In Guide Mansion, in Shangqiu City, Xu Dingguo, who had just arrived with his troops, was sitting there, lost in thought.
Even his eyebrows were filled with fear.
Continuous heavy rains forced him to temporarily stay in Shangqiu, but the unfavorable weather only caused his plans to march to suppress bandits to be postponed for the time being. What really frightened him was the series of news he had just received.
Every one of them left him in disbelief.
Hong Chengchou, who was directly under the direct control of the governor of the three provinces of Henan and Shandong, a bachelor, the right deputy censor of the Ministry of War, and the title of Marquis of Nan'an, had secretly communicated with the Ming Dynasty for a long time. Even now, the Emperor of Tomorrow has issued an edict to the world, saying that Hong Chengchou was basically dead after the defeat of Songjin.
He never really surrendered to the Tatars, he just endured the humiliation and lurked in the enemy camp.
Now, he has finally returned to the Ming Dynasty, just like the former governor Yan Wo Gong of the Five Jiangnan Provinces.
When he saw this news, Xu Dingguo was confused.
Before he left Beijing, he made a special trip to meet with his new boss in Beijing. At that time, Hong Chengchou could not tell that he was actually a spy. He even made many arrangements for him and Liu Zeqing, always emphasizing the need to stabilize the Central Plains and reverse the decline.
To completely destroy Can Ming.
But now Hong Chengchou is a latent spy.
Liu Zeqing is actually like this too.
When Hong Chengchou arrived in Cangzhou, he couldn't wait to rebel. He united with his old troops to seize Cangzhou, attacked Hejian, and even blocked the entrance of Dagu.
Liu Zeqing sent his confidants Li Huajing and others to recruit local villagers to rebel in Caozhou.
But they were unlucky when the Yellow River burst suddenly, and their plan was disrupted. The offensive of Li Huajing and others was blocked, and Liu Zeqing was caught in Jinan and skinned.
Today, Xu Dingguo felt that something was wrong with the way he was looked at in Guide City.
In fact, he was his brother, and he even came to ask him about his situation, thinking that Xu Dingguo was hiding it from him.
What are you hiding from him?
Naturally, he thought that like Hong Chengchou and Liu Zeqing, he had already revealed secretly that he came out of Beijing this time to seize the opportunity to seize Henan and offer it to the Ming Dynasty.
After all, Hong Chengchou and Liu Zeqing had rebelled against him, and Xu Dingguo had also been a wise general before, so there was no reason to be different from them.
Even his own brother is so suspicious, so you know why everyone looks at him so strangely now.
Xu Dingguo felt uncomfortable in his heart.
He even doubted it himself.
Indeed, no one believes him now that he is loyal to the Qing Dynasty.
Among Yan Wogong, Hong Chengchou, Tu Guobao, Liu Zeqing, Liu Liangzuo, Zhang Tianlu, and Li Chengdong, which one was worse than Xu Dingguo in the past?
People are rebelling one after another, why would you remain loyal?
Now the Duke of Lu and the Admiral of Henan, Xu Dingguo, want to jump and scold his mother, but they are so angry that it is difficult to get up.
Even if he scolded Hong Chengchou and Liu Zeqing and Zhu Yihai in front of everyone in Shangqiu City, would anyone believe him?
Just now, another confidant came over and asked him what his plans were and why he hid it from his brothers.
Even judging by the tone and expressions of these guys, they seemed to be quite active and happy to have rebelled against the Qing Dynasty and surrendered to the Ming Dynasty.
That's right, it is no better than last year. Although the difference is only more than a year, the situation has changed drastically. The Ming army not only stabilized the south of the Yangtze River, but also had the possibility of a northern expedition to restore the Central Plains and drive the Tatars out of the country again.
This is not impossible.
Just like before, Li Zicheng was like a prairie fire. He invaded Beijing at once, but didn't he quickly retreat all the way and eventually die in Jiugong Mountain?
After the Tatars entered the customs, they followed suit and fought all the way to Hangzhou.
But it has only been a year, but it has already been defeated on all fronts and is losing ground.
It is very possible that the Tatars will be driven back outside the customs.
Xu Dingguo thought it was very possible, and his generals even more so. These people were originally military leaders in troubled times, and they were swayed by the wind, and they had no loyalty at all.
I just feel that now that the Ming Dynasty has gained power again and returned to Henan, it is natural for everyone to vote for the Ming Dynasty. Brother, if you vote for the Ming Dynasty, there is no need to secretly carry the brothers behind your back. Just tell everyone directly that we will naturally advance and retreat together.
Facing these guys, what else can Xu Dingguo say?
Could he still shout, call the servants, push these guys out and chop them all, saying that they are disloyal and treasonous?
Even if he really screams, the servants probably won't kill them, because these are his most trusted generals, and some of them are even the heads of servants.
It's very possible that these guys will join forces and chop him down.
There were too many such things in the late Ming Dynasty.
Xu Dingguo could only appease these brothers first, and then stay alone in this mess.
There is not much time left for him.
The brothers' overflowing emotions, as well as the suspicious eyes of Shangqiu City officials now, made him unable to get off the tiger.
Xu Dingguo called his brother.
At this time, Xu Dingguo had actually been fighting for half his life, and half of his body had long been buried in the loess. He was seventy years old this year, and his hair was all gray.
Originally, at this age, it would be good for him to stay in Beijing and be cared for.
But the Tatars gave him a Duke of Lu and an admiral of Henan, so he eagerly went south again, thinking that Henan was also considered as the rear, and he could go south to earn a piece of land for the Xu family and earn more money. Who would have thought that...
These bad things will happen.
"Brother, you need to make a decision early," Xu Dingguo's brother Xu Anguo said immediately as soon as he came in, "Liu Zeqing has been arrested and killed, and he was skinned and killed. He died miserably. Hundreds of his brothers, nephews, and servants were beheaded.
, If it weren’t for the river bursting, the Eight Banners might have arrived long ago.”
Xu Dingguo wanted to tell his brothers that I had never had any secret relationship with the Ming Dynasty, nor had I ever thought about surrendering to the Ming Dynasty.
But Xu Anguo had long believed that his eldest brother's trip to Beijing was planned in advance with Hong Chengchou and Liu Zeqing. Hong Chengchou was rebelling in Beijing, Liu Zeqing was rebelling in Shandong, and Xu Dingguo was rebelling in Henan.
Now that both of them have rebelled, it will be too late if they don't.
"Brother, don't worry. All the brothers have been with me for many years. I have talked with everyone and they are all willing to follow me to the death.
As long as the elder brother says a word, the brothers will take action. First, they will block the four gates of Shangqiu City, then kill all the Tatar dog officials in the city, and then raid all the big gentry households that surrendered to the Qing Dynasty. They will reward the brothers and then recruit troops.
.”
"By the way, Fatty Wang and Xu Zhongyi from Yongcheng, they just won the battle. I heard that Xu Zhongyi is also the senior brother of the Red Spear Club in Yongcheng. He is very famous not only in Yongcheng, but also in the entire Guide Mansion.
Boss, he is now the adopted son of the eldest brother, so he can use the name of the Red Spear Club to recruit soldiers and recruit people from the Red Spear Club into our military camp."
"Capture Shangqiu, turn around and capture Suizhou, then let's go north, capture Kaifeng and capture Luoyang!"
"This Yellow River Battle is a good opportunity for us. It can isolate the Tatars in Shandong and Beizhi. As long as we defend Guide and block the Tatars in Xu and Ying."
"Although there is Tu Lai in Xuzhou and Tan Tai in Yingzhou, I don't think there is anything to worry about. I heard that the Ming army in Huainan has already occupied Luzhou, Fengyang, Huai'an, Haizhou, and Shouzhou. The Ming army has already entered Huainan.
So, as long as the eldest brother quickly sends people to contact Zhang Guowei, Huang Daozhou and the others in the south, and then attack with the imperial camps of Wang Zhiren, Wang Xiang, and Zheng Zunqian, they will be able to annihilate these Tatars, or at least trap them to death.
Xu, Ying."
"We are just about to sweep across the Central Plains and take all the land in Henan."
Seeing what Xu Anguo said was so drooling, Xu Dingguo wanted to say that I had no affair with the Ming army at all, and I had no way of contacting them.
But he couldn't say this.
Xu Anguo probably didn’t believe it either.
Of course, more importantly, denying it now would do him no good.
After all, the soldiers below all felt that he had communicated privately with the Ming Dynasty and had secretly surrendered to the Ming Dynasty, and they were also willing to surrender to the Ming Dynasty. If you now say that you have not surrendered to the Ming Dynasty, what will be the result?
When Xu Dingguo was almost seventy years old, he was still able to host a banquet for Gao Jie in Suizhou and then ambushed him, which fully shows that he was a ruthless man.
Having spent his entire life in the military, he knew very well that the general trend was irreversible.
What's more, in the current situation, if the yellow mud falls off the crotch, it is either feces or feces. It is impossible to explain, and no one will believe it.
Just as his brother Anguo said, the Eight Banners of the Tatars are probably on their way here. He can't just sit here and defend himself when the time comes, right?
Will the Tatars believe it?
I'm just afraid that I will end up like Liu Zeqing, peeling off the last straw.
"Brother is worried about Er An'erji and the others?"
Xu Er'an and Xu Erji are both sons of Xu Dingguo. Now they all serve in the army of Prince Su Hauge with the rank of general in the westward expedition to Hanzhong.
Xu Dingguo’s family members and grandchildren are still in Beijing.
Xu Anguo's children and grandchildren were also in Beijing, but he still urged his brother to start an army.
"Brother, the arrow is on the string and must be fired. There is no use hesitating at this time. Liu Zeqing has only a piece of human skin left to dry in the Jinan Tower."
Xu Dingguo couldn't explain that he had never thought of rebelling, so it was naturally impossible to make any other arrangements in advance. Now that his family, children and grandchildren are all in the hands of the Qing court, it is embarrassing.
But Xu Anguo believed that even if his family members were in Tatar hands, he would still rebel.
If you don't rebel, your whole family will die. If you rebel, a few will survive.
"Brother, don't hesitate!"
Xu Dingguo sighed.
When he was young, Xu Dingguo was extremely powerful and could lift a big bronze bell, so he was called Xu Qianjin. But now he is seventy years old, and at the age when he is having fun with his grandson, he wanted to make a fortune, but now he has to ruin his family.
Dead clan.
But what my brother said is right. If you don't go against it, it won't matter. What will happen to Liu Zeqing?
At this point I finally made up my mind.
He spoke slowly,
"Previously Chen Qianfu promoted officials for Kaifeng. After Li Zicheng defeated Kaifeng, Henan prefectures and counties were in despair. The king of Zhou and local officials fled one after another. However, Chen Qianfu went to Xiping Village alone and persuaded Liu Hongqi, the largest native leader in Henan, to recruit him.
He led his men and horses to contact the local village in Henan and served the King of Zhou to fight against the thieves.
After Li Zicheng's defeat, Nanjing appointed Chen Qianfu as the patrol commander of Henan Province. Chen Qianfu personally joined our army. He led his army with Liu Hongqi and others to recover the land hundreds of miles along the Yellow River from Kaifeng to Guide. Nanjing therefore named him the censor of the Henan Dao Supervisory Army and also the supervisor.
military,"
"In the Suizhou mutiny, I killed the thief Gao Jie and sent Chen Qianfu away personally. After returning to Nanjing, he was implicated in the child concubine case and imprisoned. When Nanjing was destroyed, he fled back to Shaoxing. Later, Emperor Shao launched an army. Now, as a minister of the Prime Minister's Office, he
He is the co-organizer of the Grand Master, the Minister of Dali Temple and the General Staff Officer of the Royal Camp, and is deeply trusted by the emperor. He has written secret letters to me many times, recalling the past, and invited me to return to the Ming Dynasty for my righteousness."
Chen Qianfu did work together with Xu Dingguo and supervised his army, but Chen Qianfu always believed that Xu Dingguo was not trustworthy and could not be reused, so he wanted Xu Dingguo to plot against him. The subsequent events in Suizhou also showed that Chen Qianfu was not wrong about Xu Dingguo.
After the Suizhou Incident, Xu Dingguo wanted to keep Chen Qianfu with him and surrender to the Qing Dynasty, but Chen Qianfu firmly refused. He also did not kill Chen Qianfu and sent him away. After that, the two went their separate ways.
Now Chen Qianfu has become an important minister of Emperor Shaotian, and Xu Dingguo has become a rat in the bellows, no longer a human being inside or outside.
Chen Qianfu did often contact him secretly before, recruiting him anyway, but at that time Xu Dingguo was in Beijing and was idle. Although he was dissatisfied with Qing, he could only complain. He had no chance, but he was resentful.
, it is true that he and Chen Qianfu exchanged many secret letters secretly.
Now that this matter is revealed, it can be regarded as proof that Xu Dingguo has already changed his mind.
In the name of Chen Qianfu, it is okay to lead his men to rebel now. He can also use the name of Chen Qianfu to contact Zhang Guowei and other Ming troops in the south.
"It turns out that eldest brother was in direct contact with Chen Qianfu, the emperor's important minister. No wonder Hong Chengchou, Liu Zeqing and the others started an uprising and didn't notify eldest brother in advance. Let's hurry up."
"If it's too late, the Tatars will probably come,"
Xu Dingguo could only sigh, "Call the brothers to come and discuss important matters together!"
On that day, Xu Dingguo rebelled against the Qing Dynasty in Shangqiu. He sent troops to kill local officials of the Qing court in the city, then looted the whole city. Then he divided his troops to plunder Suiyang, Haozhou, Tuocheng and other places. He personally led his troops to Kaifeng.
He sent people to cross the Huaihe River to contact Zhang Guowei, the Ming governor. He also appointed Yongping's adopted son Xu Zhongyi as the chief military officer of Guide, and ordered him to recruit more troops to garrison Guide Mansion.
During his march north, he also gave Li Jiyu, the leader of the Dengfeng Tuzhai in Henan Prefecture, the title of Chief Military Officer of Henan, and ordered him to raise troops to seize Luoyang and Ruzhou.
His own banner was to be the Admiral of the Fengtian Northern Expedition to the Central Plains. He led his troops to Kaifeng, appointed his brother Xu Anguo as the chief military officer of Hebei, and crossed the Yellow River to capture the three prefectures of Hebei, Huaiqing, Weihui and Zhangde Prefecture in Henan Province.
He also appointed his adopted son Xu Zhongyi as the commander-in-chief of Guide to guard Guide, and appointed Li Jiyu, the leader of the Tuzhai in western Henan, as the commander-in-chief of Henan Province, allowing him to seize Luoyang and Ruzhou, the capital of Henan.
He even sent an envoy to the Qing Dynasty's Nanyang Commander-in-Chief, conferring him the title of Deputy Admiral of the Camp, and still led the Commander-in-Chief of Nanyang Town.
For Li Huajing and the Yuyuan Army of Liu Zeqing's old troops in Caozhou, Shandong next door, they even sent people there and appointed Li Huajing as the deputy commander of the camp and the commander-in-chief of Caozhou Town. They even gave the Yuyuan army at the junction of Caozhou and Dongchang
Liang Min of the Army was awarded the title of Commander-in-Chief of Dongchang Town and gave them the number of Yuyuan Military Camp.
Anyway, Xu Dingguo doesn't care whether others pay attention to him or not. Even when there is a big flood there, he still can't find anyone. He first distributes official hats everywhere and makes public announcements to the outside world. It seems that he is General Xu in Henan and Shandong provinces.
It's like he has the final say.
He called himself the Admiral of the Central Plains Camp. Those who didn't know it thought that the Imperial Camp of the Ming Dynasty had built a new camp.
Yongcheng.
In Mangdang Mountain, Xu Zhongyi was still busy reorganizing the villages, but Fatty Wang suddenly came to see him.
"Brother, congratulations, you have been promoted again."
"What?"
"You are now the commander-in-chief of Guide Guard."
Fatty Wang took one of Xu Dingguo's servants and gave him a promotion order, telling him that from now on, he would be the chief military officer of Guide Mansion. Xu Junmen asked him to recruit troops quickly, the more the better, in the future the entire Guide
The government was entrusted to him to guard.
Then Fatty Wang will be transferred to serve in front of the Kaifeng Army.
Fatty Wang was also promoted to deputy general, and Xu Dingguo asked him to take his three thousand men there.
"Xu Junmen's uprising is over, and now we are all Ming troops! We are the soldiers and horses of the Ming Dynasty's Northern Expedition in the Central Plains." Fatty Wang told Xu Zhongyi that he didn't care about this drastic change, and accepted it calmly.
On the contrary, when Xu Zhongyi heard the new news, he was stunned for a long time.
How did he become the chief military officer of Guide Town?
Have you become a Ming army?
No, he was originally a Ming army soldier.
He was confused. How could Xu Dingguo act so violently?
"Brother, aren't you happy that you have been promoted to Chief Officer?"
Xu Zhongyi looked at Fatty Wang and then at the servant, "I listen to my foster father!"
