Jiujiang officials saw that there were soldiers holding weapons standing behind them. No one dared to oppose Dong Weiguo, but the voices supporting Dong Weiguo were not loud, just a few sparse ones. In a hurry, everyone could not weigh the pros and cons, and no one dared to say that Zhang Chao could not lead his troops to fight back.
However, Dong Weiguo was not in a hurry to force everyone to express their stance, but instead invited another person to come out.
"Happy Consul!"
Many generals exclaimed. The man who walked in with a smile on his face was Le Shaohua, the Jiangxi consul of Sichuan stationed in Jiujiang. Someone immediately guessed that Dong Weiguo had received support from Chengdu.
"According to the Treaty of Beijing, the Qing government cannot change the governor or governor without Chengdu's objection." Le Shaohua said slowly. In the sixth year of Kangxi's reign, after learning that the Ming army that had landed in Tianjin was approaching Beijing, the Empress Dowager fled to Chengde with the emperor, and ordered Prince An Yue Le to defend Beijing to the death. Unexpectedly, Deng Ming did not kill them all, and also promised not to enter Beijing. Yue Le, who was not willing to be the scapegoat, and the other Manchu princes who stayed behind gritted their teeth and agreed to all the conditions proposed by Deng Ming, without even bargaining: "Now your court believes that Zhang Chao is no longer suitable to be the governor of Jiangxi. , and the empire also recognized it.¡±
As he spoke, Le Shaohua took out a document and said to the generals present: "This is the secret decree from your court to Dong Buzheng Envoy, depriving Zhang Chao of all his posts and letting Dong Buzheng Envoy take over. I have read it." Yes, it is indeed a secret order."
As the special envoy of the Academy, Zhao Tianba is fully responsible for handling the crisis in the two rivers. Although it is not impossible to retain the Zhang Dynasty, Zhao Tianba's instructions to Le Shaohua were - if Dong Weiguo wants to overthrow the Zhang Dynasty and establish himself, the empire should fully cooperate, because this can further weaken the authority and cohesion of the Jiangxi governor's office. Even if Dong Weiguo successfully seizes the throne, many people below him will be dissatisfied. In this way, in the next few years, Dong Weiguo, like Liang Huafeng, will have to focus all his energy on consolidating his position and will not have any spare energy to launch a war. Or dare to disobey the Empire's instructions.
When Zhang Chao arrives at the border, there will be a confrontation with the Jiangnan Army. He was facing an army that had been unified under Liang Huafeng's banner, and Dong Weiguo would definitely not send reinforcements or food - Zhang Chao's 10,000 troops would definitely be in a dilemma of being unable to advance or retreat. All the officers present could see this. Le Shaohua also promised that the government would stand by Dong Weiguo in the campaign against Premier Deng. Although it was comfortable for Zhang Chao to go down the river, it would not be easy to overcome many obstacles and return to Jiujiang.
"Destroy Zhang Ni!" Someone suddenly shouted with all his strength.
"Zhang Ni! You and I are irreconcilable!"
"Master Dong, I will listen to you now."
The atmosphere at the venue suddenly became lively, and this time everyone was much more enthusiastic than at the beginning.
"Actually, I don't want to be the governor." Dong Weiguo wanted to be modest as usual.
"Master Dong, you have to do it."
Immediately there was a cry of begging below, and many people immediately beat their chests and stamped their feet, expressing their sworn support to Dong Weiguo to benefit Jiangxi.
"Since the brothers think so highly of me, I have no choice but to do it." Dong Weiguo knew that now was not the time to be polite. He had just made a few remarks, so he quickly returned to the subject: "These banknotes are my thoughts. Everyone. Take it back and buy a drink for the brothers."
¡¡
It was already five days after Zhang Chao got the news. Like Jiang Guozhu, the army around him suddenly became a mess. Soon, the Jiangxi expeditionary force not only knew what happened in Jiujiang, but also heard about Jiang Guozhu's departure in Chizhou. Not only are they homeless, but there is also no opportunity ahead. In just two days, more than 5,000 of Zhang Chao's 10,000 elite soldiers dispersed. A large number of officers and their men left without saying goodbye and returned to Jiangxi to serve as soldiers under Dong Weiguo.
"Let's disperse, let's disperse." Seeing that the morale of the army was gone, Zhang Chao had no choice but to announce the disbandment of the army. The Jiangxi troops stood around dejectedly. After listening to Governor Zhang's last lecture, they returned to Jiangxi in groups.
Zhang Chao looked at the departing army and smiled bitterly: "These 10,000 officers and soldiers came specifically to see me off; I worked so hard to bring them out of Jiujiang just to disband them here."
Zhou Peigong had also sold Zhang Chao¡¯s boat tickets long ago. Dong Weiguo didn't know if he would have to go to Sichuan one day, so he naturally wouldn't force him to do so, and took the initiative to let Zhang Chao's family take away all his property; in addition, Dong Weiguo also gave a sum of money as a token of gratitude. Zhang Chao¡¯s many years of support.
Full of melancholy, Zhang Chao boarded the ship in Anqing.
This ship will not dock in Jiangxi and will be on alert throughout the entire journey. Only after entering Kuimen will Zhang Chao be allowed to go ashore - this is also part of the agreement between Zhou Peigong and Dong Weiguo.
The cabin prepared for Zhang Chao was quite comfortable, clean, with brand new bedding and fresh tea and fruits. While sitting by the window waiting for the boat to sail, Zhang Chao recalled the scenery of the past ten years, which was like a dream. Just when Zhang Chao was lost in memories, he suddenly heard a gentle knock on the door, and then someone outside asked, "Is Zhang Weng here?"
"Come in." Zhang Chao responded.
The door was pushed open with a loud noise, and a man walked in with a smile on his face. He cupped his hands at Zhang Chaogong and said, "Weng Zhang, I haven't seen you for many years, but you still have the same style."
Zhang Chao looked at it intently for a long time, then suddenly shouted "Ah" and hurriedly stood up to return the salute: "Governor Jiang, you are welcome and well!"
"Idle clouds and wild cranes, where is the governor?" Jiang Guozhu also wanted to take this boat to Sichuan. Although he hated Liang Huafeng to the core, his hostility towards Zhang Chao suddenly disappeared without a trace when he learned about Zhang Chao's experience.
"Please sit down, Jiang Weng, please sit down." Zhang Chao greeted politely. Like Jiang Guozhu, Zhang Chao suddenly let go of all past grievances in the face of a powerful enemy that had been with him for more than ten years.
After talking for a while, Zhang Chao took out a set of Go and said, "Nothing happened on the way. I wonder if Jiang Weng would like to talk to me?"
"Dare you disobey your orders?"
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Watching the ship carrying the pair of enemies raise its sails, pull anchor and set off upstream, Zhao Tianba exhaled softly and said to Zhou Peigong: "The order of the court has finally been successfully completed."
In the sixth year of Kangxi, Zhao Tianba was also in the army when Deng Ming led the army to land in Tianjin. After learning that the Qing Empress Dowager and the emperor had fled together, the morale of the Ming army was boosted, and they all felt that the Qing Dynasty's collapse was imminent. . However, Gong Yan, who was traveling with him, firmly opposed Deng Ming's immediate attack on Beijing. Gong Yan pointed out that if Beijing were to be captured, Deng Ming would have to hold on to it, and Beijing and western Sichuan were too far apart for Deng Ming to be able to separate himself. Gong Yan further pointed out that once the Qing government lost Beijing, it would be in trouble in the eyes of the world. It is no different from being destroyed. Ambitions from all over the country will take advantage of the situation. Deng Ming will not only defend Beijing and Chengdu, but also suppress those who compete with him for the world. Finally, the governors of the southeast, who were originally wary of the Qing court, will They immediately regarded Deng Ming as their number one enemy and were worried that Deng Ming would take away their territory. Without the deterrence of the Qing court, these governors could use all their strength to fight against Deng Ming.
Therefore, Gong Yan believed that it was necessary to temporarily preserve a Qing court whose prestige had been discredited. As long as the Qing court is still likely to counterattack, the governors in the southeast cannot concentrate on fighting against Deng Ming; the existence of the Qing court also suppresses careerists, and the Qing court will even "prefer foreign enemies to domestic thieves." The idea of ????suppressing various vassal kings, and if the Qing court felt that Deng Ming might leave them a way to survive, they would do so even more.
At that time, many people couldn¡¯t help but ask Gong Yan, when is the right time to overthrow the Qing court?
Gong Yan replied that he needed to wait for Deng Ming to further weaken the ambitions of the feudal king and the governor. When Deng Ming actually controls half of the world, or when the vassal kings and governors recognize Deng Ming's authority from the bottom of their hearts and lose the confidence to compete with Deng Ming, the time will be ripe.
When Yue Le signed the contract and the Ming army was about to fulfill the contract and withdraw, Zhao Tianba saw Gong Yan looking at the city wall of Beijing for a long time and sighed: "I probably won't be able to come to the city wall of Beijing for the third time. Wait until the general ( After Deng Ming's position at the time) regained Beijinglet me have my son come and take a look on my behalf."
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"It should be soon." Zhao Tianba recalled Gong Yan's words in front of Beijing City in his heart. Gong Yan's children and grandchildren were all brought to Sichuan from Shaanxi. Some are now teaching in academies and some are serving in the government. The governors in the southeast seem to have lost their confidence in separatist rule, and are getting closer and closer to the conditions proposed by Gong Zhen. After the crisis between the two rivers subsides, the shaky prestige of the Qing court and the governors will be further hit: "The admiral said , after returning from this expedition, he will be able to redeem all the rights of the people of Hubei, and in the future, his annual trade income will be able to redeem at least one province."
Zhou Peigong was also overjoyed. The scale of this conflict was quite small and had almost no impact on the transportation of the Yangtze River. Moreover, the armies of both sides only followed Jiang Guozhu and Zhang Chao in a march, and did not invade the land of neighboring provinces, so they did not cause the place to be looted and a large number of people were not displaced - there was no adverse impact on the economies of Jiangnan and Jiangxi.
While Zhao Tianba and Zhou Peigong were celebrating, another emergency report came from Hangzhou. This was Zhao Guozuo's distress document.
"Did Geng Jingzhong announce his rebellion against the Qing Dynasty and restore the Ming Dynasty?" After reading the letter, Zhao Tianba suddenly became angry: "He also invaded Zhejiang?"
Although Zhao Tianba already knew that Geng Jingzhong was up to no good, he thought that the crisis in Liangjiang was such a big deal.It will be solved soon. Geng Jingzhong will definitely not risk the disapproval of the world and invade Zhejiang brazenly. However, Zhao Tianba underestimated Geng Jingzhong's ambition. Having just learned that Jiang Guozhu was preparing to send troops to Jiangxi, Geng Jingzhong concluded that this battle would be protracted. This war between the two rivers would definitely attract the attention of Chengdu and Beijing for a long time. Since Zhejiang would definitely be isolated and helpless in the short term, Geng Jingzhong felt that there was no need to waste time. He immediately announced that he would return to the Ming Dynasty anyway and immediately sent troops to attack the puppet Qing governor of Zhejiang, Zhao Guozuo.
Since the internal strife among the three kings, Geng Jingzhong is still the first heavyweight to publicly reveal his truth. Geng Jingzhong felt that with the weight of this "first righteousness" and the agreement to cooperate with Zheng Jing to attack Nanjing, the Eastern Zhejiang Army would definitely remain neutral; after capturing half of Zhejiang, Geng Jingzhong would also open up the route to Liangjiang. the way. At that time, it is estimated that Shang Zhixin will also send troops to Jiangxi, and the entire south will be reduced to a pot of porridge. Even if Nanjing is given to Zheng Jing, it would be good for him to get several prefectures in the southern part of Jiangnan. Besides, as long as Geng Jingzhong acts quickly, he still has a chance to get a piece of the pie in Jiangxi.
While making his confession public, Geng Jingzhong also asked the emperor's eunuch who had put on makeup to deliver a message to him to rush back to Beijing. Geng Jingzhong's secret letter to Kangxi stated that he was loyal to the emperor, and this claim was a last resort anyway. Because many rebels, such as Zhao Guozuo, took shelter under Deng Ming's wings, but Geng Jingzhong was unable to defeat four enemies with his two fists. In order to achieve the effect of defeating each enemy, Geng Jingzhong had to disguise himself as a Ming army to attack Zhao Guozuo, who was disguised as a Qing army. Geng Jingzhong implored the emperor to understand his painstaking efforts - although he was not optimistic about the Qing Dynasty, if he could hedge his bets by just saying some nice words, Geng Jingzhong would not be stingy with such a few words.
"I can't go back to Sichuan yet. The crisis in the southeast has not completely subsided." Zhao Tianba said with a sullen face.
Zhao Guozuo is definitely not Geng Jingzhong¡¯s opponent. Now Zhejiang is divided into three parts, one of which is the territory of the Eastern Zhejiang Army. Of course they will not obey Hangzhou's orders; Zhuang Tingyue, Zhu Niansao and Zhao Guozuo in northern Zhejiang are also wary of each other. They have held several negotiations before, but the former troops in northern Zhejiang The Jingnan Army was determined not to go to the south and obey Hangzhou's command. Relying on one-third of Zhejiang, how could Zhao Guozuo withstand Geng Jingzhong's attack. But Zhao Tianba must not let Zhao Guozuo fail, because Hangzhou is a model province in the eyes of the Academy. Before leaving Sichuan, the Academy specially told Zhao Tianba to ensure the safety of Hangzhou. Not to mention that if Geng Jingzhong succeeds, it will further fuel the ambitions of the vassal kings and governors, and they may even have the idea of ??competing with Sichuan. Therefore, we cannot let the vassal king or governor who wants to expand his territory get what he wants, otherwise others will be tempted to give it a try - whoever dares to stir up trouble will be destroyed. This is the strategy Zhao Tianba proposed to the Academy before setting off. It also received the approval of the college committee.
But Geng Jingzhong was the first to stand up. Anyway, the imperial army could not attack him. Well, Jiangnan and Jiangxi are both loyal ministers and filial sons of the Qing Dynasty. They have just expelled Jiang Guozhu and Zhang Chao who "tong Deng". It would be reasonable if they sent troops to attack Geng Jingzhong anyway!