Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 593 Yan Keyi's Crisis

The capital, in the palace city.

When the urgent document, which was delivered eight hundred miles away at full speed, was presented to the emperor, the news of the Annan Rebellion caught Meng Jun off guard. He knew that the Qingluan Guard had been secretly contacting Li Chengdong's subordinates, but Meng Jun did not expect that the effect would be so obvious.

It's just that the timing is not right now, because the war against Batavia is about to break out, and there is an endless stream of ships transporting supplies from the Central Plains to Luzon on the sea. Meng Jun never expected that Li Chengdong would die in a mutiny at this time.

Although the timing was a bit unfortunate, this news was indeed good news for Meng Jun and the Qian Dynasty. If Li Chengdong were still alive, it would be impossible for the Qian Dynasty to send troops to Annan without fighting several bloody and large battles.

Now that Li Chengdong is dead, if the Qian Dynasty thinks carefully, it may be able to control Annan without bloodshed. By then, with Myanmar in the north and Annan in the south, it would be easy for the Qian Dynasty to control Southeast Asia.

But the use of troops is a matter of great importance to the country, so Meng Jun naturally needed to discuss it with his ministers. But as soon as this matter was mentioned in the court, the atmosphere of the morning court, which had been relatively peaceful, suddenly became tense.

Meng Jun glanced at the ministers and said in a deep voice, "A great change has taken place in Annan. Li Chengdong was killed and the situation is turbulent. Yang Dafu, a subordinate of Li Chengdong, led his army south to attack Yan Keyi. Annan's northern defense has been fully mobilized. Han Xiong asked whether to advance. What do you think?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Weitai, the Minister of Revenue, stepped out first and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, the national treasury is now full. If we want to conquer Annan, the money and grain required, as long as the scale does not exceed 50,000 and the opportunity does not exceed three years, the Ministry of Revenue can bear it, and it will not affect people's livelihood."

Among the ministers of the Qian Dynasty, many had objections to attacking other vassal states. Most people believed that the Celestial Empire should win people over with virtue. Therefore, when Meng Jun wanted to attack Myanmar in the past, there was widespread opposition. However, this time, before Meng Jun even said he would send troops to attack Annan, surprisingly, not many ministers opposed it.

One of the reasons may be that Annan was once a place directly under the jurisdiction of the Central Plains, and Li Chengdong committed murders in Jiangnan. Most of the founding ministers of the Qian Dynasty were born in Jiangnan, and they still had hatred for the forces left by Li Chengdong. Now it is heard that Annan’s northern defense line is gone. If the court wants to use military force, there is indeed no better time than now.

But there were also dissenters, such as the Imperial Academy Scholar Liu Xunchun, who was born in Shaanxi and his hometown had not suffered from the harm caused by Li Chengdong. What he meant was that although Annan was not a vassal state, the Celestial Empire should have a legitimate reason to use military force. Now, if it took advantage of the civil strife in Annan to use military force, it would be criticized by neighboring countries and damage the reputation of the Celestial Empire.

However, all the nobles in the court said that this was a godsend opportunity. Li Chengdong's old subordinates were in internal strife and their defenses were empty. If they sent troops at this time, they would be able to pacify Annan in one fell swoop, expand their territory, and enhance the prestige of our dynasty.

The majority of the officials in the court were in favor of sending troops, but they did not know that Meng Jun had already decided to use troops in Batavia. Therefore, even if he took action against Annan, he would not mobilize a large army and could only use Han Xiong's troops stationed in Guangdong and Guangxi.

Meng Jun listened quietly to the ministers' discussions, weighing the pros and cons in his mind, but it was impossible not to seize the opportunity now that it had come.

Therefore, after leaving the court, Meng Jun issued an edict, ordering the Hanlin Academy to write a manifesto, denouncing Li Chengdong's ten major crimes. Although Li Chengdong is dead now, it does not prevent the court from attacking Annan in this name.

The talented scholars of the Hanlin Academy wrote eloquent manifestos, "It is said that the heaven and earth have righteousness, and the moral principles establish human relations. Those who rebel will be punished by heaven, and those who are loyal and righteous will be recorded in history forever.

Li Chengdong has committed numerous evils that have infuriated both God and man. His crimes are too numerous to count. I have specially listed his ten major crimes to inform the world.

His first crime was murdering his master and usurping the throne. During the early Ming Dynasty, although the country's fortunes were in decline, the orthodox tradition still existed. Li Chengdong was so ambitious that he drew his sword and murdered two emperors. This was a destruction of the ancestral temple, and his crime was unforgivable.

His second crime was that the Jiangnan area was rich in natural resources, but Li Chengdong led his army to wreak havoc there, burning, killing, looting, and slaughtering countless gentry and civilians. The prosperous towns were reduced to ruins in an instant, and the beautiful mountains and rivers were stained with the blood of the common people.

His third crime is to oppress the people, forcing them to leave their homes and migrate to Annan, using the suffering of the people to gain fame and fortune for himself, being cruel and tyrannical, and having no humanity…”

After reading the Ten Major Crimes, Meng Jun ordered people to spread the manifesto throughout the country through newspapers. Then Meng Jun ordered people to secretly send a message to Han Xiong, ordering him to gather 60,000 soldiers from Guangdong and Guangxi and march to Annan.

In the secret letter, Meng Jun also told Han Xiong that the court was about to fight a battle with the barbarians in Batavia, and hoped that Han Xiong would try not to delay the use of troops against Annan for too long.

At the same time, Meng Jun instructed Meng Bian to go to Annan in person, wait for an opportunity, win over Zhang Daoying, Luo Chengyao, as well as the subordinates of Yan Keyi and Yang Dafu. As for the rewards, as long as they were not too outrageous, they could be agreed to first and then reported to the court.

As the emperor's edict was issued, one decree after another from the court was sent down to the southwestern provinces, either to mobilize troops, to transport food, or to recruit laborers. Everyone from top to bottom was busy.

.....................

Yan Keyi paced back and forth in Thang Long City, looking extremely anxious. The situation outside the city was becoming increasingly urgent. Yang Dafu's army was approaching step by step like a dark cloud, which made Yan Keyi's life very tormented these days.

"What's going on with Han Xiong! Why hasn't he sent troops yet?" Yan Keyi's eyes were wide open as he yelled at the trembling Qingluan Guard liaison in front of him.

The Qingluan Guard contact had a helpless look on his face, and explained with a wry smile: "General Yan, please be patient. After the court receives the news, they will definitely have to discuss and make a decision. It will also take time to prepare for mobilizing the army."

Yan Keyi slammed the table so hard that the teacups on the table jumped up: "Discuss? Prepare? By the time they have finished discussing and preparing, Shenglong City would have been razed to the ground by Yang Dafu!"

After that, he grabbed the contact person by the collar and almost roared: "Tell those high-ranking gentlemen in the court that if they don't send troops, it doesn't matter if I die. Yang Dafu is a reckless man. Once he seizes Thang Long City, he won't be as easy to talk to as I am!"

The contact was strangled and finally broke free. He straightened his clothes and said, "General, there is no point in being anxious. We can only defend Thang Long City now. I can write another letter and send it to the Korean public as soon as possible to inform him of the crisis here."

Yan Keyi slumped in his chair, his eyes full of unwillingness, and he sighed in his heart. Before, he was still thinking about getting a North Korean example, but now! Forget about the North Korean example or the Burmese example. As long as he can get through the current crisis, any condition will do.

At this moment, the commander of the personal guards rushed in, knelt on one knee and said, "General, the scouts reported that Yang Dafu's vanguard troops are less than a hundred miles away from Thang Long Prefecture, and are expected to be at the gates of the city at noon tomorrow!"

Yan Keyi stood up suddenly, his face gloomy, and said, "So fast! Pass the order, the whole city is under martial law, all soldiers go up to the city to defend, and prepare for battle!"

When his personal guards were leading the message, he looked at the Qingluan Guard contact again, with a little desire in his eyes, and whispered: "You must let Duke Han know that I, Yan Keyi, can't hold on for too long. Please send reinforcements as soon as possible..."