Chapter 247: Merchants Deliver the City

Li Zheng's army, split off to march south, had already reached Xiangtan.

Huang Yao frowned and asked, "With terrain like Xiangtan's, what use are more troops? Why not stay in Changsha?"

Xiao Zongxian answered, "Changsha has over ten thousand defenders, high walls, and deep moats — a direct assault is simply impossible. After dividing our forces, we might lure the enemy out of the city and annihilate them in the field. As for Xiangtan, a sudden troop surge might just scare the city into surrendering."

"Even if you hadn't come, Xiangtan was about to surrender anyway," Huang Yao said, amused.

The Xiang River flows through here, forming a hooked bend, and Xiangtan city sits right inside that bend. The city wall is surrounded by water on three sides and can only be attacked from one direction — no matter how many troops you have, it makes little difference; each assault can only deploy so many men.

Huang Yao sat down across the moat and had his archers shoot letters into the city.

Residents outside the city had either gone inside or fled, unwilling to stay in a war zone. According to these residents' accounts, the Xiangtan County Magistrate had died of illness two months ago, and county affairs were being handled by Assistant Magistrate Li Youlong.

In Huang Yao's view, a mere Assistant Magistrate — how long could he hold the soldiers in check? Sooner or later, he would surrender!

Li Youlong, standing atop the city wall at that moment and gazing at the rebels in the distance, truly was on the verge of losing control.

This fellow was from Xunyang in Shaanxi, and later followed Zuo Menggeng in surrendering to the Manchu Qing.

Not only did he surrender, but while serving as Governor, he used both suppression and amnesty to dismantle many anti-Qing forces. In the end, because he was "suppressing bandits" in Tianjin and the anti-Qing forces were simply too numerous, he could only host a banquet for their leaders, hoping to win them all over. As a result, he was impeached for colluding with the Southern Ming and dismissed by the Qing court.

After being dismissed, the man still couldn't bear to leave Beijing, hoping to be reappointed. He stayed in Beijing for seven years until Censor Wang Binggan impeached him, saying that since he had been dismissed, he ought to get lost. The Qing ordered him to return home by a deadline, and he died of illness shortly after arriving.

Nothing but a dog.

Would he surrender or not?

Li Youlong wanted to surrender, but he feared that after joining the rebels, his clansmen would be purged by the court.

How he regretted it — spending money to buy the post of Assistant Magistrate, and before he could squeeze much silver out of it, rebel troops came besieging the city.

"Reinforcements!"

A militia gentryman pointed into the distance and shouted with delight, but the defending soldiers could not muster any enthusiasm.

The ambush troops Huang Yao had set were about to move out, but who knew the newly arrived militia unit would be holding high a Great Unity Army banner.

"Great Unity under Heaven, Great Unity under Heaven!"

Yuan Yingkui, dressed in silk clothes and looking every bit a wealthy man, was now having his braves shout the Great Unity slogan.

The ancestor of the Yuan clan of Xiangtan was Yuan Hong, a founding merit-official of the Great Ming.

During the Hongzhi reign, one of Yuan Hong's descendants was transferred to serve as the hereditary Assistant Guard Commander of Chaling Garrison. This branch then split into three: the main line held the hereditary Chaling Garrison military post, another branch moved to Chaling as landlords, and yet another moved to Xiangtan as landlords.

They were not exactly great landlords — only a few thousand mu of land.

After Huang Yao surrounded Xiangtan, Yuan Yingkui immediately recruited his own clan troops, then watched the situation and held his forces back.

Seeing the Zhou clan militia annihilated, Yuan Yingkui finally made his move. He had not come to help the authorities defend the city, but had brought over a thousand village braves, wanting to join the Great Unity Army and seek wealth and rank.

Seeing the Great Unity Army banner on the opposite bank, Huang Yao did not know whether to laugh or cry.

He ordered the village braves to stay on the opposite bank and sent only a small boat to bring Yuan Yingkui across.

"Commoner Yuan Yingkui pays his respects to the General!" Yuan Yingkui knelt on the ground and cried out.

"Ha ha ha ha!"

Huang Yao laughed heartily and said, "Quickly, rise!"

The defending troops inside the city, seeing rebel reinforcements arrive and a gentryman leading his village braves to join the rebels, grew even more terrified.

Acting County Magistrate Li Youlong, witnessing this scene, also made up his mind to join the rebels and began pondering how to bypass the gentry and deliver the city.

Li Youlong had no troops under his command; the city's defending forces were all recruited by the local gentry.

Inside Xiangtan city, Ningxiang Lane.

In the early Ming, Xiangtan was unremarkable — even its city wall was made of wood.

By the mid-Ming, Huguang had undergone major development, and commerce nationwide grew ever more prosperous. Xiangtan, as a key junction of water and land routes, quickly rose to become the most important port city in southern Hunan, its economic status even surpassing that of Changsha.

Thus, in the late Ming, Xiangtan was jokingly called "Little Nanjing." And Ningxiang Lane, where the wealthy merchants of Xiangtan congregated, was praised as "the Wuyi Lane of this place."

Representatives of the great families of Ningxiang Lane were now gathered at the Xie clan mansion.

"North-south trade has been cut off — we cannot keep fighting," Xie Li said. "Whoever wins or loses, commerce must be restored as quickly as possible!"

Tan Qiulin said, "As things stand now, the government troops certainly cannot win. We can only throw in our lot with the Jiangxi rebels."

"Don't call them Jiangxi rebels — it's Heavenly King Zhao, Mr. Zhao!" Wang Hun corrected.

For these wealthy magnates, land redistribution was a minor matter; their main business was the trade route from Huguang to Guangdong! The fact that they had moved their entire families into the city rather than living on country estates showed just how much they prioritized commerce.

Since Zhao Han protected commerce, he was worth the merchants' allegiance!

Had they encountered someone unreasonable, they would have fought to the death in resistance.

For instance, in another timeline, when the Manchu Qing burned, killed, and plundered without restraint, these very merchants funded troop recruitment and fought fiercely to defend the city.

Because the siege was so brutal and lasted three full months, after the Qing army breached the city, they directly ordered a massacre — historical records state "tens of thousands of men and women were slaughtered."

Two years later, the Southern Ming retook Xiangtan; the Qing army breached the city again and carried out a second massacre, nearly exterminating the entire population of Xiangtan.

After the second massacre alone, the Huizhou merchants Huang Kenian and Cheng Shi, unable to bear seeing the loyal dead exposed in the wilderness, paid to buy land and hired monks to collect the bodies. They used bamboo cages to hold the corpses and buried them over three full months.

Later, during the Revolt of the Three Feudatories, the Qing army once more seized Xiangtan and carried out a third great massacre. Most of those killed this time were migrants who had moved from Jiangxi!

Having unanimously decided to pledge allegiance to Zhao Han, the merchants began discussing how to deliver the city.

Though they had great wealth, they had no troops in their hands.

Juren Wang Dai rose and said, "First, we put up money to recruit soldiers, claiming it is to defend the city. Second, we set fires at night and seize the opportunity to capture the city gate. Burn the Li family out!"

"Yes, burn the Li family out — ha! An excellent plan!"

The merchants all voiced their praise; the Li family had long since incurred public wrath.

Li Tengfang had been a renowned minister of the Chu faction, rising to Minister of the Ministry of Rites, and the history books are full of praise for him.

But in the private writings of Xiangtan's literati, the Li family was guilty of countless evils. After Li Tengfang's rise, the Li family began expanding aggressively — for example, Wang Dai, who had just spoken, had had his property seized by the Li family through their power and influence.

Now, though Li Tengfang was dead, his sons and grandsons were much favored by Yang Sichang. This was because, in life, Li Tengfang had been the closest friend of Yang Sichang's father!

The discussion concluded, Wang Dai, as a juren, went on behalf of the merchants to see Li Youlong.

With righteous indignation, this gentleman declared, "The rebel Zhao is detestable — he persecutes the gentry and brutalizes the common people. The Xiangtan merchant guild is willing to raise five thousand taels of silver to help the government troops defend the city!"

Li Youlong had already made up his mind to join the rebels, but hearing these words, he was so frightened he hurriedly said, "Gentlemen, your lofty righteousness commands admiration."

What to do? What to do?

Li Youlong feared death and dared not reveal his true intentions. He could only smile and support the merchants in raising troops.

These merchants were truly wealthy. With heavy sums of silver thrown down, the city's idlers flocked to enlist — in any case, they would collect the enlistment silver first and figure the rest out later.

Several more days passed, and suddenly a fire broke out within the city.

It was the Li family mansion that was burning. The merchants, leading the soldiers they had recruited, came running with great enthusiasm to help put out the fire.

How did they put it out?

They tore down everything on the Li family estate that bordered the neighbors!

Wang Dai personally led several hundred soldiers, charging toward one of the city gates, and had his men shout in unison: "Rebel spies are setting fires! Rebel spies are setting fires!"

The soldiers guarding the gate fell into chaos. The gentry commanding them could not restore order, and they simply fled in disorder.

Acting County Magistrate Li Youlong rushed over and asked in alarm, "Have any spies been captured?"

"We've got one!"

Wang Dai charged forward and cut Li Youlong down with a single stroke of his blade.

Well, not quite cut down — a scholar's strength is feeble.

Li Youlong struggled to his feet and cried out in terror, "Don't kill me! I'm willing to join the rebels, I... Ah!"

Wang Dai hacked down with another stroke, yet still failed to kill him. He could only swiftly add several more cuts. Exhausted, his back and shoulders aching, he panted, "Quick, open the city gate!"

In history, Wang Dai was ranked alongside Wang Shizhen, acclaimed as "peerless in poetry, calligraphy, and painting."

In Xiangtan, he experienced three massacres. His entire family was nearly wiped out; he survived only by hiding outside the city. Not until he was past fifty did Wang Dai accept the Manchu Qing's summons, and in his sixties he served as County Magistrate of Chenghai. Chenghai County, too, had been slaughtered until its population was sparse; in the whole county, only a City God temple still flourished with incense.

In Chenghai, Wang Dai recruited refugees, opened up wasteland for cultivation, built dikes, restored the markets, and established public granaries to relieve the poor. In the end, he died in Chenghai, possessing nothing of value. The common people wept bitterly as they escorted his coffin back to his hometown.

So what if he served the Manchu Qing?

He never slaughtered any righteous armies. He only took office after the Revolt of the Three Feudatories, and he truly saved countless common lives.

At this moment, Wang Dai was not yet twenty years old.

He led his soldiers to seize the city gate. When Huang Yao arrived with his troops, Wang Dai immediately stepped forward and bowed with clasped hands: "General, please dispatch soldiers to maintain order in the city and suppress any who would exploit the chaos to loot!"

"Very good. You lead the way!" Huang Yao said approvingly.

Wang Dai first led Huang Yao to Ningxiang Lane, where they secured order in the wealthy district. Then he summoned the various merchants to serve as guides, each leading a detachment of Huang Yao's troops to different parts of the city to quell the rioting.

As for Wang Dai himself, he followed Huang Yao to seize the county yamen.

Everything was arranged in perfect order. Huang Yao and the propaganda officers had to exert almost no effort at all.

When dawn came, Huang Yao said with approval, "You have great talent. Stay with me and work under me for now. Once the fighting is over, I will recommend you to Ji'an. The Regional Commander will certainly take a liking to you. Do you hold an examination degree?"

"Juren," Wang Dai replied.

"Excellent, excellent." Though Huang Yao himself was unlettered, he particularly admired men of learning — provided they did not harm the common people.

Wang Dai offered a stratagem: "Changsha and Xiangtan are both great commercial cities. When besieging Changsha, we can shoot letters into the city explaining the situation clearly. The merchants inside will surely be willing to act as our agents within."

"Why?" Huang Yao asked.

Wang Dai explained, "The longer our army besieges Changsha, the greater the merchants' losses."

Huang Yao shook his head. "Changsha has over ten thousand defenders. The merchants cannot stir up much trouble. Still, this plan can be used — having a few more inside agents is no bad thing."

The two men set aside the matter of Changsha, and Huang Yao began questioning him about the situation in Xiangtan.

Just as they were speaking, a messenger suddenly arrived to report: "Commander Huang, our army has already taken Changsha!"

"What?"

Both Huang Yao and Wang Dai were stunned, thinking they had misheard.

Changsha was a fortified city — how could it fall so easily?

(End of Chapter)