The person who came reported an important situation: "Everything Zhang Jie said is true, and the address he gave us is true." The Heaven and Earth Society is in action to rescue his family. ”

In the past few days, in order to attack the cities of Shaoxing, Shangyu, Shanyin and Yuyao, the Ming army transferred part of the troops in Ningbo. However, Fan Chengmo knew that his troops were insufficient, and he did not dare to take the opportunity to counterattack. The city of Yuyao was broken, and the Ming troops who were transferred away returned to Ningbo City one after another, preparing to attack the city.

"Of the four cities conquered, Shaoxing is the capital city, and it is also the big city that is most vulnerable to the Tartar counterattack, we organized the people in Shaoxing and dispatched 5,000 Zhejiang to garrison. Castles were built inside and outside the city of Shaoxing. If the army of Tartars to reinforce Ningbo arrives, Shaoxing can stop the Tartars for about ten days, and in another ten days, we will also take the city of Ningbo. Wang Xinyu made arrangements.

The three cities of Yuyao, Shangyu and Shanyin, did not leave troops to garrison, only arranged a guard guard outside the city, once the news of the Qing army attacked, immediately let the county retreat with the people of the whole city, all concentrated in Shaoxing Fucheng.

"Another new batch of grain and grass has arrived, the logistics of the army are very safe, our grain is scattered on the ship, and the Tartars have no chance to attack our grain and grass." The grain and grass officer in charge of logistics reported to him.

There is also new news from Hangzhou, Zhang Huangyan, Fang Yizhi and others have agreed to establish a newspaper. Although Zhu Changzuo, a Qing court official who had been captured a year and a half earlier, refused to surrender to the Ming army, Zhang Huangyan did not kill him, but put him under house arrest. This time to establish a newspaper, Zhu Changzuo agreed to come forward to establish a newspaper.

According to Zhu Changzuo, the establishment of a newspaper is not an official for the traitor, and he can also express some dissatisfaction with Wang Yu and Zhang Huangyan in the newspaper. Anyway, according to Wang Yu's proposal, private newspapers have freedom of speech, and they can say anything.

It's just that at present, it is Zhang Huangyan, Wei Geng, Qi Bansun and others who founded the newspaper by themselves, which is the official newspaper of the Ming Dynasty and is named the Yangtze River Newspaper.

In addition, there is also news that the Qing troops in Anqing and Jiangning have been dispatched, down the river, and are attacking Changzhou, trying to reduce pressure on Ningbo and force the Ming army attacking Ningbo to withdraw, which is also Aobai's plan to encircle Wei and save Zhao.

Under the city of Changzhou, the sound of artillery was rumbling, the smoke of gunpowder was filled, and more than 50,000 Qing troops were storming Changzhou.

The guns roared at the head of the city, the arrows were fired in a volley, the Zhejiang army defending the city shot fiercely at the Qing army auxiliaries who pushed all kinds of siege equipment to come up, and the Hongyi cannons, tiger squat cannons, Franc machines, general cannons and other artillery on the cityhead fort spit out a ball of fire from time to time, and the cannonballs smashed into the crowd of the Qing army, and smashed the siege equipment such as shield carts, chariots, and nest carts into pieces, and the Qing army auxiliaries who pushed the siege equipment forward suffered heavy casualties.

The Qing army bombarded the city with artillery, and the Ming army in the city counterattacked with the long-range Hongyi cannon, and launched a fierce artillery battle with the Qing army. The Ming gunners at the head of the city and the Qing gunners under the city suffered losses from each other.

The weapons of the Qiongzhou Army and the Fujian Army were upgraded, and the old-fashioned firearms that were eliminated, such as the Hongyi cannon and the Franc machine, were all sent to Zhejiang, and a large number of Qing firearms captured in Jiangnan were also handed over to the Zhejiang army, so that Zhang Huangyan's Zhejiang army also had powerful firearms.

These firearms are obviously backward compared to the firearms used by the Qiongzhou Army and the Min Army themselves, but they are not backward in this era, and they can still compete with the firearms of the Qing Army.

There is a bastion every hundred steps on the city wall, which can give full play to the firepower of the city. The bastion had a shooting hole in it, and the bird skullman hid inside the bastion, protected by a fortified castle. It was easy to shoot from the inside of the fortress to the outside, but it was difficult for the Qing soldiers outside to shoot bows and projectiles into the fortress. Moreover, the fortress is built with iron core, cement, stone, and sand, which is very strong, and it is difficult for the Qing army's Hongyi artillery to concentrate fire to destroy the fortress because of the interference of the defenders' Hongyi artillery.

Under the strong pressure of Yue Le, the Qing army easily entered the moat under the dense firepower of the Ming army.

Tongues of fire spat out from the fortress on the city wall, and dense bullets drilled into the crowd of Qing troops, causing the Qing army to splash blood, screaming again and again, and countless corpses fell under the city.

Even the shield cart could not protect the Qing soldiers, and the bullets fired from the forts on both sides could directly attack the side of the shield cart.

Changzhou was garrisoned by Chen Wenda, a famous general of the Zhejiang army, and with strong city fortifications, Chen Wenda repelled Yue Le's three attacks in a row. Under the city of Changzhou, there were more than 1,000 corpses of the Qing army, more than 10 large and small artillery pieces were lost, 37 shield cars, 4 chariots, 5 nest cars, and 2 large ladder cars.

The Qing army attacked three rounds and suspended the offensive because of heavy losses. Originally, Ao Bai sent Yue Le to attack Changzhou, just to encircle Wei and save Zhao, and he didn't plan to really fight the Ming army.

Yue Le saw that the city of Changzhou was strong, and planned to send someone to ask Ao Bai for instructions, give up attacking Changzhou, and turn his head to attack the Huzhou area, which was known as the granary of the Ming army.

"Prince An!" Mulima advised, "Don't give up attacking Changzhou!" Changzhou is the protrusion of the Ming dog, exposed to the encirclement of our army on three sides! We can take the barbarian people as hostages and put them in front of the siege! Use them to consume the Ming dog's fortification equipment, disturb their morale, and lower their morale. ”

"No!" Yue Le denied Mu Lima's method, "It's all my Qing people!" And it is the people of the rich land in the south of the Yangtze River, and this is also my granary of the Qing Dynasty, these people are dead, who will grow food for us? Anyway, we didn't really attack Changzhou, it was just Xiangye's plan to encircle Wei and save Zhao. ”

However, Ao Bai later denied Yue Le's plan to attack Huzhou, and Ao Bai knew that the Zhejiang army was well prepared, even if he returned to Huzhou, it would be useless, and it was better to besiege Changzhou for a long time.

"When you enter Gangnam, there are castles full of Ming dogs! Every time my Wang Shi takes a step forward, he has to pay a heavy price! Half of Jiangnan has been firmly seated by Haikou! If we rashly attack at this time, we can only lose our troops and lose our troops and generals! It is better to besiege the lonely city of Changzhou for a long time, if the thieves can't hold on, it's best; If the thieves hold on, it will not be too late to attack Changzhou when the new army of my green battalion is trained! Ao Bai made people reply to Yue Le like this.

The Qing army's attack on Jiangnan was also at a stalemate, and all Ao Bai could do was to create pressure on the Ming army, so that the Ming army attacking the Ningbo area would have pressure, and could not let go of his hand to fight.

At the same time as organizing troops to attack Changzhou, Ao Bai also issued orders, so that all the Qing troops in western Zhejiang, Jiangxi, northern Fujian, Hunan and other places were mobilized, gathered troops, collected grain and grass, and entered Zhejiang, preparing to rely on Jinhua and other fortified cities to block the attack of the Ming army step by step, and finally assemble a large army, and the Ming army fought a decisive battle in the central Zhejiang Plain, using the advantage of the Qing cavalry, and striving to eat the main force of the Qiongzhou army in one bite.

"Xiangye!" A Goshha walked in, called a thousand, and handed over a letter sealed with fire paint, "This is a barbarian entrusted to someone, please take a look." ”

Ao Bai opened the letter and saw it, and his face changed suddenly: "Fan Chengmo used the people as hostages to defend the city? The barbarian had already warned him that if he continued to use the people as hostages to defend the city, he would slaughter the whole city of Ningbo? But Fan Chengmo didn't listen to the barbarian's warning, and insisted on going his own way, and the barbarian had decided to slaughter the whole city? ”

"What?" Hearing Ao Bai read it, all the princes and generals in the council hall were stunned.

Bambulshan stood up and said a thousand times: "Xiangye, you can't blame Master Fan for this matter!" Master Fan is also to defend Ningbo! I had to make this decision! Didn't our army use this trick in Xinhui to defeat Li Yi? In order to retaliate, the barbarians will slaughter the whole city, and this crime is in the barbarians, not in Lord Fan. ”

But Prince Kang Jieshu, who has always been unaccustomed to Fan Chengmo, stood up: "Xiangye, Xiao Wang thinks that this Fan Chengmo is really an unforgivable sin!" Since Minggou warned him not to use the barbarian people as hostages, otherwise he would be able to slaughter the whole city, and he would not be able to use this method again! Xiao Wang knew that the slave surnamed Fan was not for keeping Ningbo, but for himself, so he pulled the people of the city flag to accompany him to the funeral! ”

Jie Shu is Dai Shan's grandson, and when he was outside the Guan, Dai Shan has always looked down on Han people like Fan Wencheng. And Jie Shu inherited his grandfather's genes, so he naturally looked down on Fan Wencheng and his son.

"What do you mean by that?" Ao Bai asked.

"Xiangye!" Jie Shu replied a thousand times, "Do you still remember the letter to the world issued by Wang Reverse three years ago? ”

"Naturally, I remember that thieves are too rampant! I actually sent all this thing to the capital! Who doesn't know that this matter is so big? Ao Bai nodded.

Jie Shu arched his hand and said: "Xiangye, it is precisely because of this Fan Chengmo that even if he surrenders, the king will never let him go, so he would rather drag the people of the city to accompany the funeral than give up the trick of using the people as hostages!" What's more, if today is my Qing Dynasty, those people are also my Qing people! ”

"What do you mean, Prince Kang?" Ao Bai Tie asked with a blushing face.

"Go to the imperial court and kill Fan Wencheng's family!" Jie Shu said word by word.

Ao Bai sneered: "The thief will send the letter to us, and he will definitely send a copy to the imperial court!" How this matter should be decided, the court has its own ideas, and it is not our turn to point fingers at us! But Prince Kang, you have to remember one thing: our Manchurian population is too small, and if it weren't for these Han people who are loyal to us, we wouldn't be able to take this world! Fan Xiandou, a minion, is loyal to my Qing Dynasty, and his son is also loyal to my Qing Dynasty, so he made this decision. If the imperial court killed the Fan family because of this incident, wouldn't it chill the hearts of the loyal ministers in the world? ”

"Xiao Wang understands, thank you for your teachings!" Jie Shu arched his hand and retreated.

Ao Bai judged that the letter sent by Wang Xinyu was in duplicate, and when one letter was sent to Anqing through the Yangtze River upstream, the other letter was on the canal and sent to the capital.

Soon, the Qing court in the capital also knew that Fan Chengmo was using the people of Ningbo as hostages.

If it is said that it is in accordance with the previous way of doing things in the Qing court, Fan Chengmo will definitely be commended, and the two generations of Fan Wencheng's family will be praised for their loyalty, and a notice from the court will be issued to commend him. But the current problem is more troublesome: Wang Xinyu is not a good man and a woman, the Qing army took the common people as hostages, and the Ming army did not hesitate to open artillery bombardment, causing a large number of casualties among the people. Before the Ming army opened fire, a messenger had been sent to warn Fan Chengmo that the Ming army would not give up the siege because Fan Chengmo took the people as hostages, and after capturing Ningbo, they would slaughter the whole city to retaliate.

In this way, reminiscent of the letter to the world three years ago, Fan Wencheng's family topped the list and belonged to the people who would be killed by the Qiongzhou army. In other words, even if Fan Chengmo surrendered, the Ming army would not let him go.

With such a before and after comparison, many Manchen had different ideas in their hearts.

The Qiongzhou Army and the Min Army had never slaughtered Mancheng before, and even the prisoners of the Manchu Eight Banners were rarely killed, but today they had to slaughter the whole city because of Fan Chengmo alone, which inevitably made people think that Fan Chengmo himself was unwilling to die and wanted to live a few more days, so he pulled the Mancheng Banner people to accompany him to the funeral.

The population of Manchuria was originally small, and most of the Manchus in the capital had relatives in Manchuria, Ningbo.

"This news must be concealed! If you let the flag people know about this, I'm afraid it will be difficult to explain to the flag people without killing the Fan family! Fan Wencheng, a minion, is loyal to the imperial court, and we can't let those minions who are loyal to the Qing Dynasty chill their hearts. In the future, even if the news of the city slaughter comes out, it will not be Fan Chengmo's business. "Bumu Butai is naturally impossible to kill Fan Wencheng's family, after all, Fan Wencheng gave advice to Huang Taiji, it can be said that without Fan Wencheng, it would be impossible for the Qing Dynasty to enter the customs.

Empress Dowager Bumu Butai and several important ministers suppressed this matter and concealed that the Ming army would slaughter the city of Ningbo because of Fan Chengmo.

That night, Fan Wencheng was summoned into the palace by the Empress Dowager Bumubutai.

After Bumu Butai told Fan Wencheng about the cause and effect of the incident, Fan Wencheng's face changed greatly, and he knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly: "Lafayette forgives your sins!" It's all minions who don't discipline the dogs strictly! ”

"Fan Zhangjing, get up!" Bumu Butai said, "The mourning family knows that Fan Zhangjing's family has been loyal to martyrs for two generations!" Ling Lang is also for my Qing court, in order to prevent Ningbo City from falling into the hands of thieves, so he used this strategy. He misjudged the thieves, thinking that the thieves would not dare to attack the city. Who knew that the thief was ruthless, not only opened fire on the people, but also threatened to slaughter the whole city! The crime of this matter is not Ling Lang, it is all caused by the thief! In this matter, Ling Lang is not only innocent, but also meritorious! ”

Fan Wencheng knelt on the ground and burst into tears: "Lafayette understands righteousness, and the slave thanks Lafayette for not killing!" ”

Bumu Butai asked Fan Wencheng to get up: "Fan Aiqing, let's get flat!" The mourning family knows that this is a thief's divisive plan! The thieves came up with this poisonous plan in the hope that our court would kill Fan Zhangjing. But the mourners won't be fooled! ”

"Thank you, Lafayette!" Fan Wencheng said.

Bumu Butai shed a few crocodile tears: "Fan Aiqing, you have served the country all your life, and your family has been loyal for two generations!" Ningbo City has been surrounded by sea bandits, and Ling Lang is still struggling to resist the thieves in Ningbo! Ay! The mourning family is only worried, only worried that the day when the Ningbo war report comes back is the day when Ling Lang sacrifices his life for the country. Fan Aiqing, you have to be mentally prepared! ”

"The Empress Dowager Lafayette! My Fan Wencheng family is loyal and good, and it is natural for the dog to sacrifice his life for the country! It's nothing to sacrifice the dog alone, I just hope that my Qing Dynasty can be for thousands of generations! Fan Wencheng knelt down and bowed.

"Fan Aiqing is really loyal!" Bumu Butai sighed. (To be continued.) )