When Wang Yuan arrived in Wuchang, Wei Ying was recruiting warships.
King Ning could rob merchant ships at will, but Wei Ying had to take it easy. Fortunately, he had the righteousness of King Qin to suppress the rebellion, otherwise it would have been difficult to take action. After all, the merchants were somehow related to the gentry.
Wang Yuan continued sailing, passing Huangzhou and arriving at Qizhou.
Wei Ying garrisoned troops here. He already had 30,000 troops under his command. Only 40% of them were guardsmen, and the rest were recruited from the countryside.
"General Wei, how is the situation ahead?" Wang Yuan asked.
Wei Ying said: "Ningfan is attacking Anqing, but his navy is plundering across the Yangtze River, and the water bandits in Leichi (Longgan Lake) are rebelling. Although I have gathered 30,000 troops, I don't have many warships.
It is difficult to get out eastward due to the pressure of the rebel navy. However, I have sent Marquis Anyuan (Liu Wen, the commander-in-chief of Huguang) with 5,000 elite troops to go overland to rescue Anqing. They should be here soon."
Wang Yuan smiled and said: "Anqing has five thousand reinforcements, which is enough."
Wei Ying said: "I think so too. With five thousand elite troops rushing to help Anqing, and a scholar (Li Chongsi) stationed in Nanjing, Ning Fan will definitely return without success. My army only needs to wait for changes, and wait for Ning Fan to die in embarrassment
Hit him when you come back."
With Wang Yuan's advance arrangements, even if Wang Yangming did not stab Nanchang, Prince Ning would definitely be dealt with by Wei Ying.
"Then wait slowly." Wang Yuan was not in a hurry.
Of course they were not just sitting around waiting. A few days later, Wang Yuan and Wei Ying crossed the river in Guangji, planning to attack Jiujiang by land.
At this moment, the good news came that Wang Yangming took only half a day to capture Nanchang, the home of Prince Ning.
Wei Ying was overjoyed: "Bo'an (Wang Yangming) used his troops like a god. Now that Nanchang has been lost, Ningfan will definitely return in panic. We attack Jiujiang by surprise at this time, but we can defeat it in one battle. Ningfan's retreat is cut off and he can only float on the Yangtze River."
Go up and become that rootless duckweed."
Wang Yuan shook his head and said: "We cannot cut off Ning Fan's retreat."
"Why?" Wei Ying didn't understand what he meant.
Wang Yuan analyzed: "If Ning Fan loses Jiujiang, he will be floating on the river unable to advance or retreat. His navy is relatively strong, and it will be difficult for the officers and soldiers to destroy him in the short term. Once the rebels are exhausted and have no food and grass, they may turn into rogues and sail on boats.
Food was robbed everywhere in the north and south of the Yangtze River, and it even collapsed into countless streams causing trouble for thieves."
Wei Ying nodded and said: "Shilang Wang is very worried, and it is very possible."
Wang Yuan said with a smile: "So we stand still and send Ning Fan back to Jiujiang, and let him go south to fight with Duke Yangming. Then we will make a surprise attack and capture Jiujiang. In this way, blocking Prince Ning in Jiangxi is like beating the dog behind closed doors.
also."
"Hahahaha," Wei Ying was amused and laughed, and asked, "Can Bo'an survive the battle with the main force of Ningbo? Jiangxi officers and soldiers are worse than Huguang. Bo'an claims to have 300,000 King Qin's army. I'm afraid it's really
There are only a few thousand who can fight."
Wang Yuan was quite confident: "With Sir's methods, a few thousand soldiers are enough, and the bandits under Ning Fan's command are not a worry."
The biggest problem with King Ning's rebels is not lack of training, but the difficulty in getting people together and inconsistent orders.
Bandits, bandits, gangsters, robbers, civilians, guards, guardsmen...the rebels are probably composed of these. They dislike each other, they don't obey anyone, and there is even a deep hatred among the internal generals.
Take the garrison in Nanchang as an example. Those who formed camps outside the city to assist in defense were the soldiers from the guards around Nanchang. Those who garrisoned inside the city were the Guards of King Ning and the Jianghu bandits.
The guardsmen were thrown outside the city to assist in the defense, and they were already dissatisfied. They hurriedly fled into the city, but the defenders inside the city actually wanted to close the door. They immediately turned from comrades into mortal enemies, and started fighting each other on the spot.
As for the defenders in the city, King Ning's guards wanted to continue to defend the enemy, but the bandits ran away. They were rushed by the rout troops at the gate of the city, and it instantly became a big rout. At that time, Wang Yangming had just led his troops to the city. It can be said that the soldiers were killed without any blood.
Capture Nanchang.
…
"What, Nanchang is lost?" Prince Ning was horrified.
Li Shishi asked the messenger: "Nanchang City is high and deep, and there are more than 20,000 elite troops stationed there. How did Wang Shouren capture it?"
The messenger replied: "According to the plan of Wang Shangshu (Wang Lun, Shangshu of the Ministry of War), the general of the division (formerly the commander of the Ming Dynasty Shi Kui) led his troops to camp outside the city and formed a confrontation with the defenders in the city. Wang Shouren fired a letter of persuasion to surrender into the city.
, said that he was coming with an army of 300,000 people, the people in the city were suddenly unstable, and some generals almost abandoned the city and left. Wang Shangshu came out to suppress and appease, and finally stabilized the morale of the army, and the division general's troops outside the city were defeated again.
The defeated troops fled into the city, crowded and mutinied at the gate of the city. Wang Shouren led his troops in pursuit and captured Nanchang. It only... took only half a day."
"You were beaten down like this?" Li Shishi couldn't believe it, thinking he was hearing a joke.
That's 20,000 people stationed in the fortified city. Even 20,000 pigs can't be killed in half a day! What's more, Wang Yangming has an army of 300,000, and the number of soldiers who can fight in southern Jiangxi is only a few thousand at most.
King Ning's face was ashen and he was about to collapse, but he forced himself to calm down and said: "Go back to Jiangxi quickly and take Nanchang back!"
"No!"
Liu Yangzheng advised: "Your Majesty, the rebellion will never retreat. Since Nanchang has been lost, we should attack Nanjing. Only by capturing Nanjing can we have a chance to make a comeback!"
"That's nonsense," King Ning was furious. "Your family, mine, and the families of the soldiers are all in Nanchang at this time. If we don't recapture Nanchang, how can the soldiers have the will to fight? I'm afraid they might mutiny before they even get to Nanjing!"
Li Shishi gritted his teeth and said: "Beware of mutiny. Who dares to disobey orders and be punished by military law? Your Majesty, what the right prime minister said is absolutely true. The rebellion really has no way to retreat. So what if we recapture Nanchang? The imperial court has enough time to mobilize the army. We
Once you go back to Jiangxi, you won’t be able to leave! As for your family, how can you take care of your family now?”
Liu Yangzheng knelt down and kowtowed: "Your Majesty, please send troops to attack Nanjing immediately!"
"Don't try to persuade me any more, I have made up my mind," Prince Ning ordered, "Come here, take the two prime ministers to the cabin to rest, and immediately return to Nanchang!"
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty, please think again!"
Li Shishi and Liu Yangzheng were dragged away by the guards, crying and shouting all the way, which made Prince Ning even more upset.
…
King Ning's main force quickly returned to Jiujiang. He didn't even bother to enter Jiujiang City, but directly entered Poyang Lake by boat. After landing, he immediately headed towards Nanchang.
Wang Yuan and Wei Ying got the news and quickly organized their troops to attack Jiujiang.
"Don't bring so many troops, just three thousand elite troops. Too many troops will make the move slower." Wang Yuan suggested.
Wei Ying asked: "Can three thousand soldiers capture Jiujiang?"
"That's enough," Wang Yuan said very confidently, "I'll take a boat down the river and lead three thousand people to attack the city. General Wei, leading the navy, must block the entrance of Poyang Lake and not let the Ningbo navy out!"
Wei Ying still had concerns: "Is it too risky? It may be difficult to capture Jiujiang with three thousand troops, and the Huguang Navy cannot defeat the Ningbo Navy."
"It's not dangerous, it's not dangerous. It's very solid. Let's go quickly." Wang Yuan urged.
So, the two of them took a boat and arrived in Jiujiang that same day.
Wang Yuan took Song Ling'er and three thousand elite troops to land at Jiujiang Shuiyi Wharf, while Wei Ying led the navy to block the entrance of Poyang Lake.
Jiujiang City in the Ming Dynasty was bordered by a river to the north, a lake to the southwest, and wide semi-artificial moats to the east and southeast. Only the northwest was land, and it was blocked by a fully artificial moat. Only a few thousand people defended the city.
, without the help of heavy firearms, it would be difficult for an army of tens of thousands to conquer it after fighting for a year and a half.
Wang Yuan led his troops away from Shuiyi Pier and went directly to the moat in the northwest of the city. He ordered his people to shout: "The imperial army has arrived. You rebellious people can avoid death penalty if you surrender to the city. If you can follow me on the expedition and perform meritorious service, you will be exempted from death."
If you can capture and kill the rebels from Ningbo, you can be rewarded based on your merits!"
The guard general of Jiujiang is called Wei Ba, whose real name is unknown, and he is a heroic hero in central Jiangxi.
The so-called heroes are thieves who are wealthy, land-rich and famous.
These "heroes" are not bandits. They buy land to build houses and estates. On the surface, they are no different from ordinary landlords. However, they work with the government and hand over gangsters. They secretly kill people and buy goods, and occasionally build bridges and pave roads to accumulate moral virtue. Everyone knows that they are bandits.
, but the government did not arrest him, and heroes from all walks of life came to surrender one after another.
When Wei Ba heard that officers and soldiers were coming, he immediately put on his armor and came to the tower. He saw that Wang Yuan only led 3,000 infantry. He was immediately amused and said: "Wu Guan, whose name is that, please report it quickly!"
"Raise the flag!" Wang Yuan ordered.
There are three sides to the flag, one is "Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of War", the other is "Admiral and Commander-in-Chief of Military Affairs and Counterinsurgency of the Provinces", and the other is "King".
Wei Ba was actually literate and had a telescope, which King Ning gave to him.
This guy used a telescope to observe, but he only recognized the "Left Minister of the Ministry of War", but he didn't understand what kind of official the "Admiral Commander-in-Chief of Military Affairs and Counterinsurgency of the Provinces" was.
Not to mention him, Li Shishi, the left prime minister of King Ning, came and was probably a little confused because Zhu Houzhao gave this official name casually.
Wei Ba ordered a scholar to be brought up and asked: "What kind of bird official is that?"
The scholar's surname was Zheng, and he was quite talented. He was not willing to become a thief, but his family was detained. He took a closer look and was shocked: "General, hurry up and surrender. This is Wang Ruoxu, the left minister of the Ministry of War, coming in person!"
Wei Ba said confusedly: "Who is Wang Ruoxu?"
Zheng Xiucai explained: "It is Wang Yuan and Wang Erlang!"
"Kill Liu Liu and Liu Qi, capture the King of Turpan alive, and kill the little Mongolian prince Wang Erlang?" Wei Ba panicked.
Zheng Xiucai said: "Who else can there be besides him?"
Wei Ba panicked and said, "Why is he in Jiujiang?"
Zheng Xiucai said: "Wang Ruoxu is the left minister of the Ministry of War. He has come to Jiujiang. I am afraid that the imperial army will arrive soon. General, are you better than Liu Liu and Liu Qi? Or are you more powerful than the King of Turpan and the little prince of Mongolia?"
Wei Ba became more and more guilty and shouted at the top of his lungs: "Is the person here Wang Erlang?"
Wang Yuan laughed loudly: "You will not change your name when you are walking, and you will not change your surname when you are sitting down. It is me, Wang Yuan! Hurry up to the city to welcome Master Wang. I will protect you from death. If you can perform meritorious services, you will be rewarded!"
Zheng Xiucai quickly asked: "If you are forced to become a thief late in life, can you keep your fame?"
Wang Yuan replied: "If you have not done any evil, I will protect your reputation. As for this traitorous general, he can be exempted from the death penalty, but he cannot escape the living crime. Only by performing great merits can the merits and demerits be offset!"
Wei Ba was furious: "You can avoid the death penalty, but you can't escape if you are convicted, so why should I surrender?"
Zheng Xiucai advised: "General, think about it carefully. There must be a large army of imperial troops behind Wang Erlang, so he dares to speak so harshly. Otherwise, he could just fool us, trick us into opening the city gate and kill us directly. He said that the death penalty can be avoided, but the living penalty can be avoided."
It’s hard to escape, firstly, he didn’t lie to us, and secondly, he has a large army to rely on and is not afraid that we will not surrender the city. If he says that he will not hold the guilty accountable, do you dare to believe it?”
"Of course I don't believe it. How can the serious crime of treason be spared lightly?" Wei Ba said.
Zheng Xiucai said: "That's it. Wang Erlang did not lie or deceive anyone."
Wang Yuan asked people to shout again: "Listen to the rebels in the city. The imperial court's 300,000 troops have recaptured Nanchang City and arrested Ningbo's rebellious wife and children. How can he be a fake emperor without his wife and children? Nanjing Ten
Ten thousand elite troops are arriving by boat, and a hundred thousand troops from Huguang are blocking the entrance of Poyang Lake. After today, there will be no chance to surrender and meritorious service!"
Zheng Xiucai was frightened to the point of fighting: "General, surrender. Nanchang has been lost. You know that we are surrounded on three sides!"
As a heroic hero in central Jiangxi, Wei Ba always wanted to save face. He did not want to surrender immediately. Instead, he opened the city gate and asked someone to bring a small sampan. He shouted: "I heard that Wang Erlang is unparalleled in bravery. How dare you sit down?"
Cross the river in a boat and come to the city alone?"
"Ha ha ha ha!"
Wang Yuan laughed: "Why don't you dare?"
Wang Yuan immediately took a small boat and was about to cross the river when Song Ling'er said, "I'll go there too!"
"Let's go together then." Wang Yuan did not stop him.
The couple took a small boat together, crossed the moat, and soon arrived at the foot of Jiujiang City. The defenders on the city only needed to shoot arrows at random to shoot them into a sieve. Whether they survived or not depended on luck.
Wang Yuan raised his head and asked, "This is my wife, can we cross the river together?"
"Yes, yes, yes," Wei Ba praised continuously, "I don't know that Wang Erlang is so heroic and his wife is so brave. I, Wei Ba, am convinced." He turned to his soldiers and said, "Brothers, I am not surrendering to you.
The imperial court is surrendering to Wang Erlang. If you are unwilling to surrender, please leave the city as soon as possible."
Several lieutenants looked at each other, but they were still afraid after all, and they all said: "Brother, we also obey Wang Erlang. It will not be a shame to surrender him."
Suddenly, another general came to the city tower and saw Wang Yuan and Song Ling'er standing under the city. He immediately ordered: "Quickly shoot them with arrows!"
"Qiang!"
Wei Ba took out his sword from its sheath and hacked the thief to death with one blow. He spat on the corpse and said: "A cuckold bastard dares to give orders to us green forest heroes. I don't think Prince Ning can be an emperor."
The thief general who was killed was the chief general of Jiujiang City, and he was originally an actor and musician from Prince Ning's Mansion.
There is also a eunuch who is in charge of the army. I don’t know where he is at the moment.
Wang Yuan seemed to be impatient with waiting. He drew his sword and shouted: "If you want to surrender, surrender, if you want to fight, fight. How verbose!"
"Hurry up and open the city!"
Wei Ba led all the thieves out of the city to meet Wang Yuan, knelt down and worshiped: "Wei Ba pays homage to the Second Master Wang, and pays homage to the Second Grandma Wang!"
The other thieves and generals also shouted, and the scene was like a grand opera at a birthday banquet.
"Ha ha ha ha!"
Song Ling'er was so amused that she burst into laughter. She had fought many battles in Guizhou and had never seen such a funny situation.
"Everyone, get up," Wang Yuan ordered, "quickly organize your army, follow me on the expedition, and join forces with the imperial army of 300,000 to attack the Ningbo rebellion!"