Zhu Yuanzhang in the cellar

Chapter 173 Zuo Liangyu Attacks

The news that a group of unidentified men in Changsha, claiming to be Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, broke through Zhang Xianzhong's garrison in Changsha and occupied Changsha spread like a raging storm.

Although it has not yet been sent to Beijing, people in Hunan and even in nearby areas such as Jiangxi and Hubei have already heard about it.

In particular, when the people heard that Changsha was opening its granaries to release grain, they almost flocked to the place.

At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the entire society had entered a powder keg society. The Little Ice Age led to constant natural disasters, rampant corrupt officials, and widespread public resentment.

As a result, uprisings emerged one after another and the people were in dire straits.

They may not have come here because of Zhu Yuanzhang's reputation, but they definitely came for the relief grain that was opened in the warehouses.

Under such circumstances, the city of Changsha can be said to be bustling with people, and refugees from surrounding areas such as Ningxiang, Yiyang, Liuyang, Xiangtan, Yueyang and other places flocked in.

Naturally, there are a large number of spies among them.

Including Zuo Liangyu's spies, Zhang Xianzhong's spies, Li Qiande's spies, and Lu Daqi's spies.

A few days ago, Lu Daqi and Zuo Liangyu also received letters from Liu Xizuo.

Like Li Qiande, both of them believed that this was a conspiracy set up by Zhang Xianzhong, who wanted to lure them to Changsha in the name of Taizu and then capture them in one fell swoop.

Just a little bit confused.

This strategy is really a bit childish. Using a person who has been dead for more than 200 years to deceive them, isn't this treating the Ming army as fools?
So after discussing it, the two decided to report to Beijing first and then send spies to check out the situation.

Just when several parties were somewhat unsure of the emerging power of Changsha, Hunan actually fell into a brief period of calm during this period.

Li Qiande was in Baoqing Prefecture in southwest Hunan, and Zhang Xianzhong retreated to Pingxiang, Hengyang, Yongzhou and other places. He even gave up Xiangtan because Zhu Yuanzhang sent Xu Da to attack Xiangtan, and Zhang Xianzhong's troops were defeated and fled.

Lü Daqi and Zuo Liangyu's troops captured Yuanzhou, which is Yichun City. At the same time, Zuo Liangyu's troops also captured Yuezhou, which was equivalent to the government troops encircling Changsha from two sides.

It was not even just the government troops. With Changsha as the center, there were Zhang Xianzhong to the south, Lu Daqi to the east, Zuo Liangyu to the north, and Li Qiande to the west. Once the imperial court issued an order, a three-way encirclement and suppression would take place, with Zuo Liangyu watching from the south.

The only Ming official who fled to Changsha was Zhou Ernan, the magistrate of Changsha.

He had nowhere to go after being defeated by Enengqi.

You County is located east of Hengyang and south of Pingxiang. To go north to join Zuo Liangyu, one must pass through the territories of Zhang Xianzhong and Zhu Yuanzhang.

To go east to join Lu Daqi, one still has to pass through Zhang Xianzhong's territory.

If you flee south to Chenzhou, Shaoguan, Guangdong and other places, it is also very dangerous and you may be caught.

Because at this time northern Guangdong had already been taken over by Zhang Xianzhong.

According to historical records, Zhang Xianzhong's army quickly spread across the entire Hunan province and successively captured Hengyang, Baoqing, Yongzhou and other places. The might of the army was so great that officers and soldiers in Nanxiong and Shaozhou counties in Guangdong "fled". Wang Sunlan, the Ming Dynasty's deputy envoy to Nanshao, was so frightened that he hanged himself.

During its heyday, Zhang Xianzhong controlled almost the entire Hunan Province, western Jiangxi Province, and northern Guangdong Province. He had a strong army of hundreds of thousands and could be said to be the dominant force in the area.

Therefore, in this situation, Zhou Ernan's running south is actually a dead end.

What's more, he was an official in Hunan and had the duty to defend the territory. Going to Guangdong or Jiangxi would be a capital crime. Therefore, in this situation, he had no choice but to disguise himself and sneak back to Changsha, trying to reorganize his troops in order to redeem himself from his crime.

However, Zhou Ernan was the magistrate of Changsha and many people knew him. He never expected that he would be recognized as soon as he entered the city. He was finally reported to the soldiers guarding the city and was taken to Zhu Yuanzhang.

Zhu Yuanzhang has been inspecting the city these days.

He was wearing a dragon robe, with gray hair on his temples, and walking on the streets of Changsha with a majestic face. Xu Da and others followed behind him. Wherever he went, people knelt down and kowtowed to him, calling him "Your Majesty".

The reason I did this is because in recent days I have regained the feeling of conquering the world back then.

Zhu Yuanzhang was the same at that time. He was kind to the people, respectful to the wise and humble, and accepted warriors and scholars from all over the country who came to him for surrender. He was willing to use them even if they were once his enemies.

It was this kind of open-mindedness and the heroic temperament he displayed that won the hearts of the people and enabled him to eventually secure his throne.

If it weren't for the mass killing of meritorious officials in his later years, and the almost slave-like surveillance and implicate of officials and common people in order to consolidate his power, I'm afraid Zhu's evaluation would have been even higher.

The current Zhu has changed after the twelfth year of Hongwu.

Not as violent as in his later years.

His character is not so extreme, but instead shows the demeanor of a king.

He personally patrolled the city and often comforted the poor people. When he saw beggars on the street, he would give them food and clothing and enlist them in the Tuntian Guard.

Because of the war, there were a lot of unowned fields outside Changsha, which were nationalized by Zhu Yuanzhang. He also incorporated a large number of young and strong refugees as well as the elderly, women and children into the military farms and reclaimed the wasteland in preparation for spring plowing.

It is already September this year, and it is too late to plant late rice. We are in the midst of a mini ice age. The winters in Changsha are very cold, and there may even be heavy snow, making it unsuitable for planting.

But the land is not only used for farming. Digging canals, composting, pest control, loosening the land, etc. in advance are all essential processes.

Zhu Yuanzhang knew very well that it was unrealistic to leave only one thousand men behind in Changsha and send out several thousand more to launch a sweeping attack.

Without a base, there would be no logistical supplies.

Food is easy to get, you can just get supplies wherever you go, but what about weapons and ammunition?
Therefore, the best option is to manage Changsha well, ensure a continuous supply of subsequent resources, strive to sweep the world within a year, and re-establish order in troubled times.

"Your Majesty, now that the people around Changsha have surrendered, some officials have also received my letter. Although they are skeptical, they still take office because they are worried that the bandits will come again. Will..."

Liu Xizuo followed Lao Zhu and spoke cautiously.

At present, Changsha’s defense force is actually quite strong. Young Zhu Di took 800 people away, and there are still more than 4,000 people left in Changsha.

Even though there are few people, who can withstand automatic rifles, fragmentation grenades and mortars?
Zhu Yunfeng has even gone crazy these days and has been operating the Ming Dynasty's Divine Power Cannon.

The Shenwei Cannon was modeled after the howitzer made by a French lady. Although its caliber is only 75mm, it can fire continuously and its range is much greater than the red cannon of the late Ming Dynasty.

Therefore, let alone Zhang Xianzhong, even all the rebel forces in the late Ming Dynasty, including the government troops and even the Qing army, with a million troops besieging Changsha, were just sending food to them.

of course.

The prerequisite is that there are enough bullets and shells, otherwise without bullets and shells you will definitely be overwhelmed by the sea of ​​people.

But then again, with the teleportation channel, there is an endless supply of bullets and shells.

So there is no need to worry about this.

Zhu thought for a moment and said, "I will send a few hundred people to Xiangtan in the south to guard it. It will be enough to stop the 300 bandits."

"Your Majesty the Great Ancestor has unparalleled divine power. Naturally, no villain in the world can defeat him."

Liu Xizuo said flatteringly.

Zhu Yunfeng was holding his phone, looking at the information about Liu Xizuo that he had downloaded from the Internet, and wondered to Ji He, "The Internet says that this guy has a righteous character, is mighty and unyielding, and faced Zhang Xianzhong's persuasion to surrender and died for his country. How come he is better at flattering than me?"

Ji He curled his lips and said, "The Jianghu is not about fighting and killing, it's about human relationships. If we were in the late Ming Dynasty, Taizu would be resurrected, and he would bring so many heavenly soldiers and generals with him, and the flattery would be louder than his."

At this time, a soldier came over with the dusty Zhou Ernan and said, "Your Majesty, this man has been recognized as the Changsha Tongpan."

"You are my brother."

Liu Xizuo hurriedly asked, "Why are you so embarrassed?"

Zhou Ernan snorted coldly, "How dare you, a disloyal and treacherous person like you, call me my brother? I will kill you or chop you up, whatever you want."

Liu Xizuo realized that he had made the same mistake as before, and hurriedly said, "You, my brother, have misunderstood. This is really His Majesty Taizu. You don't know what kind of person I am. If it weren't for the fact that Taizu came in person, I would have committed suicide to sacrifice my life for the country, so as not to bring trouble to the family's reputation."

Zhou Ernan hesitated.

Liu Xizuo was a descendant of the Liu family of Xiying, Wujin. His family had strict traditions and his clan was known as a prestigious family in Jiangsu.

His father Liu Chunren was honest and upright throughout his life. He died of illness due to overwork while in office. When he was seriously ill, his subordinates gave him gifts, but he refused them with his hands. When he was buried, his family sold his clothes to repay the funeral expenses. Not only was he rewarded by the court with three imperial edicts, but the local Fujian Province also honored him and enshrined him in the Temple of Famous Officials. Changzhou also publicly selected him to be enshrined in the Temple of Local Worthies. He was a famous family in the area.

Such family tradition was praised at that time.

If a member of the family were to rebel, it would bring shame to the entire family.

Therefore, these local prominent families pay more attention to their reputation.

Now that the other party is using their family's reputation as a guarantee, in the eyes of the ancients, the credibility is indeed very high.

This is a bit like the saying in later generations: if you cheat someone, your whole family will die.

It's just that Taizu came down to earth
It's unbelievable.

Seeing his hesitation, Liu Xizuo struck while the iron was hot and said, "Not only His Majesty Taizu, but also His Majesty Chengzu of the 18th year of Hongwu, His Majesty King Zhongshan, and His Majesty King Qiyang are all here."

Zhou Ernan asked in confusion, "The eighteenth year of Hongwu? Didn't His Royal Highness the King of Zhongshan and His Royal Highness the King of Qiyang pass away by then?"

"Taizu has his own magic."

Liu Xizuo smiled and said, "If you don't believe me, just let His Royal Highness the King of Wu take you to Hongwu."

"Why bother me with such a small matter?"

Zhu Yunfeng stepped forward and patted Ji He on the shoulder, saying pretentiously, "Duke Chu, I'll leave it to you."

"Yes, Your Highness!"

Ji He imitated the ancients, showing an abstract expression on his face, clasping his fists and bowing, and then said to the guards who were escorting Zhou Ernan: "Let's go, take him to see the Hongwu Nian."

Zhou Ernan was taken away by Ji He in a daze.

Old Zhu inspected the city defense for a while, followed by Xu Da, Zhu Yunfeng and Liu Xizuo.

He arranged for Fu Youde to stay in Xiangyin.

He was not worried about Zhang Xianzhong, as he would be killed instantly when he arrived.

The main reason is that Zuo Liangyu likes to do things in secret.

Although they are not able to defeat Zhu, it is still a trouble if they come here to harass the people and disgust Zhu.

Therefore, in order to keep the enemy out of the vicinity of Changsha, a core circle was established with Changsha as the center.

After the inspection, everyone returned to the old residence of Prince Ji. The large military tent they had built was filled with various situation maps.

There is also a radio station nearby to facilitate communication with distant teams.

Entering the tent, Lao Zhu leaned his hands on the table and looked at the map and said, "If everything goes as expected, Zuo Liangyu and Lu Daqi should attack in a few days. How do you think we should deal with them?"

"It's not a pity that Zuo Liangyu and Zuo Menggeng died, but he had hundreds of thousands of people under his command. They were all civilians who joined the army because they couldn't survive. It would be wrong to wipe them all out."

Zhu Yunfeng suggested: "My idea is to wait for him to attack, then we can get a sniper to shoot them and gather their fleeing soldiers. How about that? We can also use this tactic against Zhang Xianzhong."

"Ah."

Old Zhu nodded and said, "To catch a thief, we must first catch the leader. We didn't have the conditions before, but now we have them, so we can give it a try."

"After destroying Zhang Xianzhong and occupying Hunan, he also claimed that the Emperor Taizu had descended to the earth. I guess the next step will be for the imperial court to send heavy troops to encircle and suppress him."

Zhu Yunfeng scratched his head and said, "I am worried about the fourth brother now. Even if he helps Sun Chuanting defeat Li Zicheng, what if the imperial court turns against him?"

"If that unworthy descendant is like this, then it's no wonder that I personally led the troops north and hanged him on that old crooked tree."

A hint of coldness flashed in Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes.

The most annoying thing is that my birthplace is not in Beijing but in Changsha.

Because I can't prove my identity if I'm not in Beijing.

Otherwise, if his brother Zhu Youxiao was pulled over, Chongzhen would have to kneel down on the spot.

Now Taizu’s slogan and banner have been raised, but he is still troubled by the inability to prove his identity.

But his attitude towards the Ming army was mainly to negotiate.

If the opponent takes the initiative to attack, he can at most defeat him and then surrender.

But if you touch little Zhu Di, you would be touching his reverse scale.

Old Zhu now chose to start the rebellion in Changsha in order to restore a stable regime for the Ming Dynasty.

If Chongzhen was really so foolish as to attack Zhu Di, then Zhu Di would have to march into Beijing alone even at the cost of the Ming dynasty.

But that's the worst case scenario after all.

Zhu Di was also reminded of various matters. With so many guards around him and pistols on him, he would have to be very stupid to be caught by a group of cold weapon soldiers including Sun Chuanting.

So he wasn't particularly worried.

After Zhu finished speaking, he drew a circle around Hunan and said, "Pacify Hunan, appoint honest and capable officials to govern it first, and then go north to Hubei. If Zuo Liangyu is sensible, he can be spared, but if he is not, he will be killed."

"Well, this grand strategy is definitely correct. Now everything is in chaos, so we should pacify it step by step."

Zhu Yunfeng nodded.

At this time, Zhou Ernan was also brought over. Like Liu Xizuo, he had a dull look in his eyes. Then he knelt down in front of Zhu Yuanzhang and said loudly: "Your Majesty, Emperor Taizu, is here to see you. Long live Emperor Taizu."

"Okay, get up, find Liu Xizuo, and do what you should do."

Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Zhou Ernan withdrew respectfully.

Later, Liu Xizuo asked him to write letters to Li Qiande, Lu Daqi and others, and also to ask some local officials in Hunan who were resisting to gather in Changsha.

Just when Zhu Yuanzhang was waiting for Zhang Xianzhong to come to Changsha and annihilate him, a telegram came in.

Fu Youde from Xiangyin called the main station, and Lao Zhu put on his headphones and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Zuo Liangyu's vanguard has reached Xiangyin."

"chi"

Old Zhu immediately sneered and said, "This Zuo Liangyu is really stupid enough to work for Zhang Xianzhong."

Zhu Yunfeng scratched his head and said, "I guess there's nothing we can do. Although Zuo Liangyu is a warlord who only follows orders but not declarations, there's someone claiming to be the Grand Ancestor. We have no choice but to come. Besides, he should have investigated Changsha's strengths and weaknesses and knows that we are few in number. He thinks we are easy to bully. By the way, we can also recapture Changsha and make great contributions. It's like killing two birds with one stone."

"What a pity, I kicked the steel plate."

Zhu Yuanzhang pondered for a moment and said to Feng Sheng beside him, "Take a thousand men and go there to see if you can deal with Zuo Liangyu and recruit his army."

"Yes."

Feng Sheng responded and immediately left the tent.

Watching his departing figure, Zhu Yunfeng shook his head and said, "Zuo Liangyu and his son will probably be punished."

(End of this chapter)