Yuan Kuoyu said: "Master Hou, do you want to send troops now?" Zhu Youdong said: "If Wu Sangui and the others are ready to make a move, we must make a move before them, otherwise we will really wait for the emperor to have an accident, and then we will really be unable to tell." ”

Yuan Kuoyu said: "What Hou Ye said is right, but I think that after Hou Ye arranges this, he should go back to Sichuan to avoid suspicion, and he can also calm people's hearts." Zhu Youdong was puzzled: "What do I avoid?" Yuan Kuoyu said: "The emperor has an accident in Burma, the Hou Ye is close to Yunnan, and the army is close at hand." Did the Hou Ye send troops to avenge the emperor? Or continue to fight against the Manchus? ”

Zhu Youdong was stunned for a moment, and Yuan Kuoyu continued: "Regarding the emperor's accident in Burma, did the Hou Ye know in advance or afterwards? Know in advance why you didn't save the emperor? Afterwards, I knew why he mobilized a large army to attack the Qing army in advance? ”

Zhu Youdong said: "We are attacking the Qing army, is there anything wrong with this?" We were also preparing to attack the Qing army. Yuan Kuoyu said: "Why did Master Hou stay in Kunming for more than ten days and didn't send troops to attack the Qing army?" Why did as soon as he went to attack the Qing army, the news of the emperor's murder came one after another? Did Master Hou say these things clearly? ”

Zhu Youdong also fell into deep thought for a moment, and then asked Yuan Kuoyu, "Then what should I do?" Yuan Kuoyu said: "Hou Ye should return to Sichuan immediately before the news comes." At that time, everything in Yunnan has nothing to do with Hou Ye. Moreover, when the Qing army in Yunnan was wiped out, it could also quickly arrange to attack Huguang and Liangguang. Even if there was news of the emperor's murder at that time, he could also target the Qing army because of profit. ”

Zhu Youdong thought for a moment and said, "But there are still many things to do in Yunnan today, and many of them are not something that an ordinary general can decide." Yuan Kuoyu said: "These are all trivial matters, I know that the Hou Ye is embarrassed by the army of King Jin and others, and how to arrange King Jin in the future." But if Hou Ye returned to Sichuan, it would be convenient for them to reorganize their army by transferring King Jin and others back to Sichuan. If King Jin and the others were in the army, I am afraid that the reorganization of the Hou Ye would not be too smooth. ”

The matter that Yuan Kuoyu said was indeed something that Zhu Youdong had been thinking about. The King of Jin and they have to say that they have contributed to the Ming Dynasty and the Han people. Zhu Youdong didn't want to make any unpleasant things with them at this time. What's more, now King Jin is also full of factions. There are not only the people who surrendered under Sun Kewang, but also the people of Liu Wenxiu, the king of Shu, and the people of the original Ming official army. It would have been painstaking to balance the various ministries, let alone reorganize his army.

Zhu Youdong thought for a while and said: "These things are indeed a bit tricky, if one of them is not handled well, I am afraid it will be another disaster." Yuan Kuoyu said: "It's not just that, if something happens to the emperor, no one in the world will continue to lead the Ming Dynasty, which is also very unfavorable to the Qing Dynasty." Now in the Ming clan, the bloodline of Emperor Chongzhen is basically cut off, so everyone can only look for successors in other side bloodlines. Now that Hou Ye has such an army, as long as Hou Ye ascends to the top and shouts, the world will definitely respond. ”

Of course, Zhu Youdong won't believe anything, he raised his arms and shouted, and the world returned to the heart. But now his own power, which can be said to be the largest force in the world except for the Qing court, still has some appeal. Now that Yuan Kuoyu said it, he immediately said: "It's okay, I want to arrange the affairs of Yunnan first." ”

At this time, Lin Zhuang came in, and Zhu Youdong stopped discussing what happened just now. Zhu Youdong said to Lin Zhuang: "Now that Guo Li loves to help Jiang Chao, it is estimated that Chuxiong Mansion will not be in difficulty." You immediately mobilize your men to contact the scattered Ming troops in Yongchang, Lijiang and Dali Mansion, and ask them to rush to Yao'an Mansion to assemble, and our army is ready to attack the Qing army in a big way. ”

When Lin Zhuang heard that he was going to attack the Qing army, he was immediately very happy, and said with a smile: "Master Hou should have sent troops a long time ago, I have seen that everyone has been a little lax in the past few days, if we don't send troops again, our army will be scattered." ”

Zhu Youdong said: "Okay, you go and arrange it first, and then gather the generals of the army, I have important things to arrange." Prepare yourself, we may have to go back to Sichuan. Lin Zhuang said: "Okay." ”

After everyone arrived, they heard that there was going to be a war, and the generals of the original Restoration Army, such as Hao Yongzhong, Luo Ren, Yang Jiafu and others, were very excited. But some of the people who surrendered before the Ming army were a little worried, after all, they had not broken the shadow left by the Qing army in their hearts.

After Zhu Youdong saw that everyone had arrived, he said: "Now the Qing army still has more than 200,000 army masters stationed in Yunnan, which is an obstacle to the recovery of Yunnan's economy and people's livelihood. ”

Hao Yongzhong is not as afraid of the Qing army as he was in Kuidong now, and immediately said: "Master Hou, there is no need to say so many words. Master Hou, as long as you give an order, we will go to fight the Qing army. Yang Jiafu, Luo Ren and others also coaxed. Zhu Youdong said: "Okay, if you have this confidence, then I'll arrange it." ”

Zhu Youdong saw that everyone was listening carefully, and immediately said: "Luo Ren's Eleventh Army and Li Rubi's Thirteenth Army went south through Xinxingzhou, went straight to Lin'an Mansion, blocked the way for the Qing army to return to Guangxi, and sent troops to defend Guangnan Mansion and Guangxi Mansion. Luo Ren and Li Rubi immediately agreed and took the arrow.

Zhu Youdong said: "The most important thing for you this way is to blockade, as long as you don't let the Qing army return to Guangxi." Luo Ren knew more about how to socialize with the locals, so he took Luo Ren as the main general. Luo Ren and Li Rubi immediately said: "Understood" Zhu Youdong looked at the crowd again and said: "Hao Yongzhong's Tenth Army and Wang Xing's Ninth Army attacked Xinhua Prefecture, Zhenyuan Mansion, Jingdong Mansion, and General Hao Yongzhong was the main general. ”

Hao Yongzhong and Wang Xing both agreed loudly, and then received the arrow. Zhu Youdong said: "This way to attack the Qing army, there must be a lot of bloody battles, and there are many Qing troops everywhere. General Qin Yiming of the white pole soldiers, General Ma Wannian. Hearing that Zhu Youdong ordered his life, Qin Yiming and Ma Wannian immediately stood up and said, "The last general." ”

Zhu Youdong said: "In the mountains, the world must count the white pole soldiers as strong soldiers, so we have to let the two generals go with General Hao Yongzhong." Qin Yiming and Ma Wannian both clasped their fists and said: "The last general will take the order." ”

Zhu Youdong glanced at Ma Weixing again, did not make arrangements, and said to everyone: "Daniel Zhang, you take the six thousand cavalry of your headquarters and rush to Chuxiong Mansion, and when Jiang Chao and others capture Chuxiong, you and Guo Li Ai will rush to Yao'an Mansion, and together with Liu Yingnan of Yao'an Mansion, they will march to Dali Mansion, Menghua Mansion and Shunning Mansion together." ”

After everyone understood their own opinions, Zhu Youdong said: "This is the first major war after the reorganization of our army, and I hope that all units will fight bravely to kill the enemy, so as to annihilate the enemy in Yunnan and not give them any chance to escape back to the Central Plains." The generals present all agreed in unison.

Zhu Youdong was also very satisfied when he saw this, at least now the general's fighting spirit is very high. Zhu Youdong looked at Ma Weixing, who had no combat mission, and said: "Ma Weixing, your 12th Army, set off immediately, go to Chuxiong Mansion, join Jiang Chao's army, and then go to Beishengzhou, Heqing Mansion and Lijiang Mansion." There are a large number of Ming troops scattered around there, and you have to gather them. ”

Ma Weixing saw that he finally nodded himself, and immediately said: "Don't worry, Master Hou, I will definitely gather all the scattered Ming troops." "These people used to be the princes and marquis of the Ming Dynasty, but they were the ones who surrendered to the Qing army. Now that the army has been reorganized, there is still a stand for the Duke of State in front of Zhu Youdong. Seeing that Zhu Youdong didn't mention it, they were embarrassed to mention those titles again.

Zhu Youdong said: "Since everyone understands their respective tasks, I hope that everyone will work together to contribute to the great cause of resisting the Qing Dynasty and help each other to rescue." If someone still only cares about the one-third of an acre of land in front of them and fights for themselves, I, Zhu, first explained that such a person is not allowed in our Restoration Army. I don't care what grievances you have before, what festivals you have. Since they are all members of my Restoration Army now, I, Zhu Youdong, treat everyone sincerely, if I find out about tearing each other down, don't blame me for not being merciful. ”

When everyone heard this, their hearts immediately sank, and they immediately said in unison: "I will also contribute to the Ming Dynasty, and I will never dare to disobey the orders of the Hou Ye." Zhu Youdong said: "Okay, I hope you all do what you say, and I, Zhu, will never treat everyone badly." ”

Zhu Youdong looked at everyone again, and then said: "I am about to return to Sichuan, and after I leave, the armies must also cooperate closely. "Everyone present was very strange, at this critical moment of the war with the Qing army, how could a person who was the chief general of the first army suddenly want to return to the rear. But now no one else dared to ask, so they had to agree immediately.

Zhu Youdong said: "Ma Zide returned to the Yunnan Governor Standard Battalion, and recruited the people to form the Governor Standard Battalion of 2,000 people, which was under the control of Yunnan Governor Zhang Zuochen. All the other generals followed me back to Sichuan. The generals who were not named just now, such as Ma Bao, Xia Guoxiang, Wu Guogui and others all got up and agreed.

Then Zhu Youdong said sharply: "In order to boost the morale of the army and to rectify military discipline, tomorrow the whole army will be outside Kunming to observe the execution and execute the Qing army of the Han Army Banner and the Manchurian Eight Banners who committed heinous crimes in Yunnan." Everyone was shocked and shivered in unison. That's more than 30,000 battlefield veterans, basically as long as you have a little training, you are an elite soldier. Zhu Youdong was going to slaughter them all, and the hearts of these generals suddenly set off a storm.

Early the next morning, it was really outside the big west gate of Kunming City, that is, outside the Guangyuan Gate. began to prepare a large number of execution grounds, because there are usually a large number of post stations and inns outside the Guangyuan Gate, and now the movement of the Restoration Army, many people and merchants suddenly came to watch.

But what they didn't expect was that the Restoration Army killed not one or two criminals today. When the sun rose, the city began to take in groups of Qing prisoners, who were all tied in strings of ropes. Behind these captives was the Restoration Army, which was about to go on an expedition.

Under the leadership of their respective generals, the Restoration Army came to the execution ground in an orderly manner. Suddenly, Zhao Shichao stepped forward and said, "The soldiers who are about to go on the expedition come forward to be executed." When these soldiers who were going to go on the expedition heard that what they said yesterday was just to observe the execution, why did it become an execution today, and they couldn't help but panic in their hearts. Many people shouted: "We are on a march, and there are many executioners who carry out executions, and there are not special people to carry out these things?" ”

Many generals also stepped forward to argue with Lin Zhuang, saying, "General Lin, is it a mistake?" Why should we be executed by the army we are going out for? Lin Zhuang said: "This is arranged by the Hou Ye, on the one hand, it is to let you remember the crime of burning, killing and plundering in the place of the Ming Dynasty, and also to give you a warning." Let me tell you, don't forget the military discipline and military regulations of my Restoration Army, otherwise you will be executed at that time. In addition, let some of you understand, don't think that if you surrender, you can be lawless, and don't think about what law is not to blame the public, there are 30,000 elites here, and Hou Ye still doesn't leave any of them, you weigh it yourself. ”

Lin Zhuang saw that everyone was listening, and there were many people and merchants in the distance who were also listening attentively, and An thought: "Master Hou's trick really works, it not only restricts military discipline, but also makes the image of the Restoration Army deeply rooted in the hearts of the people." The Yi people in Yunnan, who were not very cooperative with the Restoration Army before, may not resist cooperating with the Restoration Army. Lin Zhuang saw that the generals were still hesitating, and immediately said angrily: "What? Are you still trying to please your master? Luo Ren, Li Rubi, you two come first. ”

When the generals present heard this, they immediately panicked. They had no intention of surrendering to the Qing army now. But if it is not implemented now, I am afraid that Zhu Youdong will be suspicious. Luo Ren and Li Rubi, who were named, didn't care about anything at the moment, shouted at the soldiers, and lined up to execute the prisoners.

When the people of the Eight Banners of the Han Dynasty who were escorted out saw that they were about to be killed, they all panicked and kept shouting: "The military master of the Ming Dynasty, spare your life, we are Han people, we are Han people." Why do you want to kill us? "But no one paid attention to them on the spot, these reorganized soldiers had been trained by the Restoration Army for ten days. I also have an understanding of the military discipline and military rules in the Restoration Army, although it is not as cruel as the Qing Army, but the Restoration Army has done a great job.

The Restoration Army will not only kill you, but also chase you to your hometown and degrade your family and future generations to the end. In this way, these soldiers have to think carefully. Lin Zhuang's men also rode horses, running back and forth on the execution ground, constantly preaching the sins committed by the Qing army in Yunnan.

Later, these people's voices were also hoarse, and they didn't know who started it, and the Restoration Army present all sang the military discipline song of the Restoration Army. With the high singing, batch after batch of Qing army prisoners were taken out and slaughtered. All the soldiers who were going to go out on the expedition took turns to go here to carry out the execution, and then they left directly.