Nanming Engineer

Chapter 161

The soldier who reported the letter cried and howled: "My lord, Chongqing City has been occupied by the white-armed soldiers from Kuizhou. The defender Zhang Shen died in battle. The brothers were all scattered. The villain is Those who risked their lives to rush out to report, my lord, make up your mind!"

Zeng Ying felt nothing in his brain, and the exhaustion from fighting on the top of the city for several days seemed to surge up all at once, his heart was burning with urgency, and a sweetness rushed to his mouth along the veins, and he couldn't hold back his breath, "Wow With a sound, he spat out a mouthful of blood, and his whole body softened.

Blood sprayed on the face of the soldier who reported the letter. He was desperate to report the letter, but was sprayed on his face by the bloody smell, his nose stagnated, and he also passed out on the ground.

The two rolled into a ball, and all the people present were in a mess. They rushed to help, and called loudly to the military commander. Several veterans had experience, and hurriedly helped Zeng Ying to lie down on the couch, and fetched it again. Pour some cold water on his face and pour it into his mouth, finally waking Zeng Ying faintly.

As soon as Zeng Ying opened his eyes, he saw the two big heads of Yang Zhan and Wang Xiang in front of him, like two hairy watermelons.

He waved his hands feebly, and shouted in an angry voice: "Quick, quick, go to Zhang Xianzhong to discuss peace, give him whatever he wants, as long as he is willing to retreat, give him anything!"

……

Outside the Futu Pass in Chongqing City, Wang Huan stood on the top of the city in high spirits, watching a few white soldiers cut off the banner with the word "Zeng" flying on the top of the city and replaced it with a flag with the word "Wang" embroidered on it.

The Chongqing city at this moment is far less important than later generations. It is just an ordinary prefecture in central Sichuan, because it guards the confluence of the Yangtze River and the Jialing River. It is an important waterway on the Yangtze River waterway. The divisions and tax collectors inspected the wharf, boats came and went, the commerce was developed, there were groups of merchants in the city, and piles of wealthy households. It was an important node for Sichuan's business to connect with the outside world.

However, for the imperial court, Chongqing is not that important. There are many mountains and little land here, and there is not much output from farming. Although there are many merchants, they do not pay much tax. Which emperor dared to levy commercial taxes with great fanfare, so the merchants here traveled from south to north, from east to west, and made a fortune. However, in the eyes of the officials, it is far less important than the agriculturally developed places on the Chengdu Plain, so the world calls it The Land of Abundance in Sichuan only refers to the prefecture of Chengdu, and Chongqing is in a very ordinary position.

The reason why Zeng Ying made his fortune in Chongqing was, of course, by exploiting wealthy households. However, with this alone, he basically maintained the food, drink and military pay of tens of thousands of people.

"Your Excellency's move can be said to be a draw from the bottom. In this way, Zeng Ying will be so angry that he will die." Zu Bian laughed loudly, and lifted the chopped-off "Zeng" flag into the distance.

Wang Huan smiled faintly, looked at an old man with gray hair and beard beside him, and sincerely praised: "The success of the grand plan is thanks to Boss Zhang. Without other people as internal support, Chongqing City would not have been taken so easily."

The old man Zhang, a leather goods dealer, was overwhelmed by the flattery, and hurriedly bowed and said, "My lord, I'm so sorry for the little old man. My Zhang family can settle down in Shizhu, and it's all up to you to maintain it. You not only provide food for my whole family, but also help my family reopen for business. This generous kindness is unforgettable, and it is my family's duty to serve the adults, and the adults are ashamed to say that."

He said so, but his face was flushed, and his expression of complacency was undoubtedly revealed. Wang Huan's attack on Chongqing, his Zhang family did contribute a lot.

Leaving Baidi City Wharf, Wang Huan rushed to Chongqing non-stop. In order to deceive the public, six thousand Kuizhou soldiers did not take the official route, but followed the ancient plank road by the river, quietly came to the other side of the Jialing River, and lurked by the river. In the grass, wait until dark.

Chen Xiang met with the clan members of the Zhang family who stayed in the city. The two parties gathered together. Taking advantage of the dark night and high winds and the slackness of the sentries at the top of the city, they touched the city gate and killed more than ten of the gatekeepers. The soldiers rushed to open the city gate before the officers and soldiers in the city could react. Seeing the fire on the city wall, Wang Huan immediately led the entire army into the city.

There are 2000 troops from Zeng Ying left in the city, and there is also a general. The general has been very nervous for the past few days. He was afraid that the passing Dashun Li Guojun would pack himself up by the way. When Li Guo left without stopping, Only after taking a deep breath, he indulged in lust that night, leading a group of confidants to spend the night in the largest brothel in the city. When Zu Bian led someone into the brothel to grab him from the woman's belly, the man was still drunk. Let's have another drink.

This is the case with the generals, not to mention the people below. The brigade of white soldiers rushed into the city with iron hooves, and did not even encounter decent resistance. , the remaining soldiers were blocked at the gate of the barracks and obediently became prisoners. Only a dozen of Zeng Ying's personal soldiers escaped and rushed to Shunqing to report.

This battle was fought so easily, even Zu Bian and Ma Xintian couldn't believe it. The huge city, with tens of thousands of residents, fell into the hands of Kuizhou soldiers so easily. Don't even think about defeating a prefecture like Chongqing without thousands of people dying.

The two looked at Wang Huan with even more admiration.

Wang Huan didn't notice it, but encouraged old man Zhang to organize the businesses in the city to operate as usual, and all the shops in the city would open tomorrow. Old man Zhang patted his chest and went to work for Wang Huan.

Meng Zhiyu and Xu Tiezhu were also brought along by Wang Huan. Wang Huan had limited energy, so Meng Zhiyu and Xu Tiezhu had to do the governance after the city was conquered, and they were enough to handle it.

"Immediately write an Announcement for the People, and before the sun rises tomorrow, it will be posted all over the streets and alleys of the city. It must be written that all Zeng Ying's exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes will be abolished, and the talent business tax will be exempted for one year. All yamen servants will be fired and replaced by our people. , Re-recruit the third class of Minzhuang, and firmly grasp the whole of Chongqing in the shortest time." Wang Huan stood on the top of the city and gave Xu Tiezhu and Meng Zhiyu a deep voice.

The two nodded and accepted the order. With Kuizhou's experience, they would be much more skilled in how to do things.

"Ma Xintian, you have half a month to screen out the soldiers that Zeng Ying left in the city, get rid of those soldiers, select strong and good fighters, and then recruit those who are willing to join the army from the civilians and refugees. After three days, you must gather 5000 soldiers. , with a little training, you must arrive at Hezhou Diaoyu City in half a month and join me!" Wang Huan said to Ma Xintian again, with a very serious tone.

"Tomorrow, I will bring six thousand Kuizhou soldiers to Diaoyu City, where I will block Zeng Ying's army and buy you time. The survival of my Kuizhou army depends on this one action!"

Ma Xintian frowned slightly, and said in a deep voice: "My lord, if you don't want to lead someone to Hezhou, please stay in Chongqing. You are the chief general, so don't take any risks."

Wang Huan shook his head: "No! This battle is extremely critical, and I have to go in person. Zeng Ying is treacherous and cunning, with tens of thousands of troops, it's not something you can handle."

Seeing that Zu Bian, Ma Xintian and others looked anxious, he laughed again: "The water is covered with soil, and the soldiers come to block them. Although Zeng Ying has many men, they are exhausted. After spending several months with Zhang Xianzhong, he hurried back , we don’t eat them, what’s the reason?”

(End of this chapter)