Just when Dolgon was organizing a southward army in Beijing, He Tengjiao, the governor of Huguang, who was far away in Huguang Changsha Prefecture, breathed a sigh of relief, because the Qing army, which had been chasing him for more than half a year, retreated.

The Qing army occupied Jiangxi last year under the leadership of Tan Tai, the general of the expedition to the south, and in March of the first year of Shenwu, it went up the Jiujiang River and directly took Wuchang. This strong city in the world was defended by He Tengjiao, the governor of Huguang, and Wang Jincai, the commander-in-chief, for less than three days, and after the Manchus occupied Wuchang, they used it as a base and began to capture the surrounding prefectures and counties.

He Tengjiao led the 200,000 troops of the Dashun army that returned to him to fight and retreat, and entered Changsha, the important town of Huguang, in June.

And Tan Tai brought 100,000 Manchu Han and Eight Banners to Changsha in June, saying that he had hit, but in fact, the provinces north of Changsha did not hold out for many days, and Tan Tai's army was basically unimpeded.

He Tengjiao couldn't help it, his subordinates looked at a lot of troops, Li Zicheng brought Li Jin more than 200,000 people, and the general soldier Wang Jincai still had more than 100,000 people. But He Tengjiao knows very well, his number looks large, most of them are newly recruited peasants, and if you want to say that you can have some combat effectiveness, Li Zicheng's old department is not bad, but they have been beaten into frightened birds by the Manchu Qing, and it is good to see that the Manchu banner did not run.

Tan Tai arrived in Changsha and began to attack the city, He Tengjiao relied on the large number of people for the first few days, but on the third day, the troops began to appear unstable. He Tengjiao used all kinds of methods, and it was easy to suppress it.

It was when He Tengjiao couldn't hold on, on July 20, He Tengjiao was woken up early in the morning by the chief soldier Wang Jincai.

"Lord Governor, go out and take a look, the Qing army has retreated!"

He Tengjiao was stunned, he had been lying in his clothes on the city tower for half a month, and when he heard Wang Jincai say this, he quickly got up and went out to see the details.

The situation outside the city was really as Wang Jincai said, the continuous military camps outside the city disappeared overnight, and the Qing army brigade in the distance was more than ten miles away, and it seemed that the troops had retreated. At this time, many soldiers on the city wall saw that the Qing army had retreated, and let out bursts of cheers.

He Tengjiao also sighed, his side could hold out for two days at most, but he didn't expect the Qing army to retreat when the city was broken, God really helped me. However, He Tengjiao was afraid that this was a trick of the Qing army, so he quickly ordered Wang Jincai to send scouts and follow the Qing army behind to see what they were going to do.

At this time, the news of the Qing army's withdrawal reached the city, and the governor of Hunan, Yin Duxi, and other ministers ran up to the city tower.

Seeing He Tengjiao here, Yin Duxi hurriedly came up and asked, "Your Excellency, has the Qing army retreated?" “

He Tengjiao looked back and saw that it was Yin Duxi who came, and said: "Zhong Xuan, it seems that he has retreated, but I don't know if it is a trick of the Qing army!" “

Whether it is a trick or not, it is a good thing that the Qing army has retreated, He Tengjiao hurriedly ordered Wang Jincai and other generals who were defending the city to strengthen the city defense, and the governor Yinduxi and others prepared materials to defend the city, and prepared for the Qing army to return again.

However, the next day, the scouts came with the news that the Qing army had crossed the Boluo River and rushed to the direction of Yueyang.

After receiving the news, He Tengjiao was very puzzled, what is the Qing army doing? Could it be that something is happening in the north? Otherwise, it is completely impossible to retreat with the whole army in the case that Changsha is about to be destroyed.

Governor Yin Duxi was also puzzled, and said: "Your Excellency, is there some mess behind the Manchu Qing that needs to be solved by them?" ”

"This official doesn't know that General Soldier Wang has already sent scouts, and news should come in a few days."

Yin Duxi thought for a while and asked, "My lord, do you see if you can Guangdong... ”

Hearing what Yin Duxi said, He Tengjiao shook his head slowly, he knew that the King of Chu in Guangdong had an army in Ganzhou, Jiangxi, but Ganzhou was separated from Changsha by a heavy mountain, so he couldn't come over at all. What's more, the king of Chu and His Majesty the emperor are not on good terms, and I heard that there was a conflict in Guangxi last year, so it is unlikely that he will send troops to help him.

What's more, He Tengjiao has been the governor of Huguang and has been in Wuchang for many years, so he has heard of the rogue Chu King Zhu Hongsan. This guy is young and ruthless, and he is definitely a capricious villain. His own side is in such a critical situation, if he doesn't come up to take advantage of it, even if it's good, where can he send troops to help him.

"Zhong Xuan, don't guess, the news will come in a few days."

He Tengjiao was right, and the news came after ten days. Tan Tai led the Qing army to retreat to Wuchang in one go, giving up a large area of land. The news of the Manchu retreat also reached Changsha, and it turned out that it was Jin Shenghuan of Jiangxi and Li Chengdong of Fujian who raised troops and returned to Emperor Shenwu of Guangdong.

This news made He Tengjiao stunned for a long time before he reacted, but he didn't expect that the small court of Guangdong Shenwu, which was the weakest in the past, would become a big force comparable to His Majesty Yongli in one fell swoop, even if Jin Shenghuan and Li Chengdong did not have many people, but more than 200,000 should still have it. He Tengjiao is from Donglin, and he knows that Qian Qianyi, the boss of Donglin, is in Guangdong, and Jin Shenghuan has been unclear with the Donglin Party before, and this time it should be Qian Qianyi's credit anyway.

He Tengjiao thought that Qian Qianyi wrote a letter to himself a year ago, asking him to lead the army to Emperor Shenwu, but at that time he politely refused on the grounds that Shenwu's bloodline was remote, but he didn't expect Qian Qianyi to make such a big move now.

Yin Duxi, who was on the side, looked at He Tengjiao and said in a deep voice: "My lord, now that the Qing army has withdrawn to Wuchang, should we send troops to reoccupy the lost territory?" ”

He Tengjiao knew what Yinduxi was doing, and the Yongli Imperial Court did not look at the bias in Guangxi, but the struggle in the court was not inferior to the Shenwu Imperial Court in Guangdong. At that time, it was Yinduxi who vigorously supported the reception of Li Zicheng's remnants, which gave Emperor Yongli a large number of officers and soldiers with actual combat experience, and Yinduxi was also promoted to the governor of Hunan. This made Lu Daqi, Qu Shiyun, and He Tengjiao, who were born in the Lin Party in the Middle Kingdom, very unhappy, and now they heard Yin Duxi say that they also wanted Li Zicheng's people to accept the lost land, how could this be possible.

"Lord Yin, what you said is very reasonable, I will send Zhou Daqi to recover the lost territory!" Zhou Daqi is He Tengjiao's old department, and he can be regarded as a confidant, so it is better to let him go than to expand the strength of Li Zicheng's remaining department.

At the same time, He Tengjiao did not dare to delay, and hurriedly reported the news to the Yongli Emperor who was still in Guilin with a fast horse, of course, the Manchu retreat was also said to be a defeat by his own generals, leaving countless dead bodies and fleeing in embarrassment.

Emperor Yongli's current situation is far better than in history, in history he should have run to Yunnan a long time ago, Guangxi was occupied by Li Chengdong, and Huguang was occupied by Kong Youde. Now because there is Emperor Shenwu in Guangdong, it is quite stable here, and Yongli only needs to pay attention to the Huguang battlefield in the north.

Now there is good news from Huguang, He Tengjiao broke the Qing army in Changsha, and Tan Tai, who was beaten, lost his armor and poured thousands of miles, and ran to Wuchang to rely on the Yangtze River to defend it, and the vast territory of Huzhou was recovered, how could this not make Yongli Emperor Zhu Youlang excited. In fact, Zhu Youlang is similar to Hongguang Emperor Zhu Yousong, and he is not a man of great talent. If these two become emperors in a peaceful era, Zhu Yousong will be the second Longqing, and Zhu Youlang is a second Zhu Youzhang because he is stronger than him.

Now that he heard that his safety was guaranteed, Zhu Youlang was overjoyed and said to his grass platform: "Mr. Ding, what do you think of this matter?" ”

Zhu Youlang's cabinet chief assistant is Ding Kuichu, and the members include Lu Daqi, Qu Shiyun, He Tengjiao, etc. However, Ding Kuichu is not a member of the Donglin Party, and he was very unhappy when he saw He Tengjiao, a member of the Donglin Party, and now he heard the emperor ask himself, so he hurriedly came out to answer.

"Your Majesty, now the military situation on the front line is unknown, Governor He was beaten by the Qing army in half a year, and now he suddenly said that the Qing army was defeated, and the minister really can't believe it!"

Lu Daqi and Qu Shiyun are both members of the Donglin Party, and Qu Shiyun is a student of Qian Qianyi, and now listening to Ding Kuichu slandering his own people's merits, how can this work, quickly stand up and distinguish why Tengjiao.

"Your Majesty, there is indeed a military report from the front, which has confirmed that what Governor He said is the truth, and the loss of the number of mansions half a year ago should be Lord He to lure the enemy deeper!"

Ding Kuichu heard Qu Shiyun say this, and sneered: "It's a good way to lure the enemy in, and if you lose thousands of miles of land, it's better not to lure the enemy to Guilin!" ”

Lu Daqi listened to Ding Kuichu's shamelessness, this is completely to turn He Tengjiao's credit into a crime, how can this be done.

Lu Daqi stood up and said: "Lord Ding, no matter what, Lord He defeated the Qing army, and the Qing army retreated to Wuchang, this is a fact!" ”

This is true, Ding Kuichu was dumbfounded by Lu Daqi. Zhu Youlang above can't see that it's so noisy, if according to what Ding Kuichu said, then who will still work in the future, so He Tengjiao must be rewarded.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this time Hu Guangsheng should be rewarded as much as he wants!"

Ding Kuichu saw that the matter could not be stopped, so he quickly stood up and said: "Your Majesty, Henan Governor Yinduxi also has the merit of praising paintings, is it a reward?" ”

In fact, Ding Kuichu and Yinduxi have a general relationship, but their enemies are all Donglin Party, and the enemy's enemy is a friend.

If you have merit, you will be rewarded, Zhu Youlang hurriedly nodded and agreed.

Lu Daqi, who was on the side, saw that Ding Kuichu had the upper hand, and stood up and said: "Your Majesty, now that the rest of Li Zicheng's troops have made meritorious contributions under the leadership of He Tengjiao, can Yungui's Sun Kewang and Li Dingguo's troops also be subdued?" ”

Sun Kewang's messenger stayed in Guilin for almost half a year, but he could not reach a consensus with the imperial court, mainly because he was stuck in the reward for Sun Kewang. Sun Kewang hoped to be crowned king, but how could Emperor Yongli agree to such conditions. Even in history, Yongli was chased by Li Chengdong and was about to eat, and he didn't agree to Sun Kewang, and it was even more impossible to agree at this time.

For the rest of the Great Western Army, the Yongli Imperial Court is divided into two factions, Ding Kuichu absolutely does not agree to give the title, Sun Kewang wants to return to Shun, he must be like the Great Shun Army, only give an official position to finish. However, the Donglin Party such as Lü Daqi and Qu Shiqi wanted to persuade the emperor to agree to Sun Kewang's conditions.