Haisheng Mingdi

Chapter 700
Yunyang City is very dilapidated.

Because Yunyang controls the Han River and is connected to Qinba, it has a unique geographical advantage. During the Taiping period, it was also the most prosperous central city in the upper reaches of the Han River.

In the Ming Dynasty, Yunyang's status rose again and again, from a village to a county, and then to a mansion. Later, the capital censor was stationed here to govern the four directions, and finally led the eight prefectures of the four provinces.

However, these advantages of Yunyang also made him a battleground for military strategists.

During the Chenghua period, after Yunyang established a mansion and Fuzhi, Yunyang converged in all directions, thousands of merchants gathered, and there was a great fire cooking oil. However, at the end of Ming Dynasty, Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong's rebel army met with the official army five times here. The massacre, the construction of Yunyang more than 160 years after the establishment of the government, was almost destroyed.

During the reign of Chongzhen, there was a famine year after year, and thousands of miles of desolate land.

Since Shaotian, Hunan, Sichuan and other places have rapidly recovered their vitality, but Yunyang is still in the state of famine and poverty. The endless wars have made this place a place of death.

Wang Guangen's repetition made the situation even worse.

The Ping Fan of Chu, the Throat of Qin, and the Passage of Henan.

In history, the alliances between the Qin Dynasty, Muchu Dynasty and the city all took place here.

Yunyang City is surrounded by mountains in the east and north, and water in the west and south. There is a large area of ​​fertile land in the north, which used to be a piece of Daohuaxiang, surrounded by distant mountains, and the Han River flows down the city in the southwest.

Outside the city wall in the southwest is a steep cliff, under which the Han River flows.

The city is high in the north and low in the south, with a gentle slope from east to west and wading into the Han River. It is shaped like a dustpan, so it is called Dustpan City.

Three streets and five markets, six city gates.

There are seven gate towers, three urn towers, and a masonry wall with a height of one foot and five.

Zhu Pengfei looked at the city carefully, and he had to sigh that it was indeed an iron city from a military point of view.

But now Zhu Pengfei is also a battle-hardened general, he is no longer the Zhang Dapeng who first entered the land of Wu. He knows very well that no matter how dangerous the city is, it still needs to be guarded.

The morale and will of the defenders, as well as the food, grass and equipment in the city, are all key factors in the war.

Wang Guangen guarded this fortified city, but there were no reinforcements outside, no food and grass inside, no morale, and even he himself did not have the will and determination to resist. This battle was won without fighting.

Wang Guangen is not Luck Dehun, nor Boluo, Tan Tai and other Manchu clan generals. He is a capricious and vacillating military leader, a military leader who was born in a starving rebellion.

Repeated many times.

Over the years, Yunyang has never been stable, and has been fighting all the time. Originally, if Wang Guangen had not rebelled, he would have accepted the arrangement of the imperial court to reorganize the army and calm the people. According to Wen Anzhi and Gao Douxun's previous arrangements, Yunyang would not be as dilapidated as it is now. look.

During the Chenghua period, there was a severe drought, and millions of refugees flooded into the Yunyang mountainous area to reclaim wasteland and farmland. It can be seen that this mountainous area is not all useless. In times of great famine and catastrophe, this kind of mountainous area is sometimes easier to survive than the Central Plains.

"Tell Wang Guangtai that there is no room for him to bargain here. If he knows the current affairs, he will honestly and happily lead the troops to surrender in Kaesong, and avoid harming the innocent.

Yunyang is the Yunyang of the court, and the army is the army of the court. "

Zhu Pengfei raised his head, "It's morning, when the sun rises to the middle of the sky, if he hasn't opened the city and surrendered, then the governor will directly attack the city. Don't think that Yunyang City is very strong, but the governor has plenty of siege cannons. It is easy to break this city."

"Now that Kaesong surrenders, all soldiers can be directly pardoned, and all officers will be sent to Luoyang to be sent by the saint."

Zhu Dingguo and Sun Kewang even said bluntly, "Why bother, just attack directly."

"Let's have someone shout to the city first, and give them half a day." Zhu Pengfei was in no hurry.

He Zhen suggested that it is better to pretend to agree to some of Wang Guangen's demands first, and then chop them off after they surrender.

"There is no need to induce surrender."

With tens of thousands of people, Zhu Pengfei wanted to take Yunyang downright.

Wang Guangen's rebellion against the Ming Dynasty and surrender to the Qing Dynasty was extremely bad. How could such a person bargain with him, let alone agree to keep Yunyang and the soldiers and horses.

Brother Wang Guangtai and Wang Chang stood there without saying a word.

It's too late to say anything now.

in the city.

Wang Guangen stood on the Bell and Drum Tower in the city. The Bell and Drum Tower went straight into the clouds, and he could look down at the whole city from a high position.

Looking at the gathering of the Ming army, there are still so many boat platoons on the river.

Wang Guangen clenched his teeth.

The shouts of the Ming army were so loud that Wang Guangen could hear them clearly here.

Hearing these words, he despaired.

What made him even more desperate was that he sent people out of the city several times to contact the two brothers, but they were unwilling to answer him a word.

"My lord, the brothers are going to be overwhelmed, and they are all clamoring to open the city."

Several members of the family will come up to report.

Wang Guangen sighed, "Gao Shiqing and others must have provoked it secretly? Where is Governor Xu?"

Governor Xu Qiyuan followed him to the Qing Dynasty, so he was half-coerced.

"Your Majesty, Gao Shiqing and others have all gone to Xu Qiyuan's residence."

Hearing this, he didn't understand why these people wanted to invite Xu Futai, who had no power for a long time, to lead them to open the city and surrender, maybe there would be another mutiny soon, and he would cut off his head to ask for a reward .

It's not that he doesn't have confidants, but at this point, what's the use of the two battalions of servants?

Now, no one wants to follow him anymore.

"We should have gone south to Xiangyang earlier."

Wang Guangen just smiled wryly, "What's the use of going to Xiangyang, it's just a matter of prolonging my life for a few days, that's all, I was short-sighted, I was lured by this king back then, and it hurt my brothers."

The noise came from far and near, many Yunyang soldiers were coming towards the Bell and Drum Tower.

There was a mutiny.

Wang Guangen, who had been prepared for a long time, didn't take it seriously. He hadn't experienced anything in these years.

"I didn't starve to death in the famine back then. I rebelled for many years and got mixed up with the chief soldier of the Chongzhen Dynasty, the admiral and marquis of the Shaotian Dynasty, and the Yunyang King of the Qing Dynasty.
Come on, cut off Lao Tzu's head with a sword, hurry up, cut it in half, then carry it down, and bring those bastards together to open the city and surrender.

Tell General Ming that I have failed the emperor's kindness, but these brothers are innocent, so don't implicate them.Also, those two brothers of mine, they and I also killed off their relatives a long time ago, so don't implicate them.

A hero is one who does things and the other is responsible, and the debt of death is eliminated. "

After speaking, he took off his helmet, drew a knife and cut off the braid first, then bent down and lowered his head.

"bring it on!"

"My lord."

"Come!"

"Zhuzi, do it, after 20 years, I will be a good man again, and I will be a prince in my next life!"

The family hesitated for a long time to hold the pillar, and finally drew their swords.

The rebels were already rushing up the tower, and the sound of footsteps was getting closer.

When Gao Shiqing finally rushed to the top floor with his soldiers, he only saw Wang Guangen's general holding his master's head.

"The prince has an order, Yunyang descends!"

outside the city.

The Ming army was unloading artillery from the ship, and the battalions were preparing for the siege in an orderly manner.

The city gate suddenly opened.

Xu Qiyuan, governor of Yunyang, and general Gao Shiqing led a group of civil servants and military generals out of the city.

Everyone took off their hats, showing their freshly cut hair, and took off their Tartar robes one by one, and went out of the city shirtless to ask for surrender.

He Zhen, Yao Ke, Zhu Dingguo, Sun Kewang and a group of people watched this scene, a little surprised, but also felt that it should be like this.

"Where's Wang Guangen?"

The pillar stepped forward, holding a tray, lifted the cover, and inside was Wang Xingen's head.

The two brothers Wang Guangtai and Wang Chang rushed over, looking at the elder brother's head and couldn't help crying.

Zhuzi uttered Wang Xingen's last words.

Zhu Pengfei looked at the head, and said slowly, "The sun has not reached the sky yet. Since you have come out of the city to surrender, then the governor will keep his promise. All the soldiers in the city will not be held accountable. Only the officers will be sent to the imperial court in Luoyang."

Xu Qiyuan and others knelt down to accept.

Next is surrender.

The soldiers in the city drove out one by one, handed over their weapons and armor, registered on the roster, and then entered the temporary camp.

Zhu Pengfei asked them to cook porridge for their meals. These people devoured their food. They had already limited their food supply, and they didn't have a meal for a long time. They were all sallow and emaciated.

In order to maintain his own strength, Wang Guangen even recruited strong men everywhere, even beggars.

Although there are more than 1 soldiers, only a few thousand have actually fought.

"How to deal with these people?"

Sun Shoufa asked Zhu Pengfei.

"How about General Sun Kewang acting temporarily as the sub-inspector of Yunxiang Road in Hubei and the prefect of Yunyang?" Zhu Pengfei turned his head and asked Sun Kewang.

The leader of the four righteous sons of Xiying, since he surrendered, he has been excluded everywhere in the army, and his relationship with his righteous brother Zhu Dingguo has become more and more tense.

Although the remnants of Xiying previously reorganized into a town, the imperial court continued to mix sand.

Now that Zhu Pengfei was going to transfer him out of the army, Sun Kewang was stunned for a moment, but after thinking about it, he still agreed.There was no place for him in Xiying, and he didn't get along well with Li Dingguo, who changed his surname to Zhu, so he might as well leave.

"How do Sun Fenxun think these soldiers and civilians should be dealt with?"

"According to the practice of the imperial court, let's disperse and settle down in various places." Sun Kewang said bluntly.

This is also the current practice of the imperial court. Every time a land is recovered, the fields and household registration must be cleared, refugees, etc. will be recruited, and the land will be sold at a price to the people, or some will be relocated to other places.

"Yunyang Mountain has a lot of land and little land, but the transportation is important, and the waterway transportation is well developed. There have always been many boatmen and trackers here, and the timber, medicinal materials, and minerals here are also very rich. I think we can use work as a substitute for transportation and mining. , You can also attract investment and open mines, etc., to restore the economy.”

In the newly acquired three counties of Yunyang, Zhu Pengfei divided his troops and garrisoned them.

Wang Guangen's suicide, in exchange for Yunyang City's surrender without a fight, and more than 1 hungry soldiers were also arranged to rest in Yunyang for one night, and the soldiers and horses went down the river.

When they arrived in Junzhou, Gao Bizheng, Liu Tichun, Hao Yaoqi and the others had already captured Junzhou.They bombarded the city with artillery, and within a few shots, the city raised a white flag and surrendered.

After taking Junzhou, some soldiers were left to defend the city, and they couldn't wait to go down the river to attack Gucheng.

So Zhu Pengfei and the others did not stay ashore in Junzhou, and continued down the river. When they reached Gucheng, Gao Bizheng and the others had already forced Gucheng and Guanghua to surrender, and went straight to Xiangyang along the river.

"It's too fast, this won't work."

Zhu Pengfei stood at the bow of the boat and shook his head again and again, "Your Majesty ordered that the army of the Tatars from Hubei must retreat into the Guanzhong, let them fight with Wu Sangui, and surround Xiangyang now. The Tartars from Wuchang in Jingzhou haven't evacuated yet, send an order quickly , Let them return to Gucheng, so as not to disrupt His Majesty's deployment."

When the Ming army occupied Gucheng, they had already entered the Nanyang Basin of Yimapingchuan. No matter whether they went to Xiangfan, went to Nanyang, or went to Shangluo in Xichuan, there was no obstacle at all.

"Wouldn't it be better for us to take Xiangyang and stop the Tartars? How can we let them escape?" Zhu Dingguo objected.

Zhu Pengfei said rudely to the sworn brother, "This is His Majesty's will, and it must be obeyed."

(End of this chapter)