Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 372 Northern Expedition (3)

Just as the offensive and defensive battle was about to begin at the gate of Xuzhou, Jiang Xiang, who was far away in Shanxi, was having a hard time. Although Datong City was very strong, the city defenses, garrisons, and determination to resist of other places were not as good as Datong.

After breaking through Guguan, Baiyintu's troops arrived at Yangquan and defeated the defending general Liu Qian. Liu Qian led more than 4,000 defeated soldiers and scattered in the mountains and forests. On the way to Taiyuan, Liu Qian's remnants harassed the Qing army along the way. Baiyintu was overwhelmed by the annoyance and sent dozens of Qing troops to search the mountains and burn the forests. As the supply of food, fodder and weapons became increasingly insufficient, more and more people surrendered to the Qing army.

With the help of surrendered generals, the Qing army relied on their superior forces to cross mountains and rivers and compressed the remnants of Liu Qian into a small mountainous area.

In the end, Liu Qian led more than 300 remnants to defend the mountain stronghold. More than 3,000 Qing soldiers attacked in turns. After a fierce battle, Liu Qian and his sons and 300 soldiers were all killed. After clearing the rear, Bai Yintu had no worries and the army drove straight to Taiyuan. The defender of Taiyuan was Jiang Xiang's younger brother, Jiang Xuan.

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King Meng of Zhou sent a general with hundreds of thousands of troops to besiege Xuzhou, which caused an uproar in the Yongli court.

Xuzhou, located in the center of the world, was called Zhulu in ancient times. Pengcheng, Zhulu Central Plains, Zhulu Central Plains, the situation in the world has indeed changed drastically. For Emperor Yongli, the biggest threat now is no longer the Qing court, but Meng Zhou.

Yongli said in the court with a gloomy expression: "The vassal states are powerful, and the court is located in the border area. What can we do?"

While Yongli was speaking, his eyes were fixed on Prince of Jin Li Dingguo.

Li Dingguo did not reply, but Fu Gang, a court official, said, "The barbarians have harmed the two emperors. Now the King of Zhou has launched an expedition to the north and surrounded Xuzhou. This is a matter of enhancing our country's prestige. Your Majesty should issue a clear decree to reward the King of Zhou!"

Hu Xian, the military official, sneered and replied, "Officials in Zhili, Jiangxi, Huguang, are promoted or demoted by one person. Local affairs are decided by one person. He can decide life and death. How can the King of Zhou take the court seriously? If you reward him again, wouldn't that be helping the tyrant to do evil?"

The court officials were all in a commotion, but only Li Dingguo remained silent. Yongli was somewhat disappointed, but he still forced a smile and asked, "Prince Jin has been on the battlefield for a long time, do you have any suggestions?"

Li Dingguo hesitated for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, the King of Zhou's northern expedition is related to the fate of the world. You can send an envoy to comfort him."

The smile on Emperor Yongli's face disappeared immediately and the hall fell silent for a moment. After a long while, Yongli pretended to be calm, saying that he was not feeling well, and then dismissed the court meeting.

After the court was dismissed, Li Dingguo returned to the palace and told Jin Weixin what had just happened in the court. Jin Weixin sighed repeatedly after hearing it, and then said to Li Dingguo: "Your Highness, the emperor is very afraid of King Zhou. How can Your Highness say that he comforts King Zhou?"

Li Dingguo also sighed upon hearing this: "Although the King of Zhou was a bit overbearing to the court, without the King of Zhou, the court would not be as stable as it is today. I really don't know why Your Majesty is so resentful?"

Jin Weixin was somewhat helpless and could only explain slowly: "Your Highness, for example, if the King of Zhou captured Xuzhou, marched northwards with unstoppable force, and finally captured Beijing, Your Highness, do you think the King of Zhou would return Beijing to the emperor?"

Li Dingguo remained silent, and Jin Weixin continued, "Prince Zhou does not even want your majesty to get involved in Nanjing, let alone Beijing. So the two capitals are in the hands of Prince Zhou, and the court is in Kunming. Then who should the world listen to?"

Li Dingguo sighed when he heard this: "King Zhou, you don't want to be the King of Fenyang!"

Jin Weixin shook his head and said firmly: "Prince Fenyang can enjoy wealth and honor, but Prince Zhou cannot. If Prince Zhou has no power, he will die and his clan will be destroyed. There is no other possibility. Your Highness, now that it has come to this, you have to make a choice. The court and Prince Zhou can never coexist. This is not up to the emperor or the prince!"

After saying this, Jin Weixin looked at Li Dingguo and sighed in his heart. Although Prince Jin was good at everything, his attitude towards state affairs was hard to describe. Even Sun Kewang had fled to Nanjing, but Prince Jin still could not control the court.

The chaotic situation in the court is far worse than that during the time of the King of Qin. The disorder in the upper echelons has spread to the local areas. In just a few months, the camp system has become a mere formality. Local gentry have colluded with officials at all levels and manipulated their power. Jin Weixin has no idea how much taxes he can collect this year.

Thinking of this, Jin Weixin couldn't help but say, "Your Highness, the court... I'm afraid there is no possibility for the court to return to the capital."

"Are you saying that King Zhou will ascend to the throne one day?"

Jin Weixin nodded and said, "This is inevitable. If the Northern Expedition is victorious, it may be delayed. But if it fails, I think the King of Zhou will speed up his ascension to the throne."

Li Dingguo understood what Jin Weixin said. If he was defeated, he would ascend the throne and become emperor to boost the morale of the army, just like the former King Chuang. How to deal with Meng Jun? Li Dingguo's mind was in turmoil. After a long time, he sighed but said nothing.

Xuzhou city.

Ever since the failure of persuading the surrender yesterday, all the generals believed that Xuzhou could only be captured through a bloody battle. However, Zhao Yongping felt that this might not be the case.

The gap in strength between the two sides was so huge. Could it be that Wang Gang was determined to defend the city to the death, and that all his subordinates were so loyal? Of course there were such generals, and they were not uncommon in all dynasties, but in Zhao Yongping's opinion, Wang Gang was definitely not such a person. How could a general who could eat empty salaries expect every one of his subordinates to be loyal and steadfast to the death?

There was no movement in the city, which meant that the defenders in Xuzhou were not desperate enough. There were 62 cannons in Zhao Yongping's army that followed the army north. Zhao Yongping came up with an idea and ordered craftsmen to carve cannons out of wood and paint them black. From a distance, it was difficult to tell the real from the fake.

Real and fake, there were 62 real cannons and more than 100 wooden cannons carved by Zhao Yongping. Nearly 200 cannons were placed outside the south city of Xuzhou, scaring the defenders to death.

Wang Gang looked out of the city, his hands and feet turned cold with fear. Yu Mu beside him even collapsed on the ground, his hands and feet uncontrollable.