Chapter 3590
Chapter 3590
Chapter 3590
After Shi Chengwu captured Liuhe County, he stayed there for another five days to confirm that social order in the county had gradually returned to normal. Tao Hongfang had already transferred several officials from Nanjing to Liuhe County to form a temporary management committee and began to take over various local government affairs before announcing that he would move to the next target.
Shi Chengwu left two infantry companies in Liuhe County, cooperating with more than 300 militiamen transferred from Nanjing, Yangzhou and other places to maintain local public security.
After weighing the pros and cons between County Magistrate Zhou Sen and Captain Wang Bingzhong, who had already become enemies, Shi Chengwu decided to keep Zhou Sen, who was more familiar with local government affairs.
Shi Chengwu had no interest in transferring a surrendered general like Wang Bingzhong who had no military talent to the Hai Han army. However, considering that he had made great contributions in surrendering the city, his subsequent placement could not be too sloppy. So he found a reason to send Wang Bingzhong to Yangzhou and asked them to arrange a position for him that was not related to the military.
Jiangpu and Liuhe counties are adjacent to each other, but the straight-line distance between the two county towns is more than 80 miles, and the official road is about 120 to 130 miles. It takes about three days for a large army to travel.
Shi Chengwu adopted a similar strategy as before, sending cavalry troops to advance along the official road between the two counties and eliminate the armed forces along the way.
Jiangpu County may not have the strength to set up layers of defense and organize a resistance force, but in times of war, it is inevitable that there will be civilian armed organizations such as bandits and robbers, as well as some landlord armed forces that spontaneously resist foreign enemies. These will inevitably be targets of the Hai Han army.
The main force and baggage were still transported by water. Although the voyage was longer than the land route, the actual time spent on the journey was much shorter. They could reach their destination the next day after setting out on the first day. This would greatly save physical strength during the march and ensure that the troops could be put into battle as soon as possible after arriving in Jiangpu County.
Jiangpu County had its county seat only after the Ming Dynasty. However, the original county seat was built on the river bank and was repeatedly flooded by floods in the summer. It only lasted for a dozen years before it became unusable, and the county was forced to move the seat of government seven or eight miles inland from the river bank.
However, the construction of the new county town was delayed for more than a hundred years until the Wanli period, when Japanese pirates attacked the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. The construction of the new Jiangpu county town was organized. First, an earthen city was built, then a brick city was built, and then moats were dug in the east, south, and west of the city to divert river water. It took eleven years to complete.
However, the scale of this new county town was much smaller than that of its neighbor Liuhe County. The circumference of the city wall was only five miles, two meters high, and it had five city gates.
The water in the moat flows eastward into the Yangtze River, but the river is only a dozen feet wide and several feet deep in the lower reaches, so its navigability is extremely limited. A slightly larger ship cannot turn around after entering. Shi Diwen did not dare to take the risk of letting the fleet enter, so he could only land on the bank of the Yangtze River and then advance towards the county.
Fortunately, he was prepared for this and had transferred several steam-powered inland river armed patrol boats from the other side of the Yangtze River in advance. Although the space for carrying personnel on such patrol boats was limited, they were perfect for transporting the troops' supplies. Moreover, they were small in size and could turn around in narrow waters, making it convenient to make multiple trips back and forth.
Although Zhou Sen had sent a letter of persuasion to Jiangpu County a few days ago, Shi Chengwu would not pin all his hopes on it. He still made preparations for the siege and even transported more than a dozen cannons to the front line.
The fall of the neighboring Liuhe County must have put great pressure on the Jiangpu government. Since the landing, there was no resistance, and the troops entered the county smoothly.
Before the positions were set up, the county gates opened and several people came out, demanding to negotiate on behalf of the local government. It was obvious that they had no intention of putting up an armed resistance.
The conditions proposed by the local government were also very simple. If the personal and property safety of all people in the city were guaranteed and they could leave Jiangpu County freely, then they could open the city and surrender. If Jiangpu County could be taken peacefully, Shi Chengwu naturally did not want to cause trouble, so he immediately agreed. However, he then curiously asked why the local government had no intention of resisting at all, and the answer he got was somewhat beyond his expectations.
Shi Chengwu originally thought that Zhou Sen's letter of persuasion had some effect, but who knew it had nothing to do with Jiangpu County's attitude. Because the recipient of the letter, Bi Lao, the magistrate of Jiangpu County, died of a sudden illness a few days ago, but before Zhou Sen's letter was delivered to Jiangpu County.
Just when the county government lost its backbone, news came that Liuhe County had fallen. A battalion of Ming troops originally stationed in Jiangpu County actually fled to Chuzhou in the north under the leadership of their commander, under the pretext of "luring the enemy deep into their territory."
As a result, Jiangpu County lost its top leader and the garrison troops fled, so the opinion of surrender naturally prevailed immediately - didn't you see that after the surrender of Liuhe County next door, the local area was peaceful and there was no chaos? So why bother to fight to the death?
So after discussing it, the county government decided to surrender when the Hai Han army was approaching the city. However, they were not as hasty as Wang Bingzhong of Liuhe County. They first negotiated terms with the Hai Han army outside the city and then implemented the subsequent surrender arrangements, which was consistent with Zhou Sen's thinking.
Shi Chengwu had imagined all kinds of situations he would encounter in Jiangpu County, but he never thought that the defenders would actually flee at the sight of him. It was like punching cotton, soft and without any force.
But on second thought, this saves a lot of trouble in the takeover process, which is also an excellent result.
However, Shi Chengwu was very disappointed with the financial situation of Jiangpu County. The economic situation here was originally weaker than that of the neighboring Liuhe County. When the garrison withdrew, they took away most of the money in the county government's treasury and more than half of the grain in the official warehouse in the city in the name of requisitioning military funds.
Although what is left for Hai Han is not completely blank, there is indeed not much left.
Fortunately, the proportion of people fleeing from Jiangpu County is slightly lower than that in neighboring Liuhe County. After that, the progress of restoring social order and normal production will definitely be faster than that in Liuhe County.
After taking over the defense inside and outside the county, Shi Chengwu ordered a telegram to be sent to Nanjing and Hangzhou to inform them of the progress here.
As far as the predetermined goals set before the start of this operation are concerned, Shi Chengwu can be said to have successfully completed the task, and the consumption was much smaller than expected.
There was almost no large-scale fighting during the entire operation, and the county towns of the two counties were captured without bloodshed. If compared with the process of attacking Yingtian Prefecture last year, it was a world of difference.
The only thing that made Shi Chengwu feel a little regretful was that he seemed to have organized this operation a little late. For an area that could be taken over so easily, he should have acted earlier.
This also prompted him to think about another question, that is, whether other prefectures in the Jianghuai region were also like these two counties, and had become frightened birds, and could be easily defeated by simply sending troops and preparing an offensive posture.