yangjia will speed up to Guangzhou on his own."

"Our army will go first, so it must be our army that will reach Guangzhou first. If we successfully capture Guangzhou, then the credit for breaking the city and capturing the emperor will still go to the general."

"If the siege goes against us, as long as Tong Yangjia gets to the vicinity of Guangzhou, he will also be targeted by the Ming army coming from Zhaoqing. By then, even if Tong Yangjia doesn't want to join forces with us, he will have no choice."

"With Tong Yangjia's 7,000 to 8,000 men, our numbers are equal to the Ming army. We don't have to worry about being surrounded by the Ming army. After joining forces with Tong Yangjia, we can even defeat the Zhaoqing reinforcements at the gate of the city."

"exactly"

A hint of pride flashed in Li Chengdong's eyes. If they followed this plan, they wouldn't have to take any risks, whether they could capture Guangzhou or not.

The only problem with this plan is whether Tong Yangjia will lead his troops to come after learning the news.

Li Chengdong was very confident about this. As long as Tong Yangjia still wanted to be the governor of Guangdong Province, he would definitely take the bait!
If he had won the great feat of capturing Guangzhou and capturing the legitimate Ming emperor, the Qing court would have appointed Li Chengdong as the governor of Guangdong Province, even if it was just to win people's hearts.
If the Qing court does not reward such a great achievement, who among the Han troops who have returned to the Qing court will work for the Qing court in the future?
As long as Tong Yangjia still wanted to compete for the position of Governor of Guangdong Province, his only choice was to march here immediately and find and capture the Ming Emperor before Li Chengdong, so that he could compete with Li Chengdong for the position of Governor of Guangdong Province.
Li Chengdong looked at the generals below and spoke loudly

"What do you think?"

"The general has thought everything through, and we admire him."

Du Yonghe and the others stood up and said respectfully
Ma Bao also stood up with everyone else, with a look of admiration on his face, but his heart sank slightly.

He originally wanted to use the 20,000 Guangdong troops in Zhaoqing to scare off Li Chengdong and others, and buy a few days for the emperor in the city.
As long as Zhaoqing's army entered the city, with the strong city as a support, at least the emperor's life would not be in danger.
But who would have thought that Li Chengdong would be so determined and so cunning?
At this time, Li Chengdong had obviously planned everything, and everyone in the army stood up and responded. It was impossible for him to object.

"If that's the case, then proceed according to the plan."

"Continue to kill the messenger outside the city, and send someone to immediately inform Luo Chengyao of the plan and ask him to lead the troops to come at full speed," Li Chengdong said in a deep voice.

"Yes"

The faces of the generals also became solemn, and they all stood up to respond to the order, and then dispersed.
Previously, my classmate Low-Flying Eagle helped me find a lot of information about Zheng Zhilong's generals. Thanks to my classmate Low-Flying Eagle

Is there anyone who can find the information of merchants in the late Ming Dynasty? I have searched for a long time, and all I found are the eight great merchants of the Qing Dynasty, and there is also Wang Mingran in Suzhou and Hangzhou. Apart from these, I can't find the information of other merchants in the late Ming Dynasty. If any classmates know relevant information, please leave a message to let me know

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(End of this chapter)