Tumeng: I am a national advisor in the Golden Family

Chapter 479: The governor of Yangzhou stormed Yangzhou City

This hard-won news was deliberately put in by the Guanzhong army. Otherwise, they would not receive any news if Yangzhou City was completely blocked.

During the year when Chuzhou City was occupied, the defenders here did not sit idle. Instead, they built some ships and installed artillery.

This fleet, which was not too large in size, also successfully isolated all peripheral connections to Yangzhou City, blocked waterways and dry roads, and completely encircled Yangzhou City.

Tens of thousands of Guanzhong troops besieged Yangzhou City. There were troops from the Central Plains, Guanzhong troops, Mongolian troops, and the troops of the Han princes in Hebei.

"Quick, send an order quickly to block this news. We must not let ordinary soldiers know about the fall of Xiangyang City." The general responsible for guarding Yangzhou City said immediately.

"General! Just leave this matter to me. General, just worry about defending the city. Just leave all the government affairs in the city to me." Yangzhou Zhizhou said.

The two of them are both civil and military. They are now the supreme commander of Yangzhou City. You, a warrior, are responsible for guarding the city walls. Why do you need to manage the interior of the city?
"Wu Zhizhou, you must not underestimate the enemy. If this news spreads among the army, things will be bad and morale will drop greatly. Our defenders only have more than 20,000 people!" Yangzhou defender said. (I won’t go into details about the official positions here. It’s very troublesome. Let’s introduce them.)
Now it would be terrible if ordinary soldiers knew the news of the fall of Xiangyang City. I was just a fifth-grade cavalry general, but there was nothing I could do to face this Lord Zhizhou. (Some of the top military generals in the Southern Song Dynasty basically received some civilian official positions, which were not simply military general positions. Let me talk about it here. Generally, they just held a military general official position for free. For example, if both parties are fifth-rank officials, then the civil official official position must be It’s bigger than the general.)
"Bold! You are just a ranger general. You are not qualified to talk to me. Why don't you shut up. As a military general, you only need to focus on defending the city. There is no need to worry about other things." Yangzhou Zhizhou Wu Xingquan said a little impatiently.

Although he has no military knowledge, he is the largest commander in Yangzhou City, and he has the final say in everything in the city. These generals only need to be responsible for guarding the city walls.

If the enemy hadn't invaded me now, if you dared to contradict me today, you would be dismissed from your post. In recent years, the power of military generals has become more and more rampant, and now each of these warriors has become awesome.

It should be noted that once the generals support their own troops, then the warlords will become self-reliant. Especially in such troubled times, military generals can indeed increase their combat power, but they will be a source of harm for a hundred years in the future.

The Mongol Empire is indeed very powerful and attaches great importance to the level of generals, but this has also resulted in the current situation in Mongolia where the heroes are divided. Now, anyone who has some troops can be divided among the heroes.

The most powerful one is the King of Guanzhong. He took advantage of the Mongol Empire's Genghis Khan's neglect of military commanders to gradually grow in size, and now he even has the potential to annex the world.

Genghis Khan in Mongolia was just making wedding clothes for others. Once the King of Guanzhong conquered the entire world, would there really be a change of dynasty?

Although these civil servants despise military generals and have a bad attitude towards military generals, they can still clearly see the situation in the world. The situation in the Song Dynasty is very delicate now!

But it doesn't matter, since you can't defeat him anyway, just surrender in the end. As a literati group, it doesn't matter which emperor governs the world.

"Alas!" The Yangzhou guard sighed helplessly, turned around and left the Zhizhou Mansion.

He is just a guard. What he can do is to improve Yangzhou's city defense, but he has no control over everything big or small in Yangzhou city.

Without anyone to stop them, news of the fall of Xiangyang City quickly spread, followed closely by news of the disastrous defeat of the Jiangling Prefecture navy.

Now the entire city of Yangzhou is in panic and everyone is frightened. Xiangyang City has been breached, and now the Guanzhong army can fully move south.

And the navy near Jiangling was defeated miserably. Doesn't that mean that Jiangling can't be saved? Ezhou probably can't resist it. Now ordinary people like them can't think of a chance to win.

"Master Wu Zhizhou, you, how can you ignore the affairs in the city? Look at what's going on in the city now?" Yangzhou City Guards rushed into the Zhizhou Mansion angrily and shouted.

What is this! I'm defending the city risking my life, and you're causing trouble for me.

"Is there any problem with the food of your army? Is the supply of grain and grass unable to keep up?" Yangzhou Zhizhou suddenly asked in a confused manner, and did not directly answer the Yangzhou defender's question.

"Lord Zhizhou, there is no problem with the supply of food, fodder and food for the army." Yangzhou guard said.

"In this case, is it because there is not enough troops, or is it because the civilians in the city did not recruit you?" Yangzhou Zhizhou asked.

The guard also shook his head when he heard this.

"What about the city defense issue? I have not supplied you with some of the city defense equipment." Yangzhou Zhizhou continued to ask.

"This, Master Zhizhou. Regarding the defense, your material support to me is very adequate, and there is no problem." Yangzhou Guardsman said.

To be honest, it has been several days since the Guanzhong army arrived, but they have not launched any projects, and they have not even sent anyone in to persuade them to surrender. Their behavior is very strange.

"In that case, then you should guard the city wall well and come over to ask me what's going on?" Yangzhou Zhizhou said.

"Lord Zhizhou, you must block the news in the city and don't let ordinary people know too much! Otherwise, the entire Yangzhou Prefecture will be in chaos. As long as the Guanzhong army uses a little underhanded tactics, the people in the city may be in trouble."

"What will happen? Do you know that the ruler is more important than the people? How can we, as parents and officials, deceive the people? It is unfair to ordinary people to block this information. You are sacrificing your life. The official is unjust!" Yangzhou Zhizhou said.

"I, I, I, my lord! This." For a moment, the Yangzhou guard didn't know what to say.

Brother, what time is it now? If you still think about your reputation and trap you in injustice, our city will not be able to be saved.

"Okay, now is the time to employ people, and I won't punish you for your crime. You can go and defend the city! By the way, if the Guanzhong army sends an envoy, then you should treat him with courtesy and let the envoy bring you with him. I'll meet you," Yangzhou Zhizhou said.

Hearing this, the expression of the general guarding the city changed. What do you mean?
If the Guanzhong army sends envoys in, they will treat them like plows and bring the envoys to meet you. What is your plan?
"Sir, you, do you want to surrender to the King of Guanzhong?" Yangzhou Guardsman said with an extremely ugly expression.

This is betrayal of the imperial court and the Holy Father, and he will never allow it.

"How can you be so venomous? When did I say this? This is just etiquette. What do you know, a warrior?" Yangzhou Zhizhou Wu Xingquan snorted coldly and said.

You are really a martial artist. I have tested you many times. If you just tell me a little bit about what you mean, I will take you with me.

But you are such a foolish and loyal person!

Wu Xinquan asked the Yangzhou defender many times, intentionally or unintentionally, to see if the other party was willing to surrender.

For example, ask. What kind of person did the Yangzhou garrison think the King of Guanzhong was? Was he a talented and strategist, or was he as despicable as the court said?
The Yangzhou garrison's answer was very clear. The King of Guanzhong was a despicable villain and a shameless person. Everything he said was fabricated. How could he compare to him, the Emperor of the Song Dynasty?
After hearing this, Wu Xinquan never spoke to the Yangzhou guard again. Just slowly become loyal to your Zhao family!

Now throughout the south, many literati have realized that with Xiangyang captured and the entire Jiangling Navy army annihilated, the Song Dynasty had no way out and its defeat was only a matter of time.

A change of dynasty is coming. The King of Guanzhong controls the entire north. After controlling the south, it can be said that the entire world is controlled by the King of Guanzhong. Moreover, the land controlled by the King of Guanzhong has a large area that can be used to breed horses.

These literati groups have also analyzed in private that now the King of Guanzhong has controlled the food lifeline of the entire grassland to a certain extent. As long as the King of Guanzhong cuts off the food of the grassland, then you can't even think about what will happen to the Mongolian grassland.

Coupled with the character of the King of Guanzhong, if he does not proclaim himself emperor in the future, then he will be sorry for what he has done over the years. Many literati who were very closely tied to the Song Dynasty had no way to escape, but some civilian literati and students had adopted a neutral attitude and did not even participate in the imperial examinations.

All scholars are waiting for an opportunity. Some people say that the King of Guanzhong did not pay much attention to Confucianism, but the King of Guanzhong still reused a large number of northern students. These northern students were the backbone of the governance of Guanzhong, Sichuan, Shu and the Central Plains region.

But to a certain extent, these Confucian disciples still need to learn other things, and some Confucian school thoughts are not applicable today.

But no matter what, the King of Guanzhong definitely needs a group of civil servants. If he has all military generals under his command, something will happen and the country will not be managed well. This is an iron rule.

Over the years, the King of Guanzhong has also been intentionally or unintentionally reducing the power of generals, but he has not suppressed them as severely as the Southern Song Dynasty. The Han military princes in Hebei.

It is definitely the next target of the King of Guanzhong. The King of Guanzhong cannot learn. The Song Dynasty valued civil service over military affairs, but it would definitely maintain a balance between the two factions. Civil servants would not become big, and military generals would not become big either.

So at this time, they civil servants have a new way out. The one who is attacking their Yangzhou Mansion is the eldest prince of the King of Guanzhong, who can be said to be the future successor of the King of Guanzhong to a certain extent.

This is a God-given opportunity. The eldest prince is not yet 20 years old this year, and has not even opened a mansion yet. Wouldn't it be wonderful to bring the entire Yangzhou city to join him at this time?

So these days, intentionally or unintentionally, he has been embarrassing the Yangzhou defender. He even completely ignored the situation in the city and spread all these public opinions, making the entire Yangzhou city panic.

"Lord Zhizhou, I respect you as an official, but sir, I am loyal to the Song Dynasty court, and I am loyal to the emperor. I will live and die with Yangzhou City, no matter how many thieves come, unless my hands and the brothers under me are taken away. Kill them all, or I will not take a step back until my death." The Yangzhou guard said. (Looking up history today, I found a strange thing. Most of the people who surrendered were civilian officials, and most of the military generals died in battle.)
"I know that the general is loyal and a loyal man, and I will definitely help the general with all my strength. However, our Song Dynasty is a country of etiquette. If he kills the envoy without permission and does not even see the deceased, it will be a bit unreasonable. Everything is based on Just treat each other with courtesy, but you must not lose your courtesy," Wu Xinquan said.

The Yangzhou guard snorted coldly, turned around and left the Zhizhou Mansion.

"Master Wu, I'm afraid General Yang wants to fight to the death." After the Yangzhou garrison left, a civilian official said.

"There are hundreds of thousands of people in the whole city of Yangzhou. If we follow this general and fight to the death, we might be massacred!" Another civil servant said.

"The Guanzhong army is the Guanzhong army, and the Mongolian army is the Mongolian army. The Mongolian army likes to massacre cities, but the King of Guanzhong does not like to see it. Even when the King of Guanzhong and the Mongolian army attacked the Jin Kingdom, twenty cities in the Central Plains were massacred. The king of Guanzhong was saved, and many ministers were saved from being slaughtered," Wu Xingquan said.

"Sir, shall we fight or not?"

There is also an art of surrender, and there is also a ready-made art of presenting a city. Fight a battle and let the opponent know your strength. If you are surrendering, you will definitely be favored. If you don't fight, you will hand over the entire Yangzhou City and let the opponent gain a complete building. Yangzhou City became a rear military base. This is also a routine.

But how to use the specific routine depends on how Mr. Wu executes it.

"Now we need to find a way to get in touch with the Guanzhong army. Otherwise, all the talks will be in vain. We also need to stabilize this guy. After all, we don't have military power in our hands. If he jumps over the wall in a hurry, something unexpected will inevitably happen." Wu Xingquan said.

Now, he has convinced a group of people under his command. The biggest problem now is how to get some contact with the army in Guanzhong and express their willingness to surrender.

"Master Wu! You are the supreme commander of Yangzhou City. In the name of the commander-in-chief of the entire army, you can send an envoy to have a detailed discussion with the commander of the Guanzhong Army.

Wouldn't it be enough to let the messenger reveal our intentions when the time comes? "An official said.

"I have thought about this too, but our general will probably not agree. I did not blockade Xiangyang City. The news of the defeat has already made him very dissatisfied. In addition to the incident in Jiangling City, I sent an envoy at this time. He might take action against us."

"It doesn't matter if I die, it would be bad if it affects the whole city."

"This reckless man actually wants to lead the people in the city to fight to the death against the Guanzhong army."

"Master Wu, maybe we can take advantage of the darkness and secretly send someone to take a boat out from the city gate on the waterway to find a way to contact the Guanzhong army." An official said.

"Well! I'll leave it to you to handle the matter, and to win over some generals under the guard. I don't believe that the people under him are just like him. They want to fight to the death with the Guanzhong army." Yangzhou Wu Xingquan, the city magistrate, said.

In the Guanzhong Army camp outside the city, all the generals gathered here to discuss how to attack Yangzhou City.

"Now the news of Xiangyang City and Jiangning Prefecture's navy's defeat should have reached Yangzhou City. Should we attack with artillery fire first, or should we send an envoy to the city first to persuade them to surrender?" Zhang Dingguan said.

As the commander-in-chief of the three armies this time, he wanted to fight a beautiful battle. It was best to capture Yangzhou City without any blood and obtain a complete logistics base.

A complete Yangzhou city was really advantageous for them to attack Lin'an Prefecture, the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty.

And with his father's advancement speed, a complete Yangzhou City would be very beneficial to the subsequent battle.

"We can send an envoy first, or learn from the King of Guanzhong and use artillery units to blast the city wall first to give the defenders of Yangzhou City a disincentive." Shi Tianze said.

"I agree! The strategies of the King of Guanzhong are always effective. It is most correct to give the enemy power first and let the enemy know how powerful we are." But Debuhua said.

The King of Guanzhong's style of play has been proven for more than ten years. First, unleash a wave of fierce artillery fire on the enemy, and then go into the city to persuade them to surrender. The effect will indeed be twice the result with half the effort.

"Okay! If that's the case, then we will attack Yangzhou City with artillery fire for three days. After three days, we will send envoys into the city to persuade the wall." Zhang Dingguan said.

Early the next morning, the Guanzhong army took up a stance at the city gate. The cavalry is on the side, the infantry is in front, and in the middle are trebuchets and heavy artillery.

"Fire!" Following Zhang Dingguan's order, dozens of catapults and more than a dozen heavy artillery opened fire simultaneously.

Countless giant explosive packets and heavy artillery shells flew into the city.

Boom! Boom!
Violent noises continued to sound, and there was an explosion above the Yangzhou City Tower.

The defenders of Yangzhou City finally realized the helplessness and helplessness of the Xiangyang defenders. All their weapons could not reach the opposite side at all, while the weapons in Guanzhong could hit their city wall very accurately, with the two sides separated by That distance restricted them tightly.

The sound of explosions kept ringing on the city tower. A large number of soldiers were turned upside down by the explosion, missing arms and legs. There was a wailing on the Yangzhou city tower.

"Brothers, hold on, we must not let the Guanzhong army attack Yangzhou City. For our Song Dynasty, we must be loyal to the emperor." The Yangzhou garrison waved his sword and said crazily.

However, some of the soldiers under his command were fleeing in various ways at this time. Who dared to stand on the city wall under such fierce artillery fire?

Isn't this asking for death?

(End of this chapter)