I have a cornucopia

Chapter 303: Lord Yansheng, lead your brothers to attack Xishi City again!
Just as King Yang was shouting that stability overrides everything and refusing to interfere in the war in the south of the Yangtze River, Duke Yansheng finally arrived in Haiyan amid curses, preparing for a new round of attack on Hangzhou.

He is the commander-in-chief.

He was the commander-in-chief of the Jingnan Army.

He has always been the commander-in-chief since the formation of the Jingnan Army. In theory, he was even the one who initiated the Jingnan Campaign.

Of course, he had been in charge of logistics supply in Shandong before.

But now I'm on the battlefield.

As for Haiyan, which has always been under the control of the Jingnan Army, it is unrealistic to cross the river and attack Hangzhou head-on. Not to mention that Hangzhou itself is a large fortress, the newly built artillery batteries along the river are enough to sink all the ships trying to cross the river in the Qiantang River, and once a high tide occurs, they will not be able to retreat.

Li Zhifang is not stupid...

At least he was no longer stupid after he rashly crossed the river and killed a bunch of Confucius and Mencius knights.

Therefore, he had long since joined forces with Zheng Chenggong, and landed in Zhapu, Haiyan, and Yanpu by sea transport. He also used Haiyan as a base, transported 50,000 troops by sea, and then attacked Hangzhou, Jiaxing and other places. But in fact, he was compressed in Haiyan, because he was defeated by Zhejiang militia in Haining, and it can be said that he was defeated miserably, with a loss of nearly 10,000. Fortunately, they were all worthless cannon fodder, and refugees recruited urgently in Zhoushan after going south. In short, the Jingnan Army currently controls Haiyan or Haining Weicheng, and then adds the two fortresses of Zhapu and Yanpu, relying on sea transport to maintain.

The Zhejiang militia did not want to suffer too many casualties in the siege. After all, their veterans were very valuable, so the latter held a series of cities including Haining, Xishi (which is the modern Haining city area), Jiaxing, etc.

In addition, the Songjiang militia has also moved south to provide reinforcements.

They were at Jinshanwei and Pinghu, and eventually formed a blockade on the landing site.

But also no offense.

Now all parties don't like to attack.

Because cannons, matchlocks, flintlocks, grenades and even Molotov cocktails have become the main force of defense, and the attackers have no power to suppress them, so the attack on the fortress often means filling it with human lives, and the success rate is still very low, or the defense force has far exceeded the offense...

No matter how brave you are, it won't work.

Even if you let Yang Feng charge the city wall by himself, he won't be able to stop the gasoline bottles falling on his head.

Besides, even if there is no gasoline, there are whale oil Molotov cocktails or some other oil.

Attacking the fortress would incur heavy casualties.

But defense can inflict the greatest casualties on the enemy at the lowest cost.

But the Jingnan Army was here to attack. They couldn't hide in a few small towns on the coast forever. The enemy was defending their homeland, so they could keep wasting time if they wanted. But the Jingnan Army couldn't afford that. So they took advantage of the fact that Duke Yansheng was personally leading the army, and their morale had improved somewhat. Duke Yansheng also brought a large number of heavy artillery, including the Yang family's steel-tube heavy mortars. Li Zhifang and a group of Confucius and Mencius knights forced their commander-in-chief to come with his brothers to break the deadlock...

Duke Yansheng, lead your brothers to attack Yubi City again. No, it should be Xishi City!
Xishi.

Praise the mountain.

A steady drizzle.

Duke Yansheng sat melancholy on the top of what could only be described as a small mound, like a mountain eagle sitting alone on the top of the mountain, looking at the smoke-filled battlefield ahead.

A chaotic battlefield.

Of course, he didn't understand the specific situation of the battle.

All he could see were a few unconnected hills under the dark clouds, and rivers crisscrossing like a spider web. There was a town the size of a county town, which didn't even have a city wall, only a hastily built protective wall with bamboo cages. And it wasn't a main fortress, but there were fortresses built on those hills. These fortresses were centered on the town, blocking the widest river and land route.

This is also the reason why this place is so important. This small town is almost the heart of the area east of Hangzhou and south of Jiaxing, and it is the center of water and land transportation.

Xishi Town was very prosperous at that time.

It is even more prosperous than Yanguan, the county seat, and Haiyan.

At this moment, their soldiers were fighting with their enemies in the villages separated by the complex water network, but Duke Yansheng actually didn't know who his subordinates were...

He didn't understand the flag.

The soldiers all wore similar armor and used similar weapons.

How could he tell?
In his eyes, there was a chaotic scene of gunpowder smoke and gunfire, and then the bombardment from various forts was equally chaotic. The shells that fell into the water stirred up water columns, and the mortar shells exploded into clouds of gunpowder smoke. Besides, he didn't care who won or lost. His duty here was to let the opponents see him and attack him. This position was also chosen for him by Li Zhifang. This bastard really wanted him to die. Of course, these little foxes also understood the purpose of the old foxes in Shandong Tongshan Society. The old foxes wanted to step on the accelerator when going downhill, and the little foxes simply welded the accelerator shut.

Do you want to withdraw?

Duke Yansheng died on the battlefield. Let’s see how you old guys can retreat.

So at this moment, there was a red umbrella behind him, the banner of the Confucius and Mencius Knights that supported the Ming Dynasty and destroyed the invaders, and defended the truth with blood, and even a band, making him as eye-catching as a shining light bulb in this chaotic battlefield.

There were also several cannons not far from him, firing from time to time, as if shouting at the enemy...

"I'm here!"

Then the shells really came whistling.

Duke Yansheng instinctively rolled down with his head in his hands. The shell fell a hundred steps away from him. However, due to the great distance, the shell, which should have been fired from Xishizhai, was already weak and powerless. It just stirred up some mud on the soft hillside that had just rained, like a thrown stone.

Of course, the other party probably didn't expect to succeed in beheading.

Just venting my anger.

After all, it is six or seven miles away, so even with heavy artillery, this distance is meaningless. It is just a matter of raising the muzzle and firing randomly. Not to mention whether you can hit the target, even whether you can reach the target is up to chance.

"This piece of shit!"

Duke Yansheng, still frightened, got up and sat back on his chair. Then, looking at Li Zhifang who was walking hurriedly towards him, he could not help but speak in a low voice.

But what can he do?
Although he is the Grand Master of the Knights of Confucius and Mencius, he has been a toy of these knights since the establishment of the Knights of Confucius and Mencius. No one respects him, no one listens to him, and they even take pleasure in teasing him. From the outside, he is the leader of the Knights of Confucius and Mencius, or at least a symbolic leader, but in fact he is just a clown for these bastards to amuse themselves, and also a cash machine for them to take out money.

Especially Li Zhifang. This bastard relied on the fact that he was valued by Yang Feng and was almost second only to Yang Feng in the Confucian Knight. He was especially rude to him and was always thinking about plotting against him.

Now he is deliberately trying to kill him.

He has a good temper...

Ancestral.

Anyone with a temper would have exploded by now.
Duke Yansheng sighed secretly.

Of course, when Li Zhifang walked up to him, Duke Yansheng quickly put on a smiling face.

"Duke Yansheng, the battle situation is a bit unfavorable. I have to ask you to move the central army forward to boost morale!"

Li Zhifang said in a commanding tone.

The battle situation is indeed unfavorable.

The combat effectiveness of Zhejiang militia was too strong. Although he had the advantage in troop strength, this was an attack on someone else's fortress. In fact, he knew very well that this war would require a large number of soldiers to fill it. However, this was not important. After all, in his eyes, the lives of soldiers were just numbers. There were many refugees in the north who were willing to exchange their lives for a few full meals.

Not to mention paying the soldiers, as long as they are guaranteed three meals a day, there will be people willing to work hard for them.

But it is still a bit exaggerated to say how urgent the situation is. After all, the strength of Zhejiang militia lies in the tens of thousands of veterans, and they can no longer hold on after being exhausted to a certain extent. In addition, some people in the Zhejiang Elders Association have already wavered. Not long ago, a man named Cha from Haining came to say that the Haining Hometown Elders Association asked him to convey a message that as long as the Jingnan Army promised not to be like in eastern Zhejiang, the Haining Hometown Elders Association would be willing to surrender.

The man surnamed Cha even offered to go to Hangzhou to act as an insider so that the two sides could work together.

As long as the Jingnan Army could give him half of the property of an elderly man in Hangzhou, it would be enough.

After all, all gentry are like this.

Li Zhifang, who was also a gentry and had endured the revenge of his parents in history, knew very well that as long as the pressure reached a certain level, the gentry would definitely welcome the king's army. This was inevitable, and everyone knew who they were! Now the pressure has not yet arrived. As the Minister of War of my Great Qing Ma Ge, Knight Li's talent is unquestionable.

"Yeyuan, if that's the case, why don't we withdraw our troops for now and attack again when the weather clears up."

Duke Yansheng said with a smile.

"How can that be? The army can only advance and cannot retreat. Once we retreat, our morale will be completely destroyed. As the commander-in-chief, Duke Yansheng should lead the troops to repay the late emperor's kindness. Quickly, invite Duke Yansheng down the mountain. Don't forget to bring all of Duke Yansheng's ceremonial guards, his weapons, and his great sword!"

Li Zhifang said.

The followers behind him immediately swarmed forward, lifted up Duke Yansheng, and one of them even lifted up his huge sword.

Of course, Duke Yansheng must also have his own weapons.

Although it was definitely not possible to let him charge into battle, he still had to get a sword as a token of his respect. Confucius also traveled around the world with a sword. In short, the Confucius and Mencius Knights specially made a large sword with an exaggerated shape and weighing ten pounds for the Duke of Yansheng. Then the entourage carried the sword and supported the Duke of Yansheng. The people behind him were holding red umbrellas, holding large flags, beating gongs and drums, and blowing trumpets, and surrounded the Duke of Yansheng and walked down the mountain...

"Please let me go!"

The wails of Duke Yansheng echoed miserably on Mount Zan.

Li Zhifang smiled slightly behind him.

"Brother Yeyuan?"

One of the knights looked at him and whispered.

Li Zhifang nodded slightly.

The latter nodded in understanding and then walked towards Duke Yansheng.

"Don't panic, Lord Yansheng. I'm here to make sure you don't get hurt!"

He shouted as he walked.

Li Zhifang at the back took out an urgent report with a complicated expression and silently read the contents. The contents were very simple. The Jiangxi militia raided and occupied Zhuji and was already attacking Shaoxing. Zhang Jiayu, who stayed in Shaoxing, was ready to retreat. This was to inform him. So although Zhang Jiayu was not on the same side as him, he was still trustworthy and would at least not do such a thing as betraying his teammates.

After reading it, Li Zhifang smiled coldly, then tore the urgent report into pieces and threw it away.

Just a small thing.

In fact, the intervention of Jiangxi militia was inevitable.

They had already arrived in Jinhua and even sent people to Ningbo to openly threaten the Jingnan Army to stop attacking Hangzhou and retreat to Zhoushan.

But even if the Jiangxi militia recaptured eastern Zhejiang, it would not matter to the Jingnan Army. After all, they had already plundered it, and the gold, silver and jewelry had been transported back to Shandong. There was no value in occupying it any longer. As long as they had Zhoushan as a base, it would be fine. Moreover, if the Jiangxi militia really recaptured eastern Zhejiang, the first thing they would have to deal with would be the unruly people who had already divided up the land and even the real estate of the gentry. The Jingnan Army no longer had anything to do with that place.

The current target is Hangzhou, Jiaxing and Huzhou.

He led a million troops to the West Lake and immediately reached the first peak of Wushan Mountain.

When he thought about occupying Hangzhou and going to Wushan immediately, he was as excited as Zhang Hongfan at Yashan.

Then he also went down the mountain with surging emotions and walked towards Duke Yansheng who was still being carried.

But just then...

"Mortar!"

Amid the sudden whistling sound in the sky, Li Zhifang screamed and threw himself into the pit beside him without hesitation, then looked at the trace of smoke passing by in front of him...

The smoke from the mortar shells.

The Duke of Yansheng, who was being held up, and the knights and attendants around him also looked up in astonishment. The next moment, a cannonball hit them, and a attendant fell directly. The cannonball almost landed directly at the feet of the Duke of Yansheng. The Duke of Yansheng, who was not very familiar with the battlefield, did not fall down as quickly as those around him, and no one reminded him. He stared blankly at the ball rolling under his feet, with a little smoke coming out from somewhere. The next moment, the ball turned into a fire of explosion, and the Duke of Yansheng flew backwards in the smoke as if he was kicked by a donkey. At the same time, the flying fish suit on his body turned into rags and flew up, and then he fell heavily to the ground again.

Even the armor inside was blown away.

Of course, it would be useless even if he had one. Duke Yansheng was old and his physical condition was limited. He couldn't wear heavy armor at all. He could only block arrows.

"Duke Yansheng!"

Li Zhifang shouted in a voice that was unclear whether it was surprise or anxiety.

The real purpose of his offensive was to create an opportunity for Duke Yansheng to die on the battlefield. It was just a show, forcing Duke Yansheng to go to the battlefield, and then use the death of Duke Yansheng to block the possibility of Shandong Tongshan Society's retreat. It was also to let King Yang give him more strength. After all, the current strength is indeed not enough. But if Yang Feng could transfer some elite troops to him, it would be different. Originally, he wanted Duke Yansheng to go forward and die from a stray bullet, but he didn't expect that there would be such a surprise.

As if hearing his shout, Duke Yansheng's obviously broken body twitched in response, and the knight who shouted to protect him quickly ran over and picked him up.

At the same time, in a small village less than three miles away from them, the smoke from the mortars was everywhere, and then the second shrapnel shell flew into the sky with a trail of smoke, and then fell with a whistle. This shell landed not far from the Duke of Yansheng again, and the guy who was still holding the Duke of Yansheng cleverly turned him around and made him his meat shield. The Duke of Yansheng, who had just opened his eyes and didn't understand what was going on, saw the shell explode five or six levels away, and the already broken Duke of Yansheng shook violently under the impact of the fragments...

(End of this chapter)