weaving

Chapter 1558 Can this beast be subdued?
"Is what you said... true?" Jining Prefect Han Guangcang's face showed not only shock but also a hint of suspicion.

When the garrison commander Chang Guangjun heard him ask this question, he replied firmly, "It's true, it's absolutely true, no doubt about it. My subordinate Wang Xiaoliu saw it with his own eyes."

"From that distance, could you see it clearly?" Han Guangcang pressed on.

"Really, this kid is known for his sharp eyes, quick legs, and cleverness. Otherwise, why would we send him out of the city to scout?"

Han Guangcang fell silent. He turned his gaze to Yang Yuji, the Assistant Commissioner of Jining Circuit, who was sitting to the side, and said softly, "Assistant Commissioner Yang, what do you think of this matter?"

Yang Yuji stroked his beard and stared at Chang Guangjun, asking, "Who knows about this?"

Chang Guangjun immediately replied, "Besides the three of us, only Wang Xiaoliu knows about this."

“Alright.” Yang Yuji immediately said, “Go back right away, reward Wang Xiaoliu with one tael of silver, and warn him not to tell anyone about this…”

His face contorted in a grimace as he continued, "...If this gets out, watch out, his head might be chopped off."

"Yes."

"Wait a moment."

Chang Guangjun lifted his leg and walked towards the door, but Yang Yuji stopped him when he reached the door: "Commander Chang, this matter must be kept to yourself and not told to outsiders. Once it is leaked, the consequences... you know."

"Yes, I, Chang, will never utter a single word about it."

…………

At this moment, only Prefect Han Guangcang and Assistant Commissioner Yang Yuji remained in the side hall.

"Brother Yang, do you think what Wang Xiaoliu said is credible?"

"Such an important matter, I don't think Wang Xiaoliu would dare to speak recklessly. Moreover, he is so methodical and organized. How could a mere soldier like him come up with such a thing?"

"Brother Yang, do you still think Luo Rucai can be trusted?"

“My lord, although the enemy has retreated, Luo Rucai’s troops are still everywhere in and around Jining. Even if we don’t trust him, what can we do?”

Han Guangcang shook his head and said, "I think Luo Rucai is really willing to surrender this time. Didn't you see General Yang Shengzu, whom he sent? He was really serious about defending the city."

"His determination to defend the city is genuine, but whether his decision to pacify the city was truly his own is hard to say."

Yang Yuji glanced at the door and then lowered his voice to continue, "If Luo Rucai really has rebellious intentions, Jining is currently powerless to resist, so it's best not to make this public."

"Brother Yang, in your opinion, why would the enemy do such a thing? Is it simply to sow discord between us and Luo Rucai?"

"Hmph. What good intentions could the Tartars possibly have?"

Yang Yuji cursed first, then continued, “The barbarian bandits have repeatedly invaded our Great Ming, destroyed our city walls, abducted our people, and robbed our wealth. How are their actions any different from those of the roving bandits?”

In his eyes, he probably already regarded the bandits as one of the same kind, and that they, one inside and one outside, joined forces to wreak havoc on our Great Ming.

Now they must know that the one guarding this city is Luo Rucai, who was recently pacified. Sending gifts to Luo Rucai, besides being a gesture of goodwill, must also be an attempt to incite him to rebel again!

"Oh dear! What are we going to do? We just drove away the bandits, what if another roving bandit comes along!"

Yang Yuji's expression also seemed somewhat grave: "This... let's just hope it doesn't happen." "Shouldn't we do something?"

Yang Yuji was clearly much more clear-headed than Han Guangcang. He said calmly, "What preparations can we make? With our small force in Jining, we probably can't even defeat Yang Shengzu's thousand-odd men. Besides, there are four or five thousand cavalrymen in the training hall outside the east city!"

"Well... we can only pray for God's blessing."

"It's not that God is protecting Luo Rucai from rebelling again, but rather that God is protecting the Earl of Yongning, hoping that he can subdue this terrifying beast, Luo Rucai!"

…………

On December 13, a group of more than 2,000 bandits arrived in Feng County. After setting up camp, they immediately began to cut down the surrounding trees to make siege ladders.

The next morning, they suddenly launched a fierce attack on the southwest and northwest of Feng County. In less than two hours, Feng County fell. The county magistrate, Liu Guangxian, was killed, and the student, Wang Daoke, died defending the east gate.

On the same day, the 13th, another group of bandits also entered Shanxian County.

Upon receiving the initial warning of the enemy's whereabouts, Zhang Duo and Jiang Hongtong, officials and gentry of Shanxian County, were the first to propose donating money to reward the soldiers. Liu Bingxiu, the former Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies, Zhao Zhaoqi, a Juren (successful candidate in the imperial examination), Liu Liangheng, the former Assistant Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies, Zhu Tingbing, a student, Xiu Chendu, and Zhang Rong, a Gongshi (tribute student), actively responded and donated generously.

When the enemy troops reached the walls of Shanxian, Zhang Yongxi, the chief of the finance department and the supervising officer, led Ma Yuelong, Hou Fangren, Li Guoan and other generals to fight desperately. Seeing that Shanxian was well-defended, the enemy felt there was no opportunity to take advantage of the situation and withdrew their troops the next day.

On the 14th, a group of bandits advanced into Tancheng County.

The next day, they captured Tancheng, and the county magistrate Jin Sanpin, the county assistant Zhu Mingchen, the clerk Li Jiashi, the Confucian instructor Ma Yuncong, and other officials were all killed in various places within the city.

On the same day, the 14th, traces of bandit spies were also found in the Maoshishan area of ​​Feixian County.

…………

On the fifth day of the twelfth month, a group of several hundred Jurchen riders entered Shouguang County and began to plunder the villages and fortresses under the county's jurisdiction.

On the seventh day, because there was no official in Le'an County, after hearing the warning of the enemy's invasion, no one was able to take charge. The enemy easily broke into the city. The county instructor Guo Bacui fought to the death, and the instructor Yue Liujie was killed. Among the local gentry killed were Li Fengzhu, the former magistrate of Leting County, and Zhang Suohao, a scholar who had passed the imperial examination.

On the ninth day, several thousand Jurchen troops rushed to Weixian and set up camp in seven locations.

On the tenth day, at the hour of Chen (7-9 AM), the Jurchens opened the city gates to attack Weixian. Fortunately, the magistrate, Zhou Liangong, was prepared and recruited brave warriors from the city to defend it. With a barrage of cannon fire, the Jurchens were unable to capture the city.

On the eleventh day, at the hour of Chen (7-9 AM), several hundred more enemy cavalrymen rushed into the west gate of the county town, but were repelled by cannons from the city walls.

However, the Jurchens did not intend to attack Xiguan. Instead, they hid their bandits in an empty house in the northeast corner of the city. Taking advantage of the chaos, they used the cattle and horse wall as a cover. Since the cannons could not bombard them, they began to dig up the city wall.

In less than half a day, the Jurchens dug six large holes in the city wall, each large enough to hide dozens of people. The Jurchens continued to dig and burrow under cover of night.

On the 12th, Magistrate Zhou Liangong, fearing that the Jurchens would breach the city wall and attack the city, offered a large reward to recruit more than 200 people, including servants, yamen runners, and commoners, and put his brother-in-law, the student Min Yanlu, in charge. They killed dozens of Jurchens along the cattle and horse wall.

But the Jurchens returned and continued to dig at the city.

On the thirteenth day, at dawn, the northeast corner of the city wall of Weixian was finally breached by the Jurchens, creating a gap more than ten zhang wide. The Jurchens shouted like thunder and flew arrows like locusts, continuously pouring into the city through the gap.

County Magistrate Zhou Liangong, along with officials such as Clerk Wang Ruji, encouraged soldiers, civilians, and yamen runners to calmly face the enemy. Guns, clubs, arrows, stones, firearms, and cannons were all fired at once, killing and wounding many enemy soldiers.

With the combined efforts of officials, gentry, soldiers, and civilians, they finally drove back the enemy bandits who had rushed in through the breach. Zhou Liangong dared not rest for a moment. He led the soldiers and civilians in the city to repair the city wall under the cover of night and plug the breach before dawn.

Seeing that Weixian was difficult to attack, the enemy troops retreated towards Shouguang County...