I

There have been no wars in Ji'an for many years. Even under the city wall, there are many illegally built dwellings.

If Xie Xuelong wants to attack the city, he must demolish these houses.Otherwise, if Zhao Han threw the torches down, it would burn a large area, and the offensive and defensive battle would inevitably turn into a barbecue meeting.

And after the house is demolished, the wood can be used to make siege equipment.

But does Xie Xuelong really dare to demolish the houses?

Li Zongxue said: "Fu Shuai, the magistrate and county magistrate are dead. They died for the city and the country. The Fucheng fell, and the court questioned the crime. , must blame Fu Shuai for all the faults. If you don’t recover Fucheng quickly, dismissal from office and imprisonment will be light!”

There were several staff members of the governor, but now they all ran away, leaving only one Li Zongxue.

Including Zuo Xiaocheng, who defected a few days ago, immediately disappeared without a trace when he learned that Fucheng had fallen.

"Wait a little longer, wait a little longer." Xie Xuelong was in a dilemma, he really didn't dare to demolish the houses.

Inside and outside the city, they fell into a state of confrontation.

When Zhao Han was defending the city, he still had time to train recruits in rotation. Every morning and afternoon, 500 soldiers were dispatched for drills.

On Xie Xuelong's side, if it weren't for the deployment of troops on Bailuzhou, surrounded by the waters of the Ganjiang River, it is estimated that Xiangyong has already run away.

This time is a decisive battle, not an encounter.

There is no rush for a decisive battle, and both sides are preparing patiently.

Zhao Han is busy training recruits, and Xie Xuelong is also training soldiers.The governor, while sending people to the neighboring state capital to collect food, also asked the gentry to recruit local bravery, because it was impossible for him to break through the city with the little soldiers in his hand.

Another two days passed in a blink of an eye.

The hundreds of township braves who had just been recruited mutinied before they reached the river, knocked the officer unconscious in the middle of the night and ran away.

Immediately afterwards, two of Xie Xuelong's warships also ran away, and Xiangyong from Bailuzhou began to jump into the river to escape.They knew that there was no hope of attacking the city, and they were unwilling to follow the governor to die, so they reduced their staff by one-eighth in two or three days.

Faced with such a predicament, Xie Xuelong was still calm and dispatched his henchmen to prevent the soldiers from fleeing.At the same time, additional meals were given to the soldiers, and soldiers who performed well were rewarded.

Deserters still exist, but the momentum has finally been contained.

Xie Xuelong still had illusions at this time, he had a good relationship with Zuo Buzheng He Yingrui.It was He Yingrui who was able to successfully recruit troops to Ruijin before, and hoped that this time, he would also be able to increase his troops and food.

However, as soon as he wrote the letter and sent it out, he suddenly received a secret letter from He Yingrui.

There are only ten words in the letter: castration, slander, and slander, I hope you will do it yourself.

Xie Xuelong put down the secret letter, his face was ashen, everything was over.

This letter clearly stated that the eunuch was going to file a lawsuit and let Xie Xuelong make early preparations.The subtext is, you are dead this time, and I can't help you.

During the reign of Chongzhen, the emperor kept urging taxes, but only Jiangxi province dared to defy the emperor's order to suppress taxes every year.

What is pressure levy?

That is, there are various disasters in the local area, and this year's tax will be suppressed to be collected next year.

Shaanxi and Shanxi are making such a mess, and the chief envoys dare not impose levy every year, but Jiangxi, which is rich and prosperous, dares!

He Yingrui, as the Zuobu political envoy of Jiangxi, has been criticized several times by Chongzhen Dianping.It's not how courageous he is, or how greedy he is, but that Jiangxi's taxes are not collected at all.

The land was occupied by the gentry, and there were very few small landlords and self-cultivating farmers. How could the government collect land taxes?

Only this family has no semicolon. In Jiangxi at the end of Ming Dynasty, there was no year when all taxes were collected.

Until now, Chongzhen thought that Jiangxi had been suffering from catastrophes year after year...

He Yingrui couldn't add troops to Xie Xuelong, he had to dig out every penny of money and food and obediently send it to the emperor.As much as you can send, anyway, if the payment is not complete, Emperor Chongzhen has long been used to it.

"Oh, let's withdraw our troops." Li Zongxue said.

Xie Xuelong said with a bitter face: "The rebels are in Fucheng, how can I withdraw my troops? Once I withdraw my troops, I'm afraid I will be executed!"

Li Zongxue asked back: "Just look at it like this?"

"That's the only way," Xie Xuelong sighed, "Even if there is only one soldier left, he must stay in Bailuzhou. If he leaves, he will flee for abandoning the city."

Zhao Han did nothing but defend the city, Xie Xuelong was at the end of his rope.

Who asked him to send troops to suppress the thieves?

If Xie Xuelong doesn't do business and stays in Nanchang honestly, he won't have to bear the blame for Ji'an's fall.

Doing more is more wrong, doing less is less wrong, not doing well.

Whoever does things is unlucky!

Standing on the shore of Bailuzhou, Xie Xuelong looked at Fucheng opposite, his whole heart was ashamed.

He couldn't attack, and he couldn't walk, so he could only watch stupidly.

In Jiangxi, no one is willing to help him. He is fighting against the rebels alone.

The rebel Zhao Han was supposed to be encircled and suppressed, but the world is strange, but it seems that the governor was encircled and suppressed, and Xie Xuelong was already overwhelmed.

Li Zongxue came to Xie Xuelong's side: "Fu Shuai, we can't drag on any longer. Even if we are sure to lose, we must find an opportunity to attack the city, otherwise our Xiangyong will run away quietly by himself."

"Mu Zong, what do you think happened to Ming Dynasty?" Xie Xuelong looked up at the sky.

Li Zongxue was silent.

Xie Xuelong pointed to the south of the city wharf: "Just because the rebels stopped looting, the gentry and merchants outside the city are doing nothing. Instead of helping me suppress the thieves, they blame me for instigating the war. After all, the old man is a thief. Or is it that Zhao Yan who took the capital city is a thief?"

Li Zongxue said: "They actually know it in their hearts, they are just waiting and watching."

"Wait and see?" Xie Xuelong sneered.

"Yeah, they are watching," Li Zongxue said. "The Zhao bandits are powerful now, and they can go out of the city to kill people at any time. They are precarious, so they naturally complain that the commander-in-chief is troublesome. If the soldiers in the commander-in-chief's hands are not just a few thousand mobs, but The elite of the Wan court. Then if Fu Shuai is powerful and Fu Shuai holds the power of life and death, they will help Fu Shuai kill the thief."

Xie Xuelong shook his head and smiled wryly, and said in a waned mood: "Mu Zong, you still see clearly, the human heart is like this. The court is like this, and the place is like this."

Li Zongxue said in a low voice: "It's also because the imperial court has lost its majesty. Jiangxi is so big that it can't even gather hundreds of soldiers. Otherwise, how can we allow that little rebel to make a fuss?"

Xie Xuelong suddenly pressed the hilt of his sword, and said seriously: "Mu Zong, if I die, you can go and cast a thief."

"Why did Marshal Fu say that?" Li Xuezong didn't understand.

Xie Xuelong said: "Daming is hopeless. I eat the king's salary, and I can only repay the king with my death. But the thieves in the northwest and the Tartars in the northeast have no ability to recreate the universe. Rebels everywhere are also short-sighted. Only the traitor Zhao in front of me, after occupying the capital, can restrain his subordinates and keep the prosperity outside the city of Ji'an. If the Great Ming Dynasty is overthrown, the one who will make it happen must be this person!"

Li Zongxue shook his head again and again: "How can I be a thief?"

"It's up to you," Xie Xuelong didn't bother to talk about it anymore, he just said, "Tomorrow, the houses outside the city will be demolished, and the building of siege equipment will be stepped up. The city must be forcibly attacked within ten days."

Xie Xuelong already has the will to die, he is not attacking the city, but hitting the city wall to die!

Jiangxi is the only one in the country that collects taxes every year and does not pay taxes according to the amount.

The governor cannot openly open the government and build teeth, and cannot legally recruit pacesetters. Jiangxi is also the only one in the country.

How could Xie Xuelong be so aggrieved if he were to be the governor of another province?He can train at least 2000 governors' pacesetters, the kind with a formal army establishment, and the local government must honestly give money and food!

The next day, Xie Xuelong sent his brave men to demolish the houses outside the city on a large scale.

The gentry and the people were shocked and angry. When the rebels came, they had houses to live in. The governor actually demolished their houses?

"Bold corrupt officials, dare to harass my people!"

Standing on the tower, Zhao Han shouted angrily: "Ruhe, quickly lead the troops out of the city to protect the houses and property of the people!"

"okay!"

Fei Ruhe was overjoyed, and immediately led [-] soldiers out of the city to attack the officers and soldiers who demolished the houses.

The officers and soldiers turned and ran away in fright, Fei Ruhe chased after him.

Zhao Han ordered again: "Dashan, get out of the city and help the people repair their houses!"

Jiang Dashan set off cheerfully, actually took soldiers and some carpenters with him, and ran to help the people repair their houses.

"Master Qingtian!"

Countless people at the bottom knelt and shouted in unison, and kowtowed to Zhao Han on the tower.

Seeing this, Xiao Huan couldn't laugh or cry.

After all, who is the official and who is the thief?

Ouyang Zheng was also in the city, and he was no longer tied up. Of course, he was not a thief either.The guy was dumbfounded, and then he turned towards Bailuzhou and cursed: "Jie Zei, you are in vain as an official of the imperial court, and you are not as good as a rebel!"

Xie Xuelong was also furious, feeling like a clown.

"Follow me ashore to kill the thief!"

Zhao Han sent a thousand soldiers out of the city one after another, Xie Xuelong immediately seized the opportunity, he was afraid that Zhao Han would not come out after hiding in the city.

"Blow the horn!"

Zhao Han ordered the trumpeter to use the suona to sound the rallying horn.

He himself led more than a thousand soldiers to guard the city, and the rest were all released from the city to fight a decisive battle with the officers and soldiers.

Xie Xuelong was afraid that Zhao Han was hiding in the city, and Zhao Han was also afraid that Xie Xuelong was hiding in Bailuzhou.

The two sides seemed to have reached some kind of tacit agreement, and collectively gathered troops towards the north of the city, unwilling to start a war in the bustling south of the city.

The strength of Xie Xuelong... Uh, it's hard to calculate.

Because the boat came from Bailuzhou, in the short distance of the blink of an eye, another boat ran away.

Especially the recruited civilian husbands, seeing that a war was about to be fought, jumped into the river to escape regardless of the cold water in the river.

There are also many Chinese military officials who do not want to go ashore with the governor, and hide in Bailuzhou Academy, refusing to show their faces.

Both sides lined up.

The rebel army consisted of 3000 people, led by Fei Ruhe.

There are nearly three thousand officers and soldiers, led by Xie Xuelong.

Both sides have no long-range troops, and they fight purely with infantry, and both use a simplified version of the mandarin duck formation.

The battle is about to begin, and the missionary officers mixed in the army are constantly doing pre-war mobilization: "Kill the dog officer, everyone will have land to plow, everyone will have clothes to wear, and everyone will have food to eat. If we lose, our fields will be destroyed." They are about to be snatched away by the government! Brother recruits, if you win this battle, Mr. Zhao will take everyone to divide the land!"

Xie Xuelong also shouted: "Boys, be loyal to the emperor and serve the country, defend the hometown, and follow me to kill these rebels!"

"Dong dong dong dong!"

The drums of war sounded, and the soldiers marched slowly.

The Chinese troops on both sides did not move, and sent three outposts to fight, and the left and right outposts advanced to stand by.

What's more nonsense is that neither side dared to go too fast. Once they accelerated, the formation would be chaotic, full of fucking mobs.

Before the battle, each soldier fled.

Xie Xuelong immediately dispatched a supervising team to kill Xiangyong who had fled.

On the side of the rebel army, the law enforcement team stopped them with sticks, and the missionary group yelled frantically: "Old man, if you escape, you will have no land to cultivate, and if you escape, you will have a hard life! We have to farm to eat!"

The missionaries kept shouting, chasing after the deserters.

Shouting and shouting, the escaped soldiers came back one after another, yelling and charging again: "Farm and eat! Farm and eat!"

"Farm and eat!"

"Farm and eat!"

The insurgents shouted collectively, as if they were possessed by gods, they rushed forward completely disregarding life and death.

Except for the [-] veterans in Wuxing Town, the formation of the other recruits was all chaotic.No matter what weapon you hold in your hand, you just charge forward anyway, and you have already forgotten the skills you mastered during training.

Wu Yong, who was born in the guard, has been found out, but Zhao Han did not expel him.

Because of Wu Yong's many meritorious service, he has already been promoted to Shichang at this moment.

The old lady at home can let the brother take care of it first.He wants to follow Mr. Zhao to the countryside to divide the land. If he meets a widow, he might be able to find a wife.

Wu Yong always dreamed of owning his own land, and dreamed of getting a wife.

"Farm and eat, farm and eat!"

Wu Yong rushed forward with his gun in hand. He forgot to command his ten-man team, and his team members would not listen to the commander's command.

Anyway, rush to finish the job!

Wu Yong even rushed out of the army formation, ran to the front of the wolf soldiers, and broke into the enemy's formation desperately, only repeatedly shouting: "Farm the fields to eat, farm to eat!"

The battle was quickly won and lost. The rebel army was not afraid of death, but Xiangyong was hesitant to die.

Most of these countrymen are from good families. They have fields in their families and don't worry about food and clothing. How can they be willing to work hard with mud legs?

Xie Xuelong's supervising team couldn't stop it, so the governor could only hold the line in person, leading the Chinese soldiers to charge: "Kill the thieves and serve the country, defend the homeland!"