Anti Qing

Chapter 79
After careful planning and investigation of the surrounding area, it is absolutely impossible for an enemy army of more than [-] people to suddenly appear, Li Zijing did not hesitate any longer, and directly issued the order to attack the city from all fronts.

Stationed five miles west of Dengzhou City, the former battalion in the south of the turbulent water moves like the wind.

Under the leadership of Wu Zhaosheng and Hao Yaoqi, the two teams moved forward slowly, and the entire south bank of the Turbulent Water was full of black-clothed troops who were slowly moving forward with their flags and drums silent.

The soldiers of the front battalion, dressed in black arrow jackets and armed with knives and guns, surrounded the entire town without the knowledge of the officials, gentry and landlords in the city.

Li Zijing rode his horse and stood on a high slope in the south of the city, surrounded by more than a hundred fine cavalry who were used as guards and mobile teams.

These people have the most sophisticated equipment in the entire front battalion, and every one of them is a veteran who kills without blinking an eye, and even fears ghosts.

Once put on the battlefield, their strength is enough to determine the success or failure of a war.

In normal times, these fine cavalry who are extremely loyal to the general are the soul of the entire army and the link connecting all soldiers.

In the binoculars, Dengzhou City was empty. Li Zijing looked around the city walls, but he didn't find a single patrolling soldier.

It seems that the information is correct. After plundering Dengzhou last year, Wang Guangen returned to Yunyang with his belongings.

In Li Zijing's eyes, the current Dengzhou City is like a virgin who has taken off his clothes. As long as he gives an order, he will change hands instantly.

The officials and gentry in the city may not know this nightmare fact, the Dashun Army has returned after retreating.

And this time, Li Zijing didn't plan to leave again, he wanted to let the flag of Dashun fly here forever.

Let these officials, gentry and landlords tremble with fear when they see this flag!

Li Zijing observed for a while, put down the binoculars, slowly raised his hand, and then clenched into a fist.

"drive!"

Behind him, the four fine riders shouted loudly and galloped out in different directions. Smoke and dust billowed under the hooves of the horses.

"Woooooo-"

A few miles away, four consecutive trumpets sounded one after another, from far to near.

Then came the sound of footsteps shaking the sky.

One vertical and two horizontal, many alleys are clustered.

These eight characters are a true portrayal of the layout of Dengzhou City.

The layout of Dengzhou City is a typical plain town layout in the Ming Dynasty. The whole city is in the shape of a grid with four gates as the axis.

The two main roads in the city are the roads connecting the city gate, opposite to the city gate, forming four areas in the shape of a square.

In each area, there are criss-cross streets and alleys.

In the lobby of the state government, the streets are full of hungry refugees, all in ragged clothes, in groups of twos and threes, most of them are hungry and emaciated.

Two officials dressed in the uniforms of the Chongzhen period, holding black killing sticks, were standing at the door with their shoulders crossed.

The 16th year of Chongzhen was the closest to peace for the people of Dengzhou City.

In that year, Li Zicheng proclaimed Xinshun King in Xiangyang, established the country, swept Jingxiang, and went to Henan. Dengzhou was under the jurisdiction of Yuan Zongdi Youying.

Eat his mother, wear his mother, open the gate to welcome King Chuang, and when King Chuang comes, he does not pay food.

This widely sung ballad, at least in Dengzhou in the 16th year of Chongzhen, really did it.

Yuan Zongdi's right battalion attacked the landlords in Dengzhou City, killing and arresting the former Ming officials and gentry.

The fields are divided equally, the seeds are distributed, and the cattle are shared. It is very lively.

At that time, Dengzhou returned home in exile, with a hope of peace.

But all of this came to an abrupt end with the defeat of Dashun in Shanhaiguan in the 17th year of Chongzhen, and reversed.

With the successive defeats in the Jifu area, Dashun had to transfer the main force in the Central Plains to the north one after another, so that Dengzhou's defenses were empty.

The officials and gentry in Dengzhou were released from prison by the landlord, and the escaped officials of the former Ming Dynasty also returned one after another under the call of the landlord.

Under the contact of the officials and gentry, the Yunyangming army went north to attack Dengzhou. The Dashun army stationed in Dengzhou suffered a surprise attack and was trapped internally and externally. All of them died in the war.

Dengzhou thus once again became a world ruled by landlords and officials.

This is just a microcosm. During the two months when Li Zijing fled, during the bloody battle with the Qing army in Tongguan, this scene happened all the time everywhere.

The officials and landlords hated Dashun's army deeply, and they had been dormant for a long time. When they heard the news of Shanhaiguan's defeat, they immediately moved.

Shandong, Henan, Jingxiang.
The garrison troops in various places in Dashun suffered heavy losses, thousands of civil and military officials were killed, and countless people died, and the common people became the most vulnerable group again.

Outside the state government office, hunger is everywhere, and in the lobby, the smell of wine and meat is tangy.

"Come!"

"Drink this cup full!"

Today is really a good day for Xu Zhenshi, governor of Dengzhou.

Originally, he was just an ordinary sixth-grade colleague in the lobby of the state government, and he had no hope of being promoted in this life.

But who would have imagined that there would be great changes in the sky, during the Chongzhen period, there were continuous civil upheavals in all directions, and the original Zhizhou, as the key target of the Dashun Army, beheaded after the Dashun Army entered the city to show the public.

Xu Zhenshi, who was only a co-prescient, was put in prison, awaiting sentencing.

Unexpectedly, the peasant army came and went quickly. Within two years, Li Zicheng was defeated at Shanhaiguan, and Dorgon joined hands with Wu Sangui to enter the pass.

The general trend of the world is changing again and again.

The Dashun army retreated one after another, and their troops were mobilized. The city was almost empty, and they had no intention of taking care of them, the prisoners in the prison.

Xu Zhenshi saved his life, and it was a blessing in disguise. He was recommended as the new magistrate by the local gentry and landlords in conjunction with the Yunyang Ming Army.

And today is the day he took office for one full month.

What makes Xu Zhenshi happy is not the worthless magistrate, but the political status that this official position brings to him.

Zhizhou is nothing in troubled times, a random warlord with troops can put him to death, but politically, he is the governor of a state.

What Xu Zhenshi is happy about is that he is about to win a place in the Qing Dynasty as the governor of a state.

"I would like to congratulate Xu Zhizhou for taking office for more than a month, the weather in the city is one of the new ones!"

An old man in a yellow silk robe and a big white beard stood up, raised his wine glass and smiled.

Xu Zhenshi got up quickly, with a smile on his face like a blooming chrysanthemum.

"Mr. Xu, why does his family speak different languages?"

"The Xu family has a lot of power in Nanyang. Now that the Shun Kou have lost in a row, time is running out. They are grasshoppers after autumn, and they won't be able to jump for a few days."

"Hong Guangyuan stands in Jinling, but if he doesn't save the near thirsty, Gao Doushu can't take care of himself in Yunyang. You and I still need it, so we must find our own way."

"If we talk about surrendering to the Qing Dynasty in the future, I will ask Mr. Xu to mediate in many ways."

Xu Zhenshi picked up the wine glass and drank it down in one gulp. While speaking, he was also observing the movement of the old man in front of him from the corner of his eyes.

Now that the Ming army has retreated to Yunyang, and the Shun Kou have retreated into Guanzhong, the Xu family is now the local emperor of Dengzhou.

As the patriarch of the clan, Xu Hongli is naturally a fine individual, and Xu Zhenshi's two actions didn't catch his eyes.

But clear it up.
As the largest landlord in Dengzhou and one of the best landlords in Nanyang Mansion, Xu Hongli naturally would not refuse.

He didn't have any other choice, the situation was the same as what Xu Zhenshi said just now.

The Shun bandits and the landlords were at odds, and once they came back they had to distribute their fields to the poor people. The Ming army was far away in the south of the Yangtze River, and it was difficult for Yunyang Gaodoushu to protect himself, so how could he divide his troops to help defend Dengzhou.

In order to continue the clan, the century-old foundation will not be taken away by these poor people. It is necessary to find a new backer in this troubled world.

Undoubtedly, Duduo, who was consolidating the army in Huaiqing, was the first choice of bureaucrats like Xu Shi and Xu Zhenshi in Dengzhou who wanted to continue to be officials.

Xu Hongli looked at the letter on the table, and was about to say something, when a yamen servant outside the door suddenly ran back with a pissed off.

"What's the matter, I lost my sense of proportion in front of Zhizhou."

Xu Hongli looked sideways slightly, and dissatisfaction appeared in his bright eyes.

However, the yamen servant, who was cautious in the past, didn't care about any etiquette, and pointed behind him with a pale face.

"It's not good, two masters!"

"The rogues, the rogues are fighting back again. The little one just went to the city to relieve himself, and accidentally saw the smoke and dust billowing outside the city, and the banners are overwhelming, let alone tens of thousands of horses!"

Xu Hongli and Xu Zhenshi were stunned for a moment, even the table was almost overturned.

"You, what did you say!"

"The bandit is back?"

(End of this chapter)