A few families worked hard, and the Manchus took over Huai'an Prefecture, which surprised the entire Nanjing court.
However, what is more exciting is the other three of the four towns in Jiangbei.
Azige was simple and rude, and directly asked Liu Zeqing's family to pack up and go to Beijing to divide his troops.
He also has reasons to do so.
Tens of thousands of soldiers and horses were captured from Pizhou City, and more than 80,000 prisoners from Shanyang and Nanming were captured.
And you must know that the Qing troops going south were only 100,000, including 30,000 Guan Ning soldiers and 10,000 Han Eight Banners. If these 80,000 prisoners were added, it would be difficult to control them.
Therefore, it became a must-do choice to remove their leaders and seize their soldiers and horses, flooding the Eight Banners of the Han Dynasty to balance the Guan Ning Army.
Understanding is understanding, but for Gao Jie, Liu Liangzuo, and Huang Degong, it was like a bolt from the blue.
Although the four towns in Jiangbei were considered military towns, they were no different from warlords. All taxes from the prefectures and counties under their jurisdiction were collected but not turned over. Instead, they continued to demand military pay from Nanjing.
Last year, when the four towns in Jiangbei were not established, the four of them almost started fighting over the fertile land of Yangzhou.
The entire Huanghuai area was constantly plundered by them, so much so that the prefectures and counties closed their cities to avoid their people.
As a last resort, Shi Kefa had no choice but to personally guard Yangzhou and avoid the party strife in Nanjing.
However, it was said that Gao Jie joined forces with Liu Zeqing in Pizhou, preparing to block the Qing army and divert the disaster eastward.
Unexpectedly, the army was defeated like a mountain, half of the troops under his command were gone, and the remaining 20,000 to 30,000 people could only huddle in Suzhou, terrified.
Gao Jie was naturally embarrassed about surrendering. As long as it was not Li Zicheng, he could do it. However, after learning Liu Zeqing's result, he immediately became decisive:
"Never surrender."
Years of fighting have made him deeply understand that the troops under his command are the basis for preserving life and wealth. Once he goes to Beijing, he has no choice but to do it himself.
"I don't want to go to Beijing."
Xing, who has towering heights, curvy hips and slender waist, has always been Gao Jie's think tank and controls military resources. She is not only beautiful, but also shrewd and decisive:
"Even a veteran minister like Fan Wencheng has had his wife taken away from him. I don't want to be abused."
"Where did you know that?"
Gao Jie was stunned, his fair face full of doubts. Logically speaking, such secret information would never reach the Huaihai area.
"I know it from here."
Mr.
"This is an internal reference, made by King Yu. It records some information. It's very interesting. Look, it also says that Dorgon stayed in the palace overnight and was served by Emperor Shunzhi's wife."
"Hey, I'm just talking at the end. Dorgon is just like Li Zicheng. They are both rotten men and can't give birth to cubs at all."
"King Yu..."
Gao Jie squinted his eyes and started thinking.
"Back in Xi'an Mansion, my relationship with Zhu Yixi was neither good nor bad!"
"Do you still want to vote for King Yu?"
Xing's beautiful eyes changed, and then she became shrewd: "The Qing Dynasty is coming fiercely, Nanjing is dangerous, Huguang is a good place, and if things go bad, you can still escape to Sichuan."
"I want to vote but I can't!"
Gao Jie shook his head with a wry smile: "Sister Xing, we are near Xuzhou. There are no rivers connecting us. How can we get there across the Dabie Mountains?"
Mr. Xing frowned.
Just when the two were hesitating, a spy suddenly came to report that nearly 10,000 soldiers and horses, led by the commander-in-chief Xu Dingguo, fled from Guide Mansion in Henan Province.
"Um?"
The two of them had astonishment on their faces.
Soon, they realized that it was Hong Chengchou of Luoyang who was unwilling to be left alone and sent troops to occupy Guide Mansion, drive away the Ming army and approach Xuzhou.
As a result, Gao Jie immediately fell into trouble.
On the left is Hong Chengchou, on the right is Azige, and below is Liu Liangzuo. There is almost no way to escape.
At this time, Hong Chengchou sent lobbyists to persuade him to surrender:
"Governor Hong is in Henan. As long as my uncle returns and surrenders, not only will his family be safe, but he will also be promoted to a higher position and receive a generous salary."
Gao Jie hesitated for a while and said directly: "I don't want to live in Beijing. It would be great if I could lead the troops to regain Henan and make contributions to the Qing Dynasty."
After hearing this, the envoy could not make the decision and could only return to return to his hometown.
Hearing this, Hong Chengchou tugged on his beard and sighed: "I can't make the decision on this matter. It seems that Gao Jie still has the vassal town in mind."
"In this case, the Qing Dynasty will not be able to tolerate you."
As he spoke, a trace of fierceness flashed in his eyes.
Soon, in his sleep, Gao Jie learned the news that the Guide army had rebelled and was attacking Suzhou City.
Before he could react, he was taken away by the Xing family. Along with thousands of soldiers, he left Suzhou and headed south.
"Many of the soldiers and horses under your command have already opened the city gates and are cooperating inside and outside. Those who cannot be defeated can only flee for their lives."
Xing said decisively.
"Hong Chengchou has a poisonous heart, Xu Dingguo deserves to die."
Gao Jie took a breath of air and sat on his horse, filled with resentment.
Who else could use such methods except Hong Chengchou, who was good at buying people's hearts?
The soldiers and horses collected since last year are almost all defeated and bandit armies from various places, which were barely controlled, so they were found to have flaws.
The only people he can truly trust are his soldiers who escaped with him in Xi'an.
"Where are we going?"
Ms.
"There are Qing troops in the east, west and north, and now they can only go south."
Gao Jie's eyes were filled with resentment: "I, Gao Jie, must repay this grudge."
So, thousands of people came to Huaiyuan City to rest temporarily.
At this time, someone suddenly asked to see him in the city. Gao Jie was stunned and responded with a gloomy face.
Immediately, a philistine businessman came quickly. When he saw Gao Jie, he straightened his back, his eyes were bright, and he said seriously:
"Under the command of the King of Yu, he searched hundreds of households in Chu Liang and met Uncle Xing Ping."
"King Yu?" Gao Jie was immediately startled, looked left and right, frowned, and said with fear on his face: "How do you know I am in Huaiyuan?"
"I really don't know."
Chu Liang shook his head and said with a smile: "I was originally in Fengyang, and wanted to go north to inform my uncle. Who knew that when I arrived at Huaiyuan, my uncle arrived."
Gao Jie breathed a sigh of relief and then said: "What orders does Mr. Yu have?"
When talking about King Yu, Gao Jie became more respectful and directly used honorific words.
When Chu Liang heard this, he thought about it, but said directly:
"Uncle, I was in Fengyang and heard that Liu Liangzuo was bewitched by Hong Chengchou and was preparing to lead his troops to surrender. After much deliberation, in order to avoid you being attacked from both sides, I decided to inform you."
"What? Liu Liangzuo surrendered to the enemy?"
Gao Jie really couldn't sit still anymore. What on earth is going on with these Ming troops? I didn't even surrender, but you surrendered first. It's really unreasonable.
"Uncle, Liu Liangzuo's younger brother Liu Liangyu returned to the Manchu Qing Dynasty during the Battle of Dalenghe River, and now he is working as a lobbyist in the south."