Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 221 Crack
In the hall, when Lu Jianguo heard that Xiong Ruolin was going to hand over all the spoils of Fuzhou City to Zheng Cai, his expression changed slightly.

How could this be feasible? Fuzhou was the Qing invaders' lair in Fujian Province, so it must be extremely wealthy. If they really invaded Fuzhou, they would surely be able to seize a large amount of money and grain.

Since Lu Jianguo fled to the sea, he had to wear old clothes and eat simple meals all day long because of lack of income. How could he give all the money and grain from Fuzhou to Zheng Cai?
Xiong Ruolin saw the change in the expression of Lu Jianguo above, and he also knew what his own regent was thinking, so he immediately shook his head at Lu Jianguo above. Lu Jianguo saw the seriousness on Xiong Ruolin's face, hesitated for a long time, and finally did not speak.

Qian Sule, Zhang Huangyan and others below heard what Xiong Ruolin said. After the initial shock, they immediately understood what Xiong Ruolin meant.

Xiong Ruolin had never thought of occupying Fuzhou. Gui Jianguo and others had finally defeated the Qing invaders. How could they let others get involved in Fuzhou at this time? If they were Gui Jianguo, they would never agree.
Xiong Ruolin never thought about taking Fuzhou from the beginning. What Xiong Ruolin really wanted was the reputation of being the first to recover Fuzhou. This was the only thing they could fight for now.

Zheng Cai on the right heard what Xiong Ruolin said, and a trace of greed flashed across his face at first, but he soon came to his senses and looked at Xiong Ruolin opposite him, with a cold light flashing in his eyes. It turned out that none of these civil officials who could become the prime ministers were good people. This old thief really had a very cruel mind.

If he really attacked Fuzhou as Xiong Ruolin said, Zheng Cai would instantly lose all his escape routes.

Zheng Cai figured out Xiong Ruolin's purpose, snorted coldly, and said

"Do you really think that you, Xiong, are the only smart person in the world, and that everyone else is just an ordinary person who can't see the benefits and disadvantages of this?"

"Will everything be alright if we hand over Fuzhou?"

"Who told Lord Xiong that he would be safe if he handed over Fuzhou? If the King of Gui still gets angry and attacks after he hands over Fuzhou, how will Lord Xiong respond?"

Xiong Ruolin looked at Zheng Cai who was staring at him coldly, and his expression changed slightly. He was a little undecided for a moment, wondering if Zheng Cai had seen through his plan.

The reason why he proposed to capture Fuzhou was, on the one hand, to help Lu Jianguo seize the reputation of being the first to restore Fuzhou, but on the other hand, he wanted to use this incident to completely tie Zheng Cai to their Lu Jianguo court.
The Gui King is too strong, with an army of 100,000, and now he has defeated the Qing invaders. Once the news of Fujian Province spreads, the Gui King will surely shock the world and gain the support of the people.
The only people they can really rely on now are the four or five thousand men under Zhang Mingzhen and Zheng Zunqian. Although Zheng Cai and others are already arrogant, they have no choice but to win over Zheng Cai.
Only by tying Zheng Cai to their side can the Lu Regent court barely resist the Gui Wang and others.
If Zheng Cai was tempted by Fuzhou's money and food and really sent troops to attack Fuzhou, then Zheng Cai's retreat would be completely cut off and he would have to stay in the Lu Regent Court.
To capture Fuzhou is not as simple as occupying a city. To capture Fuzhou is not only to capture the city, but also to win the hearts of the people in the world!

How could it be possible that we could live in peace after taking Fuzhou and returning it to the King of Gui?
After arriving in Fujian Province, he also obtained information about the Gui Dynasty from Zheng Cai. The ministers of the Gui Dynasty, such as Lu Daqi, He Wuzhuo, and Chen Zizhuang, were all experienced and wise.

He could see the importance of capturing Fuzhou. How could these people not know the significance of occupying Fuzhou first?
It can be said that whoever dares to enter Fuzhou before the King of Gui will become a thorn in the eyes of the King of Gui and others. As long as Zheng Cai can't resist the temptation and sends troops to attack Fuzhou, then Zheng Cai will have to be tied to them.

It's a pity that Zheng Cai didn't know whether he saw through his intentions or was really afraid of the King of Gui. He offered Fuzhou's money and grain as an inducement, but Zheng Cai still refused. It's really a pity.

Xiong Rulin's mind was filled with thoughts, but his face remained expressionless. He spoke again.

"Duke Jianguo is worrying too much. We are preparing to seize Fuzhou from the Qing invaders. Afterwards, we are willing to give Fuzhou to the King of Gui. Why are the King of Gui and others dissatisfied?"

"We have done our utmost to be kind and righteous. If the King of Gui and his men still want to attack us, they will lose the support of the people. Therefore, as long as we hand over Fuzhou, the King of Gui and his men will definitely not attack us."

Xiong Ruolin's eyes flickered slightly, and after some explanation, he wanted to continue to encourage Zheng Cai to attack Fuzhou. However, Zheng Cai saw that Xiong Ruolin was still playing tricks on him at this time, and his expression became colder. He looked at the old man opposite and said coldly
"I'm asking Elder Xiong, if the King of Gui still wants to attack after we hand over Fuzhou, how will Elder Xiong respond?"

"If you lose the support of the people, they will definitely not attack you."

"Does Lord Xiong think that the King of Gui is a minor official in your palace and will obey your orders even if you talk nonsense? This is a joke."

Zheng Cai's words were almost like scolding Xiong Ruolin, and Xiong Ruolin's face immediately darkened when he heard it.

But there was no reaction on Zheng Cai's face at all. This Zhongzuo Station belonged to him, Zheng Cai. When had he allowed Xiong Ruolin to run rampant here?

Zheng Cai glanced at Xiong Rulin across from him, and then looked at a wooden sculpture above him, which looked like the calm and composed Lu Jianguo. He said in a cold voice:
"Your Highness, the Regent, do you know that the King of Gui and his men captured two thousand Jurchen soldiers yesterday? However, the King of Gui directly ordered the execution of all of them. He also used the four thousand Tartar heads to build a Jingguan outside the city of Zhao'an."

Qian Sule, Zhang Huangyan and others in the hall changed their expressions when they heard this. It was normal to kill as many people as possible on the battlefield, but after surrendering, this Gui Regent still directly killed thousands of captives and built a Jingguan. No matter how you look at it, this Gui Regent is extremely brutal.

In fact, Zhu Lang was not a murderous person. It was only after he learned that these thousands of Jurchen soldiers were originally from Duoduo's army and had come all the way south from Yangzhou, Jiading and other places to Fujian Province that Zhu Lang decided to kill all of them.
There is no other reason for killing, it is just blood debt and blood must be paid.

Zheng Cai looked at the ministers in the delay hall, whose expressions suddenly changed, and continued in a cold voice
"This Gui Regent has always been cruel and overbearing. If we really occupy Fuzhou City now, once we anger the King of Gui and his men and they attack us, I would like to ask Elder Xiong if he has anything ready to stop the 100,000 troops under the King of Gui's command."

"Using what Elder Xiong said about the people's hearts and righteousness? It's ridiculous."

"If the King of Gui mobilizes his army to attack, all of us will die without a burial place."

"Are you planning to gamble the lives of His Royal Highness the Regent and all the ministers and soldiers in the court on the city of Fuzhou?"

Zheng Cai had a cold expression on his face. How could he not see Xiong Ruolin's intention? He could not tell whether the King of Gui would attack him or not. However, this matter did him no good at all.

If Fuzhou is captured, all the fame will go to Lu Jianguo. But once the King of Gui attacks, it will be Zheng Cai who will have to fight. What a joke to ask Zheng Cai to fight for the reputation of Lu Jianguo.

When Lu Jianguo heard that the King of Gui was so brutal, he was immediately panicked.

At this time, Lu Jianguo no longer thought about the dream of restoring the old capital and leading the world. Lu Jianguo looked at Xiong Ruolin below and saw that Xiong Ruolin had a gloomy face and remained silent. He could not help but speak

"What Xiong Gelao and Duke Jianguo said is reasonable. Since it is difficult to reach a consensus in the court now, we can discuss it another day. You two are both my right-hand men in the court, and there is no need to hurt the harmony over this."

When Lu Jianguo spoke, the two people in the hall had no choice but to step out and respond. After the two returned to their positions, both sides were silent, and the court meeting ended.
Although Lu Jianguo said that he would discuss it another day, all the ministers in the hall knew that this matter would definitely be fruitless. Today, the two parties had actually torn their faces apart in the hall, and there was no room for discussion.

The two sides on Zhongzuosuo Island parted unhappily. At this critical moment when the main force of the Qing army in Fujian Province collapsed and all prefectures and counties were completely unprepared, the entire Lu Jianguo Dynasty remained on the island and did not make any moves, as if he was completely unaware of the situation in Fujian Province.

At this time, Li Mingzhong, Ma Bao and others were advancing rapidly, marching all the way, quickly recovering various places in Fujian Province, Jianning Prefecture, Tongpan Mountain,

Tongpan Mountain is located in the northeast corner of Jianning Prefecture, at the junction of Zhejiang and Fujian. To the north is Chuzhou Prefecture of Zhejiang Province, and to the east is Funing Prefecture of Fujian Province.
In Tongpan Mountain, on the mountain stronghold, Liu Zhongzao looked at the soldiers who were training at the foot of the mountain, but he felt a little uneasy.
Liu Zhongzao was a Jinshi in the Chongzhen reign. After Li Zicheng captured the capital, Liu Zhongzao fled back to his hometown of Fu'an. After Emperor Longwu succeeded to the throne in Fuzhou, Liu Zhongzao also joined Longwu's army.
During the Longwu Dynasty, Liu Zhongzao was ordered to go to the Lu Regent's office to try to appease the Lu Regent and others, and make the Lu Regent give up the title of Regent and submit to the emperor.

However, the time when Tang and Lu ascended the throne was almost the same, only a few days apart, and both of them were from branch clans, so neither side could be called orthodox. Under such circumstances, Lu's regent naturally refused to submit to Longwu.

Liu Zhongzao was ordered to go on a diplomatic mission to Zhejiang Province. However, Zhang Guowei, Xiong Rulin and other cabinet ministers of the Lu Regent Court refused to obey the order, so Liu Zhongzao had to return empty-handed.
At that time, the Lu Regent had a strong army and horses, and controlled most of Zhejiang Province. He also had tens of thousands of generals such as Fang Guoan. How could he hand over tens of thousands of troops and a province just because of a few edicts from Emperor Longwu?
After Liu Zhongzao returned from his mission, Emperor Longwu believed that Liu Zhongzao was familiar with the situation in Zhejiang Province, so he promoted Liu Zhongzao to the position of Right Censor-in-Chief and ordered him to be the governor of Jinhua and Quzhou in Zhejiang Province.

But at that time, Jinhua and Quzhou were not in the hands of the Longwu Dynasty. Although Liu Zhongzao was given an official position, he was actually just a nominal governor.
After receiving the order, Liu Zhongzao returned to his hometown Fu'an, spent all his family wealth, and recruited She ethnic minority mountain people as soldiers. However, just as Liu Zhongzao had recruited soldiers, the Qing army had already conquered Fujian Province.

After Liu Zhongzao received the news of Emperor Longwu's misfortune, he still refused to surrender. He resolutely fled to Tongpan Mountain with the 5,000 mountain militia soldiers he had recruited and continued to resist the Qing army.

After the Qing army entered Fujian Province, they focused their main efforts on occupying the cities and passes in various places, and for a while they could not take care of Liu Zhongzao and other mountain rebels.
Therefore, although Liu Zhongzao and others have been attacking and killing Qing soldiers in nearby counties to seize food and money, there has never been a large number of Qing troops coming to encircle and suppress them.
But the situation has changed recently. In the past half month, the Qing troops in Jianning and Fu'an have been frequently mobilized, and it seems that they are planning to gather troops in large numbers. This has made Liu Zhongzao in Tongpan Mountain alert.
After Liu Zhongzao discovered the abnormality of the Qing army, he immediately sent people to Funing Prefecture to investigate, trying to find out the reason for the Qing army's unusual movements. If the Qing army gathered troops this time to encircle and suppress Tongpan Mountain, they needed to prepare as soon as possible.
In the mountain stronghold barracks, Liu Zhongzao stood by the window, thinking about the unusual behavior of the Qing army during this period of time. At this time, a middle-aged man in monk robes suddenly walked into the room.

The middle-aged man was named Lian Bangqi, a scholar from Funing County. After the Qing army invaded Minsheng, Lian Bangqi also joined Liu Zhongzao's army and fled to Tongpan Mountain with Liu Zhongzao. At this time, he was serving in Liu Zhongzao's army.
After the Qing Dynasty entered Fujian, they forced people to shave their heads. The whole city of Fujian was in a state of panic. In order to hide his tracks, Lian Bangqi disguised himself as a wandering monk, put on a monk's robe, and sneaked into Fu'an to investigate the news of the Qing army.
When Lian Bangqi entered the room and saw Liu Zhongzao by the window, he looked excited and immediately said loudly:
"Your Excellency, great joy, great joy!"

"The Qing invaders in Jianning and Fu'an gathered their troops not to encircle and suppress our Tongpanshan Volunteer Army, but to transfer them to Fuzhou to defend the city."

"His Royal Highness Gui, the Regent of Guangdong Province, led a large army into Fujian Province. It is said that he defeated the Qing invaders in Fujian Province, captured and killed 100,000 Qing invaders, and even the Tartar Beile Bolo was beheaded by His Royal Highness Gui, the Regent of Guangdong Province, on the battlefield."

"Now the army of Gui Jianguo has arrived at the city of Fuzhou and is besieging the city. The Tartars in Fujian Province are about to be defeated. There is hope for the revival of our Ming Dynasty!"

Lian Bangqi was dancing with excitement on his face, but Liu Zhongzao was shocked when he heard what Lian Bangqi said, and he didn't come back to his senses for a long time.
When the Qing invaders entered Fujian a few months ago, they were so powerful that the imperial court was almost defeated and had no power to resist. But only a few months later, the imperial court was able to counterattack and return to Fuzhou.
But Liu Zhongzao quickly reacted and immediately discovered the abnormality that Lian Bangqi mentioned, and asked

"Gui Regent? Whose regent is he and what is his origin?"

Lian Bangqi was also stunned when he heard this, and then he quickly said
"His Royal Highness Gui Jianguo is said to be the grandson of Emperor Shenzong, the direct descendant of the emperor, and the most legitimate person among all the royal families."

"After the previous emperor was in trouble, Lü Daqi and other officials in the court fled west to Guangdong Province and re-established the Ming Dynasty. The person whom Lü Daqi and others supported in Guangdong Province was His Royal Highness Gui Jianguo."

"After Gui Jianguodian ascended the throne, he led the armies of Guangdong and Guangxi and personally led an expedition to Fujian Province, where he eventually defeated the main force led by the Tartar Beile in a single battle."

"Now that the imperial army has entered Fuzhou, the soldiers from Jianning and Fu'an were mobilized to rush to Fuzhou to defend the city."

"Have you confirmed the news? Has the imperial army really surrounded Fuzhou?" Liu Zhongzao still didn't believe it and asked again.

"I can't be wrong. I met several students who escaped from Fuzhou in Anhai. Fuzhou city is surrounded by tens of thousands of troops from the imperial court. Merchants and travelers can testify to this."

"Now, not only Fuzhou Prefecture, but also the people in Funing Prefecture have known that the royal army is coming, and the gentry and people in each city are all excited."

"The Qing officials in the counties are now in a state of panic, and some have even abandoned the city and fled. The people in both places are now in a state of excitement. I am afraid that as soon as the imperial army arrives, the people in the city will immediately open the city gates and welcome the royal army into the city."

Liu Zhongzao finally showed excitement when he heard what Lian Bangqi said, and couldn't help but speak.

"The royal army has come north to drive out the barbarians, recover our homeland, and save our people. His Highness Gui, the Regent, must be the legitimate heir of the Ming Dynasty!"

Liu Zhongzao clenched his hands, his face was excited. He killed Bolo and surrounded Fuzhou. Not to mention that His Royal Highness Gui Jianguo was said to be the direct descendant of Emperor Shenzong, even if Gui Jianguo was just an ordinary member of the royal family, in Liu Zhongzao's mind, this Gui Jianguo must be the legitimate one.

Lian Bangqi looked at Liu Zhongzao in front of him and said

"Your Excellency, the imperial army has arrived and the fall of the Qing Dynasty is imminent. Why don't we send troops to Fuzhou to help the imperial court capture Fuzhou as soon as possible?"

Liu Zhongzao heard this, thought for a moment, a hint of sternness flashed in his eyes, and said

"Fuzhou is too far away. By the time we get there, the imperial court will probably have already conquered Fuzhou."

"Pass my order, order Zhang Xian to gather his troops immediately, follow me to capture Fu'an and Funing counties, and cut off the Qing invaders' way back."

Liu Zhongzao made the decision, and soon the army came out from Tongpan Mountain and headed towards Fu'an City in Funing Prefecture.

Liu Zhongzao led thousands of soldiers and marched all the way. It took only two days for the whole army to arrive at the city of Fu'an. At this time, the news that the imperial army had surrounded Fuzhou had already spread to all counties in Fu'an Prefecture. Naturally, the gentry and people in Fu'an City also knew about it.
Liu Zhongzao and his men led the army to the city. When the people in the city saw the Ming army uniforms in Liu Zhongzao's army, before Liu Zhongzao and his men began to attack the city, the gentry in the city had already killed the county magistrate appointed by the Qing court and opened the city gates to surrender.

Liu Zhongzao was originally from Fu'an. When he returned with his army, the gentry in the city cooperated very well and did not cause any trouble. Liu Zhongzao took over Fu'an City directly.
After Liu Zhongzao took over Fu'an, he left 3,000 men to defend the city, and the remaining 2,000 men set out to persuade the counties of Fu'ning Prefecture to surrender.
At this time, almost all the soldiers from all over Funing had been transferred to Fuzhou by Zhang Cunren. When the soldiers under Liu Zhongzao arrived, the gentry and common people from all over the country opened their cities and rebelled. The entire Funing Prefecture was once again controlled by the Ming army without any fighting.
Liu Zhongzao and his men successfully recovered Funing Prefecture. Liu Qijiao, Yang Yandi and their men also made good progress. Liu Qijiao and his men entered Tingzhou from Chaozhou. Wherever the 4,000 cavalry passed, almost all the counties surrendered. Only a few large cities such as Tingzhou resisted stubbornly.
Liu Qijiao and his men ignored the cities that refused to surrender. After obtaining food and money in Tingzhou, they headed straight to Shaowu and Jianning.
Like Tingzhou, Shaowu and Jianning Prefectures also had only a small number of Han soldiers stationed in the prefecture city, and the rest of the enemy was almost empty. Liu Qijiao and his men encountered almost no resistance and directly occupied the two important passes of Shanguan and Xianxiaguan.

Li Mingzhong led 10,000 Wuxiang troops to follow closely. When the Green Camp Han soldiers stationed in the three prefectures saw the army marching, they finally believed that the Qing army had been destroyed by the Ming army, and they opened their cities and surrendered.

Zheng Chenggong, Zheng Hongkui and others marched north from Changtai and invaded Yanping. They also encountered no resistance and Yanping Prefecture was recovered.
On the western and central fronts, Li Mingzhong, Zheng Chenggong and others recovered lost territory. On the eastern front, Shi Lang, Ma Bao and others also made good progress. Huang Ting's navy led 8,000 people on a ship and was the first to reach Fuzhou from the sea.
Zhang Cunren only had 2,000 soldiers left in Fuzhou, and 3,000 local soldiers hastily transferred from Jianning and Fu'an. Zhang Cunren did not dare to go out to fight, but just held the city and quickly sent people to Nanjing for help.
However, Zhang Cunren's plan to hold the city did not last long. After Shi Fu, Ma Bao and others led 30,000 land troops to Fuzhou City, the Qing army in Fuzhou City finally gave up hope.

On the night when Ma Bao and his men arrived, Zhang Cunren fled with more than a thousand cavalrymen. Fuzhou City changed hands and was once again controlled by the Ming army.
Zhang Cunren fled to Fu'an, but was ambushed by Liu Zhongzao and others. After a chaotic battle, Zhang Cunren lost many soldiers and fled north with hundreds of remnants of his army, and fled to Wenzhou Prefecture in Zhejiang Province.

Zhang Cunren's original plan was to urgently dispatch Zhejiang troops to Wenzhou to guard the border of Zhejiang Province. However, when Zhang Cunren rushed to Wenzhou Prefecture, he found that Huang Ting and others were attacking from the sea by boat. Before they arrived, they had surrounded Wenzhou Prefecture. Zhang Cunren had no choice but to continue fleeing northward.
As Fuzhou was recovered, Zhang Cunren fled to Zhejiang Province, and the entire Fujian Province was finally completely controlled by the Ming army.

(End of this chapter)