books44 Chapter 342: Baiyintu Reaction
Chapter 342: Baiyintu Reaction
Wu Sangui led his cavalry to attack Nanyang, Fangcheng and other places. The defenders in the city were caught off guard and the city was quickly captured. However, with such a large-scale raid, the news naturally could not be leaked as tightly as it was in Xiangyang City.
As Nanyang Prefecture was captured by Wu Sangui, news began to spread. When the news of the Nanyang Incident reached Jingzhou City, Li Qifeng still thought it was a figment of the imagination, perhaps a rumor deliberately spread by Meng's spies.
It was not until more and more information began to support the truth that Li Qifeng realized that something was wrong. This major change was like a heavy hammer hitting Li Qifeng and Zheng Siwei on the head.
Xiangyang and Nanyang are located to the north of Jingzhou City. Once Xiangyang was lost, Jingzhou was actually in a situation of being attacked from three sides. To the west was the Loyalty Camp, and to the south was the Zhou army. The situation became precarious in an instant.
Li Qifeng felt his head buzzing. How could Wu Sangui suddenly rebel? Although Wu Sangui did not say it explicitly, Li Qifeng saw it clearly. He occupied counties and prefectures without authorization and expanded the army privately. What was the difference between these actions and treason?
Li Qifeng and Zheng Siwei sat together again, in exactly the same seating arrangement as a few days ago, except that today, they seemed to be in an even worse mood than that day.
Li Qifeng sighed deeply, peace in the world seemed like a long way off. He couldn't help but feel that the Regent's order to shave his head was indeed a bit too hasty.
In terms of customs, people in the north have always been tough, while in the south, it seems that in the long-standing impression, the customs of the people in the south of the Yangtze River are weak. Li Qifeng did not expect that for the sake of clothing and hair accessories, there would be civil unrest in the south of the Yangtze River. For example, Jiangyin, a small city, actually blocked the Manchu and Han army of more than 100,000 for several months. And Meng Jun defeated the Eight Banners Cavalry in a row.
Seeing Li Qifeng sighing, Zheng Siwei said in a depressed tone, "Lord Li, there is a change in Nanyang. Will Marshal Bai's troops attack Xiangyang first, leaving me to face the Shun and Meng bandits in Jingzhou City?"
Li Qifeng came back to his senses after hearing this, shook his head and smiled bitterly at Zheng Siwei, "Marshal Bai will not attack Xiangyang."
Seeing Zheng Siwei's puzzled expression, Li Qifeng continued, "Xiangyang is bordered by the Han River to the north, Jingshan Mountain to the west, and Dahong Mountain to the east. If the army marches north and fails to capture Xiangyang, then the Shun and Meng bandits will merge, and if Jingzhou Prefecture is lost, then the troops under General Bai will be trapped, right?"
Zheng Siwei looked enlightened, and after a moment's hesitation, he said, "Lord Li, do you think that Marshal Bai will defeat the Shun and Meng thieves first, and then attack Xiangyang?"
Li Qifeng shook his head and said, "Marshal Bai has thought deeply about this, how can we know even a little bit? But I guess Marshal Bai will not come to Jingzhou City!"
Zheng Siwei stood up upon hearing this and asked in surprise: "What, not coming? How can we defend Jingzhou City?"
Li Qifeng signaled Zheng Siwei to calm down and said in a deep voice: "The vanguard of the Shun bandits has reached Zhijiang, and the commander is now stationed in Jiangling. The military situation is urgent and the incident happened suddenly. I will go to Jiangling first to meet the commander and discuss the confidential matters. General Zheng, the matter of Jingzhou City will be handled by you alone!"
Seeing Zheng Siwei's worried look, Li Qifeng said again: "Don't worry, General Zheng, I will definitely ask Marshal Bai to send troops to defeat the Shun bandits first and save Jingzhou from danger!"
Zheng Siwei looked at Li Qifeng's leaving back and couldn't help but think in his heart, could it be that Li Qifeng felt that Jingzhou had become a dangerous place and fled far away under the pretext of seeking help?
But things had come to this point, and Zheng Siwei could only muster up his courage and boost morale. He ordered people to patrol the city gates, wells, and granaries to guard against spies. He also sent people to reinforce the city walls and gates, distribute weapons, and move logs and stones.
Zheng Siwei could only relieve his worries when he was busy. He guarded Jingzhou City alone like a hero who turned the tide. Zheng Siwei did not want to do such a thing, but he killed Meng Changgeng, the general of Shun Army and the Defense Envoy of Jingzhou, and dyed his clothes red with Meng Changgeng's head. Apart from anything else, would the remnants of Shun Army in the Loyal Camp spare him?
Zheng Siwei didn't dare to have any illusions. Since surrendering would mean death, he might as well fight to the death, go all the way and hold on to the end!
…………
Bai Yintu's troops had already entered Jingzhou Prefecture at this time, and the army marched to Jiangling City.
Outside Jiangling City, the Qing army camp.
In the tent of Baiyintu, several generals had solemn expressions. Before the war, the generals were full of confidence. The Qing Dynasty was like the rising sun in the east, while the Ming court was already on the decline. All the surrendered generals like Wu Sangui were respectful and did their best. However, they did not expect that after Duoduo's defeat, all kinds of monsters would come out.
Bai Yintu had neither good nor bad feelings towards Wu Sangui before, but now, Wu Sangui, who controlled Xiangyang and seized Nanyang, had become a thorn in Bai Yintu's side.
"Tell us all." Baiyintu said with some annoyance.
Suo Hong stepped forward and said, "General, the Shun bandits are so bold that they want to attack Jingzhou again. Why don't we attack the Shun bandits first? It won't be difficult to defeat these remnants of a defeated army."
Yang Zhenwei, who has always been taciturn, spoke this time. If he didn't speak again, if Suo Hong's words were really followed, it would be unknown whether he could return to Taiyuan alive.
Yang Zhenwei clasped his hands and said, "General, Wu Sangui has occupied Xiangyang and Nanyang. Jingzhou is surrounded by enemies on three sides and can no longer be defended. Now that Prince Yu's army has been defeated, your army is the one the court relies on. If there is any mistake, the situation will be irreversible. The army should immediately march east, pass Anlu Prefecture, and return to the Central Plains via Wusheng Pass."
Suo Hong was furious when he heard this and said, "Are we going to give Jingzhou to the thief Meng? If we lose Jingzhou, Xiangyang will be in Wu Sangui's hands, Huai'an will be gone, and the Huaihe River and Han River will all be lost. It will be very difficult for the court to go south again in the future!"
Yang Zhenwei retorted: "Even if we defeat Shun and defend Jingzhou, what's the point? You should know that Meng's army is still in Wuchang, and he has the advantage of the navy. Once he crosses the river and captures Wusheng Pass, our army will be surrounded in Jingzhou. By then, even if Meng doesn't send troops to attack, where will the imperial court's reinforcements, food and supplies come from!"
Suo Hong choked for a moment, and after a while he said in a somewhat inadequate tone: "Then let's go north first and destroy Wu Sangui, this capricious villain."
Upon hearing this, Yang Zhenwei did not want to refute it. It was pure nonsense. If he went north, there was a 99% chance that he would be surrounded.
Baiyintu also knew that what Yang Zhenwei said made sense. Wu Sangui had seized the Nanyang Basin, and Jingzhou was like an enclave. There was no point in defending it, unless the army marched north to attack and destroy Wu Sangui. However, Wu Sangui had not yet explicitly stated that he was planning a rebellion. Moreover, if he was blocked at the gate of Xiangyang, Meng would be a fool and would know that if he attacked from behind, he would be stationed in a strong city and there would be a strong enemy behind him. The army would be destroyed.
Thinking of this, Baiyintu immediately wrote a letter and ordered the messenger to rush to Prince Su Haoge, asking him to guard Wusheng Pass with heavy troops and guard the main road for the army's retreat.