In the end, when they were surrounded by the allied forces of the three provinces provoked by Lu Fatzi, they could not even count on Lu Fatzi's reinforcements, so they could only honestly stick to Nanning according to the requirements of the Pingxi Palace, gather a large number of people to desperately strengthen the city defense, dig deep trenches to repair the city walls, gather the people outside the city to return to the city to avoid the war, and at the same time completely close the Phoenix Mountain Silver Mine and transfer the miners and silver smelting craftsmen, so as not to kill these valuable technical talents by the three provinces coalition army with extremely corrupt military discipline, It has caused immeasurable losses to the sustainable development of Nanning.

Such an abnormal behavior of the Nanning defenders is naturally impossible to avoid attracting the attention of the three provinces coalition army, and it is also very strange that the real intention of the Nanning defenders - the main force of the Qing army on the frontal battlefield has been destroyed, and the main force of the Wu army is about to counterattack.

Under the doubt, Sun Yanling, Shang Zhixiao and Geng Juzhong, the three ambitious and talented Erwuzai, had to send people to inquire about the news, and also managed to catch a few people in Nanning City to torture and confess, and under Du Hui's intentional dissemination, the main force of the Wu army was greatly injured in the decisive battle of Guizhou, and the news that it was temporarily unable to reinforce the Nanning battlefield also quickly reached the ears of Sun Yanling and Shang Zhixiao and other Erwuzai.

Wu Laohan still has a little bit of a vision for looking at people and employing people, although he doesn't really understand what kind of medicine Wu Shizong and Lu Fatzi are selling in the gourd, but Du Hui, the general of the Wu army hussars who was entrusted by Wu Laohan to defend the eastern front of the sea, still faithfully and skillfully carried out Wu Shizong's order, in addition to deliberately spreading the news that the main force of the Wu army could not reinforce Nanning for the time being, Du Hui made a little trick, so that Han Zhang, the prefect of Nanning, who was forced to follow the Wu army and the army to raise troops on the side of the Qing monarch, sent a letter to Ma Xiongzhen, the nominal commander of the allied forces of the three provinces. Very cleverly leaked the news directly to Maxiong Town.

Han Zhang's letter to Maxiongzhen is roughly as follows: first, Han Zhang reported to Maxiongzhen the news of the complete victory of the Wu army in the decisive battle of Guizhou; Subsequently, Han Zhang, as the prefect of Nanning, persuaded Ma Xiongzhen to retreat, saying that although the main force of the Wu army was greatly injured in the decisive battle of Guizhou, and concentrated his troops to Huguang to pursue the Aobai Yu party, he could not reinforce Nanning for the time being, but within two months at the latest, the Pingxi royal palace would inevitably send a large army to reinforce Nanning, but the soldiers in Nanning City were full of food, and the people were united with the defenders, and there was absolutely no problem in holding Nanning City for two months.

In the end, Han Zhang persuaded Ma Xiongzhen to withdraw as soon as possible, saying that now the strategic goal of the Qing monarch side of the Pingxi Wangfu has been achieved, and no one can say whether the Qing court and the Pingxi Wangfu will fight or make peace in the future, so he hopes that Ma Xiongzhen will withdraw as soon as possible, and will not completely conclude the enmity of the Pingxi Wangfu. Otherwise, in the future, if the Mites Qing court really retreats and makes peace with the Wu army, even if Maxiong Town now takes Nanning City for a while, the Pingxi Royal Mansion will not spare Maxiong Town in the future, and the Mites Qing Imperial Court will not beat Maxiong Town into a Ao Bai Yu Party and hand it over to the Pingxi Royal Mansion to calm Wu Sangui's anger, which is also a matter that no one can say, it is better to temporarily withdraw the army and not offend the Pingxi Royal Mansion to death.

Not to mention, in the case of an unpredictable future, Han Zhang's bitter persuasion letter really moved Ma Xiongzhen, considering that it was indeed possible for the Qing Dynasty to negotiate a truce with the Pingxi Palace, Ma Xiongzhen, who was afraid that he would become the target of the Pingxi Palace's negotiation table, was greatly moved, and hurriedly invited Sun Yanling, Shang Zhixiao and Geng Juzhong to discuss with them whether they should withdraw from the army. It's just that Ma Xiongzhen never dreamed that after seeing this letter, the three main generals of the three-province coalition army that he had worked hard to contact and form, not only did not take into account his embarrassing position and agreed to withdraw from the army, but immediately shouted excitedly.

"I'll just say, that's the case, Wu Sangui's old thing wins more with less, even if he is lucky enough to win a big battle, his losses will definitely not be small there!" Shang Zhixiao shouted excitedly: "We can't reinforce Nanning within two months, time is enough for us, not to mention enough to defeat Nanning, even if we withdraw to Guangzhou, it is more than enough time!" Then fight, take Nanning down to Lao Tzu as soon as possible! ”

"That's right!" Geng Juzhong also jumped three feet high, and shouted: "I heard that in Nanning City, millions of taels of silver mined from the silver mine of Phoenix Mountain have been hoarded, and the gold, silver and jewelry used by Wu Sangui's old thief to recruit fishermen and train sailors are also hidden in Nanning City. It's not a wasted effort! ”

"Two second princes, you think too simply, right?" Ma Xiongzhen was sweating profusely, and hurriedly persuaded him: "Let's not say that Nanning City is definitely not as easy to fight as imagined, now even if we defeat Nanning City and get the gold, silver and jewelry hoarded in the city, won't we offend Wu Sangui's old thief to death?" In the future, if the imperial court negotiates peace with the old thief Wu Sangui, can the old thief Wu Sangui spare us? ”

"What can he do to us?" Geng Juzhong, who had no fear, laughed together and said together: "Even if he offends him, can he still fight to Guangdong and Fujian because we took Nanning?" Besides, we are begging for thieves by order, and now the court has not ordered the collection of troops, even if Wu Sangui's old thief negotiates peace with the court in the future, what can the court say about us? ”

Shang Zhixiao and Geng Juzhong's words are very correct, they are following the holy decree of Xiao Mazi to attack Wu Sangui, and now Xiao Mazi has not issued an order to collect troops, they have defeated Nanning City, which is garrisoned by the hardcore ally of Pingxi Wangfu, Xiao Mazi really can't accuse them of anything - unless Xiao Mazi doesn't want the army to sell his life in the future. At the same time, Shang Zhixiao and Geng Juzhong were even more fearless and did not say it, that is, the three feudatories were in the same breath, and their lips were cold and their teeth were cold, and it was also impossible for Wu Lao Han to offend Pingnan Wangfu and Jingnan Wangfu to death, forcing Shang Kexi and Geng Jingzhong to make friends, and Shang Zhixiao and Geng Juzhong naturally did not have to worry.

"Two second princes, of course the court can't say anything about you, but I ......." Ma Xiongzhen almost didn't cry, and said in his heart that you are not afraid of anything, but Wu Sangui's old thief doesn't dare to settle accounts with you, but he dares to settle accounts with me, and when the time comes, your benefits will be taken away, and the black pot will be carried by me alone, and Wu Sangui's old thief will not have to cut me off?

muttered in his heart, but he didn't dare to say it, and in desperation, Ma Xiongzhen had no choice but to turn to Sun Yanling and beg: "Sun Junmen, if you say a word, you must also know that now this Nanning City cannot be attacked." At that time, once the emperor and the prince of Pingxi stop the army and make peace, the prince of Pingxi will definitely ask the emperor for someone, and neither of us will be able to run away at that time. ”

"Lord Zhongcheng, of course I understand what you said, but what else can I do now besides attacking the city?" Sun Yanling spread his hands and said helplessly: "I think you also know that in order to invite the old Qiu Ba in Guilin to go to the battlefield, I promised them in public, and I defeated Nanning, and the People's Liberation Army was disciplined for three days, and half of the property in the city belonged to them, and now I want them to withdraw their troops, and they are not allowed to fry the pot?" If they do mutiny, you and I will die faster. ”

"Is there a general like you? He can't even manage the army under his command, and he can't even do as good as Dai Liangchen and Wang Yongyuan, the house slaves of Sigege. Ma Xiongzhen still didn't dare to say it, so he could only smile bitterly and said: "The two second princes, Sun Junmen, maybe what you said is very reasonable, and the lower officials can also ignore their own positions - but have you considered it, even if the army of Pingxi Wangfu can't reinforce Nanning City within two months, can you take Nanning City within two months?" Don't forget, the army under the command of Lian Guoan is known as the strongest in Guangxi, and there is also plenty of food in Nanning, are you sure to take it? ”

"The battle is fought by people, and whether it can be won or not depends on the morale of the army." Shang Zhixiao said confidently: "Brother Juzhong, Sun Junmen, I have a proposal to spread the news that Wu Sangui's old thief will not be able to reinforce Nanning within two months, and stabilize the army's heart first." Then I told the brothers that if I could take Nanning City within half a month, and thirty percent of the gold and silver treasures in the city would be handed over, and seventy percent would go to them, I would not believe that this morale would not be boosted. ”

"Seventy percent is too much, and ten days is too long." Geng Juzhong said: "In my opinion, it can be like this, tell the brothers that within ten days, Nanning City will be taken, and the People's Liberation Army will be disciplined for seven days, and the gold, silver and jewelry in the city will be given seventy percent." Ten days later, Nanning City was taken, and only sixty percent of the gold and silver treasures in the city were given to them, and the military discipline was only disbanded for three days, and they were only allowed to spend three days in the city. ”

"I agree with Second Prince Geng's idea." Sun Yanling raised his hands and said very eloquently: "If there is a reward, there will be a punishment, the sooner we take Nanning City, the more beneficial it will be for us, not to mention, we can further boost morale, so as not to have many dreams at night and extraneous branches." ”

As soon as Sun Yanling said this, he immediately won the applause of Shang Zhixiao and Geng Juzhong, the two two or five boys, completely ignoring Ma Xiongzhen's face that was paler than a dead man, and discussed how to attack the city and how to share the spoils after the city was broken, and did not pay any attention to Ma Xiongzhen, the nominal commander, Ma Xiongzhen was on fire in his heart, but he didn't dare to come out - no way, who told Ma Xiongzhen that he didn't have the actual command of half of the army in his hands.

So, under the lust for profit, Sun Yanling, Shang Zhixiao and Geng Juzhong completely ignored the imminent counterattack of the main force of the Wu army, and the three pairs of eyes were all fixed on the gold and silver hoarded in the city of Nanning, and soon made the new reward and punishment measures public, and at the same time told the generals and soldiers of the coalition army of the three provinces that the main force of the Wu army was greatly injured in the decisive battle of Guizhou, and was unable to reinforce Nanning within two months, so as to stabilize the morale of the army and boost morale.

What kind of generals lead what kind of soldiers, and most of the Qiu Ba brought out by Sun, Geng, and Shang are also the same virtues as them, so after hearing the news that the heavy reward measures and the main force of the Wu army will not be able to reinforce Nanning in a short time, the rabble under the three Erwuzai are all boiling, and they are all shouting to enter Nanning City to grab money, food, and women, and make a fortune and go home to enjoy happiness. In the next three days, more than 30,000 allied troops of the three provinces also launched wave after wave of strong attacks on Nanning City, which once created huge pressure on the defenders of Nanning.

In fact, strictly speaking, although Sun Yanling, Shang Zhixiao and Geng Juzhong were formed in a hurry, and their cooperation and tacit understanding were not mature enough, it was really a bit wronged to say that they were all a rabble. Because in terms of individual combat effectiveness alone, the quality of the soldiers of the allied forces of the three provinces is actually not bad, especially the 5,000 Guangdong troops brought by Lu Fatzi's second brother-in-law, Shang Zhixiao, but they are all front-line elites who fight with the Taiwan army every year, and they have seen blood and have rich experience. Although Shang Zhixiao's talent and courage are not enough to convince the public, but for the sake of the gold, silver and women in Nanning City, the Guangdong army still sold enough strength this time to fight for their lives, and rushed to the city wall of Nanning that has been in disrepair for a long time.

After seeing the hope of breaking the city, in order to attack the city as soon as possible, the three two or five boys only sent a small number of troops to monitor the Wu army garrison in Lianzhou, and concentrated all the troops under the city of Nanning. However, the first army of Guangxi under the command of Yu Xuan was not vegetarian, although it could not go out of the city to counterattack because of the lack of troops, but on the city wall that occupied the geographical advantage, it also caused huge casualties to the three provinces coalition army, and made the three provinces coalition army exhausted, and the physical strength was almost exhausted.

In the early morning of the fifth day, which was also the morning of the tenth day of the seventh month of the eleventh year of the mite Qingkang Mazi, after a night of hard fighting, the Qiu Bamen of the allied forces of the three provinces gradually could not support their physical strength, and the grassroots generals also cried out bitterly, asking to temporarily abandon the siege and let the army rest. Although Sun Yanling, Shang Zhixiao and Geng Juzhong were unwilling, they saw that the army did suffer huge casualties, and that the generals and soldiers were indeed very tired, so they only nodded and agreed, and Mingjin collected the troops together, so that the army could return to the camp to rest.

"Damn, the old thing of Lian Guoan and the dead eunuch of Lian Yuxuan are really powerful, and they have been attacking for four days, and they have not wavered at all." After ordering Mingjin, looking at the city of Nanning, which was already full of corpses, Sun Yanling pursed his lips and said with some admiration: "Fortunately, they are not strong enough, and they have to protect the Lianzhou estuary and disperse their forces, and the equipment is not good enough, otherwise, I am afraid that we will not be able to take this Nanning City." ”

"The key is that there is no siege artillery, otherwise the broken city wall of Nanning is a ball?" Shang Zhixiao snorted coldly with disdain, and said hatefully: "And I also blame my eldest brother for being a ghost, if he didn't restrain his opposition and let my father give me some more Guangdong elites, Nanning City would have been taken down a long time ago!" Give me Yan Ziming's 10,000 green camp, and use it for a ball! ”

"I'm no better than you either." Geng Juzhong lamented, "If my eldest brother is more generous and gives me more troops, or replaces the five thousand second-rate troops under my command with first-class elites, this battle will be much easier." ”

"That's why I advise you to withdraw your troops as soon as possible." Ma Xiongzhen said distressedly: "Don't take Nanning City before you have suffered heavy casualties, and Wu Sangui's old thief's reinforcements suddenly arrived, then we will be miserable." ”

"Wu Gou's army flew over!" Sun Yanling sneered and said arrogantly: "Last month, Wu Gou fought a decisive battle with Aobai in Guizhou, and the army suffered so many casualties and was so tired, even if their reinforcements flew to Nanning now, Lao Tzu would still not be afraid of him!" ”

"General, General, Governor!" Before the words fell, a ride suddenly came on the official road east of Nanning, and he screamed heartbreakingly from afar: "It's a big deal!" We are surrounded by Kure dogs! In our rear, somehow an army of Wu dogs appeared! ”

"What are you kidding?" Sun Yanling and the others were taken aback, and exclaimed together in disbelief: "How is it possible? Didn't you say that Wu Gou's main force could not reinforce Nanning within two months? Why is it here now? Did it really fly over? ”

"Could it be that you're mistaken?" Ma Xiongzhen also didn't believe that the Yungui army would arrive so quickly, and shouted, "Have you seen the flag clearly? Could it be that our allies are mistaken for the Wu Dog Army? ”

"Lord Governor, no matter how dazzling the small one is, it is impossible to misread the flag, right?" The police scout replied with a sad face: "The little one can see it clearly, it is indeed the banner of Wu Dog!" Black on a white background, Pingxi Wangfu military flag! (Note: In history, after Wu Sangui raised his troops in the Rebellion of the Three Feudatories, he used white flags and black characters as military flags, and the army also wore white clothes and white armor.) ）

As if to verify that the police scout was not lying, almost at the same time, the dust was billowing on the official road east of Nanning, and an extremely large number of white troops appeared in the dust and smoke, and the black letters on the white background of the military flags were indeed all the military flags of Wu Sangui's army, which were rapidly sweeping towards the back of the coalition forces of the three provinces. After seeing this scene in the telescope, Sun Yanling and Monk Zhixiao and the others were inevitably shocked, saying that they didn't think clearly what was going on, and why the reinforcements of the Wu army, which could only appear two months later, arrived so quickly.

Also exclaimed was the army of Yu Xuan on the city wall of Nanning, who condescendingly saw the Wu army brigade rushing quickly, and the coalition forces of the three provinces in front and behind the self-army, and the Guangxi generals such as Yu Xuan, Quanjie, Hutongchun and Li Fengchun all exclaimed in surprise, "How is it possible?" How can it be? How could our reinforcements arrive so quickly? I said that it would arrive in two months, why did I arrive this morning? ”

"Wrong, our reinforcements didn't arrive this morning." Du Hui stood up to correct the mistakes of Yu Xuan and the others, and said with a smile: "Actually, our reinforcements were already twenty miles away at the second watch last night, but they were too tired from the rapid march, and they found that the Ao Bai lackeys were attacking Nanning City at night, so they rested in place for most of the night, and waited until the coalition army of the Ao lackeys was tired before coming out. ”

"General Du, how do you know?" Yu Xuan asked in surprise.

"When they arrived last night, they sent someone to contact me." Du Hui replied with a smile: "Tell us to hold on for another night, let the Aobai lackeys consume more physical strength, and then come out to meet us." ”

"Then why didn't you tell me earlier?" Yu Xuan was furious, and shouted with his eyebrows upside down: "General Du, this is the attitude of your Pingxi Royal Mansion towards allies?" Reinforcements have arrived, but they deliberately didn't notify us? Also, you said that the reinforcements only arrived in two months, causing us to abandon countless villages outside the city, and waste countless manpower and material resources to consolidate the city defense, and the result was that the reinforcements arrived in only five or six days, what do you mean? ”

"yes, what do you mean?" Hu Tongchun also asked angrily: "If you said earlier that reinforcements would arrive soon, would we have wasted so much effort to gather people everywhere and repair the city wall with all our might, in vain?" ”

The other Guangxi generals were also angry, and they were all very dissatisfied with Du Hui's deliberate concealment, Du Hui also knew that they were not doing authentically, so he quickly explained with a wry smile: "General Liusan, I really can't be blamed for this, it was Lu Yifeng's idea, it was all his plan, he asked General Wu Shizong, the right general of the pro-army army of Pingxi Palace, to order me to do this, I am controlled by the right general, and I dare not disobey this military order." Therefore, if you want to find someone to settle accounts, please go to Lu Yifeng to settle accounts, it's all his bad idea! ”

"Lu Yifeng? How dare this fat guy fool us? Hu Tongchun and Quan Jie and other Guangxi generals clenched their fists together. But at this moment, a crisp and delicate voice that looked like a woman sounded, "Understood! It turned out that the dead fat man was playing a trick of slowing down and eager, while releasing rumors that the reinforcements would not arrive until two months later, while the reinforcements marched quickly to the back of the Aobai lackeys coalition, and sure enough, they killed these Aobai lackeys by surprise! ”

"Dead fatty, even you are cunning, even I have been deceived by you! See you later, see how I clean you up! ”

Hearing Yu Xuan's coquettish and disgusting voice, as well as seeing the excitement and longing on Yu Xuan's face that was more beautiful than a woman, and with an extremely shy look, Du Hui and Hu Tongchun and others had an idea together, and they crashed to death on the city wall of Nanning!

(To be continued)