Autumn of the 17th year of Chongzhen

Chapter 82
At noon, Jin Shengbu had already put on new armor, boasted on his horses, and assembled outside the west gate.

Wang Yan led the crowd to serve wine and saw him off. Jin Sheng said: "When our soldiers go west, we will raise more banners and bluff to attract the Qing soldiers to the west. The general will lead the troops into the center of Zhejiang quickly, and help establish a new leader to fight against the Qing."

"Going hundreds of miles here, there will be interceptions in front and pursuers in the back. It's extremely dangerous. You should put yourself first, and don't worry about our safety." Wang Yan said to the two of them, "Come, drink this cup to the brim. farewell!"

At that moment, Jin Sheng and Jiang Tianyi raised their heads and drank the farewell wine, then led four thousand Huizhou disciples on their way home slowly.

When the Ming army attacked Xiying, Zhan Ba ​​did not flee north with Li Sutai and others, but secretly led his confidants to hide in Jin Sheng's army.

Wang Yan saw that he hadn't been exposed, and Zhan Ba's family members were all in Beijing, and he didn't want to wander all the way with Wang Yan, so Wang Yan asked him to bring 10 taels of silver, so that he could rebel against the North and continue to hide in the Qing court. Gather information for Wang Yan and recruit officials to surrender.

After the Jinsheng tribe left to the west, Wang Yan practiced it for Zhan Ba ​​again, ordered him to be returned to the north, and sent Wang Xu, a disciple of Yangzhou, to accompany him.

In the city of Yangzhou, groups of soldiers shouted in the city, passing on Wang Yan's order, saying: "Yangzhou is besieged, but Duoduo's soldiers will surely come back in the near future. The isolated city cannot be guarded for long. The people should take advantage of the northern captives before they arrive." , hurry out of the city to prevent the northern captives from retaliating."

The people of Yangzhou had already packed their bags and were ready to follow Wang Yan to the south, but now hearing what the soldiers said, it seemed that Wang Yan was not going to take them across the river, and the people of Yangzhou were in an uproar.

At this time, Wang Yan returned to the city after saying goodbye to Jin Sheng. When the people saw him, they quickly blocked him at the city gate and asked loudly. "The general wants to abandon me?"

"Don't tell me the general thinks I'm a burden and wants to abandon it?"

Wang Yan and the others were blocked by the people on their way into the city, so they had no choice but to climb up the tower and persuade them: "You will fight with me for two months, and I will abandon it? It is really forced by the situation, and it is harming you to take you south. ! It’s better to let you go out of the city, but you can live a life.”

Seeing Wang Yan ascending the tower to speak, the common people gathered under the city to listen to him. After he finished speaking, the common people shouted in unison: "Even if we die, I would like to go south with the general. Please don't abandon him lightly."

The people in the city cried and declared their ambitions, and the air of grief and indignation permeated the whole city.

When Wang Yan heard the sound, tears welled up in his eyes. Zuo Maodi and others behind him never thought that Wang Yan would have such a high prestige in the hearts of the people of Yangzhou.

During the two-month battle of Yangzhou, Wang Yan shared weal and woe with the soldiers and civilians of Yangzhou, and they have forged a deep friendship. Wang Yan has been regarded by the people of Yangzhou as their reliance in this troubled world.

At this time, Wang Yan saw that the people were unwilling to leave the city, so he had tears in his eyes, and bowed to the people in the city, and then said: "I know your heart, but this time when you go south to Zhejiang, the northern captives will definitely lead their troops to chase you." Killing, the army fled with the people, without a strong stronghold to rely on, it must not be the opponent of the northern captives. If you are defeated, I can't protect you, why don't you all fall into the hands of the captives! I beg everyone, listen to my words , Hurry out of the city to escape, the most important thing is to save your life."

When the common people saw Wang Yan bowing to each other, they immediately became quiet. After listening to what he said, some people still cried bitterly: "We know the general's heart, but we all have blood feuds with the northern captives, and we don't want to Trapped in the dust, let alone being an obedient citizen of the northern captives, I beg the general to take me to the south."

Zuo Maodi and others did not expect the people of Yangzhou to be so decisive. Wang Yan was also moved by the hearts of the people, and he couldn't help sighing, and then said to the people in the city: "In this case, those people who want to follow, will come with me. Those who do not want to enter Zhejiang should immediately leave the city to avoid the retaliation of the northern captives!"

When the people heard Wang Yan's promise, they were overjoyed and rushed to the east gate one after another.

For a time, the people helped the old and the young, and brought men and women to the edge of the canal and rolled across the river.

When Wang Yan returned to the government office, he asked the soldiers to drive the people out of the city, and then began to set fire to the city. A large number of materials he seized from the Qing army, together with the prosperous Yangzhou in the past, were all burned down by the fire, and the sky was covered with smoke and dust.

Xiongwen heard that Yangzhou City in Jin and Tang Dynasties was almost completely destroyed by Wang Yan. All the supplies that could not be transported were discarded and destroyed. Thousands of gold and heavy artillery, weapons and armor, food and grass were all left in the ruins of Yangzhou City.

Of course, Wang Yan had already ordered the soldiers to select the best armor and the most sophisticated firearms and equip them, and the most valuable items, such as silver taels that could not be transported, were buried in the ground, and they would come back later during the Northern Expedition. scoop.

Yangzhou was burned, and Wang Yan led the troops out of the city and crossed the Grand Canal.

Wang Yan joined forces with Zuo Maodi, a total of more than [-] people. It was not until the sun set to the west that the entire army crossed the canal.

Wang Yan came to the east bank by boat. Looking back at Yangzhou city in the west, which was trapped in thick smoke, he saw that some people who had not crossed the river were crying while looking at the river. His heart was very heavy.

Although Wang Yan persuaded him in every possible way, there were still nearly 30 people who insisted on going south with him.Seeing the people on both sides of the strait, supporting the old and the young, crying unceasingly, he asked Chen Zilong to urge the boat to cross.

It was not until it was completely dark that the people were all crossed. At this time, those who crossed the river earlier had already advanced dozens of miles.

Seeing that the team was so scattered and stretching for dozens of miles, Wang Yan couldn't help but feel very sad, praying that the Qing army would not catch up.

In the city of Nanjing, news of Wang Yan burning Yangzhou and the army fleeing to the east spread to Nanjing shortly after Li Suitai's report arrived.

When Duoduo got the report, he was furious immediately, scolded Zhunta for being a fool, and then immediately prepared to raise troops to chase him.

At this time, an army suddenly reported, saying, "There is a Ming army in the north of the Yangtze River, more than ten thousand, passing through geniuses along the way, passing through Liuhe, and going straight to Anhui."

It had only been two months since the Qing army went south, and there were still a large number of prefectures and counties in northern Anhui and Hubei, which were in the hands of Ming officials and gentry. It was very likely that Wang Yan would go to Anhui, pass through Hubei, and then enter Hunan to join forces with He Tengjiao.

Li Shuitai said in the report that the army of Jin Sheng was only four thousand people, but now there are indeed more than [-] troops going west in the military report. Yan Da had the possibility of fleeing westward, so he divided his soldiers into two armies.

Duoduo stayed in Korea and led tens of thousands of soldiers and horses to sit in Nanjing, and then ordered Liu Liangzuo to join Tian Xiong and Ma Degong, a total of 10 troops, to pursue Jin Sheng's soldiers, while he led Zhenmanzhou, Outer Fan Mongolian soldiers, Li Chengdong and other [-] soldiers. Thousands of horses went down the east of the river to chase Wang Yan.

At the mouth of the Yangtze River, Wang Yan and others, who had fled from Yangzhou to the east, finally came to the opposite bank of Chongming. Nearly a thousand warships shuttled back and forth across the river, trying to cross over [-] soldiers and civilians.

Standing by the riverside, Wang Yan, Zuo Maodi and others watched the common people help each other to cross the south. They couldn't help thinking that in the Jin and Song Dynasties, they said to the people with sorrow: "Looking at the history, our nation can't stand in the Central Plains, and it is on the left side of the river. However, those who crossed the south did not have the ability to return to the north. Jin people crossed south, the first example, Song people crossed south, the second example, the scenery is not different, the deep sorrow of the Jin people, return to us Rivers and mountains, the empty wish of the people of Song Dynasty. Now we are crossing south, but we don’t know if we can return to the Central Plains and regain thousands of miles of rivers and mountains!”

(End of this chapter)