Autumn of the 17th year of Chongzhen

Chapter 360

When Wang Yan was managing Guangdong, he forced Ding Kuichu, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, to Guilin, and made him and Qu Shixu, the governor of Guangxi who supported Guilin, form a situation of separation of power between the north and the south.

In August of the second year of Longwu, news of great changes in central Fujian spread to Guangdong and Guangxi, especially the university scholar He Wuzou separated from the emperor after the First World War in Tingzhou, and returned to Guangdong to bring back even more unfavorable news.

In the areas of Guangdong and Guangxi, there was a great shock, and rumors abounded that the talkative emperor had fallen into the hands of the Qing army like Emperor Anzong, and the issue of the succession of the royal family was once again on the urgent agenda.

Out of the consideration of blood closeness, among the feudal vassals of the Ming Dynasty, King Rui was killed by Li Zicheng, Emperor Anzong and King Hui of Fufan were killed by the Qing court successively, and only the descendants of Emperor Shenzong, Fu, Rui, Hui, and Gui, remained. Guifan.

In the minds of most officials and gentry, Guifan Zhu Youlang became the best candidate to inherit the great rule. After the Qing soldiers occupied Zhejiang and Fujian, the anti-Qing forces moved to the southwest, and Guangdong and Guangxi would directly face the Qing soldiers. In any case, one person needs to be elected to stabilize people's hearts.

The exact news of Emperor Longwu has not yet been obtained, but Qu Shixu, the governor of Guangxi, has already supported King Gui to supervise the country in Zhaoqing. After receiving the exact news of Longwu, he will ascend the throne and proclaim himself emperor.

Outside the city of Guangzhou Fu, the sky was drizzling. University scholar Su Guansheng and a group of officials stood outside the city. The brigade of common people and gentry, carrying burdens and donkey carts, rolled in from the east with the old and the young. Full of official roads.

A group of cavalry with small flags on their backs flew past the crowd, shouting repeatedly: "Get out of the way~ It's urgent, urgently report to the army~"

The horses galloped past, and the fleeing people dodged again and again in shock, and the children cried.

The knight galloped up to Su Guansheng, then hurriedly got off his horse, ran over and knelt down on one knee, and said in a panting voice, "Qibao Pavilion, Chaozhou has fallen, and Qing generals Li Chengdong and Tong Yangjia are coming to kill Guangzhou!"

At the beginning, the imperial court gave Wang Yan 3 soldiers. When he left Guangdong, he took away 500 elite soldiers, leaving only more than 1 recruits to Liu Shun.

This is because Guangdong was in the hinterland of Nanming at that time, so it didn't need too many soldiers and horses, but Fujian suddenly surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, and Qing soldiers marched from the coast of Fujian, but Guangdong immediately became empty.

Although Wang Yan claimed to have trained 2 soldiers in various prefectures in Guangnan, in fact, he did not meet the requirements at all. The key is the lack of money and land, and the armor and weapons are not complete. In fact, there are only more than [-] people who have been trained. And the combat power is definitely not comparable to that of the Qing soldiers.

The cavalry's report made Su Guansheng frowned, but at this time another cavalry with an urgent flag came running in the distance, saluting again and reporting: "Gebu, Jieyang fell, the general Chen Wenbao died in battle, Liu The general is outnumbered and has already retreated to Guangzhou~"

All the officials in Guangzhou turned pale when they heard the words. Chen Bangyan called Su Guansheng and said, "Gebu! The Qing soldiers are coming very fiercely. It is almost impossible to keep the Qing soldiers out of Guangdong. It is better to abandon the states and counties along the way. Let the Qing soldiers go directly to the city of Guangzhou. We concentrate our forces on Guangzhou, defeat the enemy with a strong city, and then ask for help from Guangxi and Hunan.

Su Guansheng frowned, "The Qing soldiers drove straight in, and all the prefectures and counties along the way were destroyed quickly. Besides, the people in Guangzhou are not stable now, and the Qing soldiers directly attacked the city. I am afraid that although there is a strong city, they will not be able to defend it for a long time."

"The lower officials have also considered this point. First of all, General Liu is now breaking up two battles in a row. 1 troops will definitely not be able to stop tens of thousands of Qing soldiers. The counties along the way will still be destroyed by the Qing soldiers. If this is the case, it is better to send orders to the various prefectures. Let the people take refuge in the mountains earlier." Chen Bangyan explained: "Furthermore, hasn't the cabinet sent Mr. He to invite His Royal Highness King Gui to come to Guangzhou to sit in the town? With the presence of the prison country, Guangzhou will surely be able to unite the army and the people. The 2 people in Guangnan Soldiers from many prefectures can also be transferred into the city. Then let the navy blockade the Pearl River so that the Qing soldiers cannot enter the many state capitals on the west bank of the Pearl River!"

"What Iwano means is to abandon the small town and protect the big city, abandon the east of Guangdong and protect the west of Guangdong!" Su Guansheng quickly understood Chen Bangyan's strategy.

"Since we can't defeat the Qing soldiers, it's better for a strong man to sever his wrists and save Guangzhou!" Chen Bangyan nodded.

Su Guansheng looked at the people fleeing westward on the official road, and couldn't help but sigh in his heart, can Guangnan, which has been in peace for many years, withstand the attack of the Qing soldiers?After nearly a year of operation, Guangdong, which has just started to improve, may be dilapidated immediately after a lot of devastation.

"Just do as Iwano said!" Su Guansheng straightened his body a little bit, calming his back, and then ordered in a solemn voice: "The order from the hall, first, order Mr. He to move to Guangzhou quickly to welcome King Gui The hearts of the people in Guangzhou. Second, order the prefectures in western Guangdong to prepare for the resettlement of refugees in eastern Guangdong. Third, urgently dispatch soldiers from Gaozhou, Leizhou, Luoding Prefecture, and Zhaoqing to aid Guangzhou. Fourth, rush to Guilin and Changsha for eight hundred miles Help!"

Many officials saw that Su Guansheng had a countermeasure, and their spirits were lifted immediately. Behind them, the scribes wrote down Su Guansheng's orders, and then wrote them into documents and sent them to various places.

At this time, in Guangzhou City, because the war was approaching, commercial activities basically stopped. The originally busy docks were empty. Most of the ships of the sea merchants were requisitioned by the navy. , nearly [-] wharf coolies were transferred to the city to strengthen the city wall.

When Su Guansheng and his party returned to Guangzhou, countless peasants on the moat were setting up small boats, inserting sharpened wooden stakes into the river, and craftsmen at the city gate were also re-reinforcing the city gate.

Su Guansheng has been operating here for a year, and he has devoted a lot of effort to every plant and tree in the city. He has been with the officials, gentry, common people, and wealthy merchants in the city day and night. Feeling it, he turned around and said to many officials: "The defense of Guangzhou now depends entirely on the help of the Lord and the hall!"

"Don't worry, Mr. Ge, we will definitely defend the city with all our strength!"

Guangzhou is a big city with a population of hundreds of thousands and abundant supplies. The rice and grain bought from Khmer and Champa can last for five months. There are also a large amount of dried fish stored in the city, and the grain and grass are very sufficient. Rolling logs and stones are piled up in warehouses.Thanks to the trade with the Portuguese, there are 180 large Francophones and [-] small Franglers on the city wall, and there are also hundreds of Huzun Cannons and Wankou Tong.

In this era, the damage rate of firearms is very high. After several battles, half of the army's firearms will be reimbursed. After the battle, Wang Yan's original car camp has basically been scrapped, so he wrote to Su Guansheng, asking him to purchase another batch of artillery However, these cannons did not have time to supplement Wang Yan, but now they are all placed on the city wall, which undoubtedly strengthened the defense of Guangzhou and enhanced Su Guansheng's confidence.

Looking at the peasants who were busy reinforcing the city wall, Su Guansheng felt a little more at ease. Although he was a civil servant, he could also see the strength of Guangzhou. He believed that as long as he followed Chen Bangyan's strategy, he would be able to defend Guangzhou.

Immediately, he led a group of officials back to the government office, but there was an official at the door, pacing back and forth, it was He Gang, the patrol censor.

In ancient China, locals were good at using small officials to control big officials. Although the rank of the inspector censor was not high, even the governor dared not offend him. He had the power of supervision and extremely powerful.

When He Gang saw Su Guansheng coming back, he immediately strode up to meet him, and before Su Guansheng could ask him, he hurriedly said, "Master Ge, something is wrong, King Gui has gone to Guangxi."

(Thanks for Huamancheng 66's full subscription and monthly ticket, book friend 4200 for one thousand book coins, wolf dog for guarding slaves for five hundred book coins, Qin Songwang, shyion, ink marks, why not change, Yuedong Woxin for the reward, thank you A gift from the descendants of Shiye Saburo. Try to add more today!)

(End of this chapter)