Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 251 General trend

Wang Deren walked out of the government office in a restless mood, looking at the deep night. The personal soldiers who accompanied him held torches in their hands, and the light of the fire shone on everyone's faces, which seemed gloomy. Wang Deren had a bad premonition in his heart. If he really tore Meng Hong into pieces, he would probably die from this punishment in the future!

Amid the puzzled looks of his personal soldiers, Wang Deren did not mount his horse. Instead, he led the horse and walked slowly. After walking for a while, Wang Deren whispered something to his trusted guard. The guard nodded to show that he understood, and then retreated. After a while, he made an excuse to his colleagues beside him that he had to pee, and ran away in the cover of night.

Wang Deren slowly came to the east city gate. The one guarding the gate was Xu Guang, Jin Shenghuan's confidant. Xu Guang looked at Wang Deren in surprise and asked, "General Wang, are you going to leave the city?"

Wang Deren hummed absentmindedly. Seeing this, Xu Guang said hesitantly, "General Wang, the city gates are closed late at night. Do you have any orders from the commander-in-chief?"

Wang Deren glanced at Xu Guang and said in a muffled voice: "If I don't have the military order from the Marshal, I'm sick. Why would I leave the city in the middle of the night without sleeping?" Then he threw a military order with Jin Shenghuan's personal seal over to him. Xu Guang picked it up and took a look. He was still a little hesitant. After all, opening the city gate late at night was a big deal. If there was any mistake, he would be afraid of being convicted.

Seeing Xu Guang's hesitation, Wang Deren said, "Then you can send someone to ask the commander-in-chief to verify the authenticity. I'm not in a hurry, take your time!"

When Xu Guang heard Wang Deren say this, he carefully checked the military order again and found that there should be no problem. He immediately said with a smile: "General, you are joking. General Wang is the commander's confidant and beloved general. How dare I not believe it? Besides, there is no problem with the military order to mobilize troops. General, wait a moment. I will open the door!"

Afterwards, Xu Guang hurriedly ordered the defenders to open the city gate. Wang Deren didn't even look at Xu Guang. After walking for so long, he was a little tired. Wang Deren jumped on his horse, rode out of the city gate, and galloped towards the camp.

As soon as Wang Deren arrived at the military camp, he ordered his trusted subordinates to select 2,000 elite soldiers and strictly ordered them to choose old subordinates instead of new recruits.

After finishing the work, Wang Deren felt sleepy, so he lay down in the military tent to rest. When the sky was slightly bright, he heard footsteps. As the curtain was opened, Wang Deren woke up suddenly. Seeing that it was the personal guard Wang An, Wang Deren asked in a bad tone, "What's the matter?"

Wang An lowered his head and replied: "General, it's General Zhang and General Hu who are here!"

Wang Deren immediately sat up, stood up, and whispered, "Please come in quickly, and take someone to patrol outside the tent, and don't let anyone peek in!"

"Yes, General." Wang An was about to turn around and leave, but Wang Deren called him again and whispered two instructions to him. Wang An remained calm and nodded firmly to Wang Deren in response.

After a while, Zhang Yingwei and Hu Zhan came in one after the other. They were not wearing armor, but ordinary clothes and wide-brimmed hats. As soon as they entered the tent, Zhang Yingwei was the first to speak: "Deren, what's the matter that's so urgent that you have to call us in the middle of the night?"

"event!"

Hu Zhan nodded and said, "I know it must be a big deal, otherwise why would you rush to see me in the middle of the night?"

Seeing the two of them sitting down, Wang Deren took a gulp of last night's cold tea and whispered, "The commander-in-chief ordered me to lead the troops into the city to surround and kill the special envoy of King Zhou!"

Hu Zhan and Zhang Yingwei looked at each other. Zhang Yingwei asked in confusion, "What's the point of killing such an old man? Besides, there are less than a hundred guards around old man Meng. Is it necessary to mobilize troops?"

"The commander-in-chief was afraid that his generals might have ulterior motives, so he ordered me to dispatch troops into the city, kill their guards, and then cut the King of Zhou's envoy into five pieces to intimidate the other generals!" Wang Deren responded with some annoyance.

Hu Zhan hesitated for a moment before saying, "If we kill the envoy and use such a cruel punishment as being torn apart by five horses, I'm afraid the King of Zhou will be furious. So... it's better to persuade the commander-in-chief to drive the envoy away. Why offend the King of Zhou?"

Wang Deren shook his head and said slowly: "I have advised them. The commander said that the generals have evil intentions. Killing the envoy is a desperate move. We should unite our efforts and make sure that the generals dare not have any dissenting thoughts."

Zhang Yingwei was a little puzzled at this time and said: "The Marshal was still sighing yesterday, how come he wanted to kill the envoy in just half a day?"

"The Marshal has received news that Li Chengdong will lead his troops personally to rescue Nanchang. Alas!" After saying this, Wang Deren sighed unconsciously.

For a moment, the tent was a bit dull and no one spoke. After about half a cup of tea, Hu Zhan broke the silence and said, "I think it would be better to let someone leak the news to the envoy and let him escape from Nanchang City."

As soon as Hu Zhan finished speaking, Wang Deren refuted: "It's too late. The army will enter the city at daybreak. Besides, there are spies all around the posthouse, and one of them must be the commander-in-chief."

Hu Zhan said in a deep voice: "Deren, tell me straight, what do you want to do by calling us here late at night? You can't just let us listen to your complaints!"

Wang Deren opened his lips and said hesitantly: "The commander's order is deeply inappropriate. King Zhou and I are all generals of the imperial court. How can we fight against each other in the same family, ..."

Before Wang Deren finished speaking, he was interrupted by Zhang Yingwei, who said impatiently: "Alright, alright, Wang Zamao, stop talking in fancy words. What are you talking about? Internal strife, the battle of Nanling City was so fierce that the world was in chaos. What are you talking about? Just say what you want to say!"

At this critical moment, Wang Deren didn't care about Zhang Yingwei calling him by his nickname. Wang Deren took a deep look at the two of them, and then whispered, "The situation is over now. Zhou Wanghu has occupied Jiangnan. After the battle of Nanling City, their situation is comparable to the battle when Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang defeated Chen Youliang. If we kill the envoy and cut off our retreat, I'm afraid it will be our turn to suffer this torture in the future, so I intend to surrender to Zhou!"

After saying this, Zhang Yingwei and Hu Zhan did not seem surprised. Although Nanling City suffered heavy losses in the defeat, it was still not as shocking as the Shangrao defenders who surrendered. The two looked at each other, and Hu Zhan said in a dull tone: "What about the Marshal? The Marshal is quite good to me, Hu. I can't do that to him!"

Wang Deren was delighted to see that the two did not object. When he heard Hu Zhan's concerns about Jin Shenghuan's safety, he thought about it and asked in a questioning tone, "How about we not kill the commander-in-chief but imprison him?"

Zhang Yingwei was furious when he heard this: "Bullshit, what are we going to do? If there is a slight mistake, the whole family will be killed. How can we be indecisive in such a big matter?"

"Then let's do it. Let's take control of Nanchang City first. We'll talk about the Marshal's matter later!" Wang Deren said viciously.