I have a cornucopia

Chapter 217 You are always too soft-hearted

Just when Yang Feng was shouting at Bian Yujing's back that life is full of regrets and the river flows eastward, Li Zicheng, the deputy marshal of the Ming Dynasty's army and the Prince of Qin, arrived in Hankou.

Huguang Governor He Tengjiao respectfully welcomes...

He Tengjiao could not be blamed for this. After all, they were said to have 300,000 troops, but in reality they were more than 200,000. Moreover, they were ordered to go south, under the pretext of rescuing Nanjing. Therefore, he had no choice but to welcome them respectfully, both in terms of strength and justice. The same was true from an emotional point of view. The Huguang gentry behind him were not interested in being human shields for the lower gentry. Could they defend Wuchang and destroy Huguang and get compensation from the lower gentry?

Give me a break.

Who doesn’t know who?
Besides, we can’t defeat them. Zhang Xianzhong can even sweep across Huguang!

Moreover, the gentry in Huguang not only did not resist, but took advantage of the opportunity to make a fortune.

A large number of ships transporting grain poured into Hankou before he arrived. Li Zicheng took out silver and the gentry of Huguang gave him grain. Not only did the 200,000-strong army suddenly have enough food, but there was even surplus grain to transport to Shaanxi.

Even the heavy artillery that Li Zicheng had not been able to bring from Shaanxi was quickly obtained.

He has money!
For the gentry, as long as he was willing to pay money instead of trying to rob them, there was nothing they couldn't sell. In fact, this was equivalent to Huguang openly surrendering to Li Zicheng. The only thing left was to see the result of Li Zicheng's march into Nanjing. If Li Zicheng could successfully enter Nanjing, the gentry in Huguang would immediately choose to be his loyal subjects and get a share of his sweep of Jiangnan.

If Li Zicheng failed, the gentry in Huguang would not suffer any loss. After all, if Li Zicheng really failed, he could only retreat back to Shaanxi.

They certainly don’t have the ability to attack Wuchang again.

And of course they continued to sing and dance.

"The morale of the team has been scattered, and it's hard to lead it!"

Prince Yang sighed.

The elders were also silent.

This result was actually expected, but it does make people feel a little sad.

A kind of sadness that feels like a building is about to collapse.

Where has all the loyalty and righteousness in this world gone? We agreed to defend this last pure land together, but instead you turned around and welcomed the rebels. Why can't you fight the rebels to the death and give us who are downstream a chance?
"Fortunately, the situation upstream is still good. As long as we can defend Jiujiang before Li Zicheng, it will be fine. But now I am afraid that Li Zicheng will take Jiujiang directly with the vanguard and seize this throat first. Lin Hou, give me a definite answer, can Jiujiang be defended?"

Ma Shiying looked at Yuan Jixian and said.

The battle of Chao County has ended. After the defeat in Hezhou, the Qing army did not entangle and directly chose to withdraw to the north. Now the Qing army has completely withdrawn through Zhaoguan. Yang Tinglin and Jiangxi militia finally won the victory, but they were unable to continue fighting. Jiangxi militia deployed 150,000 people in Chao County, Ruxukou and Hanshan. Because most of them were untrained able-bodied men, each of them was given a mess of firearms or even three-barreled guns, and they learned how to use them on the ship and then threw them on the battlefield, so the casualties were huge, and less than 100,000 people finally survived to welcome the victory. Therefore, unless one side gets strong foreign aid, or Gao Jie recovers Chuzhou and moves westward, the two sides will continue to confront each other in Chao County and Zhaoguan.

This is what the Jiangxi militia wants.

After all, they had no interest in collecting fertilizer for the imperial court.

As for Anqing, the fighting was still going on, but Zheng Chenggong's navy had already transported Chen Zilong's troops westward.

I guess it will be resolved soon there too.

The Qing army was obviously discouraged and did not want to continue fighting for new territories. Their goal now should be to simply hold Huaixi, or to stabilize Zhu Cilang's puppet regime and provide a stable supply of food with this land which was relatively richer than the north.

After a year of continuous failures, they no longer have the invincible spirit.

Also considering the reality.

But the problem now is that the regent regime must seize Jiujiang, the throat, before Li Zicheng. If it cannot stop Li Zicheng in Jiujiang, then Jiangxi will not be safe, or the Jiangxi gentry may also follow the example of the Huguang gentry.

As long as the war is still outside our home, we can indeed ensure that everyone works together.

But it doesn't work once you enter the door.

Once you enter the door, you have to consider the cost of resistance and the issue of being a bomb for others.

Resistance means destroying yourself to help others. As long as it does not touch the bottom line, such as the Qing Dynasty's shaving of hair and changing of clothes, there is really no need for the gentry to resist. Li Zicheng is just a nobody. He is no longer the bandit in the past. He has already shown the style of a royal army in Huguang. Therefore, once he passes Jiujiang, it will be most beneficial for Jiangxi to quickly learn from the Huguang gentry and ask King Qin to go straight to Nanjing.

If we continue to resist, we will reach Hukou.

Then Li Zicheng couldn't continue downstream, so why didn't he turn around and go to Nanchang first?
and so……

Everyone's eyes were on Yuan Jixian.

Lord Yuan sighed.

"Your Highness, I would like to ask you to go to Jiujiang to supervise the troops."

He bowed to the princess who was sitting on the throne and said.

"Lin Hou, you are boring now!"

Ma Shiying said dissatisfiedly.

So you can't guarantee that the Jiangxi militia in Jiujiang will fight to the end? You can't go to supervise the army. It will take half a month for you to arrive in Jiujiang. You can die in danger and report to the regent, but the Jiangxi Elders will surrender. Even you said it clearly that you can't guarantee the Jiangxi Elders. If Li Zicheng really passes Jiujiang, these guys will most likely kneel down quickly. How can we resist like this? Everyone is working together. Now Li Zicheng has just arrived in Hankou and one family has kneeled down. Another family is preparing to kneel down. In a blink of an eye, two-fifths of them have gone.

These insects!

"Your Majesty, it is indeed difficult for me to get there quickly, but Your Majesty can."

Yuan Jixian immediately said to Yang Feng.

"No, let's not talk nonsense. I'm just here to help. I believe you all know what helping means. You have to do the important work yourself. It's not my huge fortune that you are protecting.

Ultimately it's all about money.

Take out one million taels, I will be the guarantor, tell the Jiujiang defenders, as long as they can hold out until the reinforcements from downstream arrive, the one million taels will be theirs, I will divide them among them, I don't believe they don't even trust me. Make a decision now, if there is no time to collect the money, borrow from the bank, and then urgently notify the Jiujiang defenders 500 miles away. Even if Li Zicheng's vanguard has already headed for Jiujiang, it has just arrived at this time. The Jiujiang defenders will not surrender all at once, after all, the downstream is still fighting, the Jiangxi militia has not withdrawn, and the Jiangxi Elders' Association has not made a decision, so there is still time. "

Yang Feng said simply.

His bank had already opened in Nanjing, after all, he still had to manage large amounts of gold and silver.

The elders were speechless.

This is fucking...

It seems to be the best solution.

"That's it, but someone has to take the money."

Ma Shiying looked at Zhang Guowei and Gu Xichou while speaking.

It is only recognized in Zhejiang, Suzhou and Songjiang.

The gentry in Jiangxi would definitely not pay, not to mention Huaiyang. Yangzhou is in such a state now. That is, the original Yingtian Governor's jurisdiction paid, but Chizhou, Taiping, and even Yingtian in the Yingtian Governor's jurisdiction were the frontiers, and the Qing army could still control Chuzhou and Quanjiao. Huizhou had just suffered the disaster of Yangzhou before, and the losses were huge. It was indeed a bit difficult to ask them to pay. Only Susongchang Town was the rear.

Especially Su Songchang.

There is also Zhejiang.

"The money is acceptable, but the court will have to give some money to appease the locals. Even though they are all loyal, they have paid too much money this year."

Zhang Guowei said slowly.

This has become an ATM.

Especially since Suzhou Prefecture is still in the process of reform. The gentry had originally only accepted it reluctantly. You've exploited them so many times, you should at least give them some sweet treats to appease them, even if it's just symbolic, right?
"Is that so, Your Highness? I heard that the Suzhou Elders Association sent an elder, who was also an old minister in the temple and a famous scholar, Gu Tianxu, to the capital to gather elders and great scholars from all over the country to debate the scriptures and the importance of the emperor, the country and the people. In this case, why not take this opportunity, preside over by Your Highness, and invite them to the palace to discuss the gains and losses of military and political affairs. Your Highness is a woman and is still young. Listening to the opinions of these elders and wise men is also a way to respect the wise and the elderly."

Yang Feng said. Gu Xichou was melancholy for a moment.

"There is such a thing? Lord Gu, do you know this Mr. Gu?"

the princess said curiously.

She was really just curious.

"Your Highness, it was my father. As for this matter, it is true. It is said that it was proposed by Chen Zilong, the commander of the Songjiang militia and the censor of the Censorate. My father was only entrusted by the Suzhou Elders Association."

Gu Xichou said helplessly.

So the bastard Yang Feng put the blame on his father again.

It was obviously Yang Feng who came up with it, but now it was Chen Zilong who proposed it and his father raised his hand, but this incident did indeed lift people's spirits. This was equivalent to expanding the local political discussion of the Elders' Council, which was originally only a local council, to the entire area controlled by the Regent, and a national giant Elders' Council was formed.

This is what the elders have long dreamed of. Originally there was a government elders council, then a provincial elders council, and now there will be a national elders council...

What a prosperous era!
A prosperous era is to be expected!
"In that case, then I will follow the King of the East Sea."

Her Royal Highness the Princess said.

And right now.

Jiujiang.

Ying'en Gate.

"Quick, open the door, I'm the Governor of Huguang!"

Du Yinxi rode on his horse and shouted towards the city wall.

Behind him were dozens of servants, but they all looked exhausted from running. As for the ceremonial guards, there were no such things. Du Yinxi was the governor of Huguang at that time, but he was in Qichun with the governor's banner. The Qing army had already captured Huangmei, so he had been leading his troops to defend there. However, Jiujiang was not his defense zone, but the Jiujiang militia was defending it, and of course there were some militia reinforcements from Nankang.

Among them, the leader of Jiujiang militia was Zhao Shifu, the son of Zhao Guangbian, the former governor of Ji and Liao.

So in fact, the person in charge of defense in Jiujiang was Zhao Guangbian. He was dismissed from office after the Battle of Shandong because he failed to stop the retreating Qing army.

Originally in history, he was executed.

But this time, at least there was a great victory in Shandong before that. In any case, he was kicked back home. Now he is an elder of the Jiangxi Elders Association and is in charge of Jiujiang.

Soon Zhao Shifu appeared.

"The Court?"

He said with some surprise.

"What's the matter with the city gate? Open it now!"

Du Yinxi shouted with an obviously unhappy expression.

"Please forgive me, this is what my father wanted. Li Zicheng has arrived in Hankou and might send troops to attack. To prevent any accidents, all the gates are closed. But why are you here, aren't you in Huangzhou?"

Zhao Shifu said quickly.

but……

He did not order the door to be opened.

"Mr. Zhao, even if your father was the former governor of Ji and Liao, you wouldn't be so negligent!"

Du Yinxi said with a gloomy face.

At this time, the horse of a servant behind him suddenly stood up because of something startling him. The servant was caught off guard and although he did not fall, a package beside him fell and the gold and silver inside immediately scattered. He hurriedly dismounted to pick it up. Du Yinxi looked back at him and cursed in a somewhat frustrated accent. Zhao Shifu on the city wall watched this scene, especially the packages on the servants.

"Mr. Zhao, I just have to go back to my hometown for something. If you can open the door, I will thank you in the future."

Du Yinxi turned around, put away his governor-general style, and spoke in a low voice.

Zhao Shifu hesitated.

He actually followed his father's order and deliberately closed the city gates, but it was not to prevent Li Zicheng's surprise attack, but to prevent Yinxi. The principle of the Jiangxi Elders' Association against Li Zicheng was to try not to conflict with him. If the downstream reinforcements could not arrive before Li Zicheng arrived, it meant that he could only retreat to Hukou. Once Li Zicheng was blocked in Hukou, he would inevitably turn to Nanchang. So either he fought to the death, with the Jiangxi gentry holding the line for the downstream, limiting the battlefield to the upper reaches of Jiujiang, forcing Li Zicheng to attack Jiangxi, or he simply ignored it.

Just let him go.

But Du Yinxi is from Yixing, and he will choose to defend Jiujiang to the death.

Zhao Guangbian’s defense was to block Yinxi from seizing Jiujiang and resisting Li Zicheng here.

So he not only ordered his son to close the door, but also to remain vigilant and be ready to meet the enemy at any time.

But his son...

Zhao Shifu looked at the pitiful Du Yinxi.

This is obviously an escape. Li Zicheng is coming, so it is normal for Du Yinxi to escape. Just look at the gold and silver he brought with him and you will know that he is escaping. After all, they are all old acquaintances, and his father is just preventing Du Yinxi from seizing Jiujiang. But now Du Yinxi is escaping with a few servants, and it is impossible to seize Jiujiang. It would be bad to block him out. Zhao Shifu is famous for his kindness. In history, when the Jiujiang mutiny occurred, he opened his Zhao Family Garden to let the refugees in, risking being looted by the chaotic soldiers, and even provided food and drink, protecting a large number of people.

Seeing Du Yinxi looking at him so pitifully, he did feel a little soft-hearted.

He is always too soft-hearted.

"What are you talking about, Inspector? I just didn't think carefully for a moment. Open the door quickly!"

He said.

Then he hurried down the wall.

Immediately afterwards, the militia below opened the city gate, and then opened the gate of the city wall. Zhao Shifu hurried out to greet them. Du Yinxi was moved and pulled him, and the two of them walked into the city wall together, and then walked towards the main city gate, and the servants behind them followed into the city.

"Sir, please come to my humble abode. I will arrange a boat to take you there tomorrow."

Zhao Shifu said.

As they were talking they walked into the main city gate.

Du Yinxi suddenly revealed a strange smile, and before Zhao Shifu could react, a flintlock pistol was already pressed against his chin...

"Mr. Zhao, I'm sorry."

Du Yinxi said with a smile in the astonished look of Zhao Shifu.

At the same time, the servants behind him also pulled out their pistols, and one of them pulled the trigger directly towards the sky...

Zhao Shifu looked at Du Yinxi in grief and anger without saying a word.

“There are actually 3,000 people behind me.”

Du Yinxi said proudly.

(End of this chapter)