Autumn of the 17th year of Chongzhen

Chapter 44
The dripping rainwater slapped the roof, and then flowed intermittently from the eaves, converging into a small stream on the muddy street, and then blending with the blood flowing from the corpse, like a flowing red silk.

On the messy streets, corpses were lying one after another, including officers and soldiers, and more civilians.

In the courtyards on both sides, there are ruins everywhere, thick black smoke rises from each house in the drizzle, dyeing the already dark sky into pitch black, like a scorching hell.

Three Qing soldiers, armed with sabers, chased the fleeing civilians in the street. In another place, several Qing soldiers came out of one courtyard with large and small burdens on their backs, and then laughed and ran to the next house.

There were terrified wailings, unwilling roars, and women's miserable screams everywhere in the city, and corresponding to these voices were unscrupulous lewd laughter, kicking and loud cursing.

These voices gathered together and intertwined into the most tragic scene of the Chinese nation. This is the civilization being trampled by barbarism, the order is defeated by chaos, and it is another catastrophe staged on the land of China after the disaster of the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty.

The crimes in the city continued in the drizzle, which was unbearable to hear and unbearable to see.

In a small courtyard by the street, the courtyard door is wide open, and the things in the courtyard have been turned over in a mess. On the surface, it seems that they have been destroyed by the Qing soldiers, but if you walk into the courtyard, you will still find something. different.

At this time, in a room in the courtyard, three corpses of Qing soldiers were still bleeding, and the small room was filled with more than 50 big men. They were all wearing cotton armor, but they were already broken. Unbearable, there are still black blood stains on it.

Hearing the screams coming from outside, these people couldn't help but grasped the sabers in their hands, as if they wanted to gnaw their teeth in anger.

The war knives in their hands had lost their bright luster and were stained with blood. Some of them had been chopped off, and some had been broken in half. Obviously, they had gone through a fierce battle.

The room was not big, and it was crowded with more than 50 big men, but no matter how crowded it was, none of them got close to a middle-aged man sitting on the side bed.

This man is a subordinate of Shi Dushi, He Gang, a doctor in the Ministry of War, and one of the few court officials left in the city.

At this time, He Gang was wearing a piece of armor that didn't fit, and his eyes had lost their luster. The Qing army shelled the west city of Yangzhou on the 24th and night, and invaded Yangzhou on the 25th, and began to massacre the people, which was unacceptable to him.

Not only did he not expect such a result, but Wang Yan also did not expect it. With such a quick defeat, Yangzhou seemed to be completely paperless.

In another period of history, in a small city of Jiangyin, Yan Yingyuan wrote a classic history, facing 24 Qing army cavalry, more than 83 heavy artillery, and was trapped in the isolated city for 5000 days, causing the Qing army to lose three kings and eighteen generals, and [-] people died.

Last year Gao Jie coveted the prosperity of Yangzhou and wanted to enter Yangzhou, but the gentry of Yangzhou refused. Gao Jie was furious and sent tens of thousands of troops to attack Yangzhou.

Is it because Gao Jiebing is not strong enough?Obviously not!

When Gao Jie was still in the army, he was very capable of fighting. In another period of history, Li Chengdong, who was only one of Gao Jie's subordinates, helped the Qing court to take down Fujian and Guangdong provinces. In the end, Li Chengdong rebelled against the Qing and was also regarded as the enemy of the Qing court. .

Yangzhou was able to resist Gao Jie's army, and it was undefeated in nearly a month's attack, which shows that Yangzhou's city defense is strong and the village's bravery is good at fighting.

Yangzhou is a powerful city in the north of the Yangtze River. There are nearly one million people in the city, nearly ten thousand officers and soldiers, and sufficient food and grass. How come it is in the hands of the officers and soldiers, but it has become so vulnerable. With such a good foundation, how can the situation be so bad!
He Gang obviously couldn't accept this defeat. He couldn't help recalling that what happened since the Qing army arrived in Yangzhou on the [-]th had already been Yangzhou's countermeasures.

On April [-], after the Xuzhou town surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, Liu Liangzuo, who was returning east to support Yangzhou, also surrendered to the Qing court on his way to support Yangzhou.

On April 21, Zhang Tianlu and Zhang Tianfu, the commander-in-chief of the Ming Dynasty, led their troops to surrender to the Qing Dynasty, and then led the army to Yangzhou.

On the same day, Gansu general Li Qifeng and supervisor Gao Qifeng led [-] soldiers into Yangzhou, but they did not intend to rescue Yangzhou, but wanted to hijack Shi Kefa and surrender Yangzhou to the Qing court.

Shi Kefa resolutely said: "This is where I died, what should the public do? If you want to be rich, please do it yourself."

Seeing that Shi Kefa was determined, the two knew that there was no opportunity to take advantage of it. On the 22nd, they led their troops and colluded with the generals Hu Shangyou and Han Shangliang in the city to go out and surrender to the Qing Dynasty.

If he wants to defend Yangzhou, Shi Kefa should kill Li Qifeng and Gao Qifeng, collect all the soldiers and horses, and defend the army strong. However, he only thinks that Yangzhou is a place of martyrdom, and has no defensive strategy. , let it be, without prohibition.

When the Qing soldiers first arrived at the city, Liu Zhaoji, the commander-in-chief, suggested that before the generals of the Qing army arrived and their foothold was not stable, they should go out of the city to fight to strengthen the morale of the defenders.

But Shi Kefa didn't listen, and only said: "Spirit should not be tested lightly, and the whole peak should be raised to wait for the enemy to die." The army is alone and the morale is low. If you don't take advantage of the fact that the Qing army has few soldiers and the army has not arrived, there is a battle to improve morale. How can you raise your spirits?How to wait for the enemy to die?
Regarding the defense of the city, the generals suggested that the terrain of Ximen is under the terrain, and the high earth mountain outside the city is condescending, and they can overlook the city. They want to cut down the trees on the mountain and build a guard camp. , rejected the advice of the generals, and said that the generals do not have to worry, he personally guarded the west city.

As a result, as soon as the Qing soldiers attacked on the 24th, the Qing soldiers relied on the terrain and smashed a corner of the West City. The West City that Shi Kefa personally defended was also breached the next day.

Facing the siege of the Qing army, Shi Kefa had no intention of resisting at all. Before the Qing army attacked the city, he had already written a suicide note on the 21st.

Before Duoduo attacked the city, Shi Kefa, who was a supervisor, was already consciously ignorant. His knowledge and ability can only make people sigh, and it is far behind Jiangyin Yidian Shi.

On the 25th, one day in Yangzhou was broken, and Liu Zhaoji, the general soldier, died in a fierce battle. Ren Minyu, the magistrate of Yangzhou, wore a Ming official robe and sat on the government office. Qing soldiers killed him and persuaded him to surrender. Ren Minyu refused and was killed. His daughter hanged herself.

In February, Wang Yan once persuaded Shi Kefa to accept Gao Yuanzhao, the son of Gao Jie, as his adoptive son, so that he could take over the army of a town in Xuzhou. .

When the city of Yangzhou was broken, Shi Kefa accepted his adopted son Shi Dewei, who was born in the official army, and wanted him to help him commit suicide when the city was broken, but he was finally captured by the Qing army. He refused to surrender to the Qing court, but was killed by the Qing court.

Shi Kefa is loyal, but his ability can only make people sigh.

　To make up.

　　Thanks to Motor Infantry for the recommendation support.

　　


(End of this chapter)