Chapter 279: Unexpected Path (IV)
"What should we do next?"
"Retreat to the west."
"What?"
"If we don't retreat, staying here will mean death. If we scatter to different places, we will be chased separately and die again."
After telling the plan of continuing the retreat, General Hangzhou fell silent and stared at General Jiangning's confused expression.
The general of Hangzhou had never thought that Huo Chong had such a sinister and vicious firearm. The reason why he withdrew to Jiangning was more because he did not want to fight Huo Chong independently in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, causing losses in vain. It was not until he saw Huo Chong's strength with his own eyes that the general of Hangzhou realized that he had made the right choice by accident. If he was surrounded in Hangzhou, there would be no other way except to die in battle.
General Jiang Ning walked around the room for a few times, and finally said with a smile: "If we go to Wuchang, won't Huo Chong chase us?"
General Hangzhou shook his head, "I won't chase."
"Really?" General Jiang Ning was a little surprised.
"Even if we pursue them, we won't do it now. Nian Gengyao said that Huo Chong fought well. It's not surprising that he went all the way south along the canal and reached Jiangning. But if he pursued them to Wuchang, he would be courting death. Huo Chong would not do that."
General Jiang Ning thought about it and felt that this was the truth. But he changed his mind and felt that he couldn't make a choice. The two generals stared at each other and then went back to their residences.
Huo Chong outside the city set up the military camp and arranged the positions. After the generals left, Huo Chong asked Zeng Jing, Kong Liangeng and Wei Bo to wait outside. When they saw Huo Chong, they immediately knelt down and saluted, which made Huo Chong very confused.
Huo Chong no longer needed to do anything himself. He just stood up and said "Hurry up!" and tried to turn around the desk to help. The guards had already pulled the three people up.
As soon as Kong Liangeng stood up, he saluted and said, "General, with such elite troops, the world is at your fingertips. I wonder what the general will do after he conquers Jiangning."
Huo Chong did not want to focus his main energy on Jiangnan. In business cases, too many companies that were very good at their core businesses died due to blind expansion projects. Although from a business perspective, not being able to immediately obtain the next profit growth point means that the company will face huge problems in the future. However, any growth point requires strength and some luck. It is not something that can be achieved just by wanting to do it.
But Huo Chong did not object, and only asked the three people who had brought strategies beyond Huo Chong's imagination, "I wonder if you three have any advice?"
Kong Liangeng's eyes were as sharp as a knife. "General, once Jiangning is taken, you will be crowned king first. Recruit the rebels and give them official titles. As long as the connection with Shandong is stable, send people to the local area to register the population and land, and start collecting taxes from the gentry. Anyone who resists taxation can be captured."
Gao Pang was no longer afraid of seeing people at this time. When he heard Kong Liangeng's plan, he couldn't help but widen his eyes.
Seeing Gao Pang like this, Kong Liangeng said with a smile: "Do you think this is too calculating, Mr. Zhuangyuan?"
Gao Pang couldn't help but nodded.
"Mr. Zhuangyuan, conquering the world is not that easy. Especially after taking over Jiangnan, the imperial court will definitely want to take it back. There are so many people in Jiangnan who want to do big things. Instead of slowly recruiting them, it is better to let all places recognize the general as the leader first. Then select them one by one. Keep the obedient ones and eliminate the disobedient ones. Only by using both kindness and force can we cut the Gordian knot. If you have a compassionate mind, more people will die."
Gao Pang felt that what he said made sense, but it was very different from what he expected. He couldn't find a direction to strongly oppose, and he was unwilling to agree easily. In the end, he could only find one point, "Zhu Hongwu built high walls, stored up food, and slowly proclaimed himself king. Isn't it a bit too hasty to let the governor proclaim himself king immediately?"
Kong Liangeng didn't say anything. Weber sneered, "Hehe. Do you think this is a cession? What kind of situation was Zhu Hongwu in that period? All the powerful people in Jiangnan rose up, and each of them was more famous than Zhu Hongwu. So Zhu Hongwu kept a low profile and tried to accumulate strength. At that time, the general fought from Jinan to Jiangning in one month, with 100,000 elite troops and sharp firearms. Zhu Hongwu had already started the Northern Expedition at this time, so how could he keep a low profile? If the general doesn't claim to be a king at this time, he is not worthy of the title. In my opinion, the general is overly cautious in claiming to be a king. There is nothing wrong with claiming to be an emperor at this time."
Huo Chong had never participated in the debate, but he just felt that he was listening with great interest. In terms of construction, or even formulating the direction of national development, Huo Chong felt that he could probably be ranked among the top few in this era. However, in terms of formulating policies that were in line with the characteristics of this era, this group of people in front of him really pointed out a path that had never been imagined.
If Kong Liangeng and Weber hadn't reminded him, Huo Chong felt that he couldn't come up with a strategy to attack Jiangning. However, from the execution level, the effect of this plan was beyond imagination.
Today, the prisoners were captured, and the interrogation results really shocked Huo Chong. It was really unimaginable that the general of Hangzhou in the Qing Dynasty actually fled to Jiangning with all the bannermen in the city. However, from another perspective, this person is no longer simply smart, and even has a bit of wisdom. If the Hangzhou bannermen did not go to Jiangning, the tens of thousands of defenders in Jiangning City would not be able to withstand the attack of the Han army.
After killing all the bannermen in Jiangning, Huo Chong would certainly lead his army to attack Hangzhou. At that time, the bannermen in Hangzhou would become targets for defeat one by one. At this time, they gathered in Jiangning, which made it much more difficult for Huo Chong to attack Jiangning.
At this moment, someone came in to report. After Huo Chong heard it, he ordered, "Bring him in."
Not long after, a Qing soldier arrived at the big tent. When he saw Huo Chong, he immediately knelt down and saluted, saying, "I, Ling Gui, kowtow to the general and thank you for not killing me."
"I'm not ready to decide whether you live or die!" Huo Chong tried to dispel this guy's delusion of taking advantage of the situation.
Ling Gui quickly replied, "General, please understand. I once fought with you and surrendered after being defeated by you. I didn't expect that you would not kill the prisoners, so I was released. I felt like I was going to die, but when I escaped, I thought about how I survived. It was all thanks to your mercy."
Huo Chong didn't know how to answer. With Huo Chong's personality, he didn't care about killing prisoners. Especially killing Manchus. However, it seemed inappropriate to mechanically apply the PLA's policies, since even the "Three Disciplines and Eight Points of Attention Song" had been sung, not learning the prisoner policy.
After all, the PLA has been implementing this policy for so many years and is still insisting on implementing it. This policy was formulated by a saint who appears once every few thousand years in China, and so many top talents have not opposed it. Although Huo Chong does not understand the power of this policy, he will not arrogantly think that he is better than those predecessors.
Although he knew that the bannerman Ling Gui was definitely not saying what he meant, he also felt that the prisoner policy seemed to be a good idea.
But this was something he couldn't say. Huo Chong asked with a straight face, "Are you not here to reminisce about the past?"
"I am here on the orders of the General of Hangzhou to ask you. If we give up Jiangning, will you allow us to leave Jiangning?"
"Ah? What did you say?" Gao Pang couldn't believe his ears.
"Hehe." Kong Liangeng showed a smile on his chubby face, but there was no smile in his eyes.
"Haha." Weber's eyes were as sharp as knives, like a man-eating tiger.
Huo Chong did not question it, but only asked what the Hangzhou general wanted to do. After asking clearly, he asked Ling Gui to go back and tell the Hangzhou general that if it was true, Huo Chong would ensure that these people left safely and would not kill them.
After Ling Gui left, Zeng Jing, who had been unable to get a word in, asked in confusion, "Does the general really want to agree?"
Weber ignored Zeng Jing and asked bluntly: "General, you will abide by the agreement, but you are not worried that the Qing army will play tricks?"
"Am I so easily seen through?" Huo Chong asked somewhat disappointedly. As Weber said, Huo Chong just wanted to fulfill the agreement as soon as possible and guard against any tricks by the Qing army.
Gao Pang quickly defended Huo Chong, "The governor is a trustworthy person, and once he speaks, he cannot go back on his word. But the Qing army must have some tricks up their sleeves."
Huo Chong could only explain: "It doesn't matter what tricks they play. As long as the Qing army fights our army in the field, our army will definitely win. In this case, I don't want to bother. We will have . What difference does it make if we kill them a few days earlier or later? On the contrary, the difference between taking Jiangning a few days earlier and taking Jiangning a few days later is huge."
After saying this, Huo Chong saw that Gao Pang still didn't understand, so he reorganized his thoughts and found the basis of this plan. "Gao Pang, the history of the Manchus is that they fear power but not morality. This is the nature of the barbarians. Facing a strong enemy, the Manchus will not fight to the death."
Gao Pang still didn't quite believe it after hearing it. But Huo Chong didn't want to explain it. Because Huo Chong didn't study history much, but since 1840, the Qing Dynasty has always been like this, licking the foreign devils in various ways. Whenever faced with a battle that seemed unwinnable, the Qing Dynasty would always fail. In several battles that could perhaps be called tragic and heroic, the main forces were either Han people or the Eight Banners of Mongolia.
The reason why the Qing Dynasty is so poorly regarded is not because they are a foreign race, but because their performance can only be described as disgusting.
That night, Huo Chong summoned all the generals and told them about this strange story. Many generals immediately shouted that they would break their promises. Huo Chong slammed the table and said, "We have come this far not by playing such tricks. We rely on telling the truth and doing practical things. A promise is a promise, and it must be carried out after it is made. I have decided that if the Qing Dynasty does this, we will agree. So, tomorrow morning, continue to bombard me with artillery and try to climb the city."
Lei Hu was very puzzled after hearing this, "Sir, if we do this, won't it force the Qing army to fight to the death?"
"Lei Hu. The Manchus will not fight to the death when facing a strong enemy. In order to prevent them from fighting to the death, we must let them know that if they continue to fight, they will die. If our army does not attack the city, the Manchus will not continue to leave."
Lei Hu was still puzzled, "Since we can take Jiangning, why don't we take it down?"
"Because in two years, our weapons and equipment will be developed to the point where we can win more easily. Even if we can win now, there will still be considerable losses. If we have to do whatever it takes, we can't consider how many people will die. But as long as there is a chance that we can reduce the number of casualties, or even eliminate them, I will still work hard to keep everyone alive."
At dawn, the Han army, after breakfast, began to try to attack the city. They first used a 10-jin rifled cannon to bombard the city. However, this rifled cannon was a cannon type with a relatively flat trajectory. After more than a dozen shots, they either hit the city wall and exploded, causing the broken stones and bricks on the city wall to fly everywhere, or flew into the city and exploded in the city. Unexpectedly, not a single shell could accurately hit the top of the city.
Seeing that this was indeed the case, Huo Chong directly used a mortar, which is a firearm similar to a mortar.
This type of artillery can fire shells at high elevation angles, and the amount of propellant is relatively small. It does not seek to make the shells fly too far, but only to have a large trajectory arc.
Sure enough, when solid shells were used first, one or two out of ten shells landed on the top of the city wall. As the shooting parameters were adjusted, three or four out of ten shells were able to land on the top of the city wall. According to the data reported by the observation post, damage had already been caused on the top of the city wall.
This was actually the case. The Jiangning defenders were terrified by the bombardment of the Han army's shells. Any officer with a sharp mind would have thought of the explosion of shells. However, the Qing Dynasty did not know how to make shrapnel shells, and no one dared to try to make them.
The example of the past is not far away. During the reign of Emperor Kangxi, a Han official once used a repeating rifle and was later dismissed from office and exiled. The Bannermen understood Emperor Kangxi's thoughts very well. The Han people were much more numerous than the Manchus. If a powerful firearm appeared and the Han people used it to rebel, how could the Bannermen suppress it?
Jiangning City was completely sealed off, and General Jiangning was panicking and quickly asked General Hangzhou how to defend against the enemy. General Hangzhou was thinking about how to tell Huo Chong about the agreement he had discussed with him.
This was not the right time to say this, because General Hangzhou himself did not dare to believe that Huo Chong would honestly implement the agreement. If he were in Huo Chong's shoes, General Hangzhou would not do this.
The reason why the Hangzhou general made such a decision was that he knew more things as he was in a high position. It has been proven many times that Huo Chong did not kill prisoners. In order to besiege Shandong, the Jiangnan Green Camp sent a lot of troops. Some of them have been released as many as three times.
After thinking it over, this most incredible path might be the only choice. And Huo Chong's reaction also gave General Hangzhou inexplicably confidence. Because Huo Chong's way of agreeing was very unorthodox, if this unorthodoxy was combined with the fact that the captured soldiers were released before, there was a very unorthodox sense of reliability.
But it is difficult to persuade him with improper reasons. Just as he was getting anxious, there was some chaotic movement outside. The general of Hangzhou was terrified. Could it be that Huo Chong had already broken through the city wall and entered Jiangning City?
As the noise grew louder, someone came in crying and knelt on the ground, "General, the deputy governor, he... ascended to heaven."
General Jiangning was shocked and asked hurriedly. At this time, someone brought in a body. General Jiangning did not have time to ask and hurried forward. General Hangzhou also followed and saw that the clothes of the body were relatively intact. But the head was like a watermelon hit by a hammer. It was impossible to see the face.
The people who were carrying the bodies back were already crying, "General, the rebels used strange firearms. The shells could actually go straight up and down, and all landed on the top of the city. The deputy governor couldn't dodge in time and was hit."
General Jiangning's legs went weak and he almost fell to the ground. The people around him quickly supported him. General Hangzhou was also shocked. The Qing army trained very hard. Swords, guns, bows and arrows, muskets, and cannons were all practiced daily. So it was not easy to shoot a cannonball straight up to the top of the city. It can be seen that Huo Chong not only had cannonballs that could explode, but also had more powerful firearms.
In addition to being frightened, the Hangzhou general felt that the time for persuasion had come. No one wanted to die, and there was no need to defend Jiangning to the death. Only by living can there be a future. If you die, no matter how heroic the death is, everything will be over.
That afternoon, an envoy was sent from Jiangning City. Huo Chong's attitude did not change. If the Eight Banners wanted to leave, that was fine. However, Huo Chong could only give way and would not withdraw his troops. Moreover, during the evacuation process, as long as the Eight Banners launched any attack on Huo Chong, the agreement would be immediately invalidated.
General Jiangning certainly did not dare to rest assured, and his men were also very resistant. General Hangzhou sighed: "If you don't believe me, let me lead the way and retreat to Jiangbei."
The whole city of Jiangning looked down on the Hangzhou Eight Bannermen who had fled here. Many people even thought that it was the Hangzhou Eight Bannermen's escape that led to Huo Chong's killing. They thought that these Hangzhou guys were the stars of disaster. At this time, when they heard that they were willing to risk their lives to go first, no one stopped them.
The next day, the Hangzhou Eight Bannermen, who were only carrying valuables, began to evacuate from Jiangning to the north bank of the Yangtze River through the road given by Huo Chong. Tens of thousands of people walked for three days and still hadn't covered half of the way.
Huo Chong stood by the river and praised the young man beside him: "Yu Qian, well done!"
Yu Qian was very happy, but he did not get carried away. He replied: "The manual says that if we want to cross the river, it is best to build a floating bridge first."
Huo Chong nodded. Looking at the simple floating bridge on the Yangtze River during the dry season, he couldn't help but think of a floating bridge in one of the few battle cases he knew about.
During the Huaihai Campaign, Huang Baitao's Corps, which was later proved to be the most capable, waited by the canal for two days but forgot to build a pontoon bridge over the canal.
Huo Chong just remembered it suddenly when he wrote it into the command manual. Later, he forgot it. However, Qian Qing did not forget it. He built a pontoon bridge when attacking Jining, and it worked very well. Yu Qian followed Qian Qing and did not forget it either. In particular, he did not forget to use the command manual.
From this point of view, we can really have more confidence in the younger generation.
Huo Chong sent people to tell the generals of Hangzhou who were using ships to transport personnel that they could use a floating bridge to cross the river.
In order to make the Hangzhou generals hurry up, Huo Chong told Hu Yue, "Nonsense, now it's up to you. Show some energy and make the Qing army hurry up! If he keeps dithering, we will think he is deliberately delaying time and wants to break the agreement."
Hu Yue didn't care about being called "Nonsense" at this time. After receiving Huo Chong's order, Hu Yue immediately went to negotiate. He questioned the other party whether he wanted to break the agreement. The Hangzhou general rolled his eyes and asked, "Brother, you built a floating bridge on the river, can we use it?"
This reaction made Hu Yue's breath stuck in his throat, and he couldn't say anything else. The other party was too smart. He knew what to do without saying anything.
On the top of Jiangning City, seeing Huo Chong build a floating bridge in three days, General Jiangning was so frightened that he dared not comment. Seeing that those people in Hangzhou used ships and floating bridges to withdraw to the north of the river quickly, General Jiangning knew that it was his turn to make a decision.
For a moment, General Jiang Ning felt that he was being plotted against. Even if it was a betrayal, he would still attack them halfway across the river. He originally thought that the Hangzhou gang could not cross the river at all, so he let them cross first.
However, nothing happened, and the Hangzhou group passed by. Now it was Jiang Ning's turn to take risks. Since Huo Chong let the Hangzhou group go first, the chances of attacking Jiang Ning's group increased greatly.
After thinking it over, General Jiang Ning was undecided.
