Chapter 263: Catching a Turtle in a Jar
"Not really. You usually have so many people protecting me. I'm afraid even the city lord's personal guards don't have as many as I do." Luo Qingzhou felt a little sick at what he said. "Okay, then I'll just live on and wait for Minister Jiang to come and save me, okay?"
Ah Tao, however, was only concerned about the firearms. With excitement, he said to Jiang Yongkang, "Minister, when are we going to attack the city? With these firearms, we don't have to wait for Zhu Kui's men to attack together. We can just charge directly with the firearms, and the gates of Xiangshui Prefecture will be blown open, right?"
"That's right, Minister! Let's charge in and occupy Xiangshui Prefecture first. Then Xiangshui Prefecture will be our territory! When Zhu Kui comes, we can drive him away! Before, we were afraid of his large numbers, but now we are not afraid of him!"
"But we are still allied with Zhu Kui. Wouldn't it be inappropriate to abandon him right after we get firearms?"
"That's wrong! We are soldiers, and Zhu Kui is our enemy. We must be ruthless when dealing with our enemies."
"Hey, hey, hey, Lao Guo, why are you swearing again? Didn't the city lord say that we should be civilized? Last month, the mobile red flag was given to Chang Zi's class because you spit everywhere. If you do this again this month, be careful that the squad leader will beat you up!"
"I agree with Old Guo. Zhu Kui's troops are exhausted after fighting all this way. Let's first capture Xiangshui Prefecture and then catch him off guard! Drive him back home and reclaim those cities he's occupied!"
Jiang Yongkang fell into deep thought.
This group of people didn't know that Zhang Wanjun was leading people to surround them from behind and steal Zhu Kui's hometown, so they had to buy her a few days.
Besides, now that they have firearms, the combat strategy has to change slightly.
Although Zhu Kui's strategy is somewhat lacking, he is loyal and brave, and his brain is quite agile. If we can bring him together and train him...
Well, judging by Xu Zhenying's attitude, he will definitely attack Bianjing City sooner or later. It would be better to recruit some people early to fill the vacancies of military generals as soon as possible.
"Don't rush." Jiang Yongkang waited until his soldiers had finished their chatter before he slowly spoke. "This firearm is extraordinary. What if it injures the civilians in the city? What's more, the city's defender, Wang Yi, is known for his ruthlessness and regards human life as worthless. He must have taken many civilians hostage at this moment. We must do our best to avoid harming innocent people."
This really stumped the soldiers.
In the past, they always believed that as long as they could capture a city, they would have achieved military merit. However, after taking economics classes, they realized that war is actually about consuming resources, so the cost of every war must be calculated.
This cost includes but is not limited to military pay, food, clothing, and medicine supplies in the rear, as well as compensation for soldiers' casualties, civilian casualties, and infrastructure reconstruction.
When other people fight, they just charge into battle, but they have to calculate the cost before setting out.
But if you do the math this way, many of them will have a balance of pros and cons in their minds.
So the question is, is this battle worth fighting?
If the investment is too high, the casualties are too great, and even the entire state has to be mobilized, then what is the point of this battle?
What's more, the city lord always said that talent is the most valuable resource. Therefore, when they calculated the cost of war, they began to unconsciously regard civilian casualties as a very important cost indicator.
"Okay, then everyone should think about how to avoid more casualties when using firearms. When we have a good idea, we can blast open the gates of Xiangshui Prefecture!"
Jiang Yongkang said this and left.
However, Jiang Yongkang and others obviously underestimated Wang Yi's shamelessness.
More than 10,000 of them set up camp on the plain ten kilometers away from Xiangshui Prefecture. When it was late at night and everyone was asleep, they suddenly heard soldiers shouting "surprise attack" and "fire". Jiang Yongkang was awakened by the smoke and fire. When he opened his eyes, he smelled thick smoke and there seemed to be a fire in a corner of the tent!
When I opened my eyes, the tent was already on fire.
Fortunately, the soldiers did not panic. They divided the work and cooperated in an orderly manner. Some people went to catch the attackers, while others organized to put out the fire with wet cotton clothes and soil.
The fire was not big and was quickly put out.
However, there was a panic in the camp.
Everyone was holding back their anger.
It's easy to guess that it was Wang Yi from Xiangshui Prefecture who launched the sneak attack!
"Minister Jiang, the arsonist is so vicious! He actually used black kerosene! Once this stuff sticks to you, there's no way to extinguish it. You can only put it out with your own hands! If the brothers hadn't been alert and discovered it early, our entire camp would have burned down!"
"Minister Jiang, I saw people from Xiangshui Prefecture coming over from that hill. There are at least one or two hundred archers!"
Jiang Yongkang immediately called out, "Where's Luo Qingzhou? Is his tent okay?"
Everyone knew how important Luo Qingzhou was to Jinzhou Prefecture, so they immediately rushed towards Luo Qingzhou.
Someone immediately replied, "Dean Luo is fine, the fire didn't reach him!"
Only then did everyone feel relieved!
Soon, A Tao and others caught the people who shot the arrows. These people did not run fast, so they were all caught at this moment.
Then Ah Tao yelled angrily, "Damn the Han people! How cunning! They actually let a bunch of women and children wear their military uniforms to set fire!"
Someone nearby immediately corrected him: "It's the Han people from the Great Zhou Dynasty who are hateful!"
Ah Tao scratched his head and immediately said heartlessly: "Yes, yes, the Han people of the Great Zhou Dynasty are cunning! The Han people of Qianzhou Prefecture are not cunning, they are smart!"
Everyone knew that A Tao was a simple-minded person and no one took it to heart.
Their attention was focused on the person that Atao had captured.
Only then did they realize that the people they had captured were not soldiers at all. They were so thin that they were just skin and bones. Among them were women, teenagers, and old people. They were wearing military uniforms that did not belong to them, which made them look out of place. It was also difficult to see them clearly in the dark.
At this moment, they all looked at Jiang Yongkang and others in horror, their bodies shaking like sieves.
"My dear officials, please don't kill me! I had no choice. General Wang captured my mother and threatened to kill her if I didn't kill you!"
"Me too, me too! That damned Wang Yi kidnapped my wife and children and forced us to kill and burn people, saying that if he killed one of you, he would kill one of my family members! I was forced into this!"
"Gentlemen, please have mercy! I don't want to come, but if I don't come, my son will die!"
"I beg you, gentlemen, to quickly take down Xiangshui Prefecture. Ever since our Xiangshui Prefecture was conquered by the two Li Kings, they have been burning, killing, and looting all day long, stealing either food or women. They also forced us to pay half of our taxes, saying that if we don't pay, our entire family will be killed! Our prefect was such a good man, but they chopped off his head, and even spared no one in the family, young or old, and killed them all!"
Upon hearing this, the soldiers from Jinzhou Prefecture were so angry that their faces turned red and they couldn't help spitting and cursing.
"Damn it, is this Wang Yi still human? He actually threatened the unarmed civilians to charge into battle!"
"That's right! What kind of soldier is he if he kills civilians? Come and kill us if you dare!"
"General, I see that Wang Yi is so arrogant, why don't we attack the city right now!"
Jiang Yongkang was also furious. He quickly calculated Zhang Wanjun's marching time in his mind and thought that if he captured the city first and then delayed Zhu Kui in the city, he could also buy time. So he waved his arm and said, "Okay, let's attack the city immediately!"
The soldiers all cheered.
They have been setting up camp for the past few days. Looking at the brand new firearms, they have been itching to push the firearms to the battlefield to show off their power.
Fortunately, this moment is finally here!
Ah Tao pointed at the group of people shivering on the ground and asked, "What should we do with these people?"
"Let them go back!"
Jiang Yongkang was immediately refuted, "No, if we let these people go, what if they tip off Wang Yi?"
"And letting them go back would be a dead end!"
"Let them go back!" Jiang Yongkang insisted, and then said to the people, "When you go back, tell the people of Xiangshui Prefecture that we are coming to attack the city in the next few days. We have powerful weapons in our hands, and tell the people to hide."
The soldiers present were silent upon hearing this.
A Tao didn't understand why he had to protect the people of Xiangshui Prefecture?
Those are the people of Xiangshui Prefecture, not the people of Jinzhou Prefecture or Qianzhou Prefecture!
They will occupy the city at any cost, and the people who sincerely surrender are their people!
In A Tao's opinion, this approach of not distinguishing between friend and foe is just too soft-hearted!
But A Tao also knew that the person in power in Jinzhou Prefecture always valued the people and would never kill innocent people unless it was absolutely necessary.
Grandpa often said that this was the "kindness" of a great man.
A Tao doesn't understand.
The thing that the world lacks the least is people. Besides, this world is a world where the strong prey on the weak, and it has been like this since ancient times. If you don’t want to be eaten, you have to become strong. What’s wrong with this rule?
But A Tao didn't dare to tell Jiang Yongkang this.
The soldiers from Qianzhou clearly looked disapproving, but due to Jiang Yongkang's pressure, few dared to speak out in opposition.
The group of people immediately kowtowed to Jiang Yongkang with tears of gratitude, and then walked back supporting each other.
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When Zhu Kui led his 40,000 troops to Xiangshui Prefecture after much hardship, he was shocked to find that the people in Xiangshui Prefecture seemed to have changed.
In the distance, a huge red flag rustled in the wind, with a huge "Xu" written on it. Looking at the soldiers on the city wall, they all had long hair and wore strange clothes. Aren't they the green-headed thieves from Qianzhou Prefecture?
Zhu Kui and his men were stunned.
Although it was not difficult to defeat the refugees under the command of the two Li kings, they were outnumbered. After one group died, another group rushed up.
Coming from Fancheng and entering the territory of the Big and Small Li Kings, they suffered several waves of attacks.
In addition, although their casualties were not many as they captured cities along the way, they were still in a miserable state.
The soldiers from Pianxiangshui Prefecture were dressed neatly and looked energetic, as if they were waiting for them.
"General Zhu, is that someone from Qianzhou Prefecture?"
"Did they capture Xiangshui Prefecture so quickly?"
"There are 50,000 troops stationed in Xiangshui Prefecture. It's only been a few days. How did they manage to take Xiangshui Prefecture down?"
"Could it be that they have reinforcements?"
"General, should we go in now or not?"
This immediately set off alarm bells in Zhu Kui and the others' hearts. "Don't panic yet. Send a few people to gather some information."
A scout had already circled Xiangshui Prefecture and immediately reported to Zhu Kui after reuniting with the main army. However, the scout's eyes were bloodshot and his face looked like he was dreaming. "It's a monster! Those who came from Qianzhou Prefecture are all monsters! General, we can't defeat them, let's run!"
Zhu Kui slapped the man twice, causing him to feel pain in the face. It took him a long time to recover. With a look of fear on his face, he said, "General Zhu, these demons have powerful weapons. The other day, just as I arrived near Xiangshui Prefecture, I heard a loud bang in the sky, and the entire ground was shaking... Then the city wall was blown away! I saw it clearly. Not only the city wall, but even the people on it were flying. Their arms, legs, and heads were all moved! There was also a burning smell!"
"You're talking nonsense! Where in the world is there such a powerful weapon? This must be some kind of magic!"
"Really!" The scout shuddered, trembling all over as he recalled the scene that day. "Later, I rode over at full speed and discovered that their weapons were several kilometers away from the city wall and had actually penetrated it! I heard them call them firearms!"
When Zhu Kui heard this, his face changed drastically!
"Is there really such a powerful weapon?"
"That's right! Later I went around the city again and heard the locals say that the heavens and the earth shook that day, like a dragon turning over! Everyone was terrified that day! Wang Yi from Xiangshui Prefecture was blown away more than ten feet before he landed and died on the spot!"
Just by imagining it, people felt that the scene was weird and scary!
Those who initially thought he was talking in his sleep were now all listening with serious expressions, their scalps tingling.
"It only took a few shots from the firearms for everyone on the city wall to be wiped out! Seeing this, the Li Kings' men didn't dare to fight at all. They simply raised the white flag in surrender and happily welcomed the people from Qianzhou into the city!"
Zhu Kui grabbed the scout's collar and asked, "What are the casualties among the people in Qianzhou?"
“Nothing hurt!”
"Bullshit!" Zhu Kui spat. "I don't believe there's such a powerful weapon in this world!"
"General, if you don't believe me, just go to the west gate and take a look! There are several huge holes in the wall there, and they're still patching it up!"
Upon hearing this, Zhu Kui immediately spurred his horse and galloped towards the west gate.
Zhu Kui couldn't imagine that there was such a powerful weapon in the world, and he couldn't imagine how they could fight against Qianzhou Prefecture with such a weapon?
Several generals behind him hurriedly followed.
When he arrived near the west city gate and saw the huge and earth-shaking battlefield remains from afar, Zhu Kui felt his scalp tingling!
The city wall looked as if it had been punched in from nowhere, with huge holes everywhere. One could even see the buildings of Xiangshui Prefecture inside. The official road was blasted to pieces, and the air seemed to be filled with an indescribable smell, like smoke. The people of the Great Zhou Dynasty, who had never seen fireworks, naturally didn't know that it was the smell of gunpowder.
After seeing the miraculous ruins with his own eyes, Zhu Kui finally believed in the existence of the amazing weapon.
But then I felt nervous.
If the other side uses this weapon on a large scale on the battlefield in the future, will there still be a need for them to compete with each other?
Yesterday's Wang Yi is just like them today. In the future, they will be just like Wang Yi and can only hand over the city.
Fight, how to fight?
This weapon can even blow up something as solid as a city wall. If they, with their flesh and blood bodies, rush forward, they will only die!
Xu Zhenying.
For the first time, the name of this traitor was deeply engraved in Zhu Kui's mind.
Just thinking of this name, Zhu Kui felt a chill down his spine.
He seemed to see the unknown and huge figure through the ruins.
Several generals who followed also fell silent.
How do we fight this battle?
With just one glance, they wanted to pack up and return to Fancheng, and then pray day and night that the iron hoof of Qianzhou Prefecture would not continue to expand eastward.
Someone came to his senses and shouted, "General, we must inform His Majesty the King as soon as possible!"
"General, shall we continue the siege?"
"Attack the city? How do we attack? Tell me how to attack?!"
"But we've come all this way here. Are we going to hand over Xiangshui Prefecture to these green-headed thieves?! If the King of Ming were to ask, how would we explain it? Are we going to be so intimidated by seeing their powerful weapons that we're paralyzed?"
They had previously thought that they could rely on the overwhelming number of troops to fight their way from Xiangshui Prefecture to Qianzhou Prefecture. Now, these big black holes and dilapidated city walls were like a slap in their faces.
Zhu Kui made a decision almost immediately, "Return to Fancheng immediately!"
But it was too late.
Someone's face suddenly changed, and he looked ashen. "General, the people from Qianzhou Prefecture are here!"
This was the first time they met someone from Jinzhou Prefecture.
In the past, they only knew that there was a small rebel in the southwest named Xu or something, whose subordinates were all refugees, and he was not a force to be reckoned with. He had never expanded outward in the past year, and in terms of momentum and strength, he was completely inferior to the two Li kings and the Zhoushan King.
A mob.
They expected that as long as the imperial court had the time, defeating them would be like playing a game, they would scatter with one attack, and Qianzhou and Jinzhou could be easily taken back.
I also heard that people over there like to have short hair, and both men and women have short hair that is an inch long, so they habitually call them the Green-headed Rebels.
But now, after seeing the dilapidated and blown-away city wall, and then looking at this group of people, Zhu Kui and others felt uncomfortable.
Not to mention their weird attire and green hair, the soldiers from Qianzhou Prefecture were all strong and muscular, with bright eyes. Their momentum alone was enough to completely overwhelm them!
Everyone was already feeling timid and knew they would not be able to leave, so they had no choice but to move forward.
Jiang Yongkang arrived on horseback with several hundred men. Seeing Zhu Kui at the front, he immediately dismounted and greeted him with a smile and a bow. "This must be General Zhu Kui, right? I saw your men from afar. Why don't you go into the city now that you're here?"
This sentence made everyone present feel a pang of fear.
They were still far away from Xiangshui Prefecture, at least ten kilometers away. How did these people know that they were here?
Zhu Kui's heart was a little trembling, but he smiled broadly on the surface: "No, no, I just heard that there was an earthquake in Xiangshui Prefecture a few days ago, so I thought I would check around and see what's going on."
"It's not an earthquake." Jiang Yongkang didn't hide it from them. "It's a new weapon developed by our city lord. It's quite powerful, and this is the first time it's been used on the battlefield. Look how much holes it's ripped into the city wall. We'll have to repair it later! What a hassle!"
Everyone's eyelids twitched as they heard this, and they didn't dare to respond. Only Zhu Kui smiled and said, "Weapons? Developed by your city lord? I'm a little curious, what kind of weapon can penetrate the city wall?"
"If you're curious, you can go into the city and take a look."
Zhu Kui was stunned. "Can we... watch?"
"Why not?" Jiang Yongkang laughed heartily and put his arm around Zhu Kui's shoulders, as if they were brothers who hadn't seen each other for a long time. "We have made an alliance. Since we have an alliance, we are family. What's wrong with family? Besides, it's not a precious thing. There are plenty of them in Jinzhou Prefecture! Well, let's put these things aside for now. Come on, General Zhu is a guest from afar. Let's go into the city first and talk!"
Zhu Kui's mind was full of the firearm, and he was also eager to understand the situation in Jinzhou Prefecture. Now that Jiang Yongkang invited him so warmly, he could only agree wholeheartedly.
It was only when he entered Xiangshui Prefecture that Zhu Kui discovered this unique place.
A newly breached city was bound to be in ruins, and casualties were inevitable. However, the people of Xiangshui Prefecture were mostly happy and well-organized, showing no signs of fear after the city was breached.
There were quite a lot of soldiers patrolling the city. When Zhu Kui walked in, he found that there were two patrolmen on almost every street to help the people resume production.
What is most commendable is that Zhu Kui keenly discovered that the people of Xiangshui Prefecture did not seem to be afraid of this group of green-headed bandits, and even had a very good relationship with them.
After walking around and looking around like this, Zhu Kui felt even more frightened and dared not underestimate these rebels who came from the remote countryside.
If he is a traitor, then King Ming is also a traitor. Who is nobler than who?
But the rebels here exude an unusual flavor everywhere.
Not to mention the firearm.
As they walked, Jiang Yongkang said, "The people of Xiangshui Prefecture have been living in dire straits. Ever since the Li Kings occupied this place, they've been forcing them to pay taxes. Key positions are filled with illiterate peasants who know nothing about farming seasons, astronomy, the calendar, or geomancy. This has left the people destitute and impoverished. That's why the people welcome us."
Zhu Kui laughed dryly.
Jiang Yongkang's words made him even more uncertain.
It sounds like the people in Qianzhou Prefecture and Jinzhou Prefecture are very knowledgeable about government affairs.
Didn’t I hear that there are refugees over there?
Zhu Kui was determined to test their strength, and he also thought that since he had the support of the Ming King, if the man from Jinzhou Prefecture knew how to behave, he would not make things difficult for him. Therefore, he boldly followed Jiang Yongkang to visit Xiangshui Prefecture.
"General Zhu, you came all the way from Fancheng. How was the battle on the way?"
Zhu Kui paused for a moment, "After receiving your secret letter, we immediately assembled our army and marched out. Within a month, we captured Zhaoxian, Yangxian, Zhaoping, and other places one after another."
"It seems you've reaped a good harvest this time." Jiang Yongkang's face was beaming, yet he didn't give off an oppressive vibe. Born the son of a wealthy merchant, he possessed a slick side. "But the Li Kings, Big and Small, are all refugees, and they're not immune to attack. Our men charged, and they practically abandoned the city and fled. Speaking of which, while the Li Kings may be renowned, they're actually just charlatans. Now that we've driven their men back to the hinterland, it'll be difficult for them to stage a comeback."
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