Chapter 123, A brief truce in the snow
Early February of the sixth year of Chongzhen, Hangzhou, Phoenix Villa, Jiangnan Battlefield Headquarters of the Chinese Alliance Expeditionary Force
Under the leaden sky, heavy goose feather snow had been falling for seven days. Even during the day, the sky was still as dark as dusk.
In the freezing cold wind, the ice and snow on Phoenix Mountain was as dense as clouds, and the mountain roads were covered with ice that looked like broken jade, which made a loud crunching sound when you stepped on it. In the courtyard of Phoenix Villa, the snow is knee-deep, while in the evergreen mountain woods, snowflakes pile up under the trees and get even deeper.
Under the influence of this cold white magic, many young and lively soldiers turned into children again. They were having snowball fights in the mountains and forests and in the yard, making a mess. And more people were watching the snow falling in the house, wrapping themselves in military coats to warm themselves by the fire and rest.
"...I always heard people say in the past that Jiangnan is a paradise on earth, with wealth and prosperity everywhere. Looking at it now, it's nothing more than that..."
At the foot of Fenghuang Mountain, in the officer's dormitory on the bank of the Qiantang River, several lieutenants wrapped in coats each held an empty bowl and huddled beside the burning fireplace, chatting casually. They warmed themselves by the fire and boiled water. The floor next to them There were also several cans and half a box of instant noodles on top.
"...Although the silk produced here is quite beautiful, it doesn't feel much better than the chintz made by the chiefs. The tea in Zhejiang seems to taste no different from the tea in Fujian. Here in the south of the Yangtze River All the porcelain you can get is available in Lingao's market
What's worse is that the winter here is so cold that it wakes me up every night with frostbite on both hands! I heard that there are tens of millions of people living in the north of this city. I really wonder how those people live in the winter..."
Captain Zhen Huan, the commander of the Li mountain infantry company with black stripes on his face, trembled slightly and muttered this while taking out the instant noodle cake from the oil paper bag, putting it into a bowl, and sprinkled it with sauce, seasoning powder and Dehydrated vegetables and meat, then lifted the iron kettle, poured boiling water, opened a can of beef, put some canned meat in, and then counted the time, preparing to enjoy a delicious meal of spicy beef noodles as a tooth ceremony.
——Although in the eyes of the nomads in the north, the land south of the Yangtze River is already infinitely warm and beautiful. But for the tropical residents on Hainan Island, the most profound impression on the Splendid Jiangnan, which is known as "there is heaven above and Suzhou and Hangzhou below", is actually "a freezing purgatory that freezes people to death"!
"...Can't you stand this little snow? It's really hopeless. When I followed Marshal Huang to fight in Liaodong, the weather now is considered spring!"
A scar-faced lieutenant from the Funing Army mocked, "...The butts of Liaodong Tatar women are colder than ice and snow..."
Next, the scar-faced lieutenant went on to brag about many past experiences of climbing on ice and sleeping in the snow in Liaodong, but the other officers were not in the mood to listen - because the time was up and the instant noodles were already brewed. Everyone opened their noodle bowls eagerly.
A strong and tangy spicy smell of red oil, combined with the aroma of beef, immediately whetted the appetite of Captain Zhen Huan, who had just been frozen during the night shift. He immediately picked up a piece of beef with chopsticks. Put it into your mouth...and then it was so hot that you stuck out your tongue and jumped up.
"...Hufufu! It's too hot! Damn it! This is too hot!"
He opened his mouth and ran into the snow outside. After taking two deep breaths of air-conditioning, he finally felt better and returned to the house.
"...Who made you so anxious? Tell you, this is what you should do at this time."
The scar-faced lieutenant looked at this "mountain barbarian" with black lines with contempt, then walked out of the house, grabbed a handful of clean white snow from the ground, sprinkled it directly into the noodle soup, and then picked up the bowl and took a big sip. As he drank, he used chopsticks to push the noodles and beef into his mouth.
Seeing this, other people followed suit and sprinkled a handful of snow into the noodle bowl (good hygienic children, please do not imitate). When they touched it, it no longer felt hot to the mouth, so they added a lot of snow to the bowl. Red pepper oil, chili pepper, ginger, The instant noodle soup with green onions was poured into the stomach... After eating such a bowl of hot noodle soup, a trace of sweat appeared on everyone's head, and the intestines, stomach, hands and feet, which had been uncomfortable with the cold, began to feel warm
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——During the winter operations in recent months, Hainan Island’s logistics department has newly launched Sichuan-flavored spicy instant noodles, because as long as you bring a thick bowl and boil some boiling water, you can quickly solve the dining and heating problems on the front lines with simple conditions. Therefore, it is very popular among various combat troops.
"...Hey, although the portion of this noodle is a little small, it feels pretty good. No matter where you are in the winter, as long as there is hot water, you can get hot rice at any time." Putting a bowl of instant noodles with canned beef on it After slurping down his meal, the scar-faced lieutenant wiped his mouth and sighed sincerely, "...when I was in Liaodong, I wish I had such convenient hot soup noodles, so that people wouldn't I feel so miserable.”
At this moment, another former captain of the Funing Army who had returned from his shift opened the door and came in. Hearing what the scar-faced man said, he couldn't help but feel a little strange, "...Liaodong? This is really strange. You didn't just arrive at Xiapu in the seventh year of Tianqi." Did you join Marshal Huang? When did you go to Liaodong to fight?”
"...Uh... I was joking with you before, haha~ Eh? What are you looking at? Hey, don't hit people in the face..."
……
In the past few days, although due to the continuous heavy snow in the Hangzhou area, these motley Allied troops who are not adapted to fighting in the cold season have been forced to retreat to Phoenix Villa and temporarily stopped sweeping the countryside around Hangzhou, but at this time The whole army is still filled with contempt for the enemy: So far, the Allied landing force has successfully eliminated more than 5,000 "irregular troops" at the cost of only more than 50 combat deaths and more than 400 injuries, many of which were at the slight cost of non-combat attrition. Collect Thirty thousand immigrants were brought in - naturally a lot of violence was used during this period.
The so-called regular army of the Ming Empire is said to have been huddled within the city walls of Hangzhou and has never been seen on the battlefield so far. In fact, many officers and soldiers doubted whether there really was such an enemy's regular army, or whether it was Have all the civil servants taken advantage of them?
In this way, out of contempt for the enemy's combat effectiveness and cherishing their own troops, Major General Sun Yang and Master Zhao Yingong finally made the decision to stop the mopping up operations and shrink all troops to Phoenix Mountain - ground transportation in heavy snow weather If it is inconvenient and the soldiers are sent out to sweep various towns and villages, large-scale non-combat attrition is likely to occur. If they were to be dispersed and stationed in various villages, it would be difficult to support each other, and they would be in danger of being plotted and defeated by the enemy one by one. So it would be better for the whole army to shrink back to Phoenix Villa and wait for the snow to stop before making further calculations.
Wang Qiu, an outsider, once raised objections to this, believing that this would be tantamount to proactively lifting the siege of Hangzhou City, which might allow wealthy gentry households inside and outside Hangzhou to take the opportunity to escape, which would be detrimental to continued population gathering. But Major General Sun Yang and owner Zhao Yingong both said that it didn't matter at all - the governments of various republics affiliated with the Global Chinese Travelers Alliance have recently sent emergency calls through satellite communication systems to the frontline troops on all fronts who are collecting people on all fronts. The communication stopped, claiming that there were too many Ming Dynasty immigrants recently introduced into their country, which had exceeded their digestion capacity. Although the food supply is still sufficient for the time being, there is a shortage of manpower in the education and management of new immigrants.
Especially the latest batch of immigrants recruited from Zhejiang by force, because they have not experienced the miserable life of fleeing famine and becoming refugees, are relatively "pampered" and not as easy to be satisfied as the refugees in the north, so the commotion is particularly severe, especially for those who join. The Republic was criticized endlessly.
Therefore, the Jiangnan Raiders will temporarily stop collecting people in the coming time. At most, they will only try to recruit a group of good-looking young women after breaking through Hangzhou to satisfy the desire and fantasy of some people in the rear for "Jiangnan beauties"...
Since there is no longer a need to collect the population, and the purpose of permanently occupying the Jiangnan territory is not for the time being - this densely populated territory with complicated people's sentiments is also beyond the current digestion capacity of the Chinese League, then the task of Major General Sun Yang and Zhuang Zhu is only The remaining one is to attack Hangzhou City with thunderous force as the most severe warning and punishment to the Nanjing court, and then strive to reach an unequal treaty with the other party that is beneficial to oneself.
In this case, the Allies would not value the wealth in the city, and they no longer need the population of this land for the time being. So what does it matter how many Jin gentry in Hangzhou took the opportunity to escape? If more people escape, it will weaken the resistance of Hangzhou City in future offensive and defensive battles! On the other side, if the Ming army in Nanjing sent a large number of troops to rescue Hangzhou, it would definitely be visible from the reconnaissance satellite photos.
In short, since there is no need to worry about the Ming court's reinforcement of troops for rescue, and there is no need to worry about the wealthy households in the city fleeing, why bother to risk a large number of non-combat attrition due to frostbite and getting lost every day, just spread out the troops and maintain the blockade of Hangzhou City? ?
So, in the carelessness of the "Australian thieves", a group of "loyal men" from Nanjing quietly approached the city of Hangzhou...
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On the Grand Canal in winter when the north wind was blowing, an unattractive-looking boat was driving slowly in the middle of the river covered with snowflakes.
In the dimly lit cabin, which was swaying with the waves, the famous backbone of Fushe, the world's most wealthy dandy Zhang Dai, Zhang Zongzi, and several young scholars dressed as scholars were all holding a "best-seller" in recent years. ""Kun Shi Zhi Lu", his face is full of worry and sorrow.
It was less than a month before the banquet on the Qinhuai River. In the past, Mr. Zhang Dai, who was so elegant and elegant with a face as beautiful as jade, suddenly looked very haggard.
——This group of them is the first batch of "reinforcements" sent by the Nanjing court to Hangzhou...
A few days ago, when the "Australian bandits" invaded Hangzhou in large numbers, and the news that the Fujian rebel general Huang Shi personally led his troops to attack Ningbo reached Nanjing, the Yonghe Emperor who had just been established less than a month ago immediately * Inside, a huge earthquake was caused, like a landslide and tsunami.
You know, the current court of Emperor Yonghe of Nanjing is an out-and-out Jiangnan bastard. Because the Nanjing court disregarded the disapproval of the world and arbitrarily abolished the emperor and established a new emperor, it has not yet been recognized by most provinces in the world, and its actual territory is only southern Zhili and Zhejiang provinces.
Moreover, at present, the Jiangbei area of Southern Zhili, except for a few important towns along the river, is basically occupied by the Wenxiang Rebellion Army. The territory that the Nanjing court can effectively rule is only the small areas of southern Jiangsu, southern Anhui and Zhejiang in later generations. , plus a few port cities on the north bank of the Yangtze River that have not yet fallen. Although they are the essence of China, they only cover an area of more than a hundred thousand square kilometers, which is really pitiful.
What's even more terrible is that such a small piece of actual territory is still surrounded by powerful enemies - not to mention the Wenxiang Cult monsters in Jiangbei, and the vast majority of the elite soldiers and horses in South Zhili, who have been with them since last summer. The fighting has not stopped until now; although there are not many residents in Huguang and Jiangxi to the west, army, but the deposed emperor Chongzhen, who has lost the capital in the north, is collecting troops and horses along the way and gradually moves south. Once Emperor Chongzhen leads the troops into Xiangyang or Wuchang, he will support the strong soldiers in the north with grain and rice from Huguang, and then raise the banner of rebellion. If you go eastward with the current, the Nanjing court will soon face a life and death crisis!
In addition, the Funing Army of Huangshi, the Fujian General Army in the south, has been confronting the troops led by the Zhejiang governor in the high mountains of southern Zhejiang since it was forced to rebel last year... It was already smoke from all directions and smoke from all sides. In a state of tight embarrassment, the "Australian thieves" who came from the sea and the joint rebel general Huang Shi stabbed him hard in the waist - this life is really unbearable!
Therefore, after learning the bad news that a large group of ferocious Kun thieves had entered the Qiantang River from the sea and that the whole province of Zhejiang was on the verge of collapse, the Nanjing court and Shilin were in an uproar. First, they cursed the Zhejiang governor for his inability to defend against the enemy. The Fujian rebellion was suppressed and the provincial capital Hangzhou was almost lost. Then recalling the past four years of Chongzhen, they turned around and scolded Donglin leader Qian Qianyi for his recklessness and harming the country - it was this old guy who had a brain cramp and was looking for trouble. Not only did he insist on provoking someone who was doing business in peace, The thieves forced the Funing Army to rebel against the previously careless and honest Funing Army, and started a vigorous southeast war but could not control it. They really harmed the country and the people to the extreme...
Because he was scolded by a group of young scholars all day long, the unlucky Qian Qianyi did not dare to go out to court for several days.
However, it is easy to curse people, but it is difficult to retreat from the enemy - where can the Nanjing police get reinforcements at this moment?
At this time, Jiangnan has long been dominated by civil and military forces, and its armaments are extremely decayed and disintegrated. There are only more than 10,000 field troops in the entire southern Zhili. Currently, they are all firmly pinned to the Yangzhou line by the Wenxiang Sect rebels, and cannot move at all. Otherwise, there will no longer be a foothold for the imperial court in the entire Jiangbei.
Although the demons of Wenxiang Cult have experienced rapid progress for most of last year, they are now running out of resources and are beginning to decline. It is reported that these demons have been repeatedly frustrated on the battlefield in Yangzhou recently, and there have been several internal outbreaks. Fire and internal strife. But after all, Nanjing and Yangzhou are only separated by a river. Who knows if the imperial court takes the initiative to withdraw soldiers and horses from Yangzhou, will these monsters unite again and march south to cross the river?
In that case, Jiangnan, the last comfortable place for the gentry in the world, may also experience a catastrophe.
Therefore, after some quarreling and spitting at each other in the court, the ministers finally reached a consensus. In view of the heavy military pressure Nanjing is currently facing, the court can only provide spiritual assistance as the mainstay for the Hangzhou prefect's urgent request for help. This was supplemented by material aid. Specifically, the Hangzhou government generously issued a bunch of commendation orders to encourage local officials and gentry to resist. At the same time, he ordered the governor of Zhejiang who was on the border of southern Zhejiang to quickly withdraw his troops from Wenzhou and return to defend the provincial capital Hangzhou. The thieves' strong ships and cannons were indeed difficult to deal with. If Ningbo facing the sea could not hold on, it would have to He pinched his nose and admitted. But the essence of the Hangjiahu Plain north of the Qiantang River must not be missed.
In addition, the Nanjing court, which was in urgent need of medical treatment, also put up a list in the market to recruit "loyal and loyal soldiers", hoping to recruit a group of passionate young scholars to go to Hangzhou to mobilize the people to fight the war of resistance. ...It’s just that the application list has been hanging for three days, but there are still not many people to apply: there is neither a bounty nor promotion. What fool is willing to die in a dangerous place like Hangzhou, which is besieged by thieves?
However, in the face of the large-scale attack of the Kun thieves, others can retreat, but Zhang Dai, a famous social figure and a famous dandy, cannot retreat at all - most of his family, mansion and farm properties are in Hangzhou and Shaoxing. Once the thief comes, both the good and the good will be destroyed... So, after going around Nanjing to seek help to no avail, Zhang Dai, unable to give up his sense of family responsibility, had no choice but to make an appointment with a few familiar Hangzhou scholars with the comfort and compassion of his colleagues in Fushe. The son, with the tragic and heroic spirit of "the wind is rustling and the water is cold, and the strong men will never return once they are gone", hired a water boat and embarked on the road back home.
However, although with a sense of responsibility and mission, Zhang Dai was determined to "sacrifice himself to fight for the national calamity", but Zhang Dai himself had no idea what he could do after arriving in Hangzhou - to put it bluntly, although he wrote four books He read the Five Classics well, was proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting, and wrote articles that could be selected into Chinese textbooks for later generations. He also participated in the political struggles of the Ming Dynasty... but he didn't know the slightest about war!
——For hundreds of years, the scholars in Jiangnan have been doing their best to provide their children with education, poetry, etiquette, and classics of saints. Because as long as one of the children obtains fame, the family's safety is guaranteed, and they will not be bullied by the government, will not be framed, and can in turn bully and frame those who have no merit. It is precisely because of these huge benefits that in the minds of Jiangnan scholar-officials, reading the books of sages and sages is the only serious thing. Only by reading the books of sages and sages well can one be a "pillar talent" who is promising and has a sense of family responsibility. The safety and continuation of the family also depend entirely on these children. Even if you can't get the honors, as long as you have a good reputation among the scholars, the government will probably give you some face, and you won't be able to find a way out if you really encounter trouble.
To put it bluntly, even in those war-torn times, in order to avoid too fierce resistance and quickly gain the ability to tax cities and villages, the various armies generally would Be kind to the local gentry and subordinate officials.
——The Japanese pirates that were raging for a while in the middle of the Ming Dynasty were actually never a real foreign invasion. The vast majority of Japanese pirate leaders and more than 70% of Japanese pirate members were Chinese, and the Japanese were just acting as elite thugs. In essence, Shangnai is a melee between various maritime merchant/pirate groups in Fujian and Zhejiang. As a result, such a strange phenomenon appeared... On the one hand, the Japanese pirates robbed people everywhere, causing misery to the people. On the other hand, the gentry landlords along the coast were generally inextricably linked with the Japanese pirates, and even cooperated in smuggling business. , clearing out the Japanese pirates is equivalent to cutting off their financial opportunities...
In view of this social atmosphere, among the scholar-bureaucrats in Jiangnan, although there were many "tacticians" who boasted and talked about military affairs, and some who had carefully read military books, when it came to the warriors who actually went into battle and fought for their lives in blood, there were only It's hard to find even one - because there's no need.
Moreover, in the late Ming Dynasty, the style of "gentlemen, nobles and military officials were lowly" reached its peak. If any foolish young man really "willed himself to be humble" to lead an army, he would probably not only receive no appreciation, but would also be shunned by the entire family. Contempt and ridicule, even his classmates in the academy may break up with him...
"...But the world is no longer like this. All the rules of the past three hundred years have been broken. Even if he has fame and fame, even if he enjoys a high reputation among scholars, the Australian thieves can fight and kill whenever they want. Killing is better than that of the past The Japanese pirates still don’t know the rules! If we can’t stand up and resist, the only outcome of being captured is the death of our entire clan!”
Recalling the several fugitive squires he had just met in Suzhou and Jiaxing and their pitiful complaints about the various "cruel atrocities" of the Australian thieves, Zhang Dai couldn't help but feel even heavier. In the past few years, as a lover of novelty gadgets, Zhang Dai couldn't help but feel heavier. As a playboy, Zhang Dai has always had a great fondness for all kinds of things produced by Australians. But now, these Australians, who are clever and can make many good things, have turned into brutal thieves who kill people and do all kinds of evil. It really made Zhang Dai's mind a little unable to turn around for a while, as if he had a "cute" feeling. There is a strange sense of disparity between "things turning into ferocious beasts": Although he had participated in the entire process of the Donglin Party instigating the war in the southeast since the year before last, he also wrote articles to denounce the crimes of many thieves. But deep down in his heart, he still regarded these short-haired strangers as a group of craftsmen who were proficient in miscellaneous knowledge.
However, no matter how awkward he felt in his heart, Zhang Dai still knew very well that with the outbreak of such a huge military disaster and the vicious style of these thieves who showed no respect to the gentry, his family was now in catastrophe, whether it was Neither the wealth of the family nor the fame of the court can save the situation. The only effective countermeasure is to find out the flaws of the thief, and drive the thief into the sea again like Qi Jiguang Ping Wa did in the past!
However, even though he and his fellow scholars have been studying the "Kun Shi Gui Lu" all day long these days, they still have no idea at all and can't come up with any clever strategies to defeat thieves... Thinking of this, he couldn't help but sigh, Look up at the seat opposite The only person who came to the door was a dark-skinned man who was not wearing Confucian robes but short clothes. The man nodded and smiled, "... Mr. Zhang, don't worry about it. Your house is a house that has accumulated good deeds from generation to generation. It will surely turn good fortune into good fortune..." …”
"... I hope so! I wish you good luck!" Zhang Dai smiled bitterly. This Gou Xunli, who is said to be from Qiongzhou, seems to Master Zhang Dai to be a magical figure. Although he is young, he has all the worldly knowledge and wisdom. Xiao, my understanding of Kun Thief is even more distant. Above everyone - this person claimed to have a grudge against the Kun thief for destroying his family. When the Kun thief first appeared in Lingao in the seventh year of the Apocalypse, he attacked the Gou family village in Lingao, slaughtered all the Gou family members, and forced the whole family to die. He was forced to flee the rivers and lakes, and from then on he vowed to fight the Kun thief until death. Next, this person joined the army and advised the Guangdong governor Wang Dezun in the war against Kun. He also gathered "rebels" (actually bandits) in Qiongzhou and Annan and fought against the Kun thieves many times. Unfortunately, the Kun thieves were really powerful. The epidemic has made Gou Yishi's desire for revenge increasingly dwindling, but he remains indomitable and has been paying attention to collecting information about the enemy and waiting for opportunities to attack thieves.
The year before last, this Gou Xunli somehow ended up living in the south of the Yangtze River and became a guest at Qian Qianyi's house. Qian Qianyi, who has never been to Lingnan in half his life, seems to have noticed the threat of Qiongzhou Kun bandits largely because of his alarmism...
Nowadays, Zhejiang has encountered a catastrophic disaster. The bandit fleet penetrated deep into the Qianjiang River and swept across Hangzhou. Zhang Dai, who was worried about his family, led his troops to the battlefield generously. Qian Qianyi, one of the "chief culprits", was immediately targeted by thousands of people, and he I felt very sorry in my heart, but I didn't dare to put myself in danger and ran to Hangzhou together to face the hail of bullets, so I handed this Gou Xunli over, saying that he could refer to his experience and knowledge of the Kun thieves.
Zhang Dai had mixed feelings about the guy in front of him. On the one hand, he secretly hated him for actually instigating Duke Mu Zhai (Qian Qianyi) to mobilize the Jiangnan Shilin to rashly make enemies of the Kun thieves and bring trouble to the people on the ground in Jiangnan. It caused such a huge disaster. On the other hand, I had to rely on Gou Xunli’s understanding of the Kun thief, as well as his rich experience in getting away from the Kun thief several times in the past...
In short, amidst Zhang Dai's entanglements and worries, the canal boat they took was getting closer and closer to Hangzhou. Fortunately, at this time, Major General Sun Yang had completely given up the blockade of the canal and withdrew the entire army to Fenghuang. The villa was sheltered from the cold, and no one would come to intercept the unarmed boat. At the same time, in the city of Hangzhou, Prefect Liu Mengqian was also taking advantage of the short gap brought by the heavy snow to think hard about Pingkun's strategy...