Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 318 Strong City
Outside Jingzhou City, the Ming army camps were connected and stretched for dozens of miles.

In the big tent, Du Yinxi sat at the top, and on the left below were Wen Anzhi, the governor of Hubei Province, Zheng Guai, the military supervisor, and Mao Shoudeng, the grain supervisor.
On the right are Li Guo, the general of the Loyalty Camp, Ma Chongxi, his deputy generals, Zhang Neng, and Ta Xince, the former lieutenant general of the Tengxiang Army and now the general of the Hubei Provincial Standard Camp.

Wen Anzhi was promoted to the position of Imperial Academy Priest during the reign of Emperor Chongzhen, and was well-known among scholars. After being impeached and dismissed by Xue Guoguan during the reign of Emperor Chongzhen, he returned to his hometown in anger and lived in seclusion in his hometown.
When Emperor Longwu established his government in Fujian Province, he was recommended by all the officials in the court. Emperor Longwu summoned him to be the Minister of Rites. However, due to the distance between the two places and the wars along the way, Wen Anzhi did not go to the Longwu court to serve.
In fact, even if Wen Anzhi chose to join the court at that time, it would be useless. Given the duration of the Longwu Dynasty, it would probably have collapsed before Wen Anzhi could reach Fujian Province.
After Du Yinxi returned, Hubei Province began to receive support from the court, but Wugang was too far away from Hubei Province. Although Hunan Province had tried its best to transport the goods, the transportation cost too much.

The food and money transported from Hunan Province was only enough to maintain the status quo, but it was difficult to support a large-scale war.

After Du Yinxi returned to Changde, he began to spread the news in Hubei Province, secretly spreading the news of the court's great victory in Fujian and Zhejiang, and the troops entering Huguang, etc. At the same time, he set up a salary officer and salary student to raise the money and food needed for the siege of Jingzhou.

The method of establishing a salary system for officials and students was not only used by He Tengjiao, but Du Yinxi had also used it in Hubei Province.

During the Longwu Dynasty, most of Hubei Province had been occupied by the Qing army. The provinces of Hubei Province could not collect taxes, and the imperial court did not provide support. Therefore, setting up a salary officer and salary student system was the least harmful way to raise food.

Since the Jiashen Rebellion, the country has been in turmoil, and all regions have been cut off from news. Even He Tengjiao and others from Hunan Province knew little about the affairs of the Guangdong Province court before Zhu Lang entered Hunan, not to mention Hubei Province, which had long been occupied by the Qing court.

The Qing court was defeated in Fujian and Zhejiang, so it naturally tried its best to block the news. After the fall of the Longwu Dynasty, the gentry in Hubei Province didn't even know who was the regent in the Ming court at that time. When the news of the Guangdong court reached Hubei Province, all parts of Hubei Province were immediately shocked.

After Wen Anzhi found the notice issued by Du Yinxi and others in Yiling, he immediately used his own prestige to call on the gentry in Yiling to raise thousands of shi of rice to supply the governor's office.
After Du Yinxi found out that Wen Anzhi was in Yiling, he was overjoyed and immediately submitted a petition to the court to appoint Wen Anzhi. After the court approved it, Wen Anzhi was now the governor of Hubei Province and came with the army to besiege Jingzhou.
In the big tent, everyone was silent, and the atmosphere was heavy.

Kong Youde marched out of Changsha in September. After Du Yinxi received the news in Hubei Province, he immediately began to prepare for the siege of Jingzhou.

Li Guo led his troops from Yidu to capture Songzi, the last city west of Jingzhou. At this point, all the cities to the west and south of Jingzhou fell into the hands of the Ming army.

Li Guo continued to advance from Songzi, and Du Yinxi also set out from Gong'an. In early October, the two sides arrived at the city of Jingzhou and joined forces.

The court had promised the Loyalty Camp that if they could capture Jingzhou, they would give Jingzhou to them. So the Loyalty Camp went all out this time, with a total of more than 27,000 troops.
Du Yinxi originally led an army of 5,000. After Shang Kexi led his troops to besiege Changde, Du Yinxi returned with 3,000 men led by Yang Guodong to reinforce, leaving only 2,000 Tengxiang imperial guards led by Ta Xinze under his command.
The Qing army besieged Changde. Although it tied down nearly 10,000 troops of Du Yinxi, the Ming army still had nearly 30,000 troops besieging Jingzhou.
At first, the Qing army in Jingzhou City only had 5,000 people led by Zheng Siwei, the general of Jingzhou of the Qing Dynasty. However, the Ming army had only besieged the city for a few days when Sun Dingliao, the governor of Huguang of the Qing Dynasty, led 4,000 troops to rescue, and the garrison in Jingzhou City also increased to 10,000 people.

The Ming army had the advantage in numbers, but this siege was extremely difficult. The Ming army had been attacking the city for more than two months, but they had only managed to reach the top of Jingzhou a few times.

The last time the Loyalty Camp besieged Jingzhou, the city of Jingzhou was completely unprepared. If Leke Dehun had not led his troops to raid the rear at the critical moment, Jingzhou might have been captured by the Loyalty Camp.

Jingzhou is an important town in Hubei Province. Although the Loyalty Camp was defeated by the Qing government last time, a large number of soldiers are still entrenched in the mountains west of Jingzhou.
The Loyalty Camp could march eastward along the Yangtze River at any time and attack Jingzhou again. In order to guard against Li Guo and others, the Qing court also began to intentionally strengthen the defense of Jingzhou.

After the last battle of Jingzhou, the Qing government not only ordered Jingzhou to strengthen its city walls, but also transferred a large number of artillery into Jingzhou. At this time, there were not only a hundred artillery pieces in Jingzhou, but also ten red heavy artillery pieces to help defend the city.
There were also one or two hundred artillery pieces in the Loyalty Camp, but these were small cannons weighing tens or hundreds of pounds.
The Shun army had swept across the country before, so they naturally had heavy artillery. However, after Li Zicheng was defeated at Shanhaiguan, the Shun army fled south in panic under the pursuit of the Qing court. All the Shun army's red heavy artillery was lost in the two provinces of Qin and Jin.
The Red Barbarian Heavy Artillery was a powerful siege weapon, but the artillery at that time was actually limited in power. Even if it was a Red Barbarian Heavy Artillery, it would take dozens or even hundreds of them to bombard the city wall for a month or two before a breach could be created.
Even the Red Barbarian heavy artillery was in such a state, not to mention the other small artillery. Even if the number of these small artillery in the Loyalty Camp was several times more, it would be impossible to shake the Jingzhou city wall.
Du Yinxi and his men also tried to charge the city despite the artillery fire, but they could not even reach the city wall, and the soldiers in the army suffered heavy casualties. Li Guo and his men tried two or three times, but they had to give up the idea of ​​forcibly attacking the city.
At this time, the Ming army came up with a plan to pile up earth and build a hill outside the city, hoping to build a hill as high as the city wall, and then transport the army's small artillery to the top of the hill to fight against the Qing army, hoping to suppress the firepower of the Qing army in the city.
The range of the Ming army's small cannons was only three or four hundred meters at most. The Ming army piled up earth under the city wall, and the Qing army in the city naturally could not remain indifferent.

After the Qing army discovered the Ming army's actions, they also frequently sent people out of the city to harass them. The Ming army's plan to build a mountain of earth was also progressing slowly at this time.
The Ming army has been piling up earth outside the city for a month, but the earth hill outside the city is only more than three meters high.
The city of Jingzhou is seven or eight meters high. It will take at least a month to pile up the earthen hill to the same height as the city wall. And it is unknown how long it will take to break through the city wall.

Du Yinxi glanced at the silent crowd and said

"Have you sent people to cut off the grain route to Jingmen and Qianjiang?"

Upon hearing this, Ta Xin Ce below also responded,
"According to the Governor's order, we have sent cavalry to block the official roads on both sides, and also sent people to block the river road in the south with rafts and iron chains."

"But the city of Jingzhou has been prepared for a long time, and the supply reserves are extremely sufficient. It may be difficult for us to force the city to surrender by cutting off their food supply."

When the Ming army captured Yiling, Zhijiang and other outlying towns of Jingzhou, Zheng Siwei had already noticed the Ming army's intention to attack Jingzhou again, and kept asking Luo Xiujin, the governor of Huguang in the Qing court, for help.

Luo Xiujin asked people in Hunan Province for help from Kong Youde and others, while at the same time, she continuously transferred supplies from Jingmen, Qianjiang and other places to Jingzhou City.
Given that the Qing army was well prepared, it would probably take at least a year or two to force Jingzhou to surrender by cutting off its food supply.
But it was impossible for the Ming army to besiege Jingzhou for so long. Not to mention how to solve the problem of food and wages for the 30,000 troops under the city of Jingzhou, once Kong Youde and others came back to support them, they would have to retreat immediately.
Du Yinxi looked at Li Guo on the right and said

"General Li, I asked you to secretly persuade the Qing garrison commander Zheng Siwei to surrender. How is that going?"

"I sent people to sneak into the city and offered him an official title according to the conditions given by the court, but this traitor directly killed the messenger and sent his head out of the city. I'm afraid this traitor is determined to work for the Tartars."

Zheng Siwei was originally the garrison commander of Jingzhou of Dashun. After Li Zicheng's death at Jiugong Mountain, Zheng Siwei saw that Dashun was losing, so before the Qing army arrived, he killed Meng Changgeng, the garrison commander of Jingzhou of Dashun, and surrendered to Ajige.

When Li Guo and his men besieged Jingzhou for the first time, they not only wanted to seize Jingzhou as their base, but also wanted to kill Zheng Siwei, a traitor to the Dashun regime.

Seeing that the siege was going badly, Du Yinxi wanted Li Guo and others to persuade Zheng Siwei to surrender after learning about his relationship with the Shun army. However, the surrender was obviously not going smoothly. Zheng Siwei was originally just a general in the Shun army, but after he led the army to defend Jingzhou, his official position in the Qing court also rose rapidly, and he became the general of Jingzhou.
Zheng Siwei killed Shangguan rebelling, it was too late to turn back, and he would not surrender until he was at his wit's end.
Everyone in the field frowned at this time. The enemy was well prepared to cut off their food supply. The enemy refused to surrender and attacked a strong city like Jingzhou. Everyone was helpless for a while.
There was silence for a while, then Du Yinxi looked at Wen Anzhi below and said

"Brother Ruzhi, is there any news from Gao Xiangxian?"

The person Du Yinxi was talking about was named Gao Doushu, whose courtesy name was Xiangxian.

Gao Doushu was the provincial governor of Huguang during the reign of Emperor Chongzhen. Zhang Xianzhong and his men surrendered in Gucheng and then rebelled again. Gao Doushu led the three brothers Wang Guangen to defend Yunyang for several years, repelling the attacks of Xiying Chuangying several times and successfully defending Yunyang.
In the 17th year of Chongzhen, the Ming court transferred Gao Doushu to be the governor of Hanzhong. However, when he was appointed, the Chongzhen Dynasty had been destroyed by Li Zicheng, and Hanzhong had fallen into the hands of the Shun army. Gao Doushu had no choice but to stay in Yunyang.
After the Qing army entered Huguang, Xu Qiyuan, the governor of Yunyang, and his three brothers Wang Guangen opened the city and surrendered to the Qing. Gao Doushu refused to surrender, so he fled the city and lived in seclusion in the countryside of Yunyang.
After Du Yinxi contacted Sun Shoufa and others in Xing'an City, Hanzhong, he followed the order of the court and began to find a way to transport food and money to Hanzhong.
Hanzhong and Hubei are separated by mountains. It is easy to collect rice, but it is extremely difficult to transport rice from Hubei to Hanzhong. The only feasible route to transport rice to Hanzhong is to start from Yunyang, go straight into Hanzhong via the Han River, and arrive at Xing'an.

But the problem was that Yunyang was controlled by the Qing court. The Ming court only controlled Changde in Hubei Province, which was thousands of miles away from Yunyang and could not influence Yunyang at all.
Du Yinxi discussed with Wen Anzhi how to transport grain. After discovering Gao Doushu's situation from Wen Anzhi, he immediately sent someone to contact Gao Doushu. After Gao Doushu learned of the court's intention, he gladly accepted the order.

Gao Doushu received the order from the Hubei Provincial Governor's Office and immediately rushed to Xiangyang to meet Wang Guangen and express his intention to give up his official position and go into business, hoping to obtain the protection of Wang Guangen and the other two.
Wang Guangen, Wang Guangtai, and Wang Chang were originally bandits. Gao Doushu personally recommended them to surrender, which allowed Wang Guangen and the other two to turn from bandits into officials.

Gao Doushu had been very kind to Wang Guangen, and now he came to ask for protection for business, and Wang Guangen and others directly agreed.
Wang Guangen and his companions were stationed in Yunyang before they surrendered to the Qing Dynasty. After they surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, the Qing government transferred Wang Guangen and his companions to Xiangyang.
Although Wang Guangen was no longer the general of Yunyang, he had been stationed in Yunyang for a long time and still had many old subordinates in the city.

After meeting Wang Guangen, Gao Doushu returned directly to Yunyang to set up a grain store and began to collect rice in Yunyang and other places.
The Xingtai Grain Company founded by Gao Doushu, under the banner of Wang Guangen, successfully sent the collected rice to Hanzhong without any suspicion.
Wen Anzhi took out an envelope from his sleeve, handed it to Du Yinxi above him, and said

"I received a letter from Brother Xiangxian yesterday. The Yunyang Grain Company is operating normally and is still supplying rice to Hanzhong. However, the matter of persuading Wang Guangen and his brother to surrender is not going smoothly."

"According to Brother Xiangxian, Wang Guangen had already discovered that he was transporting grain to Hanzhong a month ago. Brother Xiangxian directly expressed the court's intention to recruit him, but Wang Guangen and the other two did not agree."

"But Wang Guangen also did not report the matter of the grain store. He just pretended not to know. These three people are probably still waiting to see the situation."

Gao Doushu was tasked not only with raising food, but also with persuading Wang Guangen and the other two to surrender.

Jingzhou is an important place, and Xiangyang is a world-famous important town. The city defense of Xiangyang is even better than that of Jingzhou.
At this time, it was already so difficult for them to attack Jingzhou. If they were to attack Xiangyang in the future, they didn't know how many soldiers would be killed or injured. Therefore, the best way was to persuade Wang Guangen and others to surrender.

Du Yinxi and others wanted to instigate a rebellion in Xiangyang at this time, but in fact, they were still doing it for Jingzhou.

Jingzhou has been under siege for a long time. Xiangyang is a strategic place between the north and the south of the country. If Wang Guangen and his three men can be persuaded to seize Xiangyang, it will surely shock Hubei Province and greatly change the situation in Huguang.
Du Yinxi read Gao Doushu's letter, thought for a moment, and said

"I have received a letter from the imperial court. The imperial court has defeated the Qing invaders in Sichuan Province. Now, except for Baoning Prefecture, the entire Sichuan Province has been taken over by the imperial court."

"The court has ordered the Kuizhou Prefecture in Sichuan to be responsible for the food and salaries in Hanzhong. Huguang no longer needs to transport food to Hanzhong."

"Brother Xiangxian is in enemy territory. It is too dangerous. Send a letter to Brother Xiangxian and ask him to shut down the grain station and stop transporting grain to Hanzhong."

"Since Wang Guangen and the other two noticed that the grain company was delivering grain to the Hanzhong government troops, but they still pretended not to know, it shows that these three people are not determined to surrender to the enemy."

"Now that Jingzhou has been under siege for a long time, we must find a way to mobilize the Qing invaders in other places. Xiangyang is the best place to make a breakthrough. Let Brother Xiangxian find a way to persuade Wang Guangen to surrender."

Wen Anzhi was embarrassed when he heard this. He and Gao Doushu were good friends. Gao Doushu was in the enemy territory and it was already very dangerous. If he was forced to persuade Wang Guangen to surrender, it would be very likely to endanger Gao Doushu's safety.

Besides, persuading someone to surrender is not something that can be done in a hurry. It sounds simple, but it is a life-threatening matter to do it. How could the three Wang Guangen brothers easily agree to it?

If Gao Doushu had not been very kind to Wang Guangen and the others, if someone else had gone there, they would have been chopped to pieces by Wang Guangen and the others.

Du Yinxi saw Wen Anzhi's expression and knew that his request was a bit unreasonable, so he could only sigh.

"I also know that this is not an easy task. Please tell Brother Xiangxian to prioritize his own safety and ask him to think of more ways to persuade him to surrender."

"Jingzhou is now in a difficult situation. The imperial court has abandoned Hunan Province, which led to the Qing army from Hubei Province leaving. If this continues, I am afraid we will return empty-handed again."

It is easy to surrender a city like Jingzhou, but if you want to take it back, thousands or even tens of thousands of people will die. Don't even think about it.
The Ming army's military meeting ended in silence. The Ming army under Jingzhou City continued to pile up earth and hills to try to attack the city, but under the harassment and bombardment of the Qing army, the progress was still extremely slow, and there was no hope of breaking through Jingzhou.

(End of this chapter)