With 100,000 elite soldiers at the start, what should you call me?

……

Just as the fighting was raging in the Fujian region.

Jiangxi is also in complete chaos.

News of Kong Youde's defeat quickly spread throughout Jiangxi.

Tan Tai, who was besieging Nanchang at the time, was also horrified upon hearing this.

"What a joke! How could the Fujian bandits be so vicious? Even Prince Gongshun was helpless against them."

Tan Tai was worried that if Kong Youde was defeated, Li Tianhui would take advantage of the victory and invade Jiangxi, cutting off his retreat.

They immediately retreated to Fengcheng and sent troops to contact Kong Youde and others to find out the situation.

This move gave Jin Shenghuan, who was originally trapped in Nanchang, a glimmer of hope.

"The Qing army is withdrawing? Something's not right. Could it be a trap?"

Jin Shenghuan sent men out of the city to investigate, and they found that it was not a trap; the Qing army had indeed withdrawn.

The reason for the withdrawal was that the Fujian side had suffered heavy losses.

"The Duke of Yu was a righteous man named Li Tian from Fujian who led an army of 100,000 and forced Kong Youde to flee Fujian in disarray. In the Battle of Jianning Prefecture, the Qing army lost over 100,000 elite soldiers. The Governor-General of Zhejiang and Fujian, Chen Jin, was killed in battle, and the former Governor-General of Zhejiang and Fujian, Zhang Cunren, was captured!"

The scout reporting the situation spoke excitedly, as if they had won a battle.

Upon hearing this, a hint of surprise flashed in Jin Shenghuan's eyes.

"To think that he could wipe out over 100,000 elite Qing troops, who is this Li Tian? I would like to meet this righteous man, Li Tian."

"My lord, the Qing army has lost its elite troops and its morale is severely damaged. Why don't we send someone to contact Li Tian, ​​and together we can encircle and annihilate Tan Tai!"

At this moment, Jiang Yueguang, a scholar with a refined appearance and dressed in a bright red official robe, made a suggestion.

He was agitated. The attack on Ganzhou had failed, Nanchang was besieged, the morale of the army was extremely low, and the hearts of the people were scattered. After being defeated in Ganzhou, Jin Shenghuan also lost his edge.

Now that the Qing army has suffered a major defeat, there is still a righteous army in the rear fighting against the Qing, which gives everyone a glimmer of hope.

"Alright, there's no time to lose, send someone to contact Li Tian immediately." Jin Shenghuan's previously lifeless eyes suddenly lit up with a light, and then he looked at Wang Deren beside him.

"Lord Jianwu, take this opportunity to quickly reorganize your troops, rally your old forces, and replenish your supplies."

"Leave this to me," Wang Deren said, accepting the task.

Previously, Jin Shenghuan ignored his advice and insisted on withdrawing from the attack on Ganzhou, resulting in a major defeat. Although he still harbored resentment, Wang Deren still chose to obey orders in the face of the overall situation.

The news of Li Tian's great victory over the Qing army not only reached Jiangxi, but also the Yongli court in Guangdong and Guangxi.

However, the first person to hear the news was Qu Shisi, who was stationed in Guilin.

"Li Tian, ​​commander of the Fujian New Army, decisively defeated Kong Youde, annihilating over 100,000 elite Qing troops..."

"hiss!"

Qu Shisi looked at the information in the letter with disbelief in his eyes.

However, his first thought was, "Who is this Li Tian?"

Whether it was related to Li Zicheng, or a bandit who suddenly appeared from some mountain, or a heroic young man emerging from their scholar-official class.

Regardless of the reason, such a person with the ability to turn the tide must not be offended.

Qu Shisi suddenly remembered the spies he had captured a few months ago.

"Those people seem to be the new army envoys who claim to be from Jianning Prefecture..."

"Someone, quickly go and invite the new army envoy from Jianning Prefecture out."

"Never mind, I'll go myself."

Qu Shisi rushed to the prison and released Liu Er and his group.

Liu Er and the others were imprisoned, but they were not subjected to torture. However, their lives were still difficult.

The dungeon was dark, damp, and incredibly filthy. It was almost impossible to see the sun, and the prisoners were often hungry and harassed by the guards.

Two months in prison left Liu Er with resentment.

The glaring sunlight hitting my eyes was hard to bear.

Liu Er and his companions, with their dirty clothes, messy hair, and the fact that they hadn't bathed for two months, reeked of a foul stench, looking even more like beggars than those on the street.

"Boss, we're finally out," a follower said calmly.

"Yes, we're out. I'm going to tell the commander everything that happened here," Liu Er said calmly, but his eyes were full of anger.

"This way, please." A servant led Liu Er and the others to wash up.

He then led a few people to a room where a table was laden with delicacies, and beautiful maids and dancers stood on either side.

"Please enjoy, young master." A soft, gentle voice captivated the group, making them feel as if their souls were about to leave their bodies.

The starving men couldn't withstand such a test and immediately began to enjoy themselves.

Several days later, the group was taken to Qu Shisi's residence.

"We are envoys from the Jianning Prefecture's new army, and we wish to see the Emperor." Liu Er bowed to Qu Shisi, who was on official business.

After being nourished these past few days, Liu Er and the others looked better.

But they are professionally trained; which cadre wouldn't withstand such a test?

He still didn't give Qu Shisi a friendly look.

"Please forgive the envoys for what happened before. When the Qing army attacked the city, you envoys arrived at an inopportune time and were mistaken for spies, which led to the misunderstanding. I apologize to you here."

Qu Shisi saw through their thoughts at a glance and smiled ingratiatingly.

As a Grand Secretary of the Wuying Hall, Minister of Personnel and Minister of War, and Governor of Guilin, it was already a great honor for him to personally apologize to Liu Er and his group.

"Now that the misunderstanding has been cleared up, Mr. Qu, when will you let us leave? We represent the New Army and have important matters to discuss with the Emperor." Liu Er didn't take the bait; he just wanted to complete his mission as soon as possible.

Qu Shisi was annoyed that Liu Er didn't stand on ceremony with him, but since the other party wanted to see the emperor, he couldn't overstep his bounds and finally agreed.

"Rest assured, my envoys, now that the Qing army has retreated, I will certainly allow you to leave."

"Thank you very much then."

A few days later, in Zhaoqing.

With the arrival of Liu Er and his envoys, news of the Qing army's crushing defeat also reached this place.

Emperor Yongli, Zhu Youlang, was delighted upon hearing this and held a special court assembly to receive Liu Er and the others.

At the court meeting, Liu Er conveyed Jianning Prefecture's desire to trade with areas controlled by the Ming court and its hope for an alliance.

Upon hearing this, Emperor Yongli agreed to everything and was overjoyed.

"As expected, the Earl of Jianyang has lived up to my expectations, severely damaging the Qing army, recovering Fujian, and killing two governors-general of Zhejiang and Fujian. His achievements are outstanding, and I will reward him handsomely."

"By imperial decree, Li Tian is hereby granted the title of Duke of Zhenguo, General Who Pacifies the North, and Governor-General of the four provinces of Jiang, Fujian, Zhejiang, and Huguang."

The series of rewards left Liu Er and the others completely baffled.

We're an alliance, not your subordinates. What are you going to reward us with?

However, to the Ming court officials, Li Tian's sending of people to form an alliance was the same as his desire to join their Ming court.

Li Tian's forceful entry into the political arena caused a dramatic change in the Ming court.

Li Chengdong felt even worse when he heard that Li Tian had been granted the title of Duke of Zhenguo.

Yuan Pengnian noticed Li Chengdong's gaze and immediately stepped forward.

"Your Majesty, please wait. Li Tian is not a subject of our Great Ming. They sent envoys only to form an alliance. Moreover, Your Majesty previously sent an envoy to bestow upon Li Tian the title of Earl of Jianyang, which he did not accept. Is this latest bestowal of a title too wishful thinking on our part?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Youlang's smile froze; what he said seemed to make some sense.

"The Left Censor-in-Chief's words are inappropriate. As long as they are righteous men resisting the Qing, we should support them. Whether the Earl of Jianyang accepts it or not, we only need to spread the word throughout the world. As long as the Earl of Jianyang does not explicitly refuse, he is a man of our Great Ming." Wu Zhenyu, the Minister of Revenue, stood up at this time to support the emperor's decision.

Other officials also stood up to support Li Tian and insisted on bestowing a higher title upon him.

Upon seeing this, Yuan Pengnian and the others' expressions darkened.

Yuan Pengnian, Liu Xiangke, Ding Shikui, Jin Bao, and Meng Zhengfa, relying on Li Chengdong's military power, controlled the court and were secretly known as the Five Tigers.

In the imperial court, some officials were already unhappy with their arrogant and domineering behavior. If they could bring Li Tian into the game, they would be able to rival Li Chengdong, and then the Qingliu faction would have room to play its part.

Only then could the Ming Dynasty gradually move towards revival.

However, Yuan Pengnian and others would never allow such a thing to happen, and resolutely opposed bestowing any honors upon Li Tian.

The two sides remained deadlocked, and the time dragged on and on.

Liu Er and the others stayed in Zhaoqing because of this.

Meanwhile, the staff of the New Army in Jianning Prefecture, after learning of the requests from both Lu Jianguo and Zheng Cai, decided to participate in this political struggle within the Ming court after some analysis.

"Commander, our analysis suggests that helping the Regent of Lu would yield greater political benefits than helping Zheng Cai."

"Moreover, the Zheng family has robbed our new army's merchant ships and is a potential maritime enemy of ours."