Red Mansion: Seizing Jiangdong, starting with pirates

Chapter 289, National Law

Fang Yong walked up to Dai Quan and asked:
"What were you and His Majesty doing just now?"

Dai Quan's eyes shifted, and he said:

"Your Highness, this old servant was just explaining the history to His Majesty!"

"Oh? Which dynasty's history are you going to explain?"

Fang Yong asked.

Dai Quan replied, "The historical records of the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties."

Fang Yong asked, "What is it you are talking about?"

Dai Quan replied, "It was about Yi Yin supporting the Shang dynasty and the Duke of Zhou acting as regent."

Fang Yong glanced at Dai Quan indifferently and asked, "What did you say?"

Dai Quan inexplicably felt a murderous intent, and he hurriedly replied:
"This old servant tells Your Majesty that His Highness the King of Wu is none other than Yi Yin and the Duke of Zhou!"

The Longqing Emperor, standing nearby, quickly chimed in:

"Yes, yes, the King of Wu is my Yi Yin and Duke of Zhou!"

Fang Yong laughed upon hearing this.

He sat down on a chair to the side.

Upon seeing this, Dai Quan quickly poured tea for Fang Yong.

Then Fang Yong grabbed his wrist, which was hidden in his sleeve.

Pull out the finger.

"Since you're lecturing, why is your finger injured? Hmm!"

Dai Quan felt a chill run down his spine!

Emperor Longqing's expression changed, and he instinctively tried to flee.

Fang Yong stood up, grabbed the Longqing Emperor, and pulled the blood-written letter from his bosom!
"What is this!"

Emperor Longqing was so frightened that he knelt down on the ground again with a thud.

Seeing this, Dai Quan knew he was doomed to die, so he picked up the teapot next to him and smashed it on Fang Yong's head.

"Traitor, prepare to die!"

Fang Yong turned around instantly, with unbelievable speed.

Dai Quan was still making the downward slamming motion when his eyes saw Fang Yong turn around, but his body couldn't react in time.

Fang Yong quickly raised his foot and kicked out hard.

Dai Quan had only finished halfway through his motion of smashing the teapot down when Fang Yong's foot had already landed on Dai Quan's chest.

In an instant, Dai Quan's chest caved in, and he was sent flying at high speed, crashing into the wooden frame with a loud bang and embedding himself in the wall. He was clearly not going to survive.

Upon seeing this, the Longqing Emperor wept bitterly.

Fang Yong then looked at Xia Shouzhong inside the house, waved his hand, and the soldiers beside him immediately stepped forward to arrest him.

Xia Shouzhong hurriedly climbed onto the soft couch to seek help from the retired emperor.

Then he saw Emperor Kangning lying on the soft couch, his eyes half-open, his gaze lifeless, his mouth twitching, and saliva constantly dripping from his mouth.

No matter how much he was called, he didn't respond at all, clearly resembling a partially paralyzed old man.

Xia Shouzhong was quickly pulled off the soft couch by the soldiers and dragged outside little by little.

Xia Shouzhong cried out:
"Your Highness, I beg you, spare me! It was all Dai Quan's doing, it has nothing to do with me! Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I don't want to die!"

Tears welled in the eyes of the Longqing Emperor as he knelt and pleaded:
"King Wu, please, spare him!"

Fang Yongdao said, "Your Majesty, the laws of the land cannot be abolished!"

Emperor Longqing knelt and moved to Fang Yong's front, kowtowing repeatedly and hugging Fang Yong's leg, saying:

"King Wu, this is the only man I have left. Please, for the sake of the relationship between ruler and subject, spare him!"

Fang Yong mentioned the Longqing Emperor and said:
"The law of the land! The law of the land!" he commanded. "Drag him out and execute him!"

Xia Shouzhong was forcibly dragged away by the soldiers.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty!"

The Longqing Emperor collapsed to the ground, writhing in pain.

Fang Yong looked at the Longqing Emperor on the ground, thought for a while, and finally gave up the idea of ​​deposing and installing an emperor.

It's rare to find such a foolish emperor. If we depose him, who knows what the next one will be like!
Then he left.

Quzhou.

Shells rained down on the city walls, and the hastily recruited soldiers inside were no match for the fierce attack.

One by one they cried out and wailed, their morale collapsing instantly.

The man in charge of defense on the city wall changed his expression drastically.

The two people mainly responsible for the defense of the city were Xu Shaobao and Xu Gui.

Xu Gui's expression changed drastically, while Xu Shaobao, on the other hand, was already familiar with this scene and therefore remained unaffected.

Although Xu Gui and Xu Shaobao share the same surname, their backgrounds are completely different.

Xu Shaobao was born a beggar, while Xu Gui was the eldest son of the Xu family, the most prominent family in Quzhou.

The Xu family wielded considerable power in Quzhou. They were high-ranking officials in the area as far back as the Ming Dynasty. Later, they led their followers to surrender to the Qing Dynasty and were rewarded by Emperor Taizu.

His family produced officials of the fourth or fifth rank for generations, and officials of the second or third rank also frequently appeared. In every generation, someone passed the imperial examination.

A few years ago, Xu Gui's grandfather, Xu Longdu, was still a high-ranking official in the court. However, he was implicated in Zhang Tingzheng's downfall and had to retire and return to his hometown.

Even so, the Xu family remains the most prominent family in Quzhou.

Not only were there many members of the clan, but the rice, flour, oil, and cloth industries in Quzhou were also managed by the Xu family's branch.

The Xu family were local bullies, which is why they were not welcoming of the Huaiyin army.

Especially after hearing about the deeds of the Huaiyin Army along the way, the Xu family was even less likely to welcome them into the country.

A large family like theirs, with numerous members of varying character, is simply not going to be completely clean.

Harassing women in the street is already considered a sign of high moral character within the family.

He raped his wife, killed his husband, sold his son, and seized his land...

In short, when people have enough power, their evil side will be revealed without reservation.

Moreover, the Xu family has a century-old foundation, tens of thousands of acres of land, and countless shops and properties. These were all earned step by step by the Xu family members. How could they possibly hand them over so easily?
This is a life-or-death struggle for the family; neither side will back down an inch.

The Xu family took in the remnants of Xu Shaobao's army who had fled there. At the same time, they lavishly distributed wealth in the city, spread rumors that the Huaiyin army was massacring the city, and recruited able-bodied men to jointly resist the Huaiyin bandits!
These ordinary people had almost no access to information from the outside world and little ability to think independently. Under the influence of the Xu family's instigation and generosity, many people were united in their hatred of the enemy and engaged in fierce battles with the Huaiyin Army.

Lin Lin believed that such a war would only result in the mass slaughter of civilians, which would be a losing proposition. He suggested that people should be sent to persuade the people to surrender, explain the policies, and tell them the truth.

Wei Xing, however, was extremely ruthless. He sneered and said:
"Cannons are more persuasive than words!"

Ultimately, Wei Xing rejected Lin Lin's request and decided to launch a strong attack. Ding Wanke was in charge of leading the main attack, while Lin Lin and Ji Quan each led a detachment to ambush Xu Shaobao from behind Quzhou, blocking his escape route.

This time, he will completely annihilate Xu Shaobao and end this chase.

When the war officially began and the cannons roared, a shell smashed a living person to pieces on the spot. The warm, foul-smelling flesh and blood poured over them, and the people instantly calmed down.

Then, countless Huaiyin soldiers charged forward in a dark mass, their killing intent filling the air. One civilian after another was hacked to death without any chance to fight back. The civilians lost all morale and fled in panic!
Xu Gui had thought that the soldiers he had recruited could withstand the attack of the Huaiyin army.

After all, according to military texts, in a siege, the attacking side needs ten times the number of troops to conquer a city.

According to his intelligence, Wei Xing's army numbered no more than 80,000.

He recruited nearly 20,000 able-bodied men, which should have been more than enough to hold off Wei Xing's 80,000 troops!

Who would have thought that these soldiers would react like chickens to tigers when they saw the Huaiyin Army? They didn't even put up a fight, and they stumbled and fell when they tried to escape!
The military treatise was correct, but Xu Gui overlooked one point.

Military texts say that defending a city requires soldiers, not civilians.

(End of this chapter)