Chapter 3586
On the way to Liuhe County, Shi Chengwu received a call from Hangzhou. Regarding the statement in the telegram of "assessing the situation and making your own decision," his understanding was that the Executive Committee had agreed to the action he led, but would not provide more practical support to Nanjing.
This is to allow him to control the scale of the operation in disguise, not to expand the war situation without authorization, let alone cause chaos in Nanjing.
Shi Chengwu can understand this. After all, after occupying Nanjing last year, Haihan's investment in the original Yingtianfu area far outweighed his harvest. He spent a lot of money and food to stabilize the situation and gradually return society to normal operation. .
If Shi Chengwu wanted to attack the Ming Dynasty and put Nanjing into wartime again at this time, it might make the previous administrative measures in vain, which would definitely not be the result the Executive Committee was happy to see.
But in any case, since he has chosen to send troops, Shi Chengwu is definitely not willing to return empty-handed. These two counties in Jiangbei, which were originally under the jurisdiction of Yingtianfu, must be captured first.
With these two counties as the springboard for the north bank of the Yangtze River, whether it is to attack Chuzhou and Fengyang to the north or Luzhou and Anqing to the west, it will be much easier than it is now across the natural chasm of the Yangtze River.
Of course, the current established goal is to capture Liuhe County as soon as possible and at the minimum cost. Many people here have found ways to escape after rumors of war started a few days ago. The county seat located on the Chu River is probably the only fortress in the county that can resist the Haihan Army.
Liuhe County had its prototype as early as the Han Dynasty, but the county that Haihanjun saw was actually rebuilt in recent years. To be precise, large-scale renovations were carried out in the ninth year of Chongzhen, that is, more than 20 years ago, and the original earth city was transformed into a brick city. The city wall was nearly nine miles in circumference and about two feet and five feet high.
Only the line on the south side adjacent to the Chu River is relatively straight, while the other three sides protrude into multiple corners, like a western bastion. There is also a moat outside the city that connects to the Chu River. As far as the county town is concerned, it is definitely easy to defend but difficult to attack.
However, facing the Haihan army that had already arrived at the city, the people in the city did not seem to have the determination to fight to the death.
A few days ago, when people were fleeing due to rumors of war, there were still some lucky people who thought that the Haihan Army might just be bluffing and would not really cross the river to attack the small Liuhe County.
Some wealthy landowners and gentry, of course, did not want to abandon their homes and property to flee, so they chose to move into the county to wait and see the situation. If Haihan did not attack in the end, then the large number of unclaimed lands in the county that had emerged due to the refugees would be able to take advantage of the opportunity to complete another wave of mergers and acquisitions.
The wish is beautiful, but the reality is cruel. Just when they waited for many days and thought that the storm was about to subside, the Haihan Army still came over, and it was larger than imagined, with an army consisting of several soldiers. A huge fleet of ten warships actually sailed upstream from the Chu River to the county seat.
Zhou Sen, the magistrate in charge of the city, is a militant, but under the current situation, he is actually not optimistic about the prospects of resistance.
Now that the reinforcements from the rear have not arrived, the city's defenders, together with the young men trained by the rural brave regiment and temporarily recruited, only have a total of more than a thousand people. Among them, only 23 out of 10 have actual combat experience, and more than half are setting foot on the battlefield for the first time. of newcomers.
The weapons of the defenders were mostly traditional swords, guns, bows and arrows, and they could barely scrape together less than a hundred sets of armor. The combined number of muskets and artillery could only arm dozens of people.
Comparing this lineup with the powerful Haihan Army outside the city, there is indeed a clear gap. Everyone knows that the defenders are definitely no match for the Haihan Army.
Zhou Zhixian climbed up the city wall and took a look, and realized that the situation was not good. Just as he was hesitating, there were already Haihan soldiers outside the city holding iron trumpets and began to shout, demanding that the defenders in the city immediately open the city and surrender their weapons, and unconditionally surrender to the Haihan Army. Surrender can save lives and property.
If they continue to resist, the Haihan Army will bombard the county town. If they want to surrender at that time, there will not be such good conditions. Zhou Sen was still somewhat loyal to the court. After listening to Haihan's request, he went down to the city wall to summon a few of his cronies to explain his affairs. He did not plan to survive after the city was destroyed.
At this time, a group of people hurried over, all of them were gentry who had taken refuge in the city. It was obvious that he had heard the shouting from outside the city and wanted to ask Zhou Sen for an idea.
Their purpose was very clear, which was to persuade Zhou Sen not to act impulsively, but to negotiate with the Haihan army outside the city to resolve the current dilemma.
Zhou Sen sighed: "The Haihan people want us to surrender unconditionally, but if I surrender without a fight, how can I have the dignity to continue to live in this world?"
An old man advised: "Master Zhou's words are wrong, let alone surrender. In recent years, the imperial officials have changed their families, and there are still few who have joined Haihan? Not all of them are living well, and some of them are highly used by Haihan." An example. If Mr. Zhou is willing to follow suit, Haihan will surely be willing to accept a capable person like Mr.
Zhou Sen sneered and said: "Mr. Gu, you are the mountain chief of Liufeng Academy. You have read the books of sages all your life. How can you say such rebellious words?"
Before the old man named Gu could reply, a short-bearded middle-aged man next to him had already taken over the conversation: "Master Zhou, since the Haihan Army has left a chance for the people in the city, why don't we make good use of this opportunity to survive? As the saying goes, if you keep the green hills, you won’t have to worry about running out of firewood. It’s not too late for us to try to get out of trouble before making other plans.”
Another fat man wearing a black silk robe called out: "Master Zhou, we can't fight. If we really fight, what will happen if the exchanges between the two countries are interrupted? We still have to do business with Haihan!"
Zhou Sen said angrily: "Zhang Yuanwai, shopkeeper Li, these remarks of yours are all crimes of collaborating with the enemy and betraying the country!"
After saying this, he summoned a close aide and ordered him to go to the top of the city immediately and reprimand the Haihan army for their intrusion.
These are all prominent local figures. If Zhou Sen wants to punish them, it might cause more dissatisfaction in the city. All he can do at the moment is just to express his attitude to them. There is absolutely no way he can express his attitude to them. The enemy troops outside the city surrendered.
During the stalemate, a gunshot was heard, and a person was quickly carried down from the top of the city. He was the confidant sent by Zhou Sen to reprimand the Haihan Army just now. Or maybe he cursed too loudly and was shot in the head by the Haihan army outside the city, and half of the back of his head was lost.
When Zhou Sen saw this, he became furious and ordered people to invite Wang Qianhu, who was leading the troops in the city, and asked him to immediately order an attack on the enemy troops outside the city.
Wang Qianhu glanced at the corpse placed next to Zhou Sen and shook his head to reject his request: "Master Zhou, the power disparity between the enemy and us makes this battle impossible."
Zhou Sen said: "If you don't move, I will report to the court and accuse you of fear of war!"
Wang Qianhu sighed and said: "Mr. Zhou, why are you doing this? In that case, fine, just obey orders!"
Several soldiers around Wang Qianhu agreed in unison, and everyone present suddenly became nervous. Just as they were waiting for persuasion, they heard Wang Qianhu say: "Get Zhou Sen!"