A century-old family that runs through the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 340 The thief comes to attack

"What, say it again?"

The family meeting hall was already full of people. At this time, a spy dressed like an ordinary citizen was standing at the bottom, and another old man was standing up, questioning him with disbelief on his face.

"Elder of the clan, my subordinates will never dare to tell lies." The spy said with a bitter look on his face:

"After the rogue bandits withdrew from Nanjing, they were divided into several groups. One group stayed in Zhili in the south, one went north to Henan, and another group brought the thief Zhang Xianzhong to Ningguo Mansion and looted wantonly. It is estimated that their target was Zhejiang! Now Huzhou and Hangzhou, which border Ningguo Prefecture, are all under martial law."

"Where is the army of the imperial court? Didn't it mean that the emperor gave Lu Xiangsheng prime minister the military affairs of the four provinces of Nanzhili, Huguang, Shandong, and Jiangxi to exterminate the rogue bandits, but his forward cavalry has been traveling day and night to enter Nanzhili? How can he still be allowed to do so? So arrogant?"

"Taiyuan Left Counselor Cao Wenzhao ordered General Cao to lead 4,000 elite cavalry into Nanzhi. However, he first defeated Gao Yingxiang's tribe who went north, and because there were still many rogue bandits staying near Nanjing and threatening the capital, he prioritized the attack. Those bandits are so rogue that I don’t pay attention to other bandits for the time being..."

Hearing this, the clan elders looked at each other, and the atmosphere became tense and even panicked for a moment.

Yan Hongliang was also a little nervous.

After all, that’s more than 100,000 people! Although he is a high-ranking member of the family and has held a high position for many years, he has never led an army. When he heard that more than 100,000 people were coming straight to Zhejiang, he immediately panicked and couldn't help but turn his eyes to the person sitting on the table for help. Headed by Yan Ling.

Yan Ling did not panic at all, and said with a calm smile:

"This offering of loyalty is quite clever."

"The wealth of Jiangsu and Zhejiang is unparalleled in the world. Now the south cannot be plundered, so it is coming directly towards our Zhejiang."

"Just like Cao Wenzhao, the imperial army will definitely give priority to clearing out the remaining bandits in South Zhili before looking for other things, ha... By then, his "brothers" will become his human shields and barriers. After the imperial court clears out the remaining bandits there, he will already have a lot to eat in Zhejiang. By then, whether he goes south to Fujian or west to Jiangxi, he will be able to easily get rid of his pursuers and achieve great results."

Listening to Yan Ling's narration, everyone was even more panicked. Unexpectedly, Zhang Xianzhong had such long-term thinking, and the court was indeed unable to provide assistance in a short period of time. In other words, they had to face this huge task alone. enemy! For a moment, all the clan elders were panicked.

However, Yan Hongliang, who knew Yan Ling's identity, calmed down instead.

Since Zu spoke so calmly, he must be confident.

The family has been in the family for more than two hundred years, and as long as this man still sits in front of the stage, everything seems to be as stable as Mount Tai...

As expected, Yan Ling then said:

"Aren't we already recruiting clan soldiers into various guard posts? Although there are only more than 5,000 people now, when combined with the troops of General Ning Shao and General Taijin Yan, the total number can reach 10,000, including Four thousand of them have seen blood, and the rest are well-trained and well-equipped. Although there are many rogues, what should we fear?"

"Oh, if half of the more than 100,000 soldiers are old soldiers, I will feel a little bit troublesome. But among Zhang Xianzhong's old battalion elites, there are only 10,000 or 20,000 in total, and even the young and strong soldiers of the rogue bandits may not exceed five Wan, and the rest are basically refugees, so they can fight with ease, but once they encounter a strong opponent, they will become a drag on the army."

"It's nothing to worry about."

His eyes sparkled.

"Perhaps, this is still an opportunity..." ...

The Zhejiang General Soldiers retreated in a hurry. Fortunately, Zhang Xianzhong stayed in Ningguo Mansion for a while in order to make up for his losses. He hurriedly and slowly returned to Zhejiang before them.

However, in the next step, Zhang Xianzhong followed him into the province, and the first one he entered was Hangzhou Prefecture.

After all, there is heaven above and Suzhou and Hangzhou below.

The Zhejiang General Soldier did not have the courage to turn around and fight Zhang Xianzhong. His goal was extremely clear-Hangzhou City.

The rogue bandits couldn't capture Nanjing, and they probably couldn't do anything to Hangzhou either. Their attack ability is really poor.

As for other things... we have to save our lives first. As long as the provincial capital is not lost, there should be no problem with one's wealth and life. At this point, losing one's official position is no longer a trivial matter.

With this thought in mind, the Zhejiang General Soldier kept all the generals, guerrillas, and a large number of guard soldiers from all over the country, intending to bring them into Hangzhou City and defend the city in parallel.

As for what would happen to other prefectures and counties without the support of these troops, he didn't care.

However, considering that Ningbo is the hometown of Duke Yue, if something goes wrong there, he will not be able to afford it and walk around. Therefore, he ordered General Ning Shao and General Taijin Yan to lead their troops back to their bases and stick to the city. The troops followed him into Hangzhou City.

But leading troops is also a technical job. If nothing else, at that time, a general who could lead tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of people on a march without problems was already a capable general.

The Zhejiang General Soldier did not have this ability, especially with Zhang Xianzhong behind him, so he became even more panicked. As a result, he walked even slower. As a result, he was bitten by Zhang Xianzhong halfway through the battle. The more than 25,000 troops were almost wiped out in the battle. No, all the weapons and baggage were seized by Zhang Xianzhong.

The Zhejiang General Soldier led a few personal guards to break out of the encirclement and only escaped with their own lives.

There is no one left in northern Zhejiang to stop him.
-

"On the first day of the second month in the spring of the eighteenth year, the six thieves of Chuang Wang, Ba Da Wang, and Hun Tian Wang invaded Nanzhi with hundreds of thousands of soldiers. They captured Qianshan, Taihu, Lujiang, and Yingshan, and surrounded Nanjing. Governor Dezu led the soldiers and people to defend Nanjing. In the third month of Wuyin, the thieves rushed to the north of the Yangtze River. In the same month, Gao Yingxiang left Luzhou and wanted to go to Henan. General Cao Wenzhao pursued him and defeated him. He was beheaded by 3,400 people. Zhang Xianzhong was trapped in Ningguo, and the prefect waited for his death."

"In the fourth month of Xinchou in summer, Zhang Xianzhong invaded Hangzhou from the Ning Kingdom. Zhang Lai, the commander-in-chief, attacked the thieves in the north of Qiantang. He was defeated and more than ten thousand people were injured. Only a few horsemen were spared. He participated in the single-layer road and waited for death. The thieves surrounded Hangzhou. "

"Wushen, the thieves retreated and rushed to Shaoxing. Generals Lin Xiao and Yu Wanji joined forces with the soldiers to attack the thieves in Xiaoshan."

"Lin Xiao took the Second Battalion of Firearms Soldiers as the vanguard and led a hundred of his cavalry in the center to supervise the battle and lined up in front of the city. When the thieves arrived, they used firearms to attack them. Thousands of artillery fired at once, causing damage for miles. The thieves were seriously injured. The elite old battalion was dedicated to the thieves. Attacking the flank of the army, the spears were like a forest and could not get close, so they were defeated and the damage was useless."

"At that time, the Xian thief's arrogance had subsided, the officers and soldiers fought bravely, and the thief was defeated. Lin Xiao's troops chased him for thirty miles to the north, piled corpses on pillows, and captured many of his weapons. Fourteen thousand of them were killed. The thieves are running west to Jiangxi, and the generals cannot stop them."

——"The Chronicles of Ming Dynasty"

(End of this chapter)