Autumn of the 17th year of Chongzhen

Chapter 53
Boom, the sound of the booming guns never stopped. The city wall in the northwest corner collapsed during the day and was piled up again at night.

Since Wang Yan recaptured Yangzhou on the 25th, the Qing army's offensive has not stopped. The Ming army and the Qing army have repeatedly seen each other on the city, especially the collapsed part of the northwest corner, which has almost become a mountain of blood.

Duoduo knew that it would be difficult to break through Yangzhou with the surrendered Han army alone, but he couldn't give the Ming army in the city time to breathe. Manchuria couldn't fight this kind of war of attrition with heavy casualties, so he could only urge the Han army's green battalion to attack Yangzhou every day. Siege.

The Green Battalion soldiers were not determined, and Duoduo could not press too hard. Although they attacked for days and left nearly [-] corpses, they were still unable to invade Yangzhou, and their morale began to slack day by day.

The defenders in Yangzhou City are different. From the initial panic response, they gradually cooperated. On the contrary, they have been honed in the days of battles. It's hard to climb the walls.

Days of battles left Wang Yan with no time to train Yangzhou's youth, but war is always the best teacher. After paying the price of blood, Wang Yan finally completed the battle against the officials and troops in Yangzhou during the Qing army's attack. reorganization.

When the Qing army broke through the city on the 25th, some of the high court officials in Yangzhou were killed in battle, some were captured, and some escaped from Yangzhou.

Yangzhou is the command center of Jiangbei's defense, and there are many court officials, but after this catastrophe, there are very few military officers and civilian officials left.

Shi Kefa died unyielding, and the general Liu Zhaoji and his generals also died in battle, and there were not a few civil servants who committed suicide and threw themselves into wells.

Now the highest-ranking court official in the city has become Wang Yan, the third-rank general who came to rescue the city.In terms of civil servants, there are not even three or four rank officials left, the highest rank is only He Gang, a doctor in the Ministry of War, Qu Congzhi and Wang Zuanjue, the Tong Zhi of Yangzhou, three officials of the fifth rank.

Since the Song Dynasty, the Central Plains dynasties have emphasized civility over military affairs. However, in troubled times, the status of military generals has improved. In addition, Wang Yan has a reputation for raising people and has recaptured Yangzhou. Naturally, he is the only leader in civil and military affairs in Yangzhou City.

After experiencing a catastrophe, there were still nearly 75 people in Yangzhou City, most of whom were people who hid in the city from outside the city when the Qing army went south.

Among the 75 people, there are nearly [-] young and strong. Wang Yan selected [-] warriors who could fight, and added [-] officers and soldiers to reorganize them into [-] Yangzhou defenders. A reserve team that assists the defense.

At this time, although Wang Yan was a general, the number of soldiers and horses in his hands was already more than that of general generals, comparable to that of a military governor.

Now Wang Yan has lost one status, and his status is already comparable to that of a town official, but his status is only counted in this Yangzhou city, and he is still a general when he leaves Yangzhou.

With 8000 soldiers and horses, Wang Yan divided them into five armies, each with [-] soldiers. Li Taizhen, He Gang, Qu Congzhi, and Wang Zuanjue each led an army and guarded the four gates. Wang Yan led another army in the middle to respond at any time.

In order to control this army, almost all of the thousand cavalry that Wang Yan brought into the city were promoted, but even so, there was still a shortage of officers.

Some students in the city and capable villagers were also promoted.

For example, Dai Zhifan, Zhang Youde, Gao Xiaozuan, Wang Shixiu, Wang Ji, Wang Xu and others were all entrusted with important tasks. Hu Weizong, who was highly skilled in martial arts, was even directly promoted to lead thousands of people beside Wang Yan.

These people, ranging from ten to a hundred, to as many as a thousand, are just arranged by Wang Yan, and the court will not recognize it yet.

In order to justify his name, Wang Yan asked the imperial court for the power of Yangzhou while having someone compile a roster while writing a memorial. He believed that at such a moment, the imperial court would definitely satisfy his request.

In terms of government affairs, 75 soldiers and civilians are trapped in the city of Yangzhou, food and grass are consumed, money and equipment are astronomical every day, and the handling is extremely complicated.

It turned out that Shi Kefa's staff, the third class of government servants in Yangzhou Prefecture, the master, etc., all died or dispersed, and no one took care of the government affairs, which made the city quite chaotic.

In just a few days, Wang Yan went from being in charge of a battalion commander of thousands of people to being the Yangzhou coach who is now responsible for the lives and deaths of 75 soldiers and civilians. Military and political affairs, so the burden can only be put down and handed over to other officials.

It's not that Wang Yan never thought about recruiting staff, but now he has no status and has not met suitable people, so he can only rely on Jiangdu County Cheng Wang Zhiduan, Jiang Sicheng and others to manage Yangzhou's government affairs.

The army was reorganized, the squeezed government affairs were dealt with, and the people in the city were resettled, allowing Yangzhou to restore order, which greatly enhanced Wang Yan's confidence in guarding Yangzhou.

When Wang Yan was reorganizing the city defense of Yangzhou, Dodo was also reflecting on it. The Qing court entered the customs not long ago, and the foundation was not yet stable. There are signs of instability.

The population of the Manchu Qing was only a few hundred thousand. If they wanted to conquer the tens of millions of Ming Dynasty, they would have to fight quickly and defeat the Ming Dynasty with the force of thunder. To retreat outside the customs.

Duoduo led the Qing army to invade the south, so he naturally understood the reason. He had been attacking the city for several days, but he was unable to break through the city again. On the contrary, he was in constant danger. If it took a long time, it would be difficult for him to guarantee that no accidents would happen.

After several days of attacking, there was no effect. On the contrary, the Yangzhou Ming army was gradually cohesive, and the green battalion did not do its best. While Doduo was worried, his heart was also full of anger.

In order to change the situation, Duduo first forced many Han generals to hand over the rosters in the battalion, and then sent them to the capital to carry out the reform of the military system for the surrendered Han troops outside Yangzhou.

The Shibing system originated in the Spring and Autumn Period of Qi State, but now it has become a sharp weapon for the Manchus to control the Han army in the green camp. Once the adaptation is completed, all the soldiers and their families will join the army, and the father will be followed by the sons, and the brothers will end up with the brothers, serving the Manchus from generation to generation.

After borrowing, soldiers and civilians were separated, and they were not allowed to change to civilian registration. Soldiers' families lived and managed in a centralized manner, and became hostages of the Qing Dynasty.

After sending the roster away, Duoduo couldn't help but sneer. As long as the adaptation is completed and the family members of the Green Camp Han Army are in his hands, he will not be afraid of the Green Camp and will not fight to the death!
Of course, in Duduo's heart, the Han people are still not worthy of his trust, nor worthy of his dependence. Only the real Manchuria, only the banner people, can make him feel at ease.

Before the loss of the Zhengbai Banner of Zhenmanzhou and the Zhenglan Banner of the Han Army was not small, the number of bannermen outside the city was less than 1, which made him uneasy, so after forcing the Han generals to hand over the roster, he immediately wrote a report Please send Dorgon's soldiers to the south to help the battle.

Although Wang Yan temporarily defended Yangzhou, a more ferocious attack was brewing, and Yangzhou was bound to usher in a tragic decisive battle.

(End of this chapter)