Chapter 3587
Chapter 3587
Chapter 3587
Zhou Sen never expected that Captain Wang would betray him at this critical juncture. Just as he was about to reprimand him for his audacity, Captain Wang's personal soldiers rushed forward, twisted his arms behind his back, pressed him to the ground, took out a rope and tied him up tightly in twos and threes.
At the end, he took out a piece of rag and stuffed it into Zhou Sen's mouth to stop him from speaking.
Judging from this smooth operation, there is no doubt that Captain Wang did not act on impulse, but was already planning to take down Zhou Sen.
Everyone present looked at each other in confusion, not understanding whether Captain Wang's action was out of personal grudge or he really intended to kidnap the magistrate and surrender.
Captain Wang was not from Liuhe County. He was transferred from another place this year to lead the garrison in the county. The local gentry were not very familiar with him. Seeing this scene, they didn't even dare to persuade him, for fear of getting themselves involved in vain.
Of course, there were also people who wanted to see Zhou Sen fall. After all, if Zhou Sen insisted on fighting the Hai Han army outside the city, it would be tantamount to dragging the entire city to his death. If no one stopped him, everyone in the city would be in trouble.
Captain Wang looked around at everyone and asked, "Do you have anything to say?"
Everyone looked at each other, no one dared to respond. Finally, Mr. Gu from Liufeng Academy responded tremblingly: "Sir, in extraordinary times, peace is the most important thing!"
Captain Wang smiled and said, "What Mr. Gu said is exactly what I think!"
Shi Chengwu outside the city was not in a hurry to launch an attack. He arranged for people to continue to call for surrender, while at the same time sending out some cavalry to scout around the city and confirm the conditions of several other city gates.
He summoned several combat staff to discuss how to attack the city.
The map of Liuhe County was already in the hands of the Hai Han army when they attacked Yingtian Prefecture last year. Although the city defenses were well built, the fleet led by Shi Chengwu was equipped with a large number of artillery and was able to break through the city with just firepower.
However, this operation did not receive the full support of the Executive Committee. The amount of ammunition was limited, and Shi Chengwu did not want to spend too much on the siege, so he still tried to find a relatively weak breakthrough point on the map to start from.
But before they could confirm their battle plan, someone came to report that the county had sent an envoy to negotiate peace and was willing to open the city and surrender.
"So fast?" Shi Chengwu was a little bit unbelievable.
After the troops he led arrived at Liuhe County, they only shouted to persuade the enemy to surrender and had not yet started to show force. Although he had previously ordered snipers to shoot at the shouters on the top of the city wall, the results of the battle had not even been confirmed.
This was just a scare, and the other side really opened the city and surrendered?
To prevent any accidents, Shi Chengwu ordered preparations for battle and required the people in the city to surrender by leaving the city through the designated Chengqing Gate.
Chengqing Gate was the only gate in the south of Liuhe County. Outside the gate was Longjin Bridge, which crossed the Chu River. People in the city had to cross the bridge to the south bank of the Chu River to surrender. The surrender site was 40 to 50 feet away from Chengqing Gate, so there was no need to worry about the enemy's tricks.
However, the surrender process went very smoothly, and the situation that Shi Chengwu was worried about did not happen. What surprised him the most was that Zhou Sen, the magistrate of Liuhe County, was carried out tied up, and it was the military leader Wang Qianhu in the city who decided to surrender. "I am Wang Bingzhong, and my brother Wang Bingxing is the shopkeeper of Xingda Bank in Yangzhou Prefecture. Last year, he was received by the senior officials of the Executive Committee in Hangzhou."
After listening to Captain Wang's self-introduction, Shi Chengwu immediately understood the reason.
He had also heard of the name of Xingdahang, one of the big merchants operating quartz sand mines in Liuhe County. It was said that half of the quartz sand ore shipped from Liuhe County to Yangzhou came from the mines operated by Xingdahang.
Although Xingdahang cannot compare with the traditional major salt merchants in Yangzhou, the industry it operates is definitely a top-notch business in Liuhe County, and it is definitely capable of donating an official position to Wang Bingzhong so that he can take care of his own business in Liuhe County.
If Xingdaxing wants to continue its mineral sand business, it certainly cannot offend Hai Han. If Liuhe County can be placed under the jurisdiction of Hai Han, it will save it a lot of trouble.
However, Wang Bingzhong was probably afraid of something unexpected happening, so he did not inform Hai Han beforehand, and did not start the uprising until the Hai Han army was at the gates of the city. His timing was very accurate. If it had been later, the Hai Han army's artillery shells might have already hit the top of the city.
As for the county magistrate Zhou Sen who was tied up and presented by Wang Bingzhong, Shi Chengwu did not make things difficult for him, but only ordered him to be detained first. When the various documents and materials in the county government were sorted out and counted later, Zhou Sen would inevitably be needed.
After all, the two countries were at war, each serving its own master. As a local official, it was not wrong for Zhou Sen to want to resist with all his might. What's more, he was captured by Wang Bingzhong before he could even cause any trouble.
As for the gentry who followed Wang Bingzhong out of the city to surrender, Shi Chengwu encouraged them with warm words, saying that they "know the overall situation and take the overall situation into consideration" and that he would ensure the safety of their families and property.
Under the command of Wang Bingzhong, the Ming troops stationed in the county filed out of the city to surrender their weapons, and were then escorted back to the military camp in the city by the Hai Han army and temporarily placed under house arrest awaiting their fate.
Although some Ming soldiers who were unwilling to surrender escaped by climbing over the wall in the north of the city, it did not affect the overall situation. If those people could escape the encirclement of the Hai Han cavalry outside the city, it was also their good fortune.
After the Hai Han army entered the city and took over the city defense, Shi Chengwu called Wang Bingzhong over and said to him, "Since you have been stationed in Liuhe County for a while, you must be familiar with the local situation. Would you like to organize the local prestigious gentry and elders to cooperate with our army to maintain order in the county?"
Wang Bingzhong naturally would not refuse. He agreed immediately and left happily.
Although Shi Chengwu did not give him an official title and it was only a temporary assignment, it undoubtedly ensured that after he lost his official hat of a thousand households, he would still have the opportunity to serve in Hai Han.
Not every official who surrenders to Hai Han can enjoy such seamless treatment.
The process of the Hai Han army taking over the county was very peaceful, and they basically encountered no resistance. They had completed their defenses inside and outside the county before dark.
Shi Chengwu personally led his men into the county government office to ensure that all official documents, real estate deeds, and household registration files were counted and received intact.
Some recent letters were also found in Zhou Sen's study, including a reply from the Fengyang Prefecture's Central Duliu Shousi refusing to send troops to reinforce Liuhe County.
Shi Chengwu couldn't help but laugh after reading it. If Fengyang Prefecture really sent reinforcements, Wang Bingzhong probably wouldn't be able to control the situation in the city so easily, and a battle would be inevitable. The Zhongdu garrison was afraid of fighting and protected itself, and watched Liuhe County get beaten, which saved itself a lot of trouble.