Traveler Major League

Chapter 251 Peaceful Liberation

On the red-tiled building at the east entrance of Taiping Street in the north of Luoyang City, the candlelight lampshade outside the wooden building was blown by the strong wind, which did not disturb the lively scene inside the building. A dozen Ming generals gathered together at the invitation of the commander-in-chief Wang Renbai. Get together and drink wine.

Wang Renbai, who was sitting on the main seat, didn't drink much on weekdays. At this time, he was holding the altar of Dukang wine. He took a sip of the old wine and put down his chopsticks with a flushed face: "Guarding Luoyang will definitely reward you from the court, not to mention being promoted to an official position." Come on, don’t worry, everyone!”

The skinny Qianhu Li Fanju clasped his fists drunkenly and said: "It all depends on the power of the general. Luoyang is impregnable, the ancient city is prosperous, and the people live and work in peace and contentment!"

There was a chorus of compliments.

Some time ago, because of the war in Luoyang, Wang Renbai's eyes were red, and he was racing against time day and night, which was very sad.

However, while waiting for the final test results these days, he actively interacted with many generals in Luoyang and entertained each other. The originally worried General Wang seemed to be a different person.

To outsiders, this is really confusing.

In fact, only Wang Renbai himself knew that the Qianzong Zu Changhui he sent to Xin'an County, less than fifty miles west of Luoyang City, was completely wiped out. However, Zu Changhui himself was released by the people's army and secretly returned to Luoyang.

Two days ago, on May 1st, the People's Army attacked the Xin'an County area for the first time. In less than half a day, it annihilated nearly 3,000 of his elite troops. These people were all his most capable subordinates, Wang Renbai. He specifically told them not to waste the battle, but to maintain pressure and maintain a sense of presence to delay the march of the people's army and buy Luoyang City more time.

However, even though they were careful, they were still taken in circles by the people's army and ate them all. No one reported the retreat. The news was tightly blocked, but some senior Ming army officials who knew about it were still frightened, and the generals acted randomly. In order to stabilize Luoyang and save the Ming Dynasty in Luoyang, Wang Renbaicai uncharacteristically kept feasting to boost morale.

At the same time, Fan Jingwen has also ordered garrisons throughout Henan, and rushed to Luoyang at starry night for support. The nearest Zhengzhou has even been transferred into an empty city. After such a set of operations, the Ming army at the middle and lower levels became confident. full.

However, after some well-informed gentry heard the news of the defeat, they were considering their escape route. Even when they saw the brave rural soldiers entering the city from Jianchun Gate in the east for days, they could only complain secretly. Now that the city gate was blocked, No one is allowed in and no one is allowed out. Even if a person leaves, he cannot take his family property with him. He can only find ways around, but the people's army advances so fast that almost no one can get on the line.

For a moment, people in Luoyang were panicked, and people from all walks of life were discussing privately, "Can we hold Luoyang? How can we get out of the city? Where can we escape? If we surrender, will the people's army spare us?"

Fan Jingwen and Wang Renbai were not idle either. After discussing with each other, they decided to split up and move all the households outside the city into the city. They even gathered all the families of generals and officers in Luoyang City to prepare for a life-and-death struggle. .

A feast that lasted for many days quickly appeased everyone's hearts. Everyone was drunk and staggering around. They put their uneasy hearts into cups to relax themselves. Only then did Wang Renbai feel relieved. During the banquet, , after having had enough wine and food, he took several of his close subordinates with him, and on the pretext of inspecting combat readiness together, he allowed several of his generals to meet Zu Changhui, who had been banned from his residence.

When several people boarded the Drum Tower of Lijing Gate in the West City, they were all surprised when they saw Zu Changhui. After chatting with each other about their experiences, they could probably guess Wang Renbai's thoughts.

Looking at the ruins of residential houses outside the city, thousands of homes have been demolished in the past few days, which is equivalent to razing the outside of Luoyang to the ground.

Especially at the west gate, which faced the frontline of the people's army, the houses, businesses, and grass markets along the foot of the city were all bulldozed. Bricks, stones, and wood were transported into the city, and dust and bricks flew into the air. Wang Renbai looked down and saw a group of people with their children and their daughters wandering around in the dusk, crying in the wind and sand.

This large-scale demolition is what Fan Jingwen meant. This is a common thing for military officials, and most of the senior officials support it. However, it is one thing to talk about it. Only those working below really understand the difficulties.

Even on the streets of Luoyang City, the "meritorious deeds" of these people are everywhere. Wang Renbai said: "Compassion does not govern soldiers, justice does not manage finances, this is related to the life and death of Luoyang."

He stood on a tall building, looking down from a high position. Where he pointed, houses collapsed. The soil in Luoyang is hard and dry but not brittle. It is said that the bandit weapons are powerful, so there are new earth bunkers everywhere in Luoyang City, which have strong defense against solid bullets and primitive explosive shells.

Moreover, in order to prevent the city gate from falling and the whole city to collapse, Fan Jingwen also set up barricades in the city with the cross street as the center. In order to rely on the street fighting fortifications, he could take root here and attack step by step, stalling for time.

The returned Qianzong Zu Changhui followed Wang Renbai and walked up and down the city. He exchanged glances with several other people and then said softly: "General, the People's Army said that as long as we open the city and surrender, , we will definitely ensure the safety of our property and lives. Those who want to lead troops can continue to lead troops in the future. If you don’t reply, it will be over. The people’s army is not an ordinary bandit. It has sophisticated equipment and a huge army. It will definitely conquer the world in the future."

"The People's Army has now become powerful. It has captured Guanzhong and Longxi, Hanzhong has also been taken, and even all the senior officials and generals in Xi'an have surrendered..."

"We are fighting alone here, there are no reinforcements around, and the various military posts are rotten to the core..."

Hearing this, Wang Renbai closed his eyes and sighed deeply. He had never seen the true strength of the people's army, but he knew that in the Ming Dynasty, his capable subordinates came alone to persuade them to surrender. Now that it was imminent, he really could no longer hesitate. .

After looking around at the confidant generals who had no objections, he said to Zu Changhui: "You can take my order and leave the city now. Tomorrow at Yin time, a fire will be raised on Lijing Gate as a signal, and I will open the door to welcome the people's army into the city. .”

On the night of the second day, at three o'clock in the morning, Wang Renbai was pacing back and forth at Lijing Gate. He had already arranged everything. In the name of a banquet, he even invited the generals from other city gates to have a banquet before leaving. Now, These people were probably sleeping soundly.

Wang Renbai ordered: "Raise the fire."

Soon there were three soldiers holding torches and circling in the air at the top of the city. The anxious waiting did not last long. Wang Renbai suddenly stopped. There was a sound of footsteps outside the city. His face turned red and his eyes froze. Under the green light, he smiled, tears welling up in his eyes, and finally, he yelled: "Open the city gate!"

On May 6, the second year of Chongzhen, more than 10,000 people from the First Army of the People's Army marched fifty miles overnight and entered the city from the west gate of Luoyang at 3:15 in the morning. The important town of Luoyang was peacefully liberated immediately, and only around the governor's office in the city. There was a fierce battle, and Fan Jingwen, the governor of Henan, was captured alive by Wang Renbai.

(End of this chapter)