Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 400 Seizing the City
On the second day of the first lunar month in Shangyu, Zhejiang Province, it was a time for celebrating the festival, but Shangyu City was in chaos. Smoke billowed in the streets and alleys, and there were cries of grief everywhere.
After Wang Yi and his men had initially recruited the various camps, they forcibly moved the rebels from the various camps to the Dongshan Camp, which was closest to Shangyu, in the name of gathering troops for training.
The various camps in Siming Mountain were located at different distances. In order to gather the soldiers from each camp, Wang Yi and his men spent nearly a month. In the process of gathering the soldiers, the soldiers from each camp kept fleeing into the mountains.
The original 30,000-strong army of the various villages finally gathered at Dongshan Village, but the number was less than 20,000. By the time the troops from the various villages had gathered, it was already the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month.
After the troops from various camps gathered, Wang Yi and his men did not practice.

Shi Lang and his men selected captains from the soldiers of each camp according to their affiliation, with each camp consisting of 500 men. They led the troops of each camp.
After a rough division of the organization, Dongshan Village took out the stored grain in the village and let the volunteers eat their fill. After the volunteers in each village received the rice and grain, their morale was initially at peace.

The rebels had been well fed in Dongshan Village for seven days. When the New Year came, Wang Yi, Shi Lang and others suddenly sent their weapons to the army.

Without waiting for the soldiers to react, Shi Lang and his men led 20,000 volunteers out of the mountains and attacked Shangyu.
With 20,000 troops on the move, it's natural that they can't hide their whereabouts.

On the night when the Siming Mountain Volunteer Army set out, Shangyu County had actually received a report from villagers outside the city, but the officials in the city had closed their offices and were on vacation, so no one was there to take care of the matter.

The Shangyu County Magistrate also thought that the rebels in the mountains were short of food and were only looting food and money from the surrounding villages and towns, and did not take the rebellion seriously.

On the second day, 20,000 rebel troops arrived outside the city. The officials and gentry in Shangyu were shocked to realize that these rebel troops in the mountains were so bold that they were actually preparing to attack the city!

The magistrate of Shangyu County hurriedly ordered people to defend the city, but it was too late. Shangyu did not even have time to close the city gates before the rebels poured into the city.

In fact, even if Shangyu County closed the city gates, it would be useless. Shi Lang had already sent soldiers to sneak into the city a month ago.
The distribution of troops in the city and the weaknesses of the city walls have long been discovered by the rebels, and they can attack the city at any time.

After the rebels entered the city, Shi Lang and Wang Yi and others split into two groups.

Shi Lang was responsible for capturing the county government office and completely destroying the resistance in the city, while Wang Yi, Li Changxiang and others rushed to the east of the city to seize the rice in the Jumin warehouse.
Shi Lang, wearing red cotton armor, sits in the lobby of the Shangyu County Court, playing with a black warrant in his hand.

A middle-aged man in a black official robe fell to the ground in horror. Dark red blood flowed from his body, staining the ground red.

Several soldiers in cotton armor and holding long swords stood guard at the door. From time to time, screams were heard from outside the hall, but they soon disappeared.
Suddenly, there was a sound of footsteps outside the door. Lin Xingzhu, wearing armor, hurried into the hall and said respectfully:

"General, Wang Futai has captured the Jumin Warehouse. Please go to the east of the city to discuss matters."

"Wang Futai also sent a message saying that since the city had been captured, there should be no more killing."

"Wang Futai ordered the general to restrain the soldiers and not allow them to rob or injure anyone in the city."

Shi Lang leaned back in his chair, sneered, and said

"Wang Yi and his people are really just civil officials. They are still so unrealistic at this time. We don't need to care about them."

Shi Lang threw the order in his hand to the hall, suddenly stood up and said in a cold voice:

"But what Wang Yi said is right. Now that we have captured the city, we should not waste any more time."

"Send a message to the commanders of all the troops in the city. The city will be plundered for two days, but before noon tomorrow, all troops must gather in the north of the city."

"Tell them to keep an eye on their men. If there are still soldiers looting in the city after noon tomorrow, don't blame me for being ruthless."

"Yes, I will inform all the troops in the city."

Shi Lang waved his hand, and then led his guards out of the hall.
In the East City courtyard, Wang Yi, Shi Lang and other core members of the rebel army gathered in the hall. Wang Yi looked at Shi Lang opposite him and said in a deep voice:

"We are the righteous army of the imperial court. It would be fine if General Shi did not discipline his soldiers, but why did he send out orders to plunder for two days?"

Shi Lang was speechless when he heard this. If he could not allow his soldiers to plunder after breaking into the city, who would be willing to fight to the death to break into the city later?
These two have been leaders of the rebel army for several years, how come they don't even understand this?
Shi Lang looked at Wang Yi and the others who were looking serious, but his face remained unmoved. He said

"It is not difficult to restrain the soldiers, but they will continue to march westward and capture Shaoxing soon."

"If we don't allow the soldiers to plunder at this time, how will Wang Futai boost morale and make the soldiers obey orders?"

The 20,000 volunteers in Siming Mountain were forcibly assembled. The morale of the soldiers was uncertain at this time. If they wanted to encourage the soldiers to continue to obey orders, they could either pay them or let them plunder.

Simingshan had previously spent a lot of effort just to feed 20,000 people for seven days, so how could there be any money left to pay the soldiers?

At this time, if we want to lure these soldiers to continue to obey orders, we can only let them plunder.
After robbing money and getting benefits, the soldiers will become greedy, and they will continue to follow the rebels even if it is just to rob again.
If we force the soldiers to stop them from looting, most of the 20,000 troops will probably disperse immediately.

Shi Lang saw that Wang Yi was about to object, so before Wang Yi could say anything, he spoke again.

"Looting is wrong, but don't forget, Wang Futai, we are not sending troops for a small Shangyu!"

"If we affect the court's arrangements for the sake of Shangyu, we will lose the big picture for the small."

Wang Yi fell silent after hearing this. Shi Lang had no bottom line and would do anything to achieve his goals. Wang Yi didn't like Shi Lang very much.
But Wang Yi had to admit that Shi Lang's approach was indeed the best choice at this time.
Why did Shi Lang help Dalanzhai unify Siming Mountain after only one month in the mountains?
In addition to the elite soldiers under Shi Lang's command, another important reason was that Shi Lang acted extremely decisively and ruthlessly.
The leaders of the various villages would kill people at will, and they did not care about the unrest that might be caused in the mountains. In his eyes, morality and reputation were completely worthless, and they were all tools to achieve his goals.
Wang Yi's face was uncertain. Although Siming Mountain was the core of the court's plan, they were not the only one sending troops this time.

If they cannot make a splash in Zhejiang Province, it is very likely that the main attacking Zhoushan army will be in danger. For the safety of the army in the court, they can only sacrifice Shangyu City at this time.
Shi Lang saw the hesitation on Wang Yi's face, and his face was full of impatience, but he didn't want to dwell on this matter any further.
They were in the heart of the Qing army. Once Shangyu was broken, the Qing army would soon get the news. They had to be prepared before the Qing army could react.

Shi Lang spoke directly

"Let's end this matter here. We have no time to waste. How much rice and grain did we find in the city this time?"

Huang Zongyan saw Wang Yi nod above him and stood up to report.
Huang Zongyan was Huang Zongxi's younger brother. Wang Yi and Li Changxiang all followed the army, while Huang Zongxi stayed in Shangyu, Siming Mountain, close to the front line of the Qing army in Zhejiang Province. It was one of the hubs for the Qing court to transport supplies and food to the front line of Xinchang and other places.
This time, the rebels broke into the city and seized more than 5,000 dan of rice from the granary in the east of the city. These were all military rations that were to be transported to the front line.

The first goal of this expedition from Siming Mountain was to occupy Shangyu, but Shangyu was not the final goal. After occupying Shangyu, the rebels would continue to attack Shaoxing to the north.

Shaoxing is a major city in Zhejiang Province. After taking Shaoxing, the rebels could theoretically continue to advance northwards and threaten Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang Province.

As long as the rebels surrounded Shaoxing, the Qing invaders in Zhejiang would never remain indifferent.
Most of the soldiers in Zhejiang Province are now deployed on the front line. Apart from the cities on the front line, only Ningbo and Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province still have organized troops.
Hangzhou is the capital of Zhejiang Province. At this time, the rebels are besieging Shaoxing and are likely to attack Hangzhou directly. The troops in Hangzhou will certainly not move lightly.

According to the court's estimation, after learning the news, the Qing court would most likely mobilize troops from the front or Ningbo to suppress the rebels.
The Ming court also stationed a large army in Zhejiang Province at this time. If they wanted to be cautious, the Qing troops on the front line in Zhejiang Province would definitely not act rashly.
Therefore, the Qing court was most likely to use Tian Xiong's troops in Ningbo. If Tian Xiong wanted to go from Ningbo to Shaoxing to quell the rebellion, he would have to pass through Shangyu, which was the battlefield chosen by Shi Lang this time.
After Shi Lang and his men captured Shangyu, they divided their troops into two groups. More than 10,000 people attacked Shaoxing in the north, forcing the Qing army to send troops to quell the rebellion.
Shi Lang would lead his 300 elite soldiers and 3,000 soldiers from Dalanzhai to temporarily retreat into the mountains.
Five thousand dan of rice were seized from the city. The two groups of troops took as much as they could. What they could not take away was burned on the spot. Not a single grain of rice was left for the Ningbo Qing army.
Shi Lang thought of this and said without hesitation.

"Has the person who will lead the troops to Shaoxing been decided?"

"Wang Futai has a heavy responsibility and cannot take risks lightly. This time I will lead the army to attack Shaoxing."

Shi Lang was somewhat surprised when he saw Li Changxiang speak. Everyone knew that the troops heading to attack Shaoxing were actually abandoned.

Tian Xiong's men were regular soldiers who had experienced battles in the south of the Yangtze River. They were definitely not something that these so-called large armies assembled in the mountains could resist.

The troops attacking Shaoxing were extremely dangerous. Shaoxing was deep in the heart of the Qing territory. If they were defeated, they would not even be able to escape.

Li Changxiang is now the second most important person in Siming Mountain after Wang Yi. He does not need to take such risks. However, Shi Lang did not say much at this time. He spoke again.

"Lord Li, we are not going to capture Shaoxing, but we must create momentum, so as to force the Qing army to send troops as soon as possible."

Everyone in the hall decided to divide the troops, and then they left to prepare.

Two days later, more than 10,000 volunteers in Shangyu City set out again under the leadership of Li Changxiang, marching towards Shaoxing in a mighty force.

In Ningbo, in the government office, a group of officials in black robes sat in the hall.

At this moment, everyone frowned, and the atmosphere in the hall was extremely solemn.

Chen Mo, the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner of Zhejiang Province and the Governor of Ningshao, walked into the hall. Seeing that Tian Xiong and others had arrived, Chen Mo glanced down and a government official immediately stood up to report the rebellion of the righteous army.

Three days had passed since Shi Lang and his men captured Shangyu. Ningbo finally received news of the rebel rebellion.
According to the people who escaped from Shangyu, the rebels only left a few soldiers after looting Shangyu, and the main force continued to move north, most likely targeting Shaoxing.
The official informed Chen Mo of the situation of the rebels, and he spoke directly.

"There are many rebels in Zhejiang Province, but those who dare to attack the county town are extremely evil and will never be pardoned!"

"Shaoxing is a major city in the province and cannot be lost. Please ask General Tian to send troops immediately to wipe out this rebellious army as soon as possible."

Tian Xiong's eyes turned, but he said

"There are only 5,000 soldiers in the city. Ningbo is a transit hub for the front line, so we must leave troops to guard it."

"According to the intelligence we have received from the city, there are a large number of rebels this time, as many as 20,000 to 30,000 people. It is difficult to wipe them out with just the army in the city."

"I think we can withdraw half of the soldiers in the city and transfer another 2,500 soldiers from Ninghai nearby. The total number of soldiers from the two places will be 5,000. Only in this way can we be sure to eliminate the rebellious army as soon as possible."

Chen Mo heard this, but a trace of anger flashed across his face. It was already this time, and Tian Xiong was still playing tricks on him.

Chen Mo and Tian Xiong, one civil and one military, were responsible for all military and political affairs on the front line of Zhejiang Province. Shangyu and Shaoxing were also under their jurisdiction.
Since the imperial army was transferred to Zhejiang Province, there has been no incident of rebels breaking through the city in Zhejiang Province for several years.

If the rebel army broke through Shangyu, they could still hold on, but if Shaoxing was also broken, then the two of them would certainly be dismissed from their posts and imprisoned by the court.

Even if Tian Xiong wanted to die, this wouldn't be the way to do it.
Chen Mo's face darkened and he spoke directly

"General Tian, ​​even if you have some conflicts with Ning Hai, you cannot sacrifice public interests for personal gain at this time."

"The frontline troops must be on guard against the Ming court and must not be mobilized easily. General Tian will lead 4,000 soldiers out of the city and set out immediately to quell the rebellion."

In Chen Mo's opinion, Tian Xiong was just seeking revenge. Although the rebels were numerous, Chen Mo was in Zhejiang Province. How could he not know what kind of people these so-called rebels were? In fact, they were just ordinary people.

When Zhejiang Province was suppressing these rebel forces before, there was even a record of hundreds of people defeating nearly 10,000 rebel forces. Two or three thousand soldiers were enough to wipe out these rebel forces.
Tian Xiong was making excuses at this time. In fact, it was not because he had no confidence in suppressing the rebels, but he wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to cause trouble.
Although Ning Hai finally got the goods back, Chen Mo knew that the two sides were actually very unhappy.
Chen Tianchong even said that he would never accept Tian Xiong's blackmail, even if he had to take the Zhoushan sea route at the risk of being robbed by the Ming navy.

The silk business in Ninghai City has now stopped, and the two sides are in a stalemate. Tian Xiong wants to transfer the army of Ninghai to quell the rebellion. In fact, he wants to transfer the army of Ninghai to his command and force Chen Tianchong to surrender.
The need to leave troops to guard Ningbo was also just an excuse.
There are many soldiers on the front line of Tiantai and Ninghai. Ningbo is in the rear. As long as the front line is not lost, Ningbo will not be in any danger at all.

If the Ming army in the south breaks through the front line, what use will the extra one or two thousand soldiers in Ningbo City be?
Seeing that Tian Xiong, who was still trying to argue, had lost his patience, Chen Mo spoke directly

"General Tian, ​​we are all on the same rope. If Shaoxing is lost, neither you nor I can escape."

"The weapons and supplies needed for this expedition will be transferred directly to the army. I will also order the counties along the way to provide food and wages. The city must immediately send troops to quell the rebellion!"

Under Chen Mo's urging, the Qing army moved very quickly. On the second day, Tian Xiong led 4,000 soldiers out of the city.
At the west gate of Ningbo, several figures watched the Qing army retreating, then quickly blended into the crowd and ran towards the city.
(End of this chapter)