Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 240 Southwest
In the study of the Governor's Mansion, Zhu Lang looked at the intelligence just sent back by the Royal Guards, but there was no surprise on his face.

Below, Li Chengzhi was reporting on the situation after the Jinyiwei entered Yunnan.

The Ming court had already known about the Yunnan riots. During the Longwu reign, the court had received reports of the Yunnan riots.

However, Yunnan Province was remote, and the Fujian Provincial Government was too busy to take care of itself. The Fujian Provincial Government did not even know who was causing the rebellion.

In September 1645, Wuding Tusi Wu Bikui launched a rebellion, claiming that there was no Emperor Zhu, so where did Duke Mu come from? He openly raised the flag of rebellion.
Wu Bikui conquered cities and territories all the way to Kunming, and the whole Yunnan Province was shocked.
The Mu family of the Duke of Qian had occupied Yunnan Province for more than 300 years. They had been in power for hundreds of years, but their military preparations had long been slackened.
At this time, Wu Bikui suddenly raised the flag of rebellion. The entire Duke's Mansion was panic-stricken and unable to respond. They had no choice but to promise huge benefits and urgently summoned Sha Dingzhou and other local chieftains to gather troops to rescue.
These chieftains of Shadingzhou lived in the dangerous mountains, and their soldiers were still strong. With the gathering of all parties, Wu Bikui was quickly defeated and killed.
But they had to face the wolf in front and the tiger behind. A group of chieftains were urgently summoned by the Qian State Mansion. It was thought that Wu Bikui must have a strong military force, which made the Qian State Mansion, which had suppressed Yunnan Province for hundreds of years, unable to resist.
However, they never expected that after everyone gathered their troops, they easily defeated Wu Bikui, which made Sha Dingzhou and other chieftains see the weakness of the Qianguo Mansion.
In December, when Duke Mu Tianbo of Qian was rewarding the chieftains who had made contributions in Kunming, Sha Dingzhou suddenly led his troops into Kunming City and attacked the Duke's mansion.
Mu Tianbo only managed to escape with the seal of the Yunnan Provincial Commander-in-Chief and the hereditary iron certificate, while his brother Mu Tianze and everyone in the Duke's Mansion were captured by Sha Dingzhou.

The more than 250 storehouses of Buddha's crown stone, amber, red gold and other gold, jade and jewels in the Qianguo Mansion were all taken away by Sha Dingzhou. The treasures accumulated by the Mu family in defending Yunnan for hundreds of years were all lost in one day.

Sha Dingzhou invaded Kunming, captured the Yunnan Provincial Governor Wu Zhaoyuan and Grand Secretary Wang Xigun, and then used their names to report to the Longwu court.

Sha Dingzhou claimed that Mu Tianbo had led his troops to rebel and wanted to establish his own regime against the Ming court, but he had led his troops to defeat him. He asked the court to appoint him as an official and order him to guard Yunnan Province.

The Longwu court was unable to distinguish the truth from the false. After receiving the memorial with the governor's seal, it actually issued an imperial decree, declaring Mu Tianbo a traitor to the State of Qian and ordering Sha Dingzhou to take over the Yunnan Province.
However, not long after the Longwu imperial edict was issued, another fugitive from Yunnan Province brought news that Sha Dingzhou had taken the opportunity to attack Kunming and plunder the mansion of the Duke of Qian. Sha Dingzhou was the rebel, and the Duke of Qian, Mu Tianbo, had never rebelled against the Ming court from the beginning to the end.

The Longwu court was unable to distinguish the truth from the falsehood, and finally nothing was done about it. Until the fall of the Longwu dynasty, the Longwu court still had no idea what had happened in Yunnan Province.

This was the situation the Ming court was facing at the time. On the surface, the Ming court still controlled the southwestern provinces, but in reality, the Ming court could not even figure out who was rebelling in such a large province, let alone collect salaries and conscripts from these places.
If a place cannot collect taxes or recruit soldiers, what difference does it make to not have one?

The Longwu Dynasty seemed to be using the seven or eight provinces in the south to fight against the Qing Dynasty, but in fact it was using the three provinces of Fujian, Guangdong and Guangxi to fight against the entire north and Jiangnan.
It is no wonder that after the fall of Nanjing, a large number of Ming court gentry surrendered to the Qing Dynasty. The Qing Dynasty had already formed a crushing trend over the Ming Dynasty in terms of national strength.
Zhu Lang looked at the Yunnan Province intelligence in his hand. The intelligence record was basically the same as his memory. The Jinyiwei only found out that Sha Dingzhou was causing chaos and attacking people in Yunnan Province, but failed to find out the situation of Mu Tianbo. However, Zhu Lang knew that this person should be fine.

Zhu Lang put down the information in his hand and said

"How is it going with Lord Qu?"

"According to the news, Lord Qu has led the Guangxi Provincial General Zheng Wenxiong and 10,000 Guangxi soldiers from Nanning to Guiyang."

"According to the estimated time, Lord Qu and others should have entered your province by now."

Zhu Lang nodded slightly when he heard this. After Qu Shisi dealt with Chen Bangfu in early October last year, he led Zheng Wenxiong back to Guangxi Province.

Qu Shisi spent more than a month in Guangxi Province. Finally, with the help of Yan Qiheng and other Nanning gentry, he captured and killed Chen Bangfu's family and successfully took over the 10,000 Guangxi troops under Chen Bangfu's command.

After Qu Shisi reorganized the Gui army, he was about to lead his army back, but suddenly received a letter from Chen Zizhuang saying that His Royal Highness the Regent was besieged in Guangzhou.

Qu Shisi was anxious to lead his troops back to Guangdong Province, but before he could organize his troops and set off, another letter came from the court, saying that the court had won a great victory and had completely defeated the Qing troops that had entered Guangdong.
Seeing that the court was in a state of emergency, Qu Shisi was originally planning to abandon the Gui army and return to the court first. However, Zhu Lang, under the pretext of secret intelligence, gave the news of Sha Dingzhou's rebellion to Li Chengzhi, and ordered Li Chengzhi to inform the court in the name of Jinyifu.
After some discussion, the court finally decided to appoint Qu Shisi as the governor of Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan and Guangxi provinces, and ordered him to lead 10,000 Guangxi troops into Guiyang first, control the personnel of Guizhou Province, block the Yunnan-Guizhou border, and then lead troops into Yunnan Province to quell the rebellion after finding out the situation in Yunnan Province.
At the same time, Zhu Lang also specifically instructed that if the Gui army wanted to enter Yunnan, they must first report to the court.

As for why he did this, it was of course because Zhu Lang transferred Qu Shisi and others to Guizhou not to go to Yunnan Province to quell the rebellion, but for another purpose.
Li Chengzhi looked at His Highness who was lost in thought above him, but he felt mixed emotions. His Highness's secret guards had already found out the news about Yunnan Province two months ago.
However, when he was in charge of the Jinyiwei, it took him two months to get the intelligence of Yunnan Province, which made Li Chengzhi suddenly feel a sense of urgency.
The Jinyiwei's duties include protecting His Highness and arresting and interrogating people for His Highness. The most important thing is to monitor the world for His Highness.
Now the Jinyiwei's intelligence speed is so far behind. If it continues like this, wouldn't the Jinyiwei really become the first-class guards and thugs around His Highness?
After Zhu Lang repeatedly provided intelligence, which was later confirmed to be true, Li Chengzhi also knew that His Royal Highness the Regent had an extremely elite spy team in his hands.
However, His Majesty the Regent values ​​this secret guard very much and refuses to disclose any information about it.

Even he learned from Wu Jisi that this secret guard was formed by the former Gui Wang who spent all his family wealth. Only the direct descendants of Gui Wang’s mansion can contact them. Apart from them, no other information about this secret guard can be obtained.

Zhu Lang ignored Li Chengzhi below, put down the information in his hand, and said

"Have you received any news from Huguang?"

"It has been sent back. This is He Tengjiao's memorial to the court, as well as the intelligence gathered by the Jinyiwei during their visit to Huguang to announce the imperial decree."

Li Chengzhi presented the two memorials and said

"This time when the envoy went to Huguang to announce the imperial decree, He Tengjiao was ordered to transport Huguang's taxes to the court. He used the excuse that the taxes had been used to pay the military pay for the Huguang troops and ordered him to come to the court to pay respects. He then said that the Qing troops in Yuezhou had made unusual movements and that leaving Hunan at this time would shake the morale of the army. He kept making excuses and refused to come to the court."

Zhu Lang heard this, and a hint of coldness flashed in his eyes. The imperial envoys entered Hunan more than a month ago. According to the information obtained by Jinyiwei in Jiangnan, the army of Kong Youde and the three kings who were originally going to conquer Hunan had just arrived in Nanjing and were busy mobilizing troops to rearrange the defense line of Zhejiang Province in Jiangnan.
Kong Youde and his men had probably just left Tongzhou more than a month ago. What kind of unusual movement could the Qing army in the Huguang direction have that would be so big that He Tengjiao could not leave Hunan Province?
The confrontation between Huguang had lasted for more than a year. There was no problem at other times, but when He Tengjiao was summoned to Beijing, the Qing army began to move unusually?

Li Chengzhi looked at the cold expression on His Royal Highness the Regent's face and said

"According to the reports from the Jinyiwei scouts, He Tengjiao and his generals including Huang Chaoxuan have occupied various prefectures in Hunan Province, dividing the land to collect salaries, and using the salaries to support their own troops, forming their own faction."

"The people of Huguang have a large army, but they are standing still with Hunan Province. From what I see, He Tengjiao may have the intention of keeping the army for himself."

"The Grand Secretary of the Dongge, the Governor-General of Huguang, can control the civil and military affairs of Huguang, from the county magistrate to the governor, all can be decided by a single word."

"I am in control of the taxes in Huguang and hold great power. If I were in your position, I would not be willing to return to this small court and be humble."

Zhu Lang snorted coldly, but Li Chengzhi below seemed not to hear it. He just bowed his head and stood below.

He Tengjiao controls most of the personnel and financial power in Hunan Province. Although the military towns under his command are unruly, they still respect He Tengjiao, the Governor of Huguang, on the surface. In Changsha Prefecture, He Tengjiao has the final say and it is not an exaggeration to say that he is a local emperor.
He Tengjiao was a Grand Secretary and Governor-General in Huguang, second only to the emperor. But if he returned to the imperial court, the situation would be different.
In the Guangdong Provincial Court, there are not only many ministers who are as experienced and prestigious as He Tengjiao, but also a nominal master, the Emperor Gui, who is the Regent of the State.
Once He Tengjiao entered the court, he would immediately change from a frontier official who held the power of life and death to an ordinary cabinet minister, with life and death in his hands.

Since the Longwu period, court officials have repeatedly impeached He Tengjiao for his self-reliance and he knew it well.
With the situation in the Guangdong court unclear, how could He Tengjiao be willing to enter the court and wait for the court's decision?

The situation in Huguang was extremely complicated at this time. Liu Chengyin, Hao Yaoqi, and Ma Jinzhong's armies had become powerful in Huguang.

He Tengjiao has connections with all the military commanders in Huguang. With He Tengjiao around, all parties in Hunan Province can barely maintain superficial peace. Once He Tengjiao is transferred away, Hunan Province may really be in chaos.

The imperial court could certainly remove He Tengjiao's official hat, but once He Tengjiao was gone, Hunan Province might fall into chaos.

Neither Longwu nor the current Guijing imperial court could find a candidate to replace He Tengjiao at this time, which was also the reason why He Tengjiao dared to refuse the imperial edict.

Zhu Lang thought for a while, but couldn't find a solution for a while, so he put down the letter in his hand and said

"Where is Du Yinxi? How is he doing?"

"After He Tengjiao entered Huguang, he appointed Du Yinxi as the governor of Huguang. The two agreed to go to the south and the north respectively, and each would gather troops to restore the province. Hunan would be under He Tengjiao, and Hubei would be under Du Yinxi."

"Although Du Yinxi governs Hubei Province, most of Hubei Province is occupied by the Qing army. Du Yinxi is the governor of Huguang, but now he only controls Changde Prefecture."

"Last year, Du Yinxi helped the court recruit the Loyal Camp and persuaded Li Chixin and others to attack Jingzhou, but they failed in the end."

"After the great defeat in Jingzhou, Du Yinxi led his troops back to Changde, while the Zhongzheng Camp dispersed to Badong, Shizhouwei and other places where Sichuan and Lake meet to seek food. The Zhongzheng Camp was severely damaged by this defeat and is said to be in a very difficult situation."

"This time, the imperial envoys arrived in Changde, also claiming to collect taxes from Hubei Province. Du Yinxi also claimed that there was no money to transport. Du Yinxi took the imperial envoys to the Changde treasury, and there was only a thousand taels of silver left."

"According to the report from the Jinyiwei, there are more than 2,000 soldiers under Du Yinxi's command. This amount of silver may not even be enough to pay the Fu Biao camp for half a month."

"Then the Jinyiwei followed His Highness's instructions and also tested whether Du Yinxi was willing to report to the court. Du Yinxi did not hesitate and immediately expressed his willingness to follow the envoy into the court."

"The Jinyiwei tried many ways and found that Du Yinxi was really ready to return with the envoy, so they ordered him to postpone his departure and go to Badong and other places to investigate the current situation of the Zhongzheng Camp." Zhu Lang nodded slightly after hearing this. Zhu Lang remembered Du Yinxi and had already written him down on his list.
Before the imperial envoys set out, Zhu Lang had anticipated Du Yinxi's reaction. The reason he wanted to try again was just to confirm his position again. Now it seems that Du Yinxi is still useful.
Although the envoys both requested He Tengjiao and Du Yinxi to report to the court after entering Huguang, the two envoys received different tasks.
If He Tengjiao had agreed to return to the court at that time, the envoy would have really brought He Tengjiao back to the court. When He Tengjiao returned to Guangdong Province, the court would have used He Tengjiao as the core to gradually conquer and subdue the military leaders in Huguang area.

As long as He Tengjiao dared to come back alone, he would still be an important minister in the court in the future, but He Tengjiao obviously did not seize this opportunity.
But Du Yinxi was different. Zhu Lang had no intention of recalling Du Yinxi back to the court.
Du Yinxi insisted on doing so during the Longwu Dynasty, and even risked his life by rushing into the camp of Li Guo, who was then the Dashun Army, and only then did he persuade the Zhongzheng Camp to surrender for the Ming court.
Now the only reliable link between the Ming court and the Zhongzheng Camp is Du Yinxi. Zhu Lang's plans against the Zhongzheng Camp must all be implemented by Du Yinxi through negotiations with the Zhongzheng Camp. How could he possibly recall Du Yinxi to the court at this time?

Now the court is no longer in the period of Zhaoqing's establishment. With the two great victories, Zhu Lang has both civil and military personnel.
On the military side, there are Jiao Lian and Li Mingzhong, who were almost all promoted by Zhu Lang. On the civil side, there are cabinet ministers Su Guansheng, Chen Bangyan in the middle, and grassroots officials such as Chen Shangchuan from the Sizhengtang. This group of people is the real direct lineage.
With the addition of Zhang Tongchang, Zhang Jiayu and others who had just returned from Fujian Province, Zhu Lang's people were now almost everywhere in the court. No matter what Zhu Lang wanted to do, he could almost immediately find available candidates.

Zhu Lang no longer needs to rely on the memory of his previous life and spend a lot of effort to recruit so-called famous officials from later generations to help him do things.
Zhu Lang put down the Huguang Intelligence in his hand, rubbed his eyebrows, and said

"Sichuan Province, have you got any intelligence back?"

"Sichuan is far away and dangerous. On the way, the provinces of Huguang and Guizhou are either in chaos or the land is narrow and difficult to travel, so it is also difficult to send messages."

"The Imperial Guards have sent several waves of scouts to Sichuan, but they have not sent back any useful information yet."

"Before the Jinyifu entered Sichuan, they asked the ministers such as Lu Ge Lao in the court, and learned that in the previous dynasty, the former Grand Secretary Wang Yingxiong was appointed as the governor of Sichuan, Hubei, Yunnan and Guizhou provinces, and Fan Yiheng was appointed as the governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi, in charge of Sichuan's military affairs and suppressing the western bandits."

"After the Jinyifu scout Jing Gui entered Sichuan, he headed straight for Bozhou and Zunyi. However, when he arrived in Bozhou, he heard that the two governors had led their troops to Chongqing. The scout headed for Chongqing again, but found that the soldiers were in chaos and it was difficult to move forward."

"Rumors are rife in Sichuan. One rumor says the two governors were defeated by the Western bandits and are dead. Another rumor says their general, Zeng Ying, defeated the Western bandits and has now marched into Chengdu."

"There were also bandits everywhere in the prefectures and counties in Sichuan, some calling themselves the Righteous Army, some calling themselves the Western Bandits, and some calling themselves bandits, occupying the mountains and setting up camps, and looting everywhere."

"The officials and gentry of each county were in a panic and could only shut themselves in all the days, and the rumors they spread were difficult to tell whether they were true or false."

"Now the scouts of the Imperial Guards are rushing to Chongqing to find the whereabouts of the two governors, but no intelligence has been sent back yet."

Zhu Lang was thoughtful when he heard this. Sichuan Province was indeed in a mess at this time.

The Dashi Army led by Zhang Xianzhong, the Qing Dynasty's Haoge, the Ming Dynasty's Zeng Ying and Yang Zhan, and other old armies of the imperial court. The Thirteen Yellow Families who had been roaming around Sichuan during the Chongzhen period, plus the remnants of the Dashun Army in Kuidong and other places on the Sichuan-Hubei border, as well as the large and small bandits who raised their flags and claimed to be kings, almost all the forces in the Central Plains gathered in Sichuan at this time, just like raising a poisonous insect.

Sichuan Province is now at war almost every day. Sometimes the Ming court fights the Western bandits, sometimes the Western bandits fight the Qing court. After a while, the bandits from the Yaohuang clan come to the Ming army's territory to rob food and money. The Ming court and the Yaohuang clan fight again. The wars between the parties are endless and there is almost no peace.

The entire Sichuan Province is now in chaos. Not to mention that the Jinyifu has only sent some scouts into Sichuan, I am afraid that even the various parties fighting in Sichuan Province may not be able to clear up the current situation in Sichuan Province.

Zhu Lang glanced at Li Guoyong beside him and suddenly asked

"What day is today?"

"Your Highness, it is the first day of February. Tomorrow is the day when the dragon raises its head."

Zhu Lang nodded, thought for a moment, then called Li Guoyong to his side and whispered a few words to him.

Li Guoyong listened to the order and quickly left. Not long after, he entered the room carrying a locked small wooden box.

Zhu Lang opened the copper lock on the box, rummaged around, and quickly took out a piece of letter paper.

Zhu Lang locked the wooden box again, then handed the folded letter on the table to Li Chengzhi below and said

"This is the latest intelligence from Sichuan Province. Put this intelligence together with the intelligence from Yunnan Province and Huguang Province and say that it was obtained by the Jinyifu scouts. Then send these three intelligence reports to the cabinet and the two military governors."

Li Chengzhi took the information from His Royal Highness the Regent and responded subconsciously. However, when he looked at the Sichuan Province information in his hand, his face suddenly changed.

"This this"

The folded letter is opened, and the contents on the paper are revealed.
"In the first month of Dinghai, Zhang Xianzhong, the leader of the Western Bandits, led his troops to station in Xichong. The rebel general of the Western Bandits secretly surrendered to the Qing army and led more than a hundred elite Qing army cavalry to attack the Western Bandits' central army."

"Zhang Xianzhong was caught off guard and was shot and killed by a Qing enemy on horseback at Fenghuang Mountain. The Qing enemy took advantage of the situation and killed him. All 120 camps of the Western bandits were defeated, and all the soldiers were massacred. The casualties were incalculable."

"The remnants of the Western bandits, led by four Western bandit generals, Sun Kewang and others, fled south and fought a fierce battle with General Zeng Ying at Fotu Pass. Zeng Ying was defeated and the Western bandits continued to flee south and will enter your province."

Li Chengzhi held the letter in his hand with a look of shock on his face. Since the reign of Emperor Chongzhen, bandits have been everywhere in the world, and among these chaotic armies, only two people were able to establish a country on the land. One was the traitor Li Zicheng, and the other was the western bandit Zhang Xianzhong.
These two people have always been a major concern for the court, but now this Western thief is dead.
Li Chengzhi looked at the information in his hand, still with an expression of disbelief on his face, and couldn't help asking

"May I ask, Your Highness, where did this news come from?"

Zhu Lang's eyes flickered slightly, but his face remained expressionless. He spoke softly

"This was sent to me by the Secret Guards. It has been verified by them in many ways and is absolutely correct. Just include it in the intelligence."

Li Chengzhi scanned the information in his hand again, and his face was still full of disbelief.
According to this intelligence, Zhang Xianzhong was killed by the Qing army in January, but now it is only February. In other words, the secret guards had already learned about the Western Army almost when Zhang Xianzhong was just killed. Only in this way could the secret guards send the intelligence back to Guangdong Province within just one month.
Moreover, the intelligence obtained by the secret guards was not only that Zhang Xianzhong was killed, but also the specific location and causes and consequences of Zhang Xianzhong's killing. How many people were there in your highness's secret guards, and how many hidden players did they plant in advance to achieve such a level?
Li Chengzhi looked at His Highness the Regent above him, and wanted to ask His Highness for a few secret guards to train scouts for the Jinyi Palace, but thinking of His Highness' usual attitude of keeping secrets about the secret guards, he had to remain silent.
Li Chengzhi is now in charge of the Jinyiwei, and this identity is already extremely sensitive. If he were to investigate the secret guards in His Highness's hands at this time, no matter what his purpose is, he would probably immediately arouse His Highness' suspicion.

Isn't that how the Jinyiwei, Dongchang, and Xichang came about? As a Jinyiwei, sometimes knowing too much is not a good thing.
Zhu Lang looked at Li Chengzhi who was hesitant to speak. He knew what Li Chengzhi wanted to ask, but Zhu Lang's face remained expressionless, and he had no intention of explaining.

The secret guards were the elite under the command of His Majesty the Regent of the Ming Dynasty. How could they be easily known to others? The previous king had worked hard to build them. The palace was a secret and could not be pried into.

Zhu Lang changed the subject and said

"The secret of the secret guard is a palace secret and should not be revealed to the public. This information can be reported to the court in the name of the Jinyi Mansion."

Li Chengzhi heard this and knew that His Highness did not want to mention the secret guards, so he could only respond respectfully.
Zhu Lang looked at the information on the table and fell into deep thought.

This is the current situation in the southwestern provinces. Yunnan Province is in rebellion, Huguang Province has its own army, Sichuan Province is in chaos, and Guizhou Province is not much better.
The general of your province, Pi Xiong, also has his own army and is on the sidelines. However, your province is poor and narrow, and Pi Xiong has too few soldiers under his command, so he is a little submissive.

The Ming Dynasty now nominally owns the southwestern provinces, but none of these four provinces can actually be controlled by the court. This is why Zhu Lang would rather give up half of Zhejiang Province and choose to truce and return.

Compared to fighting the Qing court in Jiangnan at this time, it is obviously easier to turn around and conquer the southwestern provinces.

Zhu Lang thought about this and made a decision in his heart. He looked at Li Chengzhi below and said

"Send this information to the court, tell the cabinet and several military governors that I intend to personally lead an expedition to the southwest, and ask them to prepare."

"Also inform Su Guansheng that he will submit a memorial to establish the Military Affairs Council at the court tomorrow. The world is in turmoil now, and it is no longer as peaceful as in previous years. The court's rules should also be changed."

Li Chengzhi's face turned serious after hearing this. He bowed and hurried out of the room.

As the news of the death of Huguang, Yungui and Zhang Xianzhong reached the court, the court was indeed shocked. The court, which had just been calm for a few days, was in turmoil again.
(End of this chapter)