Li Zheng's troops going south have arrived in Xiangtan.
Huang Yao frowned and asked, "What's the use of having more soldiers in the terrain like Xiangtan? Why don't you stay in Changsha?"
Xiao Zongxian replied: "Changsha has tens of thousands of defenders, and the city is high and deep. It is impossible to attack by force. After dividing the troops, we may be able to lure the enemy out of the city and wipe them out in the wild. As for Xiangtan, a sudden increase in troops may scare the city into surrender. .¡±
"Even if you don't come, Xiangtan is about to surrender." Huang Yao laughed.
The Xiangjiang River flows through this place, forming a "ji" bay, and Xiangtan City is within the bay. The city wall is surrounded by water on three sides, and can only be attacked from one side. No amount of soldiers is of any use, and only a few can be arranged for each attack.
Huang Yao sat down across the moat and asked the archers to shoot books into the city.
Residents outside the city either entered the city or fled, and did not dare to stay in a place where war was a disaster. According to the confessions of these residents, the county magistrate of Xiangtan had died of illness for two months, and the affairs of the county were represented by Li Youlong, the county magistrate.
In Huang Yao's view, how long can a county magistrate be able to hold down soldiers? Sooner or later you will have to surrender!
Li Youlong was standing at the top of the city at this moment, looking at the rebels outside the city from a distance, he really couldn't hold back anymore.
This guy is from Xunyang, Shaanxi, and later followed Zuo Menggeng to surrender to the Qing Dynasty.
Not only surrendered, but also suppressed and disintegrated many anti-Qing troops during his tenure as governor. In the end, because of "suppressing bandits" in Tianjin, there were too many anti-Qing troops, so he could only entertain those leaders, hoping to recruit them all. As a result, he was impeached for colluding with Nanming, and was dismissed by the Qing court.
After this guy was dismissed from office, he was still reluctant to leave Beijing, hoping to be employed again. He has been living in Beijing for seven years, and was impeached by Yu Shi Wang Bingqian, saying that since he was dismissed from office, he should leave. The Qing Dynasty ordered him to return home within a time limit, and he died of illness soon after returning home.
Just a dog.
Will it drop or not?
Li Youlong wanted to surrender, but he was afraid that his clan would be liquidated by the court after being a thief.
He regretted so much that he spent money to buy a county magistrate, but he encountered rebels attacking the city without making much money.
"There are reinforcements!"
A regiment of gentry pointed to the distance and shouted happily, but the guards were not interested.
The ambush arranged by Huang Yao was about to be dispatched, but the new regiment training troops were actually holding a Datong army flag high.
"The world is in harmony, the world is in harmony!"
Yuan Yingkui was dressed in silk clothes, and he looked like a rich man, but at this moment, Tuan Yong shouted the slogan of Datong.
The ancestor of the Yuan family in Xiangtan was Yuan Hong, the founding hero of the Ming Dynasty.
During the reign of Hongzhi, a descendant of Yuan Hong was transferred to the hereditary commander of Chalingwei. This branch was further divided into three, the main sect inherited the Chaling Wei generals, the other moved to Chaling as landlords, and the third moved to Xiangtan as landlords.
They are not big landlords, only a few thousand acres of land.
After Huang Yao surrounded Xiangtan, Yuan Yingkui immediately recruited his disciples, and then observed the direction of the wind and stood still.
Seeing the collapse of the Zhou family training, Yuan Yingkui finally moved. He didn't come to help the government defend the city, but brought more than a thousand village braves, and wanted to join the Datong Army to gain wealth.
Seeing the Datong military flag on the other side, Huang Yao couldn't laugh or cry.
He ordered Xiangyong to stay on the other side, and only sent a small boat to fetch Yuan Yingkui.
"Grassman Yuan Yingkui, meet the general!" Yuan Yingkui knelt down and shouted.
"Ha ha ha ha!"
Huang Yao laughed loudly and said, "Please get up quickly!"
The defenders in the city became even more frightened when they saw that the reinforcements from the rebels had arrived, and the gentry led the villagers to join the rebels.
Seeing this situation, Li Youlong, the acting magistrate, also made up his mind to follow the thief and think about how to bypass the gentry and offer the city.
Li Youlong had no soldiers under his command, and the guarding troops were all recruited by local gentry.
In Xiangtan City, Ningxiang Lane.
Xiangtan was unremarkable in the early Ming Dynasty, even the city walls were made of wood.
In the middle of the Ming Dynasty, Huguang was greatly developed, and the national commerce became more and more prosperous. As a water and land hub, Xiangtan quickly became the most important port city in southern Hunan, and its economic status even surpassed that of Changsha.
Therefore, Xiangtan in the late Ming Dynasty was jokingly called "Little Nanjing". And Ningxiang Lane, where wealthy merchants live in Xiangtan, is also known as "Wiaoyi Lane".
Representatives of the major families in Ningxiang Lane gathered at Xie's mansion at this moment.
"The business travel between the north and the south is cut off, so we can't fight any more," Xie Li said, "No matter who wins or loses, we must resume business as soon as possible!"
Tan Qiulin said: "Now it seems that the officers and soldiers will definitely not win. We can only rely on Jiangxi thieves."
"Don't talk about Jiangxi thieves."Wang Dai first took Huang Yao to Ningxiang Lane to maintain the law and order in the rich area. Then he called various merchants as guides, and led Huang Yao's troops to various places in the city to suppress the riots.
As for Wang Dai himself, he followed Huang Yao to occupy the county government.
Everything was done in an orderly manner, and Huang Yao and the missionaries did not spend much effort.
Until dawn, Huang Yao praised: "You are very talented, follow me to do things first. After the war, I recommend you to Ji'an, the general town must like you. Do you have fame?"
"Juren." Wang Dai replied.
"Very good, very good." Although Huang Yao is uneducated, he especially admires educated people, provided that the other party does not harm the common people.
Wang Dai offered a plan and said: "Changsha and Xiangtan are both large commercial cities. To besiege Changsha, you can shoot the inside of the book city. If you explain the truth clearly, the merchants in the city will be willing to respond internally."
"Why?" Huang Yao asked.
Wang Dai explained: "The longer our army besieged Changsha, the greater the losses for merchants."
Huang Yao shook his head and said: "Changsha's garrison is tens of thousands, merchants can't make waves. But this strategy is also available, a few more shouldn't be a bad thing."
The two didn't talk about Changsha, Huang Yao began to ask about the situation in Xiangtan.
While talking, a messenger suddenly came to report: "Huang Bingyuan, our army has captured Changsha!"
"What?"
Huang Yao and Wang Dai were both shocked, thinking that they had heard it wrong.
How can it be so easy to take down Changsha Fortified City?