Ming Zhengzhi, I am Zheng Kezang

In the temporary residence of the governor of Liangjiang, even though the master has not arrived yet, the officials of Suzhou Province standing in the lobby still have a steady attitude of watching their eyes, their noses, their noses, their noses, their noses, and their hearts, and dare not whisper casually.However, although there is no communication with each other, one can initially detect their inner thoughts from the relaxed or dignified expressions on the faces of the people present.

After a while, Ma Qi, the governor of Liangjiang, finally came out from the back hall, and sat firmly in the top spot amidst the voices of meeting the commander-in-chief.

When the sound subsided, Ma Qi cleared his throat and said, "Hai Ni did not attack the city, but set up camps on the Yucao River in the northeast of the city and the Baodai River in the southwest of the city. What's the reason for that?"

"Return to the commander in chief," E'an, the prefect of Yangzhou, came out first. "Although the lower officials say that they are literary, they still understand the situation under the rule. Although Yangzhou strangles the canal, this is not the only grain road in Haini." Yangzhou's surrounding water is well developed, and among them, salt can be transported by water River (Note: Tongyang Canal, first called Hangou), and besides the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, there is also the Chuanchang River connected to the Yunyan River, not to mention that even the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal itself is under the control of Zheng Junhong’s single boat under. "That's why the lower officials think that Hai Ni may think that Yangzhou is not an inescapable pass."

"Marshal, I think what Mr. E said is true." Jiang Ning's chief envoy Lu Yan who stood on the head of E'an hurriedly added. "The summer harvest is coming soon, Haini must fight a quick battle to occupy the north of Jiangsu, because of the calculation of food and the enemy." Lu Yan paused. "Now there are only [-] soldiers led by Lord E Luosun in Taizhou City, and the city is small. If the main force of Haini rushes away, and if Taizhou falls, the channel for Haini to go north will be opened."

"Does Master Lu mean to let the commander-in-chief go out to fight in the city?" Hua Shan, the former commander of the Qianfeng Battalion, the deputy commander of the Xiangbai Banner Han Army, and the current Jiangbei admiral, saw that Lu Yan intended to instigate Ma Qi to send troops to reinforce Taizhou, and was in a hurry. So hurriedly jumped out to criticize. "Let's not say that Hai Ni still has a large army outside the city. Even if one of the wings is destroyed, we will lose [-] if we kill three thousand enemies. At that time, our army will not be able to rescue the surrounding cities one by one. If we attack Yangzhou again with this stimulus, what will we do to defend the city?"

"What Huajunmen said is true," echoed Zhang Rikang, the commander-in-chief of Guide Town, Henan Province, who reinforced Yangzhou as the governor of the conquest. "Nowadays, Haini's red single boats appear in various waterways outside the city, especially on the canals, and our army is mostly composed of soldiers from the north, who are not familiar with water warfare, so even if our army defeats a part of Haini , and may not be able to cross the canal and talk about Western aid." Speaking of this, Zhang Rikang, who did not want to turn his defense into a defense, made a suggestion that Ma Qi could not accept at all. "If you must go out of the city to fight, it is better to choose the target on the Baodai River line and defeat the Zheng army in one heir, or you can lead the army westward and join the Anqing camp and the Feng (Yang) Ying (zhou) and Lu (zhou) armies. Afterwards, counterattack back."

"Withdraw from Yangzhou? How can this be done?" Guo Qishan, the former owner of the temporary governor's mansion and the salt transport envoy of the capital of Huaihe River and Huaihe River, shook his head like a rattle. "Although the location of Yangzhou is not important after Haini makes use of the Salt River and Chuanchang River, Yangzhou's city defenses are strong, and it is still a thorn in the side of Haini. There is no reason to give up." Guo Qishan said that he did not really mean it. So loyal to the emperor and patriotic, in fact, he was worried that the journey to the west would be far away. If he was caught by Zheng Jun, everything would be destroyed, so he said it pretending to be bold. "The reason I'm waiting to defend Yangzhou is to contain Haini and prevent it from advancing northward smoothly, so as to buy time for the northern army to gather and go south. For this reason, it is better to lure Haini to the city of Yangzhou."

"It's clear from the scouting report that there are nearly ten thousand soldiers in the two camps outside the city." Liang Youdao, the governor of the enlistment and the commander-in-chief of Yanzhou Town, thought that the civil service system was too simple to see the problem. "There are only [-] people in the city of Yangzhou, how can we attack the camp that Haini has already built? Besides, we used to defend the city, but now we are going to become an assault camp. How to deal with this equipment, and what about the cannons on the top of the city?" You adults may take it for granted that you can move down."

"This can't work, and that can't work. It's not necessary to watch the sea reverse attack the neighbors and turn Yangzhou into an isolated city."

"Okay!" Ma Qi had to come forward, otherwise the confrontation between the two sides would turn into mutual attack. "I know what you mean. It's nothing more than one is to respond to all changes without change, and the other is to take the initiative." Ma Qi naturally ignored Zhang Rikang's suggestion. The reason is also very simple. Although he is the governor of Liangjiang, Anhui can also be regarded as However, there is a new governor in Anhui now. On the one hand, he will take over the host by himself, and on the other hand, Kangxi will not be happy to see it. "Both have their own advantages and disadvantages, and I will not comment on them one by one, but the emperor means that I will be nailed to Yangzhou. This must not be wrong." Hearing this, the faction who advocated not to send troops had a happy face, but Ma Qi Here comes a turning point. "However, to defend Yangzhou, it is not just a matter of closing the door without fighting, but also Taizhou, Gaoyouzhou and other places. Therefore, it is still necessary to fight and suppress Haini so that it cannot easily go north. ' Mazzie ordered. "Hua Junmen, you immediately mobilize troops and horses"

Although Yangzhou is rich in the world, the city of Yangzhou is actually not big, and Zheng Jun's camp on the Yucao River is in the river zone east of Yangzhou Beiguan and north of Dongguan. Connected with the Yudai River, it just forms a natural protective position.However, despite the barrier of the water system, Zheng Jun did not relax the construction of the camp. On the contrary, before the main force of Zheng Jun withdrew from the encirclement, 3 or [-] people dug the soil and mixed mud together, using locally available building materials and Zheng Jun's carry. The cement built a relatively solid small city in a short period of time.

On May 24, the second day after Zheng Jun withdrew from the siege, this small town finally had a moment of inspection.

"Lord Hu, the governor ordered your troops to get out of Shugang immediately"

Following Ma Qi's order, the Shugang garrison, composed of Hebiao Youying and Caobiao Zuoying, took the lead in the battle with bird musketeers, and fought condescendingly from the northeast. The main force on the southern line also attacked from the direction of Beiguan and Dongguan, and came to Zheng Jun aggressively.

Although the momentum of the Qing army was strong, they had to stop in the face of Zheng Jun's natural moat.At this time, Zheng Jun's artillery took the opportunity to open fire.Since the Qing army was unable to dismantle the heavy Hongyi cannons deployed at the head of Yangzhou City, they had no power to fight back under the three-and-a-half-inch (12-pound) bombardment of the Zheng army. Fortunately, neither the Yudai River nor the Yunyan River or even the Yucao River was too wide for the Qing army in the water. In addition, the water flow was not urgent. Although the Qing army was in a state of distress, its losses were still within an acceptable range.

However, just when Ma Qi and other spectators thought that the Zheng army was mediocre, the Qing army who landed was shot and killed by the artillery of the Zheng army's larger regiment. When they saw the Zheng army's camp shrouded in white smoke, No one took any chances in battle after the incredible number of fiery streams of flame that had been fired.

"My lord, there is nothing we can do. We should order all the battalions to withdraw." Although Hua Shan couldn't see the massacre at the front line clearly, Hua Shan still repeated the same old tune with some trepidation. "There are few soldiers in the city, so don't fight wildly."

"I'm afraid it will be very difficult to hit Zheng Jun's stronghold head-on," Lu Yan, who was standing beside Ma Qi, was also a little frustrated, but he still refused to admit defeat, and suggested again instead. "To make Taiwan, it is better to take advantage of Haini to attract our attacking army, send one from Yimenmen to sneak across the ancient canal, and copy it from Haini's back."

Seeing that Ma Qi was moved, Hua Shan immediately persuaded: "Commander, the red single boat of Haini hasn't appeared yet, so it's absolutely impossible."

Ma Qi was startled, and immediately ordered: "Ming Jin, withdraw the troops."

So the anticlimactic attack came to an end. Of course, Ma Qi didn't intend to stay behind closed doors. He added: "The flood sentries are sent out every day to attack and harass, especially at night. The two sea reverse camps must not be stopped."

The situation in Anhui is not good. As the Zheng army moves westward, Tianchang, Xuyi in Sizhou, and Lai'an in Chuzhou may expel the defending green battalion and join the Zheng army, or the green battalion will shave their heads and change flags. As a result, although the Huben Army did not have many troops, it still became quite powerful for a while, and the Qing army had to be forced to hide in the city of Chuzhou.

Of course, the retreat of the Qing army in Anhui is destined to be only temporary. Since it is still unclear whether the Zheng army on the front lines of Wuhu and Chizhou in the south of the Yangtze River will go north, the Anhui governor and Anhui admiral Wang Weizhen did not easily order Anqing, Luzhou, and The Qing army in Chuzhou and other places moved westward in a large scale, but the Qing army in Fengyang, Sizhou, Yingzhou and other places on the second line has received orders and is marching day and night to the city of Chuzhou

Naturally, Zheng Kezang would not let go of the Qing army's temporary flaws. On May 25, the second day after Ma Qi's unsuccessful attack on the Zheng army's camp on the Yucao River line, Zheng's army captured Gaoyou Prefecture, and the 3000 defenders in the city were wiped out. A few fought to the death, and most of the rest surrendered.On the same day, the first division of the Tiger Wing Army, the vanguard of Zheng's army, arrived at the foot of Baoying City. The gentry in the city who could not bear the exploitation of the county magistrate and the misfortune of the green battalion opened the city gate to welcome Zheng's army. Zheng's army took Baoying County without a fight.

The more important victory came from Taizhou City. Zheng Jun concentrated eight divisions with 4 troops to storm Taizhou. The Qing army defending the city, led by the new Jingkou General Er Luoshun and the Xunyan Yushi Shi Baozhen, resisted desperately.However, E Luoshun's hard work could not stop Zheng Jun's heavy artillery bombardment in the end. More than ten thousand defenders collapsed. E Luosun was seriously injured and captured. The Qing army in Dongtai and other counties surrendered upon hearing the news

On May 28, the Qing court issued an edict to mobilize the green flag soldiers stationed in Xuzhou and other places in Zhili, Shandong, Henan and other places to march to Huai'an and Fengyang in two routes. Everywhere is a scene of the end of the world.