I have a cornucopia

Chapter 282: The morale of the team is scattered and it is difficult to lead the team

barracks.

"What are you doing? Do you all want to rebel?"

King Yang looked at the Zhejiang army that was ready to attack Liu Zhaoji's defense line and shouted angrily with a frown on his face.

The soldiers, who had their muskets set up, looked at him in fear.

Although the news of the Northern Army's sneak attack on eastern Zhejiang had indeed aroused their anger, they still had to remain calm in front of King Yang.

"It was him. He was the one who sent the troops south. Brothers, the northerners are still killing our people and stealing our silver in Ningbo. We won't work for them anymore. Let's charge over. The court has prepared a boat for us. We can take the boat back to Ningbo when we get to Pukou. General Huang's navy is also withdrawing. Let's go back and drive away the northerners!"

A general raised his arms and shouted.

"Kill back!"

"Whoever dares to stop us, we will fight him!"

……

The officers shouted.

then……

King Yang walked straight forward and went towards the general.

"Zhang Tianzhi, right? I can understand that as a Jiaxing native, you have feelings for your hometown, but the crime of framing me cannot be forgiven. Do you want to do it yourself or should I do it myself?"

He said as he walked.

I was the third place in the imperial examination in the sixth year of Shunzhi in the Qing Dynasty. I instinctively drew out my pistol and aimed at him tremblingly.

"Look, you openly aimed your musket at me. This is an assassination attempt. You must die."

Yang Feng continued to move forward calmly.

Zhang Tianzhi was trembling all over and couldn't even aim steadily. Cold sweat broke out on his body and his legs were shaking.

"Brother, brothers, fire your guns! It was him who ordered all of them to go south. Shoot him to death! Fire your guns!"

He screamed in a trembling voice.

But none of the soldiers holding the banjiu guns dared to shoot. They even instinctively pointed their guns at the sky, and then, like the Northern Qi soldiers who looked at Huluguang, watched King Yang walk in front of them and even walked straight through them. As for Zhang Tianzhi, who was Yang Feng's target, although he was trembling with fear as he held the gun, he was still trembling there, watching Yang Feng getting closer and closer, but he didn't dare to pull the trigger. Although he really wanted to shoot, but...

He just doesn't dare!

The guy in front of them was full of light, and his figure shining on the Huai River had already left a mark in the souls of these generals and soldiers.

Of course, the main reason was that he knew very well that the short gun could not hit Yang Feng.

He suddenly fell to his knees and threw away the musket...

"Your Majesty, I am a fool. Please spare my life!"

He lay on the ground howling.

Yang Feng walked up to him, picked up the pistol for him, gently put it into his hand, and then turned the muzzle of the gun to his temple.

"I promised to let you do it yourself. You still have a chance now. As for your family, I will send someone to send a letter to Zheng Chenggong to let them go."

King Yang said gently.

Then he looked at Zhang Tianzhi. After all, Zhang Tianzhi's family didn't seem to be very rich, and his father was just an assistant official.

Zhang Tianzhi trembled as he held the pistol, pointing it at his head, and then looked at Yang Feng with pleading eyes, who was looking at him with encouraging eyes. However, at this distance, he could actually aim the gun at Yang Feng, provided that his hand speed was fast enough. If his hand speed was not fast enough, then the Nine Clans would be eliminated. He hesitated between his own life and the lives of his Nine Clans, and finally, with a wail, he pulled the trigger. With the sound of the gunshot, the bullet that hit his head flew out from the other side with his brain and broken bones, and then his dead body fell at Yang Feng's feet.

King Yang calmly wiped the brain matter splattered on his clothes, then stood up and looked at the generals who were silent as a mouse.

"I know you are anxious, but why don't you think about it, as my subordinates, will I ignore your family?"

He said.

The generals looked at each other.

It seems to be true. Although the news they received was that the Northern Army was slaughtering gentry and looting wealthy families in Ningbo, the problem is that they are now subordinates of Yang Feng!

Moreover, he had just fought a bloody battle for Yang Feng and defeated the Jianlu.

Given Yang Feng's character, how could he ignore them? Therefore, the families of these generals would not be harmed. After all, everyone knew that those people were all Yang Feng's subordinates. The Confucius and Mencius Knights could not muster an army of 100,000. All the knights and followers added up were only 20,000 to 30,000, and they had to stay in Shandong. Some of them even followed Yang Feng here. The maximum number of people who could go south was 15,000.

The only ones who could quickly mobilize an army of 100,000 were Yang Feng's farmers, or the Yang family's troops.

The massacre of gentry and looting of wealth must have been ordered by Yang Feng.

but……

Yang Feng was also famous for protecting his subordinates.

So as Yang Feng's subordinates now, and they have made great contributions, they don't have to worry about their families.

Of course, this is a bit unfair to the elders and fellow villagers in Zhejiang. After all, they have been supporting the Zhejiang New Army for all these years to protect their wealth. Now when needed, the Zhejiang New Army should go back to protect them.

This is betrayal.

But the question is, what else can we do?
"As for you!"

Yang Feng looked at the trembling soldiers.

"The Jingnan Army was formed by the Emperor because the elders of Nanzhili, Zhejiang, and Jiangxi would kill the emperor. They killed Your Majesty, so Duke Yansheng led the Shandong Tongshan Society, the Zheng family, and the Guangdong-Guangxi Allied Forces, who were loyal to Your Majesty, raised an army to avenge Your Majesty, so they raided eastern Zhejiang. Killing innocent people indiscriminately is impossible, and this king will not allow anyone to kill innocent people indiscriminately. They are not that bold. As for looting, it is inevitable. You are all soldiers, so there is no need to explain this.

But do you have any property worth them robbing?"

He said.

The soldiers also calmed down.

It seems to make sense!
Soldiers are bound to plunder. Even though the Zhejiang New Army has the best discipline, such behavior occasionally occurs in Huaiyang.

Of course, they are already the best. Gao Jie and other subordinates are even worse. After all, this is an era like this. It is good enough if the soldiers are not razed like a razor. After all, they are not Qi Jiguang's subordinates. Besides, Qi Jiguang lived in an era of peace, order and stability, so the military discipline must be better. But now is a time of chaos, and the only one who can maintain discipline in troubled times is Yue Wumu.

Yang Feng is definitely not Yue Wumu. He often takes his men out to rob. However, this is also an important reason why he is more popular among his subordinates than Yue Wumu.

When Yue Wumu was killed, none of his subordinates dared to avenge him, but if Yang Feng was killed, I guess a lot of people would rise up in rebellion under the banner of revenge for him.

But the problem is that these ordinary soldiers really have nothing worth robbing.

Are you worried about your property?
Do you deserve it?
The dozens of acres of land he rented could barely provide him with enough food and clothing each year. Even though the military pay was good, he could only save a dozen taels of silver in a year.

Are you worthy of being robbed?

There is the Xie Sanbin family who is as wealthy as a country, and there are those wealthy families with fields stretching for miles. Who would want to rob the peasants?

"Remember your current identities. You are following me to encircle and suppress the Jianlu. Anyone who dares to leave without my order will be considered deserting the battlefield and shall be executed according to military law. No matter what happened in your hometown, you must wait for my order. Moreover, we just received an urgent report yesterday. The situation is still uncertain and there are many rumors. We still have to investigate in detail, but I can give you a clear explanation. First, the Jingnan Army will not kill innocent people indiscriminately, otherwise I will make the decision for you. Second, no matter what news you receive, you must have my order if you want to leave. Third, in view of the unexpected situation, the attack on the Jianlu is suspended and the Zhejiang New Army is temporarily stationed here.

Anyone who stirs up trouble will be dealt with by military law.”

Yang Feng said.

The soldiers finally put away their weapons. As for the generals...

Of course they knew that Yang Feng was talking nonsense, but they would have to wait for more accurate news as to how to respond next.

What's more, Zhu Datian was the one who directly commanded them.

We have to discuss this with Zhu Dadian first.

And at this time...

Nanjing.

Council of Elders.

There's already a lot of noise here.

In fact, most of the elders had just learned about the Jingnan Army's surprise attack on eastern Zhejiang. These elders had also relaxed their vigilance during this period. After all, with Yang Feng's acknowledgment of the reality, it seemed that there was no danger anymore.

Li Zicheng's strength was obviously not enough to break through the Jiujiang defense line, and other provinces were still waiting and watching. Even Zheng Zhilong did not break up with Nanjing. He really did not know about Zheng Chenggong's rescue, and he even thought that Zheng Chenggong was obviously meddling. But after all, he was his son and heir, so even if he thought Zheng Chenggong was wrong, he still had to support him, but there was no need to break up with Nanjing for this. In short, he was still arguing with Nanjing.

Or wait and see.

After Yang Feng admitted the reality, there was no possibility of him breaking up with her.

So it seems that this hurdle has been passed. In this case, the elders will certainly not all be in Nanjing. They are all old, so it is normal for them to visit friends and have gatherings.

Then suddenly the bad news came.

Now the old foxes who had just gathered together were also a little confused.

"Look, look, I said at the beginning that we should take things slow with His Majesty, at least we should not be short of etiquette and give others excuses to criticize us, but you didn't listen. Now it has come to this. We loyal ministers have become traitors. We who are clearly concerned about the country have become regicides, while others have become loyal ministers and are justified in dealing with us under the banner of fighting rebellion."

Former Grand Secretary Fu Guan sighed amid the noise.

"What does Ji'an mean by saying this? Now we are discussing how to jointly resist the foreign enemies. Does Ji'an's words change the fact that we refused Your Majesty outside the city that day?"

Fang Fengnian said angrily.

"It was not me who refused to let Your Majesty out of the city."

Fu Guan sneered.

They were all former cabinet ministers, so it was inevitable that there were some old grudges between them. In fact, this was often the case among the elders.

"Then you are a loyal minister, and I am a treacherous minister?"

Fang Fengnian said angrily.

"You two, let's stop talking about this now. Let's go find Yang Feng first and see what he wants to do, right?"

Kong Zhenyun hurriedly persuaded.

……

"Mr. Liu has arrived."

There was a shout outside, and then Liu Zongzhou walked in with a sullen face. He did not answer Qian Shisheng's greeting, but walked straight to the podium in the middle, and then clapped the newspaper in his hand...

"This is crazy, this is crazy, this is crazy!"

He said with full of grief and indignation.

Qian Shisheng quickly took the urgent report with the seal of the Zhejiang Elders Association, and then his face turned pale...

"This person wants to destroy our Jiangnan culture!"

he said angrily.

This latest urgent report, of course, reports on the atrocities committed by the Jingnan Army.

So far, they have actually received a total of four urgent reports, of course, only from the Zhejiang Elders Association, local associations of local celebrities, government offices, and even some private individuals, which is a lot. Now there is also efficient information transmission between private individuals, such as between academies and local tyrants, which can be relayed and even not slower than the official post road. But it still takes time, so the first thing they received was the Northern Army's surprise attack, then the landing, and then the occupation of Ningbo, including the killing of some gentry, but the specific situation is not clear here, and this one is after a period of time.

Including the cause of Xie Sanbin's death, the Jingnan Army indiscriminately slaughtered gentry, looted their property, and even divided the gentry's land among the unruly people and released their slaves, etc.

No wonder Liu Daru was shaking with anger.

This is truly destroying the cultural heritage of Jiangnan. He is well aware of the consequences of such cleansing. Even if it is a partial cleansing, it will take a long time to make up for it.

The urgent news was immediately passed among the elders. Some of them were furious, some were simply angry, and some were just expressing their feelings.

In the final analysis, this is just bad luck for the gentry in eastern Zhejiang, and other places will not be affected for the time being.

Of course, Liu Zongzhou actually brought a second one, which was the recall order from the Zhejiang Elders Association...

"How can this be possible? If the Zhejiang Army on the front line withdraws, will Jiujiang still be defended? Li Zicheng has hundreds of thousands of troops on the other side. The situation is critical now. If the Zhejiang Army withdraws, won't the whole line be defeated?"

Fu Guan said in astonishment.

"The front line must not be withdrawn."

Kong Zhenyun also became anxious.

The Zhejiang militia is one of the main forces on the front line. Currently, the front line is in a stalemate. In this situation, if one of the main forces withdraws, the risk of collapse is extremely high.

Once the front line collapses, Li Zicheng's army will attack, but Jiangxi and Nanzhili will be in trouble.

"The Zhejiang Elders Association has already issued an order. It is estimated that they will arrive at the front line tomorrow at the latest. It is too late for us to stop them. Moreover, Zhejiang cannot just ignore them after all."

Liu Daru said upset.

"If such a big thing cannot be passed by the Senate, what is the point of having this Senate? Zhejiang cannot ignore it, so can Jiangxi ignore it? Jiangxi has resisted the rebellion until now, and the three provinces have been united, advancing and retreating together, and helping each other. If Zhejiang abandons Jiangxi, why should we continue to defend the downstream? Zhejiang only lost a few dozen gentry, but Jiangxi has lost several times more in two major battles. If we can't work together, why should Jiangxi continue to fight?"

Fu Guan said angrily.

"Jiangxi still has the Jiujiang defense line, and our Zhejiang coast is open, how can it be compared with Jiangxi?"

Qian Shisheng said angrily.

"Then let's each mind our own business!"

Another Jiangxi veteran said angrily.

Kong Zhenyun was really anxious.

"Everyone, everyone, the overall situation is important. Let's discuss it carefully. We really can't withdraw troops from the front line. If not, we can transfer the troops left in Nanjing to Zhejiang."

He said.

"Then who will stop Gao Jie from crossing the river?"

Wu Shen, who had been silent, said.

Uh?
Elder Kong was speechless.

(End of this chapter)