Chapter 3587
Zhou Sen never expected that Wang Qianhu would betray him at this juncture. Just as he was about to scold him for his audacity, Wang Qianhu's soldiers rushed forward, twisted his arm behind his back, pushed him to the ground, and took out the rope. It was tied firmly in a few strokes.
At the end, he took out a piece of rag and stuffed it into Zhou Sen's mouth to stop him from talking anymore.
Judging from this smooth and smooth operation, there is no doubt that Wang Qianhu did not make a sudden move, but was already preparing to take down Zhou Sen.
Everyone present looked at each other in shock, and they didn't know whether Wang Qianhu's move was out of personal grudges, or whether he really planned to kidnap the county magistrate and surrender.
This Wang Qianhu is not from Liuhe County. He was transferred from other places this year to lead the county's garrison. The local gentry is not very familiar with him. Seeing this scene, he did not even dare to persuade him, lest he would be in vain. Get in there too.
Of course, there are also some people who want to see Zhou Sen fall. After all, Zhou Sen insists on a decisive battle with the Haihan army outside the city, which is equivalent to dragging the entire city to be buried with him. If no one takes action to stop him, everyone in the city will be in trouble.
Wang Qianhu looked around at the crowd and said, "Do you have anything to say?"
Everyone looked at me and I looked at you, but no one dared to say this. In the end, Mr. Gu from Liufeng Academy responded tremblingly: "Sir, in extraordinary times, peace is the most important thing!"
Wang Qianhu smiled and said: "What Mr. Gu said is exactly what I think!"
Shi Chengwu outside the city was not in a hurry to launch an attack. While arranging for people to continue shouting to persuade them to surrender, he sent some cavalry to conduct reconnaissance around the city to confirm the status of other gates in the city.
He summoned several combat staff to study how to attack the city.
The map of Liuhe County was already in the hands of the Haihan Army when they attacked Yingtian Mansion last year. Although the city defenses were well built, the fleet led by Shi Chengwu was equipped with a large number of artillery, and its firepower was enough to break the city.
However, this operation did not receive full support from the Executive Committee, and the amount of ammunition was limited. Shi Chengwu did not want to spend too much on the siege, so he still tried to find a relatively weak breakthrough point on the map to start.
But before they could confirm the battle plan, someone came to report that the county had sent an envoy to negotiate a peace and was willing to open the city to surrender.
"So fast?" Shi Chengwu also couldn't believe this.
After the troops he led arrived in Liuhe County, they only shouted to persuade them to surrender, but had not yet begun to show force. Although he had previously ordered snipers to shoot the scolders on the top of the city, the results had not even been confirmed.
This was just a scare, but the other side really surrendered to Kaicheng?
In order to prevent accidents, Shi Chengwu still ordered to prepare for battle and asked the people in the city to leave the city through the designated Qingcheng Gate to surrender.
This Qingcheng Gate is the only city gate in the south of Liuhe County. Outside the city gate is the Longjin Bridge across the Chu River. People in the city who want to surrender have to cross the bridge to the south bank of the Chu River. The place of surrender was already forty or fifty feet away from the Qingcheng Gate, so we were no longer afraid of what the other party might do.
However, the process of surrender turned out to be very smooth, and the situation that Shi Chengwu was worried about did not occur. What surprised him most was that Zhou Sen, the magistrate of Liuhe County, was carried out by Wuhuada, but it was Wang Qianhu, the military leader in the city, who decided to surrender. "My dear Wang Bingzhong, my brother Wang Bingxing is the shopkeeper of Xingdaxing in Yangzhou. Last year, I was received by all the adults of the executive committee in Hangzhou."
After listening to Wang Qianhu's self-introduction, Shi Chengwu immediately understood the reason.
He had also heard of Xingda Hang, one of the large merchants operating quartz sand mines in Liuhe County. It is said that half of the quartz sand ore transported into Yangzhou from Liuhe County comes from the mines operated by Xingdahang.
Although Xingda Bank in Yangzhou is not as good as the traditional salt merchants, its business is definitely a first-class big business in Liuhe County, and it is definitely capable of donating an official position to Wang Bingzhong and letting him take care of it in Liuhe County. Own business.
If Xingdaxing wants to continue the ore business, it certainly cannot offend Haihan. If Liuhe County can be placed under Haihan's rule, it will save him a lot of trouble.
However, Wang Bingzhong was probably afraid of something unexpected happening, so he did not notify Haihan beforehand, and did not start the uprising until Haihan's army came to the city. The timing was quite accurate. If it were later, the Haihan Army's artillery shells might have already hit the city.
As for the county magistrate Zhou Sen, who was kidnapped and sacrificed by Wang Bingzhong, Shi Chengwu did not embarrass him and only ordered him to be taken into custody first. After sorting out the various documents and materials in the county government afterwards, Zhou Sen will inevitably be needed.
After all, the two countries were at war, and each had its own master. As a local official, it was not wrong for Zhou Sen to try his best to resist, not to mention that he was captured by Wang Bingzhong before he could cause trouble.
As for the gentry who followed Wang Bingzhong out of the city and surrendered, Shi Chengwu gave gentle encouragement, saying that they "know the overall situation and consider the overall situation" and would ensure the safety of their families and property.
The Ming troops stationed in the county, under the command of Wang Bingzhong, filed out of the city to disarm, and then were escorted back to the military camp in the city by the Haihan army, where they were temporarily banned and awaiting orders.
Although some Ming troops who were unwilling to surrender escaped over the wall from the north of the city, it did not affect the overall situation. If those people could escape the roundup of the Haihan cavalry outside the city, it would be their good fortune.
After the Haihan Army entered the city and took over the city defense, Shi Chengwu called Wang Bingzhong and said to him: "Since you have been stationed in Liuhe County for a while, you must be familiar with the local situation. It is up to you to come forward and organize the local reputation Are you willing to cooperate with our army to maintain order in the county?”
Naturally, Wang Bingzhong would not refuse. He immediately agreed and left happily.
Although Shi Chengwu did not give him an official title, it was just a temporary job, but it undoubtedly ensured that he would still have the opportunity to work as an official in Haihan after losing the official title of Qianhu.
Such seamless treatment is not available to every official who surrenders to Haihan.
The process of taking over the county seat by the Haihan Army was very peaceful, and they basically did not encounter any resistance. They had already deployed defenses inside and outside the county seat before dark.
Shi Chengwu personally led people to the county government office to ensure that all official documents, property deeds, and household registration files here could be counted and received intact.
Some recent letters were also found in Zhou Sen's study, including a reply from the Remaining Department of Fengyang Prefecture refusing to send troops to reinforce Liuhe County.
Shi Chengwu couldn't help laughing after reading it. If Fengyang Mansion really sent troops for reinforcements, Wang Bingzhong probably wouldn't be able to control the situation in the city so easily, and a battle would inevitably happen. The remaining commanders were afraid of fighting to protect themselves, and watched Liuhe County being beaten, which saved themselves a lot of trouble.