Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 409 General Talent

Chapter 409 General Talent
Ningbo, on the morning of the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the atmosphere in the back hall of the government office was extremely solemn.

Qian Sufan looked at Zheng Lian who was late, suppressed his anger and said

"Before the troops were dispatched, Governor Zhang had agreed with the troops to withdraw three days after the city was captured. Now three days have passed, why hasn't General Zheng withdrawn yet?"

"Master Qian, please be patient. We have to withdraw our troops, but you also know the situation in the city. Now all the soldiers are scattered outside the city. It is difficult to recall them in such a hurry."

"Don't worry, Lord Qian. General Zheng has ordered the soldiers to gather and return to the city. Once the troops return to the city, we will withdraw immediately."

Zheng Lian was very nice at this time. He immediately confessed his crime and explained himself when he entered the room. He even poured tea for Qian Sufan himself. However, Qian Sufan looked at Zheng Lian with a smile on his face and became more angry.
Qian Sufan suppressed his anger and said coldly

"General Zheng, what are you talking about? The day before yesterday, I was ordered by Governor Zhang to inform all the troops in the city to prepare to evacuate. How can you say it's hasty now?"

Qian Sufan didn't want to waste any more time with Zheng Lian, so he said directly

"Where is General Zheng Cai? I want to discuss this matter with him personally."

"It's really unfortunate. A group of Tartar remnants were found gathering outside the city yesterday to riot. The general got the news and has just led his troops out of the city to quell the riot. We can't contact them for a while."

After hearing what Zheng Lian said, Qian Sufan could no longer suppress his anger. He slammed the table and said angrily:
"Stop talking nonsense, Zheng Lian. I have a question for you now. Are you going to withdraw your troops today?"

Zheng Lian was unmoved in his heart, but he smiled bitterly and said

"Master Qian, calm down. Withdrawal is a serious matter. Only General Zheng Cai can decide. I am just a deputy general in the camp. How dare I make the decision on my own?"

Qian Sufan looked at Zheng Cai who was in a dilemma, but he was so angry that he laughed.
He had understood that the promises made a few days ago and the explanations given now were just perfunctory and excuses. From the beginning, Zheng Cai and his men had never thought of withdrawing their troops on time.
Zheng Lian is Zheng Cai's younger brother. The two of them are one and the same. But now Zheng Lian is telling him something and he can't make the decision.
Qian Sufan thought about this and knew that it would be impossible for him to meet Zheng Cai today. Staying here would just be a waste of time.

Qian Sufan stared at Zheng Lian in front of him with a cold expression on his face.
"Well done, Zheng Cai, well done to the Zheng family army. I have learned a lot from you. I will report today's events to the court truthfully. You guys take care of yourselves."

Zheng Lian's expression finally changed when he heard this. Zheng Lian didn't care about Qian Sufan, nor did he care too much about Zhang Jiayu, but he couldn't help but care about the Guangdong Provincial Court.
Zheng Lian frowned and was about to speak, but before he could open his mouth, Qian Sufan walked away.
After leaving the government office, Qian Sufan returned to the government office under the escort of the soldiers.
Now the soldiers were running rampant in the city and the order had already been lost. If there were no soldiers to protect him, even if he was wearing an official robe, those chaotic soldiers would still rob him.
Not long after Qian Sufan returned home, Gao Yutai also hurried back and walked into the mansion.
Qian Sufan was sitting in the hall. Seeing the gloomy look on Gao Yutai's face, although he had expected it, he still said in a deep voice:
"What do those two places say?"

"Huang Binqing refused to meet him, saying that there were rebels gathering outside the city and that he had led his troops out of the city this morning to quell the rebellion."

Qian Sufan was furious when he heard this. These soldiers were so arrogant that they didn't even bother to find an excuse to deal with them.

Qian Sufan looked gloomy and continued to speak

"Where is Zhang Mingzhen?"

"Zhang Mingzhen did see it, but he also told us frankly that the soldiers in the army had been trapped for a long time, and everyone in the army hoped to stay for a few more days and was unwilling to withdraw."

Zhang Mingzhen's troops were the most obedient in this operation, but now even Zhang Mingzhen and his men were unwilling to leave. Of the three armies in Ningbo City, not even one of them obeyed orders.

Qian Sufan felt annoyed when he thought of this, and couldn't help but say

"These military leaders are truly lawless. When I return to the court this time, I will definitely report them to the emperor!"

Although Qian Sufan threatened to impeach the court, this impeachment obviously could not affect the current situation. Qian Sufan was silent for a moment, then said in a deep voice

"This matter concerns the great plans of the court. We must not let them do whatever they want. Send someone to Dinghai immediately to inform Governor Zhang of the situation in the city."

Zhang Jiayu was still in Dinghai at this time. Although he planned this operation, he had never been to Ningbo until now.
Zhang Jiayu didn't want to go back to Ningbo, but she couldn't go back at all.

Zhang Jie, the general of Dinghai in the Qing Dynasty, was extremely brave. After Zhang Jie discovered that the main force of the Ming army was attacking Ningbo, he personally led his troops out of the city to launch a surprise attack that night, and defeated Zheng Zunqian's forces.

The two armies of Zhang and Zheng were the weakest on Zhoushan Island. Although they almost went all out this time, they only had 3,000 people. After the division, Zhang Mingzhen led 2,000 people to attack Ningbo, while Zheng Zunqian led 1,000 people to besiege Dinghai.
Although the three Zhoushan tribes went on the expedition together this time, they had great hatred among themselves. If it weren't for the suppression of the Guangdong Provincial Court and the Lu Regent, they would probably have fought among themselves without any instigation.
The three parties had no good feelings towards the other two, nor did they trust them, so they naturally set up camps separately.
Zhang Jie saw the strengths and weaknesses of the three armies and led his troops to attack Zheng Zunqian's camp that night. Zheng Zunqian's army consisted of only a thousand men and was completely defeated without any preparation.

When Yang Geng and Huang Xiaoqing saw Zheng Zunqian being attacked, they ignored it and closed their camp to defend themselves. It was not until Zhang Huangyan personally came out to force them to retreat that Yang Geng reluctantly sent out hundreds of elite troops to force back the Qing army that had come out of the city to attack at night.
The three armies under Dinghai City were in such a mess, how could Zhang Jiayu dare to leave the retreat to these people to defend themselves?

If Zhang Jiayu dared to leave Dinghai, these people might really cause a great defeat, allowing the Qing army to cut off the retreat of Ningbo's main force.

The messenger sent by Qian Sufan left in the morning and returned to the city in the afternoon. Zhang Jiayu finally followed the messenger back to Ningbo.
At the back hall of the government office, all the officials gathered. The first person on the left was Zhang Jiayu, followed by Qian Sufan, Shi Xian and other Guangdong officials. The first person on the right was Zheng Cai, followed by Huang Binqing, Zhang Mingzhen and other Zhoushan generals.
The two army commanders who had gone out of the city to suppress the rebellion disappeared without a trace, but only half a day later, they got in touch with each other and rushed back to the city on time.

Although Zhang Jiayu was sitting in the hall, his face was extremely tired. Being a military commander was not an easy job.

Even though he was the governor of Nanzhili and had the support of the entire Guangdong court, he did not have a large army and could not intimidate the arrogant generals in Zhoushan.
The three troops in Dinghai City were polite to Zhang Jiayu because of his status as an important official of Guangdong Province, but they basically followed orders but not announcements.

Zhang Jiayu has put a lot of effort into coordinating these three groups of people.
After Zhoushan's main force left, the three troops under Dinghai City immediately ran into trouble.
These people said that they wanted to capture Dinghai in order to protect their retreat, but after the main force left, the three groups of troops began to plunder the villages and towns near Dinghai, and did not care about the closed-door defense of Dinghai City.
In the eyes of the three troops, attacking the city was obviously a thankless task. Instead of wasting manpower on attacking the city, it would be better to take the opportunity to plunder some money and food. In fact, if Zhang Jiayu had not restrained the three troops during these days, these people would have been defeated by the Qing army in the city one by one.
This is also the reason why Zhang Jiayu did not return to Ningbo when Qian Sufan wanted to order him to stop the looting.

Zhang Jiayu couldn't even control the 6,000 troops under Dinghai City, so how could he control the Zhoushan main forces in Ningbo City who had already turned red-eyed?

Zhang Jiayu glanced at the Zhoushan general opposite him, suppressed his fatigue, and said softly with a calm face
"Three generals, did I make an agreement with you before we set out that you would withdraw your troops three days after the city was captured?"

"It's true"

Seeing Zhang Jiayu's unwillingness, Zheng Cai had to speak. When Zheng Cai was about to explain, Zhang Jiayu waved his hand to stop her and said

"The army took several days to conquer Ningbo City"

"The 12th day of the first lunar month"

"What Day Is Today?"

"...the fifteenth day of the first lunar month"

Zheng Cai already knew what Zhang Jiayu wanted to say, but before he could say anything else, Zhang Jiayu's face darkened and he shouted coldly:
"Then why don't you withdraw your troops? Do you really think the imperial court can be bullied?"

The cold shout resounded throughout the hall, but the Zhoushan generals on the opposite side were all silent at this time.

Why not withdraw? Is there any need to ask? Of course, it is because Ningbo is too rich.
Zhoushan was already a major port in the south during the reign of Emperor Chongzhen, and was already extremely prosperous. After the Qing army moved south, all the cities south of the Yangtze River were robbed and devastated, but Ningbo was not among them.
Ningbo was not only not in decline, but even more prosperous than during the Ming Dynasty.

After the Ming Dynasty gained a firm foothold in the south, the country was divided into two parts, and trade between the north and the south was cut off.

This is also a matter of course. The two sides now accuse each other of being traitors to the pseudo-dynasty and are eager to kill each other.

Because of the imperial court's propaganda over the past few years and the Qing court's order to shave the hair, even the common people were extremely hostile to the Qing court.

Under such circumstances, who would dare to do business with the Qing government? If someone dared to do business with the Qing government openly today, the government would raid his house tomorrow. Moreover, once the news spread, everyone in the world would applaud and no one would even beg for mercy.
Of course, everyone in the world is here for profit. Business in the open cannot be done, but business in the dark cannot be stopped at all.
Ningbo was not only the logistics hub for the southern front of the Qing Dynasty, but also one of the smuggling logistics hubs in the entire Jiangnan region. Most of the smuggling trade in Jiangnan would eventually stop in Ningbo for transit and then be smuggled into the territory of the Ming Dynasty.

Under this abnormal prosperity, Ningbo not only did not decline, but became more prosperous. At this time, Ningbo's prosperity was catching up with the world-famous financial centers such as Suzhou, Hangzhou and Nanjing.
This time, apart from the government coffers, the property that Zheng Cai and his men looted from the people of Ningbo would probably be worth more than one million taels of silver if converted into silver.
The wealth in Ningbo was like a bottomless pit. Whenever the Zhoushan soldiers thought they had exhausted all the wealth in Ningbo, they would find that if they tried harder, they could squeeze out more oil.
In this case, who is willing to leave?

Huang Binqing saw that everyone was silent, so he licked his lips and suddenly said

"Taiwan Governor Zhang, Ningbo is an important city on the front line of the Qing army. We have finally conquered this city. It would be a pity to leave now."

"Now that Ningbo has been lost, the Qing invaders in Tiantai, Ninghai and other places are now under attack from all sides."

"Why don't you ask the court to send troops north immediately? As long as we can capture Tiantai and other places, the imperial army can drive straight to Hangzhou. If we can capture Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province can return to the territory of the Ming Dynasty."

"We, the Zhoushan Army, are willing to assist the imperial court with all our strength to help it defeat the Qing invaders and recover Zhejiang Province."

As soon as Huang Binqing finished speaking, the place suddenly became quiet. Everyone looked at Huang Binqing in astonishment.

Huang Binqing did not notice the expressions of the crowd at this time. A trace of greed flashed in Huang Binqing's eyes. They had already robbed a million taels in Ningbo alone. If they could break through the entire Zhejiang Province, how much more could they rob?

At this moment, Huang Binqing's heart trembled just thinking about the terrifying wealth contained in it.

Moreover, this plan is completely feasible. Although he has been on the island for the past few years, he is not completely ignorant.

The imperial court had recovered Sichuan, Shu, Huguang, and Guangdong in the past few years, so the imperial guards in the court were definitely useful.
Ningbo fell suddenly. If the imperial court suddenly sent a large army to besiege the city, the Qing invaders in Ninghai and Tiantai would surrender immediately when they found that they had lost their retreat route.
The Qing army is deployed on the front line of Zhejiang Province. As long as these soldiers on the Tiantai front surrender, Zhejiang Province will inevitably be in chaos.
The Qing court was too hasty to even mobilize troops, so the Ming court was very likely to seize Zhejiang Province in one fell swoop. At that time, the court would take the land and they would take the money. Wouldn't this be the best of both worlds?
When Huang Binqing thought of this, he suddenly felt enlightened.

When he was in Zhoushan, he was forced to send troops by Zhang Jiayu, Zheng Cai and others. After conquering Ningbo, he was only concerned with looting. It was not until this time that he suddenly realized that Ningbo was so important!

Huang Binqing couldn't help but show a proud look on his face when he thought of this. There really was no one in the Guangdong Provincial Court.

Ningbo was such a big city, but after conquering Ningbo, the imperial court only wanted to take back some of the treasures in the palace, but they did not realize that after conquering Ningbo, the imperial court had the possibility of taking over the entire Zhejiang Province.

If he were the imperial court of Guangdong Province, he would have sent all his troops to attack Tiantai, Ninghai and other places and forced the Qing troops in these places to surrender when Ningbo was recovered.
If he could control the war situation, the imperial army might have surrounded Hangzhou by now.
The court newspapers boasted every day about how wise and brave the governor of Guangdong Province Gui was, and how loyal and brave Jiao Lian and Li Mingzhong were, and how they were famous generals in the world. Now it seems that these people are just short-sighted people.
In the absence of heroes, only the young ones can become famous. Huang Binqing is such a famous general, but this bastard court actually abandoned him. Today, he has to live on an island.

The Ming court did not use a great talent like Huang Binqing, but instead used bandits like Ma Bao and Li Dingguo. No wonder it was almost destroyed by the Tartars.
Huang Binqing's face showed a proud expression, and he felt that the general trend of the world was as clear as the palm of his hand, and he was no longer confused.

But Huang Binqing was completely unaware. At this moment, everyone's eyes were on him, with strange expressions on their faces.
(End of this chapter)

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