Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 368 Nan? north?

Zhending Prefecture, Huolu County.

The Qing army camp led by Baiyintu.

In the central army tent, Yang Zhenwei wept as he explained to Bai Yintu once again, "General, Jiang Xiang is a thief with evil intentions. I was unaware of this! Please order me to be the vanguard in any battle and I will wipe out the thieves to the death!"

Yang Zhenwei never thought that Marshal Jiang was so unrealistic. Didn't he consider himself who was still under Baiyintu's command? Thousands of his disciples were fighting outside, and you suddenly rebelled. Isn't this putting yourself on the fire? If Yang Zhenwei hadn't been obedient and well-behaved, otherwise, I'm afraid his head would have been hung on the flagpole by now.

It's not that Jiang Xiang didn't think of Yang Zhenwei, but he drew troops from Shanxi, first stationed in the Jiangbei camp, and then went to the Huguang battlefield. After going back and forth for several years, Jiang Xiang felt that the Qing court would most likely not release Yang Zhenwei and his soldiers. Therefore, when he rebelled, Jiang Xiang didn't consider Yang Zhenwei at all.

Bai Yintu stared at Yang Zhenwei and saw that he had his head knocked to the ground, not daring to move. Upon closer inspection, Yang Zhenwei's body seemed to be still shaking.

After a long time, Baiyintu said with a smile: "General Yang, please stand up quickly. I have already said that Jiang Xiang rebelled, and you have done nothing wrong. Since you have a sincere heart to serve your country, how can I stop you? The Regent has ordered me to seize Taiyuan as soon as possible. You will lead the troops to seize Jingjing Pass as soon as possible. I am waiting for your good news!"

After Yang Zhenwei left the camp trembling with fear, he felt a little relaxed. It was not until he returned to his tent that he breathed a sigh of relief. Being a cannon fodder was better than dying.

When Yang Zhenwei's troops left Shanxi, 6,000 of them wandered around outside, some went missing, died of illness, or died in battle. When Yang Zhenwei led his troops back to Shanxi, there were still more than 4,500 of them.

The only difference was that they were all from Shanxi, but when they went back they had to use the swords and guns in their hands to attack the villagers. The morale of Yang Zhenwei's troops was low, and even though Yang Zhenwei made promises, saying that there would be great rewards after they broke through the pass, the morale of the army did not recover much. But at this point, Yang Zhenwei was helpless.

There are seven passes in Jingjing Pass, namely Shentang Pass, Huanglong Pass, Luqiao Pass, Xianai Pass, Dadiyan Pass, Wugong Pass and Yangzhuang Pass. After passing the seven passes, there are only two ways to capture Yangquan, one is through Niangzi Pass and the other is through Gu Pass.

As the ancients said, he who wins the hearts of the people wins the world. Therefore, the strength of mountains and rivers lies in the people.

Jiang Xiang's move was inappropriate, or perhaps because in order to consolidate the foundation of Datong, he concentrated a large number of troops in Datong, and most of the outer passes were guarded by the incorporated volunteers. Although these volunteers were quite motivated, they had never experienced bloody battles and were not familiar with combat skills. No matter in terms of numbers or armor and equipment, they were inferior to the Qing army.

With the Qing army watching covetously from the rear, Yang Zhenwei ordered his soldiers to attack all the way. Once any soldiers retreated, the supervision team in the rear would rush up immediately and kill all the retreating soldiers, regardless of whether they were officers or soldiers, without any mercy. Most of these passes were strategic locations or must-pass places. Some of the passes had less than a hundred defenders, but they inflicted five times as much casualties on the Qing army.

A captain under Yang Zhenwei cried to him, "General, we are all from the Three Jins, but we are killing each other. Many soldiers have traveled thousands of miles with great difficulty to finally return home, but these soldiers are going to die in their hometown and become the souls who died unjustly!"

After Yang Zhenwei's troops suffered heavy casualties and finally crossed the last pass, Yang Zhenwei asked Bai Yintu to withdraw him to the rear. In Yang Zhenwei's view, this should be a matter of course. However, he did not expect that he was rejected by Bai Yintu as soon as he finished speaking. He strictly ordered him to break through the Gu Pass again and made promises to him, saying that after breaking through the pass, he would be promoted to a higher position, and enjoy wealth and glory for generations.

Yang Zhenwei was quite excited about this, but his men did not think so. It was agreed that there would be rewards for passing Jingjing Pass, but the result was delay. Among the more than 4,500 people, less than 2,000 arrived at Guguan alive. The soldiers looked at the defenders who were ready for battle at the pass, and the archers in the rear who were ready to fire, as if they would be killed if they retreated.

Finally, the mutiny happened on the battlefield. All the soldiers and generals under Yang Zhenwei were in despair. Under such circumstances, a captain in Yang's army raised his arms and shouted: "We will die if we advance or retreat. Why not rebel?"

With loud shouts, followers gathered together. Yang Zhenwei was unable to stop them in the formation. Instead, he was dragged out by his angry subordinates and beaten to death.

When Baiyintu saw the mutiny, he was furious and immediately ordered his archers to shoot arrows and sent elite soldiers to kill all the rebels. Since this was a sudden uprising on the battlefield, there was almost no coordination between the rebels. Some people rushed towards the Qing army frantically, some threw away their weapons and armor, climbed the mountains and forests on both sides, and some ran towards the pass and requested that it be opened.

These disorderly soldiers were no match for the Qing army. After just one round of attack, they were defeated and headed towards the pass.

At the critical moment, the rebels watched the farce happening at the pass in amazement. The defending general was worried that this was a strategy of the Qing army to lure the enemy, so he still guarded the pass strictly and refused to open it. He could only watch helplessly as the Qing army shot and killed all the rebel soldiers at the pass.

When Baiyintu marched into Shanxi, Meng Jun received the news that Dorgon's troops had surrounded Datong. Then came a letter from Jiang Xiang who had surrendered and requested Meng Jun to send troops. However, important intelligence also came from the south, indicating that there seemed to be some unusual movements in the Yongli court.

This made Meng Jun somewhat hesitant. He himself would not just watch Jiang Xiang being destroyed by the Qing court. However, if he sent troops, Meng Jun felt uneasy as he was afraid that the Yongli court would really take advantage of his Northern Expedition to sabotage and hinder him.

In the past history, when the Qing army was advancing like an unstoppable force, the Southern Ming was still fighting among itself. Not to mention that history has changed now. With the death of Duoduo, the Qing army was completely defeated in the south, and the Yongli court no longer had external worries. However, the court officials did not appreciate Meng Jun's contribution in defeating the Qing army. Instead, people from all walks of life accused Meng Jun of being ambitious.

Zhang Zuochen, the Grand Secretary of the Eastern Chamber, submitted a memorial to impeach Meng Jun. His words were extremely fierce, saying: "Meng Jun holds power in his hands. He has not attended court for more than today, and treats the court as if it is nothing. He also ignores your majesty's orders. If a military man usurps power, disaster will surely spread to all directions and disturb the peace of the country.

He held the weapons of war in his hands, had no room for benevolence and righteousness in his heart, only cared about power and ignored state affairs. As a result, the country was in ruins, the rules and regulations were destroyed, and the country was in danger. He still used military force to override the government, and the whole country was in panic and uneasy.

Therefore, a gentleman should be cautious and fearful before troubles arise, and prevent them from happening. Only in this way can we restore order. I am willing to go to Nanjing and urge them to repent and return power to the court, so that civility will not be lost, rituals and music will be revived, the people will be united, and the world will be at peace. If we allow military dictatorship, the country will no longer be a country, and how can we talk about a peaceful and prosperous era? "