Chapter 335 0330 [The troops are approaching the city]
Gong Xiu led a thousand people and took a boat as a pioneer.
The soldiers under his command include gold miners, gold trackers in the Golden Gorge, gold diggers on the Han River, and tea porters who narrowly escaped death. Including the military servants, there are actually more than 1,100 soldiers.
There are also a variety of weapons, including spears made in Iron Hat Village and weapons taken from Yangzhou's arsenal.
Of his four adult sons, only the second son was with him. The eldest son was assigned to obey orders under Li Jinyi, and the third and fourth sons became Ju Ming's personal soldiers.
They didn't bring any food, grass or baggage, so the whole army took a boat and went straight to Chenggu County.
The residential areas and docks outside the city looked very depressed, with very few people in sight.
The second son Gong Yi led a group of soldiers ashore and walked through the streets outside the city. Soon they saw the city gate wide open.
A civil servant and a group of government officials knelt at the city gate to ask for surrender.
"Is there no one in the city?" Gong Yi asked.
The clerk replied: "The county magistrate, the county captain and the police officer fled with the officials yesterday. Many wealthy households also fled. The county magistrate said that they were thieves... that the rebels committed crimes by burning, killing, looting, and often ransacked their homes and destroyed their families. This is
Although the gentry and merchants in the county admire Xianggong Zhu's benevolence and righteousness, they would rather believe that he has it than fear that their family property will be robbed."
Gong Yi asked: "Who are you? Why don't you run away?"
The clerk said: "I am Jiang Youqi, the project manager of the Chenggu County Government. I have never done any evil, and I am willing to work for Mr. Zhu! As soon as the county government responds to the paperwork and account books, I have sent someone to seal them, waiting for Mr. Zhu to receive them."
"Very good, lead the way into the city!"
Gong Yi was afraid of an ambush, so he led a group of people into the city first, controlled the city gate, and then reported to his father.
Chenggu County was captured in this way.
Gong Xiu sent someone back to report the news, rested for half a day, and then headed towards Xingyuan Mansion.
Chenggu County is only more than 50 miles away from Xingyuan Prefecture, and all the vanguard troops can arrive by boat on the same day.
All the residential buildings outside the city were demolished, firstly, to make defense equipment, and secondly, to prevent rebels from using them as siege equipment.
Most of the young men were trained as soldiers to defend the city, and their families could also go into the city to take shelter.
The people who were not selected were left to fend for themselves outside the city. Their houses were demolished and they had to live in the open.
Civil and military officials on Lizhou Road stood at the top of the city and looked at the bandits.
Liu Yao said: "These are just the vanguard of the bandits. They are not many in number. They can go out of the city and wipe them out to weaken the enemy's spirit."
Xu Fuyan shook his head: "The entire army of the bandits is in a boat. They can leave at any time, and they cannot be caught up. If we pursue the bandits with all our strength and pretend to be defeated and escape, what should we do if there are ambushes halfway? It is more important to hold on to the city."
The proposed strategy was not adopted, and Liu Yao added: "There are too many defenders in the city, so we can divide our troops and camp at the foot of the mountain west of the city. In this way, we can support each other, attack and defend, instead of just waiting for reinforcements."
Xu Fuyan still refused to listen: "The officers and soldiers have not practiced for a long time, and their morale is extremely low. What if we divide our troops and camp in the west of the city and the bandits break the camp first? By that time, people in the city will definitely be in panic."
Both of them are right.
Liu Yao had been an official in Shaanxi and had some knowledge of warfare. He looked at the problem purely from a military perspective and knew that besieging an isolated city was not a good strategy. He divided his troops to camp at the foot of the mountain west of the city, which could not only use the troops rationally, but also cooperate with the battle in the city. It could also protect the rear passage.
Receive subsequent shipments of food, fodder, and soldiers.
Xu Fuyan, on the other hand, was worried about the morale of the people. The troops in his hands were too bad, so how could he dare to split them up? If one of them failed, the whole army would be defeated, and some might be so frightened that they would surrender.
Gong Xiu led his troops ashore and never left the ship too far.
He personally went to the city and shouted: "The officers and soldiers of Xingyuan Prefecture, listen, our strategic minister and the general have occupied Yangzhou and Jinzhou, and a hundred thousand troops will come soon. Those who know the situation will quickly open the city and surrender, and maybe they will be able to surrender."
I can give you an official title!"
"Archery!"
Xu Fuyan gave the order.
Arrows were raining down from the top of the city, but Gong Xiu was fine.
Several soldiers who were trackers carried a two- to three-meter-long boat as a shield, and the arrows they fired were blocked by the bottom of the boat.
Liu Huiyuan looked very ugly: "This thief said that the Zhu family and his son also occupied Jinzhou?"
Xu Fuyan nodded and said: "It's very possible. Ju Ming has been the prefect of Jinzhou for two years and has some basic skills. He can easily win the five counties of Jinzhou."
Liu Yao said in a low voice: "If we take control of Yangzhou and Jinzhou, we may be able to enslave hundreds of thousands of people to become thieves."
He said this in a low voice, but it caused Wang Minwen and Han Siyan's expressions to change drastically.
The two looked at each other, quietly left the city wall, and went home to look for an opportunity to escape.
With a hundred thousand bandits and bandits, how can Xingyuan Mansion be defended?
Liu Yao watched the two people leave and whispered into Xu Fuyan's ear.
After Xu Fuyan heard this, he said worriedly: "If we do this, even if we repel the traitors, we will be retaliated by the royal party afterwards, and we will be demoted to sinecures on false charges."
Liu Yao said: "The Xingyuan Mansion is in such danger, how can we care about personal gains and losses? If these two people are allowed to escape, the civil and military officials in the city will definitely be distracted."
Xu Fuyan thought about it again and again, gritted his teeth and said, "Just go and do it, I'll take care of it if anything happens!"
Liu Yao retreated, called two teams of officers and soldiers, and rushed directly to Wang Minwen and Han Siyan's residence.
The two birdmen were dragging their family with them, but they were blocked before they could even go out.
Without saying a word, Liu Yao directly ordered the arrests and placed them under house arrest in the Yamen of the Transportation Department.
Then he led his troops out of the west city gate, confiscated all the goods on the two official ships and brought them back to the city for military supplies.
…
Ju Ming's main force already numbered over 10,000 people, but the number of elites who could really fight was only a few thousand.
After he came to Chenggu County, he appointed the county magistrate and county captain, and left five hundred soldiers to guard the city. He asked these people to be responsible for transporting grain in Chenggu County, and then continued to move forward with the army.
Not far after setting off, a small boat caught up with us.
"Brother!" Bai Qi saluted with clasped fists, holding a spear in his hand and a bow and arrow on his back.
And behind him, actually stood Fu Yuanheng and Lei Guan.
Ju Ming said in surprise: "Why are you here?"
Bai Qi is fifteen years old this year. He has grown into a pretty boy, with a hint of Shen Yourong between his eyebrows.
He said: "My father left me to work as a civil servant in Yangzhou. In the past few years, I have practiced martial arts with Brother Zhang and read some military books. I plan to come to the army to show my skills. These two gentlemen were sent by Jinzhou.
If you come, bring them to see your brother."
"Very good," Ju Ming asked the two of them again, "Have you figured it out?"
Fu Yuanheng and Lei Guan were both Tai students who were persuaded to quit.
Fu Yuanheng said: "Fu Yuanheng has died of illness in Jinzhou, and the student will change his name to Fu Shou from now on."
Lei Guan said: "Lei Guan has also died of illness and will be renamed Tian Wendao from now on."
"I have wronged you. I will definitely restore my real name in the future." Zhu Ming said solemnly.
Changing your name is just because you don't want to hurt your family.
Fu Yuanheng and Lei Guan, the former was from Zhejiang and the latter was from Fujian. They were repeatedly harmed by Fang La and the officers and soldiers, and their family property was reduced to ten pieces. They hated the court and felt that the Song Dynasty was really hopeless.
Bai Qi, Fu Yuanheng, and Lei Guan all stayed under Ju Ming's account to listen to orders. They stopped the army to rest at noon and sat down to eat. Bai Sheng took them to get acquainted with their colleagues.
It is relative to say that Bai Sheng cannot read a few Chinese characters. He has followed Ju Ming for many years. He must have no problem with reading, writing and calculation. He is also influenced by his ears and eyes, and he also understands some big principles.
It was impossible for the tens of thousands of troops to all take boats. Most of them walked along the river. The ships accompanying the army were mainly used to transport baggage.
That evening, ten miles away from Xingyuan Fucheng, Ju Ming ordered the entire army to camp.
The next day, we continued to move forward and arrived at the gate of Xingyuanfu City.
Ju Ming took out his telescope and carefully observed the city defense situation: "There are people who know the military in the city, and they are well-organized. If we attack blindly, we will suffer heavy losses. The main force can stay here and divide the troops to occupy Baocheng (Baocheng Town) and Xi County (Mian County).
County), turn this Xingyuan Mansion into an isolated city."
"General, I'm going to Zhanxi City," Li Jinyi volunteered. "Control the throat there and ensure that we can block the officers and soldiers from Lizhou, Xingzhou, and Sanquan. Not a single officer or soldier will come to rescue Xingyuan Mansion!"
"Go," Zhu Ming nodded in agreement, and then said to Tu Shen, "lead your troops to capture Bao City. After capturing the city, immediately organize the people to reinforce the city!"
"yes!"
The troops of Tu Shen and Li Bao were all brought from Jinzhou by Ju Ming. The remaining Jinzhou army ordered Zhang Guangdao to drill hard and must train thousands of elite soldiers to guard the east gate.
Shi Yuangong said: "I have merchants I know in these two cities. I can shoot arrows and send letters to persuade them to surrender. Then I can't let those merchants dedicate the city, and I can take the opportunity to create a wedge."
After saying that, he took out a pen and paper and wrote down the names of the merchants.
In the past few years, Shi Yuangong traveled around with Yuandang paper, deliberately making friends with gentry and merchants.
Once the rebels fired a letter into the city, with the names of merchants written in black and white, the defenders would definitely suspect that those merchants were insiders, and might directly force the merchants to rebel.
Of course, what is more likely to happen is that the defenders of the two cities surrendered directly after being raided.
Ju Ming smiled and praised: "Mr. Shi has a clever plan."
Shi Yuangong said modestly: "They are all just trivial skills that cannot reach the level of elegance."
Since the defenders did not divide their troops to camp in the west of the city, Li Jinyi and Tu Shen led their troops around the city in a swaggering manner.
Liu Yao was shocked when he saw this: "The thieves are going to Xi County and Baocheng!"
Xu Fu said as if falling into an ice cave: "It's over."
Xi County is stuck to the west and Baocheng is stuck to the south.
If these two cities are lost, the entire Hanzhong Basin will be blocked, and Xingyuanfu City will be completely reduced to a turtle in a urn.
Baocheng, in particular, is located at the exit of Baoxie Road. As long as it is occupied, the Shaanxi officers and soldiers will not be able to get out of Baoxie Road.
Liu Yao suggested: "It's better to go out of the city for a decisive battle."
Xu Fuyan said bitterly: "The defenders in the city have not practiced much. They are just a group of common people who have picked up weapons, but there are less than a thousand warriors. Defending the city may be possible, but fighting outside the city will definitely collapse at the first touch."
Liu Huiyuan complained: "We should have abandoned the defense of Xingyuan Mansion and retreated to Lizhou with our soldiers and baggage. From Hanzhong to Lizhou, there are steep mountains and rivers and many formidable passes. We will definitely be able to stop the bandits. Even if we lose Hanzhong, we can still fight back!" "
"What's the use of talking about that now?" Liu Yao said angrily.
They dare not abandon Xingyuan Mansion, otherwise the entire Hanzhong Basin will be lost.
After what happened with Fang La and Song Jiang, the court punished officials who lost their cities and lands more and more severely.
Ju Ming ordered: "The soldiers will cut down the trees, the carpenters will make flat cannons, and the masons will make stone bullets!"
Iron hat village has cast raw iron heavy cannons, but those things are too heavy and heavy, so they are left in Jinzhou to defend the city.
The army only brought some squatting tiger cannons, which were too weak to be useful in siege.
