Nanming Yiming

Chapter 164 Capture Suzhou
The appearance of the cavalry of the Ming army in front is really weird. Before the Qing army had time to form an formation, the Ming army charged over.

What will be the result of the panicked infantry on the plain facing the charge of the cavalry?
What's more, the cavalry is still waiting for work, and these infantry are already exhausted.

Once fought, the infantry of the Qing army collapsed instantly.No matter how Li Benshen shouted, he could not stop the Qing army from retreating timidly. He knew that everything was over.

At this time, the cavalry of the Ming army had experienced the baptism of many battles, and their combat power was already very strong.Although they are definitely at a disadvantage against the Eight Banners of Manchuria, they are already very handy in such a downwind battle where cavalry attack and defeat infantry.

When Li Benshen saw the situation, he hurried back and wanted to take someone to Suzhou to break through.

But at this time, thousands of Ming army cavalry appeared behind them.He Zhiyuan was wearing silver armor and took the lead, piercing Li Benshen's chest with a single shot.

He couldn't figure it out until he died, how could he be flanked by cavalry from the Wanming Army in the rear?

Seeing that the main general had been killed, the remaining Qing troops knelt down and surrendered without any intention of resisting.

Soon Li Benshen's 1 people collapsed completely, and a full 5000 people became prisoners of the Ming army.

Suzhou used to be the capital of Zhang Shicheng at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, so Zhu Yuanzhang charged heavy taxes on the Suzhou area in the early Ming Dynasty. Suzhou, with about 1.1% of the country's cultivated land area, borne nearly 10% of the grain tax.

However, the people in Suzhou simply couldn't bear the heavy taxes, which caused a large number of people in Suzhou to flee. In fact, the imperial court could not collect so much tax at all.It was not until Zhou Chen, governor of the south of the Yangtze River during the Xuande period, implemented the "square meter law", that this situation changed.

"Hanchuankou is prosperous but not prosperous, and Guanglingport is prosperous but not prosperous. The world is the most prosperous, except for the capital Wuxia." It is Suzhou.Suzhou is not only the country's food, textile, manufacturing, and handicraft center, but also the largest trade center. It is a well-deserved national economic and cultural center and the most prosperous city in the entire Eastern Hemisphere.

At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the taxation of Suzhou Prefecture was 10 times that of Hangzhou Prefecture. Although the taxation was not a true reflection of the economic gap between the two (the number of official land in Hangzhou was far less than that of Suzhou, which led to the low taxation in Hangzhou); but at least it showed that To be clear, the economic status of Suzhou Prefecture is far from comparable to that of Hangzhou Prefecture.

Such a piece of fat played a decisive role in both the Ming army.Especially now that the Ming army has occupied the tax-heavy areas of northern Zhejiang and Songjiang, if Suzhou is lost again, it will undoubtedly deal a heavy blow to the economy of the Qing court.

Therefore, when Ma Guozhu learned that Nanjing was raided by the Ming army, he did not withdraw his troops immediately.Once he withdrew his troops from Songjiang, Suzhou would face the Ming army directly.

Although Nanjing's economic status is far inferior to that of Suzhou, its political influence is too great. In the end, he, the governor of Liangjiang, could only choose to surrender Nanjing.

This is also the reason why Qian Mo wanted to attack Nanjing without hesitating to make such a big noise. He was unwilling to turn the prosperous Suzhou Mansion into a battleground for the Ming and Qing separatists for a long time. What he wanted to capture was an intact Suzhou Mansion.

While Qian Mo wiped out Li Benshen, Jiaxing's Ming army conquered Wujiang County, which was short of major generals in the south of Suzhou Prefecture; while Hong Fugui took advantage of surrendered general Wang Bicheng to open the city gates of Kunshan County and Taicang Prefecture one after another.

Changshu County is Qian Qianyi's hometown, and its guards have already been bought by Qian Qianyi, and soon the Changshu defenders took the initiative to open the city gate to welcome the Ming army into the city.

When the people of Jiading heard that the Ming army launched a massive counterattack, it was another armed rebellion against the Qing under the instigation of the Intelligence Department, which directly captured the Jiading County Yamen.

In Suzhou City, Zhou Guozuo, governor of Jiangning, was very anxious.Now the main force of the Qing army has withdrawn to Nanjing, and the successive losses of Jiading, Changshu, Wujiang, and Taicang made Suzhou City quickly become an isolated city.

Although there are still 5000 people in Suzhou City, he has no confidence at all in the face of the menacing Ming army.

At this time, Songjiang Deputy General Wang Bicheng, who had surrendered to the Ming army, even shouted under the city of Suzhou: "The Ming army has captured Wuxi and completely surrounded Suzhou city; and Li Benshen's entire army has been wiped out. Now the city of Nanjing is in danger, and the Qing court is powerless." Rescue Suzhou. Give you two hours to think about it, if you don’t open the city and surrender, once the army attacks the city, the stubborn resisters will be killed!”

The Saurons and Mongols in front of the Ming army caused a lot of discussion among the defenders in the city.

A soldier said: "How can we fight this battle? You see, even the Eight Banners and Mongolian Banners have surrendered to the Ming army and directly participated in the attack. The Qing Dynasty is about to end!"

Ordinary Qing soldiers can't tell whether you are a Sauron or a Jurchen?They only saw that the Eight Banners of Manchuria were all serving the Ming army, and their masters had surrendered, so they still insisted on a woolen thread?
Don't underestimate the 500 Manchurian Eight Banners, they have a great effect and can quickly disintegrate the morale of the Qing army.The only fly in the ointment is that Batu's reputation is really not that great. It would be even better if a well-known figure led these Eight Banners soldiers to attack the city for the Ming army.

The Ming army's heart attack has caused panic in Suzhou City. In Suzhou's Zuixian Tower, all the rich and powerful businessmen are gathering together.

Businessmen, especially wealthy businessmen, have always been the most politically sensitive group of people.Shanxi merchants represented by the "Eight Great Imperial Merchants" bet on the Qing Dynasty in advance, and now they are making a lot of money.

In recent years, the Governor's Office of Jiangsu and Zhejiang has sprung up suddenly and quickly occupied a large area of ​​land.In particular, Qian Mo's establishment of a business district in Hangzhou and the establishment of a fleet of ocean-going merchant ships are enough to illustrate the attitude of the Duke of Yue towards businessmen and give them hope.

Although these Suzhou businessmen fell behind in the battle for sky-high priced berths before, Huizhou merchants took the lead.But the market potential of Hangzhou is huge, especially the local business gangs in Hangzhou are not strong, so now the three forces led by Ningbo and Shaoxing merchants, Zhejiang merchants, Huizhou merchants and these Suzhou merchants are beginning to compete in Hangzhou.

In addition, Suzhou City is now reduced to a war zone, which greatly affects the circulation of goods in Suzhou, so many of them rented shops in Hangzhou and transferred a lot of money there.

The law and order and business environment in Hangzhou are very good. As long as these businessmen pay rent and taxes normally, they can do business with peace of mind. There are absolutely no incidents of gangsters making trouble and the government taking the opportunity to extort money.

Moreover, there is a special yamen in the business district of Hangzhou to provide them with the service of document land deed transfer. Although taxes are required, the work efficiency is extremely high.Without the link of government exploitation, the normal tax collection will actually cost a lot less money than their previous tax evasion, and gradually merchants have accepted this model.

Originally, the Qing army went south in a big way this time, and they were worried that the Ming army would not be able to withstand the pressure, resulting in damage to their investment.Unexpectedly, the Qing army was retreating steadily, and the city of Hangzhou was still safe and sound.

The several prefectures under the governor's government can still circulate goods smoothly, and there is not even a single bandit. The balance in their hearts is naturally tilted towards Qian Mo.

Liu Ziheng, a famous silk merchant in Suzhou, thought that his little grandson was full moon as an excuse to clear up all the big businessmen in Suzhou.It is well known that Liu Wentong, the second son of the Liu family, rented a sky-high shop in Hangzhou for 20 taels of silver.

Everyone had to admire his foresight. Now that the Ming army had surrounded Suzhou Mansion, Liu Ziheng, who had joined Qian Mo's line in advance, would undoubtedly be the biggest beneficiary.

Liu Ziheng said: "Everyone, everyone must be aware of the current situation. A few days ago, the Duke of Yue paid a visit to the Xiaoling Mausoleum outside Nanjing City. Now that the Ming army has surrounded Suzhou City, it is time for us to make a decision. "

Businessmen in Suzhou are not sheep to be slaughtered, their influence is everywhere.Among other things, the number of servants raised in these people's mansions alone exceeded the Qing army guarding the city.

The well-known "Tombstone of Five People" talks about the violent tax resistance of Suzhou businessmen.

At this time, a fat man with a big belly said: "Now the city has no intention of resisting. I have an eyeliner in Jiangning Governor's Yamen. It is said that Jiangning Governor Zhou Guozuo is also considering surrendering!"

Hearing Fatty's words, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. What their merchants fear most is the flames of war. It would be best if Suzhou could surrender directly.

Soon these people reached a consensus that they wanted Governor Zhou to surrender as soon as possible. This would not only save Suzhou City from the flames of war, but also show their attitude to the Ming army.

Soon after, tens of thousands of "Suzhou people" surrounded the governor's office in Jiangning.The servants among these rich merchants held sticks and hoes and shouted: "The Ming army is about to attack the city. Governor Zhou quickly ordered to open the city gate to save Suzhou city from the flames of war!"

Of course Zhou Guozuo knew that behind these people were wealthy businessmen from Suzhou. It was impossible to send troops to suppress them at this time. Maybe these people rushed into the yamen and beat him to death with sticks.

Soon he announced that Suzhou would return to the Ming Dynasty anyway, and now except for Chongming, the most affluent Suzhou government in the world has all been thrown into Qian Mo's arms.

The Ming army even took advantage of the emptiness of the Qing army in Changzhou Prefecture, and directly sent troops to occupy Jiangyin.

At this time, except for Wujin, the prefectural city, and Jingjiang County, which is located in the middle of the Yangtze River, Changzhou Prefecture was still under the control of the Qing army, and most of it had already fallen into the hands of the Ming army.

Relying on the Chengxi Canal between Jiangyin and Wuxi, the Ming army began to build a defense line along the river from the Yangtze River in the north to Taihu Lake.

The generals were quite puzzled by this. Hong Fugui said: "Although Ma Guozhu has returned to Nanjing City, Nanjing City has barely gathered 3 Qing troops. Changzhou, Zhenjiang and other places are empty of troops. Why don't the army go straight to Nanjing? If it’s not good, we should take all Changzhou and Zhenjiang.”

Qian Mo said: "Hong Zongbing is right. At this time, our army can easily capture Changzhou and Zhenjiang. It is not impossible to capture Nanjing."

"But everyone should understand that the main force of Tan Tai and He Luohui has not been completely eaten up, and the Qing army can transfer troops to Nanjing at any time; besides, we have made such a big commotion this time, the Qing court will definitely increase its troops to the south of the Yangtze River again. Everyone has seen the battle of Lishui. We set up an ambush in advance and concentrated our superior forces, but we still couldn’t take down the five thousand red flags in one bite. The Qing army is really overwhelming, how will we resist it?”

"The canal between Jiangyin and Wuxi is the shortest distance between the Yangtze River and Taihu Lake, and it is also the most suitable for defense. We must build several small bastions before the main force of the Qing army regroups to build a complete canal." line of defense."

In fact, Qian Mo is also very helpless, he does not have enough strength to go head-to-head with the main forces of the Qing army, otherwise he would have captured Nanjing long ago.

Although Suzhou is the wealthiest state capital in the world, there is not much silver in the treasury of Suzhou at this time.Since the Ming army occupied Songjiang, most of the silver in the Suzhou treasury was transferred to Nanjing, and now there are only 12 taels of silver.

Fortunately, as a supply station for Ma Guozhu's siege of Songjiang, Suzhou Mansion still had a lot of grain, and a total of 50 shi of grain was seized.

The Ming army was also the master of the king, so it was impossible for Qian Mo to send troops to loot. The wealthy businessmen in Suzhou naturally became his targets.

But these big businessmen in Suzhou are not simple. When the Ming army attacked the city, they chose sides early;

What Qian Mo didn't expect was that these people actually took the initiative to give him money.

News came from Liu Wentong: his father Liu Ziheng has now been elected as the head of the Suzhou Business Gang, and the businessmen in Suzhou are willing to donate a large amount of money and food to the governor's office.

These businessmen can't afford it early, Qian Mo knows that they must have some kind of conspiracy.So they hosted a banquet in Zuixianlou for Liu Ziheng and other business representatives.

After exchanging pleasantries between the two parties, Liu Ziheng said: "Now that the mountains and rivers are broken, we merchants should have contributed more to our country. However, now that wars are raging everywhere and business routes are cut off, it is difficult for us to do business. Even if we are passionate, we will be powerless!"

Several businessmen behind him agreed and said: "We are willing to donate 50 taels of silver and 30 shi of grain. I also hope that the Duke of Yue can send troops to recover Zhoushan and Chongming, and open up trade routes for our merchants."

Qian Mo knew that what Liu Ziheng said was true. Since Chongming was captured by the Ming army, Suzhou's maritime trade and the Yangtze River waterway were basically cut off. These merchants must be greatly affected.

Huang Binqing's rebellion greatly affected the trade routes in Hangzhou, and the caravans that were going to North Korea and Japan had to stop.Cutting off people's wealth is like killing their parents. It seems that Huang Binqing has committed public outrage.

Now the four 4-ton merchant ships have all been refitted. In addition to the Hongwu, the Zhejiang Navy now has 600 giant ships. In addition, it has incorporated the rest of the Zhang Mingzhen Navy from eastern Zhejiang. It can be said that its strength has skyrocketed. not difficult.

At this time, Qian Mo showed embarrassment, and said: "Huang Binqing has done a lot of evil, and the governor has long wanted to deal with him; but now our army has just captured Suzhou, and the defense line of the Chengxi Canal has not yet been completed. I am afraid that the Qing army will take advantage of the situation and attack."

These people are all good people, how could they not hear Qian Mo's subtext, so they quickly made eye contact.Liu Ziheng said: "I am willing to sell my property, donate another 30 taels of silver and 10 shi of grain, and try my best to mobilize the people of Suzhou to help the governor's government build a defense line quickly to resist the attack of the Qing army."

Based on the principle of collecting money to do things, Qian Mo said: "Everyone, this governor assures you: within one month, the governor's mansion will definitely conquer Zhoushan, seize Chongming, and completely open up trade routes."

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