Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 152 Seizing the City
Thirty miles outside Zengcheng, on the official road, there were scattered carts and grain bags everywhere, and nearly a hundred corpses were scattered between the carts. The air was filled with a thick smell of blood.
At this time, the battle was over. Nearly a hundred men in short coats were searching for fleeing civilians and soldiers from the Green Camp on the official road.
In front of the carriage, several green camp soldiers with braids on their heads were kneeling. A short and strong man in black leather armor was asking questions.

After asking the question, the man waved his hand behind him and then walked directly towards Zhang Jiayu who was waiting in the distance.

The two men holding swords behind him saw the hint and directly stabbed the swords into the stomachs of several Green Camp soldiers.

The five Green Camp prisoners were killed instantly, leaving only the one who agreed the fastest, kneeling on the ground trembling.
This short and strong man in leather armor is the leader of the Ganzhutan bandits, Yu Long.
On the 14th, Zhang Jiayu and his men received a report from Zheng Qi, and then they sailed to Ganzhutan to persuade Yu Long to surrender. Under the guarantee of Zhang Jiayu, the former Right Censor-in-Chief, and An Hongyou, the commander of Nanhaiwei, Yu Long was finally tempted by the profit and fame, and returned to Dongguan with more than a thousand elite bandits, following Zhang Jiayu and his men.

At noon on the 17th, Zhang Jiayu led more than 1,500 people who had gathered together. After taking the weapons and arrows of the Nanhai Guard, they disguised themselves as a merchant caravan and headed towards Zengcheng along the Zengjiang River.
On the 18th, which is this morning, scouts discovered this grain transport team from Zengcheng 20 miles away.
Zhang Jiayu and his men had set up an ambush on the official road in advance. The Qing soldiers in the grain team were completely unprepared and were immediately ambushed and killed by Zhang Jiayu and his men. All fifty Green Camp soldiers escorting the team were captured and killed, and the remaining civilians fled.

The leather armor on Yu Long's body was stained with blood, but Yu Long was unaware of it. He walked directly to Zhang Jiayu in front of him and said with a bow.

"Mr. Zhang, all fifty soldiers escorting the grain from the Tartars were captured and killed. No one escaped. We have also inquired about the situation in Zengcheng."

"The Tartar army's food and wages are indeed placed in Zengcheng. Zengcheng is now divided into two groups. One group is the Tartar governor's soldiers. There are nearly 300 people in this group, including 30 real Tartars who are in charge of the city. This time we are going to intercept the Tartar governor's food team."

"In addition to this, there seems to be another group of people in the city. I don't know where they came from, but it is said that there are more than 200 people. These two groups of people are each guarding a granary, and both are in Zengcheng to guard the food and money."

Zhang Jiayu heard this and said

"According to Zheng Qi, there are two Qing troops attacking Guangdong this time. One is the pseudo-Qing governor Tong Yangjia, and the other is the Qing general Li Chengdong. These two troops are independent of each other. The other one in the city should be Li Chengdong's people."

Zhang Jiayu looked at Yu Long and continued to ask
"What is the situation in Zengcheng? Is the defense tight?"

"Completely unprepared. According to the Tartar soldier, they encountered almost no resistance after entering Guangzhou Prefecture."

"After those Tartar soldiers stationed in Zengcheng, apart from guarding the food and money, they spent the rest of their time looting and having fun in Zengcheng. There were not even many people guarding the city gates," Yu Long replied.
Zhang Jiayu's eyes lit up when he heard this. After thinking for a moment, he said
"These Tartars think that there is no one in my court, so they are so arrogant. This is the opportunity I have been waiting for."

"Although we have more than a thousand soldiers, there are at least 500 Qing invaders in the city, and they rely on the city walls. If we attack by force, I'm afraid we will not be able to do it. We can only trap the Qing invaders in the city and force the Qing army in Guangzhou to come back for help."

"But since the Qing invaders are so arrogant, we can just pretend to be the Qing invaders' food supply team and seize the gate!"

"The Qing army is not united internally, and the two groups are doing their own thing. Since this grain transport team belongs to the Tartar governor, why don't we pretend to be the Tartar general's grain transport team and return to Zengcheng, and take the opportunity to seize the gate. What do you think?"

Zhang Jiayu looked at An Hongyou and Yu Long, and An Hongyou's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he immediately said
"Mr. Zhang is right. The Tartar soldiers in the city have had smooth sailing all the way to attack. There is even a large Tartar army stationed in Guangzhou ahead. They certainly didn't expect someone to come and attack them."

"As long as we can seize the city gate, our military strength is almost three times that of the Tartar soldiers. We can definitely annihilate the Tartar soldiers in the city."

An Hongyou spoke respectfully, but then his face turned serious and he continued

"But if we want to implement this plan, we must act quickly. Although we have captured and killed all the Tartar soldiers in the grain team, many civilians have escaped."

"If we let these civilians rush back to Zengcheng first, once the Tartars in Zengcheng are prepared, I'm afraid this plan will not work."

Zhang Jiayu nodded when he heard this, then looked at Yu Long opposite him and said

"What do you think, General?"

Yu Long was hesitant when he heard this. This was different from what we had agreed upon.

Zhang Jiayu had told him that they would surround Zengcheng and force the Tartars to come back for help. Once they found that the Tartars had split up and were returning, they could withdraw in advance.
But now Zhang Jiayu suddenly changed the plan. This plan seems feasible, but the risk is also greatly increased.
It sounds impressive to capture a city, and it would be a great achievement if it succeeded. However, if the city gate guards discovered the plan, they would be in danger. Who knows if the Tartar soldiers are really so unprepared?

Zhang Jiayu saw the hesitation on Yu Long's face, looked at An Hongyou, and said

"The Tartar army's food and fodder are now in Zengcheng. If we can really capture Zengcheng, we only need to burn the food and fodder in the city. The Qing invaders in front of Guangzhou will inevitably be in chaos and will have no choice but to withdraw and flee. At that time, General Yu will be the first to save the emperor."

Zhang Jiayu saw that Yu Long's expression was shaken, and continued to speak
"The opportunity on the battlefield is fleeting, so we must not hesitate. If General Yu is worried, Commander Zhang and Commander An will go with you."

"If the Qing army really finds out, General Yu can leave first, and Zhang is willing to cover his retreat."

An Hongyou's face changed slightly when he heard this, but looking at Zhang Jiayu's determined expression, he hesitated for a moment and finally said nothing.

Yu Long looked at the sincere middle-aged scholar in front of him, his expression changed several times, and after a long silence, he looked at Zhang Jiayu and said in a deep voice:
"Did Mr. Zhang really mean the promise he made to me that day?"

Zhang Jiayu saw Yu Long let go, his face brightened, and he said

"Of course it is true. Regardless of whether the attack on the city succeeds or not, Zhang will definitely report General Yu's loyal act to the court."

"If we can really capture Zengcheng and cut off the Qing invaders' retreat, even if it means sacrificing my official position, I will definitely ask General Yu to appoint the next commander."

"General Yu is a military officer of the imperial court. Are you really going to be a bandit for the rest of your life?"

After hearing the words "bandit", Yu Long gritted his teeth and finally made a decision. He said

"Mr. Zhang is an important official of the country. He will definitely be appointed as a prime minister in the future. How can he risk his life with us, the murderers?"

"I will go with General An on this trip. If anything happens to us, please ask Mr. Zhang to lead us and continue to serve the court."

Yu Long agreed with a bow. The three people on the field agreed on a strategy to attack the city and began to act without hesitation.

Yu Long, An Hongyou and others selected fifty capable soldiers, shaved their heads and put on Qing army uniforms. Then they selected dozens of people to pretend to be civilians, hid swords and other items on the grain carts, and pushed the carts towards Zengcheng.
At the west gate of Zengcheng, a dozen soldiers with pigtails were sitting at a table beside the gate. On the table were wine jugs, roasted chicken, braised meat and other dishes.

At one side of the city gate, civilians were constantly pushing grain carts out of the gate.
There were some horse noises in the distance.

In front of the city gate, a long-faced green soldier who looked like a captain stood up from the table and looked forward.
I saw dozens of soldiers driving carts and moving towards the city gate on the official road.
The captain of the city gate looked at the braids swaying behind the soldiers' heads, sat back at the table, picked up the wine bowl and started drinking.
An Hongyou seemed to be driving the civilians away, but his eyes were always on the dozen braided soldiers in front of the city gate.
Everyone in the team was terrified all the way, but until they reached the city gate, no one came to question them, and the carriages at the gate continued to be pushed out of the gate.
When An Hongyou and his companions were several dozen steps away from the city gate, one of the drunken braided soldiers at the gate stood up and walked towards them.
"Which unit are you from?" the long-faced captain asked.

"I am under the command of General Li Chengdong, and I am here to transport food on General Li's orders."

An Hongyou bowed to the long-faced soldier and said, but his eyes began to scan the city gates.

The Tartars near the city gate were divided into two groups. In addition to the dozen Tartars drinking by the gate, there were also five or six Tartar soldiers standing by the gate. The leader was wearing leather armor and was urging the laborers to push the carts out of the city with a whip.
The long-faced soldier was stunned when he heard what An Hongyou said. He said

"General Li wants to transport grain again, but your grain hasn't left the city yet, why are you transporting it again?"

The armored soldier at the doorway was also surprised when he heard what the two were saying. He walked over to look at An Hongyou and said:

"Brother, I just received General Li's order to return to the city to escort grain the day before yesterday. Why does the general want to escort grain again? This brother looks unfamiliar. Who is he..."

The armored soldier looked at An Hongyou with a puzzled look, but just when he was halfway through his words, a sharp sound came from behind, and an iron arrow flew through the air and shot directly into the armored soldier's face. The armored soldier fell to the ground.
The armored soldier fell forward, and the long-faced soldier beside him was splashed with blood. He stood there for a moment, somewhat at a loss.

The long-faced soldier was stunned, but An Hongyou reacted very quickly. A trace of cruelty flashed across An Hongyou's face. The moment the soldier fell to the ground, he directly drew the long knife from his waist and stabbed the long-faced soldier in front of him.
"Kill the thief and seize the door!"

Behind An Hongyou, Yu Long put down his bow and arrow, shouted loudly, drew out his long sword, and rushed towards the soldiers at the door.

The civilians behind Yu Long also lifted the rain cover on the carriage, drew their swords, and rushed towards the soldiers at the door.
The shouting and screaming in front of the city gate only lasted for a moment, and then soon quieted down. The Qing soldiers in front of the city gate were completely unprepared. Some of them didn't even have time to pick up their swords before they were chopped to the ground by the Ming soldiers who rushed in.

Seventy or eighty strong soldiers were guarding the gates with swords in hand. There were more than a dozen dead bodies of Green Camp soldiers lying on the ground, and the civilians had fled as soon as the fighting started.

Yu Long and his men controlled the city gates. Half a minute later, Zhang Jiayu led a thousand men and rushed to the city gates.
An Hongyou was standing by the door, ordering his soldiers to go up to the city walls and control the top of the city walls.

Yu Long was standing aside, interrogating a trembling Green Camp prisoner. Two Green Camp soldiers had fallen to the ground, their blood dyed the ground red.

Seeing Zhang Jiayu coming over, the two of them immediately gathered together, and Yu Long said

"Mr. Zhang, I have already found out. Of the two factions in the city, the 300 men of the Tartar governor Tong Yangjia have occupied the county government office, and the 30 real Tartar soldiers are also in the county government office."

"The Tartar general Li Chengdong's men have occupied the granary in the east city. There are 200 of them. How should we fight now? Please let Mr. Zhang decide."

Zhang Jiayu heard this and thought for a moment before he immediately said
"Leave a hundred men to guard the city gates, and gather the rest of you. There are more soldiers in the county government, so kill the Tartars there first!"

"The two groups of Qing barbarians in the city each have their own affiliation. As long as we don't attack the East City, the Qing barbarians in the East City are unaware of the situation and may not come to the county government for rescue. As long as we kill the Tartars in the county government, the Qing barbarians in the granary will surely be frightened and flee."

"Don't hesitate at this moment. Send troops to attack the county government immediately. Don't let the two groups of Tartars in the city join forces."

The more Zhang Jiayu spoke, the clearer his mind became. He gave the order directly.

Upon hearing this, An Hongyou interrupted and said

"We, the soldiers, will attack the county government office together. What if the Tartars in the East City take the opportunity to escape?"

"Then let them escape. We are not here to kill the Qing invaders, but to burn their food and grass and force them to retreat. As long as we can burn their food and grass, it doesn't matter if we lose Zengcheng."

"It would be better if they escaped. Once they escape back to the Qing army and know that Zengcheng has been captured by the imperial court, there will be chaos," Zhang Jiayu said coldly.

An Hongyou and Yu Long heard this and said no more. More than a thousand soldiers gathered and rushed directly to Zengcheng County Government Office.
Zengcheng County Government Office was even less well-prepared than the city gate. More than a thousand soldiers rushed to the County Government Office, and the Green Camp soldiers guarding the gate were hacked to death before they could react.
A group of Ming troops, led by Yu Longan Hongyou, rushed into the county government office and continuously strangled the Qing soldiers in the county government office.
In the backyard of the county government office, there were cries of killing and howling everywhere. Two disheveled Tartars ran out of the room with knives in their hands and panicked expressions.

Although both the Manchus and the Green Camp soldiers in the Qing army had braids, the Manchus still had different facial features from the Han people.
Yu Long led a dozen soldiers into the backyard of the yamen. When he saw these two Tartars who were very different from the Han people and were making noises, a hint of excitement flashed across Yu Long's face. He shouted,

“These two are real Tartars”

Yu Long drew his sword and rushed towards the two men. The dozen soldiers behind him also rushed forward and chopped down with dozens of long swords. In an instant, the two Tartars had dozens of knife wounds on their bodies. They fell to the ground covered in blood and died without a sound.

Yu Long stepped forward and cut off the heads of the two Tartars with a knife. Then he tied the two bloody heads around his waist and snorted coldly.

"Everyone says that the Tartars are so powerful, but I killed them today. How can you say they are invincible? Bah!"

Yu Long spat, and led his soldiers to search and kill other courtyards.
The shouting and screaming in the county government office lasted for half an hour before it gradually quieted down.
Zhang Jiayu sat in the lobby of the county government office until the shouting of murder in the county government office could no longer be heard. Only then did Yu Long and An Hongyou walk into the hall.
Zhang Jiayu looked at the blood-stained armor on the two men, but his expression remained unchanged. He asked

"What's up?"

Yu Long was the first to answer.

"All the Tartars in the county government office were eliminated, and more than 300 Qing prisoners were killed, including 30 real Tartars, and the remaining 200 or so were Green Camp soldiers in the Tartar army."

"Except for a few people left alive for questioning, all the Qing invaders in the county government office have been killed."

Zhang Jiayu's expression relaxed when he heard this, but he immediately said
"Don't be careless. Now is not the time to relax. Gather the soldiers immediately and head to the east of the city to attack and kill the other Qing invaders."

An Hongyou immediately said
"There is no need to worry about the Tartars in the east of the city. When we attacked the county government, I had already sent people to monitor their movements."

"The Tartars in the east of the city saw the shouting and killing going on in the county government office, and the scouts they sent out were also beheaded by my orders. In panic, they all fled from the east gate a quarter of an hour ago."

Zhang Jiayu's expression finally relaxed after hearing this, but he continued

"Even so, we must not be careless. We have already achieved great success in the surprise attack and capture of the city, but we must not be careless at this moment."

"General Yu, go gather the soldiers to guard the four gates and completely control Zengcheng."

"Also, the two of you must control the soldiers well. The soldiers in the army can take the property in the county government as they please, but they must not allow the soldiers to rob the people in the city."

"We are the imperial army, not the Qing invaders. If the soldiers loot the city, it will undermine your great achievements. Do you understand?"

Yu Longan Hongyou's face became serious when he heard this, and he immediately bowed his hands in response.
The imperial court has always been particular about respectability. They took such a big risk to capture the city and had already made a contribution. If their contribution was diminished because of the soldiers' looting, it would be a great loss.
Zhang Jiayu gave a warning, then looked at An Hongyou and said

"How much rice was found in the county government office?"

"I personally ordered someone to check. There are more than 8,000 dan of grain stored in the county government alone. The exact number will not be counted in the future, but there is no doubt that this is where the Qing army stores grain."

An Hongyou's face brightened, and he spoke again

"Mr. Zhang, we have already taken Zengcheng. What should we do next?"

"Immediately organize people to burn the grain. Leave only 300 dan of rice in the city, and burn the rest of the grain and grass."

"Then immediately send someone to Guangzhou to report the news, and tell the Qing invaders that their retreat has been cut off, forcing them to withdraw their troops," Zhang Jiayu said in a deep voice, a trace of ruthlessness flashed across his face.

Yu Long's expression changed slightly after hearing this. After hesitating for a moment, he asked

"Mr. Zhang left 300 dan of rice, but is he planning to garrison Zengcheng?"

Zhang Jiayu glanced at the two hesitant people and understood what they were thinking. They were obviously afraid that he would defend Zengcheng to the death, but Zhang Jiayu actually had no such idea, so he spoke directly.
"The purpose of our trip is to burn the Qing enemy's food and grass and force the Qing enemy in Guangzhou to withdraw. We are short of troops, and it is meaningless to defend Zengcheng at this time, but we really cannot withdraw immediately at this time."

"If we immediately withdraw our troops after burning the food and grass, the Qing invaders will inevitably see through our true strength. If the Qing invaders find that the imperial court is short of troops, they will most likely take the risk and attack Guangzhou without food and grass."

A gleam of brilliance flashed across Zhang Jiayu's face, and he said
"If we stay in the city, the Qing invaders will see their food supplies being burned and their retreat route blocked by us. At that time, whether it is to regain food supplies or to protect their retreat route, the Qing invaders in Guangzhou will definitely withdraw their troops to retake Zengcheng."

"Don't worry, I am not a stubborn person. As long as we can confirm that the Qing army has withdrawn, we will immediately abandon the city and leave."

Yu Long and the other two relaxed their expressions after hearing this, but Zhang Jiayu ignored them and gave them a brief explanation before immediately giving the order.

"The situation in Guangzhou is critical and cannot be delayed"

"You two will immediately take over the two granaries in the city and burn all the food and grass. Then send people to Guangzhou to spread the news that Zengcheng has been occupied and force the Qing army to withdraw the siege."

Yu Long and the other two took orders and retreated. As the Ming army took control of various places in the city, at dusk, Zengcheng was soon lit up with flames, and more than a dozen riders took advantage of the night to rush out of the city gate and galloped towards Guangzhou.
(End of this chapter)