Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 4165
The heavy infantry covered in iron armor advanced slowly at the Yanziji Ferry. The speed was not fast, but the Jiangnan private soldiers who were stopped sporadically were irresistible at all. Perhaps they braved the hail of bullets from the musketeers on both wings and rushed forward, throwing corpses all over the place. Slashing on the heavy infantry's iron armor can only burst out a string of sparks, but it can't hurt it at all. On the contrary, the sharp horizontal knife in the heavy infantry's hand can easily cut through the leather armor of Jiangnan private soldiers and inflict heavy damage.

This time, various families in the south of the Yangtze River gathered their private soldiers in Yanziji. For various reasons, there was no head of the family present. Some elders with high seniority and high prestige brought the children of the clan. The messy private soldiers sent out their children, one was lazy, and the other hoped to take the opportunity to practice, increase knowledge, cultivate ability, and accumulate qualifications.

The children of these aristocratic families usually read a lot of books, but when did they ever fight the enemy with real swords and guns, and when did they ever strategize and win thousands of miles?If the battle with the wind is better, just rely on the advantage of numbers to push all the way, but now they have suffered a blow, the private soldiers dozens of times the size of the navy were severely injured by several rounds of shelling, especially the morale of the army was shaken, and there was no way to restrain them The soldiers carried out large-scale resistance, and they could only flee in all directions, panicking...

And those elders who were drinking and enjoying themselves in the city suddenly heard the rumbling of the guns, and they were in a state of chaos. The news of shelling along the river and private soldiers' defeat and loss caused everyone to turn pale with shock.

Xiao Guan escaped from the rebellious army under the guard of his own servants. As soon as he entered the city gate, he saw these elders of various families gathered in the city gate and hesitated. It was so violent that the soldiers scattered and fled in all directions, please follow me out of the city to collect your own private soldiers and assemble at the foot of Zhongshan Mountain!"

These private soldiers come from various families in the south of the Yangtze River, and they are not affiliated with each other. They are usually fine, but now facing the artillery bombardment of the navy and the heavy infantry strangulation, they are fleeing like a swarm, and they don't listen to his orders at all. The elders of the clan went out of the city to call, and they must be able to gather some of them. When the time comes, no matter whether they counterattack or retreat, they will not completely collapse.

Otherwise, these private soldiers fled in disorder and hid in the villages and mountains. Not only would they never be able to organize again, but they would pose a great threat to the vicinity of Jinling, and countless people would be harmed.

This Jinling is the territory of the Xiao family...

However, these clan elders looked at each other in blank dismay and asked everyone to go out of the city and brave the artillery fire of the navy to summon private soldiers?
stop talking...

Is that something they can do?A son of a thousand pieces of gold can’t sit on the throne, and a gentleman can’t stand under a dangerous wall... The sage has long taught how to deal with oneself in a dangerous situation. Now that the crisis is imminent, one should avoid the danger, how can he go to the danger?

Isn't that a fool...

Zhang Wang mixed in the crowd, feeling very annoyed, he had already bid farewell to Xiao Xun before, but after leaving the Golden Bamboo Garden, he was invited by his friends, and then went to the city for a banquet, thinking that he would spend some time in Jinling City tonight, and come back tomorrow It's not too late to go home, but I don't want the navy to come so quickly, and the private army in the south of the Yangtze River has collapsed so completely.

Hearing Xiao Guan's words, Zhang Wang shouted: "The navy is coming fiercely, how can we fight against it? Now that the army outside the city has been defeated, we don't have to fight with our bodies. We should go home, recruit private soldiers again, and make a comeback. yes!"

Just kidding, what if my side goes out of the city to gather rout soldiers, and the navy comes up to chase them down?
Muskets don't have eyes, and a single lead bullet in a rebellious army can kill you. If you die here, it's thanks to you...

The elders of the various families at the city gate immediately echoed in unison.

"We are old and frail, how can we hold a knife and a gun? Let alone charge into battle! Absolutely not."

"You Xiao family promised us that the navy would not attack, but now you are being attacked by the navy before crossing the river. Your Xiao family must give an explanation for the losses you have suffered now!"

"That's right, your Xiao family is using us as a shield to block the onslaught of the navy for you! Now you actually prevent us from going home to recruit private soldiers, and want us to die here, do you have any conscience? ?”

"Everyone, at this moment, the north and east of the city are full of sailors. Let's hurry out of the city from the south gate and return home. We won't be able to get out any later!"

"Come on!"

A large group of people made a lot of noise and threw all the responsibility for the defeat to the Xiao family. Then, under the instigation of someone, they ignored Xiao Guan who was trembling with anger, and ran to the south gate in a swarm to defend the city. The soldiers didn't know what happened, and they didn't dare to provoke this group of elders from the big families in the south of the Yangtze River. Suddenly, the city gate was taken away, and these people rushed out of the city gate and fled separately.

Xiao Guan was so angry that he almost pouted, his lips trembled, and his eyes turned black.

Their Xiao family has almost emptied their family property, their manpower and material resources have been used to the extreme, and they have taken unprecedented risks, while the rest of the Jiangnan clan just followed the Xiao family, and even the patriarch did not show up, and they will naturally receive the goods when they are done. Huge benefits, if repeated, can also minimize losses to the greatest extent, and at this moment, you still throw all the responsibility to the Xiao family?

Simply shameless!
However, apart from being angry, the most important thing is to clean up the mess. At this moment, I don't care what will happen if my grandfather goes to intercept the navy, so he quickly gathers his mind and orders all the Xiao family's manpower in Jinling City to remove the houses that cannot be taken away. All silks, satins, gold and silver belongings were loaded into cars, and they went out of the city and headed south to Guanyin Mountain.

As long as they hide in the mountains, the navy will not be able to find them, and they will have to worry about it in the future. Otherwise, once the navy enters the city, they will charge the Xiao family with a crime of "conspiracy" to seize the property and confiscate the goods, and the loss will be too great. After all, as an important town in the south of the Yangtze River, the Xiao family has been in business for many years, and there are countless industries here. Less than half of Jinling City belongs to the Xiao family...

……

Huating Town.

Fang Xuanling was sitting in the office of the town office, sipping tea, and listening to Liu Rengui's report on the battle situation one by one. Beside him, Su Dingfang lowered his brows and listened quietly. Because Fang Xuanling was there, he didn't say a word. Opinion.

He is confident that he can lead the army to fight a war and be able to strategize and win thousands of miles. However, as soon as possible, the private soldiers in the south of the Yangtze River will cause violent turmoil in the entire south of the Yangtze River and directly affect the country. This is not because he can fully grasp and control the direction of the situation.

After all, he has self-knowledge, he is handsome, not handsome.

After listening to Liu Rengui's report, Fang Xuanling put down his teacup, and said slowly: "There is no need to worry too much about the reaction of the Jiangnan clan. The Tang Dynasty has established the country for more than [-] years, and the institutions at all levels of the imperial court have been perfected. Private soldiers, after this battle, lost almost nothing, and are no longer able to seize the whole of Jiangnan, let alone rule the river, at best, there are still a few people who don't care about life and death, jumping up and down, which is nothing to worry about."

Since Zhenguan, the connection between the prefectures and counties in the world and the central government has been gradually strengthened. Although the aristocratic families still control local affairs, making it difficult for the imperial court to issue government orders, the gradual completion of the national institutions has made the aristocratic families less and less room for maneuver.

It is okay to resist the imperial government's decrees and impose exorbitant taxes, but if there is a rebellion, few people will respond.

Even though the Guanlongmen faction has been entrenched in Guanzhong for more than a hundred years, and every class in the upper and lower levels is in control, in the end Changsun Wuji is just playing the slogan of "deposing the prince" instead of overthrowing the Tang Dynasty and establishing himself as emperor.

If Changsun Wuji really wanted to be emperor, not to mention that others would not follow him, even the Guanlong families around him would not do it...

When the dynasty was at its peak, the deterrent to the local area was naturally strong.

Afterwards, Fang Xuanling said to Su Dingfang: "In the name of Huating Town Ship Secretary, I sent a note to all the Jiangnan clans, saying that His Majesty passed away, and the whole country was in mourning. Temporarily suspended, all merchant ships, cargo farms, and real estate that are still overseas are sealed up by the Navy on the spot, and trading and transfer are not allowed, and the date of recovery will be notified later.”

Su Dingfang was stunned for a moment, and then admired: "Mr. Fang is taking the bottom line, and I will send someone to do it right away."

The huge profits of the sea trade have long been the main source of wealth for the Jiangnan clan, and each family has therefore invested heavily in it. They not only spent huge sums of money to buy seagoing ships from the Jiangnan Shipyard, but also leased warehouses and purchased land in Huating Town and overseas ports. , Build warehouses, and hoard goods to maximize profits.

And the navy sealed up these wealth, not only cut off the source of wealth of the Jiangnan clan, but also seized its huge property. Who would dare to sing against the navy?

As for the "day of recovery", it naturally depends on the performance of the Jiangnan clan.

If the performance is not good, maybe the navy will simply confiscate all of them, and will not return a penny to the Jiangnan clan...

Fang Xuanling frowned and said: "This is just a warning, but we can't really confiscate all these properties. This will only break the rules of the Shipbuilding Department, and even worse the reputation of the Navy. Breaking the rules is very simple, but if you want to immediately Its rules are as difficult as reaching the sky."

And sometimes the steel knife in the sheath can deter all directions and shock people, making them dare not act rashly, but when the steel knife falls, all deterrence no longer exists, and one can only face the most erosive consequences.

Su Dingfang nodded heavily: "Master Fang, don't worry, the general will restrain the sailors from top to bottom, and won't act recklessly."

Fang Xuanling gave some instructions, and said to Liu Ren: "Quickly lead the fleet northward along the canal to Guanzhong, station troops near Tongguan, join forces with the East Palace army in Guanzhong, and attack from both inside and outside, so as to deter the King of Jin and his troops. Go to war on your own."

"Here!"

Liu Rengui was very excited when his wish was fulfilled, but he still secretly glanced at Su Dingfang.

Fang Xuanling held the teapot and poured tea for the two of them. The two of them hurriedly bowed their bodies to express their thanks, even saying that they did not dare. , You alone are enough. The talent of regularity is more prominent than government affairs. If you are confined to the navy, it is inevitable that you will be overqualified...so let him have the opportunity to go north to Guanzhong."

"Regular" is Liu Rengui's word...

Liu Rengui was shocked and wanted to thank Fang Xuanling, but his first reaction was to subconsciously look at Su Dingfang.

(End of this chapter)