Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 303 What can we do?
February 3 night
Anqing
Almost all the big cities along the Yangtze River are built on the south bank, except Anqing, which is built on the north side.

If it were in other places, the establishment of a city would certainly take various factors into consideration, but for a military stronghold like Anqing that defends the south from the north, military affairs must be given top priority.

Of course, there is no famous city along the Yangtze River that does not have important military considerations.

In the final analysis, with the development of shipbuilding technology, the natural barrier of the early years has become a leaky decoration. The southern regime has not only not found relief because of the existence of the Yangtze River, but has had to build fortresses and important towns every few meters.

Just like Anqing, the Yangtze River not only forms an inverted Z when it flows here, but there are also several river islands within dozens of miles around.

Using this city as a defensive fortress, it can not only rely on the surrounding Yangtze River to deter enemies in the north of the river, but also form a defense system with the island in the middle of the river to control the Yangtze River.

Therefore, this city with not many people naturally became the defense core within a few hundred miles.

"Prefect Wang, I have said everything I need to say. If you have any difficulties here, I will not force you. However, the military situation ahead is urgent, and you must understand that the Qing Dynasty is not as easy to talk to as the Ming Dynasty. Farewell!"

Xu Yong, who was sitting in the main seat of the Anqing government office with his horse and sword in his arms, stood up and walked out after he finished speaking. It seemed that he did not take the Anqing prefect standing in the hall seriously at all.

This is not surprising. Although they were both demoted officials, the capital they brought with them when they surrendered to the Qing Dynasty was vastly different.

Like Xu Yong, he was promoted by Yuan Jixian in his early years, and later served under several commanders and governors.

By the time Zuo Menggeng's troops parted ways in Anqing due to lack of prestige, he already had 60,000 to 70,000 troops under his command.

Of course, these 60,000 to 70,000 troops would not all be as well-armored as Zhu Cilang’s guards, but they were still a huge asset when the north had been devastated by war and almost nine out of ten houses were deserted.

Compared with Xu Yong, when the Anqing prefect submitted the letter of surrender, his bargaining chip was not only an empty city, but the control of the empty city was also in the hands of the generals of the left wing.

In comparison, the status of the two in the Qing court was naturally like heaven and earth. Xu Yong, who had been respectful to civil officials in his early years, certainly would not give the slightest bit of face when speaking to the prefect of Anqing.

As the saying goes, things change over time.

As a civil servant who has experienced ups and downs in the officialdom for decades, the prefect of Anqing naturally knew what the current situation was like. If he really could not provide what Xu Yong needed, why would he risk angering the military leader at this time?

The city of Anqing was originally established for military purposes rather than civilian ones. In addition, due to the constant wars in recent years, by the time Hongguang ascended the throne, the population had already been reduced by more than half.

If it were just that, it would be fine. As long as there were still people in the city, he would definitely find a way to raise the funds Xu Yong needed even if Anqing was in a desperate situation. However, with Duoduo's defeat and the gradual stability of Jiangnan, several wealthy families in the city quietly fled to the south within a few months.

Under such circumstances, no matter how capable he is, how can he squeeze much money out of the peasants who can barely survive?
"Marshal Xu, please wait! Please listen to what I have to say! Please listen to what I have to say!"

"What else is there to say? If the frontline loses the battle due to insufficient military supplies, who will listen to you even if you have a thousand excuses?"

Faced with the prefect's plea, Xu Yong would not show any mercy.

Every family has its own difficulties. If he takes care of others, who can take care of him?
According to common sense, after several months of management by Duoduo and Hong Chengchou, the Yangtze River waterway was not impregnable, but it would still take a lot of effort for the Ming army to open up the channel.

But in essence, the power comparison between the two sides in the water was too different. It took the Ming navy only four or five days to break through the heavy defenses and enter Anqing. How could Xu Yong remain calm?

"Marshal Xu, you and I are tied to the same rope. If you can't defend Anqing, how can I escape?"

After he finished speaking, Xu Yong stopped walking, but his expression became even more gloomy than before.

He knew that what the prefect said was all reasonable, but what good could it do?

The Qing army invested a huge amount of money this time. Not only did Beijing order the two independent armies to cooperate with each other, but it also recruited troops stationed in Lianghuai to strengthen Jiangxi.

If Jiangxi cannot be conquered, it has nothing to do with him. But if this action fails due to a mistake in Anqing, Xu Yong will be left with no way out.

"General, I know the soldiers at the front are fighting hard, but I really can't provide for Anqing in such a state."

"Humph! You're talking about the same thing after all. Are you, a corrupt official, trying to make fun of me?!"

After hearing what the prefect said, Xu Yong immediately pulled out most of the sword from his waist.

At this moment, he just felt that this prefect was very ignorant. If he could raise funds, he would raise funds. If he couldn't, he would wait to take the blame. Now he kept pestering him but couldn't come up with anything new. Did he really expect him to let him go?
"General, don't be upset, just listen to me."

“Report~~~~!”

Seeing that Xu Yong was really angry, the prefect immediately planned to tell him all his thoughts. However, who would have thought that before he had said half of his words, a burst of urgent shouts came from outside the lobby of the government office.

"Report to the commander, many deserters have arrived outside the city, saying that..."

"say what?!"

"It is said that Tongcheng was lost."

Tongcheng is lost?

How could Tongcheng be lost?
The Ming army was blocked by Jiangxin Island during the day, so why did they get lost at night?
It's a scam! !
There must be a trick!!
As his mind turned, Xu Yong immediately realized the strangeness inside. He then grabbed the soldier from the ground and shouted, "Have you let anyone into the city?"

"General, please calm down. How dare we open the city gate at night without a military order?"

After hearing what the soldier said, Xu Yong couldn't help but feel relieved, but after a moment he couldn't help but feel confused.

Tongcheng is a county under the jurisdiction of Anqing. Although the city is not as strong as Anqing, it can still be captured in a day or two.

Moreover, the land north of the Yangtze River was in the hands of the Qing Dynasty. Unless the Ming army was not afraid of being surrounded, how could they dare to cross the river without any support?
If one thinks in this way, Tongcheng will certainly be safe. The so-called "defeated army" is most likely the Ming army trying to trick the city gates open.

But there is another problem here.

If Tongcheng was safe, the Ming army fleet would have been blocked dozens of miles away by the Jiangxin Island. Then where did this "ruined army" come from?

Never mind, let’s go take a look.

After thinking it over, Xu Yong still couldn't come up with a reasonable explanation. After a little hesitation, he went straight out of the yamen, leaving only the prefect behind.

According to common sense, the prefect should be thankful that he escaped the disaster for the time being, but who would have thought that when Xu Yong was about to walk out of the door, he shouted behind him: "General Xu, remember to come back when you are done. I have another way."

What a coward, he can't even speak clearly. The Ming Dynasty deserves to be destroyed if such a loser can rule a region. At this point, Xu Yong knew that the prefect really had something to say, but instead of reflecting on the fact that he had repeatedly interrupted him, he fiercely criticized him in his heart.

This was not something he said casually. The imperial examination was indeed an effective mechanism for selecting talents, but over the past thousand years, the examination method of more than 70,000 words had been figured out clearly.

For example, some young masters from prominent families have been taught these things by someone special since they were three or four years old, so it is inevitable that some of them may take advantage of the loopholes by memorizing them occasionally.

After about an incense stick of time, Xu Yong was led by the soldier to the northeast gate of Anqing. When he climbed up the city wall, he heard the general on the city wall persuading him.

"You don't even have anyone here who can prove your identity, so how can we let you into the city?"

There was nothing wrong with what he said, but I don't know whether these defeated soldiers had ulterior motives or were already frightened by the Ming army. As soon as these words were uttered, it was like stirring up a hornet's nest.

"We worked for this guy named Xu, and he left us to die outside the city! Brothers! Rebellion! Join the Ming Dynasty!"

"Yes! Rebellion! The Tartars don't treat us as human beings! We are soldiers and get paid no matter where we are, why do we have to hang ourselves on a tree?!"

"Who is going to rebel? Stand up and let me see."

After all, Xu Yong had been leading troops for many years. Under his accumulated prestige, the noisy soldiers immediately quieted down with just this one shout.

"Oh? You have the guts to say it, but not the guts to admit it? When did such a hero appear under my command?"

At this time, Xu Yong could not confirm the identity of the defeated soldier, so he could only put on the airs of a general, trying to get useful information from him in this way. The other party was provoked by his words and responded directly without waiting for the words to fall: "Let the general know that we fought in Tongcheng for a whole morning and finally escaped to Anqing but were blocked outside the door and were not allowed to enter. What would you do if you were here?"

"Nonsense! There were people coming to Jiangxin Island before nightfall, how come it became a battle that lasted a whole morning when it came to your place?!"

It can be said that the soldiers who put their heads on their belts were quite brave. Even though Xu Yong found the flaw in his words, the words that came afterwards still had some reckless meaning.

"I don't know about this. After all, the river is wide and Tongcheng is built at the fork. Maybe the person who reported the news didn't pay attention to the situation in the city."

The soldier's words made sense, but Xu Yong would not let a group of people of unknown origin enter the city at night. He also wanted to know more about the situation in Tongcheng, so after thinking for a while, he seized the loopholes in the other party's words and continued to ask.

"Let me ask you again, even if the messenger was negligent, how could the Ming army cross Jiangxin Island and attack Tongcheng?"

"That would not be a villain's duty."

After he finished speaking, Xu Yong couldn't help but sneer in his heart: I don't know this, I don't know that, this salary is too good.

He naturally knew what kind of people his subordinates were like, and even relaxed his vigilance because of these conversations.

But it was absolutely impossible to let them enter the city, so he planned to use this as an excuse to refuse the defeated soldiers' request to enter the city because he could not confirm their identities. But when he was about to open his mouth, another voice came from the defeated soldiers under the city: "General, I know."

"explain."

"When it was almost dawn, the Ming army locked the city gates with hooks. We were too late to react and they opened the city gates."

waste! ! !

Having said that, Xu Yong was almost certain that those guys under the city were his subordinates. Although he was extremely angry, he really had no good solution.

No matter what, Zuo Liangyu was not good at fighting tough battles back then, and it was natural that his subordinates followed suit and became like this now.

Of course, they are not without elite troops, but the left wing is full of banditry. Among the hundreds of thousands of troops, who can really fight a tough battle but is the apple of the eye of each general?

Just like Xu Yong now, all his elite troops were gathered in Anqing City. As for Tongcheng.
It's just a matter of firing a few cannons and then watching the Ming army burn the iron chains. It won't matter who we send, right?
It is better to gather the elite troops around you, so that even if something goes wrong you won’t lose your capital.

"There are many loopholes in what you said, but I still need to carefully examine it."

After saying this, Xu Yong planned to return to the government office to see what the prefect had to say. However, he didn't know if the noise on the city wall was heard by the fleeing soldiers. He had only taken three or two steps when he heard a burst of crying from under the city wall.

"Marshal! I have been following you for many years. Aren't you afraid of disappointing the soldiers?!"

I'm fucking your mother!
Aren't you afraid of chilling my heart? !
When Xu Yong heard the words, he immediately cursed a few words in his heart.

He really wanted to nail all these shameless people to death under the city with a volley of arrows, but deserting the battlefield was nothing in the Zuobu Army. If he really did so, the number of troops under his command might be reduced from tens of thousands to thousands tomorrow.

It would be fine if he didn't have enough troops to control the territory by then, but the key is whether the Manchus would still regard him as a general?
Thinking of this, Xu Yong couldn't help feeling annoyed.

He was scheming against his colleagues, his superiors, the Tartars, and the Ming army. Now he had to appease these shameless people. What sin had he committed? !

"There is no rule in the army to let people into the city in the middle of the night. No matter if you are my subordinates or spies of the Ming army, you must wait until dawn before discussing anything else."

"General! We don't have to enter the city, but Tongcheng has just been lost, and if the Ming army chases us at night..."

"Get lost! If you're afraid of death, get lost behind the city!"

After just a few words of conversation, Xu Yong's anger, which had been accumulating for a while, finally burst out.

If an ordinary general was so angry, no matter what his soldiers thought in their hearts, they would have to show some fear on their faces.

But who would have thought that when Xu Yong finished speaking, there was a pause outside the city and then a cheer broke out, which directly turned all his anger into helplessness.

He followed Yuan Jixian, Wang Yongzuo, He Tengjiao, and Sun Chuanting.

Although the troops under his command at that time were not a strong force and they were often defeated in battles, it was impossible for them to have such shameless people as those outside the city.

just
Sigh~~~~~! Who told General Zuo to always retreat before a battle? I followed his example and learned the true lesson.

Now that the soldiers under his command are so shameless, I'm afraid it's retribution.

As he walked down the city, Xu Yong's thoughts kept turning. When his feet left the city wall steps, his thoughts changed again: I wonder what method that bastard has to make money.

(End of this chapter)