weaving

When Zhou Liangong, the magistrate of Weixian County, saw this situation, he thought that the Jurchens were just using the same old trick, trying to break through the city wall and break into the city, or to dig the city wall down.

To prevent this from happening, Zhou Liangong ordered the soldiers and civilians guarding the city to move more than seventy large square timbers and stack them inside the city wall to build another double city.

Meanwhile, Zhou Liangong also instructed everyone to dig ditches inside the city wall, and to place thatch, sulfur, saltpeter and other materials in the ditches in advance, so that they could be set on fire and smoked out after the Jurchens dug through the city wall.

However, this time the Jurchens did not intend to dig through or collapse the city wall. They only dug about halfway into the city wall before stopping, and buried the gunpowder they had seized in Changyi City inside the cave.

The next day, after breakfast, the Jurchens mobilized more than 5,000 troops to launch a fierce attack on the North Gate, South Gate, and West Gate of Weixian. Just as the three-sided siege was in full swing, the Jurchens suddenly ignited the gunpowder buried in the cave in the North Gate city wall...

A deafening roar, like hundreds of cannons firing simultaneously!

The sound was deafening, like thunder; smoke and dust rose like clouds, it was as if the earth had suddenly shaken, as if a massive earthquake had struck.
The soldiers and civilians guarding the city wall of Weixian North Gate were shaken so badly by the sudden and massive tremor that they could not even stand up. They all fell down on the city wall, their ears ringing and unable to hear any other sounds. They were all disoriented, and many of them fainted from the shock. Some even had beads of blood flowing from their ears.

In an instant, a section of the city wall in the Beiguan area of ​​Weixian collapsed.

The Jurchens immediately swarmed in and rushed into the city, but they did not expect that Zhou Liangong was prepared and a new city wall appeared out of nowhere in the gap.

Although it was not as wide and sturdy as the outer city wall, it was still able to effectively prevent the Jurchens from rushing into the city. Although the Jurchens had broken through the city wall, they were stopped in place by this new city and could not advance any further.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Zhou Liangong, the magistrate of Weixian County, boosted morale. The soldiers and civilians in the city fought desperately, with rolling logs and stones constantly falling down. Fire pots instantly ignited the weeds on the ground, and even more weapons were thrown out.

The Jurchens who rushed into Weixian City through the breach suffered more than half their casualties and were forced to retreat.

Seeing that Weixian was difficult to attack, someone brought up Abatai's instructions: "When encountering cities that are difficult to attack, we should not attack them head-on, so as not to needlessly lose the warriors of each banner. We should first take down the easier cities, and leave the difficult ones for later to attack together."

Although Mele'ezhen Babuhai was still furious, he dared not openly disobey the orders of General Abatai and could only lead the Jurchens away in disgrace.

…………

On December 15th, Zhang Cheng, the Earl of Yongning and commander of the Western Route Army, received a document from the Ministry of War, asking him to explain the circumstances surrounding the fall of Yanzhou and the capture of the Prince of Lu.

Zhang Cheng wasn't particularly concerned about the fact that the Prince of Lu had fallen into the hands of the enemy.

As it stands, only Prince Zhu Gongxiao of Kaifeng has caught Zhang Cheng's eye. As for the other princes and dukes, there isn't a single one who can earn Zhang Cheng's respect.

Moreover, the greatest responsibility for the fall of Lu lies with the King of Lu himself, and even if the second responsibility lies with Prince Yongji of Lu, it should not fall on Earl Zhang Cheng of Yongning.

After all, the Earl of Yongning had already sent reinforcements to protect Yanzhou, and Luo Rucai's more than 10,000 troops were stationed in Jining Prefecture, so it would only take a day to reach Yanzhou.

The main reason Yanzhou fell was because Prince Lu, Zhu Yi, did not send Luo Rucai's troops to its rescue; he only wanted local Shandong troops to come to Yanzhou's aid. Therefore, the person most responsible was naturally Prince Lu himself.

As for Prince Yongji of Lu, he was also responsible for failing to send troops to reinforce Yanzhou in time, which led to Prince Lu being trapped by the Jurchens!
“My lord, the court doesn’t seem to be taking this very seriously,” Hu Yiwen said. Zhang Cheng smiled and said, “The Tartars are still rampaging in Shandong. What can the court do to us?”

Liu Chengzhu then said, "Although we have some reasons for the crime of 'losing our fiefdom,' we are ultimately to blame, and the court will surely punish us without any consequences."

“Punishment is not terrible,” Zhang Cheng said calmly.

He gazed into the distance and continued, “I am not yet thirty years old, yet I have already been granted the title of Earl. This is unprecedented in the two hundred years of our Great Ming Dynasty. It is inevitable that I will be envied by others. Although they dare not do anything openly, we cannot know what kind of unscrupulous tricks they will use in private.”

Zhang Cheng turned to look at Hu Yiwen and Liu Chengzhu, and said, "If I make any mistakes in commanding the army to defend against the enemy, the court and the emperor can use this as an excuse to punish me. Even if they strip me of my position as commander and order me to atone for my sins, wouldn't that be exactly what I want?"

"Lord, why do you sully your own reputation like this?" Liu Chengzhu was very puzzled by Zhang Cheng's thoughts.

Zhang Cheng smiled. He seemed to be in a good mood today and patiently said, "Today I am in charge of the western route army to defend the emperor. Naturally, I must give the slave traitors a heavy blow, so that they will know that my Great Ming is not something they can come to whenever they want."

But if I do that, the imperial court will have to bestow rewards upon me.

"Think about it," I said. "Not long ago, my Yongyi Army defeated the rebel army of thirty to forty thousand men in Henan Province. At that time, the Emperor intended to bestow upon me the title of Marquis, but fortunately, several cabinet ministers intervened, and it did not come to pass."

"Lord, being granted a marquisate is such an honor. How could you think that not being granted a marquisate is a good thing?" Liu Chengzhu asked again.

"If one is granted a title for defeating the rebel leader in Henan Province, then how should one be rewarded for defending the country from the enemy today?" Zhang Cheng's voice was noticeably cold.

Hu Yiwen was much smarter than Liu Chengzhu. He smiled knowingly and said, "Your Excellency is afraid that when the court has no more titles to bestow, you will be caught in a dilemma, which will ultimately be detrimental to yourself."

Zhang Cheng nodded in agreement.

Hu Yiwen then said, "But... Lord, if you want to tarnish your reputation, there are plenty of ways. Why would you risk such a grave mistake as being implicated in a vassal state?"

"Hum hum……"

Zhang Cheng did not answer Hu Yiwen, but instead let out a sinister smile.

"Gongqiao, what do you think of the princes of our Great Ming Dynasty?"

"Ah." Hu Yiwen was completely taken aback when Yongning Earl asked him such a question.

“The various vassal states are neither able to defend the country nor govern it, yet they enjoy enormous wealth from all over the world. They are all indulging in extravagance and pleasure, and are indifferent to the suffering of the people. Take the Fu vassal state in Luoyang and the Lu vassal state in Yanzhou as examples. If they were not muddleheaded and ignorant, how could they have lost their lives?”
To support the various regional fiefdoms, the imperial court would likely have to spend 30% of its annual tax revenue.

"This is why I'm willing to risk the blame for the vassal state's failure." Zhang Cheng made no attempt to hide his true intentions from Hu and Liu, stating frankly, "Since I cannot eliminate these parasites, I have no choice but to rely on bandits and slave thieves." (End of Chapter)