Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 304 Change of Face
For Xu Yong, Tongcheng and Jiangxin Island are indeed extremely important strategic points for blocking the Ming navy.

But by then the night was gradually falling, and if we wanted to verify the authenticity of the news and make corresponding arrangements, we would have to wait until dawn.

What's more, Anqing is a fortress, and there are river islands around it that can control the river.

Therefore, no matter whether those outside the city deserted the battlefield or were defeated in a desperate battle, as long as he could hold Anqing firmly, the Ming army would eventually be blocked east of this line of defense, and the war in Jiangxi would not be affected by any changes because of him.

This is the situation
"Let everyone in the city be alert! There must not be any mistakes!"

Xu Yong, who had said nothing on the way, began to address his personal guards when one of his feet was about to step into the lobby of the prefectural yamen. It seemed that these words were more directed to the Anqing prefect.

"Marshal Xu."

When he saw Xu Yong, the prefect of Anqing came over immediately. It was not known whether he was worried or had other thoughts in mind, but after calling out to him, he looked at the other person anxiously.

"It says inside."

Xu Yong did not directly respond to the Anqing prefect's question. He said something with a serious expression and then went into the hall first.

Xu Yong thought clearly that the prefect asked him to come back most likely to prepare military supplies, but he also knew the situation in Anqing very well, so he was curious about what this guy was planning.

"The situation is not good." Xu Yong sat in the main seat in the hall again with a worried expression on his face. When his eyes seemed to inadvertently sweep over the prefect, he said carefully: "I'm afraid Tongcheng is lost."

"Ah?! This."

"Why are you panicking? Anqing is a fortress. Not only is the city defense strong, but the surrounding facilities have also cost a lot of money. If the Ming army really attacks, I will make them smash their heads here and bleed! But..."

In Xu Yong's eyes, the prefect was a complete loser, but in the final analysis he was just not that outstanding and was not worthy of this official position. How could he not know that most of the words would be meaningless if you added "if", "what a pity" or "if not" to them.

"It's just that there's a major war going on in Jiangxi recently, and many military supplies have to be sent there first. I'm short of money, food, and supplies, and I don't know if I can hold on."

"General, I understand what you mean."

"Report~~~~~."

Just as the prefect seemed to be about to say something, his words were interrupted again by the sound of hurried footsteps.

The prefect didn't know much about the situation outside the city, and he thought that there was some urgent military situation. However, Xu Yong knew that the group of defeated soldiers outside the city were most likely his own men, and they probably only had the courage to make a fuss, so how could they really come up with some urgent military situation?

Therefore, there was some impatience in his eyes when he looked at the soldier who brought the news.

"General, they are making trouble again."

"Didn't we ask them to go to the back of the city?"

"The defeated soldiers have retreated to the western wall as you said, but..."

"But what?!"

"But they said that many of their brothers were injured, and they would like you to allocate some tents and food."

"Snapped!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the can of sticks placed on the table fell to the ground.

Xu Yong was really furious. It would have been fine if this bunch of losers had just lost Tongcheng, but now they still dared to ask for this and that as if they had won a battle. Did they really think that military law could not control them?

"Let the city wall go" According to Xu Yong's original intention, he wanted the defenders on the city wall to use crossbows to drive them back if they saw the fleeing soldiers making trouble, but when the words came to his lips, he changed his mind because of various thoughts: "Leave some tents and food down."

He had fought in wars for many years, so he knew how much strict military discipline could improve the combat effectiveness of his soldiers. But since he joined the army, the Ming Dynasty had been fighting one war after another, and they would often suffer from food shortages.

Under such circumstances, how could he have the time or the courage to rectify military discipline?
By now, the atmosphere in the army had already been formed, and even if Xu Yong had three heads and six arms, he could only compromise with this situation.

Fortunately, the Qing Dynasty has no shortage of military pay, and when we have time, we must deal with these wastes.

Thinking of this, Xu Yong withdrew his attention from the group of defeated soldiers. Then, noticing that the prefect was still looking at him eagerly, he turned all his attention to him.

"go on."

"General, Anqing is not as big as Hefei. They can transport military supplies to the front in a few days, but we can't even take out a tael of silver here."

"Asshole! You really are making a fool of me!"

After hearing this, the anger that Xu Yong had just suppressed burst out again.

He hurried back to the yamen in order to hear what good ways the prefect had to make money, but after going around in circles, he never heard of any ways to make money, but instead heard this.

In disappointment, his patience was immediately worn out.

"The day after tomorrow! The day after tomorrow!"

Seeing Xu Yong rushing towards him with great force, the prefect was shocked and didn't care about anything else and just started yelling.

How could he not know that Xu Yong was making money for himself under the guise of asking local governments to raise military supplies?
But according to the current situation in Anqing, even if the sky is three feet high, it is not certain that much can be obtained from the peasants, so he is really in a dilemma.

Of course, there are ways to make money, but the risks are too great, and you need to understand the other party's intentions first.

But who would have thought that the way civil servants talked to each other was understood by Xu Yong as "monkey playing", and the situation eventually came to this point.

"Speak clearly! What do you mean the day after tomorrow?"

"A batch of money and grain will be transported from Hefei to Jiujiang the day after tomorrow!"

"Jiujiang?"

When Xu Yong heard the words, he was stunned at first, and then he immediately grasped the key point of the words.

Last year, to go from Hefei to Jiujiang, you only had to follow the waterway into the Yangtze River and then go upstream.

But now the Yangtze River waterway was divided between the Ming and Qing dynasties. To go from Hefei to Jiujiang, one must first go to Anqing.
The risk is too great.

With this in mind, Xu Yong looked at the prefect as if he was looking at a stranger.

He could never have imagined that this usually timid guy could be so courageous.

"what do you mean?"

"I don't mean anything. If you are willing to give me some money to keep me quiet after the mission is accomplished, I will accept it. But if you want to kill me to silence me, I can't do anything about it."

After he finished speaking, Xu Yong's expression changed again and again, but in just half a breath he slapped the prefect's arm heavily with his hand.

"Oh! My Lord Prefect, why didn't you tell me earlier? The Ming army has just occupied Tongcheng, and the army's food supply is in danger!"

“Report~~~~~~!”

(End of this chapter)