Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 250 Siege
In the lobby of the government office in Wugang City, Liu Chengyin looked at Chen Youlong, whose hair was disheveled, with a look of shock and anger on his face.

"what is going on"

Chen Youlong led an army of 10,000 out of the city, but within three days, he was defeated and fled back to the city. According to him, the 10,000-strong army was completely wiped out.

These 10,000 troops were nearly half of the city's military strength, but now they were all killed before they even reached the edge of Dong'an City. How could Liu Chengyin not be angry?

Chen Youlong knelt in the hall, his clothes covered with dust and blood. Seeing Liu Chengyin's rage, he did not dare to contradict him, but just said in a muffled voice:

"General Rong, I cannot escape the blame for this defeat, but this is not because I am careless, it is because the Gui army is too strong."

"Yesterday, I led my army to camp at Shimen Pass. In the morning, we were about to move out, but who knew that the Gui army had quietly hidden in the mountains. The Gui cavalry split into two groups and attacked the front and back of the camp at the same time, causing chaos in the camp."

"The Gui army's cavalry has more than a thousand cavalrymen, and they are extremely elite. All of them ride Liao horses and wear cloth-covered iron armor. I also tried to intercept them with the cavalry of the central army, but the cavalry under my command was defeated by the enemy cavalry in just one round."

"I wanted to abandon the front and focus on stabilizing the elite troops in the rear, but the Gui army's infantry suddenly arrived."

"The Gui army has several thousand infantrymen, who are also extremely elite. All of them wear cotton armor, and their flags are not in disarray even when they are marching quickly. I fought desperately, but was unable to stop the chaos, so I had no choice but to lead my troops to break through."

Liu Chengyin above heard this, his expression did not ease, but became more angry, and he could not help but shout

"Still talking nonsense here!"

Even in the north, a Liao horse would sell for more than ten taels. If it were shipped to the south of the Yangtze River, the price would at least double to twenty taels. If it were shipped to Lingnan, it would probably cost no more than thirty taels.
There are more than a thousand Liao cavalrymen. The war horses alone cost thirty thousand taels. The food required for a war horse is almost two or three times that of a soldier. Add armor and other equipment, and I'm afraid even fifty thousand taels will not be enough.
How could a small and remote place like Guangxi Province have the financial resources to support this Liao cavalry?

The money to support this 1,000-man cavalry was enough for Liu Chengyin to recruit another 20,000 to 30,000 infantry. Add to that the thousands of elite infantry in cotton armor that Chen Youlong mentioned, and that would be a fantasy.

Even Liu Chengyin's most elite 6,000 central troops could only be assigned a set of leather or cotton armor at the level of sergeant.
If the governor of Guangxi Province had such financial strength, he would have conquered Huguang long ago, and why would he stay in the remote and poor Guangxi Province?

Liu Chengyin was furious and was about to ask again when a personal guard rushed into the hall with a frightened look on his face.
"General, a large number of soldiers have arrived outside the city. The gatekeepers closed the city gates in advance, but the soldiers directly sent cavalry to block the roads outside the city. Now all the post roads on all sides have been cut off by the army outside the city."

"It's the Gui army. It must be that Gui army that followed us."

Upon hearing this, a trace of fear flashed across Chen Youlong's face, and he immediately said

Liu Chengyin and the others in the hall looked unhappy when they heard this.

Liu Chengyin glanced at Chen Youlong, who was lying on the ground with a panicked look on his face. He snorted coldly and walked out of the hall. Seeing this, Liu Chengyong and others followed closely behind him.

Liu Chengyin and his companions quickly climbed up the city wall. At this time, the city gate was in a mess. Carts, fresh fish, fruits and vegetables, rice, and all kinds of goods were dumped on the ground in front of the gate, but no one paid any attention to these commercial goods at this time.

Liu Chengyin and his companions looked ahead and saw that not far from the city gate, two thousand cavalrymen were divided into two groups and lined up outside the city.

The two thousand cavalrymen were all wearing red cloth armor and riding on tall Liao horses.

It was already March, but the weather was still chilly. The horses in the army trod the ground, and bursts of white air came out of their mouths and noses. The white air rose up and vaguely formed a white mist.
Thousands of cavalrymen stood quietly outside the city, staring coldly at the direction of the city. On the top of the city, Liu Chengyin saw the cavalry outside the city, and his face finally darkened.

Liu Chengyin was also a soldier. Although he could not see the faces of the cavalrymen, he felt a sense of oppression in his heart just by looking at the tall cavalrymen standing still in the cold wind.

Just looking at these two thousand cavalrymen made everyone on the city feel a little breathless.
Liu Chengyin had a gloomy expression on his face, but before he could take a closer look, a large number of infantrymen appeared again at the end of the official road.
A group of infantrymen, all wearing red cotton armor, lined up in a column and walked silently towards the city.
The three thousand infantrymen also lined up at the foot of the city, and on the official road behind them, a steady stream of Tengxiang soldiers were still rushing towards the city.
An hour later, all the soldiers of the Tengxiang Army finally arrived. Nearly 10,000 soldiers in scarlet uniforms lined up at the foot of the city. Liu Chengyin and others on the top of the city looked at the endless soldiers at the foot of the city and felt their scalps tingling.

Ten thousand Tengxiang troops lined up outside the city, with two infantry formations of 3,000 men in the middle and cavalry flanks on both sides.
At the rear of the army, the remaining 2,000 soldiers began digging trenches and setting up camp as if no one was around.
Soldiers of the Tengxiang Army came one after another. During this period, Liu Chengyin had thought of sending people out of the city to launch a surprise attack while these people were still unstable.
But every time Liu Chengyin looked at the more than 2,000 cavalrymen standing still outside the city, he had to give up this idea.

The two thousand armored cavalrymen put too much pressure on Liu Chengyin. Liu Chengyin's troops were almost all infantrymen. He had no idea how to defeat the two thousand Liao cavalrymen with infantrymen.
It took an hour for the Tengxiang army to rush to the city of Wugang, and Liu Chengyin and others watched from the top of the city for an hour. Liu Chengyin and others in the city did not dare to go out of the city to fight, nor did they dare to leave.

Seeing that no more soldiers appeared at the end of the road, Liu Chengyin and others could not help but breathe a sigh of relief. This group of Gui troops looked like there were only about 10,000 people.

Liu Chengyin still had more than 10,000 men under his command. Although the soldiers in Wugang City were not as elite as the Gui army outside the city, they still had the city walls and many civilians in the city.
Wugang was Liu Chengyin's old nest for many years, and the food and money were sufficient, which should be enough to defend Wugang.

However, before Liu Chengyin could relax, a bright yellow dragon flag was suddenly raised in the army formation below. On the flag, a five-clawed golden dragon was perched on the top of the cloud, baring its fangs and claws.
After the golden dragon flag was raised, more than ten cavalrymen suddenly rushed out from the army formation, guarding the dragon flag and heading directly to the foot of Wugang City.

The eyes of the people on the city wall instantly fell on the bright yellow flag. The Tengxiang Army was lined up a mile away. When the dragon flag was raised, Liu Chengyin and others on the top of the city wall could not see clearly.
At this time, a group of cavalrymen grabbed the dragon flag and ran to the city. Liu Chengyin and others finally saw the pattern on the flag. But when everyone on the city saw the dragon on the flag, everyone's face suddenly changed.
The cavalrymen under the city held the dragon flag and came to the city, and they began to shout loudly.

"His Royal Highness Gui Jianguo has issued an oral order to order General Liu Chengyin of Baoqing to immediately open the city to welcome the emperor and enter the camp to pay his respects. There must be no delay."

Chen Youlong, who was standing on the top of the city wall, heard the shouts of the soldiers below the city, and suddenly a flash of realization came into his eyes. That's right, this Ming army was not the Gui army at all, but the imperial guards of the court!
Only the imperial guards in the court could afford to support thousands of Liao cavalry and nearly 10,000 elite armored soldiers.

It makes sense. It all makes sense.
A trace of relief flashed across Chen Youlong's face. Although he had fled back in defeat, he still felt a little dissatisfied in his heart.

He was already considered the most powerful general under Liu Chengyin and had been through many battles in Huguang. However, this time, he was ambushed and defeated by a group of Gui soldiers for no apparent reason.

But now he knew that it was not the Gui army that defeated him, but the imperial army, and he felt relieved all of a sudden.
He was only leading a weak brigade composed of the cleaners of Baoqing Prefecture led by Liu Chengyin. How could he compare with the elite imperial guards supported by the entire imperial court's financial resources?
This battle was not because he was incompetent in command, but because the enemy was too rich. The annual military pay of this army alone was probably more than the expenditure of Liu Chengyin's 30,000 troops. This was really a crime beyond the war.

Chen Youlong figured this out and felt relieved. But then he reacted and a look of fear suddenly appeared on his face.
At this time, not only Chen Youlong, but also Liu Chengyong, Long Zaimo and others were also terrified, staring blankly at the dragon flag fluttering under the city.

Now that the country is in chaos, the old officials and gentry in various provinces or the righteous army have risen up against the Qing Dynasty and often give themselves official positions.
Therefore, at this time, there were countless governors, vice ministers, generals and commanders in chief in the Ming court, but even the most daring people did not dare to use the dragon flag.

The dragon flag of the emperor can only be used by the emperor. Except for the big tyrants like Shunze and Xizei, who dares to use this royal flag?

If there is any group that is ignorant enough to use this banner, I am afraid that before the Qing court attacks, the other pro-Ming forces will unite and suppress these people first, and take their food and money.

At this time, Long Zaimo and others finally began to remember the official document sent by the Huguang Governor's Office.
His Majesty the Regent has issued an order that Wugang and Yongzhou be transferred to the Governor of Guangxi Province in order to suppress the bandits and pacify the local area.

The transfer order of the two cities was not a trick of He Tengjiao, but a decree of the imperial court.

They had previously sent people to drive away the imperial envoys, and now the imperial court is attacking them!
Long Zaimo and the others looked at the ferocious dragon flag under the city, their faces becoming more and more frightened. If they attacked He Tengjiao, they would not react at all.

Although He Tengjiao was the governor of Huguang, it was just like that to them. He Tengjiao was the governor, and they were the governors-general. In terms of official rank, it was not clear who was higher or lower. They fought, and what could He Tengjiao do to them?

But the one under the city now is not He Tengjiao, but Gui Jianguo. What is a Jianguo? Jianguo is the emperor, the one who can kill his subjects if he wants.

Not to mention that they are obviously unable to defeat the imperial guards now, even if they can, Gui Jinguo can easily destroy them.
Gui Jianguo is the current emperor of the Ming Dynasty. Gui Jianguo does not need to do anything. As long as he summons Huguang in the name of Jianguo, the ambitious people in the towns of Huguang will probably gather together and tear them to pieces.

The cavalrymen holding the dragon flags below the city kept shouting, while the rest of the cavalrymen dispersed and circled around Wugang as if no one was around, and also started shouting!

For a moment, the city was filled with the sound of the Ming army's cavalry announcing the decree.
Liu Chengyin looked at Long Zaimo and others who were frightened behind him, and his face was gloomy.

Long Zaimo and his men were his most core subordinates, but they were still so panicked. If they continued to shout, the imperial guards outside the city would not even need to attack the city, and the morale of the people in the city would be dispersed.
Liu Chengyin wanted to give orders several times to have the Ming cavalrymen under the city shot away, but the words came to his lips several times but he could not say them in the end.
Liu Chengyin looked at the dragon flag in the south of the city, and a trace of panic flashed in his eyes. That was the emperor, and his identity had been revealed outside the city. If he really ordered someone to shoot an arrow, there would be no turning back.

The cavalrymen under the city circled the city and shouted seven or eight times. After they were sure that everyone on the top of the city had heard the announcement, they gathered together, holding the dragon flag again, and rushed towards the army formation behind.

Liu Chengyin on the top of the city wall said nothing from beginning to end. He just watched the soldiers below the city go away and return to the battle array.
The imperial court announced the decree, ordering Liu Chengyin to come out of the city to attend the meeting. After the cavalry announced the decree, some people did come out of the city, but it was not Liu Chengyin who came out of the city, but Long Zaimo, the Wuxiang Army camp. Ma Bao sat at the top, and on both sides were Zhu Xuexi, Ma Yingyuan, Hao Shangjiu and other generals in the army. Long Zaimo stood in the middle, with a flattering smile on his face, and bowed to Ma Bao above him.

"I am Long Zaimo, the military clerk of Baoqing Camp. I am here to see Your Highness on the orders of General Liu, the commander-in-chief of Baoqing Camp. I would like to present a petition to Your Highness regarding the Wugang incident. Please let the general know on my behalf."

"Your Highness?"

"Who are you to be worthy of meeting His Highness?"

"Where is Liu Chengyin? Why didn't he come? His Highness gave the order in person, but he disobeyed it. Are you planning to rebel?"

When Long Zai Mo heard what Ma Bao said, his expression suddenly changed. He immediately bowed and said

"Absolutely not, absolutely not!"

"General Liu is loyal to the court. The matter of Dong'an City was decided by the garrison commander Wang Chaozong. General Liu really didn't know anything about it."

"General Liu is loyal to the court. After receiving the imperial edict, he began to count the soldiers and prepare to transfer them to Wugang. However, there were too many soldiers in the city, which delayed him for some time."

"General Liu sent me to report to the court. As long as the general makes way for us, we will immediately withdraw from Wugang and hand it over to the court."

Long Zai Mo finished speaking and before Ma Bao could speak, he spoke again.

"Generals, you have come from afar and have had a hard time on the journey. My general has specially prepared some gifts for you."

"My general is truly loyal to the court. Please, generals, please say a few good words to him in front of His Highness."

"That Dong'an garrison commander Wang Chaozong was so audacious that he expelled the imperial envoys. He really deserves death."

"My general is incompetent in commanding his subordinates, and he has allowed this thief to clash with the angels of the imperial court. General Liu is willing to offer 20,000 silver taels to the imperial court, just to make up for his mistake."

After Long Zai Mo finished speaking, four soldiers carried two wooden boxes half the height of a person and walked into the tent.
When the wooden box was opened, it was filled with palm-sized silver ingots. The silver in these two boxes alone was probably no less than 10,000 taels.
Ma Bao looked at the two boxes of silver below and smiled. Seeing the smile on Ma Bao's face, Long Zai Mo also breathed a sigh of relief.
But then Ma Bao's expression suddenly turned cold, he looked at Long Zai Mo below and shouted coldly:

"Make way. Your Highness's order is clear. Liu Chengyin is allowed to leave the city to pay his respects."

"If you can't understand what people say, then what's the point of having this ear? Someone, block this guy's ear for me."

"I will receive the order"

Ma Bao's face was cold, but Yan Keyi, who was standing beside him, grinned and stood up, drawing his sword.
Yan Keyi put one of his hands between Long Zaimo's legs, and Long Zaimo fell to the ground. Yan Keyi's knife flashed, and one of his ears fell to the ground.

Long Zai Mo looked at the ear on the ground and felt a warm liquid flowing down his face. Only then did Long Zai Mo react and howled loudly.
Ma Bao looked at Long Zai Mo, who was lying on the ground with blood all over his face, and said coldly

"Your Highness the Regent is now leading 30,000 imperial guards to Wugang. You will arrive at the foot of Wugang city the day after tomorrow."

"Go back and tell Liu Chengyin that I will give him two days. If he doesn't come out within two days, then you don't have to come out anymore."

After Ma Bao finished speaking, he turned around and left, and the Tengxiang Army soldiers directly threw Long Zaimo and others out of the camp.
In the back hall of the Wugang City government office, Liu Chengyin looked down at Long Zaimo, who was pale and had a bandage wrapped around his right ear. He was filled with anger and could not help but shout:

"It's too much to bully others, it's too much to bully others!"

"I've given you the silver, and I've also given up Wugang City, which I've run for years. What else do they want? The imperial court, I'll fuck your imperial court!"

Liu Chengyin punched the table, and the cup on the table fell to the ground and shattered into pieces with a snap.

Liu Chengyin's eyes were bloodshot, and he was obviously extremely angry. He glanced at Chen Youlong and others who were frightened below, and his face was cold, but he suddenly spoke

"You have seen it too. It is not me who wants to rebel, but that small court will not give us a way to survive."

"What do you think? Are you willing to join me in teaching the Guangdong Provincial Government a lesson?"

Chen Youlong, Sun Hua and others below were shocked when they saw Liu Chengyin with a gloomy expression. This Chengyin actually wanted to go against the imperial court. This man was really crazy!

Chen Youlong and the others looked at Liu Chengyin, who looked crazy, but they did not dare to speak out. They could only speak in unison.

"The general has been very kind to us all, and I am willing to follow him till death."

Seeing Chen Youlong and the others express their opinions, Liu Chengyin was overjoyed and immediately said

"Okay, today you brothers share the hardships with me, and in the future I will share the wealth with you brothers."

"You don't have to worry. Although the imperial court has tens of thousands of people, we also have tens of thousands of troops in the city. We rely on the city walls and have sufficient food and money in the city. What can the small imperial court do to us?"

"The Guangdong court is so brutal and violent, let's show this small court the power of Wugang!"

Liu Chengyin shouted coldly, and Chen Youlong and others below also responded one after another, denouncing the Gui Regent court.

Liu Chengyin then discussed the city defense with everyone, and then everyone in the hall dispersed and began to prepare.

As soon as the military meeting in the government office was over, Liu Chengyin immediately secretly found Liu Chengyong. Yes, Liu Chengyin was ready to escape.
Defending the city, are you kidding me?

Wugang is now an isolated city. Even if they can stop the siege of the imperial army outside the city, what can they do? They can only wait for death. No one from Huguang will come to rescue them at this time. Staying in the city will be a dead end.

Now Liu Chengyin's only way to survive is to escape as soon as possible. He still has 5,000 soldiers in Baoqing. As long as he takes these 5,000 soldiers, he still has a chance to make a comeback.

At worst, they would break up and he would lead his people to surrender to the Qing court.

The world is now not just his Ming Dynasty. If he is not welcome here, there will be other places that will welcome him. As long as he has a large army, he can be rich and prosperous wherever he goes.

The reason why he threatened to fight against the Guangdong Provincial Court was just to temporarily stabilize the people's hearts.

If he directly told everyone that he wanted to flee, the city would probably be in chaos immediately. At this time, he could let Chen Youlong and his men guard the city so that he could escape from Wugang more safely.
Liu Chengyin and his companions were plotting their escape and had no time to care about the situation in the city. However, they did not realize that after the military meeting ended, Chen Youlong, Long Zaimo, Sun Hua and others also began to connect with each other.

Outside the city, the Wuxiang Army set up camp, a group of cavalry patrolled back and forth, blocking the roads outside the city, and the top of the city began to transport stones and logs and other supplies for defending the city, looking like a big battle was about to begin.
At midnight, a burst of shouting and killing suddenly rang out from the south gate of Wugang City. The shouting and killing only lasted for a while, and soon it became quiet again.
In front of the city gate, Chen Youlong and Sun Hua were holding long swords with blood all over the blades. On the ground above the city wall, the South Gate Guard was lying on the ground with his eyes wide open, covered in blood.
After Chen Youlong seized the city gate, he immediately ordered Long Zaimo to report to the Wuxiang Army camp outside the city, while Chen Youlong led Sun Hua and others to the government office.
This Liu Chengyin is simply crazy. If he proposed to evacuate Wugang, maybe they would follow him directly. But now Liu Chengyin Jing actually wants to resist the army. Liu Chengyin wants to die, but they don't want to.

The Wugang Army had previously expelled the imperial envoys and disobeyed the imperial order, which was already a serious crime. If they wanted to survive, the only way out now was to capture Liu Chengyin and hand him over to the imperial court.
In order to prevent the escape from being leaked, Liu Chengyin and his men sent most of the soldiers in the mansion out, leaving only a few personal guards in the mansion.
Chen Youlong and his men arrived, and Liu Chengyin and his men in the mansion were completely unprepared. After the two sides encountered each other, they immediately started fighting in the mansion.
There were only a few guards left in the government office who were ready to flee with Liu Chengyin. After a fierce fight, Liu Chengyin and his men were finally defeated, and Liu Chengyin was captured by Chen Youlong and his men.

Wugang City was in chaos all night. By dawn, the Ming army had already taken control of Wugang City without firing a single arrow.
(End of this chapter)