Lord: Start with a book of Water Margin

Chapter 696 Surrender
The success of Nanjian Prefecture was naturally due to the role played by Liao Gang, the former governor of Xinghua Army. Lin Hua, the governor of Nanjian Prefecture, was Liao Gang's brother-in-law, which was also an important reason why Lin Hua surrendered without hesitation.

After the two worlds separated, Lin Hua thought he would be implicated. In fact, Miao Fu could not protect himself. The Southern Song Emperor Zhao Gou mobilized the troops of the three yamen, led by Yang Yizhong and Zhao Mi, to attack Miao Fu and Liu Zhengyan.

Yang Yizhong was a man of great stature, fierce temperament, and superhuman strength. During the Miao-Liu Rebellion, he served under Zhang Jun, expelled Miao and Liu, and was trusted by Zhao Gou.

When Yang Yi-zhong marched to Fuzhou, Miao Fu did not dare to take it lightly. He gathered his elite Red Heart Army and recruited 20,000 new soldiers, and headed north to Huangqi Town to confront Yang Yi-zhong.

Wang Junfu was left to lead 10,000 newly recruited soldiers to guard Minxian, Houguan and Lianjiang.

Not to mention that the former Quanzhou prefect Lin Yu was originally from Fuzhou, just the 25,000 naval officers and soldiers led by [Jade Unicorn] Lu Junyi and [Zhi Duo Xing] Wu Yong were not something Wang Junfu could defeat.

[Jade Unicorn] Lu Junyi personally led the troops to besiege Min County, [Sheep Mountain Tiger] Fang Xuedu, [Soul-seeking Ghost] Wang Feibao and [No Name] Han Bolun divided 5,000 troops to attack Houguan, [Living Yama] Ruan Xiaoqi and [Cave-Emerging Dragon] Tong Wei carried [Blood-Headed Monk] Guanghui and [Precious Light Tathagata] Deng Yuanjue and headed straight to Lianjiang from the sea.

For a time, Fuzhou was in flames everywhere.

Wang Junfu wanted to ask for help, but he knew that Miao Fu and Yang Yizhong were in a confrontation, and they had lost more than they won, so it was impossible to send troops to rescue. In addition, there were many clansmen from big families such as Lin and Huang in the city, and Houguan and Lianjiang asked for help. Wang Junfu, who was guarding Min County, pretended not to know and just guarded the city.

However, Liang State also took out four [Divine Power and Invincible General Cannons], approached the city gate, and fired cannons.

[Thunder Bomb] Ling Zhen, [Iron Fan] Gao Gao, Bai Walhan, [Female Zhuge] Liu Hui Niang, together with the Military Equipment Supervisor [Iron Cast Diamond] Tu Long, [Golden Leopard] Tang Long, [Scorched Leopard] Yang Tengjiao, have imitated various types of artillery.

There are already ten of the largest, the invincible and mighty General Cannon, and there are also more than thirty to fifty of each of the Portuguese cannon, the mountain-splitting cannon, the Weiyuan General Cannon, and the mother-and-child cannon.

Bird guns and three-eyed guns could be produced in the amount of thirty or twenty per day. Flying Thunder, Wind and Fire Cannon, Golden Wheel Cannon, Mother-and-Chief Cannon, Carriage Cannon, Sky Bomb Cannon, Signal Cannon, and Wind and Fire Thunder were all becoming popular in the army.

The four [Invincible General Cannons] fired continuously, and Wang Junfu on the top of the city wall just watched with trembling eyebrows. In addition to the iron balls that hit the city wall and made a crater, there were also shotgun shells and thunder bombs falling from time to time, which caused greater casualties to the soldiers on the top of the city wall.

The bombardment lasted for more than half an hour, with at least 500 to 600 casualties. What was even more worrying was that the morale of the army was visibly low. The civilians who were driven to the top of the city wall to defend were so frightened that they dared not show their heads. They curled up and hid behind the wall, trembling.

At the foot of the city, the Liang soldiers pushed out siege equipment such as the first cart, wheelbarrow, dust-raising cart, bridge-building cart, flying tower, ladder, battering ram, catapult, and well-shaped tower, which made people tremble with fear.

Wang Junfu had already predicted that Min County could not hold out for a few days. If Houguan and Lianjiang were in the same situation, they would not last more than three days. Although Miao Fu had moved the families of the county officials to Min County to prevent them from surrendering before he left, it was still not safe.

As the cannons roared, gongs and drums sounded, shouts shook the earth, and the siege equipment under the city slowly moved.

Seeing that the Liang soldiers were preparing to attack the city, Wang Junfu stood up and shouted, asking his personal guards to urge the soldiers and men to prepare for defense.

Before the soldiers on the city wall could get ready, there was a loud bang, and a section of the city wall near the city gate was collapsed by the continuous bombardment of the [Invincible General Cannon].

When Lu Junyi saw this, he immediately ordered people to beat drums. Black Whirlwind Li Kui and his men, who had been waiting for a long time, heard it and rushed out, jumping over the siege equipment.

On the top of the city wall, Wang Junfu saw this and urged the soldiers to move forward. Li Kui yelled and swung his axe to knock down five or six people. Xiang Chong and Li Gun threw flying knives and forks at random, killing more than ten people on the spot.

Li Gui, Zhang Chi and others rushed in, killed the soldiers and seized this section of the city wall.

Wang Junfu saw that the situation was not good, so he rolled down and ran towards the city, but was caught alive by Xiang Chong and Li Gun. Li Kui and Li Gui, with four axes, had already seized the city gate and let Lu Junyi and others kill them in. Lu Junyi assigned soldiers to guard each gate.

Xiang Chong and Li Gun brought Wang Junfu over, and Lu Junyi untied him. He helped Wang Junfu to the guest seat, and sat down as host and guest.

Wang Junfu thanked him and said, "I am a captured general, but I am treated with great courtesy."

Lu Junyi stepped forward and helped Wang Junfu up, saying, "The ruler of Liang is recruiting talented people. If the general is willing to submit to our country, I will recommend him."

Wang Junfu thanked him and said, "Since you have spared my life, I am willing to serve the State of Liang. Houguan and Lianjiang are also under my rule, and I am willing to persuade the general to surrender."

Lu Junyi was overjoyed. On the one hand, he issued a notice to reassure the people, and on the other hand, he prepared wine and food to reward the soldiers and entertain Wang Junfu.

After having some wine and food, Wang Junfu said goodbye to Lu Junyi and took more than a hundred riders with him to the nearby Houguan, where he ordered people to open the gates of the city and surrender.

On the top of the city wall, the commanders of the troops were all military leaders of the Red Heart Army. After hearing what Wang Junfu said, they were all a little hesitant.

Wang Junfu shouted, "I have surrendered, how can you defend this city?"

After hearing this, the military leaders opened the gate and surrendered.

In Lianjiang County, the [Red Heart Army] had shown signs of decline, and Wang Junfu came to persuade them to surrender. The defenders opened the city gates and surrendered.

After the three county towns were taken, Lu Junyi left [Yangshanhu] Fang Xuedu and [Murder-Calling Ghost] Wang Feibao to garrison there with 3,000 soldiers. The army was divided into two routes. One route was led by Guanghui with 3,000 people, escorted by [Chudongjiao] Tong Wei, who took the Minjiang River and Gutian Creek waterway and headed straight for Gutian.

Lu Junyi led his troops to attack Luoyuan.

With Wang Junfu following, Luoyuan City did not resist, and the generals defending the city opened the gates and surrendered.

Further north is Ningde. Miao Fu, who was in a stalemate with Yang Yi in Huangqi Town, had also received the news that Wang Junfu had surrendered to the enemy and was now attacking from the rear.

Miao Fu left the Huangqi Town camp and retreated to Ningde County overnight, intending to rely on the Ningde County city wall to resist.

When Yang Yizhong of the Song army saw this, he did not rush south, but instead went to Changxi County.

This time, Yang Yizhong and Zhao Mi were instructed by Zhao Gou to focus on destroying Miao and Liu. As for the invading Liang State, depending on the situation, they should focus on preserving the soldiers and abandon Fujian Road.

When Lu Junyi's army arrived at the city of Ningde, Miao Fu, Wang Shixiu and Zhang Kui were already prepared. There were enough soldiers and the city was well guarded.

It was still Wang Junfu who went out first, shouting loudly at the top of the city wall: "Listen carefully, soldiers in the army. We were originally the imperial guards, but we became rebels because of the rebellion of Miao Fu and Liu Zhengyan. Now the imperial court has sent troops from the three yamen to suppress us, and there is also the former founding county duke of Liangshan in Jingdong Road. Now the king of Liang has sent a large army, and the defeat is inevitable. If you still don't surrender when the heavenly soldiers arrive, it will be too late to regret until your flesh and blood are turned into mud!"

(End of this chapter)