Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 472: 1 Unification (3)

The news of Wuguan's breach was quickly spread to some interested people, such as those from the Qingluan Guard. This news spread like wildfire throughout Guanzhong in a short period of time.

The subsequent impact of the fall of Wuguan gradually became apparent. Zhou's army's incursion into the Guanzhong Plain directly led to the collapse of Wu Sangui's fragile rule in Guanzhong.

He Jinzhong was unable to defend Xi'an, and the defenders surrendered without a fight. He Jinzhong fled into Sichuan, allowing Lin Shiqi to capture this important town in Guanzhong without bloodshed.

After Lin Shiqi entered Xi'an, he ordered people to post notices to reassure the people and sent troops to maintain order. The lives of the people in the city continued to be normal. Apart from feeling uneasy, there was nothing unusual about the people in the city from the past.

At the end of the Ming Dynasty, people's livelihood in Guanzhong was in decline and the population of Xi'an dropped sharply. However, after Wu Sangui captured Xi'an, he intended to run Xi'an as his base. He Jinzhong fought seldom and governed the country barely. His concept of governing by doing nothing and letting nature take its course actually led to the population gathering in Xi'an again and the revival of business. There were already some signs of peace and prosperity.

Although the current city of Xi'an cannot be compared with the wealthy cities in the south of the Yangtze River, it is still a prosperous city in the northwest of Guanzhong.

Afterwards, Lin Shiqi issued an edict to various places in Guanlong, and with almost no effort, he successively took over Fengxiang, Qingyang, Pingliang, Yan'an and other prefectures.

Most of the garrisons stationed in various places surrendered at the sight of the enemy. For example, Li Sizhong who was stationed in Yan'an Prefecture also changed his flag to Zhou and surrendered to Lin Shiqi.

Lin Shiqi did not have a deep impression of Li Sizhong, but this person's father was Li Ruzhen, the Tongzhi of Taiyuan in the Ming Dynasty. Li Ruzhen was the nephew of the famous Li Chengliang of Liaodong.

Lin Shiqi said to his deputy general Song Wuque helplessly: "Everyone says that Lü Bu changed his master three times, which is criticized. But in today's situation, many people have more than three surnames. For example, Li Sizhong first served the Ming Dynasty, then surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, then surrendered to Wu, and finally surrendered to us. I can't do anything about this fickle person!"

Song Wuque laughed and said, "Most people in this world are like fallen leaves in autumn, they can only move with the wind. Marshal, why should you think too much about it?"

After the Zhou army took control of Xi'an, by the end of the month, it had basically controlled Guanzhong. Zhao Yongping's troops also gathered in Xi'an. The Zhou army gathered and eyed Hanzhong covetously.

When Wu Sangui in Kunming heard that Guanzhong was lost, he was furious and wanted to turn back with all his troops to retake Guanzhong. However, the generals had heard rumors that the prince's confidant Fang Guangchen had gone to Beijing to discuss the treatment of surrender with King Zhou. This news spread secretly, and the morale of many generals of the Wu army was lost.

Moreover, there were already more than 200,000 Zhou troops gathered in Guanzhong. Under such circumstances, there would definitely be no good results if they went there. Therefore, all the generals disagreed to go to Guanzhong and tried to persuade Wu Sangui.

Although Wu Sangui was angry, he knew that he could not take back Guanzhong now. However, since Guanzhong had been lost, he could not lose Sichuan at all. Wu Sangui then ordered Sun Wenhuan and Hu Guozhu to lead 20,000 troops to return to Sichuan to provide support.

Now, although Wu Sangui was still confronting Li Dingguo, he no longer had the intention to launch an attack.

…………

At this time, Fang Guangchen had already arrived in Beijing. Wu Sangui wanted to surrender, which was a big deal. Therefore, officials at all levels did not dare to delay at all and immediately reported to Meng Jun.

Although Wu Sangui has a bad reputation now, he is still a little better than he was after he killed Yongli. His surrender caused a lot of discussion among many officials in the shogunate, but most people were happy to see his surrender. To defeat the enemy without fighting is the best strategy!

The matter involved a major event and attracted everyone's attention. Meng Jun reported the matter to the emperor the day after Fang Guangchen arrived.

After Fang Guangchen paid his respects, Meng Junfang asked, "Now that Wu Sangui still controls the southwestern areas of Sichuan, why did he surrender?"

Fang Guangchen replied: "The situation in the world is clear. The trend of the king's unification cannot be reversed. As the saying goes, wise men follow the trend, while fools go against it. Moreover, the world has been in turmoil for decades, and the people are eager for peace. How dare my lord go against the will of heaven!"

In fact, Meng Jun was a little hesitant about the placement of Wu Sangui. If he could have caught Wu Sangui when he first started the rebellion, there would be no need to say more and he would have just pushed him down and killed him. But now, after many years of governing, Meng Jun has become much more mature. As a ruler, one should not act recklessly because of his likes and dislikes.

If they don't accept surrender, it means they won't give Wu Sangui a chance to live, and he will have to fight Zhou's army to the death. Not to mention the loss of money, food and supplies, casualties among soldiers will certainly be inevitable.

Meng Jun pondered for a moment before slowly saying, "It is a blessing for the world that Pingxi Bo wants to return to his loyalty. What do you want?"

Fang Guangchen bowed and replied: "I only hope that the world will stop fighting, and I beg that the warriors under my command and their families will be granted the full registration by the grace of heaven."

After saying a few polite words, Fang Guangchen slightly raised his head and glanced at Meng Jun, then said softly: "My lord is loyal to the king and is willing to serve you and recover our territory and expand our borders."

Fang Guangchen understood the meaning of Meng Jun's words just now. Wu Sangui could surrender, but he could forget about the title of king. At most, he would be given the title of Pingxi Marquis, which was just the title of Earl, which was a bit low. However, it was just the beginning. As long as Guanzhong was not lost, he would definitely strive for the title of Duke.

Meng Jun was solemn when he heard this. Wu Sangui wanted to lead his troops, but after a while, he said, "If Wu Gong, the Marquis of Pingxi, can abandon the dark and join the light, I will treat him with courtesy. You and your subordinates should be treated with respect and given official ranks so that they can stay in their positions."

Guangchen heard this and bowed again and again, saying, "Your Majesty is so magnanimous, it is a blessing for the people. There is only one thing that I hope Your Majesty will understand. In the past, my lord was careless and let the barbarians enter the pass. Therefore, my lord does not dare to hope for the title of king. However, His Majesty Anzong once issued an imperial decree to pardon and confer the title of Duke of Ji..."

Meng Jun was silent for a long time after hearing Fang Guangchen's words, and then he said earnestly: "The matter of pacifying Xibo, this king must think carefully and carefully. In terms of his merits and demerits, the rise and fall of a country depends on the use of people."

At this point, Meng Jun suddenly smiled and said, "The envoy is exhausted from the journey. Go down and rest for a few days!"

Fang Guangchen was somewhat unwilling. Now it was a race against time. Once Wuguan or Tongguan was lost, the Zhou army would march straight into Guanzhong. With He Jinzhong's troops in Guanzhong and those surrendered troops with ulterior motives, it would be impossible to stop the Zhou army.

But Fang Guangchen dared not disobey Meng Jun's words, so he could only retreat helplessly and ask to see Meng Jun again tomorrow.

As a result, for two consecutive days, Meng Jun claimed that he was not feeling well and only ordered Meng Hong to warmly entertain Fang Guangchen. However, Fang Guangchen had no mood to go shopping.

On the third day, Meng Jun finally received Lin Shiqi's urgent report from eight hundred miles away, saying that the Zhou army had conquered Wuguan. Lin Shiqi said that they could take Guanzhong in three months at most.

Meng Jun was not delaying for the sake of a title, but if Wu Sangui surrendered without being severely restricted, then Wu Sangui and his subordinates would inevitably form a military group, which would not be a good thing for Meng Jun in the future.