Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 323: Vow
At Tianbao Tower, Li Shiying took orders and left. Soon only Wang Guangtai and Wang Chang were left in the room.

Wang Guangtai looked at Wang Chang beside him and said

"Go and close the door and tell the soldiers outside to stay away."

Wang Chang waved away the soldiers outside the door, closed the door, and then went back to the room.
Wang Chang walked back to the table, but found that Wang Guangtai, who had been sitting at the table and remained calm, now had his eyes slightly closed and leaned back on the chair, with a tired look on his face.

But Wang Chang didn't care about so many things at this time. It seemed that they had successfully taken control of Xiangyang City, but in fact this was not the end, but just the beginning.

The people had been killed, and the news had spread. The Qing government might learn of the rebellion in Xiangyang at any time and mobilize a large army to suppress it.

Xiangyang is located in the hinterland of Hubei Province, with Yunyang to the west, Henan Province to the north, De'an Prefecture to the east, and Chengtian Prefecture to the south.

Once the Qing army sent a large army to encircle and suppress them, they would not even know where to retreat to. There would be no time for them to rest.

Wang Chang looked at Wang Guangtai leaning on the back of his chair and said directly

"Second brother, all the gates in the city have been controlled by our people, what should we do next?"

Wang Guangtai heard this and then opened his eyes and started to sit up straight again.

But Wang Guangtai did not respond. He just sat at the table, frowning and thinking. Wang Guangtai's face was uncertain, and the room was silent for a while.

Wang Guangtai was silent for a long time. He glanced at the two appointment documents on the table, and suddenly a hint of determination flashed in his eyes. He said

"Take your men and kill all the officials in the Xiangyang government office."

Wang Chang subconsciously stood up when he heard what Wang Guangtai said, but after hearing what Wang Guangtai said, Wang Chang's face was filled with astonishment and he said

"Why is this happening? We have already taken control of Xiangyang City. Why do we need to kill people like this?"

"It would be fine if we surrendered to the Ming, but if we kill all the officials in Xiangyang now, once the news gets to the Qing court, we will really be at war with the Qing court to the death."

Wang Guangtai looked calm, glanced at Wang Chang, and said

"So what are you going to do?"

"Since we have already rebelled, we should quickly send Gao Doushu into the city to stabilize people's hearts. We are still holding a group of officials in Xiangyang Prefecture and Yang Wenfu and others in our hands. We can use these people to exchange our eldest brother from the Qing court."

Wang Guangtai looked at Wang Chang, who had a serious expression, but shook his head slightly. If they could capture a few Tartar generals at this time, they might be able to get Wang Guangen back from the Qing court.
However, Yang Wenfu, Yang Kuang and other Han Chinese could never get Wang Guangen back from the Qing government.

Yang Kuang and others were just a group of Han officials. They were dead. For the Qing court, there was nothing lacking in the world except Han people who wanted to be officials. People like Yang Wenfu were of no value in the eyes of the Qing court.

Wang Guangen was actually of no value to the Qing court, but the Qing court would never easily make this concession.
If the Qing court agreed to the exchange at this time, wouldn't it be telling the world that in the future, as long as they could capture a group of Qing officials, they could threaten the Qing court and exchange hostages from it?
Once this precedent is set, the Qing Dynasty will lose face and rebellions will surely break out everywhere.

Wang Guangtai had no expression on his face and said

"Let's not talk about whether the Qing court will agree to the exchange. Do you think Gao Doushu will come just because you want him to?"

"The scout sent to Nanzhang just returned to report that there was no one at the address left by Gao Doushu in Nanzhang City. Only one personal attendant stayed in the house to pass on the message, and Gao Doushu was nowhere to be seen."

"We have served under Gao Doushu for several years. How could a man like Gao Doushu be someone who would be manipulated by us?"

"If Gao Doushu doesn't see the evidence of our rebellion in Nanzhang, he will definitely not show up easily. We don't have time to delay any longer."

"We are now under the banner of rebellion and return to Ming, which is how we can barely calm the emotions of the army."

"We have already rebelled against the Qing court. If Gao Doushu doesn't come any later, the army will probably be in chaos. Do you know what the consequences will be?"

Wang Chang's face also looked grim after hearing what Wang Guangtai said. He said in a deep voice
"But if we kill these officials, the Qing court will be furious. What should we do then, brother?"

Wang Guangtai heard this and his face was filled with pain. He said

"I told my eldest brother at the beginning that he should either surrender to the Ming Dynasty or completely cut off contact with Gao Doushu, but he just wouldn't listen and thought he could have it both ways."

"My brothers and I only have 7,000 soldiers. We are still considered important figures in Xiangyang City, but in front of the Qing court, our few thousand soldiers are nothing."

"Now the Qing court and the Ming court are fighting for the throne, and the battle is going to end to the death. How can we be swayed?"

"Now that we have rebelled against the Qing court, we can only surrender to the Ming court completely to ensure our survival. If we stay here, we can at least take care of Big Brother's wife and children. If we still want to sit back and watch the situation to avoid offending anyone, then in the end, all of us will die."

Wang Guangtai had a sad look on his face. Previously, they could be said to have surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, but now they surrendered and rebelled again. In the eyes of both the Ming and Qing dynasties, they became completely treacherous people.
At this time, if they wanted to gain the support and trust of the Ming court as soon as possible, they had to completely cut off their retreat to the Qing court. The officials in Xiangyang were the Wang family's letter of surrender to the Ming court.

Wang Chang looked at Wang Guangtai, who looked painful, and felt heavy in his heart. After a moment, he spoke:

"Brother, tell me what to do and I'll go right away."

Wang Guangtai looked out the window at the deep rainy night and spoke in a deep voice:

"First, kill Yang Kuang, the prefect of Xiangyang. Then, immediately take his head and official seal to Nanzhang to invite Gao Doushu into the city."

"Yang Kuang once served under Gao Doushu. Gao Doushu must recognize him. When Gao Doushu sees Yang Kuang's head, he will know that we have made up our minds to rebel."

"Once you have found Gao Doushu, you must immediately escort him back to Xiangyang. Only when Gao Doushu enters the city can the soldiers feel at ease."

Wang Chang responded in a low voice, then took the helmet from the table and walked straight out the door.
Soon, a scream was heard outside the door. The scream only lasted for a moment before it faded away and completely disappeared in the cold rainy night.

The four gates of Xiangyang City were already closed. In the rain, dozens of cavalrymen wearing straw raincoats were galloping towards the city.

Wang Chang escorted Gao Doushu to the city. The soldiers on the city wall checked the identities of Wang Chang and others before slowly opening the city gate.
After Wang Chang and his companions entered the city, they headed straight to the Xiangyang government office. After Gao Doushu entered the government office, he was led into the back hall by Wang Guangtai.
In the back hall, there were heads placed one after another, and next to each head was an official seal. These were all officials from Xiangyang appointed by the Qing court.
Wang Guangtai was born a bandit and was extremely ruthless. After he decided to surrender to the Ming court, he killed more than ten officials in Xiangyang Prefecture and County, including Yang Wenfu and Qi Shangyou, Yang Kuang, the prefect of Xiangyang, Li Shifa, the prosecutor, and Pan Chaoyou, the magistrate of Xiangyang.
Wang Guangtai kept Yang Wenfu and the other two, not because Yang Wenfu had told Wang Guangen the truth, but because the two were still useful. They were military commanders sent by the Governor's Office and had access to a lot of the latest intelligence from the Governor's Office.

Moreover, keeping these two people would also allow Gao Doushu to confirm Wang Guangen's current situation and dispel Gao Doushu's suspicion about them.
Gao Doushu looked at the official seals of the heads in the hall and knew that Wang Guangtai had made up his mind to surrender to the court.

In the lobby, Gao Doushu looked at Wang Guangtai opposite him and said, "I have defended Yun with General Wang for several years in the past, and I know that General Wang is loyal and righteous. Today, General Wang resolutely returned to the court, and the court has gained a great general. I will report to the court later to commend General Wang's merits in returning to the court."

"That day, the Tartars suddenly arrived in Huguang, and all kinds of alarming news came from the capital. At that time, there was chaos in Yunyang. I could not wait for the court's order. I was alone and had no help, so I had no choice but to surrender to the Tartars."

"Who would have thought that this Tartar had such evil intentions that he forced us to shave our heads. Since we shaved our heads, the soldiers and civilians in the city have been looking forward to returning to the imperial court every day."

"This time, our subordinates have returned to justice and are the people in the city who look up to us. We only ask the court to forgive our past sins and will never talk about rewards again."

Upon hearing this, Gao Doushu praised him a few more times and promised that the court would never pursue the past. After hearing Gao Doushu's guarantee, Wang Guangtai's expression also calmed down a little.

In fact, both sides knew very well why Xiangyang City wanted to rebel at this time. However, for the Governor's Office of Hubei Province and Gao Doushu, it was not important why Wang Guangtai rebelled. What was important was that the court wanted to use the Xiangyang rebellion to leverage the situation in Hubei Province.

Wang Guangtai looked at Gao Doushu opposite him, thought for a moment, and then said

"Although I have returned to the court, except for Xiangyang, all other places are in the hands of the Tartars. Xiangyang is now surrounded by enemies and the situation is critical."

"I think that we should take advantage of the Qing invaders' unpreparedness and immediately send troops to capture Yunyang and other places to ease the crisis in Xiangyang."

Gao Doushu immediately shook his head when he heard this and said

"No, the imperial army is besieging Jingzhou right now. General, you should send troops quickly to help the imperial court seize Jingzhou."

Wang Guangtai was embarrassed when he heard what Gao Doushu said. He said

"I only have about 7,000 men under my command, and only about 1,000 or 2,000 of them are elite warriors. Even if we send all of them to Jingzhou, I'm afraid they won't be able to help the imperial court break the city."

"I and Mr. Gao jointly defended Yun before. Many of my former subordinates are in Yunyang and other places. Now as long as I lead the army there, I will be able to easily take the land and recover Yunyang for the court."

Gao Doushu heard what Wang Guangtai said, but still shook his head and said

"It is easy to capture Yunyang, but you must know that even if we take back Yunyang now, it will be useless."

Wang Guangtai was born a bandit after all. Although he was ruthless, his vision was still limited to his own city and he could not see the overall situation of Hubei Province.
Wang Guangtai was forced to rebel against the Qing Dynasty at this time and might be surrounded and suppressed by the Qing government at any time, so Wang Guangtai was eager to capture Yunyang to save a way out for himself.

But it was useless to capture Yunyang at this time. Xiangyang suddenly rebelled and was surrounded by enemies. It had become an enclave in the Qing territory.

Even if Wang Guangtai captured Yunyang at this time, it would only make this enclave a little bigger, and it still did not change the situation of being surrounded by the Qing court on all sides.
To the south of Xiangyang Prefecture is Chengtian Prefecture, and to the south of Chengtian Prefecture is Jingzhou Prefecture

There is only one way to keep Xiangyang at this time, and that is to seize Jingzhou.

As long as Jingzhou is captured, the army of Jingzhou can march northward in large numbers to recapture Chengtian Prefecture and connect the three prefectures of Jingzhou, Chengtian, and Xiangyang. Only in this way can the court truly gain a foothold in Hubei Province.

If the imperial court could not capture Jingzhou at this time, let alone Yunyang, it would be useless even if Wang Guangtai took the opportunity to capture Nanyang. He would still be surrounded by the Qing court on all sides.

No matter how many troops are in Xiangyang now, once the Qing government mobilizes a large army to encircle and suppress them, they will all be lost in the end. It is completely meaningless.

Wang Guangtai remained silent after hearing this. In fact, Wang Guangtai might not know that only by taking Jingzhou could he truly defend Xiangyang.

But Wang Guangtai's starting point was completely different from Gao Doushu's. For Gao Doushu, only by taking Jingzhou and connecting the three prefectures together could he truly defend Xiangyang and allow the court to gain a firm foothold in Hubei Province.

But this was not the case for Wang Guangtai. Wang Guangtai did not care whether Xiangyang could be defended. At this time, Wang Guangtai captured Yunyang in order to find a way out.

As long as he captured Yunyang, even if the Qing government launched a large-scale siege in the future, he could abandon Yunyang and retreat to Hanzhong or Sichuan Province to protect his soldiers.

Gao Doushu looked at Wang Guangtai's expression and immediately understood what Wang Guangtai was thinking. Wang Guangtai wanted to go to Yunyang at this time just to leave a way out for himself.

Gao Doushu's mind turned, and he spoke again

"The success or failure of Jingzhou is related to the overall situation of the court. General Wang is certainly meritorious at this time, but if the general can help the court seize Jingzhou, this will be the real great achievement."

"Besides, if you lead your army to Jingzhou now, even if you fail to capture Jingzhou, you can just follow the court back to Hunan Province. Do you agree?"

Wang Guangtai also said in a deep voice at this time

"It is just as Master Gao said. Only by taking Jingzhou can we truly defend Xiangyang."

"But the imperial court's tens of thousands of troops failed to besiege Jingzhou. I am afraid that even if I, a mere thousand men, reach Jingzhou, it will be useless."

Gao Doushu felt relieved when he heard Wang Guangtai let go. A hint of sternness flashed in Gao Doushu's eyes, and he said

"On my way to Xiangyang, I heard General Wang Chang say that the Qing court wanted to transfer you away from Xiangyang in the name of rescuing Jingzhou."

"Since the Qing court wants you to rescue Jingzhou, then General Wang will lead the army to rescue Jingzhou."

Wang Guangtai was slightly stunned when he heard this, and then he immediately understood what Gao Doushu meant.

Wang Guangtai was silent for a moment, and finally made up his mind. It was just as Gao Doushu said. If he didn't take Jingzhou, he would not be able to defend Xiangyang.
Moreover, they had already returned to the Ming Dynasty at this time. Gao Doushu's intention must also be the intention of the Hubei Provincial Governor's Office.

If he refused to obey orders at this time, it would be difficult for him to get support from the Ming court in the future.

Wang Guangtai thought of this and said without hesitation.

"If I lead the army to Jingzhou, what should we do with Xiangyang? Or should we just abandon Xiangyang and withdraw the whole army to Jingzhou?"

"The matter of Jingzhou must be handled as soon as possible. General Wang should lead the elite troops and rush to Jingzhou day and night. There should be no delay. If the entire army leaves the city, it will be useless even if we finally reach Jingzhou."

"Besides, Xiangyang is an important city in the world. It is easy to abandon the city now, but it will be difficult to take it back. Unless it is absolutely necessary, Xiangyang must not be abandoned lightly."

"General Wang, please order General Wang Chang to stay in the city to lead the troops. I will defend Xiangyang for you!"

Gao Doushu and Wang Guangtai made a plan to send troops to Jingzhou. The next day, Wang Guangtai led 300 cavalrymen out of the city and headed south towards Jingzhou.
(End of this chapter)