Autumn of the 17th year of Chongzhen

Chapter 1144 Taking Taiyuan Lightly
Jiang Xiang wanted to get rid of the Manchu and Qing officials in Datong, but in the end he left Geng Tang. According to the news from the spies in the countryside, the man had already fled to the Xuanfu in the east.

In order to prevent the news of the Datong uprising from spreading and make his anti-Qing uprising lose its suddenness, Jiang Xiang just killed Ning Wan and I and others in Datong City, and held a simple ceremony of offering sacrifices to the flag and swearing in the master, leaving his brother Jiang behind. Lin guarded Datong, opened warehouses to release grain, recruited rebels, and asked his younger brother You Guang to gather soldiers from Zhenluwei, Yanghewei, and attack Xuanhua to the east. Go south, grab the Taiyuan city before the news reaches Taiyuan, and then announce the news to the world anyway.

On September 2th, Jiang Xiang led [-] troops from Xizhou, along the Huihe River, out of Yangfang to Ningwuguan.

Jiang Xiang asked Wu Erniu to lead three hundred bannermen as the vanguard, followed by 2 horses. He falsely claimed that Jiang Xiang was ordered by the governor of Ning to send 2 horses south to Henan to support the Qing army in fighting in Nanyang.

Ningwuguan is a very important pass between Datong and Taiyuan. The Qing government stationed [-] troops here to guard against Jiang Xiang. However, Jiang Xiang killed Ning Wanwo and got his seal. Without doubting it, he switched it on and off, and Jiang Xiangbing took Ningwuguan without bloodshed.

After that, in order to speed up, Jiang Xiang did not enter the city, and 2 people bypassed Yuanping, Xinxian, and Yangqu all the way to the city of Taiyuan. The states and counties along the way thought they were officers and soldiers of Datong, and they were ordered to go south without any doubt.

Taiyuan City has a history of more than a thousand years of construction. It is known as "controlling the mountains and rivers, occupying the shoulders of the world", "the hub of the four fortresses, and the capital of the Wuyuan". It is an important military and cultural town in northern China.

Shanxi Province is surrounded by the Great Wall in the north, the Yellow River and Luliang Mountain in the west, the Taihang Mountains in the east, and the Zhongtiao Mountain and the Yellow River in the south. As long as you occupy Taiyuan City in the middle of Shanxi Province, Shanxi is at your fingertips.

In September, Shanxi ushered in an autumn rain. The fine and dense rain brought a hint of chill, covering the mountains and villages on both sides of the official road in a layer of cold fog, which looked hazy from a distance. Like wearing a layer of gauze, it feels very cold and autumn.

At this time, on the official road from Yangqu to Taiyuan, an army of more than [-] people lined up on the slightly muddy road. Every soldier was wearing a bamboo hat and a coir raincoat. It was covered with yellow mud, and despite the chilly autumn rain, under the urging of the officer, they were rushing towards Taiyuan City.

Jiang Xiang was wearing a coir raincoat and was riding on a war horse. He and his generals stood beside the road, watching the soldiers pass by the official road incessantly.

This time, in order to stab Nanming, Dorgon led the main force of the Qing army to attack Nanyang, and some troops in Shanxi were also transferred, and the remaining troops were responsible for transporting food and grass. As a result, the troops in Shanxi were very empty. There are more than a thousand people, although there are more in Taiyuan, but there are only about 4000 people.

For Jiang Xiang, this incident can be said to be a god-sent opportunity. Up to now, he has not encountered any difficulties, and it can be said that the journey has been smooth.

Of course, this is mainly due to the relationship between him arresting Ning Wan and me and obtaining the governor's seal.

After several days of rapid marching, Jiang Xiang traveled unimpeded all the way, and finally reached the north of Taiyuan City more than [-] miles away, and will be able to reach Taiyuan City this evening.

Shanxi's terrain is relatively closed, a bit like the land of Shu, and is relatively less affected by the outside world. As long as he takes Taiyuan City and sends troops to guard dangerous places such as Taihang Eight Paths, he can force the entire Shanxi to follow him to fight against the Qing Dynasty.

If this move is played well, it will be enough to scare Dorgon into a shattered liver and gallbladder, and pour out all the feces of the nobles of Manchuria.

"Send the order, the whole army speed up!" The drizzle hit Jiang Xiang's coir raincoat, and he pointed at Taiyuan with a whip, and said loudly: "Boys, let's spend the night in Taiyuan! There are hot wine and meat, and The wives and daughters stationed in the Eight Banners are at your disposal!"

The smooth sailing along the way has boosted the morale of the soldiers in Datong Town, and the cold autumn rain can't extinguish the flames in their hearts. They are thinking about one thing now, and that is Taiyuan.

After hearing Jiang Xiang's words, the marching soldiers immediately shouted, and the army marched faster.

"The information given by Tiandi shows that there are only 4000 people in Taiyuan City. We didn't carry siege equipment. Everyone talked about how to break the city!" Jiang Xiang watched the team winding forward, and suddenly turned back to ask the general behind him. .

Gao Ding said carelessly: "Marshal, it's easy! Let Wu Erniu cheat the city, we rush in, Taiyuan won't be defeated!"

Jiang Xiang couldn't help laughing, and many generals behind him also burst into laughter. This battle was a little too easy, which made them all feel that they were full of pride, and their hearts were full of pride.

"Okay, let's do it like this!" Jiang Xiang nodded happily, which was also his previous thought, "Go and call Wu Erniu here!"

Not long after, Wu Erniu, who was opening the way ahead, rode over and saluted, "The commander-in-chief called me!"

"This Commander gives you a task. Take your people and cheat the city gate of Taiyuan to this Commander. After the matter is completed, you and your family members will be able to save your life and property. In addition, this Commander will give you a promotion." !" Jiang Xiang held the rein with both hands and looked down at him.

Wu Erniu thought in his heart, luckily he voted for Jiang Xiang wisely, if Zhou Tiebin dies, all his family members will be ruined, he hastily saluted, "I obey, let's do it!"

At this time, Taiyuan City was completely unaware of the changes in Datong, nor did it know that Jiang Xiang's troops had arrived in Taiyuan, and the city gate was still very lively.

This excitement is not because of the prosperity of commerce, but because of the rice and grain levied from various places, which are driven by the strong men and transported to Taiyuan for concentration, and then transported to the front line of Nanyang.

The Qing army levied violently in Shanxi, which hurt the vitality of the people, and the business was naturally hit, and the business could not be done. Even many Shanxi merchants complained.

At the city gate, it was drizzling, more than a dozen soldiers hid on both sides of the gate, and refused to block most of the road in front of the gate, leaving only a distance for a carriage to pass.

Mule carts and bullock carts lined up in the drizzle, and several officials were checking, registering, and letting the vehicles into the city.

These dogs and days are hiding in the doorway and registering slowly, completely ignoring the civilians who are queuing in the drizzle. Obviously they can move the refusal horses away and open more passages to allow the team to enter the city quickly, but the few officials would rather rely on it. Gossiping on the wall wastes time and doesn't do anything serious.

The government extorted violently, the people had no money left, and the number of caravans coming to Taiyuan decreased, and when there were fewer caravans, the officers and soldiers guarding the gates were less well-off. Therefore, every time a caravan entered the city, it would be slaughtered, and the merchants were killed. If the slaughter is ruthless, naturally they will not dare to come again, thus forming a vicious circle.

Up to now, small businessmen have almost disappeared, and large caravans have backgrounds. They dare not ask for money, so the city gate officials have less and less oil and water. Now they are all food transport teams conscripted by the government, and the hair is pulled out. If there is less than one root, soldiers and petty officials are naturally not motivated.

At this time, the Qing army at the city gate was standing there listlessly, while a group of cavalry in the distance galloped towards the city gate.

These people were all wearing red cotton armor covered with copper nails, riding tall horses, rampaging violently on the official road, and the mud splashed by the horseshoes splashed on the Min Zhuang next to them. Not only did the Min Zhuang not dare to show their anger, Instead, he evaded in horror.

"Boss! The bannerman is here, there seem to be hundreds of riders!" A soldier noticed the movement and hurriedly reported to the general who put his legs on the table and leaned back on the chair.

"Qi Ding?" Surprised, the general manager quickly stood up from his seat and hurriedly looked out of the city. Wu Erniu had already led the cavalry a hundred paces away.

It always looked like a red-armored Han flag, and he wondered for a while. He never thought about opening the city, but asked loudly, "Which brother is in front?"

Wu Erniu didn't answer, and galloped to the city gate with a cold face, but was blocked by rejected horses and queuing vehicles. He pulled the reins, and the horse neighed, and all three hundred bannermen stopped.

"Come here!" Wu Erniu originally wanted to rush directly into the city, but he didn't want to be stopped by these things, and a surge of anger rose in his heart.

Wu Erniu was the Eight Banners garrison in Taiyuan, the commander-in-chief recognized him at a glance, and hurried forward, "My lord..."

There was a sound of "啪!", before the general sentence was finished, Wu Erniu slapped him on the face with a whip. As the former Eight Banners, he did this kind of thing a lot, and the whip was smooth and hard. , All of a sudden, the general was stunned.

After Wu Erniu finished smoking, he looked at the innocent hand covering his face, and couldn't help but glared and said, "Did the court servants tell you to oppress kind people and not do anything about them? Didn't you see when it was raining, let the people live in the rain?" Waiting in line, your mother’s heart will be eaten by dogs! Why don’t you move the horse away and clear the city gate for me, and when the governor returns to the city, you will block the city gate, can you bear it?”

Wu Erniu's face was not blushing, his heart was not beating, and he said one after another out of conscience, but the boss was frightened, and he hurriedly asked his subordinates to move the horse and the vehicle away.

When Wu Erniu saw that the city gate was opened, he immediately waved his hand, and three hundred cavalry rushed into the gate opening at a gallop.

Wu Erniu reined in his horse and stopped on the street. The moment he entered the city, all the tension disappeared.

At this time, thousands of cavalry roared over the plains north of Taiyuan City, followed by Datong soldiers all over the mountains and plains, wearing coir raincoats and holding swords and guns, rushing towards Taiyuan in the drizzle.

On the city tower, the Taiyuan defenders who were hiding from the rain and gambling inside, heard the movement, opened the window, and saw this scene from a distance, and were stunned.

(Thanks to abcde4869 for the 1000. Laughing is to hide the pain. Thank you for your monthly pass, recommendation, and subscription. I hope everyone can help the author to promote it. A deacon group has been established: [-], if you are interested Book friends can add it.)
(End of this chapter)