Chapter 1041
: The Rebellion in Southern Beijing is Suppressed
Chapter 1041: The Rebellion in Southern Beijing is Suppressed
"Ohh Ohh ohh!"
Not for a moment,
The camp's horn blew hastily, and then the camp commanders began to shout. Then, the camp gathered the soldiers, marched out, and lined up outside the camp gate.
Many generals who were still eating hurriedly put down their bowls and chopsticks, put on their armor and mounted their horses, gathered their troops and marched out. In a short while, outside the camp, more than 100,000 vanguard troops were ready to go.
Zhang Jinyu was also wearing a precious armor at this moment. The golden armor sparkled brightly under the morning light.
"Ningbian, pass the order, the main army will move forward, and the siege towers and battering rams will move forward together. The central army and the rear army will wait in the main camp."
"Yes, Lord Marquis,"
Ningbyon immediately dispatched messengers to the left and right to pass the order around. Outside the main camp, messengers from various units hurriedly rode their horses and shouted urgently;
"The Marquis has ordered that the army march forward to exert pressure, and then attack the city."
"The Marquis has ordered that the army march forward to exert pressure, and then attack the city."
For a time,
The wind and clouds are changing,
More than 100,000 troops from the Beijing camp came from the south with overwhelming momentum, their murderous aura piercing the sky and rushing straight to Shizhou City.
Zhang Jinyu rode on a black horse and walked in the front, looking at Shizhou City from time to time. At this moment, the enemy troops on the top of the city were already in a panic. The traps under the city had long been filled and leveled by Yang Shixiong's troops. As for Shizhou City, it was built on a gentle slope and high ground, so it was indeed difficult to attack.
But today, whether to fight or not is secondary. Just like what King Jin said, conquering the heart is the most important thing. If they can really surrender, there will be fewer casualties.
Halfway through the journey,
Inside Shizhou City, there were also sounds of horns and drums.
On the top of the city wall, Captain Lu and Master Tian hurried over. Their eyes were red and their faces were blue, as if they had not slept all night. Looking south along the city wall, the imperial army was already approaching.
"Captain, what should we do? Should we flee, fight, or..."
With a gentle hum,
The last word "surrender" could not be uttered, but the secret report came at midnight last night, the guardian asked them to withdraw, but Yangping was lost, and the main force of the White Lotus Sect was defeated under the county city. Overnight, the situation was reversed. God can be a witness. They have been guarding until now.
"There should be a rule for how to fight, how to escape, and how to surrender. Fortunately, I wrote a reply yesterday, so there is room for maneuver."
Lu Chuanjiang frowned. Last night, the guardian ordered him to lead 30,000 elite soldiers to the west to Maping Mountain. All of them were not allowed to wear armor and pretend to be refugees. However, the imperial army was at the gate of the city. How could they escape? Luo Yunhou's cavalry had already deployed on the left and right wings.
"Then, Captain, you mean to surrender?"
Tian Ziang felt relieved. He also saw the cavalry under the city. As the saying goes, no matter how fast a creature with two legs can run, it can never outrun a creature with four legs. So, even if he led his army out of the city, it would be luck if he could escape the pursuit of the cavalry. So, it would be fine to surrender, but he had to negotiate about his life and property.
"What do you say? We have no elite soldiers inside and no reinforcements outside. Even if we want to escape, we need the right time and place. Now Marquis Luo Yun is leading the troops under the city. I have no hope of escaping. If you want to escape, leave immediately. I will delay you here."
Now Lu Chuanjiang has given up hope. Ever since he reunited with the Dharma Protector Master, the Beidu Master has been controlled in every way. And this time, in order to survive, why did they choose him? Looking at the Master Tian in front of him, he thought he was the Dharma Protector's confidant, but now it seems that he is just a discarded pawn.
Perhaps he saw the meaning in the helmsman's eyes, Tian Ziang smiled bitterly and replied;
"Captain, in this situation, even if I escape, the Dharma Protectors and the leader will still have some trust in me. Even if they trust me, they will only keep me in a corner. Although I am loyal, I am unwilling to work hard and still have to worry and be afraid after risking my life."
As for fighting to the death, he had never thought about it. He had worked so hard to climb to such a position, how could he easily talk about death?
"Hmph, you are honest. The only way now is to fight. When it gets dark, we can take advantage of the chaos to leave the city without taking any soldiers with us. The second is to wait for the opportunity to wait for the court officials to stop fighting, lead the troops westward, and join the mountain. The last one is that we can sell this city for a good price. It is said that Marquis Luo Yun is generous. Let's see how much we can sell it for this time."
Lu Chuanjiang had said this, his eyes fixed on the outside of the city. Tian Ziang finally sighed and said;
"I will listen to the captain's words and discuss everything myself."
"Haha, good, I'll cheer you on. Come on, beat the drum and open the city gate."
"Ho ho, ho!"
On top of the city walls, drums were beating and a large number of bandits were climbing up the city walls and roaring, with great momentum.
Seeing Zhang Jinyu frowning, it didn't look like he was going to surrender and negotiate. Could it be that he was using a delaying tactic yesterday? Just thinking,
The south gate of Shizhou City in front suddenly opened a crack, and a bandit leader wearing a cloak and riding a horse came straight to the main camp alone. He didn't look like a fighting general, so it seemed that surrender was a sure thing. I didn't know how to sell it.
Just thinking,
The man rode his horse very fast, and when he was about fifty steps away from the battle formation, he pulled the reins, then dismounted, knelt on the ground, and shouted;
"I, the guilty minister of the White Lotus Church, Tian Ziang, kowtow to Marquis Luo Yun. I, a guilty subject, request to see you."
This behavior was new to Zhang Jinyu, and even the other generals were stunned. The White Lotus Sect was a group of tough guys, and it had never been heard of any of them surrendering to the imperial court. Moreover, they had a fortified city. I wonder what the Marquis would decide.
"Haha, well, since you're here, come over and meet me."
Zhang Jinyu nodded to the guards around him, and someone brought Master Tian closer. Only then did he see his face clearly. He was dressed in white cloth, had a small body, but a fair face. He was just like the so-called treacherous villain and treacherous white-faced man.
"The guilty man Tian Ziang, I bow to the Marquis."
He bowed deeply to the ground, and everyone knew that Shizhou City had surrendered.
"Stand up and answer. I think you know that I won't say anything else. The White Lotus Sect in Xihe County is doomed. Whether it is a rumor or not, you should know this better than me. In this case, I have said before that if you surrender, I and His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin will guarantee your birth. Don't even think about the title. Even if there is one, it will not be your turn, but you can still be the commander of a prefecture. You and the helmsman are also talented people. If you want to be an official, you can be a county. If you don't want to be an official, some idle military officers are fine. How about this?"
Zhang Jinyu pointed to Shizhou City, saying that it was worth 100,000 people. If they really stayed, it would be another way for the court.
"Go to Zhaoan, I will allow you to surrender. Qinzhou is the southern frontier, guarding against the Taiping Sect. Chenzhou City is close to Linshan County City and has no one to defend it. I heard that Shizhou City has 30,000 elite soldiers. You two can lead 10,000 people to defend Chenzhou, and the remaining 20,000 troops will be assigned to the troops of General Gu Ping of Jingnan to replace the soldiers of the Beijing Camp. How do you think?"
This also set the tone for those who stayed behind in the south of Beijing. No matter how many soldiers there were in the Beijing camp, they had to return to the capital. However, if there were too few soldiers left behind, they would be worried. So this was a way to have the best of both worlds, and it came just in time.
"Thank you, Lord, for your kindness. I am a sinner, no, I thank you."
Tian Ziang, who didn't even say a word of bargaining, was delighted to receive such an honor. The reason why Chenzhou was unknown was because it was too close to the county town. If they were the garrison commanders of Chenzhou, at least they would be officials and would have no worries about food and clothing. After all, they had dealt with the Taiping Sect before. If they made meritorious services, they might even be awarded a title. At that time, it would be better than being a rebel.
"In that case, what about Shizhou City?"
Zhang Jinyu pointed at the large number of bandits on Shizhou City, still roaring. He originally thought that they were very imposing, but now it seems that they were just bluffing.
"Don't blame me, my lord. I will go back and surrender immediately."
Tian Ziang smiled awkwardly, stood up quickly, and then, fearing that the Marquis would regret it, he hurried back. He saw the horse he had come from, climbed up several times before finally getting on, turned the horse's head, and stumbled back. However, this behavior caused many of the generals to laugh loudly.
"Look at this. If you don't tell me, who would know that you are from the White Lotus Sect?"
"Yes, he is as timid as a mouse. It is really unlucky to be with such a mouse."
"Your Majesty is so careless. Will you be able to do this?"
The discussion among his subordinates could not be concealed, so Ning Bian came over and asked;
"My Lord, if we issue an amnesty without authorization, will it arouse suspicion from the imperial court? If Shizhou City surrenders, what will happen to those slave soldiers?"
"Of course we took them back. After we met up at Runan City, we took them all back to Linshan County. Since the court doesn't want them, we will send them outside the Great Wall. The eldest son sent a letter saying that he needed to plant mulberry trees. The more acres of land, the better. I don't know what he was up to. As for his unauthorized decision, this was made by the Marquis and the King of Jin together."
Zhang Jinyu smiled. These were all minor matters. The imperial court would not insist on letting the capital suffer heavy casualties and not go to the imperial court to issue an amnesty order.
Ning Bian nodded. That's true.
"My Lord, since this is the case, the suppression of the rebellion of the bandit sect is within reach, so how should we return? Should we go through Xihe County or return along the original route?" This question was a no-brainer, but Zhang Jinyu stroked his chin and thought carefully. The news that the Prince of Beijing in Xihe County had defeated the White Lotus Sect would naturally spread throughout the world, and the news that the Prince of Dongping led his troops to attack Yangping would spread even more. In this case, it would be better to add icing on the cake. Moreover, if they gathered their troops and returned to the city together, it would inevitably arouse suspicion from the court.
In other words, Prince Beijing Shui Rong and even Prince Dongping would return along the same route. It was unknown how much weapons and armor they would bring with them. A tall tree attracts the wind, so it was time for them to hide.
"Send the order immediately. When the defenders of Shizhou City surrender, immediately reorganize the army and return to the capital. Don't make any mistakes. Let the others go aside. Let Song Da go last. Take the looted silver with you and divide it up in Linshan County City first. Don't show it to the public. Also, invite the King of Jin to come over."
"Yes, sir, I will send someone to pass the message right away."
Ning Bian also came to his senses and realized that what the Marquis said made sense. He did not dare to delay and ordered his attendants to pass on the message.
Not long after, the carriage of King Jin slowly arrived in front. Zhou Ding lifted the curtain and wanted to ask again,
At this time, drums were beating in unison on Shizhou City, and then suddenly stopped.
that's it,
The gate of Shizhou City was slowly opened, and a large number of White Lotus Sect members in the city took off their armor and surrendered. The one walking in front was the defender of Runan City, the leader of the White Lotus Sect, Lu Chuanjiang, followed by the leader of the Tian Hall, and the rest were just mentioned. There were also many people carrying boxes following behind them, which were probably the silver they had looted. When they got closer, they knelt on the ground like a sea of people.
"Criminals, please surrender,"
"Your Highness, please tell me, this time the imperial edict is about closing the last chapter."
Zhang Jinyu nodded to King Jin, who also understood at this moment. He was excited, opened the curtain and walked out, saying loudly;
"allow,"
"The bandits have surrendered, and the King of Jin has approved it."
"The bandits have surrendered, and the King of Jin has approved it."
The sound of "yes" echoed in front of the two armies, especially the last sentence, which was rang out with a duck-like voice. It was the two eunuchs beside the King of Jin who finally had a chance to show their skills. I don't know if it was the eunuch's voice that made the two people who surrendered in front excited and shouted,
"Long live the King of Jin, thousands of years,"
Bow down again,
Afterwards, a large number of officers and soldiers surrounded the people and took over Shizhou City. Seeing the flags on the top of the city changing, they could return to the capital today.
"Send the order, return to the capital by the same route."
Zhang Jinyu did not give the generals time to speak, and immediately issued an order, and then the front army was changed to the rear army and headed towards Huaizhou City.
"The Marquis has ordered us to return to the capital by the same route and march out with our army."
Hundreds of thousands of troops immediately changed their formation and escorted more than 100,000 people from the White Lotus Sect who had submitted their petitions to the emperor, slowly returning to Linshan County.
Seeing that the situation was settled, King Jin was still a little dazed and murmured,
"Is this a victory?"
After three days,
The imperial guardsmen came to report the victory and flew into the capital city in three routes. One route was from the east gate of the capital city, with three red flags flying in the wind. A team of messengers and silver-armored cavalrymen were wearing distinctive clothes. Behind them were the flags of the Prince of Beijing and the Prince of Wei's palace. The black flag in particular made many people change their faces when they saw it.
"Report, Xihe County City is 800 miles away, Prince Beijing and Prince Wei led their troops to defeat the White Lotus Sect's main force of more than 400,000 men, and the bandit leaders were defeated and fled!"
They ran all the way and entered the city. The messengers changed people and shouted without stopping. This ostentatious appearance also caused a sensation among the people in the capital. Many scholars and students heard about it and watched along the way, talking about it.
"Brother Zhao, is this true? Prince Beijing actually defeated the main force of the White Lotus Sect with just those soldiers? I remember that when Prince Beijing left, he only took 20,000 soldiers with him. If the victory report is true, could it be another Marquis Luo Yun?"
The person who spoke was wearing a Confucian robe with a water rhyme and cloud pattern. It was obvious that he was a student of Qiushui Academy. The other person disagreed and said;
"Whether it is true or not is still uncertain. The White Lotus Sect's main force has at least 100,000 elite soldiers, plus those slave soldiers. They have fought all the way from the south of Beijing to Xihe County. It is impossible for them to be defeated overnight. Besides, how many soldiers does the Prince of Beijing have? Even if the elite troops of Ping'anzhou arrive first, how can they fight with such a huge disparity in numbers?"
A student from Yunshan Academy was a little bit unconvinced. He thought that fighting a war depended on human lives, the weak defeating the strong, and defending the city, which was really hard to imagine.
Even the student from Qiushui Academy was a little hesitant, but soon, another rumor came in.
"There is also good news from the West Gate, saying that the King of Dongping and the King of Chu led their troops from the south of the Yangtze River and raided Yangping, the heartland of the White Lotus Sect, and took it down in one battle."
"Yes, there is also the victory report of Marquis Luo Yun from the South Gate, which has also been sent to the capital. The more than 100,000 White Lotus defenders in Shizhou City have surrendered, and His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin has shown mercy and accepted the surrender in the name of an imperial edict. The disaster in the south of the capital has been quelled."
No one knew who was spreading the news one after another, so much so that the story was being sung by storytellers in the capital's teahouses and taverns.
Ouchi Imperial Palace,
In the Yangxin Hall,
Emperor Wu Zhou Shihong paced back and forth in front of the imperial desk, looking a little agitated. In his hands were three consecutive memorials, all of which were urgent requests from the secret guards of the Imperial City Department.
"Where has the victory report arrived?"
"Your Majesty, the reports of the victory of Prince Beijing, Prince Dongping, and Marquis Luo Yun are all coming back along the same route. They have already entered the market and are heading towards the Meridian Gate."
Seeing that his majesty was anxious, Dai Quan quickly replied that the Imperial City Office had deployed troops throughout the capital and was ready to report at any time.
"Well, it's a prudent move. How did the messenger deliver it?"
It seemed to be a hint of something. When they left the capital, whether intentionally or not, the three groups of troops all left from different city gates. Now that they have returned to report their victory, it is still the same. I wonder if it will be the same when the army returns triumphantly.
"Your Majesty, the three messengers' victory reports all came in accordance with the rules. However, this time, the flags of Prince Beijing's Palace, His Royal Highness Prince Wei, and the flags of Prince Dongping and Prince Chu were all hung above. Only the victory report of Marquis Luo Yun at the South City Gate was accompanied by the flag of His Royal Highness Prince Jin."
Dai Quan's eyes flickered. For many years, the royal flags of the Four Princes' Palaces had never been seen. Now they were hung high up. I wonder if it was appropriate.
"Haha, that brat Luo Yunhou is really making things difficult for him. He is showing off his military strength like this. In my opinion, it is not as good as Ding'er's strategy of seeking peace. Perhaps, it is also an attempt. The White Lotus Sect is not what it used to be. I am very relieved. But I don't know whether the decisive battle under the city of Beijing Prince County is true or false. Did he win the battle more easily than Luo Yunhou?"
This was something that Emperor Wu had not figured out since he received the urgent report in the early morning. If this was true, then the hundreds of thousands of troops led by Marquis Luo Yun had fought extremely hard and suffered heavy losses. Could it be that the Taiping Sect was even more powerful than the White Lotus Sect? Thinking that the White Lotus Sect could be amnesty, perhaps it was because the White Lotus Sect had declined.
"This, Your Majesty, I am a little bit unconvinced, but the secret guards of the Imperial City Department reported it and checked it three times, and the answer was the same every time. The main force of the enemy army attacked the city very urgently that day. At about noon, the Prince of Beijing gathered 30,000 elite troops from the county city and rushed out from the south gate to attract the attention of the enemy army.
Then, General Qi led 20,000 vanguard troops and 10,000 Jinzhou Prefecture troops to charge out from the north without stopping, rushing towards the White Lotus Sect's main formation. They actually broke through the formation in one battle, causing the leader of the cult to flee and the main force to be badly defeated. This cannot be a lie."
These were things that everyone had seen, but he didn't know why the White Lotus Church was defeated.
"You remember it clearly. That's what the letter said, but I still have a mystery in my mind. Could it be that the Northern Prince's vanguard troops are more elite than the border troops?"
Emperor Wu stopped and placed the secret letter in his hand on the imperial desk. However, once the rebellion in southern Beijing was quelled, the court would slowly recover.
"Your Majesty, I dare not speak nonsense!"
(End of this chapter)