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

Chapter 232 Geng Zhongming commits suicide out of fear of punishment
"I just happen to have a piece of intelligence, you guys can take a look." Dan Chu took the lead, and the secretary Yang Yuqi brought a piece of intelligence, and all the generals gathered around.

The Red Army Intelligence Bureau had set up a new intelligence station in Zhaoqing, so the Marshal's headquarters would quickly get the news of any disturbances in the imperial court. The Zhaoqing Intelligence Station would also copy all the reports sent by the Ming army to the imperial court.

This intelligence was copied from the report of the Meiguan garrison, and the content was incredible: On the second day of November, the troops of Geng Zhongming, the King of Jingnan of the Qing Dynasty, entered Ji'an, Jiangxi, and Shang Kexi, the King of Pingnan, entered Linjiang, Jiangxi. Ji'an was only separated from Meiguan by Ganzhou and Nan'an, and both of them were controlled by the Qing army. At this rate, the Qing army could attack Meiguan before December. Unexpectedly, Geng Zhongming and Shang Kexi hid fugitives in their army and were reported by Manchu nobles. Geng Zhongming committed suicide in Ji'an, and the Qing army stationed troops and did not advance, so Meiguan was temporarily safe.

After the Eight Banners entered the country, they occupied a large amount of land in the capital area. The Han people in the capital area lost their land and property and had to join the Eight Banners as slaves. The banner owners enslaved the Han slaves cruelly, and the slaves had to flee in large numbers.

Some slaves committed suicide because they had nowhere else to go. Until the early years of Emperor Kangxi, "no fewer than 2,000 servants of the Eight Banners reported suicide to their troops every year", and there would have been even more who concealed their crimes.

The mass escape of slaves directly affected the interests of the Eight Banners. The Qing Dynasty strictly implemented the "Law on Catching Fugitives", "Catching fugitives is the most urgent task of the Qing Dynasty", "The new dynasty has made laws to punish fugitives, and those who hide fugitives will suffer the consequences", "If anyone hides a fugitive, he will be executed, and his neighbors and heads of ten or hundred heads who fail to report him, and local officials who fail to detect him, will all be punished together".

Fugitives were the "property" of the Eight Banners, so the Qing Dynasty's "Fugitive Law" was particularly harsh on the host who harboured fugitives, but relatively lenient towards the fugitives. "A fugitive would be hanged only if he was arrested three times, but the host would be beheaded once, and his neighbours would be exiled."

These were the three most famous evils in the early Qing Dynasty: enclosure, forced labor, and escape.

The laws of the Qing Dynasty were very strict, and many people did not dare to hide fugitives, but there was an exception: the army. In the Qing army at that time, the Eight Banners of the Han Army and the Green Camp often hid criminals, and the Qing court turned a blind eye to this.

When they heard that Geng Zhongming had committed suicide, everyone was shocked, happy, and suspicious.

Wei Guosong asked, "Marshal, is this information credible? Geng Zhongming was already the Prince of Jingnan. Did he commit suicide out of fear of punishment for taking in a fugitive?"

Wu Jie asked again: "Shang Kexi is the King of Pingnan, and his army also hides fugitives, so how come everything is peaceful?"

Danchu smiled and asked, "Do you know what Geng Zhongming's nickname was when he was a general in Dongjiang Town?"

The generals shook their heads and said they didn't know, but Feng Lin was knowledgeable and answered, "Geng Er".

Danchu nodded and said, "Yes, when Geng Zhongming was in Dongjiang Town, he was brave and good at fighting, cunning and intelligent, and was highly appreciated by Mao Wenlong. He was adopted by Mao Wenlong as his grandson and was responsible for managing the military finances and Dongjiang trade.

"But he was stubborn and impulsive, and often had tense relationships with others. For example, he and Kong Youde were from the same hometown, and Kong Youde regarded him as his sworn brother. Later, Kong Youde surpassed Geng Zhongming in strength.

"After surrendering to the Later Jin, Geng Zhongming invaded and seized Kong Youde's followers. The two of them impeached each other and the dispute reached the Emperor Taiji, who personally mediated and the two reconciled.

"There are many other similar cases. For example, in the 15th year of Chongzhen, Geng Zhongming's general Shi Mingxiong impeached him for hiding the people in Songshan and Xingshan. Some escaped people were executed according to law, and Geng Zhongming collected their bodies and held sacrifices for them. His subordinates killed innocent people. After the facts were investigated, Geng Zhongming was fined 1,000 taels of white gold.

"In the 16th year of Chongzhen, Song Guofu, Pan Xiaohe, Shi Mingxiong and others from the Eight Banners of the Han Army plotted to murder Geng Zhongming. Geng Zhongming learned about it in advance and reported it to Huang Taiji. After verification, Huang Taiji ordered the execution of Song Guofu and others..."

Geng Zhongming's suicide out of fear of punishment was unexpected but also reasonable.

"Even so, Geng Zhongming doesn't have to commit suicide, right?" Feng Lin, the right military officer, said, "The Tartars have just named him the King of Jingnan and allowed him to expand his army to 10,000 men, hoping that he can seize Guangdong. Geng Zhongming has his own army and is very powerful. He can submit a petition to plead guilty, and the Qing court will not do anything to him." Naive. Danchu suddenly realized that although the Red Army's high-ranking officials such as Feng Lin, Wei Guosong, and Wu Jie were loyal to him, they were of humble origins and had little knowledge.

In the first year of the Yongli reign, Feng Lin was only the leader of the third team of Jiao Lian's battalion, Wei Guosong was the leader of the second team, and Wu Jie was the leader of the third team. Following him, they became successful and had at least 3,000 soldiers under their command.

In terms of bravery, they have no problem, and in terms of leading troops, after two years of experience, they are also qualified to be the commander of the troops. But in terms of strategy and knowledge, they still have a lot of shortcomings, and they need to be cultivated in the future.

"Geng Zhongming was hiding a fugitive in the army, and was reported by a group of Manchu nobles in the capital. With their power, they really couldn't do anything to Geng Zhongming. But Geng Zhongming offended a Han Chinese, so he had to die."

"Who?" the generals asked in unison.

"Zhang Cunren."

Zhang Cunren, a native of Guangning, Liaodong, was a general of the Ming Dynasty. Sun Chengzong and Yuan Chonghuan had shown him great kindness. During the Jisi Rebellion, Zhang Cunren followed Yuan Chonghuan to lead his troops to help. He fought a fierce battle with the Qing army outside Guangqumen and was hit by eight arrows. Later, he became the deputy general of Ningyuan and defended Dalinghe City with the general Zu Dashou. He surrendered to the Later Jin with Zu Dashou.

Although he was a military general, he was quite strategic and prudent, and was highly appreciated by the Qing court. People at that time commented on him: "He served the longest and most effectively, so he was more responsive than Hong Neiyuan (Hong Chengchou) and Feng Zhuozhou (Feng Quan)." Among the surrendered generals of the Ming Dynasty, "in terms of being appointed as commanders, Meng Qiaofang's achievements were the most outstanding, and Zhang Cunren was second."

Last year, Zhang Cunren resigned from his post as Governor-General of Fujian and Zhejiang due to illness. At the beginning of this year, Jiang Ge rebelled in Shanxi, and the capital was in danger. Dorgon forced Zhang Cunren to serve as Minister of War and Right Deputy Censor-in-Chief, Governor-General of Zhili, Shandong and Henan, Governor of Baoding, Admiral of Zijin Pass, and concurrently in charge of coastal defense.

"Zhang Cunren suppressed the Yuyuan Army Uprising in Shandong, and his status is even higher. He was an old general of Yuan Chonghuan, and Geng Zhongming was a general under Mao Wenlong. They were originally political enemies. Over the years, the hostility between them has only increased.

"Although Geng Zhongming is the Prince of Jingnan, he is very suspicious of the Qing court and has many political enemies. Since someone has reported him for harboring a fugitive, his political enemies will naturally take advantage of the situation. With Zhang Cunren's status and his plotting, Geng Zhongming can't survive even if he wants to."

After hearing Danchu's words, everyone felt much happier.

Wu Jie cursed: "Geng Zhongming has been a running dog for the Tartars for so many years, he deserves to commit suicide! This is a good opportunity to let the world see what the fate of being a traitor is!"

Wei Guosong thought further and asked, "Will the Tartars postpone their attack on Guangdong after this incident?"

"It shouldn't be. Geng Zhongming is dead, and his eldest son Geng Jimao is qualified to lead his army." Danchu said: "I have written to the commanders of Nanxiong and Meiguan, reminding them to strengthen their vigilance."

It was thought that Kong Youde, with his strong army, would be the first to attack Guangxi. Unexpectedly, there were too many Ming troops in Hunan, and Kong Youde was restrained and stationed in Hengzhou. Geng Zhongming and Shang Kexi traveled unimpeded all the way and went deep into southern Jiangxi. If Geng Zhongming had not committed suicide, I am afraid they would have attacked Meiguan.

"In my opinion, Geng Jimao and Shang Kexi's Han troops will attack Guangdong before Kong Youde. Although there are many Ming troops in Hunan, as long as the Tartars send reinforcements to Hunan, Kong Youde can attack Guangxi without any worries."

Danchu sighed, "We don't have much time left. Instead of attacking Wuzhou, we should speed up the expansion of our army."

(End of this chapter)