Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 321 Attack

Ezhou City, adjacent to the Yangtze River, was known as Wudu in ancient times. During the Three Kingdoms period, Sun Quan proclaimed himself emperor here and established the Wu Kingdom.

Zheng Chenggong personally led his army to the city of Ezhou. The army set up camp in the northwest with tents connected in an endless stream. The navy crossed the river with their swords drawn, making a huge momentum.

After arriving at the city of Ezhou, Zheng's army made a lot of equipment. Two days later, as the equipment was completed, Zheng Chenggong gave an order and the warships on the river opened fire first. The cannons on the ships roared in unison, and the navy warships took turns to bombard. Solid bullets rained down on the northwest city wall.

After a round of shelling, Zheng Chenggong ordered the artillery bombardment to stop, wrote a letter by hand, and had someone deliver it to the city.

The gist of the letter is as follows: When Prince Yu went south in the past, he was so high-spirited, but why is he so worried now and has fled into the city like a rat? If Prince Yu is willing to surrender, I am willing to let him return to the northern capital in exchange for my father's return home.

When Duoduo heard the news of Zheng Chenggong's invasion in the city, he was already furious. After reading the letter written by Zheng Chenggong, he was so angry that he vomited blood on the bed. He said to He Luohui, "You ungrateful pirates and villains, how dare you humiliate me!" After saying this, he tried to struggle to get up.

He Luohui was so frightened that he quickly dragged the doctor in, and persuaded him as he dragged him in: "Don't worry, Your Majesty, the pirates will never be able to attack Ezhou City. Our army has a large number of cavalry, and we will definitely be able to seize the opportunity and defeat the Zheng family pirates!"

Zheng Chenggong, who was outside the city, waited for a while, and seeing no response from inside the city, he snorted, then waved his hand and the infantry began to attack the city.

The Qing army had just been defeated and morale was low. Countless soldiers had caught colds due to being caught in the rain. At a time when their strength was weak, it could not be said that Zheng Chenggong took the opportunity to attack.

However, the Zheng family had no cavalry, and the siege was greatly restrained by the Mongolian cavalry on the flanks. In response, Zheng Chenggong dismantled dozens of cannons from the navy's warships and deployed them among the infantry, trying to use artillery to drive away the Mongolian cavalry that was so close.

The Zheng army climbed up the city like ants, and the Zheng army swarmed towards Ezhou City. Under the cover of the fierce artillery fire of the navy, the Zheng army soldiers held shields and pushed ladders, climbing up like ants, wave after wave.

Arrows rained down from the city walls. At this time, most of the defenders on the city walls were defeated soldiers who were reorganizing. Although they had just experienced a crushing defeat and their morale was low, the soldiers of the Bordered White Banner behind them were personally supervising the battle. Anyone who dared to retreat a step would be killed on the city walls immediately.

The Green Camp was useless, so many soldiers of the Bordered White Banner personally guarded the city. They were all good archers, and many of the Zheng soldiers who were hit by arrows died from the face.

But Zheng Chenggong had also become ruthless. With the swords of his supervisory team, he had chopped off the heads of no less than two hundred retreating soldiers. He ordered a strong attack, and Zheng's army used siege towers, ladders, tower carts, cave houses, and ramming wheels from morning to night.

Zheng's army disregarded casualties, which made Bolo on the city wall twitch his mouth. When did the descendants of the Eight Banners end up exchanging their lives with pirates?

When the offensive was urgent, the Mongolian cavalry outside the city pretended to charge, disrupting the rhythm of Zheng's army's siege, which made Zheng Chenggong so angry that he gritted his teeth.

After a day of fierce attack, Zheng Chenggong returned empty-handed and had no choice but to withdraw his troops and suspend the siege.

........................

Jinling City.

At the first light of dawn, the city of Jinling was bustling with people. The Spring Festival had just passed, and many young men of Jinling had joined the army to fight in Huguang, and countless able-bodied men were transporting food and grass for King Zhou. The people of Jinling did not have a happy Spring Festival this year, and many families were worried about their relatives who were thousands of miles away.

Until the news of the king's victory over Bolo reached Jinling City, the city was overjoyed. The joy was far greater than that on the Spring Festival. The sound of firecrackers, cheers, and gongs and drums could be heard everywhere in the city.

Tao Luzhuo, deputy director of the Ministry of Finance under the Civil Affairs Department, was favored by the shogunate officials since he met Meng Jun and asked for the opening of the imperial examination, and received Meng Jun's approval. Within a few months, he was rapidly promoted from a clerk to deputy director of the Ministry of Finance.

The deputy director of the Ministry of Finance was responsible for assisting the chief official and was responsible for all matters related to money, taxation, and expenditure under the rule of the shogunate. This position was low in rank but carried great power.

At this time, Tao Luzhuo was having a very pleasant conversation with Lin Congxiao. Since Han Xiong led his troops north, Lin Congxiao left Xinghua Prefecture and went to Jinling, where he met Tao Luzhuo. The two were of similar age and had similar interests, and gradually became good friends.

The two men sat opposite each other in the tea room. Tao Luzhuo took a sip of tea and said, "Jiangnan is an important place for tax revenue, and Huguang can produce the grain of the world. These two are the lifeblood of the world. The Qing Dynasty lost these two places, and the country is in danger. Now that Your Majesty has obtained them, the world is not at peace yet, but it will not be long."

Lin Congxiao agreed and said, "Yes, this great victory has changed the situation in the world. People like Li Chengdong and Sun Kewang are like weeds on the ground. How can they compete with the sun and the moon?"

After the two chatted for a while, Tao Luzhuo said with some seriousness: "Your Majesty has been on the expedition for a long time. The supply of food and wages for hundreds of thousands of troops is running out. I am deeply worried."

"We can collect money and grain slowly, but the situation in the world is determined by the outcome of the war. As long as we win, the issue of money and grain will be a small matter." Lin Congxiao waved his hand, signaling Tao Luzhuo not to worry.

Then Lin Congxiao's face straightened and he said in a deep voice: "What I am worried about is the Zheng family!"

"Zheng family? Zheng Sen? Aren't they forming an alliance with the king in Huguang? What are you worried about?" Tao Luzhuo asked with some confusion.

"I am not worried about the war situation in Huguang. Since the king defeated Duoduo, it has not changed the overall situation unless it is a major defeat. What I am worried about is the future."

"Please be careful."

After Lin Congxiao pondered for a moment, he lowered his voice slightly and said, "Min is surrounded by mountains on three sides and faces the sea on one side. It is easy to defend but difficult to attack. Moreover, with the strength of the Zheng family's navy, it may not be easy for the king to enter Fujian easily in the future!"

For Lin Congxiao, he has never looked down upon the Zheng family. As a traditional scholar, Lin Congxiao has a great prejudice against the Zheng family who came from pirates, especially after the previous example of Zheng Zhilong. In the eyes of Lin Congxiao and a group of scholars in Fujian, these pirates are all selfish.

Zheng Zhilong had a family fortune that was as rich as a country and hundreds of thousands of private soldiers and naval forces, but he was hiding in Fujian, living a life of drunkenness and debauchery, and finally surrendered to the Qing Dynasty. Even though Zheng Zhilong's son, Zheng Sen, was now determined to fight against the Qing Dynasty, in Lin Congxiao's eyes, King Zhou used Fujian as a bargaining chip in exchange for Zheng Sen's troops, which was just like a deal.

Tao Luzhuo smiled bitterly and shook his head, saying, "How can a small deputy director of the Ministry of Finance, like me, influence such a major national event?"