Chapter 292 Final Battle
Zhao Yulin ordered them to surround them immediately and stop and clean up the sewage first.
He ordered a rapid express ride to report to Chengdu, and ordered Jiading Prefecture to dispatch 10,000 garrison troops to quell the rebellion, and to have the Baiyue troops leave Xinjin and head straight to Dayi.
After Zhao Yulin arranged for the Wenjiang County Magistrate to take care of the stability of the migrant workers, he crossed the Jinma River and arrived at the foot of Jiangyuan City.
The city is surrounded by water on both sides, with only two gates on the east and west connecting to the land. The city walls are all made of bricks and are a full 15 feet high.
Wang Jinger, the commander of the infantry and deputy captain of the garrison, saw that the rebels had closed the city gates and entered the city, and felt that it would be too difficult to attack without siege equipment. He suggested that they cross the river to chase Zhang Guoan and his men, but he was worried that the cavalry would be alone after crossing the river, which would be equally dangerous.
But Zhao Yulin didn't think so. Guoan and his men were cavalry, so there was no need to worry. Instead, there was thick smoke rising from the east and west of the city. It must be the rebels who were burning, killing, looting, and harming the people.
The original garrison in Jiangyuan City had only about 500 people, and with the rebel men they temporarily recruited, the total number would not exceed 1,000. How much combat power would they have after spreading out in all directions?
Zhao Yulin said that letting go of this group of rebels would be a disaster. They could go to Wenjiang to the east to cause trouble, and to Dayi to the west to support the rebels there. We must attack while this group of rebels is still unstable. We first searched and destroyed the ships on the north and south sides and blocked the water gates. We used mortars to block the area around the tower, and the bayonets on the iron barrel cannons were used to blast open the city gates to eliminate the rebels, and then set up an ambush outside the west gate to annihilate the fleeing bandits.
Gao Mo, the leader of the Jiangyuan rebels and the former garrison captain, thought he had been a border army general for three years and was good at fighting. He was standing on the city wall in full armor, cursing the Shenwei Army and Zhao Qi'er for encouraging the rebels, and shouting, "Just defend it."
Zhao Yulin waved his hand and called for immediate action.
Deputy Captain Wang Jinger quickly deployed the team. The two squadrons responsible for assaulting the city gate dragged iron barrel cannons to a hundred meters away from the city gate. The mortars behind opened fire, and a round of volleys set the city tower on fire. It turned out that the rebels had moved the kerosene onto the city tower. Damn it.
The wind fanned the flames, and the rebels were so frightened that they became panic-stricken and at a loss. Zhao Yulin picked up the iron trumpet, shouted "Charge!", and blew the charge horn.
The commandos rushed to the city gate like an arrow. Four iron barrel cannons fired explosive packs at the same time, which instantly knocked down the city gate. The brothers behind them shouted and rushed into the city.
Wang Jing'er didn't expect that the third young master's judgment was so accurate. He ordered his men to quickly clear out the rebels in different areas.
Now it was the rebels' turn to panic. They had never expected that the Shenwei Army would attack them immediately and use ruthless tactics right from the start. The common people usually hated those old-style soldiers, but when they saw the Shenwei Army entering the city, they also picked up hoes and sticks as weapons and joined the battle to capture the rebels.
The rebel leader Gao Yao thought he could withstand a wave of attacks from the Shenwei Army, but he didn't expect that the regular army's firearms were so powerful that they pried open his city gate in just a few moves. He was also panicked.
Just now, with a wave of ruthless actions, he killed the county magistrate and several upright officials and seized control of the source of the river, but it was lost in less than two hours.
Gao Yao followed his group of buddies and fled towards the water wharf at the South Gate, while the rest ran towards the West Gate, because there was a land route from the West Gate leading directly to Dayi.
But Zhao Yulin would not let these bandits escape easily.
Gao Yao, relying on his good swimming ability, imitated the water ghost Yang Yao in Poyang Lake and changed himself to Gao Yao. He thought of himself as the diving king of western Sichuan. When he went out, he took off his armor and jumped into the freezing cold river. Several guys followed him into the water and swam hard.
Seeing the swaying bonfire in front of them, they quickly found reed stems to make a snorkel and dived into the water, trying to escape from the source of the river underwater.
Unexpectedly, Zhao Yulin had already made arrangements and ordered his brothers to collect the people's fishing nets and sink them into the water to block the river. When the brothers on the shore and the boat saw the fishing nets move, they immediately shot arrows at the interception line and shouted.
It’s a pity that Gao Yao’s superb diving skills were wasted.
As soon as he touched the fishing net and realized he had fallen into a trap, he was about to swim back when the arrows whizzed down at him. His head, back and buttocks were soon filled with arrows. The blood in his body flowed out like a floodgate opened, and soon he floated on the water.
The rebels who escaped from the west gate were bragging that no one was chasing them. They were resting under a huge paulownia tree when suddenly shouts of kneeling down and surrendering were heard all around them.
Damn, it turns out that the Shenwei Army was surrounded on three sides and lacked one person, and they had already laid an ambush at the west gate.
By the time Zhao Yulin entered the county government office, almost all the rebels in the city had been wiped out.
However, the county suffered heavy losses. The county magistrate and the chief clerk refused to surrender, and both families were killed by the rebels. Tax money and the cooperative were all looted, and the businesses on East Street were also looted.
He saw that the county town had been burned, killed, and looted, and had become a mess beyond all recognition. He felt very upset. It was all because of Mag that these scum had done such evil things.
Zhao Yulin ordered that all the captured prisoners be taken to the east city gate for trial in front of the people, and the people also brought out the bandits they caught spontaneously and handed them over to the Shenwei Army.
He said that the criminals should not confess, but should be identified by the people. As long as there are three witnesses, the record will be recorded, and those who deserve to be beheaded will have their heads chopped off immediately and fed to turtles.
Immediately, the county lieutenant, the county magistrate and the garrison captain Gao Yao lost their lives.
The captives were now furious, and they cried out that they had no blood debt.
Yes, Zhao Yulin ordered that those who have no blood debts be pulled aside and detained temporarily, and those who voluntarily confess will be treated favorably by their family members, and those who do not voluntarily confess will have their crimes punished more severely.
In this way, like sifting through a sieve or combing hair, they were passed through twice. There were only a few prisoners standing left, and most of them were so scared that they collapsed on the ground and urinated and defecated.
These villains and bandits are like this. When they ride on the heads of the people and bully others, they are as proud as hungry wolves.
Once caught, with no hope of survival, you are worse than a mangy dog.
Wang Jinger said that the brothers had rested enough and could set off.
Zhao Yulin left 200 men behind to maintain order in Jiangyuan, and the rest headed straight for Dayi.
At Zhao Yulin's residence in Chengdu, Ma Ling'er arranged the guards in the residence and went to the government office with Yang Jin. Ding Gong was already panicking. Chengdu had not experienced war for hundreds of years, and he was not mentally prepared to face such a crisis.
Lord Ding just received news that Jiang Yuan followed Dayi in rebellion.
The source of the river was too close to Wenjiang and Chengdu, so it would only take a meal for the rebels to come and harass them. He also knew that there were tens of thousands of people in Wenjiang gathering by the Yangliu River to repair the river, and if the situation escalated, it would be out of control.
When Ma Linger heard that Jiang Yuan was in trouble, she immediately became nervous. Everyone was urged to quickly guard the four gates and recruit young and strong men to prepare for war.
Yangjin told him not to be afraid, believing that Brother Yulin would be able to wipe out the rebels in Jiangyuan and would never let the banditry spread to Chengdu. Zhao Feiyan said nervously what would happen if Brother Yulin got hurt, and she wanted to bring 2,000 soldiers in the city to support Brother Yulin.
Yangjin said loudly that it would not be her turn to go. Has anyone ever fought in a war to taste the tender meat?
Zhao Feiyan became anxious and said that she was the one defending the city when Brother Yulin was fighting fiercely in Neixiang, so why couldn't she lead the troops to fight?
At this moment, someone shouted that Chief Steward Wu was back.
A horse carriage rumbled to the gate of the government office. After Wu Yuqi hurriedly got off the carriage and met everyone, Master Lu handed the token of Shunfeng Office to her in public and read Dongmei's secret letter to her in person: Wu Yuqi took over Shunfeng Office in Chengdu.
Ding Gongshi knew about this matter. He lamented that Madam Yuqi came back at such a timely moment and asked her what to do.
Wu Yuqi said calmly that urgent matters should be kept simple, and asked Master Lu to continue to stay in the downwind area to collect intelligence.
Sister Yang Jin led 1,500 infantrymen to Jiangyuan for emergency rescue. Jiang Gong of the Patrol Bureau mobilized the police to recruit young and strong men, and implemented martial law to ensure the safety of the city, with one policeman leading three young and strong men.
Feiyan will guard the east gate, Sister Ma Ling will guard the south gate, Lord Hua please guard the north gate, I will follow Mr. Ding to guard the west gate, and go forward to support Brother Yulin. Everyone, hurry up.
Wu Yuqi has been following Zhao Yulin for a long time in dispatching troops and participating in the planning and arrangements of the central military tent. Doing defense and guarding is a piece of cake for him. After the division of labor, everyone acted quickly.
Mr. Ding asked Li Zhongmian and Qiao Xingjian to stay in the government office and followed Wu Yuqi towards the west gate.
The city's police officers have already led their young men to patrol the streets, calling on the people to go home and clean up the streets...
In Jiangyuan City, Zhao Yulin was about to set off when he saw Yangjin leading his troops.
He asked, what should we do in Chengdu now that they have all left?
Yangjin said with a smile that his third wife Wu Yuqi was back, and with the general manager Wu personally dispatching everyone, Chengdu would be safe.
He saw the soldiers still gasping for breath and said that they must have run here and had not eaten yet. They would take a rest and eat before following him. He would go first.
Zhao Yulin asked Wang Jinger to replenish the weapons brought by his brothers behind him and immediately led his troops to march quickly to Dayi.
Five miles outside the city, a cavalryman reported back that General Cao had already taken control of Dayi and asked the third young master to go to Anren County.
Wang Jinger immediately led his troops to attack Anren.
Zhao Yulin thought that 3,000 soldiers in Anren were enough, so he asked the guards to report to Yangjin that he should go to Dayi.
They hurried all the way to Anren and found that there were groups of bandits running towards the city on the surrounding official roads. It was obvious that after the rebels were defeated in Dayi, these bandits knew that Anren was still in their hands, and they fled here in panic.
Zhao Yulin approached the top of the city wall stealthily and saw that there were rebels walking around on the wall, and there were also people at the city gate holding bows and arrows looking around vigilantly.
He arrested several key members of the garrison corps to discuss. Deputy Captain Wang Jinger thought that we couldn't break in all at once, and it would be difficult for the rebels to get out, so why not let these bandits enter the city, collect the surrounding ships to prepare for the siege, and then cut off the surrounding land and water routes to prevent the rebels from coming out to harm people?
Zhao Yulin felt that this was the only way for now, and he would make Anren the final battlefield to wipe out the rebels.
After receiving the order, Wang Jinger quickly deployed troops and made arrangements.
After daybreak, General Cao Youwen arrived with his cavalry, covered in dust.
Lao Cao's face was full of anger, and he asked right away why they didn't attack?
There should be no mercy in dealing with the rebels.
He said that the team had just arrived and they needed to rest, and secondly they wanted to take advantage of the situation and let the bandits escape so that they could catch them all in one fell swoop.
