Ming Zhengzhi, I am Zheng Kezang

Although a large number of Zheng Jun's new affiliated troops who attacked Shugang were killed and wounded, the strength of the Yangzhou Qing Army also suffered a great loss. Qi had no choice but to abandon the Shugang Highlands with mutual horns on July 34th in the [-]th year of Kangxi and the [-]rd year of Wuding, and retreated to the four passes of Yangzhou.

After Ma Qi retreated to Yangzhou Siguan, Zheng Kezang did not stop. Instead, when the new attached army was temporarily unable to fight again, he used his own resources to exert continuous pressure on Siguan, and the sound of gunfire continued day and night. , so that the Qing army in the city was exhausted.

On July [-], Yangzhou Beiguan first changed hands under the joint attack of Xuanwu Second Division and Huyi First Division.

On July 1, Yangzhou Xiguan also fell into the hands of Zheng Jun. The total strength of the Qing army defending the city had dropped to less than [-], and most of the most elite camp leaders were lost in previous battles.In view of this, Ma Qi could only surrender Yangzhou Nanguan and Dongguan in order to save troops and continue to defend Yangzhou.

In order to prevent Zheng Jun from marching smoothly, Ma Qi also cold-bloodedly ordered the Qing army to set fire to the bustling southeast of Yangzhou. The officers and soldiers of the lower ranks of the army realized the great terror of impending doom.At this moment, the Qing army is looking forward to where the reinforcements are!

However, the Qing army in Yangzhou was doomed to be disappointed.On the northern line, the General Zhengnan and Prince Gong Chang Ning, who traveled southward day and night, had already arrived in Huai'an to take over An Bulu's military power, but the strength in his hands had not increased much except for the infantry and cavalry led by the two assistant leaders of the Beijing Banner---Kangxi The dispatched Zhili reinforcements had just left the province at this moment --- Facing the Zheng army with similar strength on the front line of Gaoyou, Chang Ning did not have the strength to make a decisive decision, so he was powerless to save Yangzhou from fire and water.

As for the western front, Wang Weizhen, the Anhui governor and admiral Wang Weizhen, who once plucked up all his courage and tried to leave Anqing to make a desperate attempt, also had to stop the operation because of the sudden appearance of a new Zheng army in Wangjiang. As soon as I left Anqing City on my front foot, Zheng Jun who came from the sky raided my lair on my back foot.

Since the reinforcements from both sides could not come, the Qing army in Yangzhou, which was already a turtle in the urn, was irretrievably heading towards the final collapse.On July 6000th, after several days of renovation, Zheng Jun's new affiliated army went into battle again and stormed the west gate of Yangzhou with the remaining more than [-] troops. The four-inch cannon blasted the north gate of Yangzhou.

Because the north gate of Yangzhou was rebuilt after the urban area was reduced in the Ming Dynasty, the city wall is much stronger than the two southeast gates that have been used since the Tang Dynasty, and it also has more wall stacks and turrets than the west gate that has been used since the Five Dynasties. The shelling of the army did not make more progress, but it also attracted the main attention of the Qing army.Coupled with the overwhelming offensive of the new attached army in the west, Ma Qi, who was stretched out in terms of strength, had to tear down the east wall to make up for the west wall, and deployed troops from the southeast and southeast sides, which seemed to be less dangerous, to fill the northwest front.

The reason why Zheng Jun did not attack the southeast was that the two passes were burnt and the walls and houses collapsed and the roads were inconvenient. It was also because the land of Dongguan was small and blocked by the ancient canal. The hindrance of the lotus pond is also not conducive to Zheng Jun's deployment of large troops. Ma Qi also saw this point before he was relieved to deploy troops from the two places.

It's a pity that Ma Qi's thousands of calculations missed people's hearts, and not everyone was willing to be buried for the Qing Dynasty.Knowing that Yangzhou was bound to fall, someone used their brains.Of course, it is a technical task to fight back in a big war. If you are not careful, it will be a small matter if things are leaked. If you are attacked by both sides, you will be wronged.For this reason, even if an individual has the heart, he has to hesitate again and again.

However, Ma Qi repeatedly deployed troops to the northwest, which created opportunities for some people.So, when the rest of the troops were all his most caring subordinates, Zhang Rikang, the commander-in-chief of Guide Town, Henan Province, who was in charge of guarding the south gate of Yangzhou, decisively sent his henchmen to hang down from the top of the city to surrender to Zheng Jun in order to survive.

"Your Majesty, Ma Qi's generation is about to be captured at dusk." Faced with Zhang Rikang's request to surrender, many people in Zheng's army raised objections, thinking that it was a fraud, so they advised Zheng Kezang to act safely. "At this moment, it is absolutely impossible to take risks. It is more appropriate to fight steadily and take Yangzhou back in a few days."

"Your Majesty," the dissenters advocated a quick settlement of the war in the city. "After days of fighting, the divisions of our army also suffered a lot of losses, and now that the enemies on the two fronts in the northwest have changed, we must not spend too long under the city of Yangzhou."

Chang Ning's arrival, although the Qing army in Huai'an could not make a large-scale southward advance immediately, the activities of the Qing army on the northern front became more frequent. In just a few days, dozens of small-scale contact and confrontation reports have been reported.However, compared to the situation on the northern front, what is more worrying is the western front. As long as Wang Weizhen checks out the real situation on the Wangjiang front and makes a decisive attack, the three Zheng armies around Anqing may be defeated one by one.Once such a change really happened, the Northern Expedition would face a near failure. It was because of such worries that some staff members felt that it was appropriate to take risks in Yangzhou.

"If they fell into the trick of the Qing Dynasty, wouldn't the siege of the city be even more frustrating." The conservatives retorted. "The ministers think that instead of being depressed at that time, it is better not to give Qinglu this opportunity."

"If you don't give Qinglu a chance, you will definitely force Qinglu to fight. Is this in the interest of the clan?"

The two different opinions could not convince each other, which made Zheng Kezang's big tent louder and louder. In this regard, Zheng Kezang coughed lightly in displeasure, and immediately suppressed all the voices. Zang asked, "How about the losses in the west city?"

Sun Youlao personally went out of the account to inquire, and soon came back with a piece of bad news: "Your Majesty, the new attached army has suffered a lot. They have only attacked twice, and they have already lost no less than fifteen hundred soldiers. The morale of the generals is also very low because of this."

"Zhu Qing understands it." As soon as Zheng Kezang said this, those who knew the situation had already understood Zheng Kezang's choice. "The so-called one drum flourishes, the second drum declines, and the third drum exhausts. I just want to stand at the head of Yangzhou city today, so I still have to take this risk." Speaking of this, Zheng Kezang ordered. "Let Ximen stop to rectify, reward the new attached army with wine and meat, and tell them to fight after an hour." The staff officer who sent the order wanted to leave, but Zheng Kezang made a gesture to stop him. "It's useless to ask Ximen to draw [-] new attached troops." After finishing speaking, Zheng Kezang let the staff leave. At the same time, he scanned the staff group with his eyes and called. "Hong Hui, go talk to Zhang Rikang's envoy and see what the other party's request is. If it's just begging for work, Gu really needs to save more money."

"Have you seen King Xia?" Zhang Rikang asked impatiently, grabbing his confidant who just got out of the hanging basket. "What do you say on the other side, did you agree to our surrender request!"

"My lord, I haven't seen King Xia," Zhang Rikang was taken aback for a moment, but then he realized that he was right. An unidentified Qing army envoy just wanted to see him. He didn't have time to feel depressed, so he listened to his confidant's report. "However, a fourth-rank military officer of the Zheng Army met the young one. It is said that he is a staff officer. The young one doesn't know what kind of staff the staff officer is. He must be able to talk."

"What are you doing so far away?" Zhang Rikang was agitated, always saying these useless things. "Long story short."

"Yes." The confidant replied, and then continued to report. "The little one said the master's request to change the flag, and the other party said that he could accept it, but asked the master to open the city gate within the specified time, let the city wall out, and then drive the troops out of the city."

Hearing that Zheng Junyun himself surrendered, Zhang Rikang was sure, and then he thought of something, and asked anxiously: "Apart from these, there is nothing else? How did Zheng Jun answer the question you asked before?"

"The staff officer of Zheng Jun said that the chief soldier and the deputy chief soldier are senior members of the Zheng army, and they must not be given lightly. If the adults are willing to surrender, they can first take a part of the new attached army. After making military exploits, they may Give a division commander." The Qing army has fought with Zheng Jun for so long, and naturally knows what level the status of the commander of the capital is in Ming Zheng's bureaucratic system, although it is far inferior to Zhang Rikang in terms of rank Now the chief soldier of a town in the name of the commander-in-chief, but on the one hand, the difference is almost the same, and on the other hand, the military power in the hands of the capital commander may be even more than that of the chief soldier. "It's just that Zheng Jun's staff also said that he will not let adults take charge of the old department."

"That's all?" Zhang Rikang breathed a sigh of relief when the expected storm did not come. "That's good, that's good." In fact, it's not that Zhang Rikang is generous, but that he has long been mentally prepared. As a surrender, if he doesn't give any checks and balances, he still feels afraid. "Go, invite General Gu, Gu Guerzilla and the others." Just as he was speaking, the soldiers came to report, and the Governor's Mansion sent someone to ask who was the one who just went to the city. "Tell them, I sent you to check on Haini's movements." The soldiers turned and left, but another uninvited guest came over. "Master Lin, why are you here, there are no more people in the west city?"

"Hai Ni Ming Jin has withdrawn troops." Although the lieutenant general is not in the enemy's relationship with the chief soldier in the green battalion system, the chief soldier cannot directly mobilize the lieutenant general, so in fact, Zhang Rikang cannot directly command Lieutenant General Lin's troops. "The governor was afraid that there would be changes in Nancheng, so he transferred my department back."

"Hai Ni retreated?" Zhang Rikang was taken aback for a moment, but then he burst into laughter. "That's good, I have to take a breather. In this way, I just got a fat chicken and it's already stewed in the pot. It's a coincidence that Mr. Lin came early, and we just came to reward the Wu Zang Temple together." During the speech, just now General Gu, Xu Guerzilla, and others that Zhang Rikang ordered to invite also came in droves, so the group of people rushed into the watchtower at the top of the south gate, but before leaving, Zhang Rikang gave his confidant a meaningful look. "Come on, come on, drink today and get drunk today, let's eat less than one meal"