I have a cornucopia

Chapter 299 Those who are alive are not dead
Du Yinxi's battle of Gehu Lake ended with his victory.

He defeated Yuan Zongdi.

The 20,000-strong Susong militia defeated the 40,000 infantry and cavalry commanded by the latter in a field battle.

Of course, the victory was still tragic. In fact, the militia lost nearly one-fifth of its troops, and their opponents lost slightly more. It was just that Yuan Zongdi ran out of ammunition and could not continue to fight. After all, he was still a traditional military commander. He was not very accurate in estimating the ammunition consumption in such a battle that was entirely based on firepower, and the ammunition he carried was exhausted in the middle of the battle. Du Yinxi, who was already accustomed to firepower projection, had sufficient ammunition. Although Yuan Zongdi relied on the advantage of cavalry and persisted for several rounds of attack after running out of ammunition, the terrain still restricted the detour that cavalry was best at...

There is no way around it.

There are many crisscrossing rivers between Gehu Lake and Taihu Lake.

In order to stop the cavalry, the first thing Du Yinxi did after the Benniu Line of Defense was breached was to demolish the bridge.

All bridges were destroyed.

The wooden bridge burned down and the stone arch bridge was blown up.

He has been at the forefront all these years and has grown into a truly experienced commander. The advantage of Jiangnan is the water network. Should these bridges be left for the enemy cavalry to pass through?
In the end, Yuan Zongde, who tried to get around him, had to face a series of rivers blocking his way.

Even though Li Zicheng's angry cavalry bravely charged the militia defense line head-on, they were ultimately unable to break through the latter's forest of spears and dense firepower. They were even able to fight against the elite Manchurian field militia of the Eight Banners. In terms of combat effectiveness alone, they had actually surpassed Li Zicheng's main force.

After all, the combat effectiveness of Li Zicheng's subordinates has never been top-notch.

After his defeat at Gehu Lake, Yuan Zongdi retreated northward.

He was originally involved in the siege of Changzhou, but he was separated to go south because Changzhou could never be captured, and Changzhou blocked the canal. Chen Zilong also established a defense line in Wuxi. If he wanted to attack Wuxi, he had to transport heavy artillery there, otherwise cavalry alone would be useless. In this way, he had to take the water route to bypass Changzhou, or even enter Taihu Lake to directly bypass the most important Huishan and other mountains west of Wuxi. If he could directly transport water to Liangxi, these outer defense lines would collapse without attacking.

But now it fails.

Then we can only go back and continue attacking Changzhou and open the canal waterway.

Du Yinxi was also unable to lift the siege of Changzhou.

Because of the heavy losses, he did not dare to break into the Changzhou encirclement despite a symbolic pursuit. He just built fortifications on the periphery to maintain deterrence, and then watched Gao Yigong attack Changzhou, while waiting for the Elders Council to send him reinforcements.

Taking advantage of the fact that other prefectures in Nanzhili were competing to reduce their military forces, Suzhou, Songjiang, Changzhou and even Zhejiang opened up to recruit those disbanded militiamen. Although most of the militiamen chose to return to the countryside, there were still many who were used to living on the edge of a knife and chose to accept recruitment. In the final analysis, the treatment of the militiamen was sufficient...

This is also an important reason why there has been no large-scale defection among the Susongchang militia so far.

Tuanlian and group training are also different.

Zhejiang Tuanlian and Susong Tuanlian, the two earliest militias, really received years of elite training and were the best treated. Not only were their internal disciplines close to those of Qi's army, but their pay and daily supplies far exceeded those of Qi's army. Coupled with the ideological control of the new scholar officers, it can be said that they were close to the strongest legion of this era, and the internal cohesion would not be easily broken. On the contrary, Li Zicheng's subordinates were much worse. No matter how hard he tried, his knowledge level still limited him. He could only train those who could fight in the old official army, and he could not even reach the level of a family servant.

It also does not reach the level of the Eight Banners Manchus.

The two militias in Zhejiang and Susong, plus the Zhejiang New Army which was equivalent to the militia, were all able to fight against and even defeat the Eight Banners Manchus in field battles of the same level.

It's normal for Du Yinxi to win.

But the problem is that such a militia has been built over many years and honed through repeated wars. The next reinforcements to be sent to him, even if they are recruited from militias in other places, will not be able to reach the same level, not to mention pure new recruits.

Of course, it doesn't matter.

After all, this is all something to consider later.

Given the current situation, we can only hold on one day at a time.

On the same day that Du Yinxi won the battle, the Jingnan Army in Zhejiang also attempted to cross the Qiantang River.

But it failed.

The Zhejiang militia has arrived in Hangzhou.

The arrival of this army, which can be said to be the most elite army of the Ming Dynasty, immediately saved Hangzhou, which was originally in danger. Not only did it repel the Jingnan Army that crossed the river, but it also caused the most serious casualties of Confucius and Mencius Knights in this war. Twenty Confucius and Mencius Knights were blocked at the landing point and could not be withdrawn due to the high tide. The reinforcements were also blocked by the tide, and they were eventually swept away by the surging tide of the Qiantang River.

Nanjing.

Prince Qi's Mansion.

Now Her Majesty the Queen is the largest landlord in Nanjing. She can just pick one from the confiscated properties of nobles and give it to the King of Qi.

After all, the King of Qi cannot be allowed to live in the palace.

Although Her Majesty would certainly hope so.

His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi eventually lost control and was pushed onto the dragon bed by Her Majesty the Queen. However, Her Majesty the Queen was not prepared to take responsibility for him. After all, for Her Majesty the Queen, what she had to protect was the Zhu family's kingdom. At least for now, she was still very innocent. She was just protecting the family business as the eldest daughter of the Zhu family.

You definitely can't get married like this.

If she gets married, she will no longer be a member of the Zhu family.

As for whether my mentality will change in the future, that is all in the future.

At least not yet.

Therefore, His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi only needs to go to the palace every night to help Her Majesty the Queen handle government affairs.

"If it doesn't work, just ask them to stop. We've already got a lot."

King Yang looked at the Confucian Knight Li Zhifang who came to report the battle situation.

The latter rushed here by speedboat immediately after the defeat in Hangzhou. After all, it was a tragic defeat, and they lost so many Confucius and Mencius Knights. Up to now, one hundred and fifty Confucius and Mencius Knights have been killed. This is definitely a heavy loss for the Confucius and Mencius Knights, whose total number is only over one thousand.

Of course, I got a lot.

The amount of silver transported back to the north by the Yang Family Bank alone exceeded 20 million taels.

Eastern Zhejiang is still very rich.

However, the silver had nothing to do with Yang Feng. He would not share a single ounce of silver. It was just that his brothers deposited the silver in his bank to give him face. He just kept it for others and earned hard-earned money. King Yang did not rob the silver of the Zhejiang gentry, but others deposited the silver in his bank. He could not control where the silver came from. Besides, if there were two identical silver ingots in front of him, who would know which one was from Zhejiang and which one was from Shandong?

Including the money robbed by Gao Jie and even the money robbed by Li Zicheng's subordinates now, all are pouring into Yang's Bank. He has even started printing money. After all, it is not convenient for everyone to use so much silver. With the silver bills issued by the bank, you can go to any bank branch to withdraw silver, or it is even more convenient to trade directly with the silver bills.

In short, this is what the Yang family does.

How could King Yang, such a kind person, rob others of their money?

"Your Majesty, we can't stop. Last time it was just a miscalculation of the tide. After all, we have never seen such a tide in Qiantang River. But now it is clear that it will not happen again next time. We are only separated from Hangzhou by a river, and Wushan is right in front of us. How can we stop? Only a hundred knights died. Their clan can make up for it immediately. The dead and wounded followers can be replaced with just a word. If you need people, you have people. If you need artillery, you have artillery. There is no war without casualties. This time, we are avenging the late emperor, and dying on the battlefield will bring honor to our ancestors!"

Li Zhifang said somewhat anxiously.

"Well, I just think the casualties are a bit too high, and I don't want the knights to suffer any more damage."

Yang Feng said.

"Don't worry, my king. We are all well-read in the books of sages and we all understand the great principles. No matter how many casualties there are, we must avenge the late emperor. Now, none of the Confucius and Mencius knights in Zhejiang will retreat!"

Li Zhifang said with awe-inspiring righteousness.

Stop?

How?
How can I stop enjoying the happiness I am having now just because of a small setback?

The city of Hangzhou, which is like a mountain of gold and silver, is right before our eyes.

Don't stop!
In fact, it is not just him. Most of the more than 500 Confucius and Mencius knights in Zhejiang have never considered stopping. After all, they have made too much money during this period of time and have reached the point where they can't stop. As for casualties, this is really not important. After all, those who are alive are not dead. Although this principle is simple, it is actually true. Those who are alive are not dead, so under the greed of profit, the living will not empathize with the dead. In their eyes, there are only countless gold and silver in front of them. Besides, it's nothing more than a few Confucius and Mencius knights died, and their clans are not without replacements. In which aristocratic family, there are a lot of spares, and one dies and one is replaced. The looted wealth belongs to the family. Let alone the death of 150 Confucius and Mencius knights, even if all the Confucius and Mencius knights died, the families behind them would still fill them up in a blink of an eye.

Even the families behind them would not allow them to stop. Stopping at this time would simply be a sin!
"It's up to you, but you still have to strictly abide by military discipline. You are the Jingnan Army, not bandits. You are the king's army!"

Yang Feng said with satisfaction.

Since they are not afraid of death, so be it!

The Confucius and Mencius Knights families can indeed recruit new ones, but the new ones are no longer the current batch of elites. The more than one thousand Confucius and Mencius Knights that these Shandong families can gather are already the real elites. The rest are all screened out, and it is not a long time to fill them up.

This is what he wants.

Let the elites of Shandong gentry and the elites of Zhejiang gentry bleed each other.

These guys are not good people either, they deserve to be put to death. Historically, most of the Shandong gentry were the ones who welcomed the royal army, while the Jiangnan gentry are to blame for the Ming Dynasty's current situation. In this case, let them bleed each other!
"There is another thing. Now that the Jianlu are no longer a force to be reckoned with, and Li Zicheng has been dealt with, although there are still some wars that have not been settled, the Ming Dynasty has survived this disaster, so Her Majesty is preparing to reopen the imperial examination next year. Moreover, the reopening of the imperial examination will require some reforms, and a lot of new subjects will be added. You must also prepare early. After all, the world will be peaceful in the future, and you can't be like before. You still have to do this job."

Yang Feng said immediately.

Li Zhifang quickly nodded to show that he understood.

As for the imperial examination, it is indeed difficult to go back and study hard and win the exam in one fell swoop. But if you kill all your competitors, it will be much easier than going back to study hard.

and so……

We must fight in Hangzhou!

It's not just Hangzhou, but also Jiaxing and Huzhou can't be let go.

This may have implications for the future distribution of power.

Speaking of Zhejiang province, the number of Jinshi (Jinshi) produced in the Ming Dynasty was more than twice that of Shandong. If he killed more Zhejiang gentry when he went back, maybe the ratio would be evened out in the future. This is for the sake of future generations, so we cannot be lenient on such matters.

"Damn it, I am committing a sin. How could a famous official of the Qing Dynasty end up like this?

Bandits, bandits don’t act like this.”

Looking at Li Zhifang leaving excitedly, King Yang couldn't help but sigh from the bottom of his heart.

Of course, we can't blame him. He just gradually guided them to release their nature. The saintly ways of propriety, justice, integrity and shame are all fake. The law of the jungle is their nature. The gentry shouted as if they were morally perfect, but in fact, they showed their true colors at the first opportunity. In the past, they could shout Zhang Hongfan, the destroyer of Song Dynasty, and follow the foreign race as minions. Now they can also bloodbath Jiangnan for their own interests. Of course, the Jiangnan group of sages are the same. They just rarely have such opportunities. This has to be said to be a kind of sadness, but when they succeed, they are the same. They did the same thing when they were on the North and South List.

King Yang simply brought out their true natures.

They were originally wild beasts. King Yang just asked them to tear off their gorgeous outer clothes to reveal their raw and bloodthirsty nature.

Then you don't need to worry about the rest.

They will move forward regardless of everything driven by their own interests.

As for him...

He has no interest in the war in Jiangnan.

Anyway, he has already established the rules. They can exterminate the gentry, but they cannot kill innocent people indiscriminately. This is not a big problem. After all, the poor have no money. Moreover, the Jingnan Army was able to easily capture eastern Zhejiang thanks to the cooperation of the unruly people. If the military discipline is not good and the latter are forced to side with the gentry, it will affect big business.

And he also gave these guys a list of names that needed to be taken care of.

Of course, he doesn't really care whether these lists are actually implemented or not.

He has already been at peace with his conscience by giving these lists, but as Knight Li said, it is not impossible to let someone on the list die from a stray bullet. This is a war and anything is possible.

King Yang only needed to assist the Empress in Nanjing and deal with Li Zicheng's aftermath. After all, the latter was also the ruler of several provinces, and he had the base in Guanzhong behind him. In addition, the Qing army had retreated. Although the Qing army that fled north abandoned a large amount of supplies, including looted people, and a large number of Green Flag Army under the pursuit of the Ming army, there were still nearly 40,000 people who escaped across the Huai River. They abandoned all the territories they had occupied before in Henan, and then fled north. After joining the Qing army in Henan, more than 50,000 people finally withdrew across the Yellow River...

Of course, there were only more than 10,000 Eight Banner Manchus, and the vast majority of the rest were Han troops.

At this point, the Qing Dynasty completely withdrew from the south of the Yellow River.

After three years of struggle, they ended up with nothing.

(End of this chapter)