Autumn of the 17th year of Chongzhen

Chapter 759

On a night in early autumn, the moon and stars are sparse, the cool breeze is blowing, and the river is sparkling.

On the fourth watch day, the torches on the head of Nanjing City are lit up, shining in the wind, and shining with the stars in the sky.

Teams of soldiers patrolled the city with torches, and the defense was very tight. The camp outside the city was also surrounded by torches, and fire dragons undulated and wandered among them.

After the roar of the artillery during the day, the night seemed particularly quiet, except for occasional footsteps of soldiers patrolling, and the non-stop chatter of frogs.

At the mouth of the Qinhuai River, warships of the Ming army moored on the river like black mountains in the darkness.

Man Dazhuang had already fallen asleep, when suddenly he heard a soldier knocking on the door of the barn, calling in a low voice, "Chief town, I have an urgent report from the humble officer, Chief town~"

Man Dazhuang woke up startled from his sleep, turned over, touched the saber by the bed, sat up suddenly, waited for him to hear the voice clearly, then relaxed, and said to the outside: "Come in!"

A hundred households pushed open the barn door, hurriedly stepped forward and said: "General Town, the sentinel boats have noticed that there is a change in the north of the river. It seems that the Qing soldiers are going to cross the river at night!"

After hearing this, Man Dazhuang lost all sleepiness, stood up immediately, and went out. Baihu quickly picked up his armor for him, lifted his soap boots, and hurriedly followed.

In his sleep, Wang Yan was awakened by the roar of artillery fire. He quickly put on his clothes and stood on the watchtower to watch. He saw black mountains moving one after another on the dark river.

The artillery battle on the river lasted until the cock crowed and ended. Wang Yan and the generals in the battalion basically didn't sleep, and gathered in the tent early.

At this time, the sky was still dark, Man Dazhuang was holding the helmet in one hand, and walked quickly into the tent, which was lit with big wax, he glanced inside the tent, all the generals were there, and finally fell on Wang Yan, clasped his fists Report: "Your Highness, Duoduo wanted to send troops into Nanjing by night, but most of the forty or fifty ships were sunk by the last general."

There was no joy on Wang Yan's face, "Where are the remaining boats?"

Full of strong words, his face froze for a moment, "Reporting to Your Highness, most of the rest returned to the Guabu Mountain Fort, but~but there were also two ships that rushed into the moat of Nanjing."

Gao Yigong calculated silently in his mind, and said: "Forty or fifty ships, each with more than 100 people, Duoduo planned to transport more than 5000 people across the river, but only two or three hundred people successfully entered Nanjing."

Hearing what he said, Wang Yan's expression did not ease. Although there were not many people entering Nanjing, it gave a signal to the defenders in Nanjing that the Ming army had not completely cut off the Yangtze River, and Duoduo could give them support at any time. It will greatly strengthen the confidence of the Nanjing defenders.

Wang Shixiu also understood this, he stood up and saluted and said, "Your Highness, General Li must speed up the tunnel digging."

Wang Yan pondered for a while, "Yesterday, my clan has invited Li Yuanyin to ask questions, and the tunnel has been dug to the side of the moat, but this discovery was made by this clan in Zhangzhou, and Jin Shenghuan also used it in last year's war. I'm afraid the bandits have been prepared for it. ah!"

This worry is not impossible. Now that the battle in the south has changed, the Ming army under the city of Nanjing doesn't have much time. The longer the whole battle drags on, the more unfavorable it will be for the Ming army, so they can't have too many failures.

It is not uncommon to dig tunnels and blast the city now. If Hong Chengchou sees it through and the Ming army changes to another strategy, time will be wasted again, so it is still necessary to prepare with multiple hands.

Everyone in the tent looked at each other, but they didn't have any countermeasures.

At this time, Yu Taichu raised the curtain, came in and said anxiously: "Your Highness, our people have come out of the city!"

Wang Yan stood up abruptly when he heard the words, and hurriedly stretched out his hand and said, "Please come in!"

After a while, Yu Taichu lifted the curtain and stepped into the tent alone. The Ming army generals present all looked at him, but saw that he was in his 20s, with fair skin and a small beard. He was neither tall nor strong. But with sharp eyes, it is easy to see that he is a literati.

As soon as he came in, he saw many people looking at him. He didn't feel awkward, but without saying a word, he hurried forward and saluted: "Your Highness, Wansheng is ordered by Young Master Hou, and I am here to pay my respects to Your Highness!"

Wang Yan took a closer look, he knew this person, last year Qian Qianyi proposed the plan to lock the river, it was this person who came to Wuchang with He Wangsheng to ask him to send troops.

Wang Yan thought about it for a while, remembered his name, immediately got up, got down to hold his arm, and said happily: "Yun Li, tell me quickly, how is the situation in the city?"

This scholar is the source of all living beings in Danyang. His father, Sui Yongming, died in Songjiang.

Sui Ben listened to Wang Yan's words, but did not answer Wang Yan's question, but hurriedly asked: "Your Highness, Wansheng has something to ask. I wonder if the agreement between His Highness and Tiandihui is to raid Minato?"

Just now, the battle above the Yangtze River attracted the Ming army outside the city, and at the same time attracted the attention of Nanjing City. He fell into the city, but it was a one-way ticket. He left the city but couldn't go back, so he felt a little anxious.

Wang Yan froze for a moment, then realized, "It is indeed an appointment to attack Minato."

Sui Ben was overjoyed when he heard this, "It's great that it's so real, it seems that Mr. Hou is right!"

"Yunli, how is the situation in the city? Can you still cooperate with the army?" Chen Bangyan was a little confused, and he asked anxiously. This was also the question that the generals were most concerned about.

Seeing that everyone was looking at him, Sui Ben said sternly: "I can cooperate with the army, but Lord Wu, who was originally in charge of planning the uprising, was killed by the Qing army, Lord Mu Zhai and his mentor were put under house arrest by the Hong thieves, and the restoration forces in the city have no leader. Mr. Hou's reintegration may not be able to form much help!"

Wang Yan frowned slightly. Hou Fangyu's identity was secret, and many members of the Fuming faction did not know his identity. It might not be easy for him to organize the forces in the city.If the power is not enough, it is very likely that even if there is an incident, it will not be able to open the water gate for the Ming army.

At this moment, Wang Yan regretted that he should not have sent Hu Weizong to Shanxi to rebel against Jiang Xiang. If he had stayed in Nanjing, the situation might have been easier.

"How many people can Chaozong control now?" Wang Yan paced back and forth.

Sui Ben bowed and said, "The Qing army put all the dignitaries and officials of the Ming Dynasty in the city, as well as the gentry who were inclined to restore the Ming Dynasty, under house arrest. The Tiandihui is still in a single line of communication, and it is difficult for Mr. Hou to gather the congregation in the city, but he is already thinking of a way By contacting Lord Mu Zhai, we should be able to get a list of the generals of the Green Camp who intend to oppose the Qing Dynasty."

Wang Yan nodded, but at this moment Chen Bangyan stepped forward and said, "Your Highness, I have an idea."

Wang Yan turned to look at him, "What did Yan Ye want to say?"

Chen Bangyan saluted and said: "Master Wu was killed by the Qing army. Even if Hou Chaozong could organize some people, it must not be as good as the one agreed in advance. It is extremely difficult to raid the water gate." At this point he paused, as if to sort out Thoughts, eyes flashed after a moment, and then said: "With the shrewdness of the Hong thief, he will definitely prepare in advance for digging tunnels. So we might as well dig tunnels to attract the attention of the Qing soldiers, and then attack east and west, and suddenly attack the water gate!"

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(End of this chapter)