Fu Shanhe

Chapter 236 The Battle to Seize the City
"Rumble..."

"kill!"

The sound of artillery fire was endless, shouts of killing resounded throughout the world, and blood dyed the Yangtze River red.

"Your Majesty, the Pseudo-Dynasty navy is too powerful. Our army..."

Before the naval commander could finish his words, Fu Haoxuan interrupted him with a wave of his hand.

“My lord, I have seen it.

The navy was formed less than a year ago. Our ships are much smaller than those of the government troops. It is normal that we cannot defeat the enemy's Jiangnan Navy.

Let’s fight the enemy first, and then look for an opportunity to withdraw after dark.”

Anqing was so close, and suddenly a navy showed up to cause trouble. Fu Haoxuan was filled with anger.

However, he has learned to remain calm in the face of adversity, as he was able to rise from a grassroots level to his current position.

The presence of the government navy increased the difficulty of conquering Anqing, but it was not completely without a solution.

The middle reaches of the Yangtze River are in the hands of the White Lotus Holy Kingdom, so there are plenty of opportunities to cross the river.

However, the presence of the government navy made it impossible to surround Anqing on all sides, which increased the difficulty of the siege.

"Your Majesty, the puppet dynasty has concentrated all the elite troops from Nanzhili and Zhejiang provinces in Anqing.

If we follow the original plan to attack Anqing by force, it will probably be difficult to succeed.

The south of the Yangtze River in the pseudo-dynasty is now empty, and it is the time for us to show our strength.

It would be better to besiege Anqing while sending troops south to attack Ningguo Prefecture and threaten Yingtian Prefecture.

As one of the two capitals, Dayu officials absolutely could not afford the responsibility for the loss of Nanjing.

Maybe in order to keep Nanjing, they would just give up Anqing.

Even if the enemy refused to give up Anqing, they would draw troops from other provinces to defend Nanjing.

The Holy Kingdom now has a large number of soldiers and generals, and it is a good time to attack from all sides to expand the territory.

The land in the south of the Yangtze River is fertile, and occupying any prefecture can bring great harvests.

......"

Hu Yuzhe stepped forward and suggested.

Dayu never shows mercy to traitors.

Since he has defected to the Holy Kingdom of White Lotus, he must consider the Holy Kingdom of White Lotus.

As the former prefect of Jiujiang, he knew his colleagues in the Jiangnan region too well.

In the eyes of these people, the country and the people are far less important than their own official hats.

Even if the enemy is at your doorstep, you still have to fight among yourself.

The idea of ​​taking the overall situation into consideration does exist, but it is really rare.

Since these people can give up Jiujiang Prefecture for the sake of interests, they can also give up Anqing City for the sake of interests.

"Master Hu is right. If we can go south to Nanjing, you will be the first to make the contribution.

However, to capture Jiangnan, military means alone are not enough, political means are also needed.

Now, I appoint you as the Governor-General of Jiangnan, responsible for recruiting the gentry and scholars in the Jiangnan area to surrender and help the Holy Kingdom appease the people! "

Fu Haoxuan said with a smile.

After a series of battles, he realized that the Dayu Dynasty was still powerful and it would be difficult to seize the world through military struggle alone.

The gentry group has never been a monolithic entity.

Because of the distribution of interests, the struggle within the gentry was also very fierce.

They need money and food, so they can directly attack the wealthy and powerful families who occupy a large amount of social wealth.

Those poor families who have fallen on hard times have little wealth to begin with, and there is no need to extort any money from them, so there is no need to kill them all.

Governing the world requires scholars, and there has never been an exception in any dynasty.

If the Holy White Lotus Kingdom wants to seize the world, it must win over the officials of Dayu and undermine the enemy's rule from within.

Now that Hu Yuzhe has surrendered, we must use the power of example.

In fact, when he captured the Governor of Guangdong earlier, he wanted to set an example of an official who had surrendered.

It's a pity that guy was too stupid. After surrendering to the Holy Kingdom, he couldn't figure out his own position.

Although he usually tried his best to hide it, his deep-seated contempt for the White Lotus Sect was often revealed.

A person who doesn't know his own position is not worthy of support.

Later, some civil servants were recruited to surrender one after another, but their ranks were generally not high, and their influence in the gentry circle was very limited.

In comparison, Hu Yuzhe is much more reliable.

Although the suggestions put forward are not some magical ideas, they are at least feasible to a certain extent.

From Fu Haoxuan's point of view, it doesn't matter whether the suggestion is good or bad. The key is to be willing to support the Holy White Lotus Kingdom, or to be willing to work for him.

As for the issue of official titles, that is simply a big pie in the sky.

In the vast Jiangnan region, the White Lotus Holy Kingdom occupies less than one third of the territory.

If the Governor-General of Jiangnan wants to be granted the title, he should wait until we conquer the world!
Giving such a high position, in addition to paying a huge sum of money for the bones, is also to increase credibility.

It is common knowledge that the gentry dislike the Holy White Lotus Kingdom.

If you want to win people's hearts, you must show enough sincerity.

The effect of a prefect recruiting people is completely different from that of a governor recruiting people.

……

At noon, the guards at the city gate were lying on the ground listlessly to rest.

"It's a horrible day. There are hardly any people in the day. How can we collect the city entry tax?"

A veteran soldier started to complain.

Originally thinking that guarding the city gate was a lucrative job, he paid a large sum of money to bribe his superiors and was transferred here.

Unfortunately, after the war, Hengyang's economy was severely damaged.

It cannot be said that business travel has disappeared, but there are indeed few people who dare to go out to do business.

Even if they really encounter it, they don't have the courage to blackmail them.

The world outside is so chaotic, but those who can still trade smoothly are mostly backed by high-ranking officials of the White Lotus Holy Kingdom.

"Liu Laowai, you old man, stop talking nonsense here.

If you don't want to do it, go back to where you came from.

People beg for this job of guarding the city, and yet you, a fool, still refuse to do so.

It is true that you can get promoted and make money working on the front line, but it also costs your life.

With your frail body, if you were really transferred to the front line, I estimate you wouldn’t survive more than three days.

We are making little money now because of the war. When the world is at peace, this will be a very lucrative job!"

Wang Bantou scolded angrily.

Unlike ambitious young people, as a man almost fifty years old, he just wants to spend the rest of his life in peace.

If he really wanted to climb up the social ladder, as an old member of the White Lotus Sect in Hengyang, it would not be difficult for him to get a position as an official.

"Boss Wang, we cannot compare to your level.

I heard that Lord Meng was planning to transfer you to serve as a county magistrate some time ago, but you refused.

If it were us, we would have gone down to enjoy our life long ago!"

Liu Laowai immediately flattered himself.

"Enjoy your life!
Do you really think that being a county magistrate is that easy?

The task of collecting taxes alone is enough to make one's scalp tingle.

Things are different now than in the past. Every village has a few good men serving in the Holy Kingdom Army.

My Holy Kingdom values ​​military merit the most. Maybe one day someone will get lucky and make a great contribution, and then turn things around in an instant.

If we impose taxes too harshly and create deadly enmity with people, that would be disastrous!"

Wang Bantou scolded angrily.

For the lower classes, troubled times are both a disaster and an opportunity.

When luck comes, you can really turn things around.

I know that my abilities are limited and I don’t have the ability to move up.

Doing one's duty is also a kind of wisdom.

"A caravan is coming!"

Upon hearing the news, the soldiers who were originally sitting on the ground to rest suddenly stood up and looked into the distance.

It's not easy!

Without more fat sheep coming to their doorstep, the soldiers defending the city can only eat bran and vegetables.

The treatment of soldiers in the Holy White Lotus Kingdom was much better than that in the Dayu Dynasty, but that was only limited to the soldiers fighting on the front lines.

The elderly and weak who were left behind could only say that they would not starve to death.

If you want to live a good life, you still need to exercise subjective initiative.

"Captain Wang, you are on duty again today."

Hearing this familiar voice, Wang Bantou's good mood was half gone. Sure enough, those who dared to go out to trade at this time of year were all the people of the Holy Kingdom.

You can collect city entry taxes, but you can’t extort money from them.

"So it's Deacon Luo. Your business is really growing!"

Although I was unhappy, I kept smiling.

"Deacon" is not an official position, but it represents the identity within the White Lotus Sect.

In a country like the Holy White Lotus Kingdom where politics and religion are combined, this kind of identity within the church is also very useful.

"Ha ha……"

"I am the one who was rewarded by the Holy Emperor. I am just an errand boy.

I have something else to do today, so I'll leave now.

Leave this money for the brothers to have tea.

When I’m done with my work, I’ll host a banquet for you to reminisce about the past!”

As he spoke, the man surnamed Luo handed over a string of copper coins.

Weighing the weight in his hand, Team Leader Wang immediately reprimanded his subordinate.

"What are you all standing there for? Get out of the way!"

After watching the team leave, a group of soldiers quickly surrounded them.

After seeing the copper coins in their hands, everyone showed a look of disappointment.

Due to the war, prices in the city skyrocketed.

They were not lying. The string of copper coins was really for treating them to tea, and they could only drink the cheapest crumbs.

"Captain, this is too little!

If they don't know the rules, we must stop the team and check them to teach them a lesson."

When he heard his subordinates complaining, Team Leader Wang rolled his eyes.

"You guys are obsessed with money and have no vision at all.

The gears were so shallow after the convoy passed by just now. Even if it was not empty, it didn't have much cargo.

Even if you find out the flowers, what's the use?

What benefit will it bring to us other than offending people?
Remember them all.

Next time you encounter a convoy of brothers from the church, keep your eyes open.

When others are making big money, we can follow behind and reap the benefits.

When people are working for nothing, just show some appreciation and don’t cause any trouble for me!”

……

The group successfully entered the city and entered a courtyard that had been prepared long ago. Seeing that no one was following them, Captain Zhou finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank you, Brother Luo, for your help. I, Zhou, thank you!"

"Brother Zhou, you are too polite. We are all here for business."

While speaking, Deacon Luo deliberately raised his voice.

When you are behind enemy lines, you have to be vigilant.

"Then I'll rely on Brother Luo!

I'll prepare a banquet tonight, and Brother Luo must come and enjoy the feast!"

Captain Zhou took the opportunity to continue the conversation.

Both of them were from the Jinyiwei and had their own ways of communicating.

It seemed like they were reminiscing about the past, but in fact they were agreeing on the time for action.

The banquet was just a cover to avoid leaks.

Although Deacon Luo can be trusted, it does not mean that his subordinates are loyal to the court.

In order to reduce trouble, it is not too late to give a temporary notice when the action is taken.

When the time comes, no matter what ideas you have, you just have to follow along.

……

As time passed, the sky gradually darkened, leaving only the last rays of sunset.

A team suddenly appeared in the distance, getting closer and closer to Hengyang.

"The army is passing by, but there is no notification!"

After muttering to himself, the experienced squad leader Wang immediately realized something was wrong as he looked at the approaching team.

"Close the city gates!"

At this moment, a huge flame suddenly broke out from behind.

"Go away!"

The originally quiet Hengyang City suddenly became noisy.

From South City to North City, from East City to West City, flames rising into the sky could be seen everywhere.

Anyone with a little common sense would know that this was an intentional arson attack intended to create chaos in the city.

But it's useless to know, chaos still happened.

Taking advantage of the chaos, soldiers gradually mixed into the city and headed straight for the city gate.

The defending soldiers, who had just closed the city gate, were suddenly attacked before they had time to breathe a sigh of relief.

"It's you...why?"

After seeing who was coming, Bantou Wang asked in disbelief.

Unfortunately, what responded to him was not an answer, but a crossbow arrow.

Seeing that their squad leader was dead, the rebel soldiers who had been fighting hard suddenly fled in all directions.

The few buckets of rice from the Holy White Lotus Kingdom are not worth their lives.

……

In the government office.

"The government troops are coming, this is impossible!"

Meng Zeyang said in a firm tone.

He would rather believe that it was an internal conflict among the White Lotus Sect than that it was the government troops who came back to kill them.

As far as he knew, the government army closest to Hengyang was currently busy besieging Yongzhou Prefecture.

The Holy Kingdom of White Lotus deployed an army of over 100,000 in Yongzhou, while the government troops numbered only tens of thousands, leaving no room for additional troops.

"Master, the government troops have really entered the city.

The city is in chaos now, let's run away before they attack us!"

The housekeeper hurriedly persuaded.

This is not the first time that we have been chased by government troops.

A year ago, in order to avoid being hunted down by government troops, they even sneaked into a mountain stronghold to save their lives.

But at that time, Meng Zeyang was just the leader of the White Lotus Sect.

He is a gangster himself, and has nothing except a little wealth and a group of followers.

It's different now.

After becoming an official of the Holy Kingdom of White Lotus, he went from being barefoot to wearing shoes.

Once he lost Hengyang, his position as the prefect of Hengyang would be over.

At that time, not only the imperial court will not let him go, but the White Lotus Holy Kingdom will not forgive him either.

"no!"

"We can't give up Hengyang now!"

“As the prefect of Hengyang, I will live and die with the city.

Pass the order down, let the defenders gather quickly, and make sure to drive out the pseudo-dynasty army! "

Meng Zeyang said in a firm tone.

Only when you have gained something, you will know the pain of losing it.

The position of prefect was too comfortable. It was a life he had never dared to imagine in the first half of his life.

It would be better to kill him with a knife than to ask him to go back to the past and continue living a precarious life.

"Master, it will be too late if you don't leave now!"

The sound of fighting was getting closer and closer, and the butler urged again.

However, Meng Zeyang was in a trance at the moment and couldn't hear the advice at all.

"Anyone who dares to run away will be killed!"

The murderous tone made the soldiers who originally wanted to run away with Meng Zeyang stop in their tracks.

In a flash, a team of government troops appeared at the gate of the government office and the massacre began.

……

(End of this chapter)