I

  Chapter 247 245 [Merchants offer the city]

   Li Zheng's troops going south have arrived in Xiangtan.

   Huang Yao frowned and asked, "What's the use of having more soldiers in the terrain like Xiangtan? Why don't you stay in Changsha?"

Xiao Zongxian replied: "Changsha has tens of thousands of defenders, and the city is high and deep. It is impossible to attack by force. After dividing the troops, we may be able to lure the enemy out of the city and wipe them out in the wild. As for Xiangtan, a sudden increase in troops may scare the city into surrender. .”

   "Even if you don't come, Xiangtan will soon surrender." Huang Yao laughed.

  The Xiangjiang River flows through this place, forming a "ji" bay, and Xiangtan City is within the bay. The city wall is surrounded by water on three sides, and can only be attacked from one side. No amount of soldiers is of any use, and only a few can be arranged for each attack.

   Huang Yao sat down across the moat and asked the archers to shoot books into the city.

  The residents outside the city either entered the city or fled, and did not dare to stay in the land where the war was a disaster. According to the confessions of these residents, the county magistrate of Xiangtan had died of illness for two months, and the affairs of the county were represented by Li Youlong, the county magistrate.

  In Huang Yao's opinion, how long can a county magistrate be able to suppress the soldiers? Sooner or later you will have to surrender!

  Li Youlong is standing at the top of the city at the moment, looking at the rebels outside the city from a distance, he really can't hold back anymore.

   This guy is from Xunyang, Shaanxi, and later followed Zuo Menggeng to surrender to the Qing Dynasty.

   Not only surrendered, but also suppressed and disintegrated many anti-Qing troops during his tenure as governor. In the end, because of "suppressing bandits" in Tianjin, there were too many anti-Qing troops, so he could only entertain those leaders, hoping to recruit them all. As a result, he was impeached for colluding with Nanming, and was dismissed by the Qing court.

  After he was dismissed from office, he was still reluctant to leave Beijing, hoping to be employed again. He has been living in Beijing for seven years, and was impeached by Yu Shi Wang Bingqian, saying that since he was dismissed from office, he should leave. The Qing Dynasty ordered him to return home within a time limit, and he died of illness soon after returning home.

  Just a dog.

  Is it going to drop or not?

  Li Youlong wanted to surrender, but he was afraid that his clan would be liquidated by the court after being a thief.

  He regretted it so much. He spent money to buy a county magistrate, but he encountered rebels attacking the city without making much money.

   "There are reinforcements!"

  A regiment of gentry pointed to the distance and shouted joyfully, but the guards were not interested.

   The ambush arranged by Huang Yao was about to be dispatched, but the new regiment training troops were actually holding a Datong military flag high.

   "The world is in harmony, the world is in harmony!"

  Yuan Yingkui was wearing a silk dress, and he looked like a rich man, but at this moment, Tuan Yong shouted the slogan of Datong.

  The ancestor of the Yuan family in Xiangtan was Yuan Hong, the founding hero of the Ming Dynasty.

   During the Hongzhi period, a descendant of Yuan Hong was transferred to the hereditary commander of Chalingwei. This branch was further divided into three, the main sect inherited the Chaling Wei generals, the other moved to Chaling as landlords, and the third moved to Xiangtan as landlords.

  They are not big landlords, only a few thousand acres of land.

  After Huang Yao besieged Xiangtan, Yuan Yingkui immediately recruited his disciples, and then observed the direction of the wind and stood still.

   Seeing the collapse of the Zhou family training, Yuan Yingkui finally moved. He didn't come to help the government defend the city, but brought more than a thousand village braves, and wanted to join the Datong Army to gain wealth.

  Seeing the Datong military flag on the other side, Huang Yao couldn't laugh or cry.

  He ordered Xiangyong to stay on the other side, and only sent a small boat to pick up Yuan Yingkui.

   "Grassman Yuan Yingkui, meet the general!" Yuan Yingkui knelt down and shouted.

"Ha ha ha ha!"

  Huang Yao laughed and said, "Please get up quickly!"

  The defenders in the city became even more frightened when they saw that the reinforcements from the rebels had arrived, and the gentry led the villagers to join the rebels.

   Li Youlong, acting magistrate of the county, saw this situation, and also made up his mind to follow the thief, thinking about how to bypass the gentry and offer the city.

  Li Youlong had no soldiers under his command, and the city guards were all recruited by local gentry.

  In Xiangtan City, Ningxiang Lane.

  Xiangtan was unremarkable in the early Ming Dynasty, even the city walls were made of wood.

  In the mid-Ming Dynasty, Huguang was greatly developed, and the national commerce became more and more prosperous. As a water and land hub, Xiangtan quickly became the most important port city in southern Hunan, and its economic status even surpassed that of Changsha.

   Therefore, Xiangtan in the late Ming Dynasty was jokingly called "Little Nanjing". And Ningxiang Lane, where wealthy merchants live in Xiangtan, is also known as "Wiaoyi Lane".

  Representatives of the major families in Ningxiang Lane gathered at Xie's mansion.

   "The business travel between the north and the south is cut off, we can't fight any more," Xie Li said, "No matter who wins or loses, we must resume business as soon as possible!"

  Tan Qiulin said: "Now it seems that the officers and soldiers will definitely not win. We can only rely on Jiangxi thieves."

   "Don't say Jiangxi thief, that is Zhao Tianwang, Mr. Zhao!" Wang Hun reminded.

  For these wealthy merchants, dividing the land is a trivial matter. They are mainly engaged in commercial trade from Huguang to Guangdong! These people were known to be more business oriented from the fact that they moved their families to the city rather than living on country estates.

  Since Zhao Han protects business, he is worthy of the trust of merchants!

  If they encounter unreasonable people, they will desperately resist.

  For example, in another time and space, the Manchus committed all kinds of crimes by burning, killing, looting, and these merchants paid money to recruit soldiers to defend the city.

  Due to the fierce siege battle, it lasted for three months. After the Qing army broke through the city, it directly ordered the massacre of the city. According to historical records, "hundreds of thousands of men and women were killed".

  Two years later, Nanming regained Xiangtan, the Qing army broke through the city again, and carried out a second massacre, and the entire Xiangtan was almost wiped out.

  Only the second massacre, Huizhou merchants Huang Kenian and Cheng Xun couldn't bear to expose the corpses of righteous people to the wilderness, so they paid money to buy land and asked monks to collect the corpses. The corpse was packed in a bamboo cage and buried for three months.

  After the San Francisco Rebellion, the Qing army captured Xiangtan again and carried out the third massacre. Most of the people killed this time belonged to immigrants from Jiangxi!

  After the merchants unanimously decided to take refuge in Zhao Han, they began to discuss how to dedicate the city.

  Although they have a lot of money, they have no soldiers.

   Juren Wang Dai got up and said: "First, pay for recruiting soldiers, saying that they want to defend the city; second, set fire at night and take the opportunity to seize the city gate. Burn Li's house!"

   "For burning Li's house, haha, this plan is very good!"

   All the merchants praised in unison, the Li family has already committed public anger.

  Li Tengfang belonged to a famous minister of the Chu Party, from the official to the Ministry of Rites, and there are many beautiful words in the history books.

  But in the literati's notes in Xiangtan, the Li family did a lot of evil. After Li Tengfang was promoted, the Li family began to expand aggressively. For example, the Wang Dai who spoke just now was seized by the Li family with their power.

  Now, although Li Tengfang is dead, his descendants are highly valued by Yang Sichang. Because Li Tengfang was Yang Sichang's father's best friend during his lifetime!

  After the discussion, Wang Dai, as a juren, went to meet Li Youlong on behalf of the merchants.

  The gentleman was filled with righteous indignation and said: "Zhao thief is hateful. He killed the gentry and ravaged the common people. The Xiangtan merchant gang is willing to raise five thousand taels of silver to help the officers and soldiers defend the city!"

  Li Youlong had already made up his mind to follow the thief. Hearing these words, he was frightened and said quickly: "You are so righteous, you are admirable."

How to do? How to do?

  Li Youlong was afraid of death and did not dare to reveal his intentions, so he could only smile and support merchants to recruit soldiers.

  These merchants are really rich, they spend a lot of money, and the vagrants in the city join the army one after another. Anyway, they will get the enlistment money first.

   A few days later, the city suddenly caught fire.

   But the mansion of the Li family was burned, and the merchants brought the recruited soldiers and ran to help put out the fire very enthusiastically.

  How to destroy it?

   Demolish all the places near the neighbors of the Li family mansion!

  Wang Dai personally led hundreds of soldiers, rushed to a city gate, and ordered his subordinates to shout: "The rebel spies set fire, the rebel spies set fire!"

  The city guards were in chaos, and the gentry leading the soldiers could not suppress them, so they ran away indiscriminately.

   Li Youlong, the deputy magistrate, came and asked in panic, "Have you ever caught a spy?"

   "Caught it!"

  Wang Dai rushed over and cut down Li Youlong with one knife.

   Well, it was not hacked to death, and the literati were weak.

  Li Youlong struggled to get up, and shouted in horror: "Don't kill me, I would like to be a thief, I... ah!"

  Wang Dai slashed down again, but he still didn't kill him, so he had to quickly make up a few more knives. He was so tired that his waist was sore and his back ached, he gasped and said, "Go and open the city gate!"

  Historically, Wang Dai and Wang Shizhen were as famous as "Three Wonders of Poetry, Calligraphy and Painting".

  He was massacred three times in Xiangtan, and his whole family almost died. They survived by hiding outside the city. Until he was in his fifties, Wang Dai was recruited by the Qing Dynasty, and in his sixties he served as the magistrate of Chenghai. Chenghai County was also sparsely populated, and there was only one Town God's Temple in the county that was full of incense.

  Wang Dai recruited refugees in Chenghai, reclaimed wasteland, built dams, restored markets, and set up free warehouses to relieve the poor. In the end, he died in Chenghai without any belongings, and the people wept bitterly to send his coffin home.

  What about officials and Man Qing?

  He never slaughtered rebels. He only became an official after the San Francisco Rebellion, and he actually saved countless people.

  At this time, Wang Dai was not yet twenty years old.

  He led the soldiers to occupy the gate of the city, and when Huang Yao led the troops over, he immediately stepped forward and bowed: "Please send troops to maintain law and order in the city, and suppress those who take advantage of the fire!"

   "Very good, you lead the way!" Huang Yao praised.

  Wang Dai first took Huang Yao to Ningxiang Lane to maintain the law and order in the rich area. Then he called various merchants as guides, and led Huang Yao's troops to various places in the city to suppress the riots.

  As for Wang Dai himself, he followed Huang Yao to occupy the county government.

  Everything was done in an orderly manner, and Huang Yao and the missionaries did not spend much effort.

   Until dawn, Huang Yao praised: "You are very talented, follow me to do things first. After the war, I recommend you to Ji'an, the general town must like you. Do you have fame?"

   "Juren." Wang Dai replied.

   "Very good, very good." Although Huang Yao is uneducated, he especially admires educated people, provided that the other party does not harm the common people.

  Wang Dai offered a plan and said: "Changsha and Xiangtan are both large commercial cities. To besiege Changsha, you can shoot in the city. If you explain the truth clearly, the merchants in the city will be willing to respond internally."

   "Why?" Huang Yao asked.

  Wang Dai explained: "The longer our army besieged Changsha, the greater the losses for merchants."

  Huang Yao shook his head and said: "There are tens of thousands of troops in Changsha, and the merchants can't make waves. However, this plan can also be used. It shouldn't be a bad thing to have a few more."

  The two didn't talk about Changsha, and Huang Yao began to ask about the situation in Xiangtan.

  While speaking, a messenger suddenly came to report: "Huang Bingyuan, our army has captured Changsha!"

"what?"

  Huang Yao and Wang Dai were both shocked, thinking they had heard it wrong.

  Changsha Fortified City, how can it be so easy to take down?

  (end of this chapter)