The skyrocketing fire at the mouth of the fish market burned all night, and the fire made the sky within a radius of ten miles reflect red light, and many people could no longer sleep. This fire is destined to also affect the eyes and hearts of everyone on both sides of the Ming and Qing dynasties.

It was not until dawn that a group of Qing troops from the Green Battalion in Guangzhou crossed the Tan River, and then transmitted the exact news of their investigation back to the other side of the river.

The bad news came one after another, first the fire and explosion of the medicine depot in the naval division camp caused most of the naval warships docked at the wharf to be damaged, then the grain and grass of the large army that had just been transported from Guangzhou were burned, and then the officers and men of the naval division suffered heavy casualties, and they could no longer form a formation, still less could they undertake the task of intercepting and blockading the Tan River.

The news of Liang Biaoxiang's whereabouts unknown in the head town of the Navy Division was mixed with these bad news, but this news did not make Shang Zhixin sad, but made him burst into a rage, and he could no longer hold back the anger in his heart and roared: "Bastard, bastard, Liang Biaoxiang is a bastard, he deserves ten thousand deaths, ten thousand deaths, I want to cut off his head, cut off his head!" …”

He can't help but be angry, just the water division is finished, but this fire burned not only the water division, but also the grain and grass of the army! Without food, what will the army eat and drink, and what will it take to besiege the city! What's even more infuriating is that Liang Biaoxiang's whereabouts are unknown, God knows if this pirate ran away in fear of crime!

"The dog can't change the, the mud can't be on the wall, Liang Biaoxiang is extremely incompetent, he killed my sailor, destroyed my grain and grass, and now he is afraid of crime and escaped, I will definitely cut this person with a thousand knives! Come on, go and arrest Liang Biaoxiang for me immediately, I'm going to chop him up with my own hands! ”

The generals in the tent knew that His Royal Highness the Prince of the World was anxious and prone to anger, so they had long been frightened by Shang Zhixin's anger and silenced, no matter how much bad news came from the other side, no one dared to say a word except for the drums in their hearts, lest they would provoke the anger of the Prince of the World to their own heads.

Now I have heard the order of the prince to arrest people. The generals suddenly looked at each other one by one: where to catch Liang Biaoxiang at this juncture, and what to use to catch him? This person was originally born as a pirate, disloyal and unjust, without a king and a father, if such a big thing happens, he will only have a ghost if he doesn't run! Even if he didn't go to sea, what could he do with him? The two defeats of Xinhui and Qinzhou Island in the previous round tossed a sailor to the bottom of his family, but didn't King Pingnan fail to help him?

Say a thousand things and ten thousand. If he didn't have enough strength, he couldn't do it, and the Qing Dynasty was just a lack of strength in the navy, if it weren't for the Nanming sailors who surrendered one after another and the pirates recruited from the ocean, I'm afraid the Qing army wouldn't even be able to build a sailor shelf. I didn't look at the time when Liang Biaoxiang led the crowd to vote, whether it was the king of Pingnan, or the court in Beijing, which didn't offer him, and he was like no one after losing the battle. For what? It's not because they don't have the ability to form a sailor, and there is no sailor general who can take out their hands!

Therefore, this Liang Biaoxiang is really afraid of crime and ran away, it is not that His Royal Highness the Prince said to arrest him, and no one can catch him if he really sends someone to arrest him!

The generals saw this matter thoroughly, and they also knew that His Royal Highness the Prince of the World would just talk about it, but who would dare to make it clear at the moment, saying that His Royal Highness the Prince of the World, you would not be able to catch someone at all? That's true. Liang Biaoxiang's big thief was not unlucky, but his own family was unlucky first. His Royal Highness the Prince of the World was stunned and had a son-in-law temperament together. Who in this camp can save himself?

It was cold, there was silence, and none of the generals spoke, and no one moved. This meeting stunned Shang Zhixin for a moment, and then he was even more angry, and was about to open his mouth to scold. Zhou Yuanliang, the deputy commander of the domain, accompanied his own soldiers and Qin Guocheng into the account.

Zhou Yuanliang and Qin Guocheng were the old men who followed Shang Kexi to the Qing Dynasty back then, and like Ban Zhifu, Xu Erxian and others, they were all deeply respected by Shang Kexi, and they were also Shang Zhixin's uncles. After Ban Zhifu was recalled to Guangzhou by Shang Kexi, Qin and Erren became the second largest generals in the army after Shang Zhixin. is also Shang Kexi's right-hand man who specially left his son. With these two people here, Shang Kexi is not worried about what chaos will happen in the siege.

After Qin Guocheng and Zhou Yuanliang entered the tent, the generals in the tent secretly breathed a sigh of relief in their hearts as if they had seen saviors. Qin Guocheng didn't look too much, just from the atmosphere in the tent and the look of His Royal Highness the Prince, he knew what had happened just now, he sighed secretly, and Zhou Yuanliang stepped forward to salute the Prince.

Seeing the two of them, Shang Zhixin's face softened slightly.

Zhou Yuanliang was the first to speak: "Your Highness, I have been carefully searched, and the grain and grass hoarded in the water master have all been burned by the fire, and I can't grab a grain at all. ”

Hearing this, although it was known that the grain and grass transported from Guangzhou were destroyed by the fire, Shang Zhixin's heart still trembled, and he couldn't help gritting his teeth when he thought of Liang Biaoxiang, who didn't know his whereabouts, but quickly reined in his anger and asked Zhou Yuanliang calmly: "How much grain is still in the army?" ”

Zhou Yuanliang said: "There is not much food in the army, only enough to last for three or four days. After a pause, he said: "If the people's service food is deducted, it can be supported for two more days, but it is only necessary to maintain it for six or seven days, and if there is no food replenishment, it will inevitably run out of food." ”

Hearing this, Shang Zhixin frowned, looked at Qin Guocheng, and asked him, "How long will it take for Guangzhou to transport grain again?" ”

"This...."Qin Guocheng hesitated for a moment, and said: "Your Highness, the grain and grass burned by the sailor was done by the prince and the Jing Fan and the Governor Yamen, and most of them were requisitioned from the counties under the jurisdiction of Guangzhou Prefecture, and now they have been destroyed by fire, and I am afraid that it will be difficult for Guangzhou to prepare so much grain and grass again in the short term." Moreover, the previous grain and grass transshipment was carried by the sailors, and now most of the ships of the sailors have been damaged, and it is impossible to transport them by water, so they can only be transported by land, which takes too long and takes too long, and it may be difficult to transport them before the army stops food. ”

"In this way, in six or seven days, our army will be unable to break the siege due to the lack of food!" Shang Zhixin was a little unwilling, the Taiping army in Xinhui City was obviously a turtle in the urn, and the food would not last long, and it would not take long to enter the city without much effort, but now his own food was going to be cut off first, how could he be willing! It's like you've drawn a good hand, only to find out that it's a good hand.

Before coming, Qin Guocheng and Zhou Yuanliang had discussed all feasible methods, but the final answer was that it was impossible for Guangzhou to send grain to Xinhui within six or seven days, so the only way to do this was to break the siege first, otherwise once the army ran out of food, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Out of consideration for the safety of the army, Qin Guocheng and Zhou Yuanliang both persuaded Shang Zhixin to withdraw his troops, and the generals in the tent also spoke one after another, believing that it was impossible for the army to surround Xinhui City without food.

The generals' openings made Shang Zhixin extremely annoyed, and he suddenly gritted his teeth and shouted: "I naturally know the current situation, but we still have a way besides relieving the siege!" ”

One more way?

Qin Guocheng and the others were stunned.

"Siege!" Shang Zhixin's face was hideous, "I don't believe that the thieves in the city have been surrounded by me for several months and still have the heart to hold on!" (To be continued......)