Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 448 Containment

Meng Jun personally took charge of the capital, which gradually stabilized the situation and reassured the people. However, the hearts of the generals in the army were already lonely and unbearable. Qian Biao's words after drinking that day were intended to persuade him to ascend the throne. Although he was stopped by Zhao Yongping and others, his words spread throughout the capital the next day.

Logically speaking, even among Cao Cao's subordinates there were loyal ministers to the Han Dynasty, such as Xun Yu, Cao Cao's most important adviser. However, Qian Biao's drunken talk was considered to be treasonous to those loyal to the Ming court.

However, no matter how the rumors spread in the market, no one in Zhou's army wrote to refute them. Instead, they turned a deaf ear to them and fell into a strange silence. At this point, the Ming Dynasty had lost the support of the people.

Some people may say that during the two hundred years of the Qing Dynasty, the banner of anti-Qing and restoration of Ming Dynasty never disappeared. However, this does not mean that the Ming Dynasty was so popular, but that the Qing Dynasty was so bad that it made the Ming Dynasty look more beautiful.

In the Forbidden City, Meng Jun naturally also received this rumor, but at this time Meng Jun had no interest in this matter for the time being. After the Korean envoy left, Meng Jun was alone and thought for a long time. The land in the Northeast is fertile. As long as it is well managed, it will not be a problem to support 10 or 20 million people.

Moreover, the Little Ice Age is now coming to an end and the climate is beginning to turn around. Meng Jun thought that it would take some time for the Qing court to gradually stabilize the situation after retreating outside the Great Wall. However, the Qing court now controls Korea and its strength will inevitably recover more quickly, which will certainly create more obstacles for Meng Jun to pacify Liaodong in the future.

In fact, the Qing court's strategy of shaving the hair and changing clothes was quite clever. It was able to divide people's hearts and distinguish between enemies and friends with just one move. As for Korea, which had a small territory and a small population, it would not be a problem at all to pacify the Korean rebel army as long as the Qing court was given some time.

Once the Qing government completely controls Korea, its strength will undoubtedly be restored faster. Meng Jun pondered for a long time and believed that the Qing army could not be allowed to get away with it so easily. He must find something to do for the Qing army.

Therefore, Meng Jun decided to summon officials and generals to discuss the issue of the Qing army again. At this time, within the pass, except for the Qing army stationed in Shanhaiguan, the rest of the land had all belonged to the Zhou army.

But Dorgon was quite cunning. When he retreated from the pass, some passes in the north were demolished by the Qing army. For example, the city wall of Zunhua was demolished to pieces, and Qingshankou was also destroyed by the Qing soldiers. These all needed to be rebuilt slowly.

Soon, more than a dozen civil servants and military generals came to the Hall of Supreme Harmony one after another, talking in groups of three or four. Everyone thought they were going to discuss the king's enthronement.

Lu Zhenfei thought that Gu Yanwu was well-informed, so he leaned over and asked in a low voice, "Is the king summoning all the ministers at this time because of the matter of proclaiming himself emperor?"

Before Gu Yanwu could reply, Qian Biao, who was listening at the side, said hurriedly, "Yes, that's it!"

Gu Yanwu shook his head and smiled, "It shouldn't be. Your Majesty has just recovered the Northern Capital, and the rest of the country is not stable yet, so he shouldn't be so anxious. In my opinion, it must be a matter of Korea. I heard that the Korean envoy came to see Your Majesty today."

Just as everyone was discussing, the imperial guards suddenly shouted, "The king has arrived!"

Everyone bowed hurriedly, and Meng Jun walked in wearing casual clothes.

Meng Jun sat in the main seat, glanced at everyone, and said straight to the point: "The reason I summoned you all here today is because of the North Korean incident."

Meng Jun then briefly told everyone how Bolo shaved his head, changed his clothes and completely controlled Korea.

After hearing this, the ministers could not help but discuss quietly. Meng Jun waited for a while before speaking: "The Korean envoy Yin Shandao came to ask for help. What do you think should be done?"

Qian Biao was full of confidence at this time. He clasped his fists towards Meng Jun and said, "My lord, in my opinion, we should gather our forces immediately and fight our way out along Shanhaiguan. We should continue to send troops from Korea. Gao Jinku has just withdrawn to Dengzhou. We should take advantage of the fact that the Qing army has not yet established a firm foothold and completely eliminate the Qing army outside the pass in one fell swoop!"

A group of warriors responded, agreed with Qian Biao's speech, and sent troops outside the Great Wall.

During this Northern Expedition, Meng Jun's army of more than 100,000 soldiers marched northwards, but they hardly fought any major battles. They only attacked or bombed cities, or defended villages. They never fought any field battles, which made many generals feel a little regretful.

Gu Yanwu stepped out and said, "Your Majesty, General Qian's words are reasonable, but a little inappropriate. We really can't let the Qing government control Korea so easily. However, the Sichuan and Shaanxi areas have not been pacified yet. I think it is inappropriate to launch a large-scale attack at this time."

Lu Zhenfei also said: "I also think that we should take a long-term view and not launch a large-scale attack. Moreover, in the past, the Wanli Dynasty fought several battles with Japanese pirates to support Korea, and spent millions to help Korea, but Korea finally surrendered to the Qing court. I ask the king to think twice!"

Meng Jun didn't know that Lu Zhenfei was now busy preparing for Meng Jun's enthronement and was looking for auspicious signs everywhere. Lu Zhenfei did not want the process of enthroning himself to be interrupted by a war.

These civil servants hope that Meng Jun's enthronement is not like what Qian Biao did, saying that to become emperor, all he needs to do is change his clothes and his name. If it were that easy, then people all over the world would be able to imitate him at will.

Therefore, it is necessary to find various reasons, such as celestial phenomena, the strangeness of his birth, and the audience with gods and men, etc., and use these divine wills to prove that Meng Jun's enthronement is the will of heaven. Only in this way can the world be stable.

For a time, there were different opinions between the civil and military officials. The civil officials did not want to fight, but hoped to delay the war, while the military officials hoped to send a large army to conquer Liaodong.

However, Meng Jun felt that the Qing government had been outside the Great Wall for so many years, and with the main force withdrawing to Liaodong, the current situation was no longer as empty as when Gao Jinku entered Liaodong. It seemed a little difficult to settle the situation in one go, but the Qing government could not be allowed to pacify Korea so easily. The Qing government must be restrained.

Thinking of this, Meng Jun said: "The north has just been settled, so we can slow down and not rush, but Korea cannot be abandoned either."

Meng Jun looked around at his ministers and realized that military affairs and national affairs must be taken into account at the same time. It is necessary to consolidate the foundation while not indulge the strong enemy. Therefore, Meng Jun subsequently ordered to replenish Gao Jinku's troops, and transferred Liang Min and Yang Sanwu's troops from Hushan and Hulin to Dengzhou, ready to transport them to Jeju Island by navy at any time. At the same time, he also ordered people to prepare some equipment to be shipped to Korea and distributed to those righteous people who were still resisting the Qing Dynasty.

As for the memorial submitted by envoy Yin Shandao that Li Hao intended to go to Shandong, Meng Jun clearly expressed his opposition. However, as for Li Hao's wife, children and palace relatives, Meng Jun agreed that Zhang Shun would send people to transport them to Dengzhou first.

Meng Jun sent an urgent order to Yi Hao in Jeju: "After reading your letter, I know that you are in trouble. However, the enemy is rampant and the King of Joseon is trusted by the people of the East. Therefore, I refuse your request to cross the sea, not out of ungratefulness.

As for the safety of your wife and children, I have ordered Zhang Shun to escort them to Dengzhou and properly settle them. I hope you don't worry about your family. I have ordered Generals Gao Jinku, Liang Min, and Yang Sanwu to be ready to cross the sea at any time to retake Korea. "