The time came to the tenth day of February in the eighteenth year of Chongzhen (1645).
By this time, Duduo's army had arrived in Qinghe County in the central and northern part of Huai'an Prefecture.
And just an hour ago, Xiangbai Banner launched a strong attack on a gun platform outside Qinghe County. Although the gun platform was captured, it also paid a heavy price.
These brave men are really not afraid of death.
There were nearly a hundred people, but no one escaped!
Looking at the more than twenty corpses lined up in front of him, Duduo became very depressed.
Taking down a gun platform would require more than fifty casualties, and more than twenty of them would be killed in action. So how many casualties would it take to clear out more than a hundred gun platforms outside the city?
The casualties required were as high as 5,000, of which more than 2,000 were killed!
This is just a gun platform outside the city, and the cost of attacking the county seat will be even greater.
Is it worth paying such a high price just for such a county?
A county town is certainly not worth the price they pay!
But the problem is, they can't just attack every county, right?
The army needs food and wages, the war horses need fodder, the Eight Banner nobles need women and clothing, as well as cattle, sheep, livestock, and all kinds of goods. Isn't this what they are going south for this time?
"You are a thief!" Duduo scolded, "When did Ming Gou become so tough?"
The nobles of the Eight Banners who followed Duduo also looked confused and felt unbelievable.
The villagers in Suining County are determined to fight to the last resort, but they don't feel anything yet.
Because the Ming Dynasty was so big, there was no guarantee that there would not be a few powerful civil and military generals who could inspire the courage of the officers and soldiers in the city as well as the local braves. It was not like they had never encountered similar situations when they entered the pass six times before.
When they discovered that the Xiang Yong from Taoyuan County was determined to fight to the last stand, they felt that something was a little unusual. Once was an accident, but twice could not be said to be accidental.
When they arrived in Qinghe County, they found that the local brave here actually had the courage to fight to the last man. All the Eight Banners nobles felt a chill. As the saying goes, everything can be done once or three times, but Suining, Taoyuan and Qinghe
The heroes from the three counties actually had the courage to fight to the last man. There must be something wrong with this.
If this issue is not clarified, who would dare to go south easily?
What if all the big and small towns in Jiangnan are like this, why go south and loot?
After a long while, Duduo's eyes fell on Hou Fangyu again, and he said in a deep voice: "I would like to ask you, are the folk customs in Huai'an Prefecture particularly tough?"
"Huai'an Mansion? The folk customs are fierce?" Hou Fangyu looked confused.
He traveled between Nanjing and Shangqiu and passed through Huai'an Prefecture no less than twenty times. He had never heard of the saying that the folk customs in Huai'an Prefecture were tough, but he had heard that the folk customs in western Zhejiang were tough.
At that moment, Hou Fangyu shook his head and said, "I have never heard of Prince Yu's words."
"Never heard of it?" Duduo began to doubt Hou Fangyu's words and said with a dark face, "Hou Fangyu, if you dare to deceive me, not only will you die, but your entire Hou family will also be destroyed!"
"Your Majesty, how dare I lie to you?" Hou Fangyu was so frightened that he fell to his knees.
"Everything Xiaosheng said is true. If there is a lie, God will strike with thunder."
Duduo said: "Then this is strange. You told me before that there are no officers and soldiers guarding Shanyang, the capital of Huai'an, and the counties under its jurisdiction. There are only temporarily recruited village warriors."
"But these local warriors are more powerful than the Ming Dynasty official army."
"Ever since the decline of the Zhejiang soldiers and the white pole soldiers in the Ming Dynasty, no army has been able to fight to the last soldier."
"But these rural warriors in Suining County, Taoyuan County and Qinghe County had the courage to fight to the last drop. They were more powerful than the Ming Dynasty officers and soldiers in Xuzhou."
"The local bravery is more powerful than the Ming Dynasty official army. Isn't this a strange thing?"
After a pause, Duduo continued: "Then you told me that the people in Huai'an Prefecture are not tough. Then I ask you, what is the matter with the bravery in these three counties? Me?"
"This..." Hou Fangyu was speechless.
"So, this can only mean one thing." Duduo's eyes turned cold, "You are lying!"
Duduo, who had already fallen into conspiracy theories and couldn't extricate himself, began to think automatically: "You know that the people of Huai'an Prefecture are fierce and brave, and you know that the local braves in Huai'an Prefecture have the courage to fight to the last man to defend the place, but you deliberately did not mention this to the king.
Stubble, but just saying that Huai'an Prefecture is far richer than Fengyang Prefecture, you are deliberately trying to lure my army to Huai'an Prefecture, right?"
After a pause, Duduo said in a sinister tone: "Hou Fangyu, you are also a Qinwang scholar of Chongzhen. This is a death plan designed by Chongzhen, right?"
"It's unjust. Your Majesty is unjust."
Hou Fangyu was so frightened that he lost his mind and said repeatedly: "Prince Yu, Xiaosheng is not a place of death. No, Xiaosheng and the entire Hou family sincerely want to surrender to the Qing Dynasty."
"Then what happened to the Xiangyong in these three counties?" Duduo was furious.
When Duduo became angry, Hou Fangyu's eyes suddenly opened up and he thought of a possibility.
"Really? Have you finally remembered what happened?" Duduo snorted and said, "Hurry up and tell me!"
"Hey." Hou Fangyu kowtowed, then straightened up and said, "Your Majesty, this must be because of the National Disaster Troupe. Yes, it must be because of the National Disaster Troupe's opera."
"Drama? National disaster drama troupe?" Duduo looked confused.
The Eight Banners nobles behind Duduo also looked at each other in shock.
Hou Fangyu continued: "My lord, I don't know. In order to satisfy his lust, Chongzhen, the dog emperor, specially sent a cronies to form many theater troupes. The male actors in this troupe are all handsome, and the female actors are all as beautiful as flowers.
One of them, named Li Xiangjun, was originally a famous prostitute by the Qinhuai River, and she was particularly beautiful."
"Hmm." Duduo suddenly became interested, "Is this Li Xiangjun beautiful?"
"Beautiful, just like a fairy descending to earth." Hou Fangyu also took the risk.
The women that I, Hou Fangyu, can't get, Chongzhen, a dog emperor like you, can't even dream of getting. At worst, it will be easier for Duduo.
At that moment, Hou Fangyu continued: "Not only Li Xiangjun, but also the actors in several theater troupes are all handsome and beautiful, and they are called to bed by Chongzhen, the dog emperor, every night."
"Huh?" He Luohui said in astonishment, "Chongzhen men sleep too?"
"Sleep." Hou Fangyu said matter-of-factly, "Chongzhen, this dog emperor, eats both men and women."
"The Dog Emperor actually likes this?" He Luohui's eyes suddenly lit up, and he turned around to taste it.
"What are you talking about?" Duduo's orientation was obviously fine, and he said with a dark face, "Don't talk about these useless things, let's get to the point, why are these country warriors so tough?"
"Because they are afraid." Hou Fangyu said solemnly.
"What? Because you're afraid?" Duduo's eyes once again revealed a murderous look.
The faces of the nobles of the Eight Banners such as He Luohui, Ashan and Tunqi also fell instantly. Because of fear, those country warriors became brave and brave? They even fought to the last man?
Bullying our Jurchens for not having enough education is a good idea, right?
"Clang, clang, clang!" Several white-armored soldiers with white flags pulled out their sabers with their backhands.
One of the white-armored soldiers even held his sword to Hou Fangyu's neck and said angrily: "Master, please allow me to wipe this Han dog's neck with one knife."
"Eh, eh." Hou Fangyu finally realized that he had not spoken clearly just now, and shouted in desperation, "My lord, you have misunderstood. When I say fear, I don't mean that those village warriors are afraid of the Qing soldiers, but that they are afraid of the Qing soldiers."
They were afraid that their parents, wives, and children would be killed by the Qing soldiers, so they fought to the last resort and refused to let the Qing soldiers enter the county."
"Well, that's what you're talking about." Duduo was stunned when he heard this, and several white-armored soldiers also put away their sabers.
Hou Fangyu wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said: "The reason why these country warriors are afraid that their parents, wives and children will be killed by our Qing soldiers is because Chongzhen, the dog emperor, sent several of his troupes to Huai'an Prefecture.
Operas were sung everywhere, and they sang operas that slandered our Qing soldiers, such as the Ten Days of Kaiyuan, the Three Massacres of Liaodong, and the Massacre of Beijing in the Qing Dynasty. There were several operas, and they were sung in one county after another, which made everyone excited.
Everyone knows it.”
"Well, I understand." Duduo nodded and said, "So that's what happened. This makes sense."
"One Sword Dominates"
After figuring out the whole story, Duduo's mood became even worse. He really didn't expect that Chongzhen, the dog emperor, would do something like this. Now all the brave men in Huai'an Prefecture were stirred up, and they did not hesitate to fight against the Qing soldiers.
They vowed to protect their parents, wives and children even though they fought to the death, but what could they do?
"Master, otherwise we might as well stop attacking Huai'an Mansion."
He Luohui also had the same worry and said: "Go directly to Yangzhou Prefecture or Nanjing?"
"Shall we go directly to attack Yangzhou?" Duduo was excited. Yangzhou is the richest one, and its wealth must be several times greater than that of Huai'an. Therefore, it seems good to bypass Huai'an and attack Yangzhou directly.
After thinking about it, Duduo asked Hou Fangyu again: "Has Chongzhen's opera troupe ever performed in Yangzhou Prefecture?"
"Yes." Hou Fangyu replied truthfully, "The Dog Emperor's troupe came all the way from Nanjing. They sang in Yangzhou for several months before coming to Huai'an Prefecture."
"Damn it!" Duduo's face fell again.
Xiang Yong, who co-authored Yangzhou, was also fanned, so what the hell?
After all, Yangzhou is so far away. If Yangzhou is not captured in the end, they will not even be able to raise military rations for the return trip. When the two white flags and Xianglan flags return to Xuzhou hungry, they will have to be beaten by Luo Luohun and Luck Dehun.
A fool died as a result of a joke? His prestige, Duduo, will be ruined from now on, and he will no longer be able to hold his head up in front of others.
At this time, Xianglan Banner Gushan Ezhen Tunqi said angrily: "Give Qinghe County to our Zhenglan Banner. I promise to take it within three days, but Prince Yu, you must also promise us that after three days of breaking the city,
The sword is not sealed inside, and the sons and gentlemen are allowed to live happily in Qinghe City!"
