Outside the north gate of Guangzhou City, the tall Shang Zhixin was sitting in the makeshift receiving pavilion, shaking his fan irritably, while constantly looking to the north.

Hundreds of armor soldiers, neatly draped, carrying bird guns and holding spears, lined up outside the official pavilion, just waiting for the battle.

To the south of the Jieguan Pavilion is a long trench being excavated, and more than 10,000 slaves of the feudal clan mobilized from the city of Guangzhou, both men and women, are using shovels and baskets to remove the soil.

The excavated earth was carried to the inner side of the moat, where many of the feudal servants were working in the sun, building a wall of sheep and horses along the base of the wall.

People who have really fought siege and defense battles know that a castle with only one city wall and a circle of moats can only be called a "naked city", and the defense capacity is limited.

If you want to be more authentic, you have to build a branch city and a branch fort outside the city to protect the main city wall layer by layer.

The defense capability of a completely fortified Chinese-style city is not much worse than that of a Western-style fortress. Moreover, the defense range of the Chinese city is very large, and it is often necessary to cover an entire city, although it is not as strong as the fortress, but it is not easy to be covered by the fire of old guns with limited range.

Therefore, when the fortification of Guangzhou City was completed, it was actually difficult to overcome it by relying on the "big-headed siege method".

In addition, the terrain of Guangzhou City is actually very dangerous. Guangzhou is surrounded by water on two sides and backed by mountains on one side.

The west and south sides of Guangzhou were both dependent on the Pearl River and its tributaries, and there was no way to attack. The north side is protected by Yuexiu Mountain, and there is also a quadrangular fort on the mountain, which is difficult to attack. Only the east side is open, and there are not too many rivers to block it, so it is easier to attack. However, in the past few months, the Shang family has desperately strengthened the defenses in the east of Guangzhou, and now they have reached the point of impregnable.

After completing the deployment of the east of Guangzhou, Shang Zhixin began the city defense reinforcement project near the Great North Gate and the Little North Gate (located on the east and west sides of Yuexiu Mountain respectively) in the north of Guangzhou.

That's a big project!

At least he will have to work for another month or two to complete it, and Shang Zhixin will be even more uneasy at that time!

This is because Wang Zhongxiao, who covets Guangzhou City, is not idle!

If the current situation in Guangdong is briefly summarized, it is that the countryside surrounds the city!

On one side is the "Shang Xiu Wall" and on the other side is the "Wang Fentian." It is not only the township capitals near Guangzhou that are dividing the fields, but also the territory of Guangdong Province ruled by the Wang family and his son. The land that was allocated was mainly the coastal "fertile wasteland" of Xin'an, Yangjiang, Dianbai, Wuchuan and Leizhou. The targets of the land division were the landless and landless poor peasant tenants in the densely populated prefectures and counties in the interior of Guangdong.

Most of these landless and landless poor peasant tenants were victims of the Shang family's coastal relocation or land enclosure and massacre in Guangfu, and they hated the Shang family to the core. So after Juntian, all of them became die-hard loyalists of the Wang family, and they were all organized into township soldiers!

After learning the news of the defeat of the Qing army on the Huguang battlefield, the capitalists in the metallurgical industry in Foshan Town had no worries, and they all worked hard to help the Wang family make guns, cannons, and blades.

Therefore, the Guangdong township soldiers of the Wang family are expanding at an extremely fast speed!

At the same time, the village soldiers of the old Wang family also began to build fortresses in the east, northeast, and northwest of Guangzhou City, set up checkpoints, and blocked waterways and intersections. A large number of large bird boats with the banner of "Wang" also appeared on the Pearl River - all gunboats equipped with more than a dozen red-coated cannons!

After they appeared, the warships of the Qing Dynasty and Guangdong Naval Divisions on the Pearl River also changed their flags one after another and joined the Wang Army. Wang Fuchen is the real governor of Liangguang! The Guangdong sailor listened to the words of the governor of Liangguang, there is nothing wrong with this, right?

And the gradual defection of the Guangdong sailors also means that Guangzhou's external waterway transportation will be completely cut off!

Now, the official road leading to Liuxi River and Huaxian County in the north of Guangzhou is the only road for Guangzhou to communicate with the outside world. And this only path is not very solid. Many of the townships along the road, especially those controlled by the Qiangzong clan, who could not participate in Juntian (if the population of the clan was too large and the land was insufficient, some children could also be assigned to participate in Juntian and move to other places) almost all fell to the Wang family father and son.

So this only way of life is already in jeopardy.

Seeing that the family was about to make dumplings for Wang Zhongxiao, Shang Zhixin could only hope that Wu Guogui, who was rushing forward in Hunan, to support himself

But how far can Wu Guogui stand?

He is Wang Fuchen's sworn brother, and his son Wu Shijue is Wang Zhongxiao's sworn brother, and Shang Zhixin has recently heard some rumors, saying that it is Wu Guogui's daughter, known as the first beauty in Yunnan, known as the eight-faced Guanyin, is Wang Zhongxiao's main wife Yang Xiaosu!

If this is true, can Wu Guogui still count on it?

All kinds of thoughts turned over and over in his mind, so that Shang Zhixin, who was sitting in the reception pavilion waiting, just let out a long breath and patted his thigh irritably.

Sitting in the receiving pavilion with him, Shang Shuying, who was eyebrow-raising with Liu Jinzhong, the chief soldier of Chaozhen, was startled by the sound of her brother patting her thigh, and thought that her brother was very dissatisfied with her hooking up with Liu Jinzhong, an old man in his fifties, so he quickly looked back at his brother and found that he was sighing with his head bowed there, as if it was not aimed at himself, so he exhaled and said with a smile: "Big brother, don't worry, General Li under the command of Brother Liu has already led his troops to meet Ming Xiang, and Ming Xiang can't run." ”

Hearing Shang Shuying say this, Liu Jinzhong also smiled and said: "Brother Shang, don't worry, Li Chenggong will definitely catch Ming Xiang for you!" Even if you can't catch Mingxiang, Shuying and I can keep you from breaking through to Chaozhou. ”

Shang Zhixin really couldn't laugh or cry when he heard this, Liu Jinzhong called him "big brother", and called his widow sister in her twenties "Shuying".

Isn't this a rebellion? Although he wanted to send Mingzhu to Wu Guogui, and also gave Wu Sangui a persuasion table, this does not mean that he wants to rebel, he is only "double loyalty", loyal to both Kangxi and Sangui!

This is called "loyalty and righteousness in pairs", which is twice as loyal as "loyalty and righteousness"!

He just wanted to explain his position to his sister-in-law and the alternate old brother-in-law Liu Jinzhong, when a gong suddenly came, followed by the gong sound of "Clang", followed by the shouting of "Respect and believe, use sparingly and love people, and make the people timely".

Shang Zhixin hurriedly stretched his neck to look around, and found that a team of cavalry was escorting a guard of honor that was supposed to protect a pair of Qincha honor guards, and they came in a mighty way!

It should be that Mingzhu, the minister of mediation, has arrived!

"Quick, go and ask Envoy Wang to come over." Shang Zhixin stood up while commanding left and right, and greeted Liu Jinzhong, Shang Shuying, Zhu Guozhi, and Li Yan who were sitting in a pavilion a few times, and then the big guys went out of the pavilion together to greet the minister.

On the official road outside the pavilion, a pomp has been set up to greet the Qin Cha, hundreds of soldiers under the Shang family clan lined up the left and right rows next to the official road, and dozens of officials below the local monk clan in Guangdong also stood in shifts according to the system. When Mingzhu's eight-lift sedan car approached, they all knelt down. As soon as the official sedan chair stopped, and the sedan curtain was lifted, hundreds of voices opened together: "Welcome to the Qin Chaming Xiangye!" ”

Mingzhu laughed, got out of the sedan chair, and then looked up and looked stupid!

It's not the first time he's been a Qincha, and it's certainly not the first time he's been picked up by the officials below. But in the past, everyone knelt, but this time there was a group of people standing there swaggering!

It's just a matter of standing to greet Qincha, but the problem is that this group of people are all black gauze hats, regimental collar shirts, and belts tied around their waists, which are clearly the dress of Ming Dynasty officials! One of them was still holding a sword.

What does that mean?

How could a high-ranking official of the Ming Dynasty appear at the scene of the Qing Dynasty's Yingqin mission, and still holding a sword, it wouldn't be the sword of Shang Fang, right?

Is this to use the sword of Shang Fang of the Ming Dynasty to behead the officials of the Qing Dynasty?

Thinking of this, Mingzhu roared: "Who are you, why are you wearing the official uniform of the Ming Dynasty?" ”

He is now a "frightened bow difference", he has just met a group of gun-wielding scholars in Guangdong who "robbed the road" outside the city of Guangzhou, and now he has seen a group of Ming Dynasty officials outside the Great North Gate of Guangzhou, and he will be heartless if he can be calm.

"Hahaha, this official Wang Shirong is a mediator sent by His Royal Highness the King of Daming West! Mingxiang, please take a trip with Ben Chin! ”

It was Wang Shirong who answered Mingzhu's question, and Wang Shirong now knows that it is impossible to mediate the "Wang Shang contradiction", but it is also a great achievement to catch Mingzhu!

Exchange Mingzhu for Wu Yingxiong's wife and children, can this credit be small?

Mingzhu was anxious, and pointed to Shang Zhixin, who was still kneeling on the ground, and asked: "Shang Zhixin, it turns out that you are really the opposite!" Wang Fuchen said that you and your Ama have taken refuge in Wu Sangui, and they also persuaded you to advance, but the official still doesn't believe it, and he still speaks for you, I didn't expect that your family is a thief! ”

was questioned by Mingzhu like this, Shang Zhixin didn't pretend, stood up directly, and said to Mingzhu with a wry smile: "Mingxiang, if you want to say this, it's really wronged. In today's Guangdong, where is there anything that is not opposed? Anyone who supports troops and occupies an area is a strong party. However, as long as no one dominates Guangdong, then Guangdong will not be able to threaten the Qing Dynasty and the King of the West.

And now the most promising to unify Guangdong, or even unify the two Guangzhou, are Wang Fuchen, Wang Jizhen, Wang Zhongxiao, Sun Jiqing and his son. Ming Xiang, don't you think that after the unification of the two Guangzhous, the father and son of the Wang family will be content to be a thief who guards the country and the people? ”

Mingzhu also knows that Guangdong is out of order, but he also has a bottom line. Guangdong and Guangxi, you can have chaos and civil war, but you can't tie him up and hand him over to Wu Sangui!

He asked, "Shang Zhixin, do you want to hand over Ben Qin to Wu Sangui, a traitor?" ”

"Never!" Shang Zhixin said categorically, "What Wang Qincha said is that the king of the west is invited. It was the King of the West who wanted to invite you to go, probably to discuss the matter of releasing the wife and children of the Prince of the West Wang. If you want to go, Ben will never force you to go. ”

Hearing this, Mingzhu is still very worried!

Shang Zhixin is not forced, so will others force him, a loyal minister of the Qing Dynasty, to go to Wu Sangui as a hostage or a second minister?

Shang Zhixin saw that Mingzhu was silent, and knew that the other party had accepted Wu Sangui's invitation, so he didn't continue to stimulate him, but made a gesture of surprise, and said with a smile: "Mingxiang, please. Let's go into the city first! It's not very safe here, who knows when the Wang family's Guangdong township soldiers will call? ”

"This" Pearl didn't know what to say.

Outside the city is Longtan, where there are Guangdong scholars and people with guns! And inside the city is the tiger's den, and there is a messenger sent by Wu Sangui to arrest him!

This time, it's a lot of bad luck!

"Big brother, do you think this pearl plus Wang Shirong can resolve the contradiction between our family and the old Wang family?"

In the city of Guangzhou, in the prince's mansion, Shang Zhixin's good sister Shang Shuying was drinking tea in the flower hall in the back garden while discussing mediation with Shang Zhixin.

"I can't solve it." Before Shang Zhixin could speak, Liu Jinzhong, a reckless man, spoke first.

Shang Shuying looked back at Liu Jinzhong, frowning, with an unhappy expression, "Brother Liu, didn't you say before that as long as you and Wu Guogui come out together, there will be a way?" ”

"Hey, that's not to make you happy." Liu Jinzhong is also a cheeky person, and he coaxed people's white, tender, plump and bewitching good bodies to his hands, so he stopped coaxing.

"You dead ghost!" Shang Shuying's face turned red and she looked unhappy, "Brother Liu, what are you talking about?" ”

"Tell me the truth!" Liu Jinzhong said, "Sister Shuying, is the current situation still unclear? The old Wang family just wants to enter the Guangfu, and there is Guangdong. Loyal to the Qing Dynasty, loyal to the Ming Dynasty, that Wang Fuchen doesn't care at all, whether he kills you Ama or not, it doesn't matter if he kills you. What people want is Guangfu and even the whole of Guangdong! Shuying, if we are not willing to hand over the whole of Guangdong to them, it is useless for anyone to speak! ”

"Isn't it enough to hand over Guangfu?" Shang Zhixin asked with a frown.

"Not enough." Liu Jinzhong shook his head, "How can it?" What is the terrain of Guangdong? Guangdong, also known as Lingnan, is the south of the South Ridge. If you don't have Guangdong completely, you can't rely on Lingnan in the north, and Lingnan in the north, and the Wang family is not the real lord of Guangdong.

Therefore, if we want to negotiate peace, we can only withdraw from Guangdong and find another place to settle down! ”

"Exit Guangdong. Where can I go? Shang Shuying was a little anxious.

Liu Jinzhong said with a smile: "Baby, we always have a place to go, your Shun clan is only five leaders, and the thirteen battalions of green battalions under my command are only four or five thousand people. It's a big deal to retreat to southern Jiangnan, let's defend Gannan for the Qing Dynasty together, and block Wang Fuchen and Wu Sangui from entering Jiangxi, this is always okay, right? But. What should you do? Chenzhou and Guiyang Prefecture in Hunan are only so little bit of territory that they can't support the hundreds of thousands of people in the Shang Domain, right? ”

I can't feed it!

Originally, Shang Zhixin's bottom line was to occupy Shaozhou and Huizhou, and then take a little territory in Hunan.

However, Liu Jinzhong's analysis is reasonable, and it is impossible for Wang Fuchen and Wang Zhongxiao not to accept Nanling. According to Guangdong, there is no Nanling, that is, if you buy a mansion without a gate, people can come in and move things at any time!

Although the Wang family's father and son can fight, the tiger also has a nap! If there was no Nanling Pass guarding, people would call at any time, and the Wang family would not even have time to react.

Moreover, the Guangdong township soldiers on the basis of the Wang family's armed forces are very good because they have a large number of people and low cost, but the township soldiers are for the people and need time to mobilize.

So the Wang family must occupy the Nanling danger.

With the loss of Shaozhou and Huizhou, Shang Zhixin has no place to go.

Gannan has already been targeted by Liu Jinzhong, and it's not enough! How much oil and water is there in a Gannan Mansion? How could it be possible to feed so many lords of the Shang family? As for grabbing land in Hunan. A little leftover material is possible, and a good site is not even a good one!

Wu Guogui didn't tear up the Shang family?

As for further north. To grab Li Zicheng's territory? Tired of living, right?

"W-what's going on?" Shang Zhixin was also anxious.

Shang Shuying was also anxious, and looked at Liu Jinzhong with resentment: "Brother Liu, you have to help my brother, if my family is ruined, even if we flee to southern Gansu, I'm afraid there won't be any good days, right?" Otherwise, as long as you can help my family, I will marry you as a housefiller, I am the county lord Gege, and I am also the wife of the Shun Domain, you marry me as a concubine, and the Shun Domain is also yours! ”

Liu Jinzhong laughed, then gritted his teeth and snorted: "What else can I do?" Either wait for death or give them a feast? ”

(End of chapter)