Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 411: Serving the People
Ningbo, on the 16th day of the first lunar month, in the early morning, the sky was dark, with clouds gathering in the sky, sometimes bright and sometimes dark, and dull thunder could be heard from time to time.

On the top of the city wall, a middle-aged man in a bright red official robe stood at the edge of the battlement. The cold wind whistled past the top of the city wall, blowing the man's official robe up.
There was a sound of footsteps behind the man, and several soldiers were escorting a man in a black official robe. They soon came to the edge of the city wall.
Chen Mo's face looked haggard, and his hair, which used to be meticulously groomed, was now disheveled and looked like weeds.

But Chen Mo could no longer care about these things. Since he was captured on the city wall that day, Chen Mo had never seen Shi Xian and others again.
Chen Mo, a Zhejiang provincial governor and Ningshao prefect, seemed to have been forgotten and was kept in prison without anyone paying attention to him.
Chen Mo had woken up in the dark almost every day these days. The fear of not knowing what his fate would be and when the butcher's knife would fall had almost caused him to have a mental breakdown.

Chen Mo looked at the man in red official robes standing by the city wall, bowed, and said

"The guilty official Chen Mo greets the adults. May I ask if it is Elder Xiong, Elder Qian, or Elder Wu who is here in person?"

The Qing court's attention is now almost entirely on the Guangdong court, but this does not mean that the Qing court knows nothing about Lu Jianguo and others.

There are only a few famous ministers on the side of Lu Jianguo. Xiong Rulin is one, Qian Sule is one, and Wu Zhongluan is one. This time, the Zhoushan Ming army is almost moving in full force. Lu Jianguo will definitely send one of these three to accompany the army.

Zhang Jiayu looked at the man who was bending slightly beside him, but shook his head slightly and said softly

"I am Zhang Jiayu, the governor of Nanzhili appointed by the Ming Dynasty court, not a minister of the Lu Dynasty."

"It turned out to be Zhang Futai, the guilty minister Chen Mo has seen it..."

Chen Mo showed a flattering smile on his face and spoke subconsciously, but he was only halfway through his words when the flattering look on his face suddenly froze.

Chen Mo looked at the calm middle-aged man in front of him, but his face suddenly turned pale. If he had a choice, he would rather not have asked about Zhang Jiayu's identity.

Chen Mo's face was filled with horror. Zhang Jiayu, a court official from Guangdong Province, appeared in the Zhoushan army at this time, and even stood on the top of Ningbo City, which was occupied by the Qing court.
Just from this short sentence, Chen Mo has associated many things
The relationship between the Guangdong court and the Lu Regent has always been indifferent. Since the Lu Regent entered Zhoushan, the two sides have never taken any joint actions, but now the two vassals of Gui and Lu have obviously begun to merge.
This matter should have been a secret in the Ming court, but Zhang Jiayu said it out loud.
Chen Mo knew that this was not a matter of being honest, but the person in front of him was determined that this secret would never be leaked.

Chen Mo was panicking, but he could no longer care about anything else and just said

"I am a sinner who does not know the majesty of the Ming Dynasty. I have sincerely repented and have come to my senses. I am willing to serve the court. Please show mercy, sir."

"Are you really willing to serve the court?"

"I am willing to persuade these Qing army generals to surrender and help the court recover Zhejiang Province."

Chen Mo heard Zhang Jiayu's words loosen up, his eyes lit up, and he immediately shouted

Zhang Jiayu pressed his palm slightly, and Chen Mo, who was originally swearing loudly, paused immediately.

"The court does have something for you to do right now."

"Please tell me, sir. As long as the imperial court issues an order, I will do it even if it means I have to go through fire and water."

"Okay, the court wants to borrow your life, so go ahead."

Chen Mo was startled when he heard this, and then immediately showed a look of fear, tears streaming down his face, and he shouted loudly
"Please spare my life, sir. I have repented. I have repented. Please spare my life, sir."

Upon hearing this, the soldiers on the side stepped forward. Chen Mo kept struggling, but how could a civilian like him resist the soldiers? He was soon tied up and thrown away.
Seeing that Silent had collapsed on the ground, he smiled and said

"You helped me a great deed that day, so I will give you a quick death today, and we are even now."

Shi Xian put a rope around Chen Mo's neck and waved his hand slightly. Several soldiers immediately came forward to carry Chen Mo to the wall and suddenly pushed him forward.

A figure in black official robes fell from the top of the city wall. The rope suddenly tightened, making a slight creaking sound. The figure on the rope suddenly straightened up, and then just trembled slightly, and then there was no sound.

Chen Mo's face was blue and purple, and there was still a trace of fear on his face. His eyes were wide open and he stared at the outside of the city, as if he was still waiting for something.

The cold wind on the top of the city became stronger, and the hair on Zhang's temples was blown up.
Zhang Jiayu looked down at the city. The post road outside the city was filled with smoke and dust. Countless soldiers were driving their carriages towards the city. There was a lot of noise and chaos, while the alleys in the city were in a mess and dead silence. Apart from the soldiers rushing past, there was no trace of civilians.

If Zhang Jiayu had tried his best to stop a city from being in chaos because of one thing, he would have done his best to stop it in the past. However, after the Hongguang Rebellion and the Longwu Rebellion, Zhang Jiayu was no longer the high-spirited new scholar.
If we don't bring chaos to this city today, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even millions of people will die in the future. There is no other way in this world. Unless one side completely falls and surrenders, this chaos and killing will never end.
Zhang Jiayu was silent for a long time on the top of the city wall, and suddenly said softly

"Go, go."

Zhang Jiayu turned around and walked towards the city. When he turned around, there was no trace of hesitation on his face.

Qian Sufan, Shi Xian and others saw Zhang Jiayu leaving and followed him. The group soon disappeared completely on the top of the city wall.
On the east bank of the city, warships lined the river, their white sails fluttering in the cold wind.
Zheng Cai stood on the shore, turned his gaze away from the river, looked at Zheng Lian beside him and said:

"Is the scout back?"

"They have returned. Yesterday afternoon, the army sent out scouts to explore the area 50 miles to the west and south, but found no trace of the Qing army."

Zheng Lian only mentioned the southwest but not the northeast, because there was no need to investigate the northeast. To the north of Ningbo was the sea, and to the east was where the Ming army came from. Dinghai and other places in the east were still in the hands of the Ming army.
If the Qing army wanted to come to Ningbo to help, they would only come from the southwest. Since there was no trace of the Qing army in these two places, it means that Ningbo was still safe at this time.

Zheng Lian looked hesitant, as if he wanted to say something but stopped, but Zheng Cai seemed not to notice and asked again.

"Yesterday I ordered the troops to gather, how many have returned?"

"Four thousand soldiers have gathered in the city. The rest may have gone too far and have not been contacted yet." Zheng Cai chuckled when she heard this.

"I can't get in touch with you. I guess you don't want to be contacted."

How could Zheng Cai not know the temperament of his soldiers? When money is the most important thing, who cares about military orders? Zheng Cai brought more than 6,000 soldiers to the city of Ningbo. It was a great achievement to recall 4,000 soldiers in a hurry.

Seeing that Zheng Cai did not seem to be angry, Zheng Lian did not hesitate and spoke

"Yesterday, Zhang Jiayu said that the Qing army was coming, which might be untrue. He was probably trying to intimidate us into withdrawing. The generals in the army were reluctant to withdraw suddenly."

"Ningbo is a wealthy city, why don't we stay for a few more days? If we miss this opportunity, we won't know when we'll have the next one."

Zheng Cai glanced at Zheng Lian. He knew that this was not just Zheng Lian's intention, but also the intention of the other generals in the army.

Zheng Cai heard what Zheng Lian said, but did not respond. Instead, she changed the subject and asked

"Where is Zhang Jiayu now?"

"Half an hour ago, they withdrew with Zhang Mingzhen's troops. All 2,000 men under Zhang Mingzhen also withdrew with them."

Zheng Cai frowned and thought for a moment, but suddenly he exhaled and said softly

"Continue to evacuate. Zhang Jiayu is now the governor of Nanzhili. Since he agreed yesterday, we still have to give him face."

The Zhoushan troops looted for three days, and most of the floating wealth in Ningbo City had been taken away. Although they could definitely find some floating wealth if they stayed, it was not worth it to turn against Zhang Jiayu for the remaining few things.

After yesterday's incident, Zheng Cai has realized that the Guangdong Provincial Court has other purposes for attacking Ning this time. Zheng Cai is not afraid of making enemies with Zhang Jiayu, but he is afraid of ruining the Guangdong Provincial Court's plan.
If he offended Zhang Jiayu, he could still contact other court officials, but if he disrupted the court's arrangement, he would really be cut off from the Guangdong provincial court.

Zheng Cai thought of this and said without hesitation

"Leave five ships behind and send someone to tell the remaining 2,000 people that I will wait for them in Dinghai City for three days. If they don't come back after three days, they will stay in Zhejiang Province and wait to die."

Zheng Cai finished speaking and did not wait for Zheng Lian to ask any more questions. She turned around and walked towards the ship. After Zheng Cai boarded the ship, the huge fleet finally started to move slowly and set sail towards the east.
Not far from the East City Port, Huang Binqing was sitting on his horse. Seeing Zheng Cai's fleet leaving the port, his face was gloomy and he cursed angrily.
"Cowardless rat!"

"They retreated because they were frightened by Zhang Jiayu. They did whatever Zhang Jiayu said. Does Zheng Cai really think he is a general of Guangdong Province?"

"It would be better if you left. You don't want Ningbo City, but I dare to take it!"

The Zhoushan army did not dare to take Zhang Jiayu's news lightly. Zheng Cai sent people out to investigate. Huang Binqing naturally also sent people to investigate the situation on both sides.

Huang Binqing also knew at this time that there were no Qing troops around Ningbo, which was why Huang Binqing dared to stay.
Huang Binqing looked at the guard beside him and said coldly
"Send a message to the army. The city is now under the control of our Zhoushan Camp. No matter east, west, south, north, inside or outside the city, the brothers are allowed to plunder as much as they want."

"Tell all the soldiers to continue looting for three days. After three days, everyone must gather in East City and evacuate. If anyone dares to delay, I will chop off his head!"

The guards received the order and hurried away to pass on the message. Huang Binqing also mounted his horse and rushed directly into the city.
Zheng Cai has the largest number of troops, and the government office has been occupied by Zheng Cai since the capture of Ningbo. Now that Zheng Cai has left, it is Huang Binqing's turn to rule Ningbo.

Jiangshan Collection, the 17th day of the first lunar month

In the afternoon, the wind was cold and biting. A soldier with a long face leaned against the archway outside the town, his hands tucked into the sleeves of his cotton jacket, looking ahead in boredom.
Jiangshanji is a gathering point for Huang Binqing's soldiers outside the city. The looted property from the soldiers in the south of the city will be temporarily stored here. There are naturally people stationed in the middle.

On the post road outside the town, soldiers were constantly rushing towards the town.
Soldiers in ragged uniforms were riding on donkeys, mules and horses, waving whips and long sticks in their hands, driving the civilians
The civilians were wearing thin clothes, huddled up and pushing carts, which were filled with all kinds of supplies that had just been looted.

The group quickly arrived at the town gate. The leading general seemed to recognize the soldier at the gate. He took out a bracelet from somewhere and threw it directly to the long-faced soldier at the gate.

Although the bracelet is old, it is well maintained. The dragon and phoenix patterns on the bracelet are very clear. It can be seen that this item must have been cherished by the original owner.

However, the bracelet had been deformed by the pressure at this time, but the long-faced soldier did not care. After receiving the bracelet, he squeezed it with his palm, and the bracelet was completely broken into two pieces.
The long-faced soldier put the broken bracelet into his arms, with a look of joy on his face. He was not afraid of deformation, as long as the bracelet was silver enough, it would be fine.

The long-faced soldier waved his hand, and several soldiers at the door immediately moved away two crude barricades. A group of civilians soon pushed carts into the town amid the soldiers' scolding and beatings.
The long-faced soldier took a look at the cart and saw that it was already full of supplies.
The top layer was filled with various silks and satins, Songjiang cloth, Zhangzhou velvet, Qingshui satin, and other silks mixed together. On one side of the cloth were various robes, mink furs, brocade hats, Taoist robes, square scarves, and women's silk skirts.
However, these robes and brocades were stained with dirt and blood, and no one knew whether the original owners of these clothes were alive or dead.
Under the clothes were grain bags, with grains of rice spilled on the cart. As the cart moved forward, the rice was scattered all over the road, but no one cared.
Next to the grain bag was a clay pot filled with yellowish sea salt. There was even a hoe and an iron pot on one side of the cart. I don't know which farmer's house they were looted from.
Huang Binqing had limited warships, so he couldn't actually transport all the rice and farm tools. However, the soldiers didn't care. They just instinctively looted everything they saw.
For the Zhoushan soldiers, if they couldn't transport the stolen goods away, they could just throw them into the water. But if they could transport them away but didn't get enough, wouldn't they regret it?

The long-faced soldier walked back to the door and was about to take a nap when he heard a dull roar in the distance. He subconsciously looked forward.
Outside the market town, another group of soldiers rushed into the town, but at this time these soldiers did not drive away the civilians, but fled forward with terrified expressions.
Behind the soldiers, hundreds of cavalrymen in green cotton armor rode forward.
Chi Chi Chi

Dense arrows flew out, and more than a hundred soldiers fleeing in front immediately fell to the ground.

The cavalrymen had no expression on their faces. Their tall war horses rode straight at the soldiers who were lying on the ground and wailing. As the cavalrymen galloped, their long braids of hair fluttered behind their heads.
The cold wind blew, and the air was filled with a strong smell of blood. The thunder of horses' footsteps and the shouts of fleeing soldiers suddenly came to the fore, and the long-faced soldier suddenly woke up.
"enemy……"

The shrill cry only lasted for a moment, and then disappeared immediately. The long-faced soldier lowered his head and saw a black iron arrow had pierced his chest at some point.

The long-faced soldier spat out a mouthful of blood, which fell on the lake green clothes and skirts, and instantly soaked into them, turning them into a dark red.
The long-faced soldier fell to the ground. In his gray eyes, the black iron hooves stepped on the ground, and the shiny sabers reflected the gray clouds in the sky.

There was a moment of silence between heaven and earth. The next moment, screams, cries of killing, the neighing of war horses, the clanging of swords, countless sounds suddenly broke out, and the originally peaceful market town was instantly in chaos.

(End of this chapter)