Autumn of the 17th year of Chongzhen

Chapter 688 Jiangbei Raiders
A few soldiers outside the camp entered the tent and dragged the two of them out. They panicked immediately, but Xie Qian didn't say anything. All the generals of the rebel army lowered their heads when they saw this.

After a while, there was a scream accompanied by the muffled sound of army sticks, and the silent needle dropping could be heard in the big tent.

Xie Qian also has his ambitions, but at this time he has to rely on King Lu. Although he knows that Zhang Mingzhen is building up his prestige, and then he will integrate all the rebels, his command of the rebels will gradually lose, but compared with these , if there is no support from King Lu right now, then he can't stop Duoduo's army at all, and there is no place to retreat to the sea.

There are many rebels in Zhongshan, which is similar to the state of Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong. If they get along well, they will gather together, and if they don’t get along, they will part ways. Xie Qian does not have absolute authority, and most of the current rebels are mobs. They really need a strong man to integrate .

Xie Qian took a look at Zhao Shuxiang, and he endured it. Now he needs to help each other, and he also needs to use the identity given to him by King Lu to realize the transformation from a bandit to a regular army.

Zhang Mingzhen took a look at Xie Qian and was quite satisfied.

At this time, he sat up straight, glanced at all the generals in the tent, especially the rebels, and said, "Jianyi has ravaged China for more than four years. Liheshan is really a hero of the country."

Zhang Mingzhen took the scale, praised a few words appropriately, and then continued: "This time, King Duoduo of Yi raised tens of thousands of troops, and wanted to regain the land that the soldiers fought bloody. You are fighting against a strong enemy together. Even if it is a strong enemy, you and the governor should work together. If you have any opinions on this battle, you can mention it, and the governor will listen attentively."

In the tent, the generals of the Lu Army sat upright, watching Zhang Mingzhen, but no one made any comments. Xie Qian and the others also listened obediently, with serious faces.

Zhao Shuxiang looked around for a while, saw the silence on the field, stood up and bowed and said, "Supervisor, Wansheng just listened to the words of the supervisor. His Royal Highness King Lu seems to want to guard Jiangbei, but King Yi's army is full of fine food and there are many people. I know how His Royal Highness King Lu and the supervisor plan to defend against the enemy!"

Zhao Shuxiang also suggested that Xie Qian go to the city to guard. If he can persist until the Northern Expedition of the imperial court, he will persist until the Northern Expedition of the imperial court. If he cannot persist, he will retreat from Nantong to Chongming. What is the countermeasure.

Zhang Mingzhen waited for him to ask, and said to everyone with a smile: "His Royal Highness Lu knows that it is not easy to defend Jiangbei, so His Highness has made a lot of efforts. The first is food. The governor knows that more than 60 soldiers are in these counties Food and grass are already in crisis, but the generals don’t have to worry. His Royal Highness King Lu has allocated [-] taels of silver to send Pingyi Bo Zhou Hezhi to go south to Guangdong, entrusting the deployment of Hengyang Fan to buy grain from Nanyang. Calculating the time, it will take two months at the latest Inside, there will be a large amount of rice and grain shipped in, which can solve the urgent needs of the army."

This silver is just a dead thing and has no value in itself. What is valuable is the purchasing power attached to it. Xie Qian also robbed a lot of silver, but in his hands it is basically a pile of scrap iron, and there is no place to buy food with the silver. , but King Lu has channels to buy grain from Nanyang, copper, iron and weapons from Japan.

Trade is not a one-way export of domestic goods, but an interaction. You can exchange a few bags of rice for a piece of porcelain, and exchange the money you earn for a large amount of overseas grain, copper, iron, and tax increases. can strengthen the country.

As the saying goes, if you have food in your hands, you don’t panic in your heart. Zhang Mingzhen established his prestige, and after comforting him with kind words, he now starts to paint big cakes, giving hope and giving a way.

After Zhao Shuxiang heard this, he said happily: "If there is food, the possibility of persevering in Jiangbei will be greatly improved."

Zhang Mingzhen then continued: "In addition to food, Zhang Jianjun will set off for Wuchang in the near future to meet with the Hengyang Fan. The two have cooperated to block the Yangtze River before, and the relationship is harmonious. Zhang Jianjun will carry a letter from His Royal Highness King Lu, and ask Hengyang Fan to send troops. Go east and share the pressure for us. If the time is right, we can restart the plan to join forces on the Yangtze River, and the two families will hunt for Nanjing together!"

The envoy sent by Xie Qian to the west to ask for help has already set off, but he is not a high-ranking person after all, so it is difficult to play a role. But with the letter written by King Lu and Zhang Huangyan going to ask for help, the possibility of King Hengyang sending troops is high.

After hearing this, the atmosphere of the rebel generals in the tent finally became active. They originally thought that there would be no hope in the future, but if the Hengyang Fan army joined in, the situation would be different. Maybe they could build a Achievement, is also unknown.

At this time, Zhang Mingzhen's prestige and hope were also established, so he stood up and entered the topic, "After all, the Hengyang Fan is a foreign fan. Whether he can send troops is still uncertain. Even if we send troops, we must first have Strength. Now that you are all officials of the imperial court, you need to correct your old style. From today onwards, the governor will make a three-legal agreement with you. Those who disrespect the military law will be killed! Those who rape and loot will be killed! Those who retreat before the battle will be killed! Do the generals have any objections? "

Xie Qian and the others swallowed their saliva when they heard this, stood up together, and clasped their fists in response: "We will follow the order of the supervisor!"

Zhang Mingzhen was very satisfied. He pressed his hand and asked everyone to sit down. Then he ordered: "Nantong City must be taken down as soon as possible. After the artillery is transported to Langshan, the army will immediately attack the city. Gao Yuanhou pretended to attack the North City, and Ruan Jin mainly attacked the East City. If the west city is not attacked, Zhao Shuxiang can gather all the cavalry troops of the Gaoyuan army, and if the enemy flees, cover up and kill them immediately."

When several people heard the order, they immediately came out to respond. Zhang Mingzhen glanced at the generals, "Nantong is just a small trial, and we will face Duoduo later. If we delay here for too long, it will inevitably affect the battle with powerful enemies. Jiangbei is close to Nanjing. If we fight Well done, it will definitely shake the south of the Yangtze River, and everyone will be watched by the world, I hope you will take the lead and make great achievements!"

After speaking, everyone got up together, Zhang Mingzhen waved his hand, and told everyone to go back and prepare.

After everyone left, Zhang Mingzhen did not rest, but inspected the battalions with Zhang Huangyan, checked the preparations for the siege, and went to the camp of the Gaoyuan Army in the west to visit the two generals Ding and Wang who had received fifty army sticks. He also administered medicine to the two of them personally, and performed a meat scene, which moved the two to tears, and vowed to be the supervisor.

After leaving the West Camp, on the way back, another scout came to report that they had arrested a Qing Dynasty envoy, saying that they wanted to question why King Lu wanted to destroy the peace between the two countries and raise troops rashly. Zhang Mingzhen laughed when he heard this, and said to Zhang Huang beside him: "It's a good time to use this fang head to sacrifice the flag!"

Zhang Mingzhen didn't even see him, so he directly asked the Qing envoy to be tied up and imprisoned. When the city is attacked tomorrow, he will be killed first to boost the army's prestige.

(End of this chapter)