There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 264 My life is at an end
Two days later, the Han army's eastern and southern routes joined forces, but their strength had shrunk by half, leaving less than 8,000 men, more than half of whom were Hunan militia.

Chen Younian sent a messenger to inform Sha Jinwang that he had come to take over the prefecture city and that the guy should stop making trouble, withdraw his people from Ji'an Prefecture as soon as possible, and not even think about emptying the city.

Zhu Wu was furious, but after his anger subsided, he felt helpless and could only reply to invite Yonghe Town on the south bank of Ji'an Prefecture to formally negotiate the handover.

This place is located at the confluence of the Gan River, the He River, and the He River, making it strategically important.

On the agreed-upon day of the handover, Zhu Wu arrived at Yonghe Town by boat, accompanied by hundreds of old thieves' personal guards. The theatrical dragon robe he usually wore had already been secretly burned by him.

Chen Younian glanced at Zhu Wu opposite him. To be honest, this was the first time he had met him up close. Although he had led troops to attack Chaling before, he hadn't had a chance to catch this guy before he escaped.

As Chen Younian sized up Zhu Wu, Zhu Wu also took the opportunity to sized up Chen Younian. Of course, he remembered General Chen, who had chased him away in a sorry state.

Now, upon closer inspection, he is indeed a burly and imposing figure, a born warrior. Even compared to his most valiant and trusted confidant, the old thief, he might not be a match for him.

Then there's Yang Fang, who was fighting a major battle with the Qing army in Nanchang. He was also a fierce general whose fame resounded throughout Jiangxi. It was said that he possessed the strength of a hegemon and was capable of lifting a thousand pounds.

Why is it that the man surnamed Nie has such a powerful general under his command, while the men he killed under Wang were either a rabble or a bunch of traitors?

Chen Younian was sizing up Zhu Wu when he suddenly noticed the man's unfriendly gaze. He immediately sneered, "Heh, so you're the Killing King Zhu Wu?"

Zhu Wu frowned instantly. Zhou Ji, who had come with him to handle the negotiations, quickly nudged Zhu Wu's arm, then stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "General Chen, you are mistaken. My king is no longer the King of Slaughter. Moreover, in order to overthrow the Qing and restore the Ming, he has officially changed his name to Zhu Mingyue. All of this is written in the letter of surrender to the Han Dynasty!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Younian did not get angry or reprimand him. Instead, he smiled faintly and asked, "Who are you?"

Zhou Ji said, "Zhou Ji, a staff member under the King of Gan, greets General Chen of the Great Han."

Chen Younian's smile vanished, and he immediately rebuked, "If you're a staff member, then shut up. I'm speaking to your king. Who gave you permission to interrupt?"

Zhou Ji's expression changed slightly. He wanted to retort, but he held back and slowly retreated behind Zhu Wu.

Seeing how patient the other party was, Chen Younian lost interest and said indifferently, "Zhu Mingyue is fine, it doesn't matter what you call her. Now that I've arrived, you can hand over Ji'an Prefecture and head south to Ganzhou immediately!"

Zhu Wu asked, "Going south to Ganzhou is fine, and we can even give you the city of Ji'an, but what about what we want?"

Chen Younian said, "His Majesty has already issued a decree, granting you the title of hereditary governor of southern Jiangxi, but not the title of King of Ganzhou. At most, you can be given the title of General of Southern Jiangxi. You can no longer use the title of King of Ganzhou, otherwise it will be a crime of usurpation."

With just a few words, Zhu Wu's title of king was abolished, which immediately filled Zhu Wu with a sense of humiliation.

Fortunately, Zhou Ji, who was behind him, reacted quickly and whispered in his ear, "Your Majesty, a small act of impatience can ruin a great plan. It's just a title of king. If we can exchange it for the Han Dynasty as an ally to help Your Majesty resist the Qing army, as well as the entire foundation of your kingdom in southern Jiangxi, this deal is very worthwhile. Even the former Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang had to wag his tail and beg for surrender from the Yuan court and Chen Youliang. To become the true Son of Heaven, one often has to endure humiliation!"

These few words instantly calmed Zhu Wu down and also gave him a way out to continue kneeling.

Since I've already knelt on one knee, I might as well kneel on both knees and prostrate myself on the ground.

Zhu Wu gritted his teeth and said, "General of Southern Jiangxi is fine, but I hope the King of Han won't go back on his word!"

Chen Younian certainly saw Zhu Wu and Zhou Ji's little actions and even heard some of their whispers, but it had nothing to do with him. His expedition to Ji'an was not to fight against Zhu Wu. If they really fought, Zhu Wu would be no match for the Han army.

The most urgent task is to get rid of Zhu Wu first, so that he can serve as the vanguard for the Han Dynasty and sweep through southern Jiangxi. Meanwhile, Chen Younian will capture Ji'an Prefecture and then take advantage of the situation to head north along the Gan River to attack Linjiang, cooperating with Yang Fangqi to launch a pincer attack on the Qing army from the north and south.

Chen Younian continued, "The official seal and robes for bestowing the title of Grand General of Southern Jiangxi are already on their way. You can wait, or you can choose not to wait; it's up to you!"

Zhu Wu then asked, "What about the provisions and weapons?"

Chen Younian said, "You can take some of the grain, supplies, and weapons, but not all of them. You also cannot take any of the local people of Ji'an. If you dare to take even one person, don't blame me for turning my back on you."

Upon hearing such harsh conditions, Zhu Wu was immediately dissatisfied, but after the initial dissatisfaction subsided, he felt much more at ease.

Because Chen Younian's conditions were too harsh, it was clear that he didn't want to give him much, which also showed that the Han army really didn't want to go to war with him.

Otherwise, the Han army could have easily deceived and kept him calm, since everything would eventually be returned to the Han army after the battle.

Zhu Wu has completely lost his confidence. He had previously thought that by relying on the city to defend, he could hold off the Han army. But the performance of his subordinates has made him realize the reality. He should quickly withdraw while he's ahead and go to Nangan to accumulate strength. He really has no chance of fighting the Han army!

Once the two sides reached an agreement, Zhu Wu didn't dare to delay for even a moment.

The next day, he led Winged Tiger, Chaos Demon, and the old thief army under their command, totaling more than 10,000 men.

There should have been more than 20,000 old bandits and more than 10,000 new soldiers from Ji'an. However, the new soldiers from Ji'an could not be taken away, and too many of the old bandits had fled, scattered, or become outlaws when the Han army took over the territory of Ji'an Prefecture and County. So, only more than 10,000 people remained.

Fortunately, most of the missing troops were from the Winged Tiger and the Chaos Demon, while Zhu Wu's forces were mostly intact. Of these 10,000 bandits, at least 6,000 were veteran thieves under Zhu Wu's command.

They didn't even dare to travel by the Gan River, as going south along the Gan River required passing through Taihe and Wan'an counties.

Both counties are now under Han army control, so Zhu Wu had no choice but to lead his army south via the Mingde River, a tributary of the Gan River. To enter southern Jiangxi via the Mingde River, Zhu Wu would first have to breach the Haotou Pass.

……

The Han army peacefully took over the city of Ji'an. The remaining two counties, Jishui and Shuifeng, finally stopped waiting and immediately sent envoys to surrender and request to submit to the Han Dynasty.

The incorporation of Ji'an Prefecture into the territory of the Han Dynasty was not only of strategic significance, but also of political significance.

Because the essence of Jiangxi Province is in northern Jiangxi, and the essence of northern Jiangxi is in the two prefectures of Ji'an and Nanchang.

There's a proverb from the Ming Dynasty that goes something like this: "Many scholars in the Hanlin Academy come from Jishui, and half of the officials in the court come from Jiangxi."

During the Ming Dynasty, Jiangxi Province produced more than half of all the successful candidates in the imperial examinations.

Among these Jiangxi scholars who passed the imperial examinations, those from Ji'an and Nanchang prefectures accounted for the largest number.

The Han army captured Ji'an Prefecture, and then its troops from the north and south pressed on Nanchang Prefecture. By roughly speaking, this meant that they controlled half of the scholars who had passed the imperial examinations in the country.

Moreover, of the four major academies in Jiangxi, the Han army has already taken control of two of them: Bailudong Academy at the foot of Mount Lu and Bailuzhou Academy on Jiangxin Island east of Ji'an City.

The heads of the two academies had a tacit understanding: if Zhu Wu came, they would kneel before Zhu Wu; if Han Jun came, they would kneel before Han Jun. As long as the academies were not destroyed, everything would be fine.

Hehe, without damaging the academy?

How could that be? The Great Han Dynasty is already pushing forward with the academy system, and the academies, which are almost completely opposed to the academies, will inevitably undergo major changes in the future.

Of course, this had nothing to do with Yang Fang and Chen Younian. They were both military officers who were only responsible for leading their troops to visit the heads of the two academies. How to deal with the academies afterward was something that civil officials should worry about.

The Han army entered Ji'an Prefecture. Because Zhu Wu had never established a prefecture for Ji'an, he directly governed the prefecture as the fake "King of Gan," and Zhou Ji, the fake "Prime Minister," took charge of the prefecture.

Now that Zhu Wu has fled south, Chen Younian, being a military general on campaign, cannot directly appoint officials. He could only first send a telegram to Jingzhou for instructions, which allowed a town official accompanying the army to temporarily assume the position of acting prefect of Ji'an Prefecture.

The town magistrate who took over as acting prefect was named Xu Shang. He was originally just a land distribution official who had worked hard to win over the local towns and villages. When he learned that Hunan was going to send troops to Jiangxi, he volunteered to join the army, hoping to make meritorious contributions and achieve political achievements in Jiangxi as soon as possible.

Unexpectedly, before he had even done anything while accompanying the army, the position of prefect was bestowed upon him from the sky, and he was promoted several ranks in one go.

Although he is still acting prefect, acting prefect is still prefect. Even if a new prefect comes later, if he manages to temporarily pacify Ji'an Prefecture, the credit and achievements will be his. Once Jiangxi is taken over by the Han, he will be guaranteed to be promoted to a county-level official position.

……

Linjiang Prefecture City.

"General, something terrible has happened!"

"What's wrong?"

Zhang Chengji was startled by the panicked report from Ye Hekan, the prefect of Linjiang. He almost had a stress reaction and immediately frowned and asked.

Ye Hekan said in a panic, "General, Ji'an Prefecture... Ji'an Prefecture is gone!"

Zhang Chengji was taken aback upon hearing this, then angrily retorted, "Wasn't Ji'an Prefecture already slaughtered and occupied by the bandit leader? How could it not happen again?"

Ye Hekan quickly shook his head: "No... it's not that it's gone, it's that the bandits of Ji'an have run away, the bandit leader of Ji'an has killed Wang and run away, and now Ji'an Prefecture is the territory of the Han bandits."

"Ji'an Prefecture is now the territory of the Han traitors!?" Zhang Chengji's eyes widened instantly, his face filled with disbelief.

He almost thought he had misheard. Ji'an Prefecture had been captured by the Han rebels? How could that be? The Han rebels' army was clearly in the north, so how could they suddenly appear in the south?

No, it seems like it could actually happen.

Zhang Chengji subconsciously overlooked the fact that the bandits in Ji'an originally fled from Hunan. If they could escape from Hunan to Jiangxi and even occupy Ji'an Prefecture, there was no reason why the Han bandits couldn't follow them to Jiangxi.

Good heavens, Zhang Chengji doesn't even know how to fight the Han bandits in Nanchang to the north, and now another group of Han bandits has emerged in Ji'an Prefecture to the south.

The Han traitors are planning a pincer attack from the north and south; my life is over!

Upon realizing this, Zhang Chengji's vision went black, and he fainted instantly.

Ye Hekan, who was standing nearby, was stunned and immediately shouted, "General, General, someone come quickly! Find a doctor! Find a doctor quickly!"

(End of this chapter)