Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 410 Fighter
In the government hall, everyone had strange expressions on their faces, looking at Huang Binqing who was standing opposite them with an arrogant look.
Huang Binqing was looking at everyone, but his expression remained calm. He could come up with such a brilliant plan, and everyone was amazed and respected.
Huang Binqing bowed slightly to Zhang Jiayu and said

"Please ask Governor Zhang to quickly report this proposal to the court and ask the court to send a large army north immediately without any further hesitation."

"Opportunities are fleeting. If we miss this opportunity, there will be no such opportunity again in the future. The governor will be a criminal of the Ming Dynasty."

Zhang Jiayu couldn't stand it any longer as Huang Binqing's words became more and more outrageous. He shouted:
"That's enough. This is just a fool's dream and nonsense."

Huang Binqing saw Zhang Jiayu suddenly get angry, and his face was also shocked. He didn't know what Zhang Jiayu was crazy about.
Zhang Jiayu heard such a brilliant idea, and he should have asked me for advice right away. Why is he acting like this now?
Zhang Jiayu didn't even want to explain at this time. He looked directly at Zheng Cai opposite him and said coldly

"This is why your troops in Zhoushan refused to retreat. Are you also prepared to help the imperial court recover Zhejiang Province in this way?"

Zhang Jiayu looked stern. Zheng Cai and Zhang Mingzhen, who were standing opposite him, felt nervous when they heard the word "assistance". They quickly spoke up.

"Please calm down, Governor Zhang. We have absolutely no such intentions."

Huang Binqing saw Zheng Cai and the other man denying it repeatedly, and the increasingly strange looks from the crowd, and finally realized that something was wrong.

But Huang Binqing couldn't figure out what went wrong for a moment. Zheng Cai looked at Huang Binqing, who looked confused, and a trace of pity flashed in his eyes.
Huang Binqing was really dumbfounded on the island. Not only did he know nothing about the current strength of the Qing court and the Ming court, he couldn't even figure out the current situation in the Lu Jianguo court on the island.
assist?

Huang Binqing, do you know that if the Guangdong court agrees, the Lu Regent court will probably all submit overnight?

Although Zheng Cai was not present that day, he had already known that Lu Jianguo was preparing to voluntarily withdraw from the vassal state.
If the Guangdong Provincial Government could make some concessions and allow Zheng Cai to retain some of his military power, even Zheng Cai himself would immediately submit to the government.

When the Guangdong Provincial Government wants to retake Zhoushan is entirely up to the Government. There is no difficulty at all. At this time, Huang Binqing is still talking about assistance.

Regardless of the words of assistance, the plan proposed by Huang Binqing alone is extremely ridiculous.
The plan Huang Binqing just mentioned is all possible.

Indeed, as long as the imperial court could defeat the Qing army on the Ninghai Tiantai line, it could encircle Hangzhou and recapture Zhejiang Province in one fell swoop, but the question was what would it have to offer?
The Qing court had 20,000 troops on the front line of Xinchang, Tiantai, and Ninghai, and nearly 20,000 troops stationed in Jinhua and Yanzhou. The Qing army on the front line of Zhejiang Province had 40,000 to 50,000 people.

And don't forget, they only broke through Ningbo, Tian Xiong's main force was transferred away instead of dying

At this time, Tian Xiong received the news and might be on his way back. In addition, Hangzhou was also guarded by the Qing army, and they could reach the front line in ten days.

The Qing army was not harmed. They just took advantage of the situation to capture Ningbo. How could they force the surrender of the tens of thousands of Qing troops who were connected and supported each other?

Did Huang Binqing think that the Northern Expedition was the same as his usual plundering? If plundering was not going well, he could just retreat to Zhoushan Island. But once the armies of tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people from the two dynasties started moving, who could stop them?
Zhang Jiayu looked at the Zhoushan generals with different expressions and completely lost his patience. He was too lazy to guess what these people were thinking.

Zhang Jiayu looked directly at Zhang Mingzhen opposite him and said

"Zhang Mingzhen, you are different from other generals. I order you to withdraw your troops immediately. Do you want to withdraw?"

"The governor has given the order, and I will withdraw my troops."

Zhang Mingzhen saw Zhang Jiayu coming towards him, and after a moment's hesitation, he finally stood up and accepted the order.

Just as Zhang Jiayu said, Zhang Mingzhen's troops are different from the other troops in Zhoushan. Among the three troops in Zhoushan, only Zhang Mingzhen's troops have the possibility of being fully integrated into the Guangdong Provincial Court.

Zhang Mingzhen was already a deputy general of the Ming army during the Chongzhen period. He was a man of good descent. After joining the Lu Wang army, he had never done anything overbearing and had a good relationship with Xiong Rulin and other Lu Wang officials.

If we exclude the factors of the disputes among the various vassal states of the Zhu family, and only look at the Lu Regent Dynasty, Zhang Mingzhen can be regarded as a rare loyal and righteous general in the Ming Dynasty.

The identity of Lu Jianguo Wu Chen is certainly a hidden danger, but now Lu Jianguo has taken the initiative to withdraw from the vassal state. Once Lu Jianguo peacefully surrenders to the Guangdong Provincial Court, this hidden danger of Zhang Mingzhen will be eliminated.
Although Zhang Mingzhen's group is now the weakest on Zhoushan Island, it is the most detached of the three groups. However, this detachment is not without price.

Zhang Mingzhen's troops are most likely to surrender to the imperial court, and therefore will be directly controlled by the imperial court. If Zhang Mingzhen does not obey orders at this time, it will be equivalent to cutting off his future retreat.

Zhang Mingzhen responded without hesitation and said in a deep voice

"I have few ships in my army. If we evacuate hastily, the warships in my army may not be able to transport all the treasures of the court."

Zhang Jiayu was unmoved by what he said and said directly

"Transport as many as you can. Evacuate before noon tomorrow. The rest..."

Zhang Jiayu paused for a moment when he spoke here. He glanced at Zheng Cai and the other person opposite him and spoke again in a cold voice.

"General Zheng and General Huang have worked hard on this expedition. The rest will be left to the two generals as a gift from the court for their funeral expenses!"

Zheng Cai looked at the indifference on Zhang Jiayu's face and her expression changed slightly.

One of the important reasons why Zheng Cai bargained here was that there were a lot of treasures in Ningbo City that were allocated to the court. At this time, only they had enough warships to transport these treasures away.

Zhang Jiayu's attitude at this time made Zheng Cai realize that things were a little out of control.
In Zheng Cai's opinion, Zhang Jiayu urged them to leave simply because he didn't want him to plunder too hard and damage the reputation of the court.
But Zhang Jiayu would rather lose the wealth of the palace and the court than withdraw his troops. It was obvious that he was not joking.
Zheng Cai had already realized that Zhang Jiayu's plan to attack Ning was not just to take back the wealth and vent his anger.

Zhang Jiayu may, no, not may, but must have other deeper purposes

After Zhang Jiayu finished speaking, he did not say anything more. He stood up and walked out of the hall.
Zheng Cai was originally thinking about Zhang Jiayu's intentions, but now that Zhang Jiayu had turned hostile, she could not care less and immediately stood up to block Zhang Jiayu's way.

"Brother Yuanzi, why do you have to do this? The court successfully captured Ningbo this time, which is a great victory for both the court and Zhoushan. If the court has any requirements, Brother Yuanzi can speak frankly. Why do you have to ruin the harmony over such a small matter?"

Zhang Jiayu heard this, but his face remained indifferent, and he said directly

"General Zheng, I have just made the court's request very clear. Today is the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, and all troops must be withdrawn before noon tomorrow."

"Since you call me an old acquaintance, I will ask you one more question. Will you withdraw your troops before noon tomorrow?" Zheng Cai looked hesitant. Zhang Jiayu saw the hesitation on Zheng Cai's face, but he said nothing and walked out of the hall again.
Seeing that Zhang Jiayu showed no mercy, Zheng Cai couldn't help but curse in her heart, so she had to catch up again and said

"The court has issued an order, and I will obey it. My soldiers must evacuate before noon tomorrow."

Zheng Cai did not forget his purpose this time. The most important reason for this expedition was to make friends with the imperial court. Although he failed to rob everything in the city after three days of looting, he still returned with a full load.

If they refused to leave for the sake of the remaining food, they would not be able to make peace with the court, but would instead have a feud with the imperial court.

It was also because Regent Lu was too disappointing. If he could conquer a piece of territory like Regent Gui, why would he have to look at Zhang Jiayu's face now!

"I, your humble servant, am also willing to obey the orders of the imperial court."

After Zheng Cai agreed to withdraw his troops, everyone in the field looked at Huang Binqing, the only one left. Huang Binqing's expression changed several times, and finally he lowered his head and agreed.

All the three groups of soldiers bowed their heads, but Zhang Jiayu showed no joy on his face. He glanced at the reluctant Zhoushan generals and said in a cold voice:

"In that case, everyone should gather your troops and withdraw as soon as possible."

"Don't think I'm trying to intimidate you. I've received news that the Qing army has already rushed to Ningbo."

"You should know the situation near Ningbo better than I do. You should take care of yourself."

After Zhang Jiayu finished speaking, he left without waiting for the Zhoushan generals to ask any more questions. Qian Sufan, Shi Xian and other Guangdong court officials followed closely behind him. Zhang Mingzhen and other Zhoushan generals also followed him.

After Zhang Jiayu and his group left, only Zheng Cai and Huang Binqing were left in the hall. Although they had just stood together, they actually had no relationship at all.

Zheng Cai stood in the hall frowning and thinking for a while, then left without even looking at Huang Binqing next to him.

"Fighting with the wind, ugh"

Huang Binqing looked at Zheng Cai's departing back, cursed angrily, and then turned around and left. Soon, no one was left in the hall.
In the back hall of the mansion, Zhang Jiayu and Qian Sufan are sitting in the hall
Zhang Jiayu picked up the teacup on the table and took a sip, then leaned back in his chair, unable to conceal the tiredness on his face.
Qian Sufan was sitting below, frowning. Although he saw Zhang Jiayu's tired face, he still spoke.

"Governor, although Zheng Cai and others have agreed to withdraw their troops, they are arrogant and I'm afraid they won't obey orders like this."

"It doesn't matter. Ningbo has about 11,000 soldiers, and Zhang Mingzhen has 2,000 under his command. As long as he is not crazy, he will not dare to disobey the court. Zheng Cai was forced to bow his head by me, and he will withdraw some troops even if it is just for show."

"Zhoushan's soldiers are weak and unused to land warfare. As long as half of the soldiers in the city can be withdrawn before noon tomorrow, there should be no problem."

Qian Sufan hesitated when he heard this. He thought for a moment and then spoke again.

"Zhoushan's soldiers are now scattered outside the city. It is indeed difficult for them to gather and evacuate in a short period of time. Should we give Ninghai some time to recover?"

Zhang Jiayu narrowed his eyes and fell into thought, but soon shook his head and said

"The plan for Ninghai remains unchanged and does not need to be changed."

The imperial court went to great lengths to capture Zhoushan, not to allow Zheng Cai and his men to plunder. If they were to change the actions in Ninghai for Zheng Cai and his men, that would be putting the cart before the horse.
Moreover, Zhang Jiayu was not threatening Zheng Cai and others just now. The Qing army might have been on the way back to Ningbo.
Since the capture of Ningbo, there has been no communication between the two sides, and Zhang Jiayu has no idea what is going on in Shangyu.

Zhang Jiayu's order to Shi Lang was to stop Tian Xiong for three days, but Zhang Jiayu had no idea whether Shi Lang could really stop him for three days. It was possible that Tian Xiong had already defeated Shi Lang and his men and started to rush back to Ningbo.
The purpose of the court's action this time is only one, that is to pave the way for Chen Tianchong

Ningbo must be recovered from Chen Tianchong. If we delay any further, if Tian Xiong returns early, the credit for Ningbo will fall into Tian Xiong's hands. This is absolutely not feasible.

Zhang Jiayu thought of this and looked at Qian Sufan below and said

"Have you found out what's going on with Zheng Cai and the others in the city?"

"Zheng Cai and his men are plundering in the city and outside the city. Shi Xian has led people to investigate the situation in various places."

Ningbo is not only rich in the city, but also in the towns outside the city.

After the Zhoushan army left the city, they used Gaoqiao Town in the west of the city and Jiangshan Town in the south of the city as their bases, and continued to plunder nearby villages and towns, and then transported the looted property back to the city.

Shi Xian was originally a general who accompanied the expedition. No one had ever doubted Shi Xian. Shi Xian had been wandering outside the city for the past few days and had already figured out the situation outside the city.
Zhang Jiayu heard about the situation outside the city, thought for a moment, but suddenly a stern look appeared in his eyes, and he said

"Send someone to inform Ning Hai of the situation inside and outside the city, and tell Chen Tianchong that if he finds Zhoushan soldiers, he can do whatever he wants without any scruples."

After all, Zhang Jiayu is not someone like Shi Lang. Although Zheng Cai and others are from Zhoushan, Zhang Jiayu still cannot do the thing of sending Zhoushan soldiers to the Qing army to be killed if there is a choice.

Zhang Jiayu's original plan was just to let Chen Tianchong recapture an empty city, get the credit for expelling the Ming army and restoring Ningbo.

But since Huang Binqing and others were unwilling to leave, they could not blame the court.
They can plunder if they want, and the withdrawal was decided before the troops were sent out. After repeated urging and good words, they still insisted on rushing to their deaths. What can Zhang Jiayu do?

It was just right that Zheng Cai and his men did not retreat. How could they have won back an empty city and made as much contribution as they had won back Ningbo by killing the Zhoushan army in a bloody battle? Moreover, Chen Tianchong's hands were stained with the blood of the Zhoushan army this time. No one in the Qing court could shake this contribution.
After the meeting was held to decide on the withdrawal, Zheng Cai and the others had no choice but to gather their troops and prepare to withdraw, regardless of whether they were willing or not.

The soldiers were happily looting outside the city, but the unexpected evacuation order from the city caught them off guard.

What Zheng Cai and others said in the hall were not all excuses. It was easy to send out a group of soldiers, but it was not easy to take them back.

The soldiers outside the city had different reactions after receiving the order. Some immediately followed the order and rushed back to the city, while others just ignored it and continued to go out to plunder. Soldiers from all directions kept coming and going, and the city immediately became chaotic.

But the Zhoushan army did not notice that in the chaos, several cavalrymen had quietly left the city and galloped towards Ninghai.
(End of this chapter)