Chapter 43: The Choice of Gong Chang Wang

  Zhang Guoyong and Zhao Desheng exchanged a glance, seemingly hesitant, paused for a moment, under Bai Wense's puzzled gaze, Zhang Guoyong cleared his throat and said: "Your Highness, this time the welcoming ceremony was not successful, it is a non-military crime. If we withdraw our troops back to Yunnan, we should also make Liu Shou, the son of Meng Huo, the most respected one, which would be more appropriate?"

  "Yes!" Zhao De Sheng saw Zhang Guo Yong take the lead and also chimed in, "Since the imperial court has dispatched a member of the royal family to guard the city, it's likely that there are no plans to leave Myanmar for the time being. If something happens to the Prince of Xin, the anti-Qing banner will fall again, and it will be difficult to boost the morale of the troops!"

  Upon hearing this, Bai Wenyuan furrowed his brow slightly and pondered the intentions of the two generals who opposed his plan to join forces with Jin Wang Li Dingguo. Since they were also aware of the military deployment discussed between him and Li Dingguo, it seemed that they held opposing views!

  "Protecting the imperial family and leaving a garrison, making the soldiers and generals have something to rely on, is naturally feasible." After a moment of contemplation, Bai Wenselect said tactfully: "But the news is just a rumor, it's still unknown where Marquis Jin is now, and where should we send troops to protect him?"

  "If His Highness enters Yunnan, eight or nine out of ten will go through Tongguan." Zhang Guoyong speculated and said: "Our army can temporarily retreat back to Mubang, then turn to Longchuan, and send more people to gather information."

  "If it's just a rumor, or if the temple is silent and there's no news, our army will reunite with King Jin's forces without delay." Zhao Desheng added.

  According to Li Dingguo's plan, after gathering the troops, they should be stationed on the Yunnan-Burma border and establish a barrier zone from Xueli in the east to Mubang in the west, Menggen in the south, and Weiyuan in the north. On the one hand, it can block the Qing army's pursuit of Yongli and the small court into Burma; on the other hand, it can intimidate Burma, making it dare not make any moves against Yongli.

  But the barrier areas chosen by Li Dingguo were all remote and peripheral, not only with many miasma, but also very difficult to prepare for grain and grass. Moreover, the local Tusi was suspicious and fearful, and it was not easy to calm down. Therefore, Zhang Guoyong and Zhao Desheng thought again and again, deciding to first observe the movement of the imperial clan left behind, before finally choosing to follow Li Dingguo's arrangement.

  Bai Wenyuan thought for a moment, nodded and said: "Alright, as the prince of Min is a member of the imperial family left to guard the city, he must be feared by the Qing army. We should protect him and keep him safe, so as not to lose the hopes of both the court and the people again."

  Bai Wenzhong also had opinions about Li Dingguo's previous mistakes, mainly because after Li Dingguo pacified the rebellion of Sun Keshuang, he became overbearing and acted arbitrarily. Later, he was deceived by the treacherous minister Ma Jixiang, which allowed him to regain power after falling out of favor, leading to endless struggles in the court and the loss of people's hearts. After Yongli entered Myanmar, the country's affairs deteriorated to this point, and it is estimated that Ma Jixiang also played a very bad role in this process.

  Because Bai Wenxuan had grievances against Li Dingguo, he burst into tears at Dali and rebuked: "The ruler of the country has entrusted you with the heavy responsibility of restoring the ancestral temple. How can you come to this? Who will take the blame for this? You fled from Luozhe River first, do you see the countless people crying out to heaven and earth, all suffering a tragic fate?"

  But Bai Wenyuan and Li Dingguo were close comrades-in-arms after all. In times of difficulty, they lent a helping hand to each other as friends; in moments of crisis, they shared their innermost thoughts with each other as brothers; between life and death, they would sacrifice themselves for each other as bosom friends. Therefore, although he agreed to his subordinates' request, deep down he still hoped to join forces with Li Dingguo to build a defensive zone and fight side by side against the enemy.

  Now that Yongli and the small court cannot be received, in order to boost morale, the imperial clan's garrison has become important. However, whether the news is true or false, where Shang Kexi is now, everything is uncertain, and can only be acted upon by guessing.

  At this time, Zhu Yongxing had already led the Mangshan Ke clan out of Mian Pass and arrived at Yuanda, which was not far from Zhang Guoyong's and Zhao Desheng's speculation.

  As for the news of Mangshan Ke's family leaving Myanmar and entering Yunnan, which was spread in advance by Zheng's family through their relatives, it can't be said that there is no effect, but limited by communication conditions and the length and difficulty of the journey, the speed of dissemination is indeed not as fast as Zhu Yongxing thought.

  It wasn't until Zhu Yongxing formally began cooperating with the Zheng family at Tongguan that the messages spread to various places became more targeted, and the Zheng family sent people under Zhu's guidance to contact the scattered Ming army in various places, hoping they would move towards the three declarations and six comforts of western Yunnan.

  Surrender is not an easy thing, abandoning the court and official positions that one has been loyal to, betraying former comrades-in-arms and turning against them as enemies, whether surrender in the past was treated with favor or demotion, whether temporary courtesy would be followed by revenge... All these things cannot help but make one think thrice, weighing the pros and cons repeatedly.

  If there had been a mind to surrender early, or if there had been such an intention, there would have been much less entanglement and suffering. However, from the original historical perspective, Yunnan's trend of surrendering was later than Sichuan, or it can be said that it was influenced by the large-scale surrender of the Ming army in Sichuan, so it can be inferred that the resistance will of the Southern Ming generals and ministers in Yunnan is stronger than that in Sichuan.

  Among them, many generals retreated to the border areas and suffered from malaria and epidemics, insufficient supplies, and other difficulties, resulting in a sharp reduction in the number of soldiers, and they also lost contact with each other, and finally chose to surrender to the Qing. As for the civil officials, most of them lost confidence in the future after Yongli entered Myanmar. Because they were knowledgeable and more sensitive, they hated and despised the emperor's abandonment of the country and the dominance of the powerful ministers even more.

  As long as there is a glimmer of hope, no matter how faint, one will not lose confidence; in the dark journey, if one can see a spark of light, no matter how small, one will strive to move forward. The most disheartening and heartbreaking thing is that in times of trouble and darkness, one cannot see even a glimmer of hope or a single starlight, and despair will naturally take over, leading to choices that go against their original intentions.

  Since there were Ming troops who went to surrender to the Qing dynasty from afar, there would also be brave and loyal soldiers who came to join forces without fear of crossing mountains and rivers. This was what Zhu Yongxing thought in his heart, but in reality, he didn't have much confidence. Therefore, on the one hand, he let Zheng's family spread the news and make contact with the scattered Ming troops, so that they could retain a glimmer of hope; on the other hand, he insisted on fighting against the Qing army in Tengchong, even if it was a defeat, even if it was just a fleeting spark, it would still have an inspiring and motivating effect.

  Just as Zhu Yujing led his troops to the front of Gaoligong Mountain, preparing to intercept the Qing general Zhang Yong, a branch or several branches of the Ming army that had been traveling long distances finally appeared. A butterfly flapped its wings and changed the history of Southern Ming, which was about to end.

  ……

  The river water was gradually becoming shallower, the waves were rolling over, and the sound of gurgling was coming from the stony beach near the shore. The boat shook violently and stopped, and in a moment, the gangway landed on the shore with a loud thud.

  Zuo Dudu Zhang Yong got off the boat, looked far away with a calm face for a moment, and then mounted his horse. Under the escort of his personal guards, he moved forward.