Autumn of the 17th year of Chongzhen

Chapter 231 The Gathering of Heroes on Taihu Lake

After the Yiyou Year, the entire Jiangnan Anti-Qing Dynasty fell into a low ebb. The dozen or so rebels who originally occupied several large cities and were active in various prefectures in Southern Zhili were few left.

After the Qing court's hair-shaving order, after experiencing the initial fierce resistance and the massacre of millions of scholars and civilians, all the rest have been shaved, and the foundation of the Qing court's rule has gradually stabilized.

At that time, after the Anti-Qing Dynasty in the south of the Yangtze River entered a trough, in order to survive, the surviving rebels from all walks of life approached Chen Zilong and Wu Yijun who were active in Taihu Lake, making the Taihu Rebel Army more than 2 people and becoming the main force in the Jiangnan Anti-Qing Dynasty.

Chen Zilong and Wang Yan had an old relationship, so the Tiandihui and the Taihu Rebel Army cooperated fully, and even the main rudder of the Tiandihui was located on Taihu Lake.

The water village of Taihu Rebels is located on Xishan Island, which is the largest island on Taihu Lake, with a radius of more than [-] miles. There is also a Xishan Town on the island, with nearly a hundred fishermen.

The Taihu Rebel Army took Xishan Island as its base, and the surrounding islands as outposts. Its forces encompassed the entire Taihu Lake waters, and even affected Suzhou Prefecture and the Wusong River area.

Relying on the advantage of the water, the rebel army defeated the encirclement and suppression of the Qing army several times, so that the scholars and people in the southern Zhili prefectures who did not want to surrender to the Qing Dynasty and who did not want to shave their hair went to join the army. Xishan Island, which was originally only a hundred families, has now gathered There are nearly one hundred and fifty thousand people.

All over the south of the Yangtze River, people who did not want to shave their hair fled to Taihu Lake one after another. However, as a result, more than [-] soldiers and civilians, people ate horse chews, and the daily consumption of money and food became a huge amount.

On Xishan Island, thousands of boats are moored around the lake island, and hundreds of fishing boats shuttle on the sparkling lake, creating a spectacular scene.

There is little arable land on Xishan Island, so fishing has become the main source of food for the soldiers and civilians, but the fish and shrimp caught every day are only a drop in the bucket for the daily consumption of more than [-] soldiers and civilians.

At this time, in a courtyard in Xishan Town, Chen Zilong, Wu Yi, Hu Weizong, Jiang Tianyi, Wu Yishan, Yu Shizhong, Yu Taichu, Xia Wanchun and other rebel leaders and members of the Tiandihui gathered in the courtyard.

Xia Wanchun got up and walked to the center, saluted slightly, and said to everyone: "Master, chief rudder, generals, the situation is clear at a glance. The Qing court gathered a large army in the south of the Yangtze River. Its soldiers are strong in the east and weak in the west, but my Ming Dynasty is just the opposite. The advantage lies in Huguang. Today, the Duke of Chu has received [-] Shunjun troops to fight against the Qing soldiers in Jingchu. Once we win, the situation will change. The Tiandihui said that Duoduo sent grain and grass to Huguang. Students I thought that our Taihu Rebel Army was short of food, and robbing this batch of food and grass would solve the urgent need. Furthermore, if we robbed this batch of food and grass, it would definitely make the Huguang Qing army short of food, and increase the odds of the Duke of Chu by a few percent. With these two points, this food will surely be robbed."

After hearing this, Chen Zilong and Wu Yi looked at each other, and they both nodded, approvingly said: "Xiaoyin's words are very suitable for me. We must rob this batch of grain and grass. Burn it."

When Yu Taichu saw that the rebel army had promised to rob grain, he stood up and said, "Mr. Chen, heaven and earth will find out. This batch of grain and grass is now hidden in Suzhou City. It is worth 50 shi. It will be loaded on a ship in early March, enter the Yangtze River from the canal, and send it to Huguang. The Qing government attached great importance to this batch of grain and grass, so Yang Chengzu, the general soldier, led five thousand soldiers and horses to guard them, and the guards were very strict. How to rob the grain, Chen Gong should make a specific plan."

"Five thousand green battalions, I'm afraid he will do something, according to someone, just send troops to take down Suzhou, wouldn't that be enough?" General Yu Shizhong got up and said after hearing this.

"Yi Shi must not be rude~" Wu Yi heard the words, reproached slightly, then looked at Yu Taichu and said, "Zizhang, Tiandi Club has a lot of information, I don't know if you have any suggestions."

Upon hearing the words, Yu Taichu clasped his hands and said, "Grand Wu, in fact, as the general said, it may not be impossible. Recently, the Qing army has been mobilized frequently. Several troops near Suzhou, such as Li Chengdong, the commander-in-chief of Wusong, Cao Xingcun, the admiral, and the commander-in-chief of Changzhou Zhang Yingmeng, Wuxi General Soldier Fan Shaozu and other troops hurried to Jinling, so that the Qing troops near Suzhou were weakened, and they might be able to attack suddenly."

Chen Zilong, Wu Yi and others heard the words and exchanged glances with each other, "If that's the case, then we can play a match and give it a try."

Rebel generals Yu Shizhong and Wu Yishan were overjoyed when they heard this, but Jiang Tianyi suddenly stood up and asked, "Master Yu, why did the Qing soldiers transfer to Jinling, but what did Duoduo do?"

Yu Taichu heard the words and shook his head, "After I left Jinling, the Qing soldiers began to mobilize, so I don't know the intentions of the Qing soldiers at present, but Qingmutang has a close-to-secret secret disk inside the Qing court, and there will definitely be some The news reached the chief helm."

As soon as Jiang Tian heard the words, Xia Wanchun frowned and said, "Teacher, the students thought that Duoduo's gathering of soldiers was nothing more than reinforcements in Huguang, or going south to eastern Zhejiang. It took more than a month for Luck Dehun to bring [-] soldiers into Chu. Duo should not increase troops in Huguang, so the students thought that the Qing soldiers might attack eastern Zhejiang!"

When Chen Zilong, Wu Yi and others heard the words, their complexions changed one after another, but at this moment, a man came into the courtyard, whispered a few words in Hu Weizong's ear, and then handed a letter into his hands .

Seeing this, everyone in the courtyard knew that there must be important news coming, but Hu Weizong opened the letter, watched it for a while, and his face immediately changed.

"Headmaster, but what news is there from Jinling?" Seeing this, Chen Zilong couldn't help asking.

Hu Weizong put the letter away, and then nodded: "Mr. Chen, Xiaoyin's guess is completely correct. Duoduo sent 20 troops. Within three days, they will attack Eastern Zhejiang."

Hearing this, Chen Zilong couldn't help frowning, "Last year, His Royal Highness the King of Lu raised three armies and hundreds of thousands of soldiers attacked Hangzhou, but was defeated by the Qing soldiers. Eleven lieutenants were captured. There are 48 officers and guards, and if you add the people who died in battle, the losses of the soldiers and horses under His Royal Highness King Lu can be described as extremely heavy."

"Yes~" Wu Yi nodded, and said with a melancholy face: "Since the defeat last year, the soldiers and horses of Eastern Zhejiang have not crossed Qiantang again, and they have not recovered their strength so far, and their morale is low. Zhedong, His Royal Highness King Lu may not be able to hold on~"

Chen Zilong stood up, walked a few steps in the courtyard anxiously, and said to everyone: "The policy of the imperial court is to defend from the east and attack from the west. Eastern Zhejiang and Fujian were originally mutual horns, but His Royal Highness King Lu did not want to submit to the Son of Heaven. If the Qing army attacked eastern Zhejiang, the imperial court might not give full support, so eastern Zhejiang would be in danger, and if eastern Zhejiang were lost, Fujian would also be in danger, and the overall situation in the southeast would be ruined."

When Hu Weizong heard the words, he got up and said: "The most urgent thing is to inform His Royal Highness King Lu of the news that the Qing soldiers are attacking Eastern Zhejiang, so that the Zhejiang soldiers can take precautions. In addition, we must also inform the court to let His Majesty know the seriousness of the situation. The Tiandihui has many contacts with Yu Jinyiwei, so they can quickly pass the news to Fujing, but the King Lu still needs Chen Gong to send someone there."

"Teacher, the student is willing to take a trip to the east of Zhejiang." Xia Wanchun saluted.

Seeing this, Chen Zilong nodded, "The situation is urgent, so Xiaoyin will go immediately."

Xia Wanchun left with the salute, and Chen Zilong said again: "Besides, we also need to find ways to delay Duoduo's dispatch of troops, so as to buy time for King Lu and the court to respond."

As soon as Jiang Tian heard the words, he stood up and said: "Then attack Suzhou, 50 shi of rice and grain are not rare, I don't believe that Duoduo can't help."

(End of this chapter)