Chapter Thirty-Six: The General Who Surrendered

  According to the road and communication conditions at that time, Zhu Yongxing was anxious, but after calm consideration, he could not blame Yi Cheng and Zheng's family. The remaining Ming army was scattered all over the place, separated by high mountains, dense forests, and rivers, which can be said to be heavily blocked. Even if they heard the news, it would take a lot of effort to transmit it back, and it might not be possible to complete the task in a short period of time. He was still not used to the current speed of information transmission, always looking forward with anticipation, and was destined to be often disappointed.

  However, this also sounded the alarm for Zhu Yongxing. If he were to command battles in the future, he would have to be especially careful and not rely on subjective guesses to estimate time, let alone engage in high-level long-distance coordinated warfare.

  "Your Highness is magnanimous, and I am ashamed as a subordinate." Yi Cheng naturally hoped to transmit valuable information back as soon as possible, after all, this was an opportunity to prove the value of the Zheng family, but due to the circumstances, he had no choice.

  "Don't be ashamed, you didn't do anything wrong." Zhu Yongxing comforted him with another sentence before falling into contemplation.

  In history, after Yongli abandoned the country and entered Myanmar, although many Southern Ming generals were very disappointed, it was not the beginning of a wave of surrenders. However, when Feng Shuangli, who was stationed in Jianchang, Sichuan, was held hostage by his general Di Sanpin and surrendered, the Ming army within Sichuan completely collapsed, and they rushed to surrender to the Qing, and the trend of surrendering began to spread in the southwestern region.

  Wu Zisheng, the Marquis of Huairou, was one of the earliest people in Yunnan Province to surrender. Alternatively, it can be said that he and Xu Guogong Ma Weixing, Huai Guogong Ma Bao, and the son of Han Yang Wang Ma Jinzhong, Ma Zide, were among the first to surrender, directly bringing about a new wave of surrenders in the southwest.

  Historically, it is only said that Guangchang Marquis Gao Wengui and Huairou Marquis Wu Zisheng joined forces to enter Myanmar to rescue the emperor, but it is not mentioned when and where the two met and merged their troops. Zhu Yongxing was just waiting on his own judgment on the road to entering Myanmar. Guangchang Marquis Gao Wengui should be trustworthy, plus the army composed of young men from the Mengshan Ke clan, suppressing Wu Zisheng is relatively secure.

  But now, Wu Zisheng, the Marquis of Huairou, has led his army here alone, and Zhu Yongxing's military strength seems thin. The idea of being the first to enter makes him feel suspicious. From this perspective, history can also become a psychological burden at times, making people more suspicious and hesitant. With the precedent of Yang Wu and Sun Chongya's rebellion and surrender, and now that the great house is about to collapse and people's hearts are scattered, Zhu Yongxing considers more, which is also normal human emotions. After all, people's hearts are prone to change and difficult to predict.

  "Your Highness, send someone to order the troops under the command of Marquis Huairén to stop advancing and temporarily station in Nangzhao. Then, order Marquis Huairén to lead his men to come and pay their respects." Although Yi Cheng did not know what Zhu Yongxing was specifically thinking, he vaguely sensed that Zhu Yongxing seemed to have a guard against Marquis Huairén Wu Zisheng, so he opened his mouth and proposed a safe suggestion.

  This seems like a good idea, Zhu Yongxing hesitated and casually asked: "What is the situation with Huairen Hou's troops?"

  "After the Battle of Modun Mountain, Huairén Hóu was separated from Li Jinwang's troops and gathered Ming soldiers along the way. He crossed the Nujiang River and fled to Longling, but the journey was arduous and supplies were running out. More than 3,000 soldiers were injured or ill. Wu Zisheng, the Marquis of Huairén, was not far away with his troops. Zheng's men had already contacted him and rushed back to report, so Yi Cheng understood the situation in detail."

  Thousands of miles away, through hardships and difficulties, Wu Zisheng, the Marquis of Huaiyin, should not have had the heart to surrender to the Qing yet. The future has not been completely desperate, and the determination to hold on should not have been completely destroyed. Who would be willing to surrender to the enemy? Is it not oneself who claims to be the light of hope in the darkness of despair, does one not have the confidence to shine again and re-illuminate a path of hope?

  How ridiculous! They were supposed to defy the heavens and move the wheels of history, but now they're stuck in the historical quagmire, worrying about gains and losses.

  Zhu Yongxing suddenly stopped his pacing footsteps, smiled at himself with a mixture of self-mockery and self-contempt, realizing that understanding historical facts should be the driving force behind the wheels of history, should be the wings that enable one to soar, rather than becoming a psychological burden that makes one overly cautious.

  "Sound the drums and mobilize the troops. I will lead the team to personally welcome the returning Ming generals who have traveled far and wide." Zhu Yongxing straightened his back and said in an unmistakable tone.

  Yi Cheng was taken aback for a moment, then bowed his head in response. In a short time, he found that Zhu Yongxing seemed to have grasped some truth, suddenly becoming confident and full of energy.

  ………

  "The military heart can be slightly stabilized!" Huarong Marquis Wu Zisheng received the swift horse messenger sent by Zhu Yongxing, felt a slight boost in morale, immediately ordered the army to set up camp and gather all the generals to announce the news, in order to stabilize the military's heart.

  At this time, the more than 3,000 horses were divided into different units. In addition to Wu Zisheng's own troops, there were also the remnants of the defeated troops left behind by Gongchang Wang Baowen during his retreat, led by generals Zhang Guangchui and Chen Sheng.

  "When the prince of Mi entered Yunnan, the anti-Qing flags did not fall, and the military morale was temporarily stabilized, which is indeed a fortunate event." Zhang Guangcai first expressed his relief, then immediately said: "But we are under the command of the King of Gongchang, ordered to retreat to Mu Bang, I don't know how to handle it?"

  "Your Highness has been ordered to enter Yunnan and stay, temporarily exercising the power of regent, so you should be respected as the superior." Chen Sheng's utilitarian heart was slightly heavier, thinking that Zhu Yongxing's legs were thicker than Bai Wenxuan's, and hugging him would not be a loss.

  Wu Zisheng's eyes rolled as he cautiously said, "The Emperor ordered Prince Min to enter Yunnan and granted him great power. Could it be that he wants to... in Burma..."

  "Be careful with your words." Marquis Huai Ren, Wu Zisheng, sternly interrupted Chen Yeyao's speculation and said: "The Emperor must have his reasons for this move, how can you all wildly speculate? The Prince will arrive tomorrow, our army will make arrangements, and the generals will also come out to welcome him."

  Zhang Guangyao smiled wryly, at this time the big account had not been set up, and as soon as he looked up, he could see the soldiers in the army. In fact, many people were already hard to be called soldiers: they were all tattered and covered with dirt, and it was impossible to see the original color of their military uniforms, just like they had crawled out of a muddy pit. Some soldiers even had dark faces, with boils on their faces, dripping with yellow pus. Although the wounded soldiers were not in sight, the tragic situation that was usually seen was also clear in his mind.

  "After a long and arduous journey, it's inevitable that our military formation is not in order." Huairen Hou Wu Zisheng let out a gentle sigh and said, "We can only make some slight adjustments, so as not to appear too disheveled."

  "His Highness, the Duke of Min, has always been low-key and we are not familiar with him. We don't know his temperament either. I'm afraid that making some adjustments might be a bit hasty, which would make His Highness suspect that we look down on him." Chen Sheng obviously wanted to leave a good impression on Zhu Yongxing and had some reservations about Wu Zisheng's suggestion of making some adjustments.

  "Under the circumstances, it can't be helped." Wu Zisheng, Marquis of Huairen, was displeased in his heart, but Chen Sheng was not one of his own generals, and he didn't want to reprimand him harshly, so he said tactfully: "Tomorrow when we meet, our etiquette and rules will be complete, and it's also a difficult journey to get here. Your Highness should know that we are loyal and won't judge people by appearances."

  The matter having reached this point, the various generals either had differing opinions in their hearts or had nothing to say, and all obeyed orders and left, each going off to make arrangements. Among them, Chen Sheng was the most active in urging people on, but of course there is no need to go into details.