Chapter 98 Incident in East Zhejiang 1 (Please subscribe for support)

Author: Scholar Wu

Chapter 98 Incident in East Zhejiang 1 (Please subscribe for support)

It has to be said that Yang Wenqi's persuasion to surrender did play a role in disturbing the morale of the army. Not to mention the ordinary Ming army, even Su Jian, a member of the Intelligence Department, looked at Ma Xin at this time.

After all, Ma Xin was the deputy general of Taizhou before, so surrendering to Zhang Mingzhen was indeed a bit of a last resort. Although Zhang Mingzhen promoted him to the rank of commander-in-chief of Taizhou, there was a high possibility that he would defect to the Qing army again under such circumstances.

Moreover, Yang Wenqi's words about Linhai City at this time made people panic. Su Jian felt that he should do something at this time. He had quietly held a dagger in his hand. As soon as Ma Xin surrendered to the Qing army, he immediately assassinated Ma Xin.

.

Ma Xin said with a smile: "General Yang has 3,500 troops, and Ma also has more than 4,000 troops. You offered 3 counties in the south of Taizhou, and what I have in my hands is Fucheng Linhai, plus Tiantai and Ninghai counties. Mr. Yang is honored."

I was promoted to the admiral of southern Zhejiang and commanded the troops of the second government. But I am still the commander-in-chief of Taizhou. Am I being too partial to one and favoring others? How can I ask Ma to agree to your request?"

At this time, Yang Wenqi was caught off guard by Ma Xin's question. He did not expect that Ma Xin would actually attack his own army. At this time, he was not sure whether Ma Xin really disliked the low official position or was using a "delay tactic".

He had no choice but to look at Taoist Master Chuchen beside him.

At this time, Chuchen said: "Pindao Chuchen is the special envoy of Chen Jin, the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang. Don't worry, Mr. Ma, as long as you surrender to me, the Qing Dynasty, I will definitely recommend you as the admiral of eastern Zhejiang in front of Governor Chen to command Ningbo and Shaoxing."

In both houses, the treatment is the same as that of Admiral Yang."

Ma Xin said: "This condition is acceptable, but it is just empty talk. I need Governor Chen's letter of appointment. Otherwise, if you turn your back and deny me, who will I find to settle this account?"

At this time, Ma Xin turned his head and saw the dagger in Su Jian's hand, and quickly gave Su Jian a wink to signal him not to act rashly.

Chuchen said: "We did not prepare this appointment order for the governor of eastern Zhejiang in advance. It is a long way to Fujian. General Ma is trying to delay the attack and is deliberately making things difficult!"

Ma Xin said: "Ma is definitely not intentionally making things difficult. It's just that Admiral Yang asked me to continue to be the commander-in-chief of Taizhou. Ma and his brothers certainly cannot agree. In this way, Ma will not embarrass the special envoy. Please write a letter of commitment to the special envoy."

, and then hand over Admiral Yang’s appointment order to Mr. Ma as collateral, this will be the head office.”

Yang Wenqi said that he did not carry his commission with him, but was on the road with the army's baggage, and it would only take an hour at most.

Ma Xin said: "Then please send over the appointment order and the letter of commitment in an hour. Ma will definitely open the city gate at that time."

Then Ma Xin said to Vice General Pan: "I am promoted to admiral this time, so you have the opportunity to be promoted to commander-in-chief. You must not be confused about this matter. You must not open the city gate unless you get their letter of commitment and order of appointment."

.It seems that we have to attack Ningbo next. I will go to the city first to arrange food and supplies."

So Ma Xin quickly took Su Jian down to the city and said: "There are now 3,000 people in the city, and 1,000 of them are Vice General Pan's confidants. I have arranged them at the south gate of Linhai. Vice General Pan will definitely surrender to the Qing army, even if he is killed.

He and I cannot fully control his 1,000 troops."

"There are still 1,000 people who have just been recruited. These people have no fighting spirit and will definitely be scattered in a fight."

"This Linhai City cannot be defended no matter what. I just used a delaying strategy. Let's quickly take my 1,000 troops out of the north gate to Ninghai County."

"Brother Su, please go to Fenghua and Ningbo to inform the Marquis of Dingxi about Yang Wenqi's rebellion. I will rectify the troops in Ninghai City and try to hold off Yang Wenqi as much as possible."

Su Jian said: "Other personnel in our Intelligence Department have already sent the news to Ningbo as soon as possible. General Ma has no need to worry."

Ma Xin said: "No wonder Governor Qian is invincible. It turns out that his intelligence department is so powerful. Ma admires him."

"Then please trouble Brother Su to go to Tiantai County with my warrant and burn all the food and grass there. Find a way to bring 500 soldiers and horses from Tiantai to Ninghai to help me defend the city. If Yang Wenqi goes straight to Ninghai, you can

Take them to Fenghua, I guess there won't be many soldiers and horses there."

Su Jian said: "Please take care of yourself, General Ma. Do you need our help burning the grain and grass in Linhai?"

Ma Xin said: "I have arranged for people to go to the granary before. Someone will naturally take care of it after we leave."

At the foot of Linhai City, sentries came to report: "Reporting to General Yang, there were about a thousand cavalrymen leaving the north gate of Linhai just now."

Yang Wenqi said: "No, we must have fallen into Ma Xin's delaying strategy. He has already escaped from the north gate."

So he shouted at the city wall: "Vice-General Pan is on the city, and Ma Xin has already escaped from the north gate. Why don't you open the city gate and surrender?"

Vice General Pan said: "This is not possible. You must take out the letter of commitment and the order of appointment, otherwise I cannot open the city gate."

Yang Wenqi cursed angrily: "You idiot, quickly look back at the city. Smoke is already billowing in the city. Why are you waiting to break the commission?"

When Lieutenant General Pan saw the fire in the granary, he realized that he had been tricked by Ma Xin, and immediately ordered Kaicheng to surrender.

At this time, the granary had already been filled with coal and kerosene by Ma Xin. The city was in flames, and the fire even burned many nearby houses. Yang Wenqi's men worked hard for nearly two hours before extinguishing the fire in the city. The entire granary was almost

Was reduced to ashes.

What's worse is that the troops sent by Yang Wenqi to Tiantai also sent back almost the same news: there are no troops stationed in Tiantai County, supplies and granaries have been burned, and the treasury is empty.

After hearing the news, Yang Wenqi was very angry. He thought Ma Xin would definitely surrender, but he didn't expect that Ma Xin would make a trick. Now that there was no food and grass, he had to mobilize food and grass from Xianju and other counties.

At this time, Ma Xin, the leader of Ninghai City, was ready. The 500 men and horses originally stationed in Ninghai County, plus the 1,000 people brought by Ma Xin, totaled 1,500 soldiers. Ma Xin also recruited 1,500 young men in Ninghai City to prepare to support the defense of the city at any time.

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A soldier said: "Commander Ma, look quickly, there seems to be enemy troops appearing in the south."

Sure enough, a lot of men and horses vaguely appeared in the south. Ma Xin was just about to let the army meet the enemy, but he saw Su Jian riding a horse and ran to the bottom of the city. Ma Xin said happily: "Now that Brother Su has brought these 500 men and horses,

I will be more confident in guarding Ninghai City."

Su Jian said: "I didn't find Yang Wenqi's sentry horse along the way. It seems that he is still busy fighting the fire near the sea."

In Linhai City, Yang Wenqi, after a night's rest, planned to let his deputy Huang An lead 1,000 of his direct troops to stay behind, and mobilize 7,000 troops to conquer Ninghai County in one fell swoop and restore the entire territory of Taizhou.

At this time, Taoist Master Chuchen came to visit and stopped Yang Wenqi who was hastily advancing the troops.

Chuchen said: "Is Admiral Yang still furious at this moment and wants to pacify Ninghai and kill Ma Xin in one fell swoop?"

Yang Wenqi said angrily: "It's abominable that Ma Xin burned the food and ruined our plan. If the Taoist hadn't stopped me last night, I would have wanted to send troops to attack Ninghai overnight."

Chuchen said: "This matter is also due to poor observation. It fell into Ma Xin's plan to slow down the army. It is not the fault of Admiral Yang alone. Admiral Yang has been in battle for a long time. He should know that it is a taboo for military strategists to send troops out of anger.

"

"My army was very tired last night, and we had no siege equipment prepared. Just imagine, Admiral Yang, if he sent troops to attack Ninghai overnight, even if he was not ambushed by Ma Xin, what are the chances of success in attacking Ninghai?"

After listening to Chuchen's words, Yang Wenqi quickly calmed down and said, "What the Taoist priest reminded us is that if we sent troops overnight last night, we would have lost our troops and returned without success, playing into Ma Xin's plan."

"But Ma Xin must have stayed up all night last night to prepare for our army to attack the city. Now we must be short of men and horses. If Yang sent troops at this time, he would be caught off guard. Why did the Taoist priest stop him?"

Chuchen smiled and said: "Pindao is not trying to stop Admiral Yang from sending troops, but now the opportunity has been lost. Ninghai and Fenghua in the north, Ningbo must have received the news. Since there is no effect of the surprise attack, why don't we prepare more fully?"

Some more troops will be sent."

"Originally I thought that Ma Xin of Taizhou would definitely surrender. It would be easy for Admiral Yang to send tens of thousands of troops from Taizhou to the north to capture Fenghua. Then he and Admiral Tian Xiong would attack Ningbo from the north and south, and eastern Zhejiang would be quickly pacified."

"Unexpectedly, Ma Xin was so cunning. Not only did he not surrender, he also burned the grain and grass in Linhai and Tiantai. I have transferred another 1,500 troops and horses from Wenzhou overnight to escort the grain and grass northward."

"Admiral Yang doesn't need to worry about the food and grass matter. Now Ma Xin must have hit all the remaining Ming troops in Taizhou to Ninghai County. If we go over and attack Ninghai, we will definitely suffer heavy casualties. Even if we capture Ninghai, we probably won't have enough troops."

Then go north to threaten Ningbo."

"Why don't we just abandon Ninghai, cross the Tiantai Mountains, and sneak attack Xinchang County in Shaoxing. After taking Xinchang, the siege of Shaoxing will be lifted. Then we can go east to capture Fenghua, or simply bypass Fenghua and go straight to Ningbo, which can break the deadlock.

.”

Yang Wenqi said: "Although the Taoist master's plan was unexpected, the risk is too great. If Xinchang cannot get food and grass, how will our army replenish it?"

"Besides, there are still Ming troops stationed in some garrison posts along the coast of Taizhou. Those are Zhang Mingzhen's direct descendants, and they are also assisted by the navy. If Ma Xin integrates the forces along the coast of Taizhou and Xiangshan, it is very likely that he can capture Linhai and cut off our retreat.

.”

"Although our attack on Ninghai may have been delayed a bit, it is safe after all. Ma Xin is not an ordinary general, he is very cunning. I really don't feel comfortable leaving him behind, and I must deal with him first no matter what.

"

Hearing what Yang Wenqi said, Chuchen could only helplessly shake his head. Yang Wenqi and Ma Xin were both experienced generals in the battlefield. Yang Wenqi's military qualifications were stronger than Ma Xin's, but now it seems that Yang Wenqi's military talent is far inferior to Ma Xin's.

Xin. Ma Xin killed decisively without hesitation. He abandoned 2,000 troops and horses in Linhai, but burned the most important food and grass, thus taking the initiative to lead Yang Wenqi everywhere.

On the other hand, although Yang Wenqi is not mediocre, he is quite experienced in marching and formation, and he can also use the situation to suppress the morale of the enemy and is good at bewitching. Unfortunately, he is too selfish and his vision is inevitably a bit short-sighted, and he cannot look at the problem from the perspective of the overall situation. Based on his

Only then can you be a so-so general soldier, and it is difficult to become a talented person in charge of his own role.

He insisted on attacking Ninghai first because he wanted to secure Taizhou's territory first. Although it was safe, he lost the opportunity. If he hadn't stopped Yang Wenqi last night, I'm afraid he would have been fooled by Ma Xin and lost his army at Ninghai City.

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The only solution for now is to help Yang Wenqi quickly capture Ninghai. Yang Wenqi was right about one thing. If Ma Xin is not eliminated, there will be endless disasters.

So Chuchen said: "Since Ma Xin has chosen to fight us in Ninghai, he must be well prepared. If we bring the red cannons from Linhai, it will definitely help break the city."

Yang Wenqi said: "The Taoist Master is still thoughtful. Anyway, we have missed the opportunity to raid. It would be safer to bring the red cannon."

Ma Xin originally thought that Yang Wenqi would attack the city overnight, but it was not until the afternoon of the next day that Yang Wenqi's army surrounded Ninghai City. Ninghai County is just a county with a circumference of 6 miles and has 5 city gates. Soon Yang Wenqi's

7,000 troops surrounded Ninghai County.

At this time, the performance of the Ming and Qing armies' fire guns was far inferior to the Lumi guns equipped by the Shenji Battalion, so both sides were still equipped with a large number of bows and arrows. Because the red cannons were still on the way.

So Yang Wenqi began the regular work of filling in the moat. A large number of Ming troops began to fill the moat under the cover of shields. At this time, Ma Xin was directing the Ming army archers to fire on the city. After several rounds of intensive arrow rain, there were still dozens of people.

The Qing army was hit by bows and arrows, but the result was limited to this.

Bows and arrows cannot penetrate shields and can only be projected, and their effects are quite limited.

Soon the Qing army behind the shield also used bows and arrows to fire arrows at the city to fight back, and the Ming army defending the city also suffered casualties.

As the enemy approached, the Ming army on the city began to use bird cannons. However, Yang Wenqi's large shield was covered with iron on the thick wooden board. Unless the distance was particularly close, it would be difficult for ordinary bird cannons to penetrate it.

Only Su Jian in the entire city had a Rumi gun, and he could easily penetrate the Qing army's shield.

The Ming army's gunners could only follow Su Jian's footsteps and take advantage of the opportunity when he killed a Qing army shield hand to shoot at the Qing army behind him.

Although this can cause a little chaos to the Qing army, it is difficult to stop the Qing army from filling the river. After all, the effect of a Lumi gun is really limited, and it is nothing more than increasing the casualties of the Qing army.

Ma Xin said: "No wonder Governor Qian was able to annihilate the Eight Banners in Hangzhou. This Lumi gun is really sharp. If we can equip 100 such fire guns, why should we be afraid of Yang Wenqi!"

Su Jianze asked: "If this continues, the enemy will soon fill up the moat. I'm afraid we won't be able to defend Ninghai for even a day. Why is General Ma not in a hurry?"

Ma Xin smiled and said: "Isn't it just the beginning of filling in the moat? The enemy has not officially started to attack the city. Why are you so nervous?"

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