On August 15, the 27th year of Chongzhen, Prince Ding Zhu Cijiong led his troops to Wuqiao.
Wuqiao is located in the southern part of Hejian Prefecture, Zhili.
Forty miles to the south is Dezhou, Shandong, and twenty miles to the west is the canal.
Since materials at that time were mainly transported to the capital via the canal, Wuqiao's geographical location was very important.
Zhu Cijiong asked the local officials in Wuqiao: "What's the situation in Dezhou?"
"Your Highness, Dezhou is still in our hands. However, the ancient city and Wucheng to the southwest of Dezhou, and Lingxian and Pingyuan counties to the south of Dezhou have all fallen into the hands of the rebels."
Zhu Cijiong frowned and continued to ask: "How long can the grain stored in Wuqiao's treasury last?"
"How many soldiers does Your Highness have?"
"Eight thousand cavalry."
A Wuqiao official calculated: "Ten days at most."
Zhu Cixiong continued to ask: "How much grain is stored in the Dezhou treasury?"
Another Wuqiao official bowed and said, "Your Highness, when the rebels set out, they cut off the grain transport. The grain in the south could not be transported to the north. In order to gather enough grain and grass for the army to pacify Liao, the court confiscated grain and grass from the treasuries of various places in Shandong."
"If I remember correctly, the grain stored in Dezhou Prefecture is no more than 1,000 dan."
The wrinkles on Zhu Cijiong's forehead deepened.
The eight thousand cavalrymen under his command are all elite.
At least one person rides two horses, and at most one person rides three horses.
In order to prevent war horses from losing weight, they are fed grain along with grass.
One thousand dan of grain was only enough for them to eat for one or two days.
Now he has soldiers but no generals.
It is not advisable to send troops to fight before Li Dingguo and Li Xianzhong arrive.
But according to preliminary estimates.
It would take at least ten days for Li Dingguo and others to return to Dengzhou, Shandong from Korea.
It takes another three or four days to get to Wuqiao from Dengzhou.
The food and grass in Wuqiao and Dezhou were only enough for eleven or twelve days.
In order to prevent the army from running out of food.
He had to find a way to get food.
After pondering for a while, Zhu Cijiong continued to ask: "Where is Zhu Guobi's main force?"
The Wuqiao officials looked at each other, and the local magistrate whispered, "According to the merchants passing by, Zhu Guobi is leading the main force of the rebels to besiege Jinan Prefecture."
"How is the battle going?"
"The rebels should not be able to capture Jinan Prefecture in a short period of time."
"Why?"
"Because the defenders had placed the portrait of Emperor Shenzong (Wanli) and the tablets of the gods on the city wall, the rebels did not dare to bombard the city with artillery and could only use ladders to attack. The defenders were in a commanding position and had a clear advantage."
"Ah?" Zhu Cijiong was shocked by the news.
However, he quickly recovered and praised: "Adapting to local conditions and applying knowledge flexibly, Jinan Prefecture is indeed full of talents."
The officials kept silent and dared not respond.
They had no idea whether using Wanli, who had died many years ago, as a shield was a practical application or a heinous crime.
After further questioning, Zhu Cixiong learned that Ma Shiying was besieging Kaifeng Prefecture.
Zheng Zhilong also changed his previous attitude of keeping his troops stationed and not advancing, and led his troops to attack Fushan Qiansuo (Qingdao).
How to get food?
After Zhu Cijiong pondered for a long time, an idea suddenly occurred to his mind.
He didn't need to send out troops to get food.
This is a civil war, not a foreign war.
When you are at war, there are enemies everywhere.
The boundary between enemies and friends in a civil war is not clear.
The officials guarding the city will selectively take sides based on the actual situation.
After weighing the pros and cons.
Zhu Cijiong dispatched 5,000 cavalry.
Before they set out, an unknown number of the Imperial Guards had already set out.
They sneaked into Gucheng, Wucheng, Lingxian and Pingyuan counties respectively.
They first spread the news in the city that Zhu Cixiong was leading 100,000 border troops south.
When the people in the city were in panic, they posted manifestos in the city overnight.
Tell the people and local officials that everything is fine with the Ming Emperor Chongzhen.
The Nanjing side rebelled under the slogan of serving the king.
These two pieces of news quickly caused an uproar in the city.
Just when they were at a loss, Zhu Cijiong led his troops to the outside of the old city.
Five thousand cavalrymen lined up in a row and arrayed themselves in the north of the old city.
Looking at the flags waving in the distance.
The defenders of Gucheng County looked at each other in bewilderment at the well-equipped cavalry under the flag.
Many of them had no armor.
On the other hand, the cavalry outside the city, not to mention the people, even their horses were covered in armor.
At that time.
The Ming army's tactics of coordinated operations among infantry, cavalry and artillery had become very mature.
Although cavalry would not participate in sieges, their arrival meant that infantry and artillery would follow.
They had long heard that there were craftsmen in the capital who were skilled in casting red cannons.
Not only is the quality good, but the key is that it is also filling.
And the price is shockingly low.
Looking at the dilapidated city walls, the defenders, who were already few in number, lost all hope of resistance.
At this time they had only one idea: they must persuade the other side to surrender before taking action.
Zhu Cijiong pointed to the top of the old city and said, "Come on, go to the city and persuade them to surrender."
"Yes." A Shaanxi cavalryman rode forward and arrived at the foot of the ancient city.
"Listen, defenders on the city. His Royal Highness Prince Ding has been ordered to go south to quell the rebellion. Hearing that you have surrendered to the rebels, His Royal Highness Prince Ding is extremely angry. However, God is merciful. As long as you open the city gates and surrender to His Royal Highness Prince Ding, the past will be forgiven."
"If not, the army will attack the city immediately!"
The defenders all looked at their general.
The general looked at the officials of Gucheng County.
Military generals have always been suppressed by civil officials, and they also have to look at the faces of civil officials.
The magistrate of Gucheng shook his head and said to everyone very cleverly: "Everyone, the imperial reinforcements have arrived! Quickly open the city gates and let them in."
Why?
Everyone present was stunned by the magistrate's wit.
After they came to their senses, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
No war means no deaths.
Just being alive is better than anything else.
They lowered the drawbridge and opened the city gates.
Show a gesture of surrender.
Zhu Cijiong, who was far away, was frightened and thought that the other side was going to send troops out of the city to fight.
Just as he was nervously about to dispatch troops, the Ming army that had persuaded him to surrender rode back and reported: "Your Highness Prince Ding, upon hearing that Your Highness had arrived, Gucheng County opened the city and surrendered."
"Oh!" Zhu Cijiong also breathed a sigh of relief: "At least they are sensible."
At this time, officials and soldiers in the city had lined up to welcome Zhu Cijiong.
Zhu Cijiong was very happy and planned to ride into the city on horseback.
The guard next to him reminded: "Your Highness, wait a minute, beware of a trick."
Zhu Cijiong shook his head gently: "Don't worry, the Jinyiwei has already figured out the situation in the city."
The personal soldiers couldn't say much and could only surround Zhu Cijiong and move forward together.
After accepting the surrender outside the city, Zhu Cijiong remembered the cavalry who had tried to persuade him to surrender.
He called the man over and asked, "What's your name? Where are you from?"
The cavalryman dismounted and knelt on one knee: "Your Highness, I am General Yue Zhenbang, from Zhenyongtai Fort, Gansu."
Zhu Cijiong was stunned: "Surname Yue? Could it be the descendant of Yue Wumu (Yue Fei)?"
Yue Zhenbang raised his head and said, "Your Highness, I am the nineteenth generation grandson of Yue Wumu."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
