Ming Dynasty: A mere unruly commoner is rebelling against the heaven?

Chapter 295: Battle of Yangzhou! (Part )
"Is...is that so?"

Tang Fang is still a little frightened until now.

He had indeed never seen the army heading south, and he didn't know whether the army was really one hundred thousand strong.

But intuitively speaking, there was no need for the peasant army in Xuzhou Prefecture to deceive him.

What Zhang Peng was thinking in his heart was much more serious than what he showed on his face.

But he knew that the more critical the moment, the more he had to remain calm.

First of all, he must not show panic in front of his subordinates and must not plant the seeds of fear among himself in advance.

This is the reason why we should despise the enemy strategically and take him seriously tactically.

Zhang Peng then added: "But we can't take it lightly. This battle has just officially begun."

"It depends on whether we can withstand the pressure of this large army."

The two armies fought with bayonets.

Apart from actual fighting, Zhang Peng had no better way.

"Notify the commanders of all prefectures in Jiangnan to prepare for battle."

"Landlords and gentry everywhere should also actively organize local farmers, form an army, and stop the army from moving south!"

“The various prefectures must also maintain contact with each other and be ready to provide assistance to other prefectures at any time.”

"Also, immediately have Jiangnan Commander Cao Lei lead his troops to Nanjing."

"Nanjing is of utmost importance and must not be lost!"

Zhang Peng issued several orders in one breath, all of which were mainly for defense, and he never thought of taking the initiative to attack.

Tang Fang quickly accepted the order: "Yes, Sir Zhang!"

Afterwards, Tang Fang left Zhang Peng's residence and brought Zhang Peng's orders to others.

After coming out of Zhang Peng's house, Tang Fang felt much more relaxed.

Seeing Zhang Peng so calm and confident, it seemed that his mood also became relaxed.

Lord Zhang Peng is so calm, I guess he must have prepared a response strategy a long time ago, right?
Thinking of this, a glimmer of hope rekindled in Tang Fang's originally desperate heart.

But Zhang Peng's calmness did not last long.

As news from the front line continued to be transmitted back to Nanjing, Zhang Peng felt increasingly heavy-hearted.

"Report! Lord Shangshu, the imperial army has arrived at Xuzhou Prefecture. They have too many people, and we don't know exactly how many troops have arrived!"

"Report! Lord Shangshu, the four major families in Xuzhou Prefecture have organized 40,000 peasant soldiers to block the front of Xuzhou Prefecture. If the imperial army wants to enter Xuzhou Prefecture, it must attack the people!"

"Report! Your Excellency, the imperial army has really taken action! They have killed hundreds of peasant soldiers, and the rest have all fled!"

"Report! Your Excellency, the imperial army has entered Xuzhou City. The commander of Xuzhou City, Cui Zhu, has been captured. The four major families have been exterminated. All other landlords and gentry in Xuzhou City, both large and small, have also been captured by the Western Factory's thugs!"

"Sir Shangshu, the imperial army is heading towards Yangzhou!"

"Sir, what should we do?"

Yangzhou Prefecture is one of the major core prefectures in the south of the Yangtze River. There are countless gentry and wealthy businessmen in Yangzhou City.

If Yangzhou Prefecture was captured as easily as Xuzhou Prefecture, it would be a huge blow to the entire Jiangnan region.

Inside the Nanjing Military Department, Zhang Peng's face was as gloomy as water.

After hearing this continuous information, he realized that the soldiers and peasant armies in the Jiangnan area were far inferior to the elite troops of the imperial court.

The gap in military strength between the two sides cannot be reflected simply by the number of people.

Under pressure from the imperial army, Xuzhou Prefecture could not even hold out for half an hour before the city was attacked.

It even took the Western Factory's thugs longer to massacre the four major families than it did for the army to enter the city.

But when Zhang Peng heard the news that the imperial army had taken action against the peasant army, his expression suddenly became extremely serious and nervous.

"Did the army from the imperial court really attack those peasants?"

The lieutenant who came to report said quickly: "Of course, hundreds of people died! The people of Xuzhou saw it and knew about it!"

"Now the people of Xuzhou are hiding in their homes and dare not go out, for fear of being caught by those people!"

After Zhang Peng frowned and pondered for a while, a hideous sneer suddenly appeared on his face.

"Well done, really well done!"

"You actually dared to commit such a heinous crime as to attack the common people. This is truly God's help to me!"

Zhang Peng stood up excitedly and paced back and forth.

"Quick, let someone spread this information immediately, spread it throughout Jiangnan."

"We must let all the people in Jiangnan know as soon as possible that the imperial army attacked the people and killed many of them!"

"Threatened those peasant soldiers, in order to survive, they had no choice but to join us and fight against the imperial army."

"Then, as quickly as possible, have the commanders of Huai'an Prefecture, Luzhou Prefecture, Anqing Prefecture, Fengyang Prefecture and other places around Yangzhou Prefecture lead their garrison troops to rush to Yangzhou's aid!"

"Yes, Lord Shangshu!"

After receiving the order, the officialdom in Nanjing began to operate in an orderly manner and carry out Zhang Peng's orders.

Sometimes, the speed at which news is transmitted is amazing, especially in rural areas.

Before the people arranged by Zhang Peng could spread the news, the people in several prefectures near Xuzhou Prefecture all knew what happened in Xuzhou Prefecture that day.

"Have you heard? People died in Xuzhou the day before yesterday. Tens of thousands of soldiers chased and beat the farmers in Xuzhou, killing hundreds of them on the spot!"

"It's such a big thing, how could you not know about it? I heard those people were beaten so badly that their brains were beaten out."

"Why are there only a few hundred people? I heard that those officers and soldiers went crazy in Xuzhou and killed thousands of people!"

"Yes! I heard that all the big landlords in Xuzhou have been killed, and the small landlords have also been arrested and are ready to be killed at any time. The soldiers are still hunting down the peasants, saying that they want to kill all the people in Xuzhou!"

"It's horrible. No one in Xuzhou dares to go out to work. My third uncle is from Xuzhou, and he's hiding in our house now. He doesn't dare to go back to Xuzhou!"

"..."

In a field somewhere in Yangzhou Prefecture, several farmers who had been working in the fields for the whole morning were sitting on the edge of the field and chatting.

The topic naturally turned to the free fighting event that took place in Xuzhou Prefecture a few days ago.

Of course, what happened that day has been demonized through word of mouth among the people.

All these hard-working peasants had sad faces, frowned brows, and sighed constantly.

Just then, a rich peasant named Dai Qingniu ran towards them.

"Why are you still here? Master Dai is at the entrance of Daijiazui Village, calling everyone to a meeting!"

"What kind of little meeting are you guys having here? Why don't you go now?!"

After being severely scolded by Dai Qingniu, these people did not dare to complain. They just nodded and bowed, and apologized with a wry smile: "Yes, yes, I'll go right away, right away..." These people were driven from the fields to Daijiazui like animals.

Daijiazui is the largest village in the vicinity, and more than 90% of the people in the village have the surname Dai.

The Master Dai mentioned by Dai Qingniu is the largest landlord in Daijiazui. He owns more than 70% of the land near Daijiazui, including more than ten thousand acres of fertile land.

Although he was not a wealthy family like the four major families in Xuzhou, he was also a wealthy middle-class landlord.

If caught by the Western Factory, his head would be chopped off with one blow.

By the time these farmers arrived at Daijiazui, the dam at the entrance of the village was already filled with Daijiazui villagers.

These people were all young and strong men. They stared intently at a middle-aged man standing on a stone in front of them.

This middle-aged man is Master Dai.

Mr. Dai looked excited, gesticulating and talking about something.

When they got closer, they could hear clearly what Master Dai said.

"Your Majesty is unkind and treats all things as straw dogs!"

"Your Majesty is pressing us step by step. Previously, he investigated our land and tried to collect more taxes from us. This time, he even beat us directly and wanted to kill us!"

"Your Majesty is not leaving us any chance to survive. Can we continue to endure this?!"

After Mr. Dai finished speaking, few people responded, and Mr. Dai felt a little embarrassed.

He coughed twice and continued, "I heard that these soldiers from the imperial court are extremely ruthless. Even unarmed civilians like you will be beaten without mercy!"

"That day outside Xuzhou City, there were five to six thousand Xuzhou citizens who were beaten to death on the spot!"

"Afterwards, the officers and soldiers came to track them down, and took away tens of thousands more people, killing thousands more!"

"These are just like you and me, ordinary people of the Ming Dynasty!"

"These officers and soldiers were able to do such cruel things to the people of Xuzhou. Do you think they won't do the same to us?"

"Do you want to be slaughtered like pigs and dogs by the imperial court's soldiers?!"

This time, Master Dai's words finally had some effect.

Some of the villagers standing around whispered, "We are living well here, and we haven't caused any trouble or committed any mistakes. Why did those officials and soldiers from the court attack us?"

When Master Dai heard this, his face was not angry but happy, and he clapped his hands suddenly: "Good question! Why?!"

Master Dai's face was full of sneers: "Because of people like you, everyone has land to farm!"

"You have to understand that the land you are cultivating now almost all belongs to me!"

"You only need to pay me a small amount of rent every year, and the rest of the grain is yours. You don't have to hand over a single bushel of grain to the court!"

As Master Dai spoke, he stretched out his right hand, pinched his index finger and thumb together, and made a "somewhat" gesture.

"But now, the imperial court is going to investigate all the land in the country. When the imperial court finds out that you never pay taxes on your land, how do you think the imperial court will deal with you?!"

"First, you have to pay the tax. After that, from now on, in addition to paying rent to me, you have to pay tax to the court for the grain you grow."

"The amount of tax grain is limitless."

"Do you think that after you pay my rent and the taxes to the court, the remaining food will be enough to feed your family?!"

Master Dai's words were like a bolt from the blue, making these ignorant people suddenly enlightened.

"So that's how it is. The imperial court is so evil!"

"That's right! That's right! So, His Majesty the Emperor doesn't want to give us any chance to survive!"

"That won't do. We also need to live, and we also need to have enough food and clothing for the common people!"

"..."

The policies formulated by Zhu Youtang, after being implemented at the grassroots level, were misinterpreted and smeared by the local landlords and gentry, and had long gone in the opposite direction from their original purpose.

In order to win the support of local people, these landlords and gentry would make up any outrageous lies.

Previously in Puzhou, it was said that Your Majesty wanted to take back the local land.

This time in Xuzhou, it was said that Your Majesty wanted to impose taxes on their land.

No matter what reason is made up, the purpose is the same, which is to muddy the waters.

Let the ignorant people be unable to distinguish the truth.

The villagers of Daijiazui began to become indignant, cursing and expressing their dissatisfaction with the court.

The villagers' reactions were all within Mr. Dai's expectations.

Master Dai did not rush to continue. Instead, he waited for the villagers' dissatisfaction to brew, accumulate, and be vented before he continued.

"It's not just that simple. Take the previous incident of attacking the county government office. Have you ever done it?"

"Don't you know that attacking the county government office is a serious crime punishable by beheading?!"

When Master Dai finished speaking, the villagers present were all stunned.

They all stared at Master Dai in disbelief with their eyes wide open.

Because on the same day that the county government office of Pei County in Xuzhou Prefecture was attacked, these people, under the organization of Master Dai, also attacked the county government office of the local county magistrate.

Fortunately, the magistrate of their county was not beaten to death by them.

One of the villagers stared at Master Dai and said cautiously, "But...but wasn't it you, Master...who asked us to go?"

"I told you to go, and you really went?!"

Mr. Huang sneered: "Besides, just tell me, did you go or not?!"

"Let me tell you, the people who were beaten to death by soldiers in Xuzhou a few days ago were the ones who attacked the county government offices at that time!"

"When those soldiers arrive in Xuzhou, all of you who stormed the county government will be dead!"

"If you don't want to resist, just go home and clean your neck and wait for the soldiers to come and chop you off!"

Mr. Dai’s words finally took effect.

At this moment, all the villagers in Daijiazui fell into panic.

"Ah! This...what should I do? Master Dai, you can't just stand by and watch someone die!"

"It was you, Master Dai, who asked us to attack the county government office. Now that something has happened, you can't just ignore us!"

"Yes, Master Dai! Please be kind and think of a way to save us!"

"..."

These landlords and gentry used such despicable means to coax and deceive the people into boarding their pirate ship.

At this moment, an imperceptible smile appeared at the corner of Mr. Dai's mouth.

(End of this chapter)