I have a cornucopia

Chapter 279: Northern and Southern Gentry Fight

Just as Li Zhifang raided and captured Ningbo and massacred the gentry there, another group of Jingnan troops that landed at Guanhaiwei were defeated.

Their raid on the Seawatch was successful.

The main reason is that most of the local military households went fishing.

This season is the hairtail season in Zhoushan fishing grounds. The military households in Guanhaiwei have relied entirely on fishing for the past two years. Of course, all the young and strong people who can move have gone to grab the fish.

Moreover, Guanhaiwei had complete dock facilities, even including a water gate leading directly to the city. When the raiding fleet arrived, they even thought it was their own fleet returning from fishing. After all, the boats were all exactly the same. The old, the weak, women and children all ran out, waiting to divide the fish and then process them as quickly as possible. As a result, the soldiers on the ships swarmed out and quickly occupied this major coastal defense fortress under their dumbfounded gaze.

But Zhang Duan, the leader of the team and a Confucian knight from Ye County, was a little too excited and ordered his men to continue the raid on Hushan. After all, this way they could go straight to Yuyao, the richest place...

The knights of Confucius and Mencius were all very simple people, they came here just to make money.

Otherwise, would they have nothing better to do than to take their own followers, which they paid for, and the ships which they paid for, and risk crossing the sea for thousands of miles for a raid?

Li Zhifang relied on his strength to seize the task of raiding Ningbo. Zhang Duan, who had surrendered to Li Zicheng in the capital and whose reputation was affected, could only join the Knights of Confucius and Mencius as a Jinshi. He took advantage of the fact that they were from Ye County and were the head of the Shandong Tongshan Society to grab the task of raiding Yuyao. Then he excitedly led the 300 cavalrymen who had just landed to rush to Hushan, but was ambushed by the local tyrant Wang Yi, who was a native of Cixi living in Yuyao and a tyrant like Chao Gai. After Zhang Duan raided Guanhaiwei, someone immediately reported the news to Hushan. Wang Yi, who happened to be in Hushan, relied on his fame among the people and the advantage of having many friends to organize the young and strong people who could be mobilized in the local area to prepare for defense in the shortest time.

Zhang Duan didn't know all this. After arriving at Hushan Station, because Wang Yi deliberately let some women work outside, Zhang Duan thought that they were as defenseless as Guanhaiwei, so he rushed straight to the city gate which seemed to be open but in fact the heavy gate had been prepared.

Then he rushed into the city wall with dozens of his followers.

But the gate of the main city gate suddenly fell down.

then……

Then, the Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince of the Qing Dynasty, the Grand Secretary of the National History Museum and his dozens of followers were shot to pieces by the artillery fire from the ambushes on the surrounding city walls.

Zhao Shimian, a fellow villager who had not yet entered the city, was so frightened that he quickly retreated.

However, as far as the raid itself is concerned, it was already a success. After all, taking down Guanhaiwei was equivalent to gaining a firm foothold.

Zhang Duan's death was only due to his greed for merit and recklessness. As a result, a famous official of the Qing Dynasty who came from a top-notch family was beaten to a pulp and his body was sent to Yuyao for exhibition.

As for the question of him leading troops with his status...

Now the top families in Shandong are like this. After all, the Confucian Knights of Confucius and Mencius control the military force. No matter how profound the Confucianism of a family is, without guns, there is no power. After the last battle in Texas, the families behind the scholars who were scared to withdraw from the Knights have all become the targets of bullying in the past few years. After all, you have no military force in your hands. Who else can be bullied if not you? Even the sons of the clans can't use guns. After all, when the sons of the clans control the guns, they can suppress the clan elders. The gun is something that only you control. No one else can guarantee their wealth and power.

Wasn't it that in the past, under the constraints of the system, a weak scholar could decide the life and death of a man with force? Now, you still dare to do this and they will shoot you directly. What's wrong with the clan? Don't the ordinary members of the clan like the clan leader's huge wealth?
Force is power.

Power is wealth.

If you have soldiers, you have power; if you have power, you have wealth.

Therefore, Zhang Duan's father, Zhang Xin, the Minister of Justice of the Ming Dynasty and the Governor of Tianjin of the Qing Dynasty, could only allow his own son to join the Knights of Confucius and Mencius, and even lead troops to fight as a Knight of Confucius and Mencius.

As for the risks of war...

For the family's wealth and power, risk means nothing.

Besides, King Yang didn't force them to come. All those who participated in the Southward Rebellion asked to come on their own initiative. In the final analysis, they all wanted to make money.

This is an investment.

The stock market is risky, and investment needs to be cautious.

They themselves understand this, and they don't want to live this kind of life, but the reality is that if they don't have military power, they can only be bullied by others. They really don't want to live this kind of life. Who doesn't want to leisurely wander in a garden? But in troubled times, they can only be pushed around. So now the scholars have switched to the status of true scholars, who are both civil and martial, can control public opinion, and understand scientific knowledge, and are beginning to develop into classical families.

It's not just the scholars in Shandong who are like this, the scholars in Jiangnan are the same.

So after Wang Yi killed Zhang Duan and transported the body to Yuyao, the scholars in Yuyao and Cixi immediately took action, especially Yuyao, which was sure to be the next target.

Sun Jiaji and others from the Yuyao Hometown Association immediately gathered young and strong people, especially scholars. As Huang Zongxi's hometown, although he himself was in Nanjing, there was no shortage of new scholars here.

These new scholars quickly led the local young and strong to complete the city defense.

Cixi was led by Shen Chenquan and others. Both the Sun family and the Shen family were top local families, especially the Sun family, which was the top family in Yuyao, and could even be called a giant family. They were rich, prestigious, and had a clan. Under the leadership of these new gentry, Yuyao and Cixi entered a state of war in the shortest possible time. Then, a cavalry of the Jingnan Army that marched westward from Dinghai was also blocked by the Cixi militia in Hongtang. Because the water town terrain was not favorable for cavalry, they were even flanked by the militia that took the water route.

In the end, the Jingnan Army retreated after losing one knight and more than fifty cavalrymen.

However, the raid on Linshanwei was successful. The raiding fleet led by Song Lian, mainly composed of Confucius and Mencius knights from Laiyang, Fushan, Wendeng and other places, landed and controlled Linshanwei easily for the same reason, and even landed on Lihaisuo at the same time. Zheng Chenggong's main fleet actually turned to Zhoushan and landed in Zhoushan. Although it encountered some resistance, a large number of northern refugees on the island welcomed the king's army, so the resistance ended quickly. In just one day, the southward Jingnan Army completed the landing in eastern Zhejiang, controlled Zhoushan Island as the rear, and occupied a series of cities including Ningbo Prefecture, Guanhaiwei, Linshanwei, Dinghai County, Dinghai Housuo, etc.

There was panic in eastern Zhejiang.

the next day.

Hangzhou.

Wushan.

Zhejiang Elderly Conference Hall.

Different from those local elders' associations and village sages' associations which all find temples or monasteries, the Zhejiang Elders' Association built a separate meeting place on Wushan Mountain, which is the traditional Mingtang.

Of course, the official name is definitely not the Elders' Meeting Hall, but the newly built ancestral hall for the King of Wuyue. The original ancestral hall was too small to show the Zhejiang people's remembrance of the King of Wuyue, so the Zhejiang gentry pooled money to build him a larger one. In fact, it was to make the Zhejiang people feel a sense of belonging and dilute the authority of the court in the hearts of the people...

It’s regional grouping!

One must always find something that is easily accepted by the common people in the region, whether it be ancient people or gods, and then elevate it infinitely to make it the core of the region.

Let everyone in the area recognize him, and then gradually ignore the real emperor.

Zhejiang is of course the most suitable place for the King of Wu Yue.

"Liars, all of them are liars!" Yu Huang, an elder of the Zhejiang Elders Association and the top scholar in the fifth year of the Tianqi reign, shouted angrily in front of the statue of the King of Wu Yue.

There are currently two living top scholars in Zhejiang, one is Qian Shisheng and the other is him. Qian Shisheng is the head of the Council of Elders, while Yu Huang does not meet the standard of a veteran of four dynasties.

"It's insane, absolutely insane!"

Wu Zhiping, another elder and former governor of Fujian who had just returned from Fujian, also spoke with trembling lips while holding a letter for help sent by the Cixi Hometown Association.

He was worried that a war would break out between Fujian and Zhejiang, and that he, a Zhejiang native serving as governor of Fujian, would easily become a sacrifice, so he fled at lightning speed without even bothering to resign.

The content of the letter was indeed outrageous to the gentry. It was about the Jingnan Army massacring the Yin County Hometown Association and distributing land deeds and burning and selling body deeds in Yin County.

Not only Wu Zhiping, all the elders in the meeting hall were cursing at this moment.

After all, they all knew what it meant to do so. Those unruly people didn't know what propriety, righteousness, and ethics were. It was good enough, and this was the biggest benefit they could get. It could be said that this move was very vicious, destroying the resistance of the people of Zhejiang from the root. Even militia was useless, after all, militia was only close to the clan. The fundamental reason for their loyalty was that even if they died in battle, the clan could protect their families. The wealthy families at the core of the clan would reduce rent for their families, provide relief in times of famine, and send their children to school.

but now……

Now we just give the land to them directly!
The above mentioned ones are because they have no land of their own and can only farm for clan members and wealthy families, becoming de facto dependent on the latter. If anyone has twenty acres of paddy fields, who would go to the battlefield to fight?

It can be said that Yang Feng's vicious plan was to cut off the source of the fire, to undermine the will of the militia and destroy the military force in the hands of the gentry. However, this could not be said openly. After all, everyone was a role model of morality and could not show too much concern about money.

"This is the northerners trying to destroy our Jiangnan culture!"

Chen Zhilin, an elder from Haining, roared angrily.

He has been staying at home quietly for the past few years, but the Chen family of Haining is considered one of the top famous families in Zhejiang, so it is certainly impossible for them not to join the Elders' Association.

The elders woke up instantly.

Yes, those knights of Confucius and Mencius were also gentry. They could not have failed to understand the consequences of doing so. Once the news spread, wouldn't the tenants in Shandong want to share their land? Why did they do so? Obviously, they wanted to destroy the cultural heritage of Jiangnan. They were vicious, vicious. These northerners knew that their knowledge was not as good as that of the south. In order to eradicate the future troubles and destroy the cultural heritage of Jiangnan, they slaughtered the literati in Jiangnan frantically, trying to kill all the literati in Jiangnan, cut off the cultural heritage of Jiangnan, and then make it easier for them to control the culture.

This kind of thing has far-reaching consequences. After all, Confucianism in the north is not as good as that in the south. The fundamental reason is a series of wars in the north starting from the Northern Song Dynasty. It is very difficult to catch up, and it may not even take hundreds of years. But if all the Confucian families in the south of the Yangtze River are slaughtered, they will be able to catch up in a few years.

When the elders thought of this, they were so angry that they trembled all over with cold sweat and their hands and feet were cold.

"Fight to the end, fight them to the end!"

Although he was not an elder, Cao Rong, who was hired as a secretary by the Elders' Council, immediately roared.

He actually surrendered to Dorgon in the capital, but seeing that the situation of the Qing Dynasty was not good, he found an opportunity to escape back to Zhejiang. However, many people knew about his affairs, so he could only keep a low profile and do some writing work in the Elders' Council. His situation was similar to that of Wu Weiye before.

"Yes, fight to the bitter end!"

"Fight to the bitter end!"

……

The elders shouted.

After all, this behavior has seriously trampled on their bottom line.

The gentry are all very simple people. As long as their land is not divided, they don’t really care who is the master.

They sang praises to the Yuan Dynasty, and they also tolerated tyrants like Zhu Yuanzhang. In history, most of them also knelt before the horses of the Qing Dynasty, but they could not tolerate the division of their land, not to mention the direct slaughter of gentry, which was totally intolerable. The Northern Army relied on surprise attacks, but after all, only tens of thousands of people came across the sea, and there was almost no reinforcement in the rear. After all, Shandong could not put together a second fleet of this size.

These warships would be facing headwind if they went back, and they would not be able to return in a short time.

The only person they were worried about was Yang Feng, but the problem was that Yang Feng was still in Fengyang, and even if he went south, there would be gentry in Southern Zhili blocking him.

The gentry of Southern Zhili cannot be allowed to escape this disaster.

We should share the good times and the bad times.

"So, what you guys mean is to fight to the death?"

The head of the Elders' Council, who had been silent the whole time, the father-in-law of Qi Biaojia, the current Minister of Criminal Affairs of Nanjing, and the former Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, Shang Zhouzuo, spoke slowly.

The original Minister of Justice was Xu Shiqi, but after Chongzhen was besieged in Xijiangkou, he resigned to protest against the court. After all, he and Zhang Guowei were entrusted by Chongzhen to go south, and Zhang Guowei was still on the front line to supervise the attack on Hefei. Of course, there were many people who were entrusted by Chongzhen to go south. These important officials are still following Liu Zongzhou and his gang. In the final analysis, they just wanted to escape at that time, and they just fooled Chongzhen and gave them a legal opportunity to escape.

Qi Biaojia is currently one of the core members of Liu Zongzhou's gang.

Shang Zhouzuo's two grandsons, Qi Biaojia's two sons, have now organized resistance in Shaoxing. The main families in Shaoxing are Shang, Tao, Qi, and Zhang.

They are all married to each other.

The elders looked at each other.

This requires them to make a choice. Once they really choose to fight to the death, they will fight to the death.

After all, if they really fight to the death, then they will be irreconcilable. In fact, this group of Jingnan Army is not the most important. The most important one is Yang Feng.

It is easy to defeat the Jingnan Army. It is just a solitary army on an expedition. If all parts of Zhejiang really fight to the death, they can be defeated. For such a solitary army on an expedition, failure is inevitable sooner or later as long as the opponent does not surrender.

But the problem is Yang Feng...

"Fight to the bitter end. The northerners have always looked down on us, and now they are bullying us right at our doorstep. If we cannot fight to the death, how can we face our ancestors again?
We have soldiers, food, cities, and artillery, so why should we be afraid of him? "

Chen Zhilin raised his arms and shouted...

(End of this chapter)