Autumn of the 17th year of Chongzhen

Chapter 535 Heaven and Earth Will Enter Chu

The Manchu and Qing forces totaled 23 troops and invaded Chu and Jiangxi on a large scale. This was the largest military operation of the Manchu and Qing Dynasties since Doduo, Azige, and Zhunta went south when the Qing army entered the customs.

The land of Chu and Jiangxi, thousands of miles of fertile fields, the world's granary, who doesn't want it?The Qing army marched out in three directions, Man Dahai invaded Jiangxi, King Liangshun besieged Xiangfan, Duoduo broke through Guangji, Huangshi, Qizhou, Qishui and other places, and the army went up along the Yangtze River.

It's just because the Qihuang area has many mountains and rivers, and the river network is densely covered. In addition, although the Qihuang rebel army was defeated, it was not wiped out. .

Huanggang City is located in the lower reaches of Wuchang. Ming general Chen Youlong led 7000 troops to garrison here.He was originally Liu Chengyin's general, but after being seconded by Wang Yan, he made great contributions and was promoted to the general officer of Huangzhou.

At this time, the city was covered with flags, and from the outside of the city, it seemed that the soldiers and horses were very strong, but the soldiers on the city wall were very sparse, obviously insufficient.

Liu Chengyin fled without a fight, which greatly affected the morale of the army and the people. When the people in eastern Hubei heard that the Qing soldiers had invaded, they fled westward with their families, and most of the gentry and common people in Huanggang City also fled.

Naturally, Chen Youlong's 7000 men couldn't hold back Duoduo's 10 men, but he had to stand firm in Huanggang for a while, defending Wuchang, and buying time for He Tengjiao to return to his division.

In the Yamen of Huanggang Mansion, Chen Youlong was discussing with Yang Wenyi and others the strategy of defense. Huanggang City University, with 7000 troops, was somewhat weak in defense, so some people suggested retreating to the Sanjiangkou to guard the dangerous point.

While several people in the hall were arguing fiercely, there was also a commotion outside, the generals didn't take it seriously, but Chen Youlong became agitated for a while, and his expression changed. Who dares to make noise outside the hall?

The Qing army was pressing down on the border, and the situation was very unfavorable to the Ming army. Chen Youlong felt the pressure, but as the chief general, he could not show it in front of his subordinates.

Immediately, he put the wooden pole on the sand table and asked outside, "What's the matter?"

A personal soldier came up and confessed: "Sun Qianhu wanted to see the military gate, and his humble job blocked him, so he was disturbed."

Chen Youlong waved his hand, didn't blame him, and said loudly: "I'll talk about it later, I'm discussing the defense plan."

Sun Qianhu, who was outside the hall, seemed to be in a hurry, as if the Qing soldiers had hit him in front of him. He walked forward to the door and hurriedly said, "General, someone from Nanjing is here."

Chen Youlong was taken aback for a moment, thinking he had heard it wrong, and asked, "What did you say? Nanjing?"

"Back to Commander, it is indeed Nanjing." Sun Qianhu replied with certainty.

Hey, that's weird. Could it be that Bandit Hong wants to recruit him, but firstly he doesn't have many people, and secondly, he's not a famous general. How could Manqing think of him?

Chen Youlong glanced at all the generals in the hall, and saw that they were looking at him in unison. His heart shivered, and he asked openly, "Who is it? Is it Han or Hu?"

Chen Youlong had no contacts in the south of the Yangtze River, and most of the people who came from Nanjing were sent by Hong Bandits.

Unexpectedly, when Sun Qianhu heard this question, his expression turned pale, "General, this matter is a secret, and in short, he is not from the Qing Dynasty."

If the surname is not Hu, then the surname is Han. It is impossible for someone who sits on the fence to find him, but he came from Nanjing, and it is a matter of confidentiality. Who is that person?
At the east gate of Huanggang City, a group of beggars came from the east, about seven or eight people, all of them ragged and unkempt.

It is not uncommon for people to be displaced and become beggars during the war, but although these beggars are dressed in tatters and look very poor, they are all strong and strong, with straight backs, obviously they are not ordinary people.

When the Qing army entered the bandits, Huanggang had already become the front line. The Ming army naturally stepped up their search and arrest, and conducted strict investigations.

This group of beggars with a certain style was noticed by the defenders as soon as they entered the city, and they surrounded them for questioning, but they were not afraid when they saw the heavily armed Ming soldiers, and they stood there in a daze, even declaring that they wanted to see the guard Chen Youlong .

At this time, Chen Youlong listened to Sun Qianhu's words, and led a group of people out of the lobby, all the way to the east gate, and several people named Hua Jian rushed forward to meet him.

When Chen Youlong saw this group of people, he glanced at them. Their faces were smeared with mud and they couldn't recognize their original faces. There was a stench on their bodies. They looked quite professional, but they didn't look like beggars.

Of course, this may be because they felt that there was no need to hide in front of the Ming army, so they put away their disguise, but in any case, this group of people came from Nanjing and dressed like this, they definitely could not be from the Qing court.

At this time, among the beggars, the leader stepped forward and clasped his fists: "Chen Zongbing!"

Chen Youlong sized him up and down from head to toe, but couldn't tell if he recognized him, so he wondered, "Who is a strong man?"

"Earthquake in Nangang, a group of beautiful streams and mountains through the ages." The beggar solemnly clasped his fists and said: "Destroy the Han and restore the rivers and mountains."

Chen Zilong had already listened to Sun Qianhu's general idea, and now that he saw it in person, he was basically sure that he was a member of the Tiandihui.

The Jiangnan Tiandihui was in its heyday, but since the Qing court's sticky pole entered Jiangnan, it has been hit hard.Not long ago, the Taihu Water Village was breached by the Qing soldiers, and the Taihu Rebels broke out to the sea. The Tiandihui, which has always used the Taihu Water Village as the main rudder of the Tiandihui, also suffered a heavy blow.

It was inconvenient to talk at the city gate, so Chen Zilong hurriedly asked the guards to take a group of people back to the mansion, and took them to clean first, and asked the soldiers to prepare some food.

After Chen Youlong led the generals to patrol the city, when he returned to the mansion, the soldiers reported that the righteous men had finished cleaning, so he went straight, the soldiers pushed open the door, and saw a few people in the room, some standing. Some were squatting, some were sitting, but almost everyone grabbed the pancakes with one hand and the meat with the other, not even a mouthful of soup, and ate around the square table with a "squeaky slap-tat-tatt" sound.

Chen Youlong and the general looked at each other, thinking that it has been a few days since they have eaten?

Several Tiandihui righteous men saw Chen Youlong coming in, only the leader stopped eating immediately, stood up and clasped his fists and said, "Tiandihui, Hu Weizong, made Chen Zongbing laugh. The fire in Jindu Town is well burned, brothers come all the way , in order to avoid the Qing soldiers, they just couldn’t find anything to eat.”

Several other people also stopped at this time, put down the food in their hands, wiped their mouths, and introduced themselves with fists cupped.

Chen Youlong was greatly surprised when he heard this, not to mention Hu Weizong, the chief rudder of the Tiandihui, the others are also important members of the Tiandihui, who are well-known in the south of the Yangtze River, and they are all important criminals who were offered a reward by the Qing court.

What are these people doing in Huguang instead of stirring up wind and rain in the south of the Yangtze River?
Seeing Chen Youlong's puzzled expression, Hu Weizong immediately took out the chief rudder badge from his chest, and also took out the seal letter from Wang Yan for him to identify.

Chen Youlong studied with the generals for a while, and they were sure, with a respectful expression on his face, he returned the badge and seal to Hu Weizong, and saluted with fists, "I don't know if it's the chief helmsman, Chen is so rude."

(Thanks to Yuedong Woxin, who came to give me a reward with a smile, and thanks to Wufa Mobei for the two-chapter monthly pass.)
(End of this chapter)