I want to be emperor

Chapter 359 Sweeping Jiangnan
Water transport was extremely important to the feudal dynasties whose capital was in the north.

The previous dynasties, such as Tang, Song, and Yuan, all attached great importance to water transportation.

And it was even more so in the current Ming Dynasty.

Since Zhu Di established Youzhou City as his capital, the Ming court has attached great importance to water transportation in all dynasties, because they need to rely on water transportation to solve the grain of millions of stones for the use of the capital and the frontier army.

In the water transportation, the water transportation in South Zhili and Zhejiang is the most important, because the water grains from South Zhili and Zhejiang account for more than 60.00% of all water grains.

As for the southern Zhili and Zhejiang regions, after careful calculation, Jiangnan and northern Zhejiang are the main regions.

After all, Nanzhili seems to have many jurisdictions, but the Jiangbei area of ​​Nanzhili, that is, Fengyang Mansion, Huai'an Mansion, and Yangzhou Mansion are not any grain-producing areas.

Due to the flooding of the Huai River and the Yellow River in Fengyang Mansion and Xuzhou, the local people are actually living very hard.

After all, agriculture has always depended on the weather, and if one is not careful, it will cause floods and then reduce production. In places such as Fengyang Mansion and Xuzhou Mansion, God generally does not give any face. Small waterlogging every year, and severe waterlogging for three years are the norm.

It’s good to be able to feed yourself locally, how can there be surplus food to supply outside.

Yangzhou Prefecture and Huai'an Prefecture were also plagued by floods.

The reason why this place is relatively wealthy on the surface is purely because this place produces salt and gathers a large number of salt merchants, creating deformed pure consumption cities of Yangzhou and Huai'an.

At that time, the local ordinary people actually had a very hard life.

Yangzhou Mansion and Huai'an Mansion are very deformed places where a large number of poor salt merchants and very few rich salt merchants are in the same place.

Otherwise, there would not be a large number of luxurious gardens and the famous Yangzhou skinny horse.

How come the skinny horse?Local poor people, such as Yan Ding!
Who is the skinny horse sold to?local salt merchants.

Jiangbei these days is actually not a good place. On the contrary, large areas are still poor and remote. This is why Wang Jiazhen did not recruit soldiers in Jiangnan before, but chose to recruit soldiers in the Xuhuai area to form a new standard army.

There are unruly people in poor villages, but there are also elite soldiers in poor mountains and rivers!

For the same reason, later generations Li Hongzhang also chose to recruit troops to form the Huai Army in this area.

You know, Li Hongzhang is from Hefei. Instead of going to his hometown to recruit soldiers, he went to the Xuhuai area to recruit soldiers. He took a fancy to the young and strong in this poor place and it is easier to recruit them, and the reason is that he desperately wants to eat. .

Speaking of this, I just want to say that Nanzhili seems to be very large, but Jiangbei, which occupies a large area, is actually not a land of fish and rice, and it is difficult to contribute a large amount of grain.

If it wasn't for the Grand Canal passing through this area, then the matter of water transportation would have nothing to do with them.

It is the Jiangnan and northern Zhejiang regions that really supply a large amount of grain.

The grain grain supplied from these places every year often accounts for more than half of the grain grain in the country.

And these grains are collected in the Jiangnan section of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal through the Jiangnan water network, and then transported to Zhenjiang through the canal, and then cross the Yangtze River from Zhenjiang to Yangzhou Prefecture, and then continue northward along the Yangzhou section of the canal.

Today, Zhenjiang is occupied by the Chu army, which means that a large amount of grain in the south of the Yangtze River and northern Zhejiang cannot pass through Zhenjiang and cross the Yangtze River to the north.

Half of the grain was directly cut off by the Chu army!

In addition, the Huguang and Jiangxi regions previously controlled by the Chu army also supplied a large share of grain.

If this part is added, the Chu army has actually cut off more than 70.00% of the Ming court's grain share.

In the next few months, the capital and other big cities in the north, which partially rely on grain, will probably start to lack food, and there will be a large area of ​​food shortage.

This will make the Ming court even worse for the already stormy Ming court.

After the Seventh Division Huitong No.15 Garrison Division captured Zhenjiang, they did not stop but continued to move.

They continued to advance eastward, and took Danyang without bloodshed.

It is not right to say that it was won, because Danyang County voluntarily surrendered.

Danyang city itself does not have any Ming army garrison, but only a few hundred guards and a group of young and strong county soldiers recruited temporarily. Danyang county magistrate faced the fall of Jinling city, the end of Zhenjiang, and the complete collapse of the situation in the south of the Yangtze River. The county magistrate decisively chose to surrender the city...

With a sudden change, he became the county magistrate of Danyang County, Zhenjiang Prefecture, Great Chu Empire. Well, the grade was raised by two levels, and became the sixth grade.

After all, Li Yuankui, the right servant of the Ministry of Industry, has voluntarily surrendered. Some time ago, Anlu governor Shi Kefa, and Jiangxi governor Xie Xuelong all surrendered to the Great Chu Empire.

It's normal for him, a magistrate of Danyang County, to surrender to Master Da Chu!
The voluntary surrender of Danyang County is not an exception in Jiangnan.

When the Sixth Division of the Chu Army arrived in Liyang, the local civil and military officials simply surrendered. Even the local gentry and big households learned how to be smart and came directly to fully surrender. The soldiers of the Chu Army have not yet come. A large amount of money and food has been prepared in advance to reward the army.

In such a situation in the south of the Yangtze River, in fact, the continuous operations of the Chu army in the south of the Yangtze River were not hindered too much by the cold winter.

Because the local Ming army did not organize an effective resistance at all, they either fled in anticipation, surrendered on the spot, or simply surrendered ahead of time anyway, turned around and became officials of Da Chu, and soldiers of Da Chu went.

This winter offensive in the south of the Yangtze River, which the high-level Chu army predicted would be relatively slow, turned into a complete winter march in the south of the Yangtze River...

Wherever the Chu army went, there was no actual resistance at all.

Even in the big cities of Changzhou City, Suzhou City, and Songjiang City, they didn't encounter much resistance.

When the First Division reached Changzhou Fucheng, that is, Wujin, more than 3000 local defenders only made a symbolic resistance, and then quickly surrendered.

In Suzhou City, the Chu army hadn’t killed them yet. There were many internal conflicts among them. They wanted to surrender and resist at the same time. As a result, they fought themselves. When the Chu army finally arrived, there were not many stubborn troops left in the city. up.

When they attacked Huating County in Songjiang Prefecture in December, it was also clean and tidy.

At this time, the first division's eastward strategic mission was almost completed, and they successfully reached the sea.

As for the remaining county towns and market towns that have not yet been taken down, they will be slowly cleaned up and controlled, but basically there is no need to worry about any actual resistance.

And these finishing matters, of course, will be done by the No.15 Defense Division and the newly formed No.16 Defense Division.

The No.16 garrison division is a new garrison division reorganized based on surrendered troops from the four prefectures of Zhenjiang, Changzhou, Suzhou, and Songjiang during the eastward march. Cooperating with the No.7000 garrison division is enough to initially control the land of the four prefectures.

As for the First Division, as the core force of the Great Chu Empire, they were naturally busy with tasks. After taking down the Songjiang Mansion, the First Division continued south without stopping and went straight to Jiaxing Mansion in Zhejiang.

The Eastward War led by the First Division went smoothly, and the Southward War led by the Sixth Division was relatively smooth.

After taking Lishui and Liyang smoothly, they took Yixing again, and finally came to Guangdezhou.

In fact, there was no large-scale battle with the Ming army in the attack on the above-mentioned places. The local Ming army either fled or surrendered, and basically did not resist much.

He just continued to go south, and after reaching the Huzhou Mansion in the north of Zhejiang, he was stubbornly resisted by the Zhejiang army.

Zhejiang has built a defense line around Huzhou City early on, with thick fortifications, and there are new standard troops in the garrison, with many guns.

Because of the freezing weather and the snowfall in the local area, and the fact that it was troublesome for the Sixth Division to go south to land supplies, the Sixth Division suspended its offensive after a slight attack and was preparing to let the soldiers and mules who had been on the road for many days continue to march. The horse has a good rest, and the most important thing is to wait for the follow-up supplies, especially the arrival of ammunition supplies.

Anyway, they don't have to worry too much.

Now for the Great Chu Empire, most of the strategic goals of the eastward campaign have been achieved, and even Jiangnan has already gone south.

Although there is still one Zhebei left in the follow-up, it doesn't matter if it is sooner or later, anyway, it will be won sooner or later.

What's more, the sixth division is still going to wait for the first division.

The First Division is now attacking Jiaxing Mansion.

When the first division reaches Jiaxing Mansion, the Zhejiang army will be in a difficult situation, and their strength is limited.

According to the information provided by the Chu Army's Military Intelligence Department, the number of new standard troops under the governor of Zhejiang is only 5000.

In addition to the new standard army, there are not many ordinary guards under the governor of Zhejiang. Even if they are transferred everywhere, the governor of Zhejiang only mobilized about 2 guards.

Let alone the quality of personnel and the level of equipment, there is a serious shortage of troops alone.

You must know that the Chu army that entered northern Zhejiang had two main divisions alone, with a total strength of more than 3.

Not to mention, there are still a few garrison divisions behind who can join the battle at any time to reduce the pressure on the main division.

Now that the Sixth Division has contained a large number of Zhejiang troops in Huzhou City, it is enough to create opportunities for the First Division on the Eastern Front.

Now in Huzhou City, there are at least 4000 soldiers in the guard, and more than 3000 new standard troops, with a total strength of about 8000.

Well, without the total strength of 8000 troops, they would not be able to stop the ferocious Sixth Division, even if the Sixth Division was just a tentative attack at the beginning!

The sixth division is not an empty-handed force, but a main force of the Chu army with a strength of more than 4000.

Even if it is due to bad weather and long distances, it is difficult to resupply.

Even if the fortifications of Huzhou City are good, the surrounding terrain is also good.

Let the Sixth Division fight timidly, but the basic combat effectiveness is at stake. If Zhejiang hadn't piled up more than 8000 troops on the front line of Huzhou City, it would be impossible for them to stop the Sixth Division's early tentative attack.

But here comes the problem, when Zhejiang Governor Yu Sixun transferred a large number of troops to Huzhou City to resist the Chu army, naturally there were fewer defenders in Jiaxing Mansion...

So, as soon as they took Songjiang Mansion, they turned their heads and headed south to the first division of Jiaxing Mansion, and immediately took down Jiaxing City...

The door to northern Zhejiang was wide open, and the city of Hangzhou was directly exposed to the front of the Chu army.

At the same time, more importantly, the more than 8000 defenders in Huzhou City are also facing a huge risk of being attacked from both front and back.

With the situation at this point, northern Zhejiang can basically be said to have been sent south by the Chu army.

And the fact is true. On December 23, the First Division continued to advance from Jiaxing. Instead of going to Hangzhou, they headed towards Huzhou City, and joined forces with the Sixth Division to encircle and wipe out the stubborn Ming army in Huzhou City.

Yu Sixun, the governor of Zhejiang Province who led the army to resist in Huzhou city, sternly rejected the surrender of the Chu army several times when the city was broken, saying: "It is better to cut off my head than to follow the will."

After saying that, he was attacked and killed by his generals.

His head was immediately sent to the Chu division's camp as a certificate of nomination.

The city of Huzhou was completely captured by the Chu army. Eighteen thousand Ming troops in the city killed more than [-] people, and more than [-] fled. The rest became prisoners of the Chu army.

Four days later, Ming Chongzhen ten years, Chu Chengshun three years, the eighth day of the first lunar month.

The Sixth Division of the Chu Army broke into the city of Hangzhou, which had only two or three thousand troops, and captured the city of Zhejiang Province.

So far, the Great Chu Empire has fully realized all the strategic goals of the eastward strategy: it has fully occupied the northern and central parts of Jiangxi, the Jiangnan area of ​​​​South Zhili, and the northern part of Zhejiang.

At this time, the situation is exactly Huaxia Jiuding, and Chu holds the sixth.

The news that the Sixth Division captured Hangzhou was sent back to Jinling City a few days later. Luo Zhixue was overjoyed, and immediately set up a banquet for all the officials.

He also ordered Xu Jian, the commander of the Sixth Division of Jin Dynasty, to be a lieutenant general of the army and concurrently the commander of the Zhejiang Garrison Command.

Cao Hongsheng, commander of the First Jin Division, is a lieutenant general and concurrently the commander of the Jiangnan Defense Command.

At the same time, a group of other generals were also promoted.

Not only has the military rank been improved, but the title has also been improved.

Even some civil servants were conferred titles because of their military exploits in the Dongjin Campaign.

While the Great Chu Empire was jubilant because it took Hangzhou and completed the entire eastward campaign, the northern Ming court fell into sorrow.

Although the news of the fall of Hangzhou had not reached the Forbidden City so quickly at this time, the news of the fall of Zhenjiang, Changzhou, Suzhou, Songjiang and other places had already reached the Forbidden City one after another.

After these bad news were sent to the Forbidden City one by one, Chongzhen was in a rage every day.

Moreover, there was a sense of rage, and some neurotic constant doubts about this and that, and then wanted to arrest this and kill that...

Well, he didn't just think, he really did it. In the past few months, there have been at least a dozen courtiers who have been ordered to be beheaded by Chongzhen, and even more have been arrested and imprisoned. They are all working in Gyeonggi Beijing officials...

In order to protect themselves, many court ministers have written to beg for bones.

Although being an official is important, life is even more important. Chongzhen kills and arrests people like this every day, who can stand it.

The Jiangnan region has completely fallen into the hands of Chu thieves, which has dealt a huge psychological blow to Chongzhen who has worked hard and frugally to maintain the situation in the past ten years.

Why is it that I have worked so hard, but the situation is still getting worse day by day?
Not to mention Dongyao, there are more and more rogues in the Shaanxi area every year, and the momentum of the rogues was finally suppressed in the second half of the eighth year, and Gao Yingxiang was even caught in the ninth year.

As a result, even more ferocious Chu thieves emerged from the south, occupying Chubei in eight years.

In the first half of nine years, it occupied southern Chu, and in the second half, it moved eastward and occupied Jiangxi and Jiangnan!
Chongzhen has worked so hard for so many years, but the situation has not improved, but worsened, even on the eve of the country's subjugation.

This can't help but make Chongzhen wonder!

Why did it lead to such a result today?
Is it because I haven't tried hard enough?

No, I have worked very hard, but there are always people in the court who hold me back. Those civil servants and generals, one counts as one, and all of them should be killed!

Stimulated by the continuous bad news in the south, Chongzhen was a little nervous. When he was reviewing the memorial, he couldn't help but write directly: "All the officials in the court can be killed!"

The inner eunuch next to him was frightened to death, so he finally persuaded Chongzhen to burn the written words.

If this gets out and the ministers outside know about it... that would be terrible!

In the future, when the Chu army reaches the capital, there will probably be someone who will help the Chu army open the city gate and open the way from the outside of the city all the way to the palace...

At that time, Chongzhen really had no choice but to hang himself.

(End of this chapter)