Chapter 156: Luring the Wolf into the House (I)

South Zhili, Wuhu, the bank of the Yangtze River, Dingjiazhou

The surging river lapped against the blood-stained embankment, and the autumn wind of hunting dispersed the smoke that lingered for many days. As far as the eye can see, countless corpses of the two armies and the wreckage of hundreds of broken warships are rising and falling, floating and sinking on the river, and there are still curling smoke rising and falling.

A general battle in which the two sides mobilized more than 100,000 soldiers and horses and more than 1,000 warships just ended here.

However, from the beginning of the battle to the end of the battle, the Eastern and Western armies lasted less than forty-eight hours in total, and it ended with the Eastern Army losing its armor.

In fact, due to the fact that they were stationed in various places along the way and swept the places, when they arrived in Wuhu, Lu Xiangsheng, the commander of the Western Army, only had more than 50,000 troops on hand. However, Lu Weiqi, the secretary of the Nanjing Military Department stationed in Wuhu, had 70,000 people in the Eastern Army under his command.

At first glance, this battle seems to be a risky situation for the Western Army to attack more with less, but the actual situation is completely different.

Although Lu Xiangsheng of the Western Army only raised 50,000 soldiers, there were more than 20,000 soldiers, as well as 3,000 iron cavalry as a killer weapon, but he was only weaker in terms of sailors. However, this battle was to attack the upper reaches of the river, not to cross the Yangtze River, and the route of the march was all rich land in the south of the Yangtze River, and all the grain and straw needed by the army could be collected on the spot, without relying on ships to transfer from the rear, so the importance of the sailors was not so significant.

Although Lu Weiqi of the Eastern Army had 70,000 people, there were only more than 10,000 really decent soldiers, and only a few hundred cavalry, and the rest were all rabble recruited temporarily. Except for the Yangtze River Naval Division, which is slightly stronger than the Western Army, the rest are simply useless.

There is no way, after all, the actions of the Western Army are carefully planned and planned for a long time, while the Eastern Army is in a hurry to respond to the battle and is stumbling.

More importantly, for the Western Army, this battle is to "fight against rebellion with righteousness" and have an absolute advantage in the name of righteousness.

No matter how much Emperor Chongzhen governs the country, after all, he is undoubtedly the orthodoxy of the emperor, and the traditional Chinese idea of loyalty to the monarch is not so easy to wear away after all. Although it is said that "every time you slaughter dogs, most of them are scholars". For example, most of the soldiers of the Jiangnan Donglin Party are loyal and righteous in their mouths, but they have no loyalty in their chests. But the words of loyalty and patriotism are too much, and many people have even made their own letters.

After all, the Donglin Party was still touting Emperor Chongzhen as the "reincarnation of a saint" and "the holy monarch descended from heaven" last year, but now they not only turned their faces and supported an inexplicable second son of King Lu as the "Yonghe Emperor", which caused the Zhu Ming clan in the world to be scolded, so far no vassal king is willing to recognize the throne of the Yonghe Emperor, and now he even has to meet with the "Holy Monarch" of the Chongzhen Emperor.

No matter how the Donglin Party bigwigs in the Nanjing court talk about lotus flowers and reverse black and white, they insist on describing the Chongzhen "Holy Monarch" who was still praising not long ago as the reincarnation of the heinous demon king, but with the speed of information circulation in ancient times, there are still many people's brains that can't turn around. Of course, even if the brain can't turn around, it doesn't matter, anyway, the patriotic ideology of loyalty to the monarch in these years is like that, and the soldiers who are soldiers will only care more about their rations and salaries. As long as the military salary is sufficient, even if it is openly said that they want to pull the flag and rebel and kill the emperor, it is no problem at all.

But the problem is that the Donglin Party, which is in power in Nanjing, has always looked down on vulgar martial artists the most, and the reward of a penny on weekdays is very painful, and I wish these lowly soldiers could live by drinking the northwest wind all day long. Where is the willingness to let them eat fragrant and drink spicy food? As a result, among the 70,000 Eastern Army in Wuhu, only the more than 10,000 descendants of Lu Weiqi, the commander of the military department, were able to receive 50 to 70 percent of the military salary, and then make up for the remaining gap by plundering the villagers. As for the rest of the miscellaneous army, most of them are strong men who have just been recruited, and their training and combat effectiveness are desperate, and their ordnance and equipment are like beggars' dog-beating sticks. There are also some landlords and gentry who practice in the village brave regiments, and their training and combat effectiveness are not bad, but unfortunately they do not obey military orders. Not to mention the traditional soldiers of the Ming Guard, who basically degenerated into serfs early, their weapons were generally rotten, and the logistics were even more chaotic, and even many military households had to prepare their own rations, and as a result, some had already starved to death before they left the Jinling territory.

Therefore, after arriving at the battlefield, Lu Weiqi didn't dare to pull his rabble out to fight in the field, but let them defend the camp and not be able to do it. However, because the Western Army was advancing along both sides of the Yangtze River by land and water, the Eastern Army had no choice but to set up defenses on both sides of the Yangtze River at the same time, further dispersing its forces.

After a little temptation, Lu Xiangsheng, who had been on the battlefield for a long time, was keenly aware of the opponent's external strength and middle strength, and calmly arranged a strategy to break the enemy, first pretending to attack the Dingjiazhou Water Village and Jiangbei Camp of the Eastern Army with a naval division, attracting Lu Weiqi's attention. Then he concentrated all the soldiers and iron cavalry to launch a devastating general attack on the Jiangnan camp of the Eastern Army, and in just two hours, he successfully burned the Eastern Army camp into a sea of fire.

After hearing of the rout on the south bank, Lu Weiqi hurriedly raised troops to cross the river to help, and personally put on armor and shields, and stood on the deck of the ship with a sword in his hand to supervise the battle, but unfortunately it was too late. The Eastern Army, which hastily landed on the shore, was first rushed into chaos by its own rout, and then was beaten by the elite cavalry led by Lu Xiangsheng himself.

So, under Lu Xiangsheng's sharp assault, the soldiers and horses of Nanzhili led by Lu Weiqi were completely passively beaten and had no power to parry. In desperation, Lu Weiqi had to order the retreat, but who knew that it quickly changed from retreat to rout, until the tens of thousands of troops of the Eastern Army were just a temporary gathering, and they were able to hold out until now, all by a momentum. Once they heard the wind and retreated, the morale of the army was naturally shaken, and the next thing was to collapse.

In the chaos, Lu Weiqi saw that he couldn't do anything, so he actually left the army, took a few cronies, and fled downstream by boat. Immediately afterwards, the abandoned Jiangbei Camp and Dingjiazhou Water Village of the Eastern Army also fled or surrendered one after another.

The next day, the local officials of Wuhu County and the entire Taiping Mansion came to ask for surrender one after another, and the gate to Jinling, the capital of Liudu, was suddenly opened.

The total number of casualties of the Western Army in this battle was less than 1,000, but it captured 20,000 prisoners of war and captured more than 6,000 stones of grain.

At this point, all the field soldiers and horses of the Nanjing Imperial Court were lost, and they no longer had the strength to confront the Western Army head-on. Although there is still the strong wall of Nanjing City behind, the military heart and the people's heart in Jiangnan have almost collapsed, even if there is still the city wall left by Zhu Yuanzhang, the Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, it is useless.

In short, in the face of the generals under his command, Lu Xiangsheng, who was stained with blood, was also complacent, and regarded himself as "the first hero of the restoration of Nanjing", but he still pretended to cough calmly a few times, and encouraged the generals: "...... Don't slack off! In the battle of Wuhu, although our army has been victorious! But there is still a danger of a big victory in the future! There are also high walls in Nanjing City! You have to wait until you enter the city of Nanjing, and then drink and celebrate with you on the Yuhua Terrace! ”

In this regard, the generals of the Western Army naturally agreed to the promise, and for a time the sound shook the sky and was full of pride.

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South Zhili, Jiangbei, Wuwei Prefecture, Xiang'an, Yujia Courtyard

This is a house built with cement and red bricks, although there is no kind of luxury of carved beams and paintings, gold and silver, nor the delicacy of rockery and flowing water, bamboo pavilions, but the lime powder walls and red roof tiles still make this place look quite refreshing and atmospheric.

"Wuwei Tiger Cub" Yu Guozhen sat on a stone pier in the courtyard, looking at everything in this courtyard with nostalgia, stroking the mottled walls, watching the golden fallen leaves swirl from the big trees in the courtyard to the ground, and couldn't help but feel full of melancholy The grass and trees, bricks and tiles here, are full of traces of his life and life over the years. It was here that he gradually got to know this strange world at the end of the Ming Dynasty, explored the way to make money from freshwater pearl farming, trained a team of elite guards, and personally led the team to kill the bandits and bandits, won the name of the young hero of "Wuwei Young Tiger", and even had a place in the circle of Donglin and Fushe.

But today, he is going to say goodbye to this land and water. And it's quite possible that I'll never return to this yard again in my life.

Just as Yu Guozhen was quietly experiencing the sadness of parting alone, a confidant rushed in, "...... Master! Master! News from the south! The soldiers and horses of the Imperial Court of Liudu fought a big defeat in Wuhu! Emperor Chongzhen's rebel army has entered the Taiping Mansion! ”

“…… Hmph, what is expected, with the kind of Jiangnan literati who can only talk nonsense, sow discord, and do things incompetently and shamelessly, it is God blind to be able to win a brave and famous general like Lu Xiangsheng on the battlefield! ”

Yu Guozhen snorted from his nostrils, "...... How are the preparations for the relocation of my Xiang'an Yu family? ”

“…… Young Master, the guards and servants in our family, as well as the clansmen who are willing to follow the young master, have already packed their luggage and are ready to go on the road. However, there are still many elders in the clan who are reluctant to relocate ancestral graves and ancestral halls. No matter how much the patriarch tried to persuade him, it was useless. ”

The little guy replied with a bitter face, "...... And the people in their houses said...... It is said that the young master, you are worried about the sky, and also said that the Yu family has taken root in Xiang'an for hundreds of years, and they have never seen any strong winds and waves. How can you leave your hometown and not be able to enter your ancestral grave after death...... In short, it's very ugly. ”

“…… Excessive anxiety? Hey! How many days do they think this Xiang'an can continue to be peaceful? Yu Guozhen was immediately angry, "...... Zhang Xianzhong's rogue is still entrenched in the capital city of Luzhou, Fengyang is stationed with Dolgon's white flag tartars, and the incense altar of the Xiangxiang Sect has opened to the south bank of Chaohu Lake! There are also two Ming Emperors' hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses, and they have just fought a big battle in the Taiping Mansion in the south! In a few days, there will definitely be a rout to flee, burn, kill and loot! The troubled times have arrived, and no one can stop it! If you don't leave, will you have to wait for death? ”

“…… In that case, why don't you ...... Young master, will you persuade again? The little guy asked tentatively.

“…… No need, it's going to rain and the mother wants to get married, since everyone has their own ambitions, let them go! ”

Yu Guozhen patted the dust on his clothes, stood up, and walked out of the door without looking back, "...... Walk! Let's leave for Qiongzhou! ”

However, a traverser like Yu Guozhen, who can predict the general trend of the future, can certainly endure the pain of a strong man breaking his wrist, giving up the industrial house in his hometown, and choosing to relocate his family. But more Jiangnan families, in the face of the impending catastrophe, are still desperate to die......