The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 601 The world returns to its heart
Before the Ming Dynasty, Jiujiang Prefecture was called Jiangzhou. Yes, it was the Jiangzhou where the heroes of Liangshan Marsh made a big fuss in "Water Margin".

The North Gate is next to the surging Yangtze River, and the most prosperous wharf is located here. On weekdays, there are many cargo ships and merchants and peddlers here in an endless stream.

Because the Qi army has recently arrived at the Yangtze River, merchant ships traveling north and south have been affected and the dock seems a bit deserted.

Qian Qianyi stepped onto the swaying sampan, walked up to the river bank, and looked up at Yueshimen in front of him.

"General, we don't know whether there are people or ghosts in Donglin Temple. We must be on high alert."

"The two Grand Secretaries should also be careful, Li Zicheng and Wei Zhao. If anything unexpected happens after we enter the city, you should send out the signal arrows in time and the army will attack the city."

The team split into two here. Wu Xiao took the Jiangxi Ye Bushou from the First Corps to Donglin Temple to find Monk Jing'an, while Qian Qianyi took the remaining people and entered the city through Yueshimen.

The north gate of Jiujiang is called Yueshi Gate, and the people of Jiujiang call it "the Key Gate".

Wei Zhao watched Wu Xiao and the other man walk away and sighed softly:

"Thinking back to those days, the seven of us heroes caused chaos in Dengzhou. Seven of our brothers Lin were stained with blood on the battlefield, while the princess in his arms was fast asleep. Alas, we are now separated and don't know whether we are alive or dead."

Qian Qianyi smiled and said, "General Wei's writing is brilliant, but there is no need to worry. This time, not only will everyone be safe, but they will also achieve great success."

"Achieve great achievements? I'm afraid we should let Yuan Linhou achieve great achievements!"

Zhang Pu sneered and walked straight forward.

Xu Jingwanshao hurriedly chased after him to protect him.

Li Zicheng was not interested in the fight between the two grand secretaries. He was responsible for the rear guard and walked behind without saying a word.

Although Jiujiang is a strategic point between the north and the south and a strong military town, like other cities in the Southern Ming Dynasty, the capital city has been at peace for a long time and its war preparedness has been relaxed. More than a hundred years have passed since the last rebellion of Ning Wang Zhu Chenhao and Wang Yangming suppressed it.

The city wall along the river is a bit dilapidated, and moss has grown on the outer brick layer. Fortunately, the city wall is generally well preserved and will not collapse.

Wei Zhao whispered, "Grand Secretary, I didn't expect Jiujiang City to be in such a state of disrepair. Zhu Changling didn't even send anyone to repair it. Zuo Liangyu couldn't even take this, and he still wants to attack Henan?"

Looking down from the air, the entire city wall looks like a gray dragon coiled on the river bank, and around the dragon's old body are densely packed human figures.

Qian Qianyi was like an old monk in meditation, just walking on his own and ignoring Wei Yidao.

After walking up a steep flight of stairs, everyone arrived at Master Yue's door.

On both sides of the steps were porters like ants, carrying loads weighing dozens of kilograms and walking up the steps step by step.

Wei Zhao was surprised to see several children half a man's height among the porters, saying, "Where have all the able-bodied men in Jiujiang City gone? They're still making children carry water. Their lives are even worse than those of the boatmen in Tianjin!"

"It's time to defend the city."

The laborers were so busy working that no one noticed a group of Qi officials walking past them.

The learned Zhang Pu explained:
"In Jiujiang Prefecture, the well water is turbid and bitter, so the city's water comes from the Yangtze River. People have to carry water from the river one by one, and this has been going on for thousands of years."

Wei Zhao took over the conversation: "Similar to our Tianjin garrison, these porters, like the boat trackers, are all very hardworking. Once we capture Jiujiang, we will have a source of new recruits."

Qian Qianyi stroked his beard and said with a smile, "Everyone, I have come to Jiujiang Prefecture to negotiate peace. Please do not mention any war, so as not to hurt the harmony. If we can recapture Jiangzhou without bloodshed, I will personally report to the Emperor and ask for your contribution!"

"The Grand Secretary is right. Yuan surrendered, so we don't have to fight again. Peace is the most important thing."

Zhang Pu turned around and pointed at the Qi army warships that blocked out the sun and sky on the river, and said in a gloomy tone:

"Peace is the most important thing? How do we value peace? A single thought can lead to the deaths of millions and the flow of blood for thousands of miles. The situation is such that it cannot be changed by the eloquence of you and me. Everyone, don't forget, the Emperor said: if peace is possible, then peace; if not, then war. My army of 100,000 is invincible. Look at this city wall. How many artillery shells can it withstand?"

Zhang Pu had a good job as a compiler in the Hanlin Academy but couldn't do it, and was inexplicably sent from the side of the retired emperor to the Jiujiang front line. How could he not be annoyed?

Along the way, he targeted Qian Qianyi everywhere, had no hope of conquering Yuan Linhou, and instead made sarcastic remarks.

"Whether we can return alive depends on whether Grand Secretary Qian has the eloquence of Zhang Yi and Su Qin."

Qian Qianyi clapped his hands and laughed:
"Brother Tianru, why are you so pessimistic? I boasted to the Emperor Retired that I would be able to take Jiujiang without bloodshed. Now that the court has changed its course and is more tolerant of surrendered officials, the Emperor Retired intends to persuade the Southern Ming officials to surrender, conquer Jiangnan, and bring the whole country together. Yuan Jixian is just a skeleton, the climax is yet to come. The Emperor Retired has entrusted us with such an important task, which shows his trust. You and I now have a heavy responsibility on our shoulders. We cannot slack off and must work together!"

After hearing this, Li Zicheng and Wei Zhao both nodded and praised the Grand Secretary for his words. Zhang Pu was speechless, his face flushed red, and he said nothing.

Qian Qianyi said to Wei Zhao, "Wei army, raise the flags of the Great Qi and march into the city!"

"Grand Secretary, let's go in quietly like this. No one will stop us. If we raise the signal flag, the Ming army will see us. What if someone is so blind as to shoot a cannon or an arrow at us? That would be..."

"The banner represents the identity of an envoy. We have a clear conscience, so why should we fear?"

The Qi army warships cruising on the river outside Jiujiang did not pay much attention to the coolies who went out of the city to fetch water.

Similarly, the Ming army at Yueshimen did not question the civilians who fled from upstream.

The offensive and defensive sides thus reached a tacit understanding.

However, if someone like Qian Qianyi dressed in the court robes of the Great Qi Dynasty and held a banner of communication and paraded through the city, the defenders would have no choice but to ignore it.

"The Qi bandits are coming! Catch them!"

A group of Ming troops surrounded Qian Qianyi and blocked him at the city gate.

An officer who looked like a general came over and stopped three or four steps away from Li Zicheng and others, ordering them to hand over their weapons.

Wei Zhao and Li Zicheng were not willing to surrender. They drew their swords and the defenders on the city walls drew their bows and crossbows.

Zhang Pu hid far away, watching the scene with a gloating look on his face.

Qian Qianyi walked towards the captain, his steps staggering and unsteady. Wei Zhao stepped forward to support him but was pushed away.

Arriving in front of the captain, Qian Muzhai stretched out his old hand, which was as thin as a dry branch, and slapped the captain on the forehead. The captain staggered and almost fell. The surrounding Ming soldiers were intimidated by this aura and stayed for a while before they remembered to raise their swords to attack.

"Who dares!"

The university scholar, who had been gentle and polite all the way, suddenly exploded with energy.

He took a step forward, got close to the boss's face, and said with his eyes wide open:
"How many people are there in Jiujiang City? Ten thousand? Or thirty thousand? Ten thousand, kill ten thousand! Thirty thousand, slaughter thirty thousand! These are the exact words of the Emperor of Qi! I couldn't bear to see the people of Jiujiang die, so I braved the tiring journey to come and rescue you!"

Qian Qianyi grabbed the Ming army captain, pointed at the endless warships on the river, and shouted:

"If I don't come, the soldiers will! The artillery will come! You are a warrior who doesn't know what's going on. I won't bother with you, but you have ruined the whole thing. You deserve several heads! Even if Yuan Linhou were here, he wouldn't dare to stop me!"

The captain was spitted in the face, so how could he dare to wipe it off?

Looking at Qian Qianyi's tone of voice and hearing him casually mention Governor Yuan's name, anyone who is not a fool can know that this person must know Governor Yuan, and the two have a close relationship.

The most important thing is that the Qi army was waiting on the river. Their military strength far exceeded that of the Jiujiang defenders, and they surrounded the Jiujiang city like a barrel.

The common people don’t know what’s going on here, but which soldier doesn’t know?

Jiujiang was already an isolated city, and the prefectures and counties of Jiangxi were struggling to cope with their own problems. It was still unknown whether the Nanjing court was still alive or dead. No one would come to rescue them.

If Governor Yuan had not insisted on holding the position, the soldiers would have fled long ago.

The Ming army couldn't defend big cities like Wuchang and Ezhou, and even with so many troops, the Duke of Kunshan was no match for the Qi army.

How could they be a match for the Qi army?
"Lead the way! Take me to see Marquis Yuan Lin! I'm here to save the people of this city! I'm not here to fight you! Anyone who stands in my way will be killed! Do you understand?"

"Clear, clear, I understand."

The boss curled up his body and spoke in a voice as low as a mosquito.

Although Qian Qianyi was old, his voice was as loud as a bell and his aura was extraordinary. He deliberately stood on a high place, and the porters around him stopped their work and looked at this majestic old man with curiosity and fear.

"Lead the way!"

"Yes Yes."

The captain's whole body trembled, and his legs ran to the front uncontrollably, not caring about weapons or not.

Wei Zhao supported Qian Qianyi and said with admiration, "You are so powerful, Grand Secretary. I have learned a lot today. It turns out that the storyteller's story about Zhang Fei scaring off a million soldiers at Changban Slope is true. Now that you have said this, everyone in the city knows we are here to negotiate peace. Even if Yuan Jixian wants to kill us, it won't be that easy."

Qian Qianyi smiled slightly and whispered:
"You are too flattering! This is just a trivial skill, not even a fraction of what our emperor can achieve."

~~~~
The main hall of Jiujiang Governor's Office.

"Commander-in-Chief, the food and grass in the city are only enough for two more days. The firewood ran out yesterday, and the gunpowder is only enough for three more days..."

The chief clerk of Jiujiang Prefecture, holding a stack of account books, carefully reported to Yuan Jixian who was sitting in front of him.

Yuan Jixian's thin body was slumped in a throne, looking like a little ghost in the City God Temple.

He stretched out his hand and kept rubbing his temples. The teacup on the table next to him was already empty, with a faint mist rising from it.

"go on."

Yuan Jixian's slightly closed eyes suddenly opened, and he subconsciously wanted to pick up the teacup, but just as he stretched out his hand, he retracted it.

"Yesterday, twelve infantrymen from the regular battalion escaped, dressed in civilian clothes, and stole a boat. The day before yesterday, eight cavalrymen stole three horses..."

"Any more?"

Yuan Jixian finally grabbed the empty teacup and drank it all in one gulp.

The chief clerk took out a letter from his pocket and opened the envelope in front of Shangguan, his voice becoming even deeper:
"General, Censor Ma Deyuan impeached you for holding your troops at bay and watching Nanjing fall, making you no different from the Left Rebellion. Censor Xu Dingguo impeached you for defending Jiujiang without fighting, suspecting you had surrendered to the Qi invaders. Song Yingxing advised the Emperor to stop sending grain and troops to the prefecture and counties in Jiangxi. He said that continuing to reinforce Jiujiang would be aiding the enemy..."

"A bunch of evil villains, destroying the Great Wall!"

Yuan Jixian slammed the table and stood up, and the chief clerk's long and low-pitched report finally came to an abrupt end.

"I shall eat your salary and die for you! I, Yuan Linhou, have protected the country and its people, and have been loyal to the court and the Ming Dynasty, yet this is the end! Zuo Liangyu has been burning, killing, and looting his way through, and no one dares to impeach him. This is truly outrageous!"

The chief clerk looked at Yuan Jixian with a complicated expression, and seemed to want to say something but stopped himself several times.

The personal guard came up and filled the tea cup, then looked up and exchanged glances with the chief clerk.

"How did these reports reach the city?! Aren't the Qi troops surrounding it already?"

The guard's hand trembled and he almost fell on Yuan Jixian's legs. He quickly wiped it with a rag. The chief clerk explained:

"General, you may not be aware that the rebel general Deng Changxiong has ordered that, except for warships, all other merchant and passenger ships may sail freely on the river, and the Qi army may not stop them. These Tangbao and Dibao reports were all carried by merchant ships from Nanjing."

Yuan Jixian nodded thoughtfully.

"General Yuan, I still say the same thing. I think..."

Yuan Jixian glanced at the chief clerk meaningfully, and said coldly:
"Do you still want to persuade me to surrender? No need to say more..."

"When I die in battle, you will surrender."

The chief clerk shook his head slightly, took two steps back, looked at Yuan Jixian's back, and winked at his personal guard. A knife handle was faintly revealed in the personal guard's sleeve...

(End of this chapter)