Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 402 People’s hearts are shaken

Meng Jun attached great importance to Yin Shandao's information. If the area outside the Great Wall was really empty, then the Zhou army could use Korea as a springboard to threaten Shengjing.

After Yin Shandao left, Meng Jun thought to himself that if he used troops outside the Great Wall, then most of the logistics would have to rely on Li Hao. He was also extremely poor now, so it was destined that the troops outside the Great Wall could only be a small force, and a very dangerous one at that.

Meng Jun pondered for a long time about the choice of the chief general and decided to transfer Gao Jinku's troops to Wuwei Town, appoint him as the commander-in-chief of the Liaodong camp, and concurrently command the troops of Korea. After capturing Dengzhou Prefecture, he would transport troops from Dengzhou to Korea.

Just as Meng Jun made up his mind and had not yet written the letter, Yu An came hurriedly from outside the court and said to Meng Jun, "Your Majesty, Liu Tongzhen sent an urgent report from Yuncheng that Haoge's troops appeared in Yuncheng!"

Meng Jun took the military report and quickly checked it.

Hauge had 18,000 soldiers under his command, all of whom were cavalry. It was certain that Hauge would not be able to take Yuncheng by force. The only thing to worry about was that Hauge would plunder and destroy the place like he did in Huai'an Prefecture.

The cavalry is moving quickly, and if it is not contained, Hauge might create hundreds of thousands of refugees. Meng Jun is now in Jinan City, with the Po Lu Army, the Heavy Armor Army, 3,000 Mongolian cavalry, and the newly formed army of the two towns.

Meng Jun pondered for a long time and felt that he should focus on safety. With his current position, he no longer had to take risks like he did in the beginning of the uprising. If he was not careful, he would be killed in the army and the good situation in the world would be ruined. Therefore, Meng Jun sent fast horses to urgently recall the two towns of Guwu and Hushan. At this time, Bai Yongfu had just captured Qingcheng, which was only more than 200 miles away from Jinan. If he was fast, he could return in five days.

………………

Beijing.

"Sir, we searched the entire city yesterday and found a Meng thief spy's base, seized more than 500 thief reports, and captured four thief spies. The only pity is that the leader committed suicide and was not captured alive."

While listening to his men's reports, Luo Yangxing kept flipping through the "Zhenxing Newspaper" seized from Zhou Jun.

Ever since Meng Jun started the Northern Expedition, the activities of the Qingluan Guard in the capital city have become more and more rampant. Not only were people circulating spy newspapers on the streets, but at night some people even painted the words "expel the barbarians, restore China" on the walls. Not only in the capital city, but also in important Qing cities such as Northern Zhili, Henan, and Hebei, the Qingluan Guard's anti-Qing propaganda was also rampant.

After so many years of planning and development, Qingluanwei has long become a giant in the shadows. As an anti-Qing propaganda organization, it is naturally full of anti-Qing remarks.

If Luo Yangxing had not come out to serve as the deputy commander of the Sticking Rod Division, the Qingluan Guard would definitely not have noticed this Jinyiwei commander who had long become a empty shell, but since Luo Yangxing showed up, the Qingluan Guard would naturally not let him go.

When Luo Yangxing saw his name listed on the list of traitors, he couldn't help but feel upset. He said irritably: "Burn them, burn them all!"

After he finished speaking, Luo Yangxing looked up at his men and asked, "Have you tried those four people? Have you confessed your accomplices?"

The subordinate replied, "They have been tortured severely and have confessed. These four were recruited as grassroots spies in the local area. They were only responsible for printing and posting anti-treason speeches on weekdays. The one who went online was the one who committed suicide."

Luo Yangxing waved his hand to signal his men to retreat. There was still a newspaper in his hand. His face was as dark as ink. The Qing Dynasty seemed to be getting more and more critical. Meng Jun marched north to Shandong, Jiang Xiang rebelled in Shanxi, Wu Sangui occupied Xiangyang and Nanyang, and news came a few days ago that Wu Sangui had occupied Xi'an and Shaanxi was already in danger.

Seeing that several battlefields of the Qing Dynasty could not be pacified, the Qing Dynasty could no longer expect the Northern and Southern Dynasties. If it was not careful, it might have to withdraw completely from the interior.

Luo Yangxing coughed for a long time. He was nearly sixty years old, but he was still recorded in the Biography of Traitors. Although he first surrendered to the enemy and then surrendered to the enemy, there were countless people who did the same.

Moreover, they were included in the Biography of Traitors. Luo Yangxing was worried whether the action of Qingluan Guard represented Meng Jun's attitude. Those who were included in the Biography would not be pardoned.

If Dorgon could not stay inside the Great Wall, he could still retreat outside the Great Wall. But he was old and how could he run away? He also had his family. Retreating outside the Great Wall would be like drinking poison to quench thirst. Once the Qing army withdrew outside the Great Wall, it would mean that the Qing court had completely failed. Within a few years, Meng Jun would inevitably send troops to the Northeast.

Times of chaos always produce heroes. The situation in the world changed so quickly that even Luo Yangxing was overwhelmed. People like Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong, who had stirred up chaos, had long since turned into dry bones, while a small commander of Changshu had become the most powerful and influential person in the world.

As the saying goes, changes in the times often change people's hearts, and changes in people's hearts will accelerate changes in the situation. Zhou's army was unstoppable all the way, and Xuzhou, Jining, and Jinan were all captured by Zhou's army. While in Jinan, Meng Jun received nearly a hundred letters from Han officials of the Qing court.

Seeing that the Zhou army was gaining momentum, these surrendered officials feared that they would be purged in the future, so they wrote letters to Meng Jun, explaining that they were forced to surrender due to the situation and that their surrender was not sincere. They also swore again and again that they were willing to serve the King of Zhou.

There were also some officials who failed to find a way to submit their letter to Meng Jun. They either fled south secretly with the money or resigned. This caused the Qing court's ruling power in Henan and Hebei to decline sharply.

Dorgon returned to Beijing. On the one hand, he was raising armaments, and on the other hand, he was recruiting officials to take up local posts and fill vacancies. However, as the Qing court was in decline and Zhou's army was becoming increasingly powerful, many gentry began to find various excuses to shirk their responsibilities and were unwilling to serve the Qing court. Dorgon had no choice but to accept anyone who was willing to surrender, even if they were local ruffians, as long as they were willing to join him, they could be appointed as officials.

The non-cooperation of the gentry made it increasingly difficult for the Qing court to obtain reinforcements from the local areas, and the ruffians who took office were even more extortionate and levied heavy taxes. For a time, chaos broke out under the rule of the Qing court. In this predicament, the divisions within the Qing court became increasingly greater.

And in the letter sent to the city, Meng Jun actually saw an acquaintance, that is Feng Quan, the peace envoy who had been sent to Nanjing.

Feng Quan was born into the eunuch party and was appointed by Chongzhen as a member of the eunuch party. After the Qing army entered the pass, Feng Quan took the initiative to seek an official position and was later named Grand Secretary by Dorgon. Feng Quan also recruited many eunuch party officials for the Qing court. The party struggles in the Ming Dynasty had even been implicitly transferred to the Qing court.

There were not many Han officials that Dorgon trusted, but Feng Quan was definitely one of them, and a very trusted one at that. He was even sent to Jinling to try to negotiate peace with Meng Jun.

Feng Quan's secret surrender undoubtedly enabled Qingluan Guard to obtain a great deal of secret intelligence. Meng Jun compiled a list of these officials who secretly surrendered and ordered people to send it to Meng Bian in Zhuzhou, ordering him to send some people to infiltrate the Qing court.