1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 3875

Compared to Jiujiang City, which is also built by the water, the scale of Nankang Prefecture's defenses is much smaller, perhaps because the economic level here is significantly lower than that of Jiujiang.

The entire city was a thousand zhang in circumference and had five city gates. The original intention of choosing this location to build the city was to guard the vital waterway at the mouth of Poyang Lake. However, in the face of the powerful Han fleet, this defensive function was almost negligible.

Moreover, according to the reconnaissance conducted by the Haihan Army and the information provided by the people who fled from Nankang Prefecture to Jiujiang, the garrison here numbers less than two thousand men. If Nanchang does not send additional reinforcements and the garrison does not send troops outside the city to provide support, then it will be difficult to defend this prefectural city with only this small force holed up inside.

The Haihan army methodically set up positions outside the city, unloading heavy siege cannons from the ships onto the shore while using tin megaphones to persuade the city's defenders to surrender. At the same time, several cavalry units advanced to the city's perimeter to check for any ambushes outside the city, and then set up roadblocks to cut off the official roads leading to the nearby mountains.

However, based on past experience, in situations like this where the defenders stubbornly hold their positions and refuse to come out, the defenders generally won't admit defeat until they're completely wiped out. Only when shells hit them will they realize how vast the difference in strength between the two sides is.

Therefore, after completing the procedures, Shi Chengwu did not waste any more time persuading the city to surrender, and decisively ordered a bombardment of the city.

The target had been determined when the position was set up. At this moment, the eight heavy siege cannons opened fire in succession. With the rumble of the cannons, several shells blasted the city gate, which was only a hundred feet away from the position, along with the barricades placed inside and outside the city gate, to smithereens in the blink of an eye.

This method of attack was clearly something the defending troops had never seen before, and amidst the rising smoke and dust, there was a cacophony of howls and chaos.

The second round of bombardment was aimed at the city gate tower, which was quickly destroyed, along with the dozens of archers stationed there, turning them into a pile of ruins.

Taking advantage of the chaos among the city's defenders, the infantry outside the city quickly advanced towards the city gate, while the archers on the positions suppressed the defenders on the city walls with fire, preventing them from peeking out to intercept the infantry outside the city.

The city's defenders probably never imagined that the defensive line they had spent several days building would collapse in an instant, far short of the time they had hoped for.

The pre-battle strategy of holding out and waiting for reinforcements had become a joke in the face of the powerful firepower of the Haihan Army. Even if reinforcements had been on their way, let alone if Nanchang hadn't sent any, they wouldn't have lasted that long.

When the first troop of infantry stormed into the city from the ruins of the city gate, the defenders' line of defense had already collapsed, and all that remained was to gradually clear out the area inside the city.

Realizing this, the defending troops quickly began to surrender en masse, but they did so too late. Even if they surrendered to save their lives, they would find it difficult to escape post-war accountability. Although their crimes did not warrant death, most of them would likely be sentenced to exile three thousand miles away, sent to Liaodong or overseas to serve as laborers for their participation in the war.

The civil and military officials in the city were also captured. Apart from a few military officers who resisted and were killed on the spot, a total of seventeen officials of rank were captured, including the prefect, assistant prefect, sub-prefect, and judge, as well as a deputy commander and a third-rank councilor who came from Nanchang to supervise the battle.

Hundreds of soldiers took advantage of the chaos to open another city gate and escape out of the city, but the Haihan cavalry was waiting outside the city, and only a few were able to evade capture and escape into Mount Lu.

After a preliminary count, the number of captured armed personnel inside the city was approximately 1,200, which roughly matched the intelligence previously gathered about the garrison. During the siege, the Haihan army also suffered single-digit casualties, but this was still within Shi Chengwu's acceptable range and would not affect the subsequent battle plan.

After entering the city, Shi Chengwu immediately interrogated the captured prefect, making him write a letter of surrender and affix his official seal so that the county governments within his jurisdiction could be notified and the remaining areas of Nankang Prefecture could surrender as soon as possible.

The city of Nanchang, nearly 200 miles away, only received news of the fall of Nankang Prefecture three days after the incident.

The local area fell without reinforcements, which was expected. However, even though Nankang Prefecture was prepared to resist to the end, it could not even last a day in the face of the Haihan Army's offensive, which had a great impact on all sectors of Nanchang.

Given the vast disparity in military strength between the two sides, is there really any point in fighting to the death? Even if the Haihan Army could be held back in Nanchang, how much useful time could it buy for the Ming Dynasty?
Zhao Mingyu, the Left Provincial Governor of Jiangxi, put down the battle reports from the front lines and picked up the secret letter that Yue Shizong had recently entrusted to someone to deliver to Nanchang.

Yue Shizong's letter was similar to his previous letters, advising Zhao Mingyu to see the general trend of the world and not to be blindly loyal to the Ming Dynasty, but to make choices that would benefit the common people.

"The Haihan Army is well-equipped and powerful. This all-out attack on Jiangxi is like a lion hunting a rabbit, and the defending army has no chance of winning. It would be unwise for my teacher to become a prisoner or even die for his country. I am willing to vouch for him and secure a place for him in the new dynasty and strive for a peaceful transition for the people of Jiangxi."

Zhao Mingyu wasn't entirely sure if Yue Shizong's guarantee was credible, but Lu Congshan, the prefect of Jiujiang who was also guaranteed by Yue Shizong, seemed to have already secured an official position in Haihan's territory.

Zhao Mingyu had lost his ambition for officialdom. He was already nearing the age of retirement, so whether or not he changed his allegiance to someone else wouldn't make much difference to his career.

What he cares about more now is the reputation he leaves behind.

While resisting to the end may earn one a reputation for loyalty and heroism, will the millions of ordinary people who will be drawn into the war also be grateful for his decision?

What kind of evaluation would the emperor and cabinet ministers in the capital give him? Would he be credited for defending the territory? No, it's more likely that they would pin the blame for the fall of Jiangxi on him and accuse him of failing to defend the country effectively.

After all, he was the Left Provincial Governor of Jiangxi, the chief official in charge of defending this region. If Jiangxi were lost, who would bear the responsibility?

Three days have passed since the fall of Nankang Prefecture. If nothing unexpected happens, the Haihan Army is likely already on its way south to attack Nanchang Prefecture.

Meanwhile, the southern prefectures of Nan'an and Jianchang were also under heavy attack from the Haihan army. Judging from the battle reports sent back to Nanchang, their situation seemed to be similar to that of Nankang Prefecture, and it was only a matter of time before they fell.

Zhao Mingyu now has only three options: First, follow Yue Shizong's advice and use his influence to persuade the Jiangxi government to surrender to Haihan; second, order all prefectures to continue resisting until all available troops in Jiangxi are exhausted, and ultimately perish with Nanchang; third, prepare to escape, and once Haihan's army is at the city gates, make a clean getaway, abandon the city, and flee west into the Huguang region.