Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 198 Great Victory
There was a sudden noise outside the hall, and the atmosphere in the hall suddenly stagnated. Zheng Hongkui frowned slightly and was about to call someone in to ask questions, but before he could move, Chen Hui had already rushed into the hall.

Zheng Hongkui frowned as he looked at Chen Hui, who looked suspicious, and asked

"What's going on outside? Why is there so much noise?"

"Just now a military envoy rushed into the city, saying that..."

Chen Hui looked at the generals in the hall with a hesitant look on his face. Seeing that Chen Hui was hesitant to speak, everyone knew that Chen Hui was probably on guard against them, and a look of dissatisfaction flashed across their faces.
Seeing this, Zheng Hongkui's face darkened and he said softly
"Everyone in this arena is my Zheng family's right hand man, there is nothing we can't say, what is going on outside, please tell me quickly"

Chen Hui thought about it for a moment and knew that this matter could not be concealed, so he spoke directly.

"Just now, a military envoy from Guangdong Province rushed into the city and reported a great victory in Guangdong Province. It was said that His Royal Highness the Regent Gui led the army to annihilate 30,000 Qing invaders in Guangzhou. The city is in an uproar because the military envoy spread the news along the way."

"What"

Upon hearing this, Zheng Hongkui stood up from his chair with a look of shock on his face. Everyone in the room was also shocked. Everyone in the room looked at each other, and there was silence for a moment.

Seeing that everyone was silent, Chen Hui spoke again

"I have invited the military envoy to the outside of the palace. Do you want to see him, Lord Zheng?"

“Bring it immediately”

Zheng Hongkui reacted immediately after hearing this.

Chen Hui hurriedly retreated, and soon he walked into the hall with a dusty soldier, and everyone's eyes instantly fell on the man in the scarlet military uniform.

When Zheng Hongkui saw the military envoy coming in, he asked without further ado.

"May I ask the military envoy, what exactly is the situation of this great victory in Guangdong Province?"

The soldier was also surprised when he saw the hall full of blue and red official robes, but after a little thought, he said:

"Half a month ago, the Tartars sent the pseudo-governor Tong Yangjia and the pseudo-general Tong Yangjia to lead the army to invade Guangdong Province. His Royal Highness Gui Jianguo personally led the court army and fought a fierce battle with the Tartar army outside Guangzhou City."

"His Royal Highness Gui Jianguo personally supervised the army, and the two marquises, Wujing Marquis Jiao Lian and Wuan Marquis Li Mingzhong, led the army to charge into the battle. The Tartar coalition was defeated, and 30,000 Qing invaders were wiped out in one day."

After the messenger finished speaking, the people in the hall did not react for a long time. After a long time, Shi Fu, who was sitting at the top, suddenly spoke.

"I know this Li Chengdong. After I followed orders and returned to Anping, it was this man who led the army to capture Tingzhou. If the Qing army really wanted to attack Guangdong, they would have dispatched this man."

Everyone in the hall was even more shocked when they heard this. If what Shi Fu said was true, the information the messenger said was very likely to be true.

The Qing army had already left Fujian and entered Guangdong, but they knew nothing about such a major event!
If what the messenger said is true, then the Gui Regent Dynasty is probably even more powerful than the Longwu Dynasty.

Although Emperor Longwu kept calling for a northern expedition, his army never set foot outside Fujian Province. Lu Jianguo did fight against the Qing army, but was defeated and fled, and Zhejiang Province was completely lost.
Annihilating 30,000 Qing troops. Since the Qing invaders entered the country, there has never been such a great victory in the north and south of the Yangtze River.
Zheng Cai was shocked when he heard what the soldier said, but he quickly reacted and looked at Zhang Tongchang who was looking shocked. He sneered in his heart.

Destroy 30,000 enemies?

Why didn't Zhang Tongchang say annihilate 100,000 enemies? Wouldn't that sound better?

Zheng Cai quickly thought about this matter and was sure that this matter must have been fabricated by Zhang Tongchang.
Thinking of this, Zheng Cai looked directly at Zhang Tongchang opposite him and spoke in a cold voice:

"You just randomly found a few Qing army generals and started talking nonsense here, boasting about a great victory. Zhang Tongchang, your tactics are not very smart."

Zheng Cai finished speaking and without waiting for Zhang Tongchang's response, he looked at the military envoy in the hall.

"You thief, you lied about military intelligence, which is a capital crime. Who ordered you to do this?"

"If you tell the truth now, I will spare your life. If you still refuse to change your mind, I will kill you later."

Zheng Cai stared at the soldiers in the hall, and his cold shout resounded throughout the hall.
The generals in the hall immediately understood Zheng Cai's intention. Zheng Cai clearly suspected that this so-called great victory was all fabricated by Zhang Tongchang.
After being reminded, the generals also discovered the suspicious points of this matter, and all looked at Zhang Tongchang in the hall with suspicion.
The timing of the messenger's arrival was too coincidental. He didn't come earlier or later, but broke into the city just when everyone was deciding whether to surrender to the Qing or the Ming. This really made people suspicious.
The military envoy in the hall was not surprised when he heard Zheng Cai's cold shout. Instead, he was slightly moved when he heard Zhang Tongchang's words.

He did not recognize Zhang Tongchang, but when they all went to Fujian Province, they had all been told by Li Chengzhi

The messenger looked at Zhang Tongchang and Zheng Cai who were facing each other in the hall. Although he didn't know what was going on in the hall, he obviously knew that the general in the red robe was probably not of the same kind as them.
When the messenger thought of this, his face instantly turned cold. He looked at Zheng Cai opposite him and said in a cold voice, "In the battle of Guangdong Province, His Royal Highness Gui Jianguo personally braved the front line, and all the generals risked their lives to destroy the Qing invaders in one fell swoop. In this battle, our Ming Dynasty captured the pseudo-Qing commander Tong Yangjia and Li Chengdong alive, and captured and killed dozens of pseudo-Qing generals and lieutenants including Xu Guodong and Du Yonghe. We killed 8,000 enemies and captured nearly 10,000 prisoners. We also beheaded 800 real Tartars and built a Jingguan outside Guangzhou City, which made the enemy lose their courage."

"Now, the people of Guangdong Province are all excited and celebrating."

"Who are you to dare to question my great victory? Do you think my army is at a disadvantage?
The soldier stood straight and questioned directly in a cold voice, but he didn't care about Zheng Cai's official robe at all and didn't give in.

When Zheng Cai saw that the military envoy was so determined, a look of surprise flashed in his eyes.
This man was too calm, and his high spirits could not be faked. The more powerful this military envoy was, the more unsure Zheng Cai was about his true situation.

The key point is that everyone also found a loophole in this matter. If the great victory was really fabricated by Zhang Tongchang, then they would have found out by sending people to Guangzhou to investigate. How could such a great victory of killing 30,000 enemies and building a Jingguan be fabricated?

Even if Zhang Tongchang used this trick to trick them into surrendering, once they found out that he was fabricating military intelligence, they could still fight back.

Zhang Tongchang lied about military intelligence at this time, and he would definitely be beheaded afterwards. Why did Zhang Tongchang do this useless work and ruin his reputation for nothing?
At this time, everyone in the hall was already shaken, vaguely feeling that this might be true, but they still couldn't believe it.

Could it be that the Guangdong Army under Ding Kuichu was so strong that they could really kill 30,000 Qing invaders in one battle?
Everyone was shocked, and the hall was silent for a while. Suddenly, a voice sounded, breaking the silence.

"Okay, good kill!"

"Since entering the Pass, these Tartars have killed our soldiers and civilians, destroyed our clothes, and treated the people of Jiangnan as cattle and sheep, hacking and slaughtering them at will, leaving the whole city full of blood. These Tartars have deserved this day."

"My Great Ming has a vast territory, and the Central Plains is even more home to countless heroes. How can we allow these Tartars to wreak havoc?"

"Well done, well done! We should slaughter all these Eastern barbarians to show the might of the Han Dynasty!"

Zhang Huangyan held the victory report in his hand with an excited look on his face. He read it several times before looking up. When he saw the strange expressions on everyone's faces, Zhang Huangyan's expression suddenly froze, and he immediately realized that he was a little out of place at this time.
The battle in Guangdong Province was a great victory, but this victory was won by Gui Jianguo's side, and he was a member of Lu Jianguo's side.

At this time, he publicized the great victory of Gui Jianguo, wasn't he pushing all the generals in the hall to Gui Jianguo's side?

Zhang Huangyan realized that what he said was inappropriate, so he immediately kept silent. He just stood aside, flipping through the victory report in his hand, and the more he read, the happier his face became.

When Zheng Cai saw Zhang Huangyan, who looked very happy in the hall, his face turned dark. What kind of special envoy was this sent by Lu Jianguo!
At this time, the victory report brought by the military envoy had already been passed on to Zheng Hongkui, Shi Fu and others, and everyone looked at the names on the victory report, and finally all their doubts were gone.

Some of the names on the battle report were known to them, some were not, but those they knew were all Qing generals who entered Fujian this time. If they had not really defeated the Qing invaders, how could Gui Jianguo have collected so much information about the Qing generals in Fujian Province?

After confirming the authenticity of the battle report, everyone's faces were filled with shock. The Gui Regent government actually defeated the Qing invaders, and it was such a great victory.

At this time, Zhang Tongchang had also finished reading the battle report in his hand, and his face was also excited. Others might still have doubts in their hearts, but he was sure that the victory report must be true. His Highness the Regent was an upright person, so how could he use such a sinister trick?
Zhang Tongchang suppressed his excitement and glanced at Zhang Huangyan, who was still reading the battle report, with a look of surprise on his face.

But then he stopped paying attention to Zhang Huangyan, looked up at everyone in the hall, and said

"The victory of Guangdong Province is certainly gratifying, but the situation in Fujian Province is still critical at this time"

"The Qing invaders know that Guangdong Province has been badly defeated and may send troops south at any time. However, I need to deploy defenses in Fujian Province with Governor-General Zhang as soon as possible. There is no time to delay. Generals, do you want to return to the Ming or surrender to the invaders? Have you made a decision?"

Zhang Tongchang spoke in a light voice. Shi Fu and other generals in the hall saw Zhang Tongchang with a calm expression in front of them, but for the first time they felt a sense of majesty and pressure from this person.
Seeing the awe on everyone's faces, Zheng Cai gritted her teeth and tried to make amends.

But before he could say anything, Zheng Hongkui above him suddenly stood up and spoke in a deep voice:

"Your Majesty Gui, the regent of the country, is heroic and majestic. He has annihilated the Qing invaders and enhanced our Ming power. For this extraordinary achievement, all of us Fujian officials are delighted. I, Zheng Hongkui, congratulate you on behalf of the court and on behalf of your majesty."

Zheng Cai saw Zheng Hongkui stand up and bow, and his expression suddenly changed. But before he could react, Shi Fu above him also stood up and bowed, and said

"Your Majesty Gui, the regent of the country, is heroic and majestic. He has annihilated the Qing invaders and promoted our Ming power. I, the minister, congratulate the court and Your Majesty on this occasion."

"Your Majesty Gui, the regent of the country, is heroic and majestic. He has annihilated the Qing invaders and spread our power. Your Highness, Huang Ting, congratulates the court and Your Majesty."

……

As Zheng Hongkui, Shi Fu and others bowed their heads, Hong Xishan, Liang Li and other generals also stood up and bowed without hesitation, congratulating them. Except for Zheng Cai and Yang Geng, all the generals in the hall bowed their heads.
On one side is Gui Jinguo, who controls several provinces and has a strong army to annihilate the Qing army. On the other side is Lu Jinguo, who has lost all his territory and fled to Fujian Province in a hurry. He relies on Zheng Cai to have a foothold. Everyone knows what to choose at this time.

Zhang Tongchang looked at the Fujian generals who bowed in the hall, and at this moment he finally felt relieved and smiled.

All the generals in Anping surrendered to Zhang Tongchang. Zheng Cai and Yang Geng led their troops out of Anping that day and retreated to Zhongzuo.
The messenger in Anping City also rushed out of Anping and headed towards Guangdong Province.
I will take a day off tomorrow. The next chapter will be about the battle in Fujian and the recovery of Fujian Province.
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(End of this chapter)