Red Mansion: Seizing Jiangdong, starting with pirates

Chapter 359, Not a Mistake

Fang Zhi, who had captured Wuchang, immediately relayed the news to Ma Laohei.

He also relayed this message to Zhang Yuan.

Zhang Yuan was not in charge of matters in Hubei, and according to military regulations, he should not have obtained such important military information from other battlefields without authorization.

However, Fang Zhi was originally Zhang Yuan's subordinate, so he naturally stood on the same side as Zhang Yuan. Although this matter was not in accordance with the law, it was reasonable.

At the same time, Fang Zhi also had his own little schemes.

Wuchang is a strategic location in Hubei Province, with significant military and political importance. He captured such a city without firing a single shot, which was a great achievement. Fearing that Ma Laohei's generals might be jealous and steal his credit, they also passed the news to Zhang Yuan to prevent such a thing from happening.

Meanwhile, Zhang Haicheng's Ding'e Army also arrived outside Wuchang City.

Zhang Haicheng was unaware that Wuchang had changed hands, and he ordered one of his generals to survey the city.

The subordinate general ordered the military captain to be in charge of the exploration.

The captain ordered his men to investigate.

The battalion commander ordered several scouts to go out of the camp to scout.

Soon, several groups of scouts approached the area outside the city.

Even in important cities like Wuchang, the area outside the city walls wasn't completely barren; it had some fortifications, though not as strong as the city walls themselves.

These places are now under the management of the Huaiyin Army.

The two unexpectedly met in the wild under these circumstances.

Although the Ding'e Army had joined the Huaiyin Army, it was essentially still composed of local Hubei government troops. Fang Zhi's men had never met these people before, and could not distinguish them by sight alone.

As for the navy, since it was a newly formed navy by Zhang Yuan, their uniforms were different from those of the ordinary Huaiyin Army, and the Ding'e Army had never seen them before.

As expected, a battle broke out between the two sides outside.

This was the first time the Ding'e Army had ever seen such elite government troops, well-equipped and highly trained.

The navy was also shocked, not expecting an attack on the city so soon.

In terms of combat experience, the naval soldiers were all newly recruited soldiers. Although they had experienced a few battles, they could not yet be considered elite.

On the other hand, the Ding'e Army, although it had some combat experience, was far inferior to the navy in terms of weaponry and equipment, so the two sides were evenly matched.

After fighting for some time, both sides suffered losses, but the Ding'e Army suffered more losses because they were only scouts responsible for reconnaissance and their fighting spirit was not strong.

Furthermore, the opposing army had some musketeers who possessed a strange type of musket that fired quickly and accurately, causing them considerable losses.

Seeing that time was dragging on and that further delays might attract other defending forces, the Ding'e Army decisively chose to flee.

Immediately afterwards, the information was relayed back to each other.

Fang Zhi and Zhang Haicheng became nervous as a result, and repeatedly sent people to inquire about the other party's situation.

Fortunately, after a series of contacts, both sides quickly realized that it was a misunderstanding.

After the misunderstanding was cleared up, Zhang Haicheng requested to enter the city and take over the defense of Wuchang.

By this time, Zhang Haicheng had become Fang Yong's number one henchman in Hubei, a very useful black glove.

Zhang Haicheng is very comfortable with this role.

He led his Ding'e Army to target the gentry families in Hubei who had resisted, families that had been deeply rooted in the local area for hundreds of years and were extremely wealthy.

During this period, Zhang Haicheng amassed a fortune, and all his soldiers received benefits, greatly increasing their loyalty. He also sent generous gifts to Commander Qing, Lady Xue, and many other generals of the Huaiyin Army, establishing very good relationships with them.

Meng Liang, the military supervisor sent by the Huaiyin Army, not only accepted his generous gifts but also became infatuated with his wife, Kuai Shi. Currently, he is obediently staying in the rear and not interfering in his military operations at all.

In Zhang Haicheng's own view, he now held military power, his soldiers were extremely loyal, he was wealthy, and he had extensive business dealings with the high command of the Huaiyin Army, so his position should be very secure. Wuchang City was, at this time, both a stepping stone for Zhang Haicheng's advancement and his treasury.

What? You're saying that all the wealthy families in the city have surrendered, and there's no one who's resisting Fang Yong's rule?
Nonsense, bad people are always hiding among the masses.

Didn't you see that King Wu turned a blind eye to this?
Zhang Haicheng demanded to enter Wuchang and take over the city's defenses.

However, Fang Zhi interpreted this action as an attempt to steal credit.

Wuchang has already been recovered by him, and the city is peaceful and prosperous with no one resisting. So why should the Ding'e Army take over the city's defense?

Fang Zhi was a naval commander sent by Zhang Yuan to train troops, but at this time he was blinded by the great merit of recapturing Wuchang and had long forgotten his original intention of coming here to train troops.

Another reason is that Fang Zhi was unaware of the sordid affair between Zhang Haicheng and Fang Yong.

To put it bluntly, Fang Yong was trying to have his cake and eat it too.

On the one hand, he wanted to take over Hubei more easily by tricking the Hubei gentry into surrendering and giving up resistance.

On the other hand, he was worried that if he took over all the Hubei gentry, the local power in Hubei would become too strong and difficult to govern in the future.

Thus, Zhang Haicheng, the black glove, came into being by chance, to handle these people that were inconvenient for Fang Yong to deal with.

In return, Fang Yong promised to retain Zhang Haicheng's position and his military power.

Of course, Meng Liang and Li Jia were also involved in the scheme, but their scheme was just a personal grudge between the two of them and had nothing to do with Fang Yong. Fang Yong himself was not the kind of person who would discard someone after they had served their purpose.

Ma Laohei was well aware of Zhang Haicheng's role, and therefore cooperated fully in his actions.

However, this matter can only be done in secret and cannot be discussed openly.

On the surface, Fang Yong was simply deceived by Zhang Haicheng...

Fang Zhi, as a naval commander, was unaware of the intricacies of the situation. His primary mission was simply to train troops, but tempted by the prospect of recapturing the city, he was manipulated by the gentry of Wuchang and became a foolish man who unwittingly opposed Zhang Haicheng.

Upon learning of Zhang Haicheng's arrival outside the city, the local gentry immediately sent gifts to Fang Zhi and other naval commanders of the Huaiyin Army stationed inside the city. The prominent Cai family even gave all their illegitimate daughters to Fang Zhi as concubines.

Meanwhile, these powerful families bewitched Fang Zhi, telling him not to let Zhang Haicheng enter the city.

They stated that although Zhang Haicheng had been incorporated into the Huaiyin Army, his nature remained unchanged. Under the guise of the Huaiyin Army, he plundered and looted the people, deceived his superiors and subordinates, and committed numerous evils. If he were allowed to enter the city, Wuchang would surely be plunged into chaos.

These words were mostly true, but one part was false, and Fang Zhi couldn't tell the difference, so he believed them to be true.

Fang Zhi rejected Zhang Haicheng's proposal to take over the city's defenses, leaving Zhang Haicheng completely baffled.

He sent people to negotiate with Fang Zhi, but the negotiations did not go smoothly due to the influence of the gentry in Wuchang.

In addition, the two sides had a previous conflict that resulted in the deaths of some people. Although the incident was minor, both sides harbored resentment, and tensions were escalating.

So both sides complained to Ma Laohei, accusing each other of wrongdoing.

Fang Zhi accused Zhang Haicheng of looting civilians and violating military regulations.

Zhang Haicheng accused Fang Zhi of associating with rebels and accepting bribes.

Although the soldiers on both sides did not engage in a major battle, there were constant skirmishes. Zhang Haicheng specifically sent some people to mark off areas outside the city and challenge Fang Zhi's soldiers and generals to hand-to-hand combat. Although no one died during these fights, many soldiers suffered broken legs and arms.

Zhang Haicheng cunningly dispatched some martial arts practitioners he had recruited. These people were not skilled in military formations and had limited use on the battlefield, but they were very powerful in one-on-one hand-to-hand combat.

Fang Zhi foolishly sent his soldiers and generals to fight, only to be defeated nine times out of ten, becoming a laughingstock and exacerbating the conflict between the two sides.

The gentry of Wuchang watched the spectacle from the sidelines, secretly delighted.

The more intense the conflict between the two sides, the safer they will be. Ideally, the two sides should fight to the death, until they are completely locked in a fierce battle, which will ensure their safety.

(End of this chapter)