In Jiangning City, after passing through the government office, Jiangning Governor Tu Guobao entered the city in disguise and privately asked to see Yan Wogong. When they met, Tu Guobao directly took out a pre-written IOU and gave it to Yan Wogong, worth one hundred thousand taels of silver.
"What's going on with you?" Yan Wagong looked at Tu Guobao who was in a very embarrassed state and pushed the IOU away pretending to be dissatisfied.
"Mr. Yan, only you can save me. Xiaguan was originally promoted by Hong Jinglue, but now that Hong Jinglue has gone to Huguang, he can no longer take care of Shangxiaoguan. The only person Xiaguan can rely on now is Gong Yan.
Mr. Yan had already given me a hand when he was in Suzhou, but he wanted to remember the old friendship and wanted to give me another hand."
There are two meanings in Tu Guobao's words. One is that he will turn to Yan Wogong in the future, and he will follow his lead. The other meaning is to remind Yan Wogong that when we were at the gate of Suzhou City, we were with Zhu Wu, the nine kings of the Ming Dynasty.
We talked in secret, it was your idea when I redeemed Suzhou City, and besides, it was you who had the idea to kill Li Shutai.
Don't push me into a hurry, otherwise I will have no way out, and I will inevitably drag people into trouble.
Mr. Yan coughed twice and said, "I remember that the IOUs that Tufuyuan gave me before have not yet been cashed in. I dare not accept the IOUs this time."
"Mr. Yan, I have already prepared the money that I owed you. But who would have thought that Wu Shengzhao suddenly rebelled and captured Suzhou City. The money is still in the city. As long as Mr. Yan helps me get it back to Suzhou, I will give it to you again."
I am free of guilt, and I will return them all when I return."
"Tofuyuan, when I helped you out of trouble, I took the risk myself, but in the end I didn't care about you."
Tu Guobao knelt down anxiously.
He slapped himself several times and said, "Mr. Yan, it's all because of my ignorance. From now on, Mr. Yan will make some mistakes. I will fight to the death."
Looking at him like this, he also knew that Tu Guobao was indeed pushed to the edge of the cliff. Previously, the tax collection was not enough, the reorganization of the green camp was ineffective, and the Qing Dynasty's suppression of the Ming army was ineffective. Instead, Wujiang was captured, and he gave Tu Guobao ten days to wait.
It's now ten days to recapture Chongming.
Chongming did not regain it and lost Suzhou again.
Tu Guobao is indeed in a very difficult situation now.
"I also want to help you, but the situation is not optimistic now. Hong Jinglue was here before, and you are all very ineffective. There is no money and food, and the green camp cannot fight. Now the Ming army has gained strength in Su Song and is blocked.
Canal, ruined prefecture, what can I do? As soon as you entered the city, you should have heard that Kangkara was attacked in Changzhou, and that all of his 2,580 banners were reduced to 700."
"Mr. Yan, you must have a way. If it doesn't work, we can still use the old method and negotiate privately with the Nine Kings to redeem Suzhou City first."
"Redemption of the city? Can you still afford the money?"
"The ransom money we paid last time has not been paid yet."
Tu Guobao gritted his teeth, "I will definitely find a way to solve it, but Suzhou must get it back first."
"The latest news is that Wu Shengzhao has occupied Suzhou City, and Ming Governor Shen Youlong, governor Wang Yongzuo and others have also entered Suzhou. It is difficult to fight hard. Even if you join forces with Yang Chengzu, Zhang Guozhu, Gao Jinzhong, Li Chengdong and others, with your strength, you will probably go
It’s also a gift.”
"The Eight Banners can't get through without food and grass now, so we have to clear the siege of Changzhou first." Yan Wogong said directly.
Tu Guobao said anxiously, "So I want to redeem the city privately. Please help me negotiate with Mr. Yan. If Suzhou can be recovered as soon as possible, Mr. Yan will also have merit."
"What does it have to do with me? I just went south, and Jiangnan was turned into this by Hong Chengchou and you. If I really hold it accountable, it's also your fault. I have nothing to do with it. I wish all these pustules could be broken, so that they won't happen again in the future.
It involves me."
"Mr. Yan, Suzhou is a famous city in the south of the Yangtze River. There is no room for failure."
With both local and national treasures lost in Suzhou, this governor is at the end of his rope and may even be held accountable. If no one protects him, his life may be at risk.
"I can give it a try, but the initiative is not in our hands. It is with the Nine Kings. Now that they have the power, who knows whether they are still willing to make secret deals with us?"
"Even if the negotiation is concluded and Suzhou takes it back, I am new to the south of the Yangtze River and the situation here is so rotten. I must be held accountable. Zhejiang Governor Zhang Cunren and Governor Xiao Qiyuan were killed by me, and so will you
You are an old friend. I can intercede with the Prince Regent on your behalf, but you can no longer be the Governor. I think you might as well be temporarily demoted to the position of Chief Envoy to the South of the Yangtze River."
Jiangnan Province was changed from Ming Nanzhi. Different from other provinces that only have one chief envoy, Jiangnan Province is relatively large, so it has special left and right chief envoys. The left chief envoy is stationed in Jiangning and has jurisdiction over the Shangjiang prefectures.
, the right chief envoy was stationed in Suzhou, and he only took care of Su Songtai.
Tu Guobao was heartbroken. He finally became a governor and wanted to become a governor. But now he has become a chief envoy.
"I would like to thank Mr. Yan very much."
"Okay, you go back to Kunshan quickly. If there are any results, I will send someone to contact you."
"Before this, you'd better not go to Suzhou easily. If you are defeated and captured, I don't want to have to fight for you anymore."
"Thank you Mr. Yan, I understand."
Tu Guobao quickly and quietly left Jiangning and rushed all the way back to Kunshan.
When they arrived in Kunshan, they found that although Cao Hu, Zou Xixiang and others followed his orders and contacted Yang Chengzu, Li Chengdong and other generals, they gathered in the Kunshan area and did not dare to attack Suzhou.
Upon closer inspection, it turned out that Li Chengdong was clamoring fiercely, saying that he would fight back to Suzhou and kill Wu Shengzhao. However, as soon as he led Zhang Guozhu, Gao Jinzhong and other troops to the outskirts of Suzhou, he was ambushed by the Ming army. They came out by land and water, and participated in the bombardment with artillery.
Li Chengdong's troops were defeated and returned, so he no longer dared to make any noise. He only said that he would wait for the elite Eight Banners to go south.
"Gong Yan has agreed to help us trade with the Nine Kings to redeem the city privately. I went to Jiangning this time and found that the situation is not very good. Even the Manchu soldiers were beaten by the Nine Kings. That Kang Kara was originally stationed in Suzhou.
, wanted to serve as the vanguard of the Southern Expedition, but he was beaten in Changzhou and lost 700 men and horses. He stopped four times and lost all his luggage. The green camp that accompanied him also collapsed. Now he is hiding in Changzhou City and dare not go out.
As a result, Wuxi and others were captured by the Nine Kings again, and now Changzhou is left as an isolated city."
"No wonder Wu Shengzhao came to Ming Dynasty. He must have thought that Manzhou was in trouble."
Tu Guobao sighed, "That's not necessarily the case. The main reason is that Wu Shengzhao was demoted to the rank of commander-in-chief by Duke Yan and was given a ten-day deadline to defeat Chongming. It is better to surrender to Ming with a ruthless heart than to accomplish this impossible task."
"Then what should we do? How about surrendering the Nine Kings?" Cao Hu couldn't help but said. He had been captured once and stayed in the Ming camp. He felt that the Nine Kings were good people.
Tu Guobao shook his head, "Let's take one step and see what happens."
A few days later, Tu Guobao met Yan Wogong's nephew and knew that the matter was settled, so he quietly led his headquarters to Suzhou alone without notifying Li Chengdong and others. He deliberately chose to launch the "Night Battle to Recapture Suzhou" in the middle of the night. After a night of fighting, he was finally defeated.
The Ming army recovered Suzhou.
However, it was not until dawn that we discovered that several city gates and several large sections of city walls in Suzhou City had been torn down.
In the dawn, Suzhou City revealed gaps one after another, trembling in the wind like an old lady with missing teeth.
A green flag hangs weakly at the top of Suzhou City.
Tu Guobao said to his staff with a stern face, "Send a good news to Yan Jinglue in Jiangning. After a bloody night of fighting, our troops have captured Suzhou! Knowing that they were defeated, the Ming thieves destroyed the city and burned warehouses. Suzhou was severely damaged and ran out of money and food. Please send troops to Yan Jinglue.
