Chapter 405 Red King
Oboi, Wu Sangui and Sun Kewang each had their own ulterior motives, and the Qing army’s “three-party arrangement” strategy ultimately failed.

The Red Army launched an offensive in Jiangxi, besieging Nanchang with the main force of the Second Regiment, forcing Oboi to send troops to rescue.

Although Wu Sangui stationed a large number of troops in Sichuan, he was blocked by the Thirteen Families of Kuidong and did not dare to cross 2,000 miles to attack Huguang. Even though the Qing court issued an edict to urge him and Tunqi personally came to lobby, Wu Sangui secretly decided to go south to Yunnan and Guizhou.

Cen Danchu, Aobai, and Wu Sangui each kept their troops in place, waiting for the situation to develop. With the addition of Sun Kewang, the four sides were restraining each other, and an eerie tranquility appeared on the southern battlefield.

Finally, Sun Kewang could no longer bear it and, in the name of “clearing the imperial court”, he sent troops in early November to invade western Guangdong from Yunnan and Guizhou, attacking the Red Army from the side. However, he was afraid that Wu Sangui would take the opportunity to move south, so he did not dare to send out all his troops.

Cen Danchu responded immediately and issued an order in the name of “the emperor’s edict and the king of Nanyue”, declaring Sun Kewang a rebel and calling on all officials, local officials and civilians to fight against the western bandits.

The Third Regiment Infantry and Guangxi Garrison had already been on high alert and ready to resist the Dashi Army.

Since being conferred the title of King of Nanyue, Cen Danchu stopped even the superficial act and took charge of everything on his own, issuing orders in the name of “Emperor’s Edict, King of Nanyue’s Edict”, retaining only the Yongli reign title in the signature.

The Dashi Army was originally a bandit army, and once attacked the Prince of Gui’s Palace and captured Emperor Yongli. Emperor Yongli and his ministers hated the Dashi Army, and ordered the troops of the whole country to suppress the bandits, and also clearly instructed the generals of the Dashi Army to surrender.

In particular, the imperial court once again stated in the edict that not only was Sun Kewang’s “King of Qin” seal forged, but even the imperially bestowed title of “King of Ping Liao” would be abolished.

In order to reward Cen Danchu for his contribution in restoring Hunan and Jiangxi, the imperial court proposed to confer the title of “King of Qin” on Cen Danchu, as a sign of reliance on him. He was originally planned to be conferred the title of “King of Qin”, firstly because Cen Danchu was originally from Shaanxi, and secondly to end Sun Kewang’s hope.

“The king has recovered Jiangxi and Hunan, and his military achievements are great. His vassalage is no longer limited to the land of Nanyue. The emperor lives in Zhaoqing and has specially sent Ma as an envoy to discuss with the king about the promotion to prince.”

Ma Jixiang was uneducated, but he was appointed as the Grand Secretary of Dongge by Emperor Yongli. Knowing that the Ming Dynasty was in decline, he took the initiative to ask Emperor Yongli to go to Cen Danchu’s Hengzhou headquarters to ask for advice.

Danchu had no good feelings towards Ma Jixiang, but Ma Jixiang secretly surrendered and monitored the court’s movements, which made him a rare figure. If Yongli was to be asked to abdicate in the future, people like Ma Jixiang and Pang Tianshou would be just in handy.

“What does the court mean?”

“The cabinet proposed to promote the king to the title of King of Qin, but the emperor had some reservations. Lord Pang Yin and I strongly advocated this matter, and it was finally decided.” Ma Jixiang carefully observed Cen Danchu’s expression and said in a flattering tone.

Pang Yin Gong is Pang Tianshou, the eunuch who holds the seal of the current Silijian, and is the most trusted eunuch by Emperor Yongli. The eunuchs in the Ming Dynasty were very powerful, and the eunuch who held the seal of the Silijian had the most power, so he could be honored as Yin Gong.

According to the Ming system, the King of Qin was the most noble and honorable of all the kings. Sun Kewang regarded himself as the Lord of Qin, and Danchu was named the King of Qin again, which would undoubtedly intensify the confrontation between the Red Army and the Dashi Army.

“Our clan has made some achievements, and the Red Army is the reason for them. If you want to be promoted to a prince, you’d better be called the Red King. Although the Qin King is good, he is an old member of the Qin clan, and was usurped by Sun Kewang. Our clan does not like him.”

Ma Jixiang catered to his wishes and said, “Since the ruler of the country must be called the Red King, then he should be the Red King. This will show that the ruler of the country is different from others and unique.”

As a prince, he could command the army of the whole country. Cen Danchu was originally the “Deputy Marshal of the Army of the Whole Country”, and he could be promoted to the “Grand Marshal of the Army of the Whole Country”. Needless to say, the other official titles also had to be promoted one step, for example, the Grand Tutor could be promoted to the Grand Master.

Ma Jixiang saw that Cen Danchu was very happy, and said: “Since the king recovered Hunan, Lingnan has seen many auspicious signs. In Gaoyao County, Zhaoqing Prefecture, Guangdong, there are red rice ears, and one ear has more than a hundred red rice grains; in Sanshui County, there are red black birds flying into the sky; in Sihui County, there are colorful clouds all over the sky, and there are immortals riding cranes and looking north… “Those who are knowledgeable say that since Chongzhen, disasters have occurred frequently in various places, and the sky is giving warnings; now Lingnan has seen frequent auspicious signs, which means that God is blessing us, and a new king should be established, and the sign lies with the king…”

This auspicious sign was naturally made up by Ma Jixiang to deceive people. Danchu smiled and said nothing for a long time, “The secret of heaven cannot be revealed, and you don’t have to make random guesses, so as not to anger the gods. This clan is determined to clear the world, and we dare not talk about the rise and fall of the enemy until the enemy is eliminated.”

Cen Danchu had already made up his mind. The Ming Dynasty had just fallen, and the people were still eager to see the Ming Dynasty. Before he completely annihilated the Tartars, he had to raise the banner of “restoring the Ming Dynasty” in order to unite all the forces that could be united. If he abdicated without authorization, it would chill the hearts of the righteous men in the world.

“Uh,” Ma Jixiang was disappointed and said, “I will follow the instructions of the Lord.”

When asked about the court’s movements, Ma Jixiang was very active again, saying: “Those who are knowledgeable know that the emperor is not the leader of the revival of the country, and the rulers have the appearance of being a monarch, so they have all joined the Red Army. The emperor enjoys peace and tranquility, and there are only some ignorant and sour scholars left in the court, headed by the cabinet minister Wu Zhenyu, who are usually busy posthumously honoring the deceased and compiling records…”

The Yongli Emperor and his ministers had no ambitions, and the imperial court had no funds or talents. The Red Army had grown into a mature army with a promising future. Cen Danchu was quite satisfied and told Ma Jixiang:
“Our vassal state has recovered Hunan and has made quite a few spoils. We have already selected some gifts to present to the imperial court. When you return to the imperial court, please bring some more gifts and money back to tell the emperor and the empress dowager about our vassal state’s intention to recover. I hope you will pay more attention to the developments in the court…”

“Yes!” Ma Jixiang suddenly felt that he was being used, and said in high spirits: “Don’t worry, my lord. I will convey your wishes and pay attention to the government affairs…”

After Danchu heard what he said, he waved his hand impatiently and said, “Go ahead.”

In the first month of the eighth year of the Yongli reign, just after the Spring Festival, the Dashi Army invaded western Guangdong with its elite troops, but was blocked in Sicheng Prefecture and Huaiyuan County. The Jiaqian Army was defeated in Qingyuan, and before it could recover, it was blocked again in western Guangdong, and its morale was low.

Wu Sangui saw through it and led his army across the Yangtze River, first sweeping southern Sichuan and occupying Luzhou. Most of the Dashi troops left in southern Sichuan were weak and vulnerable, and they retreated back to Yunnan and Guizhou one after another.

At that time, Li Guohan had already led troops to aid Huguang. Wu Sangui felt that he had no worries about his retreat, so he went south from Luzhou to Bijie, Guizhou, continued to sweep away the Dashi Army, and entered Yunnan through Qixingguan.

When Cen Danchu heard the news, he was overjoyed and rushed to Changsha from Hengzhou to plan a decisive battle against Oboi.

Ma Bao led the Huben Regiment and Jiao Lian led the 4th Infantry Regiment, totaling 130,000 troops, to the north to fight for Wuchang and to fight a decisive battle with Oboi.

Hu Yiqing’s Fifth Infantry Regiment was newly formed and had weak combat effectiveness, so it remained in Hunan to garrison.

Kuang Shi’s Second Infantry Regiment continued to besiege Nanchang, control Jiangxi, and tie down the Qing army’s forces.

Wu Jie’s Fourth Infantry Regiment stayed in western Guangdong to resist the Dashi Army. With Wu Sangui’s sneak attack from behind, Wu Jie’s one regiment was enough to stop the Dashi Army, and he even had the hope of taking a share of the spoils and occupying some counties in Yunnan and Guizhou.

Huguang was an important area in the country. In order to better manage Huguang, Danchu decided to appoint a governor of Hunan to be responsible for civil affairs, restore production, comfort refugees, and ensure the food supply of the army. In the future, after occupying Hubei, Huguang will be formally divided into Hunan and Hubei provinces.

There was also Wei Guosong’s First Infantry Regiment, which was kept as the general reserve. The Guangdong Garrison was stationed in Guangdong, and the Nanyang Fleet continued to train hard and test the Nanyang route.

Zhu Chenggong, on the other hand, heard that Sun Kewang, Wu Sangui, and Cen Danchu had sent out their armies, and knew that there would be great changes in the world, so he was eager to try, recruited more land troops, and prepared to attack Quanzhou. He no longer had high aspirations and wanted to attack Nanjing, but wanted to vigorously develop Fujian nearby.

(End of this chapter)