There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 240: Pioneer for the King
"The Mischief and the Winged Tiger are nothing but a rabble; Your Majesty has no need to worry about them."

The advisor said, "In this battle, Your Majesty only needs to wait for the right opportunity. When the government troops can no longer hold out and take the initiative to withdraw, then write a letter inviting the Chaos Demon and the Winged Tiger to launch a surprise attack on the government troops together, letting them fight like dogs. At that time, Your Majesty only needs to wait for both sides to be exhausted before taking the opportunity to send troops and defeat the enemy in one battle."

"In this way, Your Majesty's main force remains intact, and you carry the momentum of a great victory over the government army. No matter how much the Chaos Demon and the Winged Tiger are unwilling, they will have no choice but to submit to Your Majesty's wings. The city of Ji'an will also be yours to take at your disposal!"

After this entire plan was laid bare, even the King of Killing All, who considered himself a bad person, had to admit defeat.

These scholars, indeed, the more books they read, the darker their minds become!
King Sha Jin was thrilled. After rebelling for so long, it was finally his turn to rule the city.

"Your Majesty, there is one more thing," the advisor suddenly said.

King Sha Jin hurriedly asked, "Mr. Zhou, what is it?"

Mr. Zhou said, “Your Majesty, after this battle, Your Majesty must choose a new title. The title ‘King of Slaughter’ may embody Your Majesty’s intention to raise an army, but if you do not change your title, then in the eyes of the people, Your Majesty will be nothing more than a bandit, not even a righteous rebel king.”

Upon hearing this, King Shajin felt utterly ashamed. Before he had any advisors or scholars to serve him, he thought his name was incredibly impressive, and those illiterate peasant bandits thought the same about him.

Slaughter all the kings, slaughter all the landlords, what a scoundrel!
But when he arrived in Jiangxi, some scholars became his advisors and joined him. Only after killing all the kings did he learn of this name. It was truly a disgrace!
It's just a bunch of amateur charlatans; compared to the Han King surnamed Nie, it's like comparing heaven and earth.

Why did he choose such a title in the first place? If he were to actually become emperor with that title, the whole world would probably laugh at him.

King Shajin nodded repeatedly: "Mr. Zhou is right, we'll remember it all! After we take Ji'an City, we'll need Mr. Zhou to help us renew our title, after all, Mr. Zhou is our Li Shanchang!"

Mr. Zhou cupped his hands in flattery and said, "Your Majesty flatters me. I have indeed witnessed Your Majesty's majestic bearing!"

King Sha Jin waved his hand modestly and said, "Mr. Zhou, you flatter me. I certainly can't compare to Zhu Yuanzhang!"

The description of "Hongwu's bearing" refers to Zhu Yuanzhang, of course. The King of Shajin listened to Mr. Zhou tell him stories about Zhu Yuanzhang almost every day, so he remembered them very well.

Of course, the story has definitely been heavily modified. The relationship between Zhu Yuanzhang and Li Shanchang is different. Zhu Yuanzhang's starting point and experience were modified based on the template of killing Wang, while Li Shanchang was completely based on Mr. Zhou's own template.

The extent to which Wang Wenhua was killed was not high, but it was precisely because it was not high that it was easy to be fooled, and it was easy to identify with Mr. Zhou's distorted version of Zhu Yuanzhang and Li Shanchang.

He claimed to be less humble than Zhu Yuanzhang, but he couldn't stop smiling.

Mr. Zhou continued to flatter him: "Your Majesty, why belittle yourself? Even Zhu Yuanzhang was once Zhu Chongba, the son of a farmer, a beggar, and a monk, yet he still founded the Ming Dynasty, which lasted for three hundred years. Your Majesty is full of vigor and is no less capable than Zhu Hongwu of yesteryear. You will surely overthrow the Qing Dynasty and restore our Han Dynasty!"

A few flattering words made the King of Slaughter somewhat smug.

Fortunately, Mr. Zhou always spoke with a Gan accent, which prevented the King of Killing All from becoming too arrogant and allowed him to remember that he had been driven to Huguang by the Han army.

Mr. Zhou smiled and said, “Your Majesty need not worry. The current situation in the world is just like the chaotic world at the end of the Yuan Dynasty. Since ancient times, no barbarian dynasty has lasted long. The Qing Dynasty has long been corrupt and decadent, which is why the White Lotus Rebellion broke out. The White Lotus Rebellion is just like the Red Turban Army at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, merely a vanguard for the true king.”

"Your Majesty is Zhu Hongwu. Although you suffered a setback, Your Majesty entered Jiangxi and won the support of the gentry, officials and people. Jiangxi is the foundation of Your Majesty's imperial rule."

"The Han traitors may seem powerful now, but their forceful seizure of land from landlords and gentry has already doomed them to lose the hearts of the people. This Han traitor is like Chen Youliang, who controlled Huguang and dominated the world, but he was like oil on a raging fire, destined to perish sooner or later."

"Your Majesty only needs to focus on managing Jiangxi, cultivating the land, and accumulating military resources, and your hegemony will be achieved!"

Although these words were still flattering, they contained some substantial information, such as first taking Jiangxi and establishing Jiangxi as the foundation for future conquest of the world.

It must be said that this Mr. Zhou is indeed quite something.

When the "chicken dinner" competition began at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the only remaining stronghold for emperors was Jiangxi in the south.

Jiangxi is located at the border of Wu and Chu, which is a perfect link between the east and west.

The remaining provinces were either more important than Jiangxi, and taking them would lead to a fierce attack from the imperial court, or they were completely unimportant, and even if taken, it would be difficult to participate in the struggle for supremacy.

The Battle of Hongdu (Nanchang) and the Battle of Poyang Lake, fought by Zhu Yuanzhang and Chen Youliang, were several decisive battles fought by both sides for control of Jiangxi.

……

Two days later, the Qing troops besieging the city suddenly made unusual movements.

"Your Majesty, the government troops have withdrawn."

Upon hearing the soldiers' report, Sha Jinwang immediately took Mr. Zhou to the city wall to investigate, and indeed saw that the Qing army had already broken camp and set up camp.

The King of Shajin was somewhat confused. In their view, the Qing army should have been able to hold out for another month or so, so why did they suddenly retreat?

Mr. Zhou immediately said, "Your Majesty, now that the government troops have retreated, we should immediately send a letter to the Demon of Chaos and the Winged Tiger to send troops to prepare for a joint attack on the government army."

King Shajin hesitated, "Mr. Zhou, the government troops have retreated. Could this be a trap?" Mr. Zhou laughed, "Your Majesty, even if it is a trap, what does it have to do with us?"

……

Two days later, the Winged Tiger and the Mischievous Demon set out with their troops.

They each brought all their elite old bandits, completely disregarding the Qing army. The Qing army marched ahead, and they chased after them.

They pursued the bandits all the way to Yongyang Town, where the Qing army discovered their trail behind them, and a great battle broke out between the two sides.

"Kill the traitors!"

"Kill the clear dog!"

The Winged Tiger and the Mischievous Demon clearly did not kill all of Wang Congming's men; their army still followed the old Hunan method. Upon arriving in a region, they would kill all the landlords, plunder all their money, grain, and women, then annex all the land, forcing the able-bodied men into their army, while the other people became tenants and slaves.

How could an army like that be willing to fight and risk their lives for them?
Although the Qing army was also quite bad, at least they had undergone proper training.

The two sides had barely engaged in battle when the allied forces of Winged Tiger and Chaos Demon collapsed at the first contact!
"Run! The government troops are coming!"

"I am an ordinary citizen, not a bandit. Please don't kill me."

The winged tiger was dumbfounded. He and the Mischievous Demon had received a letter from the King of Slaughter, saying that Qing Gou had been defeated and fled, and inviting them to fight Qing Gou and attack the city.

As a result, the Qing dogs routed them at the first touch, which is how a defeated army should be.
Moreover, when did the Qing dogs become so fierce? The Qing dogs in Huguang weren't this fierce!

No wonder the King of Shajin thought they were a rabble. Even at this point, he was still thinking that the Qing army was weak and incompetent, without considering that the Qing army was also a well-trained government force.

Even if the Qing army in Jiangxi was weaker than the Qing army in Huguang, they couldn't just win a field battle by simply gathering a group of civilians.

They previously thought the Qing army was easy to defeat in Huguang because they weren't fighting the Qing Green Standard Army or the Eight Banners. Instead, they were fighting able-bodied men recruited by local officials. The real Qing troops were on the Xiangxi battlefield, still fighting against the Han Chinese army!

While the Winged Tiger was still in a daze, the Mischievous Demon reacted faster, turning around and fleeing with his old thief guards.

The Mischievous Demon escaped, and the Winged Tiger, realizing what was happening, followed suit.

Seeing that their leader had left, the old thieves below, already experienced, threw down their flags and ran off with their leader's oxcart.

As I ran, I couldn't run anymore.

Those able-bodied people weren't fools. Once they saw that the bandit leader and many fierce bandits had left, why would they continue to risk their lives like idiots?
The entire army collapsed just like that.

Because the routed soldiers were mostly able-bodied civilians, they didn't know how to escape. Lacking the experience of the veteran thieves, their escape was chaotic and blocked.

Winged Tiger and Chaos Demon were no benevolent people. They swung their knives and killed several fleeing soldiers, but they still couldn't stop the chaos. The fleeing soldiers even scattered their old thieves.

"My lads, now is the time to make our mark! Kill them!"

Deng Rui, the Qing army's commander-in-chief of Nanrui Town, was overjoyed to see the chaos caused by the bandits and immediately drew his sword and shouted orders.

Seeing that Deng Rui had taken the lead, the General of Southern Jiangxi cursed him inwardly for being cunning.

He then immediately ordered his subordinates to attack, eager to seize the credit.

Realizing he couldn't break through, the scoundrel turned the car around and shouted, "Brothers, the Qing dogs are coming! Come with me and kill them! Even if we die, we'll take someone down with us!"

Seeing his predicament, the Winged Tiger knew he couldn't break through, so he shouted to the Mischievous Demon, "Old rascal, I'm here to help you!"

"Kill the clear dog!"

"Kill the clear dog!"

"..."

With a few shouts, the old thieves were filled with fighting spirit and were ready to fight the Qing army to the death.

However, before they could charge, Winged Tiger's personal guards suddenly exclaimed, "Tiger Lord, look closely at the dog's side profile!"

The winged tiger was taken aback, and looked in that direction. Sure enough, he saw a large cloud of smoke appear on the flank of the Qing army, and several large flags appeared beneath the smoke, with the word "kill" written on them.

The "Kill" banner is here! Kill that bastard Wang!
Winged Tiger, Mischievous Demon, and Killer King were not on good terms. Although they joined forces and entered Jiangxi together, they went their separate ways after arriving in Jiangxi and each established their own independent regime.

But now, Winged Tiger and Chaos Demon were extremely grateful and excited. Kill King had finally kept his word. This bastard still had a sense of loyalty to the righteous army.

The devil shouted, "Brothers, our reinforcements have arrived!"

The winged tiger shouted, "It's the King of Slaughter! Brother King of Slaughter has come to save us!"

"Kill the King! Kill the King!"

"Kill the clear dog!"

Amidst the chaotic shouts, the old rebel leader's morale soared instantly.

Caught off guard, the Qing army was attacked from both sides by the combined forces of the King of Slaughter, the Demon of Chaos, and the Winged Tiger.

The rebel army was indeed no match for the Qing army. Even the most capable rebel leader was only about evenly matched against the Qing army's Green Standard Army.

However, the Qing army was careless and underestimated the enemy. In their eagerness to seize credit, their formation had long since fallen apart, and they were then ambushed from the flank by Wang Yibo.

Caught in a pincer attack, the Qing army suffered a crushing defeat!
General Deng Rui of Nanrui was killed in battle, and the General of Nangan led his remaining troops in a hasty escape, disappearing without a trace.

In this battle, the King of Killers achieved a great victory.

Under the prevailing trend, the Winged Tigers and the Chaotic Demons were all incorporated into the army. The three forces combined, and after removing the laborers and able-bodied men they had coerced, their actual strength exceeded ten thousand.

Tens of thousands of rebels, acting swiftly, marched directly towards Ji'an Prefecture.

(End of this chapter)