Author: Scholar Wu

Looking at Gu Yanwu standing at the dock, Qian Mo said: "Brother Ning Ren, thank you for your hard work. How is the situation here?"

Gu Yanwu said: "Except for Zheng Cai from Fujian and Huang Binqing from Zhoushan who did not come, most of the generals who fought against the Qing along the coast of Zhejiang and Fujian have already gathered, and I have visited them one by one. Everyone admires the Governor-General very much. "

Qian Mo said: "The only way to deal with people is because they are short-handed. Naturally, they won't say anything wrong about me. It's hard to tell what they think in their hearts."

"What is the attitude of His Highness Jianguo and Marquis Dingxi?"

Gu Yanwu said: "My subordinates privately donated 5,000 taels of silver to His Highness Jian Guo in the name of the Governor. His Highness Jian Guo was very satisfied."

"I praise the Governor for his selfless support of Chongming's army in preparing food and fodder under extremely difficult circumstances, and for defeating the Qing army in Jiaxing and Jinshanwei. He is truly the pillar of the country."

"I also sent 5,000 taels to the Marquis of Dingxi. The Marquis was also very grateful to the Governor for supporting the army and invited the Lord to come to his house to talk about it."

Qian Mo said: "It is better to go and see His Highness Jian Guo first. There is no whereabouts on this island that can be hidden from anyone. It is not good for the ministers to contact each other privately in advance and spread it to His Highness's ears."

"By the way, Yang Wenqi didn't do anything behind his back, did he?"

Gu Yanwu said: "He is just a small figure in Chongming, and he can't make any big waves for the time being!"

King Zhu Yihai of Lu now lives in Yuantu National Treasure's mansion, and Qian Mo went to see him overnight.

Although it is said that King Zhu Yihai of Lu and Emperor Zhu Yujian of Longwu had internal strife with each other in the early stage, which accelerated the collapse of Nanming. But Zhu Yihai still resolutely resisted the Qing Dynasty after his family members were captured by the Qing army. Even after being beaten to the point where he had almost no foothold, he remained determined. He tried to make a comeback several times and fought against the Qing army, which is worthy of Qian Mo's admiration.

At this time, Zhu Yihai was only 30 years old. The wandering life in the past few years had made his originally pampered face full of vicissitudes of life, making him look a bit old-fashioned.

Qian Mo said: "Wei Chen is paying homage to His Royal Highness Jian Guo. It is because we have urgent military information to report. Otherwise, Wei Chen would not dare to disturb His Highness's rest late at night."

King Lu said: "I have long heard of the name 'Jiangnan Prodigy'. Although you and I have never met, we have known each other for a long time."

"I am very pleased that your ministry has given great support to Chongming in the previous period. It is an example for all ministers to not know the truth!"

"I wonder if there is any military intelligence report?"

Qian Mo said: "We are humble ministers who have been highly promoted and employed by His Highness, the Supervisor of the Kingdom. Naturally, His Highness is the only one who follows his lead. A small amount of military resources and supplies are of no concern."

"Your Highness petitions me to posthumously honor my father, so that he can leave his name in history and be grateful to Qian. Even if I die, I will never be able to repay Your Highness for your great kindness."

"I have taken the liberty of interrupting His Highness late at night. I really have some great news that I want to tell His Highness!"

King Lu asked with great interest: "What good news do you have, please come quickly?"

Qian Mo said: "Jin Shenghuan, the commander-in-chief of the Qing army in Jiangxi, conquered most of Jiangxi in order to please the Manchu Tatars. In August last year, he asked the Qing court to grant him the power to 'control civil and military affairs' and 'act expediently' in Jiangxi."

"But he was rejected by the Qing court and ordered to consult with the governor of Jiangxi on all major conquests and suppressions and to obey Hong Chengchou's orders."

"This Jin Shenghuan, Wang Deren took the opportunity to rob a large amount of property in Jiangxi. Jiangxi Governor Zhang Yutian and Inspector Dong Xuecheng extorted many times, and now both sides have become inseparable."

"According to the information obtained by Wei Chen's subordinates, before the Longwu Dynasty Huang Dao Zhou, Wan Anji had repeatedly promised Jin Shenghuan to resist the Qing Dynasty with his title. Although Jin Shenghuan did not agree, he was quite moved."

"Now Jiangxi Governor Zhang Yutian and Inspector Dong Xuecheng have failed in their extortion efforts and are collecting evidence of Jin Shenghuan and Wang Deren's transparency. The two of them are already preparing to start a rebellion. In less than half a month at most, there will be chaos in Jiangxi."

King Lu was also very excited after hearing this and asked hurriedly: "This matter is not trivial. Is the information reliable?"

Qian Mo said: "I ordered people to investigate this matter many times, and it is absolutely true."

"It's God who has blessed us with the Ming Dynasty. I hope His Majesty the Supervisor can make plans early and don't let this opportunity slip by!"

King Lu said three times in a row: "Okay! Okay! Okay!"

So overnight he sent word to Dingxi Marquis Zhang Mingzhen, University Scholar Xiong Rulin, Minister of War Qian Sule, and Youqiandu Censor Zhang Huangyan to come and meet him.

Qian Mo understood that these people were Zhu Yihai's core team, and at this time Qian Mo also successfully entered King Lu's inner circle.

These people had already received Qian Mo's "New Year's gift" in advance, and were naturally very close to Qian Mo. Seeing that King Lu had brought Qian Mo into the inner circle, they all showed great enthusiasm.

The people gathered now are all heroes who fought against the Qing Dynasty in the Southern Ming Dynasty. It can be said that except for Zheng Chenggong, almost all the celebrities in the southeastern Fujian and Zhejiang provinces who fought against the Qing Dynasty have gathered at this time.

Perhaps the most inconspicuous among them is Qian Mo, the unworthy Governor of Su Song.

Although the lowest official position among these people is Zhang Huangyan, the censor of Youqiandu, the person Qian Mo values ​​​​the most is Zhang Cangshui, who is both civil and military.

Zhang Huang's character is Xuanzhu, his name is Cangshui. Han nationality, native of Yin County, Zhejiang Province (now part of Ningbo, Zhejiang Province), a Confucian general and poet in the Southern Ming Dynasty.

During the Chongzhen period, he promoted people and became the Minister of War in the Southern Ming Dynasty. After the fall of Nanjing in the second year of Shunzhi (the first year of Hongguang in the Southern Ming Dynasty, 1645), he and Qian Sule and others launched an army to fight against the Qing Dynasty. Later, he followed the king of Lu, Zhu Yihai, and contacted the thirteen peasant armies in Kuidong.

In cooperation with Zheng Chenggong and Li Changxiang, he personally led troops to attack more than 20 cities in Anhui and persisted in the struggle against the Qing Dynasty for nearly 20 years. In the third year of Kangxi (1664), Emperor Yongli, King Lu of the Supervisory State, Zheng Chenggong and others successively

After his death, Zhang Huangyan saw that the situation was over, so he disbanded the rebel army on Xuan'ao Island in Nantian (today's south of Xiangshan, Zhejiang) and lived in seclusion. He was captured that year and was later killed in Hangzhou. Before his death, he wrote a "Death Poem".

His posthumous title is Zhonglie.

Zhang Huangyan, Yue Fei and Yu Qian are known as the "Three Heroes of West Lake". How can Qian Mo not yearn for heroes who can be compared with Yue Fei and Yu Qian?

However, at this time, Zhang Huangyan had just experienced the sea storm last year. Seeing that he could do nothing in Zhoushan, he rushed into Siming Mountain and organized a rebel army there to fight against the Qing Dynasty.

His Royal Highness Jian Guo summoned him late at night. Everyone thought something big had happened. After hearing the news that Jin Shenghuan and Wang Deren were about to raise troops in Jiangxi, they were also shocked and couldn't calm down for a long time.

Xiong Rulin, a bachelor, said excitedly: "This is really the blessing of the ancestors of the Ming Dynasty. Once Jin Shenghuan turns around, the situation in Jiangnan will change drastically, and we can take advantage of the situation to regain the lost territory!"

Zhang Mingzhen also took the opportunity to say: "Now that the south of the Yangtze River is about to undergo great changes, His Royal Highness the Governor must not risk going south to Fujian. He should sit in Chongming and capture the Su and Song Dynasties first, and then try to recover Nanjing to restore our Ming Dynasty foundation!"

"Recover Nanjing and restore the foundation of the Ming Dynasty." King Lu repeatedly read Zhang Mingzhen's words in his heart.

Then he said: "It seems that it is really inappropriate for me to go south to Fujian at this time. I should stay in Chongming to pursue my great cause!"

At this time, Zhang Huangyan questioned Qian Mo and asked: "Nanchang is far away from Taihu Lake. How can Governor Qian know so much about Jiangxi?"

Qian Mo was already prepared for this question and said: "My subordinate workshop wanted to make iron and cast cannons. I heard that Lord Song Yingxing was an expert in this field, so I sent people to Nanchang Mansion to look for him."

"Unexpectedly, Mr. Song was not found, but he found out about Jin Shenghuan. After finding out, he sent people to sneak into Jin Shenghuan's mansion and keep spying. It has been more than two months now. There will be no mistakes. Jiangxi will be in chaos within half a month!"

At this time, Zhang Huangyan said apologetically: "It's just that I couldn't trust Governor Qian just now. It's just that this matter is not trivial. You should handle it with caution. If you don't know, you won't be blamed!"

Qian Mo returned: "This matter is not trivial. Brother Cang Shui should be more cautious. How can Qian Mo blame you?"

At this time, King Lu said: "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. How should we act next? I hope you can share your thoughts?"

Zhang Mingzhen said: "Once there is an uprising in Jiangxi, the Qing government will definitely mobilize the Eight Banners from the north to go south. However, there is a time lag during this period. If we can seize the opportunity to capture Susong first and then Nanjing, we can use the advantage of the navy

Separating the southeastern half of the country is a great trend."

Hearing Zhang Mingzhen's plan, Qian Mo couldn't help but shake his head. He thought that if he acted like this, he might not be able to defend even a piece of territory in the end, and would have to fold all his troops into it.

Originally, when Jin Shenghuan started an uprising, the Qing government would definitely send troops from Nanjing and Hangzhou to Jiangxi to encircle and suppress it. As long as they waited for a while, when the Qing army and Jin Shenghuan were at a stalemate in Nanchang, it would be easy to send troops to attack again.

You're seizing the time and rushing to get ahead, aren't you going to attract the firepower of the Qing army for Jin Shenghuan?

Qian Mo remembered that in history, Jin Shenghuan stayed in Nanchang for seven or eight months. If the food in the city had not been exhausted, he should have been able to continue to hold on.

It seems that although Zhang Mingzhen is so heroic, his strategic level is really limited. This strategy of dividing the southeastern half sounds very domineering, but in fact it is completely unfeasible.

At this time, King Lu said: "The Marquis of Dingxi is indeed very heroic. I don't know the Governor Su Song and he was the first to know the news. I must have already had a countermeasure in mind. Why don't you tell me and listen to it?"

In fact, Qian Mo didn't want to come up with this idea, so as not to offend Zhang Mingzhen. But now that he had been named by the leader, he had to express his thoughts.

Qian Mo said: "Judging from the situation in Jiangxi, the two civil servants, Governor Zhang Yutian and Inspector Dong Xuecheng, can never compete with the two warlords Jin Shenghuan and Wang Deren."

"I think Kim Sheng-hwan will be able to capture most of Jiangxi in the short term and create a huge momentum."

"Everyone knows that the most important places in Jiangxi are nothing more than three places. The first is naturally Nanchang, the capital of Jiangxi, and the other is Jiujiang to the north of Nanchang. Controlling Jiujiang will control the Yangtze River waterway." "The last one is Southern Jiangxi.

The governor's seat is Ganzhou. Ganzhou's location is extremely important as it is the chokepoint connecting Fujian and Guangdong provinces. Moreover, the city itself is strong and surrounded by water on three sides, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack."

"It would be easy for Jin Shenghuan and the others to capture Nanchang and Jiujiang, but Liu Wuyuan, the governor of southern Gansu, will definitely defend it. I am afraid that Jin Shenghuan will choose to capture Ganzhou first to solve his worries, and then attack Wuchang or Nanjing to expand his influence."

Zhang Huangyan said: "The ignorant analysis is not unreasonable. Jin Shenghuan is indeed likely to attack Ganzhou first. After all, when King Ning rebelled in Nanchang during the Zhengde period, Wang Yangming stole Nanchang's old nest in Ganzhou. It is impossible for Jin Shenghuan not to be on guard."

Zhang Mingzhen said: "In this case, Jin Shenghuan will not be able to go north to cooperate with us to capture Nanjing immediately. Can we send someone to contact Jin Shenghuan to attack Nanjing together?"

"The governor of Southern Gansu, Liu Wuyuan, has less than 10,000 men. Jin Shenghuan, King Deren and others have at least hundreds of thousands of troops. It will not take more than a few days to capture Ganzhou. Maybe they have already captured Ganzhou before our envoys arrive in Nanchang."

Qian Mo understood that what Zhang Mingzhen said was actually reasonable. After all, who would have thought that Jin Shenghuan's 200,000-strong army did not capture Ganzhou with only 6,000 troops in history.

Not only did Jin Shenghuan fail to capture Ganzhou, but Li Chengdong from Guangdong led his troops north to support Jin Shenghuan and was also stopped in Ganzhou. This small city of Ganzhou would become the place where Nanming's dreams were shattered.

So Qian Mo could only make excuses from himself.

Qian Mo said: "We can't predict the time when Jin Shenghuan will attack Ganzhou. Naturally, we can send someone to contact him first to attack Nanjing together."

"But the Qing army stationed 20,000 elite troops in Su and Song Mansion. Even if some of them were transferred to defend Jin Shenghuan, I'm afraid we wouldn't be able to capture Su Song."

"After all, I, King Chongming, am very close. No matter how stupid Ma Guozhu is, he will not be able to draw away all the main force of Su Song's Qing army, allowing us to seize Su Song and threaten Nanjing."

"If I were Ma Guozhu, I would dispatch at most a few thousand soldiers and horses from Su Song to strengthen the defense of Nanjing, and then wait for the Qing army in Xuzhou, Huaibei to go south. After the main force of the Eight Banners in the north goes south, I will go to Jiangxi to wipe out Jin Shenghuan."

"If we take action in the Susong area in advance, I'm afraid that the Eight Banners heading south will send out part of their forces to attack us, and we won't be able to capture Susong."

At this time Zhang Mingzhen said: "We can't stand still and watch the Qing army go and besiege Jiangxi, right?"

At this time, everyone's eyes seemed to light up. This was indeed a good idea. But at this time, no one dared to echo it. This kind of thing can only be understood and cannot be expressed in words.

We cannot just say openly that we have decided to wait until friendly forces die without saving them, and then take advantage of them.

Seeing that everyone was silent, Qian Mo decided to break the embarrassment himself.

So he said: "It is naturally impossible to stand still. Wouldn't it be a missed opportunity?"

"Although the Susong area has strong military strength, the Qing army in Huzhou is quite empty. As soon as the reinforcements from Hangzhou are mobilized to Jiangxi, I, the Susong Governor's Office, will immediately raise troops in Huzhou to support Jin Shenghuan."

At this time, King Lu asked with concern: "I don't know if I only have a few thousand soldiers and horses under my command. Can I be sure of capturing Huzhou?"

At this time, Qian Mo said aggrievedly: "I have only 5,000 troops under Su Song's governor's office, so we are not absolutely sure of capturing Huzhou."
To be continued...