Southern Ming: A boy soldier at the beginning, supporting the world

Chapter 163 If virtue is not matched, there will be disaster

"Assistant Governor," Chen Zengyu said with a solemn expression, like a dark cloud covering a city. After hesitating for a long time, he said, "Yongchun and Hengzhou have always been owned by Duke Qing. Xu Biao was unruly and lawless, with ulterior motives, and took Yongchun and Hengzhou for himself. Now that Xu Biao has been executed, Yongchun and Hengzhou should be returned to their original owners."

Chen Bangfu and Xu Biao fought mainly for the battle of Nanning. However, Chen's army was too weak, and Chen Bangfu lost more than he gained. Not only did he fail to recapture Nanning, he also lost Yongchun and Hengzhou.

Danchu's words were full of contempt and hostility. Chen Zengyu dared not have any more improper thoughts and had to settle for the next best thing and asked for Yongchun and Hengzhou.

"Marshal Jue, you are wrong." Danchu refused to give in, his words were as sharp as a knife: "The world belongs to the emperor, every inch of it belongs to the emperor, how can it be monopolized by the ministers? Yongchun and Hengzhou are both the territory of the Ming Dynasty, how can you and your son regard them as your own?"

Chen Zengyu was speechless and looked embarrassed. He stammered, "Duke Qing is guarding Guangxi on behalf of the emperor, and he has no intention of monopolizing power. Yongchun and Hengzhou have suffered from wars for a long time, and they are close to Xunzhou, so it is convenient to provide relief."

"Haha, Duke Qing's kindness, I appreciate it. To be frank, although I am young, I have always been loyal to the emperor and patriotic, just as much as Duke Qing and Marshal Jue. When it comes to commanding the army on horseback and comforting the people on foot, I also have some experience. Duke Qing doesn't need to worry about Yongchun and Hengzhou."

Chen Zengyu was a little annoyed and asked, "Could it be that the deputy governor wants to occupy Hengzhou?"

Hengzhou is a big city, located in the same city as Yuxiangwei, and was once the front line of the battle between Xu Biao and Chen Bangfu. The Zhaoyong army attacked Kunlun Pass by surprise, and Xu Biao was forced to return, leaving only a small number of troops to defend Hengzhou.

Chen Bangfu surrounded Hengzhou with a large army, but he had not been able to capture it. Xu Biao was originally from Hengzhou, and although he had been killed, the defenders fought more and more bravely, leaving Chen Bangfu helpless.

Danchu originally planned to give Hengzhou to Chen Bangfu in order to make friends with Chen's father and son and ensure the safety of the passage between Yong'an and Nanning. After the battle of Nanning, he saw the true and false of Chen Bangfu and realized the strength of Zhaoyong Army.

Hengzhou is adjacent to Xunzhou Prefecture and is the outpost of the Zhaoyong Army to get involved in Xunzhou. It has dangerous passes such as Gujiangkou and Taipingjiang, as well as large military guards such as Xunxiangwei. If it is given to Chen Bangfu, wouldn't it be a waste of a precious land?
"Indeed." Danchu said calmly, without a trace of emotion on his face: "Marshal, I have a few words from the bottom of my heart, do you want to hear them?"

Xu Biao was executed, and the honeymoon period between the Zhaoyong Army and the Chen Family Army was over. Chen Zengyu was ignorant of the current situation and came over excitedly, but was poured a basin of cold water by Cen Danchu. He had seen Danchu's methods and felt a little afraid. He said, "Please speak, Vice Governor."

"When the Hongguang Emperor first came to power, the ministers did not think about recovering the territory. Instead, they considered "allying with the Tartars to suppress the bandits" as a brilliant strategy, and fantasized about regaining the homeland with the help of the Tartars. Zuo Gong (Zuo Maodi) wrote to the court, saying that all dynasties had relied on military force to expand the territory, and that only after many difficult battles could they gain an inch of territory.

"How can Hongguang not be defeated when he begs for territory from the Tartars? You and your son want Hengzhou, but you can't take it. What can you do? Hengzhou is Xu Biao's hometown, and he has many followers. Even if I give Hengzhou to you and your son, how can you keep it?"

This was a very tricky statement, which made Chen Zengyu very embarrassed.

Although Hengzhou was still in the hands of the rebel army, Danchu was determined to take it, and regarded Hengzhou as a forbidden delicacy that no one else could get their hands on. He was not being arrogant when he said this, but he had real reasons.

As early as the Hongguang and Longwu years, Xu Biao and Chen Bangfu had been enemies. Xu Biao was a bandit, and Chen Bangfu was a government soldier. They had been fighting each other for many years and had a deep hatred for each other.

The Hengzhou defenders were afraid of being retaliated by Chen Bangfu, so they refused to surrender to him and secretly negotiated surrender with Cen Danchu. Danchu also secretly provided the defenders with money, food and weapons, so Chen Bangfu besieged the city for a long time, but Hengzhou remained unmoved.

Danchu continued to add insult to injury, saying, "Haven't you heard that 'one who does not match his position will suffer disaster'? I believe you and I both know that the remnants of Xu Biao are holding on to Hengzhou and have spread the word that they are willing to surrender to the Zhaoyong Army but not to you and your son.

"In such a chaotic time, the imperial court's orders are not effective. We are all honorable towns, and we should follow the will of the people. How can we be selfish? I am a rookie, and I dare not disobey the orders of Duke Qing, let alone the will of the people. I hope the marshal will convey the right and wrong of this matter to Duke Qing." A meritorious town can only be called a meritorious town if it has a lord and a garrison. Danchu did not have a title, so it was too early to call him a meritorious town. However, the Zhaoyong Army had grown up, and Cen Danchu was very capable and experienced, so Chen Zengyu did not dare to refute it.

After being frustrated for a long time, he finally said something ruthless, "Our army has been besieging Hengzhou for several months and is determined to win. How can we give up halfway?"

"Humph," Danchu snorted coldly, and said, "Winning people's hearts is the most important thing to do in big things. Duke Qing has military force to rely on, and is willing to attack Hengzhou by force, so I will not stop him. But I advise you that if you really want to seize Hengzhou, you must train your troops diligently, prepare more money and food, and make plans for a long time."

"My father and I appreciate your kindness, Vice Governor." Chen Zengyu stood up and said, "I still have things to attend to, so I dare not disturb you any further. Bye."

This was against etiquette, so the guard at the door stepped forward and put his hand on the hilt of the sword.

Danchu stood up, nodded to his personal guards, signaled to give in, and said, "Marshal, I won't see you off."

Feng Lin watched Chen Zengyu leave and said, "This fellow left in displeasure. From now on, our two armies will be enemies."

"Humph!" The two armies were fighting for the garrison, and they were bound to become enemies, not allies. Danchu was not afraid of Chen Bangfu and his son, and said:
"He and his son asked me to borrow troops just to make me fight with Xu Biao, so that they can reap the benefits. I have been interested in Xunzhou for a long time, and I want to take advantage of their tricks. Their troops are not sophisticated, and their people are not loyal. If they dare to provoke our army, I can seize Xunzhou from them and unite Nanning and Yong'an."

Before the Qing army invaded Guangxi, the Zhaoyong army had to build a base in Nanning. Yong'an was the birthplace of the Danchu dynasty. If the Zhaoyong army managed it, it could also serve as an outpost to fight against the Qing army in the future and should not be abandoned lightly.

Fang Yizhi said: "Chen Bangfu is good at flattery and making friends with treacherous officials. He is on good terms with eunuchs such as Ma Jixiang, Pang Tianshou, and Xia Guoxiang. If we provoke a conflict with Chen Bangfu, he will definitely bribe them and slander the Marshal. We must be on guard against this."

"Well," Danchu pondered for a moment and said, "Today I will ask He Yun to help me write a few letters to Liu Xiangke and Li Yuanyin in the court to keep them in check."

The factional struggles in the court became increasingly fierce, and the Wu Party and the Chu Party were at loggerheads. The Chu Party "rely on Yuan Yin (Li Yuanyin, son of Li Chengdong) in the east and Liu Shou (Qu Shisi) in the west", while the Wu Party "rely on Ji Xiang (Ma Jixiang) inside and Bang Fu (Chen Bangfu) outside". In essence, the struggle between the Wu Party and the Chu Party was just a struggle between the warlords of Guangdong and Guangxi.

Emperor Yongli moved his throne to Zhaoqing, entering Li Chengdong's sphere of influence. Li Yuanyin was appointed as the commander of the Jinyiwei, leading elite soldiers to guard the palace, and contacting Guilin and Guangzhou, which greatly strengthened the Chu Party, and used the "Five Tigers" as their minions, and became arrogant.

Among the Five Tigers, Yuan Pengnian is the "Tiger Head", Liu Xiangke is the "Tiger Skin", Jin Bao is the "Tiger Teeth" with the highest fighting spirit, and Meng Zhengfa is the "Tiger Claw".

Liu Xiangke was the most upright, a fellow native of Shaanxi, with whom Danchu had a friendship and had shared hardships at Guni Pass. Li Yuanyin, needless to say, was Danchu's sworn brother.

With the support of Liu Xiangke and Li Yuanyin, the turmoil caused by the Zhaoyong Army in Nanning can be settled.

Fang Yizhi thought carefully and reminded Danchu, "We should also write to explain to Lord Qu and Marquis Xinxing."

"Yes, sir, that's right."

(End of this chapter)