Just when Shen Yichen and the others were preparing to set off from Zhangzhou Mansion, the siege war was in full swing in Quanzhou Mansion in Fujian Province on the other side.

Deng Maoqi was originally a tenant farmer in Jiangxi, and later moved to Shaxian County, Yanping Prefecture, Fujian, which was the Shaxian County where the famous Shaxian snacks were later named.

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As a native of other provinces, Deng Maoqi's foundation and qualifications in Fujian are actually inferior to Ye Zongliu, the leader of the miners, and Jiang Fucheng, the head of the furnace.

But Deng Maoqi is more heroic, which is essentially different from Ye Zongliu, who was forced to revolt. It can be seen from the fact that he occupied the land early and became the king, this person has an ambition to compete in troubled times.

Many times when the brave wins when they meet on a narrow road, and they choose to risk their lives to rebel, they can't have any hesitation and retreat.

It is precisely because of Deng Maoqi's determination, coupled with his courage and wisdom, that he is convinced by the heroes.

Soon after the uprising, he came from behind, and his command responded as many as tens of thousands, becoming the leader of the most powerful rebel army in Fujian. Even Ye Zongliu and others, who originally pulled the flag and rebelled, were in fact subservient.

"Deng Bosun, this king will give you half a day, Quanzhou City must be taken today!"

In the camp of the commander of the rebel army, Deng Maoqi gave military orders to his nephew with great majesty. Quanzhou City was leaderless after the prefect Xiong Shangchu was killed, but it was attacked for three days and still did not take it.

You must know that Quanzhou Mansion and Jianning Mansion can be completely cut off from the Fujian Political Division. But it also means that if the rebel army cannot be taken, it will face the risk of being surrounded by the government army.

Shen Yichen, the governor of Fujian sent by the imperial court, has taken office, and Deng Maoqi looks down on the group of Fujian officials who are drinking and eating rice, but he is very vigilant about this Sanyuan and the first who have made immortal achievements in Shandong.

His arrival is very likely to rectify the low morale of the Fujian Guard, thereby reversing the rotten situation of the entire Fujian government.

If Quanzhou City drags on any longer, he and others will be in danger!

"The last general has an order, and he will definitely take Quanzhou City today!"

Deng Bosun rushed out of the camp with murderous energy, preparing to take the lead in attacking the city.

South China has always been the strongest region of the Chinese clan, which is led by Fujian and Guangdong provinces, so Deng Maoqi's henchmen are basically relatives of the same clan.

However, the clansmen belong to the clansmen, and Deng Mao's seven ruling armies have always treated them equally, even if they are his own nephews, they do not have any preferential treatment, which has also won him the loyalty of many followers.

Seeing Deng Bosun take the order, Deng Maoqi's anxiety eased a little, and he turned his gaze to Jiang Fucheng on the left hand side of the camp, and said: "Leader Jiang, after the capture of Quanzhou City, this king expects that the imperial army will soon counterattack, and the weapons and armor must be prepared as soon as possible. ”

Compared with other peasant army leaders who did not have a long-term plan, Deng Maoqi's goal was very clear, that is, to attack the city and seize the land, and wait for a protracted battle with the imperial court.

The best ending is naturally to tear the earth and seal the king.

Therefore, Deng Maoqi is very aware of the importance of Quanzhou Mansion, which in a sense will determine the future direction of Fujian's political department.

After defending the city, the imperial court in Fujian will no longer have any soldiers to fight, and he and others will have to be officially upgraded from a chaotic army of thieves to an uprising rebel army on one side!

As for defeat, then there is nothing to say, since ancient times, it has been a king and a loser.

Hearing Deng Maoqi's order, Jiang Fucheng nodded and took the order. Although he is also known as one of the leaders of the three rebel armies, he has in fact become the weakest "vassal", and everyone still calls him an equal "leader" in name.

However, compared with Deng Maoqi's anxiety relief, Jiang Fucheng became more and more worried about capturing Quanzhou City. His original intention was just to resist the arrest of the government, and he never thought that one day he would plot against the ground, but now he is walking step by step, as if he has embarked on a road of no return with no end in sight.

After hesitating for a long time, Jiang Fucheng finally spoke: "Bulldoze the king, Leader Ye has already gone to Zhangzhou Mansion to meet Admiral Shen, why don't we wait for him to return and then make the next decision?" ”

Jiang Fucheng has never met Shen Yichen, but in the past few years, Youxi Luding has received a lot of help from Ye Zongliu. Especially during the snow disaster in the 10th year of orthodoxy, if there was no food reserve in advance for emergency relief, I don't know how many people would freeze to death in the wind and snow.

The source of this is that Shen Yichen opened up the sea smuggling trade, so that the brothers of Luding can have life-saving food.

The importance of Quanzhou Mansion is not only known to Shen Yichen, but also to Jiang Fucheng, the leaders of the rebel army.

If it is really captured, there will be no peace talks with the imperial court!

Hearing Jiang Fucheng say such "retreat" words, Deng Maoqi replied angrily: "Chief Jiang, do you still believe in the imperial court and those dog officials? ”

"Think back to the past few years, how many people have been ruined under the persecution of the imperial court, and how many siblings have sold their sons and daughters, but as long as they are willing to give a way to live, how can we come to this step?"

"Regardless of whether Admiral Shen is a good official or not, his identity is destined to stand on the side of the imperial court. When the judgment continues, but the chaos is endured, the court dog officials can do a thousand things wrong, and as long as we take a wrong step, it will be a catastrophe! ”

Objectively speaking, what Deng Maoqi said is not unreasonable, after the weapons of countless rebel armies throughout the ages were Zhao'an, they became fish and meat on the eucalyptus board, which could be sold and slaughtered wantonly.

From the day the incident was decided, Jiang Fucheng and others stood on the opposite side of Shen Yichen, even if he was willing to give the righteous brothers a way to live.

But what about the imperial court, what about the emperor?

The admiral's military affairs are placed in the local area and he is a feudal official, and he is still a nobody in the Beijing division. The imperial court has been untrustworthy for so many years, treating the people as dogs, and by the way, Shen Yichen, who is an official of the imperial court, can he follow his words?

Deng Maoqi's questioning made Jiang Fucheng speechless.

Indeed, compared with the lives of 100,000 brothers and the safety of hundreds of thousands of wives and children, personal credit seems to be insignificant.

Jiang Fucheng didn't dare to bet, and he couldn't afford to gamble!

On the seventh day of the third month of the twelfth year of Orthodoxy, at dusk.

With the overwhelming shouts of killing, the south gate of Quanzhou City was officially breached by the rebels.

Originally, with the killing of the prefect, people in Quanzhou City were already panicking. It was also Quanzhou Tongzhi who adhered to the backbone of the literati and recruited the only remaining Quanzhou guards, government officials, and Zhuangding people to defend the city to the death, so as to avoid the scene of abandoning the city and fleeing like Jianning Mansion.

However, the gap between the enemy and us was too large, and when the rebel army decided to attack the city with all its might, regardless of casualties, it was only a matter of time before the fall of Quanzhou City.

When night fell, on the official road ten miles away from Quanzhou City, Shen Yichen and the others saw the skyrocketing fire in the distance, and the sky turned into a touch of blood.

"It's still too late."

Seeing this scene, Shen Yichen silently recited that Quanzhou City was finally captured by the rebel army, which means that the situation has broken through the bottom line of the imperial court.

It is impossible for any great unified dynasty at the "peak" to allow the existence of a feudal territory.

"Proprietor, what should we do next?"

Bian He stood beside Shen Yichen and asked.

He has always belonged to the conservative wing of the miners' group, even if Ye Zongliu decided to revolt and fight, Bian He chose to take the high-ranking official route and find another way to avoid confrontation with the imperial court.

In this situation, Bian He's mood can be described as extremely heavy, and the more the rebel army marches forward, the more fierce it will be when it is counterattacked by the imperial court.

Maybe in the end, all those who participated in the rebellion will be beheaded for the heinous crime of treason, and depending on whether the circumstances are serious or not, the family will be convicted of the same crime or exiled for 3,000 miles!

The Ming Dynasty is far from the state of the country's imminent demise, and the current victory is equivalent to the future destruction.

Shen Yichen didn't answer Bian He's question, but said to Wang Neng beside him: "While the entire territory of Quanzhou Mansion has not been completely controlled by the righteous army, you immediately rush to Fuzhou Mansion to report the situation, and tell Feng Weisi to follow this official's order to recruit soldiers and horses from all over the province and prepare to go to Quanzhou Mansion to face the battle!" ”

In some cases, Shen Yichen will do everything possible to avoid killing, and when the situation reaches the point of no return, in a sense, war will save more lives.

Deng Maoqi did a very stupid wrong thing!

"Proprietor, this ......"

Wang Neng rarely did not obey the order immediately, he knew that when this order was transmitted to Fuzhou Prefecture, it would mean that the officers and soldiers and the rebels would fight to the death.

I used to be a miner, and I have experienced first-hand the struggle of the Fujian brothers to survive, do they really deserve to die?

"You can not go, but you only have one choice."

This time, even in the face of Wang Neng, Shen Yichen was extremely indifferent, he demanded absolute loyalty and would not give his subordinates a second chance to choose.

Once Shen Yichen understood the truth that good is not an official, and now he has begun to learn to be merciful and not to be in charge of soldiers.

At this moment, Canghuotou, Zheng Xiang, Ye Zongliu and other Fujian miners all looked at Shen Yichen and Wang Neng. Even Wu Rui and other border guards began to pull the reins and get closer, ready to deal with emergencies.

An official is an official, a bandit is a bandit, no matter how close the relationship once was, it is destined to be an enemy!

Feeling the gaze of the brothers beside him, feeling the vigilance of Wu Rui and other guards, especially in the face of the eyes of the former eldest brother Ye Zongliu, Wang Neng could be described as having mixed feelings in his heart.

With his former siblings on one side and his loyal lord on the other, Wang Neng couldn't understand why the situation had suddenly reached such a bad situation, and was there really no room for relaxation?

"The proprietor, my subordinates wish to go to Fuzhou Mansion on behalf of the king!"

Just when the atmosphere gradually solidified, Canghuo Tou stood up and took the order.

He is different from Wang Neng, who has a bit of culture, he has never been to a private school for a day since he was a child, and he doesn't understand the big truth of what matters.

But Canghuotou knows one thing, that is, since ancient times, loyalty and righteousness have been difficult to achieve, and when it comes to making a choice, you can't be indecisive and think about the trade-off.

Canghuotou didn't want to kill each other, but he believed that Shen Yichen would do his best to save the lives of the miners and the people of Fujian.

Rather than let someone else lead the army to conquer, let the proprietor put an end to this.

"No need, my subordinates are willing to go!"

Wang Neng knew very well that he had to make a choice, and between loyalty and righteousness, he finally chose loyalty.

Without hesitation after receiving the order, Wang Neng turned over and jumped on a group of fast horses, whipped and galloped in the direction of Fuzhou Mansion. The officers and soldiers of the Fuzhou Guard Station not only want to come to quell the rebellion, but also need to arrive as soon as possible to ensure Shen Yichen's safety.

This scene was in Ye Zongliu's eyes, but he had mixed feelings in his heart.

In the past, Canghuotou and Wang Neng and others were all younger brothers who had a lifelong friendship, but now there are many miners in the rebel army, who are siblings who grew up in the same village as them.

In other words, Ye Zongliu chose to die with his brothers, but Canghuotou and Wang Neng made different choices.

Ye Zongliu didn't know whether to be happy or sad at this time.

"Let's continue to lead the way."

As if nothing had happened just now, Shen Yichen greeted Ye Zongliu.

It was at this moment that Ye Zongliu seemed to see another side of Shen Yichen. After a few years of ups and downs in officialdom, it is impossible to still be the bookish boy on the bank of the Zhenjiang River, and the decisive temperament of the superior has begun to be revealed.

"Hmm."

Ye Zongliu nodded silently, got on his horse and continued to rush towards Quanzhou City.

Shen Yichen came to the carriage and said to Lin Zhen, who was leaning on the carriage: "Teacher, Quanzhou Mansion has been captured by the rebels, and we are one step late. ”

Compared with Lin Zhen's excitement when he set off, he hurried down non-stop for a few days, which caused a great burden on his body, and his condition aggravated sharply, and the whole person fell into a state of weakness.

This is why, in ancient times, being sent to remote areas as officials was regarded by many people as a point of no return.

I don't know how many elderly officials died of illness on the way to take office, let alone such a high-intensity rush in order to be in a hurry.

"I heard it for the teacher, cough cough ......"

As soon as he answered Shen Yichen's words, Lin Zhen coughed violently.

In fact, Shen Yichen was so decisive and indifferent just now, in a sense, it was also affected by Lin Zhen's condition, and the teacher's body couldn't withstand the long journey, let alone the protracted negotiations that followed.

Shen Yichen must put pressure on the rebels led by Deng Maoqi and force them to make a compromise as soon as possible!

"The fall of Quanzhou Mansion means that half of Fujian has been lost, and the righteous army has suffered a big victory, and I am afraid it will be even more difficult to accept Zhao'an."

Lin Zhen saw the essence through the phenomenon, one of the main reasons why it was difficult for the rebel army to replace the rule of the imperial court was that they did not have a stable organizational structure, and they were easily coerced by public opinion, and could not make the most rational strategic decisions.

It's good that Quanzhou Mansion was not captured, Shen Yichen could coerce the imperial army to coerce, and maybe he could directly force the rebel army to compromise and recruit peace.

This time to capture Quanzhou Mansion, there may be a lot of mixed rebel army swelled to the sky, I really think that I can wrestle with the Ming Dynasty.

This is why, Shen Yichen began to try his best to dissuade Ye Zong from staying to stop the siege, not only the gains and losses of one city and one place, but also the psychological game confrontation.

"The students have ordered people to mobilize the three guards of Fuzhou, as well as the troops of the Fujian Metropolitan Command Department and other guards, no matter whether they can recruit the Fujian Righteous Army or not, the territory of turmoil can only be limited to this half of Fujian!"

Hearing his disciple's answer, Lin Zhen sighed and said: "The road to counterinsurgency, the mountains of corpses and the sea of blood, it is the people of Fujian who suffer after all. ”

"To the north, are you prepared for the worst?"

"Hmm."

"Now that you have made a decision, let's do it, and the teacher will fully cooperate with you."

After that, Lin Zhen coughed a few more times.

"Students know."

After replying to this sentence, Shen Yichen got out of the carriage and rode a horse to follow the team.

The last ten miles of Quanzhou City made everyone full of worries. As the distance got closer and closer, Shen Yichen and the others could already clearly see the firelight all over the city, and even faintly heard the mournful cries coming from the night sky.

This scene made Shen Yichen's expression more and more solemn, the rebel army, shouldn't they set fire to the city?