The light rain continued continuously, as if it was broken, plunging the entire city of Yangzhou into a rain and fog.
Looking from the heights of the city wall, the Qing troops below the city were looming, and the soldiers mixed in the rain and fog were like ants, and they could not be seen at a glance.
The roaring sound of cannons resounded throughout Yangzhou City. Some people had not yet evacuated, or in other words, it was too late to evacuate. They were guarding their homes tremblingly, hugging each other for warmth.
With all the ships exhausted, the number of people in Yangzhou City was already less than 100,000.
The harsh impact and the artillery flying over the city wall and entering the city gave the Ming army an unimaginable impact.
At this time, the already weak military morale in the city suddenly cracked.
Shi Kefa was at the top of the city, patrolling the defenses. His muscular body looked extremely majestic at this time.
At this time, a sound of footsteps disturbed his inspection.
"General Li, Gao Jianjun?"
Hundreds of people came in force and immediately surrounded Shi Kefa. Their incoming force was unknown.
Commander-in-Chief Li Qifeng and Deputy Supervisor Gao Qifeng were a little embarrassed, but they had to bite the bullet and move forward, cupping their hands and saying:
"Superintendent, for the safety of Yangzhou, we will have to do this!"
"Yangzhou?"
Shi Kefa raised his eyebrows and said coldly: "I'm afraid it's for your future, official career!"
"Do you also want to help the tyrants and surrender to the Qing Dynasty?"
The soldiers who followed him also lowered their heads in shame, not daring to look directly.
"Have you forgotten the kindness of a king and father and the loyalty of a minister?"
Shi Kefa's chest heaved and he wanted to curse, but as a scholar, he couldn't say those dirty words.
At this time, Lieutenant General Shi Dewei came in a hurry, looked at everyone, and said angrily: "Do you want to rebel?"
At this time, Li and Gao both knew that they could not do anything, so they could only lower their heads in shame: "Supervisor, Yangzhou City has become a desperate situation, and it is useless to defend it. We just want to survive, and we hope that the Supervisor will succeed."
"Let them go!"
Shi Kefa sighed.
"Supervisor!" Shi Dewei was anxious. There were thousands of people in this group.
"Everyone has his own ambition!" Shi Kefa waved his hand: "Whether it is the common people or the soldiers, it is voluntary to stay in Yangzhou. How can we defend the city if we are not united? It is better to go."
"Thank you very much, Supervisor," Li Qifeng and Gao Qifeng thanked him profusely and couldn't wait to leave.
I looked down upon Shi Kefa more and more in my heart. How could a woman be kind enough to save the country?
Immediately, they colluded with the generals Hu Shangyou and Han Shangliang to leave the city.
So, in the blink of an eye, thousands more people left Yangzhou and surrendered directly to the Qing army. They also brought news from Yangzhou City, and their strength waxed and waned.
At this time, Yangzhou only had more than 10,000 troops in the city.
At this time, the only available troops in the huge Yangzhou City were Liu Zhaoji and the Zhongguan Battalion headed by He Gang, and their strength was quite weak.
Seeing this, many people in Yangzhou City knew that they could no longer hold on, and Hui merchants moved out one after another.
Hui merchants and salt merchants, headed by the Wang brothers, went out of the city in the rain, met Azige, and presented the three million taels of silver they had raised.
"What are you doing?"
Although Azig was dazzled by the silver, he still kept his composure and asked coldly.
"Your Majesty, we are people from Yangzhou, and Governor Shi has sworn to guard the city. We, the common people, have no choice but to submit. Knowing that Master Wang is coming, we specially offer some Cheng Yi..."
"Don't play tricks on me. Say it nicely, and recruit me truthfully. What are you thinking?"
Azig is not a fool, he asked in a deep voice.
The Wang brothers had no choice but to confide: "I hope the prince can control the soldiers after breaking the city, and don't destroy Yangzhou City. After all, this will also be the land of the Qing Dynasty in the future."
"Okay, I promise you!"
Azig sneered in his heart, looked at the silver in front of him greedily, and said casually.
The Wang brothers thanked him profusely and returned to Yangzhou.
"Why is Yangzhou City so prosperous?" Azig asked casually.
The generals on the side were also dazzled by the sight, and their hearts were burning with greed.
"Reporting to the prince, Yangzhou is right next to the canal. There are countless merchants traveling from north to south. It is also home to the famous salt merchants from Huaihe and Huaihe - Huizhou merchants. Therefore, it is a first-class wealthy place in the south of the Yangtze River."
Shang Kexi couldn't help but explain.
Hearing this, all the generals in the hall were breathing heavily and their eyes were shining.
Wu Sangui and other Han generals had long had their eyes on him, and they had been thinking about it for a long time.
Azig even showed a meaningful smile.
"Rumble--"
The artillery fire continued for days and nights. After a day and night of bombing, even though Yangzhou City was high and steep, it was no match for the red artillery. The city wall collapsed by nearly two feet.
As a result, the Han army became a platoon army again, pushing forward against the rubble.
Even ordinary people have long heard about the wealth in Yangzhou. They are greedy and want to arrive first to gain huge harvests.
Azige and other generals were watching from the rear, waiting for the army to conquer Yangzhou and immediately letting the Han army withdraw, allowing the Manchu and Mongolian Eight Banners to capture this wealth.
The humble and weak Han army did not deserve such wealth.
"As soon as the city cave is opened, Yangzhou is hopeless."
Azig said confidently.
The Manchu, Mongolian, Han and other generals under his command were naturally flattering.
"Do you know why the west gate was broken?"
Azig spoke with a certain air of dignity, and without any reaction from the crowd, he continued:
"Although Shi Kefa has a good heart, he is really bad at leading an army as a scholar."
Shang Ke was happy to hear the words and hurriedly cooperated:
"I heard that this large area of land in Ximen is where the ancestral tomb of the Li family in Xinghua is located. Shi Kefa couldn't bear to take it, so he let it go. Instead, it became our best direction."
"The so-called sympathy between scholars is actually used to defend the city. It's really ridiculous!"
"Hahaha!" Azig laughed: "The Han people are already weak, and now they use literati to lead their troops in war. How can a pen beat a bow and arrow?"
"It's ridiculous. The Han people don't deserve to have this great country."
Shang Kexi on the side, Wu Sangui and others could only laugh along with them, but deep in their eyes were extremely dissatisfied.
Compared with Dorgon, Duduo and Duoduo only looked down upon the Han people in a hidden way, while Azig showed it openly, which really made people feel uncomfortable.
But the situation was so pressing that there was no other way.
"Huh--"
At this time, Azig suddenly showed a surprised look.
Everyone looked at him and were surprised.
I thought I was going to file in, but who knew I was encountering resistance.
A Ming army, accompanied by a large number of civilians, brandishing various weapons, stones, etc., constantly blocked the Qing army.
However, the Qing army, which only wanted to plunder, was suddenly attacked and was immediately disrupted. For a while, it was blocked at the entrance of the cave and was in a dilemma.
"Trash!" Azig snorted coldly.
Shang Kexi and others on the side looked ugly.
"Continue to add more people and let's see how long he can hold him back."