Kang Kara, who is stationed in Suzhou, is now a polished commander. His 2,500 men were reduced by more than 700 in Changzhou before, and now there are still more than 1,000 men stationed in Suzhou. He came to Jiangning with Tu Guobao to discuss matters, and then
There's no going back now.
After Kangkara sat dullly for a while, he proposed to go back to Suzhou.
"I suggest that the generals immediately mobilize Zheng Jiwu, Zhu Gang, Li Yuchun and others from Hangzhou to go north and join forces from Hangzhou, Jiaxing, Songjiang and other places. They will first go to Suzhou to join forces, and then I will bring the Suzhou soldiers to rescue Jiangning."
Hangzhou and Songjiang each have 2,580 banners, and Li Yuchun, Zheng Jiwu and others in western Zhejiang are brave and capable, and have many soldiers and horses. Together, they can draw at least more than 10,000 or even 20,000 people to help.
The Qing army in Zhejiang has a strong record. If they reinforce Jiangning, they will still be able to fight the Ming army.
But Tu Guobao objected on the grounds that the Ming army controlled the canal. Although western Zhejiang had always been firmly under the control of the Qing army, under the current circumstances, it was not easy for the Qing army in western Zhejiang to pass through Suchang Town to rescue Jiangning.
On the contrary, there is the risk of being ambushed and rescued halfway, which may even leave western Zhejiang empty and be captured by the Ming army.
"Hangzhou cannot make any more mistakes."
"There are not many soldiers and horses in Suzhou now. We should hold on to the city, otherwise Suzhou may be lost for the fourth time."
Tu Guobao even suggested that Kang Kara should stay in Jiangning City now. He was afraid that if he left the city, he would not be able to return to Suzhou and would be intercepted and captured by the Ming army on the way.
Kangkara still insisted that the troops from Jiangnan should be concentrated to defend Jiangning City and fight the Ming army.
There are no reinforcements outside now. If we disperse and defend the city, we may be defeated by the Ming army one by one. We should move closer to Jiangning and join together.
"What Shilang Kang said is very reasonable. The city of Jiangning cannot be lost, but Hangzhou cannot be defended either." Yan Wogong pondered for a while, "I think that under the current situation, troops from Anqing, Huizhou and other places upstream should be mobilized to reinforce Jiangning, Suzhou and Hangzhou.
The green battalions left behind will defend the city, and the most elite and capable garrison Eight Banners soldiers and governor Biao battalions will be mobilized to reinforce Jiangning. Ma Butang, what do you think?"
Ma Guozhu, the governor of the three provinces, suffered from a severe headache. He still can't understand why Zhenjiang was defeated so quickly and miserably.
Ten thousand elite soldiers went to defend Zhenjiang, and there was also the danger of the Yangtze River. In the blink of an eye, they were defeated and returned. All the elite soldiers of the 2,588 Banners were gone. What's even worse is that 70% of the artillery in the south of the Yangtze River was lost in Zhenjiang, and the gunpowder was lost.
Even more, 90% of it was lost in Zhenjiang.
Jiangning City is large and strong, but such a big city also needs more soldiers and horses to defend. Only eight thousand soldiers cannot defend such a big city, especially now that there is a shortage of gunpowder in the city, but the Ming army has a large amount of artillery gunpowder.
down, and had a complete advantage in the navy.
He didn't even know how to fight this battle.
"If the Eight Banners and Green Camps from Jiangnan are mobilized to defend Jiangning, then the various places may not be able to defend it."
For example, in various parts of Anhui in the upper reaches, the Ming army is currently blocked in the city and cannot get out. Once the main force comes to Jiangning again, not only will they be ambushed on the road, but after the main force leaves, the remaining soldiers may not be able to hold on.
City.
Yan Wegong also sighed, "Now we have only two ways to go. Either concentrate our efforts to protect Jiangning City, or we can still defend the city and wait for reinforcements. However, reinforcements may not arrive for three to five months. We must be prepared to hold on for a year."
Prepare, but with the number of soldiers and horses, artillery and warships of the Ming army now, I estimate that we can't defend it for a year, and we may not be able to defend it for three months. There are thousands of soldiers in Jiangnan now, and thousands are scattered there. Once Jiangning
If the city is not defended, the entire Jiangnan will collapse, and it will be defeated by the Ming army one by one."
Ma Guozhu said, "But the court cannot sit idly by and ignore us. In three months, I think the court should be able to send troops to help, and it won't even take three months." He analyzed with Yan Wogong and others that if Tan Tai of Yanzhou and others
If we come to the rescue with all our strength, even if the canal is blocked, we will only carry a small amount of food and grass and go south directly by land. So the journey from Yanzhou to Yangzhou is about a thousand miles.
Walking hundreds of miles a day, it takes no more than ten days.
Even if they can't cross the river, they can camp directly in the north of Jiangning and coordinate Jiangning City, threatening the Ming army's back and preventing them from attacking the city with all their strength.
"What about food and grass? It takes ten days to reach Yangzhou, but there is no food and grass to support them. How can 20,000 people survive?"
Ma Guozhu gritted his teeth and said, "In the Battle of Daling River, I surrounded the city with 50,000 troops and more than 10,000 Ming troops. I besieged the city for reinforcements. The city was without food for more than two months. We ate everything we should eat and everything we shouldn't.
After eating, the people in the city ate each other and still defended, and finally surrendered to the city. They ate more than 10,000 people!"
"Twenty thousand reinforcements from Shandong are stationed in Yangzhou. They can collect grain and grass in the north of the Yangtze River. Just after the autumn harvest, they can always collect some. In addition to grain and grass, cattle, horses, pigs and sheep can be eaten. Even when necessary, people can also be captured to eat!
"
These remarks about cannibalism are very shocking, but there are too many records of cannibalism in wars throughout the history books, especially during the siege of a city. The most tragic one is the Suiyang city defense in the Tang Dynasty.
Fighting.
Even when Hangzhou was defending the city last time, beggars were kidnapped and slaughtered for meat and rice.
In the Battle of Daling River that year, it is said that Zu Dashou and other fortified cities refused to defend and had no food, so they ate all the civilians in the city.
Now Ma Guozhu also claims that after Tan Tai and others went south, they directly grabbed the grain from the people in the north of the Yangtze River, instead of thinking about how to transport grain from Beizhi or Shandong, Henan and other places to get grain locally. If there was no grain, they would eat the livestock, and then
If there are no livestock, then the nearby people will be captured directly to serve as military rations.
"It's too appalling to directly arrest people for military rations. Isn't that what Zhu Can, Huang Chao and others did? Then how can the imperial court win the support of the people?" Yan Wogong asked.
Ma Guozhu said indifferently, "War is cruel. What would happen if we were besieged in Jiangning City? Jiangning is such a big city with so many residents and there is a shortage of food. Let me tell the manager,
When the time comes, the people in the city will eat the beggars first, then some unprotected refugees, the old and the weak, and finally the women and children, and then they will exchange children for food, until the city is destroyed, or until the last person is eaten...
"
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! "To protect Jiangning, we have to take an unusual path. There are 20,000 elites in Yanzhou. We can't move just because there is no food and grass. At the critical moment, all means must be used
superior."
"If 20,000 people from Yanzhou go to Yangzhou in the north of the Yangtze River, and then another 20,000 people from western Zhejiang and others go to Suzhou in the south, and then abandon Chitai, Huining and other cities, and transfer all the troops and horses to Jiangning, then I can still gather at least 50,000 horses.
, can definitely fight with the Ming army. I have always believed that the Ming Lu Supervisory State has not been around for a long time, and its soldiers and horses are not many, especially the elite. They have always been fighting on the move, avoiding the real and avoiding the weak. The real confrontation is
, if we rely on the strong city of Jiangning and build two camps in the north and south of Jiangning, we will not only be able to defend Jiangning, but we may even have a chance to defeat the Ming army in one fell swoop."
"If necessary, even soldiers from Huguang can go down the river to reinforce."
Kang Kara expressed his position, "I support Governor Ma's proposal. Since the Qing Dynasty entered the customs, we have won every battle. The defeat of the Huguang Ming thieves further proves that the Qing army is mostly a mob. We must take the initiative."
Lord Yan pondered for a long time.
"Okay, then according to what Governor Ma and Minister Kang said, we will fight to the death with the Ming thieves in Jiangning. I will submit a report to the court, and please join me in signing the report to urgently mobilize 20,000 people from Tan Tai, Shandong.
Then we will mobilize 10,000 Huguang Banners to go south, and 20,000 people from Zhexi and other places, as well as more than 10,000 green battalions from Chihui, Anqing and other places. We will ignore the rest and concentrate our troops to fight the main force of the Ming thieves."
"National treasure."
"The official is here."
"You are the newly appointed governor of Jiangning and the admiral of Caojiang. You will go to Suzhou and Hangzhou with Kang Shilang first, gather the troops from the south, gather in Suzhou, and then go north along the canal to Zhenjiang to establish the Jiangnan camp, recover Zhenjiang and then provide reinforcements.
Jiangning.”
"Governor Ma, I'd like you to go to Shandong in person and ask Tan Tai's army to go south and station in Yangzhou, where they will establish a Jiangbei camp and mobilize troops from Henan to go south."
"Liu Yingbin!"
Liu Yingbin, the former governor of Anhui and now the political envoy to the south of the Yangtze River, stood silently until his name was called.
"You go upstream to Taiping, Qinghuichi and other prefectures, mobilize green battalions from all over and rush to the Dashengguan area to the west of Jiangning to establish the Jiangxi camp."
"This manager will lead eight thousand troops to guard Jiangning City. There will be three camps outside the city. We will defend Jiangning City to the death and fight the Ming army to the end!"
Tu Guobao was stunned.
"Jing Lue, Bu Tang, Hong Guang is still in the city, and Qian Qianyi and Chen Hongfan are also in the city. Are they using Hong Guang to negotiate peace with Lu Jianguo? Didn't the imperial court promise that as long as Lu Jianguo is willing to negotiate, some conditions can be relaxed?"
"But Lu Jianguo didn't see the envoy at all, and he refused to negotiate peace."
"Then relax the conditions? Even if it can delay it for a while, it would be good."
Tu Guobao was unsure, and he was not willing to see the Qing army really defeat the Ming army. He even believed that Yan Wogong was a spy of Lu Jianguo, so he felt that Yan Wogong's big move was too big.
There must be many pitfalls in the deployment, just like the Battle of Zhenjiang.
He would rather have less trouble.
"Naru Jianguo is gaining the upper hand. How can there be no reason not to eat meat at this time?"
"Why don't you send some money first? If that doesn't work, you can just send Hongguang directly there."
Yan Wo Gong looked at Ma Guozhu and Kang Kara.
Kangkara lowered his head and said nothing, obviously unwilling to get involved in this matter, or saying that he did not want to take responsibility in the future.
Ma Guozhu hesitated for a moment and then said, "It would be good to take advantage of the peace negotiation to buy more time, but we don't have much money now."
Yan Wo was fair, "Now that there is no money in the treasury, we can only ask the gentry and the common people to donate. The situation is critical. Everyone should be rich and have the ability to contribute. Each household should contribute one cent and take turns to go to the city to help with defense. According to the last time
In terms of the amount of the donation, another three million taels of silver will be collected, one million will be sent to the Ming army to show their sincerity, and the remaining two million will be used to reward the soldiers for their bravery!"
Ma Guozhu and others all nodded in agreement, since they didn't have to pay for it anyway.
The last time they levied three million, they also divided one million. Now there are still a few dead ghosts to share the silver with. If they divide another one hundred taels, then they can get a lot more.
One million was given to Lu Jianguo to ask for peace, and one million was given as a reward to the army. They divided another one million among them, which was perfect.