Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 148 Soldiers and Bandits
In the hall, An Hongyou, the commander of the Nanhai Guard, was shocked to hear that Li Juesi, the minister of the previous dynasty, was sick and could not go out. He lowered his head slightly, his eyes flickering.

Even important officials like Li Shangshu were hiding behind, so why should a small commander like him step out?
An Hongyou remained silent. Seeing Zhang Jiayu directly pointed out the matter, Zheng Lin did not care about so many things.
Li Juesi is no longer an official, so he can of course claim to be ill and not go out, but he is the county magistrate in office, and now the imperial guards have rushed into the county government office, so he cannot escape.
Li Juesi had already shrunk. If Zhang Jiayu also fainted on the spot, then the task of rescuing the emperor would probably fall on him in the end. How could a mere county magistrate like him be able to handle such a task?
Zheng Lin's heart tightened when he thought of this, and he said directly
"I have no knowledge of military affairs. What should I do now? Please let Mr. Zhang decide and I will obey."

Everyone in the field looked at Zhang Jiayu when they heard this.
Zhang Jiayu thought for a moment with a gloomy face, then immediately spoke

"The imperial court is now defending Guangzhou, so we should send troops to rescue them now."

Zhang Jiayu made a decision in his heart, and then looked at the Nanhaiwei commander An Hongyou on the left.

"General An, quickly gather the South China Sea guards and prepare to go to the rescue."

When An Hongyou heard this, his expression suddenly changed and he immediately said

"Mr. Zhang, you can't go there."

"Mr. Zhang has been preparing the weapons in Nanhaiwei these days. He is also familiar with the situation in Nanhaiwei. It's not that I am trying to shirk responsibility. Nanhaiwei is really no longer able to fight."

"According to the envoy of the Zheng army, there are nearly 10,000 Qing invaders under the city of Guangzhou, and there are only a thousand soldiers in the prime of life in Weizhong."

"Although these people are called soldiers, they only train a few times a year and have never been in battle."

"Not to mention the huge disparity in numbers between the two armies, even if the numbers of the two armies were equal, the local soldiers of the garrison would probably not be a match for the Eastern Tartars."

"If we take these people to Guangzhou now, I'm afraid they will immediately scatter when they see the Qing invaders."

An Hongyou looked embarrassed. Seeing Zhang Jiayu's face darken, he quickly said

"The Nanhai Guard is short of soldiers. The most important thing now is to gather troops for rescue. I suggest that we go to Huizhou Guard."

"Huizhou is a big city, and I believe Huizhou Wei must have a large army. If we can invite Huizhou's army, we can join forces from both places to rescue Guangzhou."

As soon as An Hongyou finished speaking, before Zhang Jiayu could reply, Zheng Qi on the side spoke in a cold voice.

"Don't even think about Huizhou or Chaozhou. All the gentry in Chaozhou and Huizhou have surrendered to the Qing invaders."

"Even if there are soldiers in Huizhou, they are Qing soldiers. It is precisely because Chaozhou and Huizhou surrendered to the enemy that the Qing soldiers were able to sneak into Guangzhou and attack Your Highness."

Everyone in the field was shocked when they heard this. They looked at Zheng Qi who was silent, and Zheng Lin couldn't help but speak in a trembling voice.

"Has Chaozhou and Huizhou surrendered to the enemy? Why didn't the Zheng envoy say so just now?"

Zheng Qi glanced at the people in the field and said coldly
"What does the decline of the Chaohui River have to do with the rescue? If the Chaohui River is lowered, do you not have to rescue Guangzhou?"

"Besides, if I had said all of them at once, wouldn't there be a few less people in the hall?"

Zheng Qi looked at the stunned people in the hall with a cold expression on his face.
Listening to what Zhang Jiayu and others said just now, just letting these people lead the army to rescue Guangzhou has already scared away a Shangshu of the previous dynasty.

If he had just told these people the news of Chaohui's fall, who knows what they would think when they found out that East Guangdong was lost. He might not even be able to enter the county government office.

Zheng Qi looked at the silent people in the hall, and his heart sank. From what the commander of the Nanhai Guard had just said, the Nanhai Guard had long been abandoned and could not serve as reinforcements to rescue Guangzhou.
Zheng Qi hesitated for a moment, then said

"When we, the messengers, went out of the city to seek help, we received help from the Qing army generals who were loyal to the court, and that's how we were able to escape the Qing blockade."

"According to this general, the Qing army's rear food and fodder are all in Zengcheng. According to this general, if Zengcheng can be captured, the Qing army under Guangzhou will be in chaos."

Zhang Jiayu was originally thinking with his head down. When he heard what Zheng Qi said, his eyes immediately lit up and he said

"Can this Qing army general be trusted? Can we be sure that the Qing army's retreat route is in Zengcheng?"

Zheng Qi's expression darkened when he heard this, and he shook his head.
"It's impossible to be sure. Although that person helped us escape, he was a general of the Qing Dynasty after all. We can't tell whether what he said is true or false."

Zhang Jiayu sorted out the information Zheng Qi had just said, and then compared the location of Zengcheng in his memory. He became more and more convinced of what Zheng Qi said, so he spoke directly.

"Zengcheng is on the east side of Guangzhou. If the Qing invaders came from Chaozhou and Huizhou, they would most likely use Zengcheng as a retreat and a place to store grain. So what the Qing invaders said is very likely to be true."

"General An, quickly gather the soldiers in the guards and distribute all the weapons that were sorted out a few days ago."

"The Qing invaders have taken Chaohui and are now gathering a large army to besiege Guangzhou. They will definitely be unprepared for Zengcheng. We will set out immediately and raid Zengcheng!"

"As long as Zengcheng is captured, the Qing army ahead will inevitably be in chaos," Zhang Jiayu said with a determined look on his face.

An Hongyou saw everyone looking at him, but he could only bite the bullet and said

"Mr. Zhang, if Zengcheng is really the Qing court's retreat, then even if the Qing captives are not careful, they will definitely leave hundreds or thousands of soldiers to guard it."

"Besides, the Qing army still has the city walls to rely on. Zhang Gong also knows the situation in Weizhong. How can we capture Zengcheng with just over a thousand local soldiers?"

An Hongyou looked embarrassed, but he had to say it at this time. After all, if they really sent troops, he, the commander of the Nanhai Guard, would definitely be the main general.

It's not that he doesn't want to serve the court, but the situation in Nanhaiwei is like this. This is a matter of life and death, so how can he just go there?
Zhang Jiayu heard this, but his expression remained unchanged, and he said in a deep voice
"We have to go even if we can't capture it!" "As long as we surround Zengcheng, the Qing army in front will find that Zengcheng is under siege and will definitely send troops to rescue it. Even if we can't lift the siege of Guangzhou, it can also reduce the pressure on the court to defend the city."

Seeing that An Hongyou was about to say something else, Zhang Jiayu interrupted him with a wave of his hand and said

"Commander An, your garrison military officials have been passed down from generation to generation. The An family is also a family of military officials for generations, and has been deeply favored by the court."

"Your Highness is in danger now, and it is time for us, the subjects, to serve His Highness and the court. If we can defeat the Qing invaders this time, I will personally ask for credit for General An to the court."

"General An did not shy away from the danger and led his army to rescue. How can Zhang fall behind? In this raid, Zhang will go with General An."

Zhang Jiayu had a determined look on his face, but he did not give An Hongyou a chance to refuse. He directly forced An Hongyou to lead the army to attack Zengcheng.

Now everyone is in the lobby of the county government. Unless An Hongyou has decided to rebel against the Ming Dynasty, he has no choice.

If An Hongyou refused at this time, and if the imperial court resisted the Qing invasion and investigated what happened today, An Hongyou's fate could be imagined.
An Hongyou had an unpleasant look on his face. He glanced at Zhang Jiayu, who looked determined, and said in a deep voice:

"Does Mr. Zhang really want to risk his life and launch a surprise attack on Zengcheng?"

"Your Highness is guarding the city alone. How can we, the subjects, sit idly by? We must go to Zengcheng!"

Zhang Jiayu's face was determined, without a trace of hesitation

"In this case, I will accompany Mr. Zhang on this journey."

An Hongyou was silent for a moment, and realized that he had no way out. He gritted his teeth and said
At this time, An Hongyou made a decision in his heart, but there was no hesitation on his face, and he took the initiative to speak
"Before the surprise attack on Zengcheng, I have one more thing to say."

"I am more familiar with the situation of Nanhaiwei than Mr. Zhang. They say there are a thousand local soldiers, but in fact only the three hundred guards in my Anjia caravan's name are available. The rest of the local soldiers are useless."

"If these people knew that they were to attack the city and fight the Tartars, they would probably flee during the march. We will definitely not be able to attack Zengcheng with such a small number of people."

When the people in the field heard what An Hongyou said, their expressions changed, but An Hongyou ignored their expressions and continued to speak.

"Although the Nanhai Guard is in disarray, there is still an army nearby that can be used. I just don't know if Mr. Zhang dares to use these people."

"Say"

Zhang Jiayu ignored An Hongyou's provocative words and spoke directly

"About half a year ago, Wannian, the nephew of Wanyuanji, the governor of Gan Province, was ordered to go to Guangdong Province to recruit soldiers. However, after recruiting a few thousand soldiers, Wannian abandoned the recruited troops and left immediately, whether due to lack of military pay or some other reason. These thousands of soldiers disappeared immediately."

"This group of people lost their military pay, but were unwilling to disperse, so they were led by a general named Yu Long and settled in the Ganzhutan area, becoming bandits and making a living by robbing passing merchants."

"This group of people has more than a thousand people and is quite fierce. My Anjia caravan was robbed by this group of people when it was doing business. The guards in the caravan resisted but were defeated and captured. In the end, they mentioned my title as the commander of the Nanhai Guard, which made the group afraid."

"After my Anjia caravan paid the toll and was released, I learned that there was such a gang of bandits in Ganzhu Beach."

"This group of people are real bandits, and they are all young and strong. They have seen bloodshed in the past when they killed merchants and travelers. They are short of money and food at the moment. If Mr. Zhang can promise them a lot of money to surrender, he should be able to capture Zengcheng."

"Are these people originally soldiers of the imperial court?"

Zhang Jiayu's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he immediately said

"Yes, that group of thieves didn't know the situation in Nanhaiwei, and they were afraid that I would mobilize the imperial army to encircle and retaliate, so they wanted to make friends with me, and that's why they revealed their identities. They were originally going to Jiangxi Province to help Jiangxi."

"Since he was originally a general of the imperial court, there is room for discussion!"

"Since they are robbing merchants, they must be short of money. County Magistrate Zheng, how much silver is left in the county government?"

Zhang Jiayu did not hesitate at all and decided to recruit the bandits led by Yu Long from Ganzhutan.

He did not expect these people to be loyal to their country, but since they were recruited by the imperial court, they must have some aspirations for a position in the imperial court.

In addition, their former status as government troops also provided a basis for contact between the two sides. Therefore, when Zhang Jiayu heard that these people were available, he immediately decided to persuade these bandits to surrender with fame and fortune.
"There are still more than 5,000 taels in the county government, but most of them are this season's autumn silver." Zheng Lin subconsciously returned to his

"Take out three thousand taels, and Zhang will give another two thousand taels, making a total of five thousand. People like Yu Long are fickle, and they may not move unless they see benefits."

"This autumn silver has been registered and will be escorted to Guangzhou," Zheng Lin said hesitantly.

"No need to say more, Zhang will take full responsibility for this matter. The most important thing now is to rescue Guangzhou."

Zheng Lin's expression relaxed when he heard this, but Zhang Jiayu ignored Zheng Lin's expression and looked at An Hongyou and said
"General An, you arrange for people to prepare the swords, bows, crossbows and other weapons in the Nanhai Guard, and then follow Zhang and the silver to Ganzhu Beach to persuade Yulong to surrender."

"Zheng Zhixian, you must immediately organize people to requisition horses, mules and carts in the city, and use the remaining silver from the county government to purchase food, salaries and military supplies. Once I have persuaded General An to surrender Yu Long and bring him back, we will immediately set out to raid Zengcheng."

At this time, Li Juesi avoided leaving, so Zhang Jiayu, the former Right Censor-in-Chief, was the person with the highest status in Dongguan County. Zhang Jiayu took on the responsibility at this time, and naturally no one objected.
After everyone received the order, they left to prepare. Two hours later, five or six small boats carrying Zhang Jiayu, An Hongyou, a dozen guards, and five thousand taels of silver set sail for Ganzhu Beach.
(End of this chapter)