bestfiction Chapter 334 Calm down
Chapter 334 Calm down
In the central army camp.
Meng Jun looked at Gulbuha and Xu Fan with a smile on his face. Meng Jun didn't care too much about the Green Camp soldiers. Since the uprising, he had recruited quite a few Green Camp soldiers, so he could just proceed according to the usual practice.
Only Gulbuha and his 3,000-odd Mongolian cavalry surrendered to the Zhou army. This was the first time that an organized group of the Eight Banners of Mongolia surrendered to the Zhou army, instead of just a few Mongolian soldiers captured on the battlefield before.
The surrender of more than 3,000 Mongolian cavalrymen was like a treasure to Meng Jun, who was already short of cavalrymen. Although this number of cavalrymen was insignificant compared with that of the Qing court, it was a huge cavalry force in the southern land.
Meng Jun stood up, walked slowly to Gulbuha, and helped him up with both hands, saying: "General Gulbuha is very righteous, and he will definitely be the Qibi Heli of our dynasty in the future!"
Although Gulbuha did not understand who Qibi Heli was, he guessed that he should be a good person, and then replied solemnly: "I am willing to die for you, Your Majesty!"
Meng Jun responded with a smile, then helped Xu Fan up and said, "General Xu has abandoned the dark and joined the light, and I will use him."
Xu Fan bowed in fear and trepidation and replied: "I will be loyal and have no second thoughts!"
After Meng Jun comforted the two men with a few more words, he allowed them to return to the city and move all the Qing troops out of the city.
Gulbuha was moved by Meng Jun's belief in him and his decision to return to Wuchang. He bid farewell to Meng Jun again and again, and said with tears in his eyes: "Your Majesty trusts me so much. I will definitely protect you like a hound and never betray you."
After Gulbuha left, Huzhan said with some concern: "My king, are these Mongolian soldiers reliable?"
Meng Jun looked at Gulbuha's gradually disappearing figure and said calmly, "Loyalty or not depends on people's hearts. When Dorgon entered the pass in the past, many people surrendered. Why? It was forced by the situation. Even though everyone in the world knows that the invaders are very violent, under their iron hoofs, many cities in Northern Zhili, Central Plains, Shandong, and Jiangnan lost more than a million people. However, the Ming court's officers and soldiers were defeated in every battle. After a long time of defeat, people's hearts were scattered. The Ming Dynasty, with more than 200 years of prestige, could not withstand such a defeat, let alone the newly established Qing court. There were countless people who did not show favor to the world and had different intentions."
Meng Jun actually knew very well in his heart that human hearts cannot be guessed. As the saying goes, one should observe a person's actions, not his heart. If one observes the heart, no one is perfect. In this world, those who would add icing on the cake will flock to him, but those who would help in times of need are very few. If the Zhou army advances triumphantly all the way, then his subordinates will all be loyal and have no ulterior motives. If they suffer repeated defeats or even become devastated, even in that situation, Meng Jun believes that there will definitely be people who are willing to share life and death with him, but there will also definitely be people who will jump off the ship when the ship is in danger.
After leaving the camp, Gulbuha asked Xu Fan in confusion: "Who is Qibi Heli?"
Xu Fan thought for a moment and said, "Judging from the name, he should not be a Han Chinese."
Gulbuha cursed upon hearing this: "Nonsense, how could I not know that this name is not Chinese? I want to know who this person is and what he does?"
"do not know"
It was not until he returned to Wuchang City and found a teacher in the city that he learned who Qibi Heli was and what King Zhou's intention was in comparing him with himself.
Qibi Heli, a member of the Tiele tribe, led more than a thousand people to return to the Tang Dynasty. He fought in hundreds of battles and made many achievements. He participated in the battle of Tuyuhun and attacked Gaochang. He also led the troops to defeat Goguryeo and pacify Qiuci. After the nine Tiele tribes in northern Mobei rebelled against the Tang Dynasty, he personally led light cavalry into the nine tribes, persuaded their people, captured and killed the rebel chief, and the nine Tiele tribes were thus pacified. After the death of Emperor Taizong of Tang, Qibi Heli wanted to draw his sword and commit suicide, but was stopped by the guards beside him.
After listening to this, Gulbuha said to Xu Fan with some understanding: "I understand what the prince means. The prince wants me to be loyal, just like this Qibi Heli, and make supreme contributions to the prince."
Xu Fan thought about it, shook his head, and said, "No, I heard a hint of the prince's hidden meaning!"
Seeing that Gulbuha looked confused, Xu Fan asked, "Who is Emperor Taizong of Tang?"
"Han Emperor"
"Isn't it very obvious? Your Highness used Qibi Heli to compare General Gul. Then who is Emperor Taizong of Tang? It's Your Highness himself. What does this mean? Do you know?" Xu Fan explained to Gulbuha seriously.
Gulbuha said hesitantly, "What does it mean? Does it mean that the prince likes Emperor Taizong of Tang?"
Upon hearing this, Xu Fan said angrily: "Oh, this shows that the prince wants to be emperor!"
"what!"
Seeing Gulbuha's incredulous look, Xu Fan said confidently: "This must be the prince's hint to us to submit a petition to persuade him to ascend the throne! Since ancient times, the greatest merit, such as governing the country and annihilating the enemy, is not as good as the merit of following the dragon and the merit of making plans!"
(Meng Jun: I just read history books from time to time, and it just so happened that Gulbuha's surrender and Qibi Heli had some similarities, so I just said that, how could I interpret it like this!!)
.....................
Hauge watched Zhou's army line up on the opposite bank, but for a long time, Zhou's army did not launch an attack. It was not until the Qing flag on the top of Wuchang City was pulled down and thrown under the city that Hauge realized that when it came to a life-and-death moment, even the Mongols were not so reliable.
Hauge had already been angry. He thought that even if Wuchang City surrendered, it would still resist. Unexpectedly, it surrendered without firing a single arrow. Although he was mentally prepared, Hauge's face was still very ugly.
Leng Sengji advised, "Your Majesty, it's time for the army to move out. Waiting any longer will be useless. The entire army of Wuchang will surely surrender."
After hearing this, Hauge could not help but curse: "They are all cowards and shameless people."
At this time, Leng Sengji advised again: "Your Highness, Gulbuha fled to Wuchang in a hurry, and he didn't prepare any defense equipment. Besides, the Mongolian soldiers are not good at attacking and defending cities, so it's normal for him to surrender. Your Highness, although Gulbuha surrendered, we can send someone to contact him secretly. In the future, when we fight the Meng thieves again, if at the critical moment, Gulbuha suddenly turns against us and rushes straight to the Meng thieves' flag, wouldn't he be sure of victory!"
Haoge was stunned when he heard this, and suddenly felt that what Leng Sengji said made some sense. He nodded imperceptibly and said, "This plan may be feasible. I'll leave it to you to arrange this matter. You must pay attention to secrecy and don't let Meng the thief know!"
Leng Sengji nodded. At this time, cheers and shouts of victory came from the other side of the river, like waves of the sea, one higher than the other, and the sound was enough to shake the heavens and the earth.
"Let's go and let the thief Meng be arrogant for a few more days!" Haoge said hatefully.
As Hauge led his troops to leave Jiangbei, the war in Huguang gradually subsided. The war finally ended with the victory of Zhou's army. The Qing army retreated to the north of the Yangtze River to recuperate and observe the changes in the situation in the south before making a decision.