Red Mansion: Seizing Jiangdong, starting with pirates

Chapter 33, Occupation of Huaizhou

The defenders did not have much experience in defending a city. In addition, the soldiers were young and strong who had not received much training. There was no reward, so their morale was very low. Under such circumstances, it was naturally difficult to defend the city under the strong attack of Fang Yong's army.

The fact that Huaizhou City’s defenses could hold out for more than twenty days was a testament to their solidity.

The general defending the city was very anxious at this time. He requested the prefect of Huaizhou to recruit young and strong soldiers as soon as possible to supplement the soldiers defending the city, and at the same time distribute rewards to boost morale. Otherwise, the city would be breached.

Upon hearing this, the prefect of Huaizhou quickly agreed and immediately summoned the wealthy and powerful people in the city to discuss the matter of payment.

"Now the enemy is raging, and the safety of the city depends on everyone. I sincerely ask you to join me in the national crisis to protect the peace of our country. You are all wealthy and powerful families, so please donate generously to help us defend the city. When the day comes, I will ask for your contribution to His Majesty."

The many wealthy and powerful people present looked at each other in bewilderment when they heard this. Although they didn't want to pay easily, it was not easy for them to refuse at this time. After all, they would not be in a good situation if the city was broken.

Finally, after some discussion, everyone agreed to contribute part of the money.

Leading the way were the four major families in Huaizhou, each of which agreed to pay five thousand taels.

The rest of the small and medium-sized families contributed some one thousand taels, some several hundred taels, and in the end they managed to collect 50,000 taels of silver.

Each family promised to send the money tomorrow. Given the reputation of the major families, they would not default on their debts.

The prefect of Huaizhou left with satisfaction. With these "30,000 taels of silver", he thought that he could resist the enemy army for a while longer.

Well, as the prefect, he has to contribute something too.

Just pay three hundred taels, which is his salary for nearly three years.

In Huaizhou city, Xue’s shop.

Li Ni had just returned from a fundraising meeting convened by the Huaizhou prefect.

After Li Ni took refuge with Fang Yong, Fang Yong arranged him to work under Xue Dacuizi, responsible for purchasing food.

Later, when the Nanjing Uprising broke out, Li Ni happened to be in Huaizhou City buying grain, so Fang Yong asked him to stay in the city as an insider and provide information from within the city.

The fundraising just initiated by the Huaizhou prefect made Li Ni realize one thing in an instant.

That means Huaizhou City can no longer hold on.

We cannot let this fundraising be successful.

After Li Ni returned to Xue's shop, he quickly started writing.

After writing for a while, he found his handwriting was too ugly, after all, he had just learned calligraphy...so he asked the old shopkeeper to write for him.

"Letter of persuasion to surrender!

I am Fang Yong, the commander of the Huaiyin Army. Today I vow to take Huaizhou with the intention of eliminating the evil officials and swear not to harm the innocent.

Now the city is about to fall. If there are those who know the current situation and surrender voluntarily, I will treat them with courtesy and comfort them generously. On the contrary, if anyone dares to support the court and hinder my advance, I will punish them with the force of thunder and lightning, exterminate their clan and root out the roots!
I hope you will judge the situation and don’t say I didn’t warn you! "

After the letter was written, he copied dozens of copies and then ordered his men to secretly send them to various major families.

One of the four major families in the city, the Guo family.

The Guo family is a family of poetry and literature. They have been farming and studying for generations. Over the past hundred years, they have produced many Jinshi (imperial examination candidates). This generation is particularly prominent. Someone in the family holds a high position as a second-rank official in the central government. They are the most prominent family in Huaizhou City.

However, despite the family's prominence, it was impossible to resist the 100,000-strong army of the bandits.

Once the enemy army enters the city and starts slaughtering the Guo family, the family's century-old foundation will be destroyed, and there will be only a few survivors.

Therefore, when the head of the Guo family received the letter, he was very scared. The thin letter seemed as heavy as a thousand pounds in his hand.

He had just agreed to pay five thousand taels of silver when someone sent him a threatening letter. What does this mean? It means that Huaizhou City is like nothing in front of the enemy army, and the enemy army may break into the city at any time!

The head of the Guo family trembled and called the housekeeper.

"Butler, what is the style of Fang Yong, the leader of the Huaiyin bandits you mentioned last time?"

……

the next day.

The prefect of Huaizhou was waiting in the government office with a smile on his face to receive the money, but after waiting for a whole day, there was no sign of the four major families in the city, and only a few small and medium-sized families delivered the money as promised.

In the end, the total amount was only six thousand seven hundred taels.

The prefect of Huaizhou was so angry that he went to the house in person to look for him.

As luck would have it, the patriarchs of the four major families all caught a cold at the same time and could not see anyone...

"Three thousand seven hundred taels?"

The defending general looked at the silver sent by the Huaizhou prefect in disbelief.

What can you do with this little money?

One or two ounces per person is not enough!

However, his official position was not as high as that of the prefect, so the garrison commander had to swallow his anger.

Never mind, it’s OK that there’s not enough money, but what about the young and strong men he wants to recruit?
The prefect of Huaizhou pointed behind him.

A row of young men with scars from being beaten were pulled over.

Without money, it is naturally impossible to recruit young and strong people.

The prefect of Huaizhou came up with a good idea. It didn’t matter if he couldn’t recruit anyone, just arrest them directly!

So he arranged for the yamen runners to forcibly arrest more than a thousand young and strong men.

...The twenty-seventh day of the siege.

The city is broken.

There was no advance, but the 1,000 young men forcibly captured by the Huaizhou prefect opened the city gate from the inside.

They were already full of resentment towards the government troops. After Li Ni learned about this, he sent people to persuade these young and strong men to surrender, and promised that as long as they opened the city gate from the inside, they would be rewarded with two acres of land each. After hearing this, these young and strong men were overjoyed and readily agreed, so the city gate was opened.

After Fang Yong entered the city, the defending general knew that the situation was hopeless, so he led his troops to surrender in a very tactful manner.

Fang Yong quickly captured the city.

After hearing this, all the major families in the city rushed out with food and wine to welcome the royal teacher, and presented Fang Yong with a large amount of gold and silver, which was exactly the same as the silver they had promised to give to the prefect.

The next day, Fang Yong confiscated the property of more than a dozen officials including the Huaizhou prefect, as well as those families who had paid to obstruct him during this period, a total of 1,065 people, and they were all beheaded in Caishikou as a public display.

For a moment, blood flowed like a flood, stretching for more than three miles.

The major families were trembling with fear and sent double the amount of silver again that day.

At the same time, Beijing.

The Governor of Suzhou kowtowed in the court.

"Your Majesty, the guilty minister Yan Hongzhang, kowtows to the Emperor!"

Since the day when Nanjing was in danger, Emperor Longqing discussed with all officials how to quell the rebellion.

However, after several days of discussion, from the marching route to the collection of food and fodder, to the commanders of the three armies and where to deploy troops, all the officials expressed their opinions, and each had their own reasons.

Emperor Longqing felt that except for the Grand Tutor Yu Lian, what everyone said was correct and they were all loyal ministers.

Therefore, I have been unable to make up my mind.

Among them, the Minister of War was selected and appointed to Guo Bai.

But the choice of the three army commanders is difficult to make.

Emperor Longqing was not confident in handing it over to the nobles, so he decided to hand it over to someone else, as there was no one around him who could be used.

At this time, urgent news came again. Chuzhou and Huaizhou were in urgent need of help one after another. In addition to the original White Lotus rebels, there was another Huaiyin thief. Emperor Longqing became even more troubled.

When the newly appointed Minister of War Guo Bai heard the emergency call from Huaizhou, he immediately became anxious and quickly suggested that the Governor of Suzhou be summoned to Beijing to inquire about the specific situation of the war and that the Duke of Shanguo, who was good at commanding troops, be sent to quell the rebellion.

Because the Ministry of War and the Embroidered Uniform Guard had been put on hold, the information the court had currently received came from a few memorials to the emperor, and it was impossible to gain a detailed understanding of the situation on the battlefield.

Emperor Longqing still had some concerns about the nobles, so he did not immediately agree to let Duke Shanguo lead the troops, but agreed to Guo Bai's proposal to summon the Governor of Suzhou to Beijing.

Soon, the Governor of Suzhou was summoned to Beijing, and the scene just now happened.

Emperor Longqing looked at Yan Hongzhang who was kneeling below. Naturally, he had no good temper towards this person, and immediately asked angrily:
"Yan Hongzhang, how did you lose Nanjing and let it fall into the hands of the thieves?"

Upon hearing this, Yan Hongzhang kowtowed deeply and said sadly:
"I am guilty of not governing strictly, which led to the White Lotus Sect infiltrating Nanjing and causing the loss of the city and territory. This is my fault. I am willing to take the blame, and death is not a pity!"

Emperor Longqing was stunned when he heard this.

Emperor Longqing had been prepared to sentence Yan Hongzhang to death for the loss of cities and territories, but now this man did not shirk the responsibility at all, but took the responsibility on his own initiative, which made Emperor Longqing a little unsure.

At this moment, Emperor Longqing, who had not received professional education as a crown prince, showed his huge shortcomings.

Yan Hongzhang observed the expression of Emperor Longqing. Seeing that the emperor was hesitant, Yan Hongzhang immediately thought that there was a chance.

If he was facing the retired emperor, Yan Hongzhang would definitely not dare to do so, but if it was Emperor Longqing...

Yan Hongzhang did not wait for Emperor Longqing to ask any questions, but kowtowed and cried bitterly, saying:
"It is not a pity for me to die, but I ask Your Majesty to spare the life of one of my young generals!"

Emperor Longqing heard this and asked curiously:

"Who is it?"

Yan Hongzhang said: "When the White Lotus Sect captured Nanjing, they led hundreds of thousands of people. I fought desperately, but the enemy was too powerful and I was unable to defeat them. Only a young general beside me rushed into the hundreds of thousands of chaotic troops, went in and out seven times, and was wounded hundreds of times, but saved my life. I see this man's courage and strategy, and he will definitely be the arm of Daxi in the future. I ask Your Majesty to spare his life and allow him to make meritorious contributions while serving his sentence. I will die without regrets!"

After hearing this, Yu Lian, who was standing by, wanted to stand up immediately.

He went in and out of an army of hundreds of thousands, do you think he knows no military affairs?

There are only a few people in Jinling, how could there be so many White Lotus Sect members?
What Yan Hongzhang said was full of loopholes and was simply a child's play.

However, Emperor Longqing really knew nothing about military affairs. He had never even been to the Beijing Camp. Therefore, although he felt that what Yan Hongzhang said was a bit exaggerated, it was still credible to a certain extent.

So Emperor Longqing asked:
"Who is this person and where is he now?"

Upon hearing this, Yan Hongzhang immediately said:
"This man's surname is Mao and his name is Cheng. He is waiting outside the hall."

Emperor Longqing was overjoyed and said, "Send him in."

Soon, two people came in carrying a stretcher.

Emperor Longqing was startled and asked, "Why is this?"

Yan Hongzhang replied: "General Mao has been wounded many times and his injuries have not healed yet. This is the only way to meet with Your Majesty. I hope Your Majesty will forgive me!"

After hearing this, Emperor Longqing hurriedly stepped down from the dragon throne, walked to Mao Cheng and lifted the quilt off him.

"My God!"

Emperor Longqing was shocked!

(End of this chapter)