Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 406 Interception
Shangyu City, the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, Tongming Posthouse

The dust was flying on the post road in the east of the city. The Qing army messenger in black military uniform was riding on a horse and galloping towards the post station.
Ningbo and Shaoxing are more than 200 miles apart. To reach Shaoxing, one must pass through Yuyao and Shangyu. All messengers and caravans must take this route. Only this route can continuously provide supplies for merchants and travelers along the way.

The black-clad soldier was extremely agile. When he arrived at the post station, he had already jumped onto the ground before his horse had even stopped.

The soldier grabbed the braid that was swinging in front of him and threw it back, then strode into the post house and shouted

"Where are the soldiers at the post station? Quickly prepare horses for me, and prepare two days' worth of food and water. I will set out immediately."

The soldier shouted and rushed into the room, but he was stunned as soon as he entered the room.

There were no soldiers from the post station in the room at this time. The room was in a mess. There was roasted chicken and barbecue on the table. Five big men in black were sitting at the table and eating heartily.
When the soldier saw the people at the table, he immediately realized something was wrong. These people in the room were too strong, even stronger than him, the governor's personal soldiers.

Although the people in the room were wearing military uniforms, they could not hide the murderous aura on their bodies.

The Qing army messenger broke into the house, and the sound of drinking and playing finger-guessing games in the room suddenly stopped. Several big men in black heard the sound and turned to look at the door, meeting the messenger's eyes.

The messenger looked alert, slowly backed away from the door, and said

"Who are you and where are your troops?"

The leading black-clad man looked at the quietly retreating messenger, with a hideous smile flashing across his face.

"Good luck has come early in the morning. It seems that we brothers are destined to make a fortune today."

The black-clad messenger had sensed the danger and turned to rush out of the room. But before he reached the door, a sharp sound of air breaking came from behind him.

The black iron arrow pierced his thigh, and the Qing army courier screamed and fell to the ground. However, before he could react, the sharp tip of the knife had already stabbed into the back of the courier, and red blood immediately flew out.
The Qing army courier only felt a chill on his back, and then a tidal wave of pain surged from his back. At the last moment, he vaguely heard the voices of reward and ten taels of silver coming from behind him, but soon he knew nothing.
In a posthouse in the east city of Shangyu, Shi Lang and Lin Xingzhu sat at a table with a token and a bloodstained envelope on it.

Shi Lang tore open the envelope, glanced at it casually, and then threw the letter back on the table.
Shi Lang looked at Lin Xingzhu beside him and said

"This is the number one?"

"This is the fifth one. Two were captured during the search on the post road, and the other three rushed to the post station on their own and were captured and killed by soldiers on the spot."

Shi Lang and his men captured Shangyu on the second day of the first lunar month. After looting the city for two days, Li Changxiang led the remaining nearly 10,000 troops to continue the westward attack on Shaoxing, while Shi Lang, Wang Yi and his men returned to the mountains.

When Tian Xiong led his troops to Shangyu, the city was already empty. Tian Xiong took back Shangyu without any soldiers.

After Tian Xiong occupied Shangyu, he immediately reported his victory to Ningbo, saying that he had fought hard against the bandits in Shangyu, defeated 3,000 bandits, killed 200 bandits, and successfully recaptured Shangyu.

Moreover, Tian Xiong's military exploits can all be checked. If it is said that there are 200 heads, then there are 200 heads, not one more and not one less.

Although Tian Xiong reported the victory to Ningbo, he knew best what was going on.
After Tian Xiong found that Shangyu had been completely looted, he did not stay in the city. He only left two hundred soldiers to guard it, and then continued to lead his troops to attack Shaoxing.

Although the victory in Shangyu was fake, as long as he defeated the enemy troops in Shaoxing, the two victories would be real.
After Tian Xiong led his army away, Wang Yi, Shi Lang and others led their troops out again. The two hundred soldiers left in Shangyu City saw the army coming and did not put up any resistance at all. They simply abandoned the city and fled.

Tian Xiong soon received the news that Shangyu was captured by the enemy army again, but he didn't care at all and continued to gather his troops and marched towards Shaoxing.
Tian Xiong's scouts have learned that there are more than 10,000 bandit troops under the city of Shaoxing. It is obvious that the main force of the bandit troops is under the city of Shaoxing.
The bandits in the rear suddenly occupied Shangyu, simply to cut off his retreat, force him to return to attack Shangyu, and delay his advance. However, these bandits did not understand that he did not need a retreat at all.
Tian Xiong didn't need any food supply route at this time. As long as Tian Xiong could reach the city of Shaoxing, Tian Xiong's army could get food and salary supplies from Shaoxing or surrounding towns at any time.

This is the advantage of fighting in the hinterland. Tian Xiong only needs to consider how to eliminate the bandit army as quickly as possible, without having to consider the risk of having his food supply cut off.

Tian Xiong thought he had seen through the intentions of the Shangyu bandits, but Shi Lang and his men had never thought of cutting off their food supply.

Shi Lang and his men reoccupied Shangyu with only one purpose, which was to cut off the communication between Ningbo and Shaoxing and prevent Tian Xiong's army from returning to Ningbo.

Shi Lang and his men were already prepared for a battle in Shangyu City, but who would have thought that Tian Xiong would turn a blind eye to them?

Shi Lang and the others saw that Tian Xiong was heading straight for Shaoxing, so they naturally did not take any action. In Wang Yi's or Shi Lang's plan, the 10,000 people in Shaoxing were given to Tian Xiong to eat.

As long as Tian Xiong could stay in Shaoxing for a few more days, Shi Lang would not care even if he strangled all these 10,000 people.
Shi Lang thought of this, looked at Lin Xingzhu beside him, and said softly
"How is the situation in Shaoxing? Is there any news?"

"No news has been sent back, but last night the scouts in the army found several deserters in the west of the city who claimed to be from the mountain righteous army."

"According to what he said, Tian Xionggang arrived in Shaoxing a few days ago and the rebel army was defeated. These people took advantage of the chaos to escape. In my opinion, the situation in Shaoxing may not be very good."

Shi Lang nodded slightly, but did not say anything. He then spoke again.

"What about Ningbo? What's the situation over there? Is there no news yet?"

"It's the same letter as before. According to Zhoushan's plan, they will send out troops on the 11th. Governor Zhang ordered us to hold off Tian Xiong for at least three days. After that, no more letters were sent."

"But according to the two Tartar messengers captured yesterday, the imperial court should have captured Ningbo on the 12th."

"I think the letter from Ningbo might have been sent into the mountains, and it took some time for the mountain stronghold to be transferred to Shangyu, so it was not delivered in time."

Shi Lang was thoughtful when he heard this. According to Zhang Jiayu's plan, the Zhoushan army would march out on the 11th, and Zhang Jiayu asked them to hold Tian Xiong for three days, which meant they had to hold out until the 14th.

According to the Qing army messenger, the Ming army only broke into the city on the 12th, one day later than originally planned.

If they took the city on the 12th and held it for three days, they should have held it until the 15th.
Today is already the 15th, which means they have completed their mission and can evacuate at any time.
Shi Lang was thinking about the two battles when a soldier came riding in hastily. The cavalryman broke into the pavilion and immediately spoke:

"General Shi, the scouts received news that a large group of Qing troops were spotted 20 miles west of the city, flying a field-shaped flag. Governor Wang asks the general to enter the city immediately to discuss matters."

Lin Xingzhu waved away the soldiers, frowned slightly, and said

"They came so fast. The rebels in Shaoxing must have been defeated by Tian Xiong." "More than 10,000 rebels were defeated by him in just a few days. Although Tian Xiong committed treason, he is also very vicious. Should we fight or defend now?"

Shi Lang did not respond after hearing this. He sat in the chair and pondered for a moment before making a decision.

"Let's go back and defend the city. Buy a few more days for those idiots in Zhoushan. I also have a chance to meet Tian Xiong."

"Vicious? I want to see how vicious he is."

A hint of sternness flashed in Shi Lang's eyes. Now that Ningbo had been captured, Shi Lang could let go of Shangyu.

Even if the battle was not going well, the worst that could happen was that he would just abandon the city with his elite troops. What could Tian Xiong do to him?

Shi Lang decided to continue defending the city, not only to buy Ningbo a few more days, but also because Shi Lang found that there was an opportunity for war.
After Shi Lang led his army into Zhejiang Province, he did not engage in a battle except for killing some mountain stronghold leaders in Siming Mountain. He also did not encounter any resistance when he captured Shangyu.

If we can kill a lot in Shangyu at this time, it will also be a brilliant achievement.
Shangyu City, on the 16th day of the first lunar month, in the afternoon, fierce shouts of killing resounded through the city walls

At the west gate, more than a thousand soldiers were carrying ladders and rushing towards the city wall with desperate expressions.
A group of soldiers dressed in tattered clothes and old jackets rushed towards the city wall with broken swords and spears in their hands. If you look closely, you can find that some of these attacking soldiers are even wearing Ming army uniforms.
The Ming army on the top of the city wall looked at the soldiers rushing down from below, but they showed no mercy. As soon as the soldiers arrived at the foot of the city, the top of the city wall threw down large and small stones, and from time to time there was a large rain of arrows, shooting all the soldiers attacking the city to the ground.
The soldiers who were attacking the city did not even have time to put up the ladders before they immediately collapsed and retreated. The cavalrymen who were guarding the rear saw the defeated soldiers retreating, but they were also ruthless and went forward to hack and kill them with swords.
The defeated soldiers had just retreated, but were soon driven back to the city like cattle and sheep.
There were fierce shouts and cries of killing everywhere on the top of the city wall. Huge pieces of wood and stones were rolling down, sharp arrows were piercing into bodies, and screams and cries were heard everywhere.
A mile outside the west city, Tian Xiong stood under the general's flag in iron armor. The soldiers attacking the city from a distance had no power to fight back. They didn't even touch the edge of the city wall, and fell to the ground like wheat.

Tian Xiong looked at the soldiers falling to the ground under the city, but his face showed no reaction. He said coldly to the guard beside him:

"Send another 500 men to attack the city. I want to see how many rocks and arrows these bandits can throw."

On the tenth day of the first lunar month, Tian Xiong led his army to Shaoxing and won a great victory on the first day of the first lunar month. On the second day, Tian Xiong directly deployed his troops outside the city of Shaoxing and took the initiative to attack the 8,000 rebels under the city with 4,000 men.
Although the rebels had twice as many troops as the Qing army and had a stronghold, they only lasted less than half an hour before being defeated by Tian Xiong's army.
In the battle under Shaoxing City, the Qing army killed 2,000 people and captured 3,000. It took Tian Xiong less than two days to completely defeat the tens of thousands of rebels under Shaoxing City.

Tian Xiong rested in Shaoxing for two days, then led his troops back to attack Shangyu again, preparing to completely wipe out the rebels in Siming Mountain.

At this time, all the soldiers who were attacking the city were the rebels captured by the Qing army under the city of Shaoxing. Even if all these people died, Tian Xiong didn't care at all.
Tian Xiong did not expect these surrendered soldiers to be able to attack the city. The only purpose of these surrendered soldiers was to consume the city's defense supplies.
Wait until all the arrows and rocks in the city are gone, and wait until the elite archers on the city wall are exhausted, then the soldiers under his command can attack the city in one go.

The guards took the order and retreated. Soon, another group of surrendered soldiers were driven to the front. However, before these people could attack the city, the deputy general Xu Xin, who was originally supervising the battle at the front, suddenly rode back in a hurry.
Tian Xiong frowned as he looked at Xu Xin, who was in panic. However, Xu Xin no longer cared about Tian Xiong's attitude. He got off his horse and spoke immediately.

"General, the scouts in the army just found the messenger sent by Ningbo in the East City."

"According to this person, the Ming army launched a massive attack from the sea and broke through Ningbo on the 12th. Ningbo is gone."

"What did you say"

Tian Xiong was stunned for a moment, and then he reacted, his face was filled with shock and anger.

Tian Xiong suddenly understood why the Shangyu bandits came back and why they dared to occupy the city even though they knew the Shaoxing bandits had been destroyed.
Whether it is Shaoxing or Shangyu, these bandit troops are all abandoned. The purpose is to delay them and prevent them from returning to Ningbo for assistance.
Although Tian Xiong had already understood the Ming army's evil plan, he immediately felt a surge of fear in his heart.

Ningbo was his garrison. Although he had won a great victory in suppressing the bandits, even if all the bandits were wiped out, it would not be enough to offset the guilt of Ningbo's fall.

That's Ningbo. Now Ningbo is the logistics hub of the front line. How much military supplies, weapons, and food are stored in the city? When Tian Xiong thought of the losses in the city, his face turned pale.

Tian Xiong's expression kept changing, sometimes violent and sometimes frightened. Xu Xin saw Tian Xiong was silent for a long time, but now he said in a deep voice

"General, there is no time to hesitate now, and there is still hope for a turnaround."

"We were ordered to go on this expedition. We were suppressing a rebellion when Ningbo fell. Ningbo was lost because Chen Mo failed to coordinate and defend the city. How can you blame us for everything?"

"The most urgent task now is to recapture Ningbo. We must withdraw our troops immediately to recapture Ningbo."

"Ningbo City must be reclaimed by the general himself. Only in this way can we atone for our sins."

Tian Xiong also began to calm down after hearing what Xu Xin said. Tian Xiong's face was gloomy and he was silent for a moment before speaking in a cold voice.

"Not enough. Ningbo alone is not enough. Ningbo must be taken back, and all the rebels in Zhejiang Province must be wiped out. Only in this way can we atone for this crime."

"Xu Xin, you lead one thousand soldiers and three thousand surrendered soldiers to guard this Shangyu bandit army and keep them in the city."

"After I recapture Ningbo, I will immediately send troops to help. If these bandits want to abandon the city and flee, you must take the opportunity to kill them and never let them escape unscathed."

Xu Xin frowned upon hearing this and immediately spoke

"General, according to the messenger, the Ningbo pseudo-Ming bandit army has more than 10,000 soldiers. They are not the refugees and bandits in the mountains. We only have 4,000 soldiers now. If we divide our troops now, how will we..."

Before Xu Xin finished speaking, Tian Xiong immediately interrupted him.

"Ningbo is not short of troops. I will immediately send a letter to Tiantai, Xinchang and other places, asking Tian Bao and others to lead troops to encircle and suppress the Ming army immediately."

After Tian Xiong calmed down, he obviously had a plan. He glanced at the Shangyu city wall in the distance and began to arrange

"Immediately send out orders to withdraw these surrendered soldiers. Have them dig trenches and set up camps outside the city, pretending to be under siege. Do not let anyone in the city see any flaws. I do not have the time to waste with these people right now."

"You lead your men to stay in the camp, and immediately have someone prepare three days' worth of dry food and send it to the army. I will leave tonight."

As the military orders were passed down, the offensive under the city wall suddenly stopped.
Outside Shangyu City, 4,000 Green Camp soldiers were still lined up at the foot of the city, while a group of surrendered soldiers were driven to the south of the city and began to dig trenches and camp, making a scene of a large-scale siege.
Although the Qing army tried their best to conceal it, they could not hide it from the people in the city. Shi Lang had already calculated that Tian Xiong and others would withdraw their troops soon. As long as Tian Xiong knew that Ningbo City had fallen, he would have no choice but to withdraw his troops.

Tian Xiong thought he was doing it secretly, but in fact, Shi Lang and others in the city had received the news as soon as Tian Xiong's soldiers left the camp at night.
Shi Lang originally planned to ambush Tian Xiong and others along the way, but after learning that Xu Xin was still outside the city, he changed his mind.
Shi Lang had only a few hundred elite troops under his command. The risk of ambushing thousands with a few hundred men was too great.

At this time, there were still 1,000 green camps led by Xu Xin and thousands of surrendered soldiers outside the city. If they could defeat these thousands of Qing troops, it would be a great achievement.

(End of this chapter)