Chapter 82 Melee in Ningbo Prefecture (please subscribe)

Author: Scholar Wu

Chapter 82 Melee in Ningbo Prefecture (please subscribe)

Although the resistance of the gentry in Cixi County increased the casualties of the Ming army, which made Huang Binqing very unhappy. However, his main purpose at this time was to capture Cixi County to consolidate his flank, so as to seize the time to seize Yin County, the capital of Ningbo.

After the Cixi County gentry paid out 10,000 shi of grain and 100,000 taels of silver as "protection money", Huang Binqing restrained his men and did not carry out large-scale looting of Cixi County; he just beheaded the county magistrate and took away all the money in the treasury. The supplies were sent back to Zhoushan together with the surrendered Qing troops.

There was insufficient arable land in Zhoushan, coupled with the long-term blockade by the Qing army, and the shortage of supplies on the island, which made Huang Binqing really harsh on the soldiers and civilians of Zhoushan.

It's just that he has always been in a state of self-reliance. He took the opportunity to annex other Ming army forces near Zhoushan with "black hands". This is indeed a "cancer" for the Ming army in eastern Zhejiang.

But it is far from as scary as the Qing army propaganda. Otherwise, the soldiers and civilians on the island would have destroyed or abandoned him long ago. How could he have been allowed to dominate Zhoushan for so many years?

Huang Binqing did not expect that Zhang Mingzhen's capture of Taizhou would be so smooth, and he regretted very much that he did not agree to send troops with Zhang Mingzhen.

So when they learned that half of the Qing troops at Dingguan had been transferred, they began to prepare to "make up for it" and sent troops to attack the city and plunder the territory without hesitation.

As an "island owner", Huang Binqing is still very eager for territory on land. Island countries generally have such a "mainland complex". You can imagine the greed for territory in the "little days" of later generations.

Now that he had achieved his wish and captured the two counties of Dinghai and Cixi to the north of Ningbo Prefecture, and especially the removal of Dingguan, which the Qing army had been using to blockade Zhoushan, he felt even more comfortable.

However, there is news that Zhang Mingzhen has sent troops north to attack Fenghua. He must capture Yin County before Zhang Mingzhen to expand his territory.

After leaving 2,000 troops to guard Cixi County, Huang Binqing hurriedly led more than 10,000 main troops straight to Yin County, the capital city of Ningbo.

In Ningbo Prefecture, Huang Wantian, the prefect of Ningbo at this time, was already in disarray. After hearing that Zhang Mingzhen had captured Taizhou, he quickly reduced the military strength in the surrounding counties of Ningbo.

Fortunately, Dingguan Qianzong Hu Rang led his troops to break out of the encirclement and retreat to Yin County, so the situation in Yin County gradually stabilized.

Huang Wantian saw that Hu Hitili was a battle-hardened warrior, and risked his life to lead his troops to break out and come to report the news, so he ordered Hu Hitili to take over Yinxian's defense.

Hu Hitili was also unambiguous. Although the food in Ningbo Prefecture was still sufficient, for the sake of long-term planning, Hu Hitili still ordered all the refugees in Ningbo Prefecture to be driven out of the city.

This can not only drive away Ming army spies but also reduce food consumption in the city.

Then, restricted areas were set up in important military areas such as the treasury and city gates, and people were prohibited from approaching. For a time, there was a lot of turmoil in Ningbo Mansion!

In the Zhuangyuan Building in Ningbo, Wang Sihai, a famous businessman, and Chen Erjia, a clerk from the prefect's yamen, were leisurely listening to ditties and enjoying a table of delicious food in a private room.

Chen Erjia is just a low-ranking official, so naturally no one would invite him to such a high-end restaurant.

But at this moment, he has another identity, the brother-in-law of Cao Shanbao, the guard of Wangjing Gate in the west city of Ningbo Prefecture.

Signature delicacies such as rock sugar turtle, yellow croaker in pickled vegetable soup, pot-roasted river eel, saltwater shrimp, Ningbo eel, yellow croaker wrapped in bean curd skin, champion drunken chicken, champion cake, etc. have already made him salivate.

At this time, Chen Erjia didn't care about his image and started to feast alone.

This Wang Sihai is naturally not an ordinary businessman. He is a large-scale merchant, and he has a close relationship with the "Owner of Zhoushan Island". Otherwise, how could he conduct maritime trade safely?

At this moment, he came to contact Cao Shanbao's brother-in-law on behalf of Huang Binqing, and agreed on a time for the inside and outside to open the city gate.

Seeing that Chen Erjia had almost finished eating, Wang Sihai waved his hand to the singer to leave.

He smiled and said to Chen Erjia: "Chen Shuli, are the dishes at Zhuangyuanlou still to your liking?"

At this time, Chen Erjia also realized that his eating appearance was a little ugly, and said embarrassedly: "The magistrate's office has been busy with a lot of official documents these past two days, and I didn't even bother to eat, which made Mr. Wang laugh."

Wang Sihai said: "Don't worry, this bowl of yellow croaker soup is Zhuangyuanlou's signature dish, and you can't get it elsewhere. Please give it a try, Secretary Chen."

After drinking and eating, Chen Erjia said: "This Hu Hitili is just a defeated general who has been defeated. With the support of Magistrate Huang, he shows off his power in front of my brother-in-law all day long. My brother-in-law has long disliked him."

After looking around, he whispered: "Please tell Su Lupo that at three o'clock tonight, my brother-in-law will raise a fire as a signal at the top of the city and open the gate of Wangjing Gate to welcome the king's troops into the city. I hope the army will be ready."

"

Seeing that his goal had been achieved, Wang Sihai naturally would not stay long, so he said hello to Chen Erjia and left.

Soon after, a messenger with excellent water skills sneaked out of Ningbo Mansion through the water channel next to Wangjing Gate.

Yin County, the capital city of Ningbo, is located at the convergence of the Yongjiang River, the Yao River, and the Fenghua River. The capital is 2 feet and 5 feet high, 2 feet and 2 feet wide, and 1 feet and 5 feet wide. The surrounding area is 2,216 feet, and the area is 18

inside.

There are six city gates in Ningbo Prefecture, including Lingqiao Gate and Dongdu Gate in the east, Changchun Gate in the south, Wangjing Gate in the west, Yongfeng Gate in the north, and Heyi Gate in the northeast.

Facing such a strong city, Huang Binqing had to look at the city and sigh. Although he had led 10,000 Ming troops to Ningbo City, he was not in a hurry to attack the city, but was waiting for an opportunity.

Tonight, the water level of the Yongjiang River surges during the spring tide. The improved No. 1 Fortune Ship, the largest in the Zhoushan Navy with a displacement of 300 tons, can sail down the Yongjiang River directly to the outside of Ningbo.

In the early morning of March 17, the second year of Yongli (1648), outside the Dongdu Gate in Ningbo, 10 improved No. 1 blessing ships were lined up on the Yongjiang River. Each blessing ship was equipped with as many as 20 thousand-jin Buddhist lanterns.

Machine artillery.

Following the order to "fire", thousands of cannons fired simultaneously, and the Ming warships on the river continued to fire at the east city of Ningbo.

The Qing troops on the city also immediately fought back at the Ming warships. For a moment, the flames shot up into the sky, and the fight between the two sides was not easy.

However, the Qing army only had 8 red cannons, which were far less powerful than the Ming army. Their hit rate at night was even more pitiful, and they only produced bursts of water on the river.

Although the Ming army's Folang machine artillery was numerous in number, its power was limited. Although the firepower on the Ningbo city was completely suppressed by the Ming army, it could not blast through the city wall of Ningbo for a while.

But for Huang Binqing, this was just a strategy to attack the east and attack the west. He was very satisfied when he saw the flames at the east gate of Ningbo. Presumably all the Qing army's attention had been attracted to the east city.

At this time, in the west city of Ningbo, the Zhoushan commander of the Ming army, Wang Xiangzheng, led 5,000 soldiers and horses to ambush outside Wangjing Gate.

It was almost the appointed time, and Wang Chaoxian was anxiously looking at Wangjing Gate. Finally, someone on the city waved a torch, and the city gate was quietly opened.

Chao Chao first said softly: "Brothers, the Qing army is fighting fiercely in the east city at this time. Everyone, follow me into Wangjing Gate and capture Ningbo Mansion in one fell swoop."

Wang Chao took the lead and led people to rush into Wangjing Gate, which also had a barbican. Just when the Ming army was about to pass through the barbican and rush into Ningbo, the city gate of Ningbo suddenly closed.

Chao Chao Xian immediately realized that he had been fooled and shouted: "There is an ambush in the city, everyone needs to retreat quickly."

At this time, countless torches were erected on the urn city and the city tower, and a large number of thundering stones and rolling wood smashed at the Wengcheng gate.

Chao Chao first scolded Cao Shanbao, the guard of Wangjing Gate in the city: "You despicable villain, you dare to frame us and others. When Su Lupp invades Ningbo, you will be cut into pieces!"

Cao Shanbao smiled and said: "Since ancient times, soldiers have never been tired of deceit, and Cao did not dare to take credit. This was all Deputy General Hu's clever plan to "invite you into the urn". You Ming soldiers have indeed fallen into a trap."

"shoot arrows"

Suddenly, countless bows, arrows and firecrackers fell, causing heavy casualties to the Ming army in Wengcheng.

Chao Chao first blocked the Qing army's arrows while calling on the Ming army to retreat outside the city.

The city gate of Wangjing Gate was opened again, and Hu Hitoli led 1,000 cavalry to fight out.

When he saw the Qing cavalry, Chao Chao first understood that he was going to die this time.

I saw Hu Hitili taking the lead, rushing over and beheading Mr. Wang Dynasty.

At this time, the thousands of Ming troops who had entered Wengcheng were killed by the Qing army, except for a few who escaped from Wengcheng.

The Ming army outside the city was also shot dead by the Qing army on the city. With the death of the first emperor in the battle, the Ming army was leaderless and fell into chaos.

When Hu Hitili led the Qing cavalry to fight out of the city, the Ming army collapsed and fled blindly, completely giving up resistance.

I only heard a Ming army shouting: "Oh no, we are ambushed. Mr. Wang has been killed in the battle. The Qing army has come out. Everyone, please run for your lives."

Although several experienced Ming army generals wanted to prevent the army from escaping, they shouted: "Don't run away, everyone, form a formation to face the enemy, we can't outrun the cavalry."

However, they were immediately dispersed by the defeated troops, and the Qing cavalry ruthlessly slaughtered the retreating Ming infantry.

In this way, what was originally a good sneak attack turned into a one-sided massacre.

Fortunately, it was dark night and there were dense water nets outside Ningbo City. Many Ming soldiers barely managed to save their lives by jumping into the river.

When Hu Hitili saw the defeat of the Ming army, he directly led the Qing cavalry to kill Huang Binqing's Ming army camp.

While the Qing army in Ningbo and Huang Binqing's land and sea armies were fighting fiercely in the east and west cities, Zhang Mingzhen also personally led the Ming army to the south of Ningbo city.

After Zhang Mingzhen regained Taizhou, in addition to recruiting and surrendering a large number of Qing soldiers, he also recruited many civilians to join the Ming army.

Zhang Mingzhen himself has great influence in eastern Zhejiang, and now with the momentum of great victory, he is even more responsive.

Now, excluding the rebels in Siming Mountain and Tiantai Mountain, the Ming army under Zhang Mingzhen has directly expanded from the original 12,000 to 25,000, more than doubling the number.

However, it was also delayed for 2 days due to the integration and recruitment of troops. After all, Taizhou had just been recovered, and Zhang Mingzhen would not dare to attack Ningbo without arranging Taizhou's defense.

Even the capture of Fenghua was only the result of a tentative attack.

It's just that Zhang Mingzhen didn't expect that Huang Binqing, who had always reserved his strength, would act so resolutely this time. Not only did he win Dingguan, he also recovered Dinghai and Cixi counties in one fell swoop.

It was rare for Huang Binqing to work so hard, so Zhang Mingzhen naturally couldn't miss this good opportunity to attack Ningbo from the north and the south.

So he led an army of 10,000 people to the south of Ningbo overnight.

Hearing the roar of artillery in the east of Ningbo City at this time, Zhang Mingzhen immediately guessed that it must be Huang Binqing's navy coming down the river to attack the east city of Ningbo.

Zhang Mingzhen immediately led the Ming army across the Fenghua River.

There were originally 4,000 troops in Ningbo City. The Qing army deployed a full 3,000 troops in the west of the city to ambush the Ming army. When the Ming army bombarded the east city, almost all of the remaining 1,000 troops were transferred to the east of the city to prevent the Ming army from attacking. city.

At this time, in addition to some soldiers remaining at the city gate in the south of the city, there were few Qing soldiers patrolling the city.

I saw a small group of Ming troops easily reaching the bottom of Ningbo City under the cover of night, avoiding the few sentries, and throwing their flying claws onto the city wall.

The Ming army who climbed up the city wall quickly eliminated several patrolling Qing soldiers, and then rushed towards the city gate. After a burst of fighting, the Changchun Gate in the south of Ningbo City was opened.

Seeing the Changchun Gate wide open, Zhang Mingzhen led the Ming army into the city in one fell swoop.

However, there were still 3,000 Qing troops in Ningbo City at this time, and the two sides immediately launched a fierce battle for the city gate.
To be continued...