Red Mansion: Seizing Jiangdong, starting with pirates

Chapter 358, Occupying Wuchang

Wuchang is the capital of Hubei Province.

The city was established along the river, making it highly significant in both military defense and administrative importance.

However, this time, the city did not experience war.

"A warm welcome to the Huaiyin Naval Force as they enter the city!"

Iron-hulled ships sailed along the Yangtze River, and large crowds lined both banks to welcome them. Although the gleaming cannons on the ships instilled some fear in the people, they still cheered enthusiastically.

The Huaiyin Army enjoyed a fairly good reputation among the common people, but such a large-scale welcoming ceremony could not possibly have been a spontaneous act by the people themselves.

The Huaiyin Army was not a people's army, but a proper feudal imperial army. Its fundamental purpose was to maintain Fang Yong's rule and suppress the people and rebels.

Therefore, the people may feel some gratitude towards this army, but they will not be too close to it, because their emotions are more likely to be a mixture of gratitude and fear. At most, a small number of people will come to welcome them.

This welcoming event was actually arranged by the major families in Wuchang City. The common people were all planted, and even the lines spoken during the welcome were pre-designed.

Local officials stood among the crowd of people, seemingly harmoniously blending in with them to welcome the arrival of the Huaiyin army. However, in reality, the people around the officials were so tense that they dared not move a muscle, or even turn their eyes, which was a testament to the power and authority of officials in this era.

"General Fang's presence today is truly an honor to our humble abode. Our family and the local gentry have prepared a banquet to welcome General Fang and his troops!"

Fang Zhi was flattered by this news.

Although he was a veteran general with many years of experience, he had always followed Zhang Yuan and listened to Zhang Yuan's orders. This was the first time he had led troops on his own, and he never expected to directly recapture such a large city as Wuchang.

Fang Zhi knew that the main person in charge of the Hubei campaign was Marshal Qing. His trip was not to actually participate in the attack on Hubei, but simply to train his troops while the fighting in Hubei was not intense.

Of course, since they've joined the war, they'll inevitably try to steal some of the credit from the troops that were originally responsible for attacking this area.

He contacted Qing Shuai before he came.

The other party was very generous and did not care about these credits. Instead, they assigned him some relatively easy tasks.

Fang Zhi also followed Ma Laohei's orders and completed several tasks very well, which greatly trained his new recruits.

One of the missions was located outside Wuchang, near the Dabie Mountains, in a marshland inhabited by a band of water bandits, numbering around a thousand.

Of course, these people were nominally river bandits, but in reality they were government troops who had been stationed in the area.

After Fang Yong began his attack on Hubei, officials and troops in various parts of Hubei faced two choices: surrender or resist.

People have different opinions about these two options.

Fang Yong's forces were vast and his army was well-trained. Most people would not dare to resist in such a situation and would choose to surrender obediently.

However, some people were used to committing evil deeds and had a long list of crimes. The Huaiyin Army did not treat these people well. Knowing that they would most likely be executed after surrendering, these people simply refused to surrender and resisted stubbornly.

The troops previously stationed here were thus divided into two parts: one part surrendered to the Huaiyin Army, and the other part chose to defend the area by relying on the water and marshland terrain.

Meanwhile, some aristocratic families who refused to surrender secretly funded these people, contributing to the cause of resisting Fang Yong.

After receiving the order, Fang Zhi led the navy to attack the bandits. The process was uneventful; the bandits' attacks couldn't even break through the iron plates on the Huaiyin warships. After a few rounds of cannon fire, the bandits' defenses crumbled, their stronghold was captured, most of the key personnel were executed, most surrendered, and a small number escaped to the Dabie Mountains. However, those people no longer needed Fang Zhi's management; Ma Laohei would send people to wipe them out later.

Having completed his mission, it was time to return in triumph. Up to this point, nothing unexpected had happened. However, as Fang Zhi was returning along the waterway, a tremendous disaster struck him.

Wuchang surrendered to him!

In the current battle situation, Ma Laohei has not yet recaptured Wuchang.

After capturing Xiangyang, Ma Laohei's army expanded outwards, and currently mainly occupies all areas within De'an Prefecture and part of Jingzhou territory.

The troops approached Wuchang, but did not launch an attack.

The current main combat mode is that Zhang Haicheng initiates the cleanup first, and only after Zhang Haicheng has wiped out most of the resistance forces and "done all the bad things" will the Huaiyin Army follow up.

In order to demonstrate his loyalty to Fang Yong, Zhang Haicheng went on a killing spree, showing no mercy to the powerful families in Hubei. Moreover, his own wealth expanded rapidly during the killings, which made him even more unrestrained.

It was precisely because of this that, although the official families in Wuchang Prefecture dared not resist the rule of the Huaiyin Army, they also dared not surrender to Zhang Haicheng at will.

This guy is a complete madman; it's hard to guarantee he won't go on a killing spree in the city after accepting the surrender.

However, dragging it out indefinitely is not a solution. Currently, Zhang Haicheng's army is lingering in several towns outside Wuchang, and it is estimated that it will be Wuchang's turn soon. If they are really asked to defend the city, they will not be able to do so. Therefore, the situation has fallen into a dilemma.

Just then, Fang Zhi's appearance broke the deadlock.

Some people thought that if they surrendered to Fang Zhi, they wouldn't need to surrender to Zhang Haicheng!

And so, the message of surrender was sent.

Then Fang Zhi agreed to Wuchang's surrender.

The official families in Wuchang immediately erupted in cheers.

In fact, they had previously sent people to surrender to Ma Laohei, but Ma Laohei was very shrewd and did not send the Huaiyin Army to take over Wuchang. He simply told them that Zhang Haicheng was also a member of the Huaiyin Army and that they should trust the Huaiyin Army. He also said that if Zhang Haicheng violated military regulations, Lord Wu would definitely uphold justice for them.

Uphold justice for your grandmother!

Having served as officials for so many years, don't they know whether there is fairness in the face of power?

By then, Zhang Haicheng will have killed everyone. What's the use of belated justice?

At the banquet, Fang Zhi and local officials and gentry toasted each other, enjoying the delicacies and exquisite dishes, as well as the enchanting songs and dances.

Even in such a situation, Fang Zhi was not corrupted by the other party.

He kept the Huaiyin Army's military regulations firmly in mind, and apart from granting local officials some normal rights to survival, he did not betray any of the Huaiyin Army's interests.

At the same time, before the banquet began, he ordered his men to quickly take over the city's armed forces and defenses to ensure a stable military advantage.

His army was small, only a few thousand men. It would have been impossible for them to capture a city like Wuchang under normal circumstances. Fang Zhi was also puzzled as to why the other side would suddenly surrender to him.

Fang Zhi also considered sending someone to ask Ma Laohei before making a decision.

However, the journey is long, and the news may not arrive for a while. He might miss the opportunity, and if the enemy doesn't surrender by then, wouldn't he have wasted such a great achievement?

(End of this chapter)