Hanzhou City was basically not affected by the war. Li Dazhuang used the Ming army to surrender generals to trick the city gates into opening and easily captured Hanzhou.
The army occupied Hanzhou, with Rongcheng ahead of them.
Now there is no danger to defend Chengdu.
Su He summoned the officers to discuss a plan to attack Chengdu.
As the largest city in the southwest, we not only need to consider the speed of conquering it, but also consider the subsequent governance.
Rongcheng is different from Deyang. There are no common people in Deyang City.
Cannons can be used to bombard them indiscriminately.
In Chengdu, you must consider ways and means.
We can't let the people suffer too much casualties. After occupying the city, the people in the whole city regard them as enemy bandits.
When Su He saw that Li Dazhuang was unhappy, he asked: "Li Dazhuang, you almost wiped out all the Ming troops in Hanzhou and took Hanzhou easily. Why are you still not happy?"
Li Dazhuang said with some frustration: "We have more than 10,000 people and charge against two thousand cavalry.
I still feel a little powerless. Facing the cavalry charge, we have too few means to deal with it.
Cavalry is different from infantry in that they concentrate all their strength to attack a certain point in the military formation.
A situation of attacking with more and with less in local areas has been formed.
The cavalry charged, and they were really strong.
We just resisted the cavalry who were half disabled by firearms, but at the cost of the lives of several officers above the regiment level.
Nearly a thousand soldiers were killed or injured, and the losses were too heavy.
These are the cavalry of the Ming Army. Among the cavalry, their combat effectiveness is very low.
If we encounter cavalry on the grassland, how should we resist them?"
Su He also had a solemn expression. He had already read the battle report.
There were heavy casualties during this battle. It was also their first actual battle with cavalry and they did not understand cavalry.
He originally thought that the Ming cavalry were all elite, and even though they suffered more than half of the casualties, they continued to charge without changing their expressions.
After interrogating the prisoners, we learned that after the cavalry launched a charge, there was no way to stop it.
Once the cavalry in front stopped, they would be trampled to pieces by the cavalry in the rear.
Even if there are mountains of swords and seas of fire, we must continue to move forward.
If the infantry suffers a certain level of casualties, they will collapse directly and surrender voluntarily.
Su He saw that Li Dazhuang was in a bad mood and comforted him: "Since ancient times, infantry has been at a disadvantage against cavalry.
Famous generals in history cannot smooth out the advantages and disadvantages of military units.
Even if they are as strong as the Yue Family Army, they will suffer heavy casualties when dealing with the Jin Army's cavalry.
The first time you lead the infantry against the cavalry, you can win. This performance is already very good.
To deal with cavalry, we still need to cultivate our own cavalry.
I had previously asked the Academy of Sciences to continue developing firearms to deal with cavalry.
I believe that soon we will have the means to restrain the cavalry."
Su He saw that Li Dazhuang's confidence had slightly recovered, and they began to discuss ways to attack Rongcheng.
Many methods were discussed, but Su He rejected them all.
Either the casualties were too great, or the plan was too outrageous.
They also said that they would besiege the city for half a year, and if there was no food in Chengdu, they would surrender.
This plan is not feasible. If we really wait for half a year, we don’t know what the situation will be like.
Li Fengming suggested: "We should use traditional methods and find ways to blow down the city wall or climb on top of the city.
Let's surround Rongcheng first.
In case the officials in Rongcheng are afraid of the siege, they leave the city and surrender."
Seeing the current situation, Su He could only do this.
He decided to surround Rongcheng first and then attack Rongcheng depending on the situation.
The army did not rest in Hanzhou, but immediately dispatched to prepare to surround Rongcheng.
Su He ordered the soldiers to speed up the siege of the city. Before arriving at Rongcheng, he sent out elite scouts to capture everyone who came from Rongcheng.
He wanted to surround Rongcheng before Rongcheng could react.
Do not give high-ranking officials in Chengdu a chance to escape from Chengdu.
Once these high-ranking officials escape, they can take control of the place and control the local army.
It will cause great trouble to their army.
……………………
It has been seven or eight days since the governor's office in Rongcheng and Zhang Lun, the governor of Sichuan, received any news from Deyang and Hanzhou.
He sent several soldiers and horses to Hanzhou, but there was no news.
Zhang Lun immediately realized that something had happened in Deyang and Hanzhou.
He took out the last message he received from Deyang.
Hou Liangzhu, the commander-in-chief of Sichuan, asked Hanzhou to send reinforcements to support him. Deyang could no longer withstand the attack of the yellow-clad thieves.
Mu Qishen, the commander-in-chief of Yunnan, led 20,000 infantry and 2,000 cavalry out of the city to support Deyang.
Zhang Lun was very puzzled as to how Hou Liangzhu and Mu Qishen fought and lost so quickly.
There are 50,000 troops in Deyang and Hanzhou, and there are only a few thieves in yellow.
Fifty thousand people were defending the city. Even if there were hundreds of thousands of thieves in yellow, they would not be able to break through these cities in less than a month.
There was a rapid knock on the door.
When Zhang Lun heard the knock on the door, he said impatiently: "What's going on? I didn't tell you. Don't disturb me if there is nothing important."
"Sir, my name is Ding Yunzhen, and I have something important to report."
"Come in."
Zhang Lun saw his master Ding Yunzhen walking into the room with a solemn expression.
"What happened? Did those Qiu Ba make trouble again?"
Ding Yunzhen nodded, shook her head, and said with some fear: "Sir, Qiu Ba has been making trouble every day during this period.
This matter is not important. Traces of the thieves in yellow were found at the north gate of Rongcheng. They were running to other gates of Rongcheng.
The north gate has been closed, and many gentry in the city want to escape through the south gate.
There are many people at the south gate crazily crowding the city gate, and now the city gate cannot be closed."
Zhang Lun heard that the thieves in yellow had arrived in Chengdu, and he expected the worst outcome.
"How could it be so fast? It's only been a few months."
Zhang Lun expected this result, but he still couldn't believe that the thieves in yellow could lay siege to the city so quickly.
At this moment, everything else is trivial, and Chengdu must be defended.
Zhang Lun quickly made some arrangements.
"Send government officials to disperse all the people in Nancheng. If anyone dares to resist, I will put them in jail.
The most important thing now is to close the south city gate and completely block the city gate.
Immediately summon all the troops in the city and help me mount the city wall to defend the city."
When Master Ding Yunzhen heard Zhang Lun's instructions, he immediately went to handle these matters.
Zhang Lun hurriedly climbed up the north city wall and saw that the bandits in yellow had set up camp outside the city.
The tents are connected into a large area, and you can't even see the edge at a glance.
The yellow-robed thieves looked neat and tidy, and with so many camps, they didn't look scattered at all.
Zhang Lun looked at the yellow-robed thieves below the city. They had set up their positions in the north city.
Many thieves in yellow ran along the moat to other city gates.
"Let me attack with archers and red cannons. Don't let the thieves in yellow get close to the city wall."
The army on the city used bows, arrows and cannons to attack the yellow-clad thieves.
When the thieves in yellow saw artillery fire at the top of the city, they did not fight back, but hid outside the range of the artillery.
Zhang Lun felt relieved when he saw that the range of the yellow-robed thieves' cannon was not as far as the range of the red barbarian cannon on the city wall.
With red cannons guarding the city, it would be difficult for the yellow-clad thieves to break through Rongcheng.
"Sir, something happened."
Master Ding Yunzhen ran to the city wall sweating profusely.
Zhang Lun said angrily: "What happened? At this moment, I want to see who dares to cause trouble.
I will execute him immediately in the name of confusing the morale of the army."
"Sir, Qiu Ba is causing trouble in the city. They took advantage of the yellow-clothed thieves' siege to demand back pay, and each person who defended the city was given a reward of 10 taels of silver.
The Qiu Ba people said that they have not been paid for more than a year, and if they are not paid again, they will dare to open the city to welcome the thieves in yellow."
Zhang Lun felt very troubled when he heard that the Qiu Ba people were making trouble.
Normally, these Qiu Ba dare to cause trouble.
He directly sent officials to arrest all Qiu Ba who caused trouble and put them in jail.
Now, unlike in the past, the thieves in yellow are outside Rongcheng, ready to attack the city at any time.
These Qiu Ba are of great use, and we dare not punish them now.
If the Qiuba people really rebelled, he would be the unlucky one.
"How much money is there in the treasury now? Is it enough to pay these Qiu Ba?"
During this period of time, Zhang Lun had been busy dealing with the thieves in yellow clothes and did not pay attention to the specific silver coins in the treasury.
Master Ding Yunzhen and Zhang Lun came to the attic next to the city wall.
When he saw no one around, he said in a low voice: "Sir, now that the treasury can run away with rats, what kind of money is there?
Qiu Ba's salary plus the required silver reward will require at least one million taels of silver."
"The autumn tax has just been collected and the tax has not yet been sent to the capital. I remember that there is still a lot of silver in the treasury."
"My lord, you have forgotten that these silver taels and the government's appropriations are all used for military expenses.
Many officials had their hands on it, and all of them were lost. We got more than 400,000 taels of silver.
Your Excellency wants us to contribute money to make up for the wages owed to those Qiu Ba."
Zhang Lun frowned and thought for a moment, then waved his hands and said, "That's not okay, those are all my money.
What's more, it's not just our family that takes the money. If others spit out all the money, it won't be a good thing.
Now is the time of crisis. If I force them to pay, how can I get officials to help me defend the city?
The richest person in Rongcheng is the King of Shu. I will go to the King of Shu and ask the Prince of Shu's palace to pay for the arrears of the Qiu Ba people."
As Zhang Lun was walking towards the Prince of Shu's palace, he was stopped by a group of Qiu Ba.
Guard Zhang Yunqing took the lead in stopping Sichuan Governor Zhang Lun.
He didn't dare to do this before, and he would only ask his immediate boss for payment.
With just one word from the governor, he could be thrown into prison and die inexplicably.
Now, unlike in the past, the thieves in yellow have already reached the city walls.
If they don't take advantage of this opportunity to raise wages, they don't know when they will get their wages.
For such an old man, he still relies on his wife's weaving to support him.
Some of the brothers under my command have been unable to untie the pot at home.
"Your Majesty the Governor, we have not been paid for more than a year.
Last time you called the soldiers under the command of General Hou Liangzhu and told them to respond to the attack of the thieves in yellow.
We are safe in Chengdu. When the royalties arrive, we will be paid.
Now that the thieves in yellow have invaded Rongcheng, we must work hard to defend the city. We will not defend the city unless we are paid."
Zhang Lun looked at this general and dared to stop him directly.
In the past, this person would have been beaten to at least half a disability.
But today is different from the past, now we have to win over these Qiu Ba.
Once they rebel and dedicate Chengdu to the thieves in yellow, it will be useless no matter how much money they have.
Zhang Lun said in a kind tone: "Don't worry, everyone, I can understand your difficulties.
All of everyone's wages will be paid out tonight at the latest.
Including the silver reward you want, we will give it to you in full at one time, so that you can defend Chengdu with peace of mind."
Zhang Yunqing heard that the governor had given a specific time.
He cupped his hands to the soldiers behind him who were still shouting for pay.
"Let's get out of the way and let the governor raise money for us."
The paying soldiers moved out of the way, and Zhang Lun continued walking towards the Prince of Shu's Mansion.
When he came to the Prince of Shu's Mansion, he saw a dozen large cars parked outside the Prince of Shu's Mansion.
The slaves of the Shu Prince's Mansion are constantly moving things from the Shu Prince's Mansion to the cart.
When Zhang Lun saw this situation, he knew that the King of Shu wanted to escape.
He had just received news that the thieves in yellow were moving very fast and the south gate was already surrounded.
He also asked him to give the order in advance, and the south city gate has been closed.
Chengdu is now completely surrounded by thieves in yellow clothes, and there is no place to run.
When the steward of the Prince of Shu's Mansion saw Zhang Lun arriving, he immediately went to the mansion to inform the King of Shu.
Soon Zhu Zhishu, the king of Shu, came out of the house to welcome him.
After seeing Zhang Lun, he smiled and said politely: "Rongcheng is in danger now, and I am preparing to go south.
If I am caught by the thief in yellow, Mr. Zhang, you will also be punished by His Majesty the Emperor.
Mr. Zhang lets us out of the city, which will be beneficial to everyone."
Zhang Lun heard Zhu Zhishu's blunt words, but he didn't even say anything for the occasion.
King Zhu Zhishu of Shu must have been too anxious and wanted to leave the city quickly.
"Your Highness, King of Shu, you can't leave the city now, the thieves in yellow have surrounded Rongcheng.
All gates in Rongcheng have been sealed."
When Zhu Zhishu heard that the thieves in yellow had surrounded Rongcheng, his expression became panicked.
"How could it be so fast? I started preparing as soon as I received the news."
He read a few words, his expression returned to normal, he looked at Zhang Lun and asked: "Governor Zhang, you must defend Rongcheng.
Hurry up to Yunnan, Guizhou and Huguang to ask for help. You must defend Chengdu.
General Qin Liangyu is not here, if she is in Sichuan, there is no need to worry about the safety of Chengdu."
Zhu Zhishu invited Zhang Lun into his residence for a detailed discussion.
They drank tea and talked about the thief in yellow.
Zhang Lun complained: "Xu Cheng, the commander-in-chief of Guizhou Province, is famous for his ambition and talent, but he still does not obey the orders of Governor Zhu Xieyuan.
He did not come to Rongcheng, but stayed in Zunyi Mansion.
He even asked me to pay for the departure fee and asked us to supplement the army's salary before he could bring the army to Chengdu."
When Zhu Zhishu heard the news, he was extremely angry. He clapped his hands on the table and said, "I must go to Emperor Chongzhen and get a copy of the Xu Famous Book.
He was afraid of the thieves in yellow, so he hesitated.
A few days ago I saw Yunnan Commander-in-Chief Mu Qishen leading troops to support us. With this army here, we should have no problem defending Chengdu."
Zhu Zhishu heard that Xu Chengming, the commander-in-chief of Guizhou, and Hou Liangzhu, the commander-in-chief of Sichuan, were trying to gain credit for annihilating She Chongming and An Bangyan's rebellion.
Both Sichuan officialdom and Guizhou officialdom were extremely unhappy.
In this turmoil, Zhang Lun was one of the main promoters.
Zhang Lun sighed and said: "General Hou and General Mu are guarding Deyang and Hanzhou respectively.
Now that the thieves in yellow have attacked the gates of Rongcheng, the fate of the two of them will not be good."
Zhang Lun was on the city wall just now and did not see Hou Liangzhu and Mu Qishen. They did not shout in advance to disturb the morale of the troops in Rongcheng.
These two people were loyal and loyal to the Ming Dynasty and did not surrender to the thieves in yellow.
There are only two fates for these two people, they are captured or die.
It was impossible for them to escape. They could only flee to Rongcheng. He would definitely get the news.
When Zhu Zhishu heard the news, he became even more worried.
"What should we do? The yellow-robed thieves are so powerful, can we in Chengdu really stop them?"
Zhang Lun saw the panicked look of Zhu Zhishu, the king of Shu.
He took advantage of this opportunity to reveal the purpose of coming to the palace.
"His Royal Highness, King of Shu, we still have 50,000 troops in the city. As long as they guard the city seriously, they will definitely be able to hold back the thieves in yellow.
The imperial court would not sit idly by and watch the fall of Rongcheng, an important town in the southeast.
Rongcheng fell into the hands of thieves in yellow, nearly half of Sichuan was lost, and only Chongqing was left alone.
But because the soldiers guarding the city of Rongcheng were owed wages by the imperial court, they now refused to go to the city wall because of their pay.
The government treasury had already been exhausted due to supporting the operations of Deyang and other cities and distributing arrears to soldiers.
We need His Highness the King of Shu to take the lead in making up some money for the soldiers."
When King Zhu Zhishu of Shu heard that he was asked to pay, his dissatisfied expression immediately showed.
"Our King of Shu is also very poor and cannot afford much silver.
I will give you one thousand taels of silver, and you can go to other gentry and ask them to donate some money.
Let’s all join together, don’t be too stingy at this time.”
Zhang Lun had already anticipated Zhu Zhishu's reaction, and he said with a smile:
"Your Highness, you took the lead in providing five hundred thousand taels of silver to set an example for everyone in the city.
You have already given out 500,000 yuan, but the gentry and merchants in Chengdu still have to give out 10,000 taels.
At that time, allocate a little bit to the military households who defend the city, and let them work hard to defend the city.
We will divide the remaining silver 70-70."
When Zhu Zhishu, the king of Shu, heard what Zhang Lun said, his eyes lit up.
"Governor Zhang, I can get 70% of the silver to do this."
"Your Highness, you don't need to contribute, three achievements are enough.
Seventy percent are us officials, and I still have to share the profits with others. Only by giving enough money can my subordinates work hard."
Zhu Zhishu was very unhappy when he heard that he could only get 30%, but he could only agree.
Zhang Lun reached an agreement with Zhu Zhishu, the king of Shu, and he sent his officials to move out five hundred thousand taels of silver from the Shu king's palace with great fanfare.
He personally wrote a letter inviting the gentry and merchants to come to the governor's Yamen to discuss the matter of stipends.
When these gentry and merchants saw that the King of Shu's palace had given them five hundred thousand taels of silver, they knew that they could not get out of the house without bleeding.
They all cried out that they were poor and just wanted to donate one or two thousand taels of silver.
Zhang Lun stared at them, sipping tea slowly, without replying.
These gentry and merchants were frightened and raised the donation amount to ten thousand taels.
Zhang Lun then saw off the guests and asked them to move the money to the governor's Yamen as soon as possible.
The gentry and merchants moved quickly, and boxes of silver were moved to the governor's office.
Ding Yunzhen distributed arrears and silver rewards to the Qiu Ba people who were demanding payment.
He saw boxes of silver left in the governor's Yamen courtyard, which was much more than the money used to pay Qiu Ba.
"My lord is still clever in making money. This is for the gentry and merchants to relieve the country's poverty. The censor can't impeach your lord."
"This is still small money, the big money is behind.
Send people to go door to door to count the young people in the city.
Every household must have a small opening for me to mount on the city wall and defend the city.
Those who do not want to pay must pay 5 taels of silver."
Ding Yunzhen exclaimed: "Your Majesty is so smart, how much money can the gentry and merchants pay?
With so many people in Chengdu, there must be wealthy households who are unwilling to defend the city.
If one household pays 5 taels of silver together, it is a huge sum."
Zhang Lun looked at Master Ding Yunzhen's exclamation and smiled without saying a word.
His move was quite light. If it weren't for the defense of Rongcheng, Qiu Ba and the others wouldn't have had to pay a penny.
"What about those Qiu Ba people?"
When Ding Yunzhen heard Zhang Lun's question, he immediately replied: "Sir, pay the arrears and rewards to Qiu Ba.
They all happily took up arms and climbed onto the city wall to prepare to defend the city.
With the money in place, Qiu Ba's morale is very high.
I think if you keep it for a few months, there won’t be any problem.”
Zhang Lun was very satisfied after hearing this. As long as he could hold on for three or four months, it would be enough for the court to mobilize all its troops.
Troops from Guangdong, Guangxi and Huguang will definitely enter Sichuan.
By then, the crisis in Chengdu will be lifted.
……………………
Wang Linjiang walked out of the governor's office. When he saw that no one was paying attention, he took a sip.
These cowards have no way to deal with thieves, but there are many ways to steal people's wealth.
As a salt merchant, ten thousand taels of silver was really not much for him.
The ten thousand taels of silver were used to defend the city, and he felt it was well spent.
But these ten thousand taels of silver basically went into the pockets of the officials.
There may not be a tael of silver that can be used to defend the city.
"Brother Wang, go to my Loft House to have a drink and talk about things."
Wang Linjiang saw Li Gong, the owner of Le Fu Building.
"Brother Li, then I will bother you."
They came to Le Fu Restaurant, which is one of the largest restaurants in Chengdu.
Li Gong found a room with good soundproofing and asked the shopkeeper to bring a bottle of good wine and a few dishes to go with the wine.
He dismissed all his servants.
"Brother Wang, you are a salt merchant and have connections with various places. Do you know whether it is easy to deal with the thieves in yellow?"
Li Gong knew that the Wang family had connections at Ziliujing, and they could get the salt from the well salt.
Wang Linjiang's caravan recently went to Hanzhong to sell salt.
"To be honest, the thieves in yellow are easy to deal with, but not easy to deal with.
They hated the gentry extremely and basically believed that all gentry should be tried.
In the places they occupied, the tenants that the gentry had killed in the Ming Dynasty a few years ago were severely sentenced according to the law, basically the death penalty.
But for merchants, the management of commodities such as grain is very strict, but the management of merchants is very loose.
The thieves in yellow also attach great importance to the law. As long as they do not violate the laws they have formulated, they will not be suddenly caught in jail.
In the Thieves in Yellow, merchants pay more taxes and can become nobles.
With noble status, local officials cannot easily manipulate merchants."
Wang Linjiang talked a lot with Li Gong about what happened to the thief in yellow.
He knew that Li Gong was not alone, but represented a circle of local merchants in Rongcheng, who came to inquire about the situation from him.
……………………
Ma Shengzhong and his son Ma Zhengkang were carrying out the new order issued by the governor's Yamen.
They are all subordinates at the lowest level of the Rongcheng government.
But for ordinary people, their status is also a sufficient deterrent.
He went to a house and knocked on their door.
I saw a young woman coming out.
"The governor's yamen requires that each household must send a young man to guard the city. If you don't send one, you will have to pay five taels of silver."
When the woman heard this, she burst into tears.
"My lord, please do me a favor. Our neighbors know the situation at home.
My husband Tian Jiapeng is ill and bedridden, so he relies on me to weave cloth and wash clothes to support our family.
The child is only eleven years old. How can a young man like him defend the city?
Our family can't even afford five hundred coins, so where can we find five taels of silver?"
After the woman finished speaking, she started sobbing.
Ma Shengzhong's eyes widened and he shouted: "Why can't you defend the city at the age of 11? There are many child soldiers in the army."
His son Ma Zhengkang tugged at the corner of his clothes and signaled Ma Shengzhong to stop with his eyes.
He stood up and said: "You go back to the house! Don't make any noise about this matter, just pretend that we have never been here."
When Ma Shengzhong and his son Ma Zhengkang walked to the next house, he looked at his son with puzzled eyes.
"Dad, I heard the adults in the yamen talking about the thieves in yellow.
They all felt that Rongcheng could not be defended and planned to change the gate.
We also need to make plans in advance. All the money we collected was taken away by the governor's office, but we suffered the infamy.
When the time comes to change the dynasty, if the public's anger is extremely high, we will not end well.
I heard that among the thieves in yellow, even those who were subordinates could become officials and take the imperial examination.
If they really break into Chengdu, it may not be a bad thing for us."
Ma Zhengkang persuaded his father with just a few words.
They collected cash, not as hard as usual, but took things slowly and observed changes in the situation.