Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 373 Northern Expedition (4)

Under the threat of two hundred artillery pieces, Zhao Yongping felt that the time might have come, so he immediately took up his brush and wrote the letter, each word as sharp as a knife.

"You have two days to open the gates and surrender, otherwise, the city will be stained with blood and corpses will be everywhere."

This sentence was copied into hundreds of letters and people were sent to shoot them from all directions in the city. As the letters were shot into the city, the few words quickly spread throughout the army. Wang Gang ordered his men to collect the letters and strictly prohibited any private discussion. However, at this moment, such an order had no deterrent effect at all.

People in Xuzhou city had long been in a panic, with rumors spreading everywhere. After the news of the two hundred cannons entered the city, it spread from one person to ten, from ten to a hundred, and later it was even exaggerated to the point that there were a million troops outside the city and thousands of cannons. Almost overnight, everyone in the city knew about it.

Although many of the military generals transferred from various counties to Xuzhou City were unfamiliar with each other, they still contacted each other privately without any prior arrangement.

Yu Mu, the deputy general of Xuzhou, and his son are not in Beijing, but still living in Xuzhou city. The current situation is clear at a glance. Although the court ordered Hauge to rush to Xuzhou for assistance, it has been so long and there has been no sign of Hauge.

After nightfall, Gao Chang, the defender of Xiao County, secretly asked to see Yu Mu. As soon as they met, Gao Chang said straight to the point that Xuzhou could no longer be defended and he intended to open the city and surrender.

Yu Mu was shocked. He didn't expect this person to be so reckless. How could he blurt out such an important thing so easily?

Gao Chang seemed to know what Yu Mu was thinking and said, "The defenders in the city were hastily assembled. Even if the soldiers in the city were all elite, they would not be able to withstand the bombardment of two hundred artillery pieces. Once the city collapses, everything will be destroyed. Time is tight outside the city. I will tell you the truth. I am definitely not the only one who has this idea. If I don't go back for one hour, the city gates will be opened immediately without any delay."

Yu Mu was silent for a moment before he said, "General Wang has treated me very well, and I cannot bear to rebel."

Gao Chang did not reply when he heard this, but just stared at Yu Mu.

Seeing that he remained silent, Yu Mu said, "If I betray my master, I will be criticized."

Gao Chang just said: "It's almost half an hour."

Yu Mu: "...Okay, I will confront Wang Gang tomorrow. If you surrender, then you will be fine. If you don't surrender, then you can't blame me for waiting."

…………

Wang Gang stood silently on the city wall. A slightly cold wind ruffled his hair. His heart was ten times colder than the wind.

Wang Gang knew that the military officers in the city were colluding in secret, but he no longer wanted to do anything. Even if he wanted to, he couldn't do it because his only son was in Beijing, but most of the families of the military officers in the city were still in the local area.

Wang Gang looked into the distance and saw that the Zhou army under the city was still constantly building siege equipment. Even though Zhao Yongping was 70% sure that there would be a change in the city and the city would surrender, he could not waste two days. Even if Xuzhou City did not surrender, Zhao Yongping would still take it down.

On the deadline day of the Zhou army, Yu Mu brought 16 officers and prepared to confront Wang Gang. These officers included lieutenant generals, guerrillas, and captains, all of whom were garrison commanders from various cities. Each of them brought with him several personal soldiers, and they marched straight to the South City where Wang Gang was, and no one stopped them.

All the people came in front of Wang Gang fully armed with helmets and armor, hands on swords, and only two personal guards were by Wang Gang's side.

Wang Gang's face turned pale, and his hands shook unconsciously, but he still pretended to be calm and said, "What are you here for?"

Yu Mu stepped forward, bowed to Wang Gang and said, "General, there are hundreds of thousands of Zhou troops under the city, surrounding Xuzhou. The soldiers in the city are weak and the generals are few. The reinforcements are slow to arrive. The only way now is to open the city and welcome the surrender!"

"I won't surrender"

A lieutenant general beside him said loudly: "The Hu people have no national fortune for a hundred years. King Zhou has repeatedly defeated the Eight Banners and now he has sent General Zhao to lead an army of 500,000 to the north. We only have so few people. It is impossible for us to rely on Xuzhou City to stop 500,000 people."

"That's right, as the saying goes, 'Trying to stop a chariot with a mantis arm is overestimating one's own abilities.'" another person echoed.

Wang Gang was silent for a moment, then shook his head and said, "No surrender."

A rough guerrilla said angrily: "Damn it, if you don't surrender, I will kill you. If you don't surrender, you can surrender later!"

A guard beside Wang Gang shouted angrily: "How dare you!"

Yu Mu looked gloomy and said in a bad tone, "Sir, please don't force me. All the generals in the city are willing to open the city. Even if you are unwilling, it will not change the overall situation."

Wang Gang's personal guard immediately drew his sword, pointed it at Yu Mu, and shouted fiercely: "Yu Mu, how dare you treat the general like this!"

Seeing that Wang Gang didn't say anything, Yu Mu also became furious. He winked at the people next to him, and immediately seven or eight of them drew their swords and slashed at the guards.

In an instant, Wang Gang's personal guard was chopped to the ground. He was covered in blood, but he still gnashed his teeth and cursed everyone: "Shameless villain, traitor! You will die with thousands of arrows piercing your heart in the future!"

Seeing that this man dared to curse him, Yu Mu became furious. He drew his sword and chopped the man's neck with force, separating his head and body in one stroke.

The blood from the drawn knife splashed all over Yu Mu's face. He pointed at another bodyguard of Wang Gang with a ferocious look, but the man was cowardly and knelt on the ground in fear, trembling all over and not daring to speak.

Wang Gang just glanced at this person, then stood up, looked forward, and said to Mu and others: "I cannot surrender. If you want to surrender, then surrender."

After he finished speaking, he ignored everyone and walked to the city wall alone. Then he turned around and looked at the generals and said, "Yu Mu, we have known each other for so many years. I only ask one thing of you. Send someone to Beijing and say that I, Wang Gang, died for the Qing Dynasty!"

After saying this, he took a deep breath, jumped down, and fell to his death in the city.

Yu Mu looked at Wang Gang who jumped out of the city wall and sighed in his heart. He knew why Wang Gang refused to surrender and he understood. He sent someone to deliver a message so that Wang Gang's son would have a better life in Beijing.

After Wang Gang's death, Yu Mu immediately sent people to ask for surrender to the Zhou army, and took down all the Qing flags in the city. To show his sincerity, all the generals cut off their braids, took off their shirts, and carried whips on their backs.

After the Zhou army controlled the city gate and confiscated all the weapons of the defenders, Zhao Yongping rode his horse slowly towards Xuzhou City.

Yu Mu opened the south gate of Xuzhou, and all the generals knelt on both sides of the road. Zhao Yongping was delighted when he saw this, and shouted loudly: "Everyone, please stand up."

Zhao Yongping then jumped off his horse, helped several people up one by one, and said to them with a smile: "You have all made great contributions in opening the city. Why do you need to apologize? I will report to the king and ask for credit for you!"

After saying this, Zhao Yongping could not help but burst into laughter, but the moment he entered the city, he saw Wang Gang falling from the city wall and dying. Zhao Yongping hesitated a little. He would rather die than surrender. He had courage, but Zhao Yongping could not encourage such behavior, otherwise where would the surrendered generals go.

Then Zhao Yongping pointed at Wang Gang's body with his whip and said, "This man is stubborn and unrepentant. Hang his body on the city wall and expose it for three days to serve as a warning to others!"