Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 339 Swearing Conference

For Meng Jun, the Battle of Huguang had just ended and he no longer had the strength to launch military action against the Qing army. Moreover, the Zhou army's navy was limited in strength and could not deploy troops by sea, so he was really powerless against Korea.

Afterwards, Meng Jun sent a letter to the shogunate, ordering Yang En to negotiate with the Korean envoys and let them temporarily hand over Jeju Island to the Zhou army. Meng Jun wanted to prepare a maritime base on Jeju Island first. This island is located where Korea and Japan intersect and has a dangerous location. It will be of great use in the future whether he wants to attack Japan or control Korea.

After dealing with the Korean affairs, Meng Jun's army gathered in Wuchang, while most of the Qing army had retreated to the north bank of the Yangtze River. Meng Jun appointed Lin Shiqi as the commander, Liang Sanhu and Wu Tiao as deputies, to recover Jiayu, Linxiang and Yuezhou along the river. He also ordered Wang Fugui and Zhang Yingwei's troops to move to Tongcheng.

After the war, with the surrender of the Qing army in Wuchang, all the Zheng family navy returned. South of the Yangtze River, in the areas of Huguang, only the Li and Meng families remained. While Duoduo, Haoge, Baiyintu and other troops all returned to the north of the Yangtze River, the relationship between the two armies remaining in the south seemed to begin to become somewhat subtle.

It was not that Meng Jun wanted to attack Li Dingguo, or that Li Dingguo wanted to attack Meng Jun, but the subordinates of both sides were wary of each other at the same time.

Although he had no intention of harming anyone, he still had to be on guard against others. Wang Fugui moved to Tongcheng to guard against Li Dingguo. While Meng Jun was stationed in Wuchang and cleaning up the mess, Meng Hong, who was far away in Kuidong, had already heard some rumors that Meng Jun had defeated Duoduo.

The news soon spread to the generals of various tribes in Kuidong, but the news of the specific battle situation had not yet arrived. However, almost all the generals in Kuidong rushed to Daning County where the envoy of King Zhou was.

Hao Yongzhong, Liu Tichun, Yuan Zongde, Wang Guangxing, He Zhen, Tan Wen, Ma Tengyun, Ta Tianbao, Dang Shousu and others gathered together, talking in groups of three or four, all talking about how King Zhou was superior to Duoduo in Huguang.

When Meng Hong walked into the lobby, everyone bowed and saluted, smiling and saying, "Mr. Meng, how are you?"

Meng Hong returned the greetings one by one. After everyone sat down, Meng Hong said, "You are all brave generals who have served in the army for many years. You treat me with such courtesy. I really feel ashamed of it."

"Mr. Meng is a figure like Su Qin and Zhang Yi. No matter how courteous we treat him, it would not be excessive." Tan Wen said with a smile.

"I am an old man with no talent and dare not compare myself to the sages." Although he said that, Meng Hong's face couldn't help but blush.

Dang Shousu echoed, "Yes, yes, the King of Zhou has many talented people under his command. This time they defeated Duoduo. I think the good days of the Tartars will not last long."

Hao Yongzhong shouted: "The King of Zhou has now occupied Jiangnan, Jiangxi, and Huguang. If you ask me, the Mandate of Heaven is not in the Qing Dynasty, and it is not necessarily in the Ming Dynasty either!"

This made the generals at a loss as to how to respond. Meng Hong coughed and said, "General Hao is still drunk."

The generals all laughed and covered up Hao Yongzhong's words calmly. After chatting for a while, Liu Tichun asked Meng Hong what the generals wanted to ask: "Mr. Meng, do you know the specific details of His Royal Highness King Zhou's battle? What are the losses of the Tartars?"

Meng Hong hesitated for a moment, then told the truth: "When I left the camp, the king had not yet fought a decisive battle with Duoduo, but from what I have seen, with the Zheng family's navy blocking the river, Duoduo will suffer heavy losses if he is defeated."

Liu Tichun said, "Sir, can you please contact His Royal Highness King Zhou now? We want to attack Jingzhou, but food and grass are the most urgent. If His Royal Highness King Zhou can use the navy to transport food and grass along the Yangtze River, we are confident that we can capture Jingzhou."

After finishing speaking, Liu Tichun looked around at the generals and said in a deep voice: "If you take Jingzhou, I am willing to offer Jingzhou to King Zhou!"

After these words came out, the generals had different expressions. Meng Hong's eyes lit up, and his hand stroking his beard stopped unconsciously. Meng Hong said without hesitation: "I have said it before, the matter of food and grass is not worth mentioning. When the army arrives in Jingzhou, food and grass will definitely arrive!"

The generals showed joy upon hearing this, and the scene was extremely lively for a while. After everyone dispersed, Meng Hong hurriedly wrote a letter, describing in detail the detailed information about the Kuidong area and the need for food for the Loyalty Camp, and then sent a team of people to return to Wuchang urgently.

…………

When Du Yinxi learned that Meng Jun had won a great victory, he was first happy, but then he sighed in his heart. The higher Meng Jun's prestige, the more it highlighted the weakness of the court. However, in this situation, Du Yinxi could only comfort himself and focus on expelling the Tartars first and then plan for the future.

When all the generals in Kuidong gathered in Daning, Du Yinxi wanted to attack Jingzhou again. After discussing with the generals in the Zhongzheng Camp, all the generals unanimously agreed to send troops.

Du Yinxi also knew that the soldiers in the Loyal Camp in Kuidong were having a hard time. How could such an army with low morale win a battle? Therefore, Du Yinxi decided to hold a swearing-in ceremony to boost the morale of the troops.

On February 12, the third year of the Yongli reign, outside the city of Daning, Du Yinxi built a two-meter-high oath-taking platform.

On the stage, Hao Yongzhong, Liu Tichun, Yuan Zongde, Li Laiheng, Wang Guangxing, Tan Wen, Tan Yi, the three Tan Hong brothers, Ma Tengyun, Ta Tianbao, Dang Shousu, He Zhen and other generals stood with swords in their hands.

All the generals were wearing shiny helmets and armor, and it looked like each of them had been carefully polished, looking very majestic.

The soldiers below the stage looked much inferior, with most of them looking pale, and it was obvious that they were running low on food and oil.

This time, Liu Tichun summoned all the troops, except for the soldiers who stayed behind, to gather 80,000 soldiers and generals. This is the maximum force that the Loyalty Camp can mobilize now.

"The Lord Prime Minister is here!" The soldiers with banners along the way surrounded Du Yinxi.

As the voices were passed on, countless eyes were cast on Du Yinxi. He straightened his back and slowly walked towards the stage.

Meng Hong was extremely excited as he looked at the dense crowd below the stage. He had contacted the Loyalty Camp this time, but he had not expected that the Loyalty Camp, which had been badly defeated by Lekedehun under the city of Jingzhou, could actually gather such a large force. This was really beyond Meng Hong's expectations.

Du Yinxi stood on the stage, looking at the troops, and shouted: "The Tartar invaders have invaded the Central Plains, killing people as never before. They have seized land, shaved heads and changed clothes, and the country has been shattered. Anzong and Shaozong were both killed by the Tartars. Confucius said to die for righteousness, and Mencius said to seek justice. How can I hide in a quiet place? I must lead the army to recover the country and restore the Ming Dynasty!"

Du Yinxi's voice was delivered one sentence at a time to every soldier present by teams of messengers.

Du Yinxi's words had some effect, but not a big one. Many soldiers had confused looks in their eyes.

Seeing that the effect was not obvious, the morale of the soldiers was not boosted. Seeing that the situation was not good, Meng Hong stood up and shouted to the people below: "What is wealth?"

There was silence below.

Meng Hong then shouted, "Kings and princes, generals and ministers, are wealth and honor. His Royal Highness the King of Zhou has already defeated the captive king Duoduo, and the Tartars have fled in panic. The city of Jingzhou has been captured. All the troops have the orders of kings and princes, and wealth and honor are within reach!"