Chapter 456: Guangxi is Guangxi for Guangxi people
It is true that most of the local landowners and gentry have their hearts set on the Ming Dynasty!
But if Ming Dynasty did not show enough strength, they would not stand up and seek death.
To put it bluntly, it was the battle of Wuzhou that the Ming army won cleanly.
Let everyone in Guangxi see the power of Ming Dynasty.
See what firepower coverage is!
Only then did the Ming army's Guangxi strategy proceed so smoothly.
Lu Maode, the governor of Guangxi in the Qing Dynasty, stood at the top of Guilin City and looked to the east.
At the end of his sight, there was a winding official road with a large number of pedestrians and soldiers walking on it.
Either go into the city or go out of the city!
The merchants and common people with keen sense of smell are rushing to leave Guilin.
The war is approaching, and Guilin is about to face war again!
Regardless of whether the Qing Dynasty or the Ming Dynasty wins in the end, it is not a good thing for ordinary people like them.
Military disaster is the most fatal disaster!
Although there are rumors outside that the current Ming army has strict military discipline and will never do anything to disturb or harm the people, but who can really guarantee it?
A large number of people in the city voted with their feet and made their own choice.
From time to time, fast horses would rush towards the city of Guilin, bringing bad news one after another about the loss of the city and land.
Lu Maode asked the Guilin governor behind him.
"How many soldiers are there in Guilin City now? How many people are there? How much food is there?"
"If thieves attack tomorrow, can Guilin be defended?!"
Facing the menacing Ming army, Lu Maode had no intention of fighting in the wild, and his intention from the beginning to the end was to defend Guilin.
Then wait for reinforcements!
Especially after he received a message from an angel and learned that King Pingxi was gathering troops and horses, ready to reinforce Guilin at any time.
This further strengthened Lu Maode’s persistence.
He firmly believed that as long as he could hold on to Guilin and wait until King Pingxi arrived, it would be the time for the Qing Dynasty to make a comeback.
The prefect of Guilin opened his mouth to report back.
"Reporting to your lord, there are currently 35,000 soldiers in Guilin City!"
"Fifty thousand brave civilians and one hundred thousand ordinary people!"
The reason why there are so few people is that a large number of people in Guilin chose to leave the city before the war and went to the countryside to escape the military disaster.
"There are two hundred thousand stones of grain in the city, enough to feed the soldiers and people in the city for two months!"
There is nothing we can do about it. It is now the turn of spring and summer. Although it is not a lean season, it is not that bad either.
The grain reserves in Guangxi City are naturally limited.
If it were placed after the autumn harvest, it would not be a problem to double or triple this number.
Of course, this is only talking about the grain in the hands of the government. The grain in the hands of the wealthy gentry will only be more than this number, not less.
After hearing this, Lu Maode nodded with satisfaction and said.
"That's enough, that's enough!"
He felt that since he was the only one who could hold on for two months, it was time for Wu Sangui to come!
Lu Maode nodded with satisfaction, and then asked again.
"What about the armor and weapons in the city?"
"What's the exact number?"
The prefect of Guilin thought for a while and then spoke.
"In Guilin City now, there are about 500 sets of iron armor, 3,000 sets of cotton armor, 50,000 spears, and 70,000 long knives."
"Ten thousand crossbows and five hundred thousand arrows!"
"In addition, there are 400 bird cannons, 20 general cannons, 10 tiger crouching cannons, 10 Folang machine cannons, and three thousand-jin red cannons."
"Five thousand thunders shook the sky, and countless rolling logs and rocks..."
Lu Maode nodded slightly, except for the small number of armors, the rest were quite satisfactory.
But the limited number of armors was something he couldn't solve.
The Qing Dynasty's national policy is here, and it is impossible to issue a large number of armors to its subordinates anyway.
After saying this, the prefect of Guilin carefully approached Lu Maode's ear and spoke.
"Besides these, we also have fifty muskets used by Ming thieves and two cannons used by Ming thieves."
Of course, what the prefect of Guilin mentioned was ordinary smoothbore flintlock muskets and muzzle-loading smoothbore cannons.
There are absolutely no rifled weapons!
They were able to obtain these smoothbore weapons because the Ming Dynasty did not strictly control the sale of smoothbore weapons.
As long as there is a way, it is easy to buy.
But the military control of rifled weapons is quite strict!
There was even a strict order in the Liberation Army that no rifled weapon with rifling would be allowed to leak out!
Anyone who disobeys the order will be killed!
Lu Maode nodded slightly again.
After talking to the prefect of Guilin, he was ready to continue inspecting the city defense.
…
On the side of the order, Liu Shan Taizheng led his troops to advance towards Guilin Mansion.
The mighty Ming army almost covered the ground, and their red armor looked extremely bright and eye-catching.
Like a moving burning flame, the sense of oppression it brings is quite strong!
"Report!"
"Your Majesty General, our army is still less than a hundred miles away from Guilin City!"
Order the troops to come quickly and report.
Because on the front line, the sentry cavalry of the Ming army had begun to fight against the sentry cavalry of the Qing army again.
Liu Shantai nodded slightly and looked in the direction of Guilin City with squinted eyes.
His eyes were full of solemnity, and next to him was a middle-aged man dressed as a scholar.
His name is Zhang Xiushan, a representative sent by the gentry and landlords in Guilin to contact the Ming Dynasty!
"Guilin City has beautiful mountains and rivers. The terrain is not conducive to attacking the city. Moreover, the city is well-equipped with soldiers and armor, and there is sufficient food and grass. It is easy to defend but difficult to attack. The general must know this!"
"If the general orders an attack on Guilin, I have no doubt that Ming Dynasty has the ability to capture Guilin City!"
"But the casualty figures probably won't look good either!"
"When the time comes, it will definitely be quite detrimental to the general's achievements!"
"However, if the general can have the help of me and the elders of Guilin, and work together internally and externally, to capture Guilin City, it will be a great achievement!"
Liu Shantai pursed his lips slightly, and the expression on his face looked a little unpredictable.
But he still spoke.
"Let's be honest, what do you want?"
Ryu Shantai knows that nothing in this world is free.
If you want to get something, you have to pay something else!
Zhang Xiushan smiled slightly and then said.
"We, the elders of Guilin, have our hearts set on the Ming Dynasty and are willing to contribute to our Ming Dynasty in expelling the Tartars and restoring China!"
"As long as His Royal Highness the Governor remembers my contribution, as for other requests, it's okay not to mention them!"
Liu Shantai frowned subconsciously, and then said.
“Speak up!”
"Don't fight with me, General!"
His tone was not very good, because he knew.
Free is the most expensive!
He didn't believe that these local snakes in Guilin could ask for nothing.
When Zhang Xiushan heard this, he was not embarrassed and said directly with a smile.
"If that's the case, then I'll speak out!"
"What the elders in Guilin mean is that after Guangxi surrendered to the Ming Dynasty, it will follow the old routine of Guangdong!"
"Guangxi is Guangxi for Guangxi people, and Guilin is Guilin for Guilin people!"
"What does the general think?"
Zhang Xiushan did not think that his request would be rejected.
Previously, in order to quickly capture Guangdong, the Ming Dynasty tacitly delegated power to the local landlords and gentry in Guangdong.
Let the landlords and gentry control Guangdong!
The Ming court only collected taxes and conscripted troops!
Now, if we replicate it again in Guangxi, it won’t be a big problem.
When Liu Shantai heard this, as Zhang Xiushan expected, he did not refuse Zhang Xiushan's request, and nodded slightly and agreed.
Then he spoke.
"But you must remember that Guangxi can be Guangxi for Guangxi people, but the world must be the world of Ming Dynasty!"
"And there can only be one royal law in the world, and that is the royal law of His Highness Jian Guo!"