Chapter 237: The Battle for the City

"Boom—"

"Kill!"

The sound of artillery fire was continuous, the shouts of killing shook the heavens and earth, and blood dyed the Yangtze River red.

"Your Highness, the puppet court's navy is too powerful, our army……"

Before the naval commander could finish speaking, Pingnan Fu Haoxuan waved his hand to interrupt.

"This Prince has already seen it.

The navy was just established less than a year ago, and our ships are far smaller than the imperial army's; it is normal not to be able to beat the enemy's Jiangnan navy.

First consume with the enemy, and after dark, look for an opportunity to withdraw."

Anqing was close at hand, and suddenly a naval force killed its way out to spoil things; Pingnan Fu Haoxuan was full of fire.

However, being able to counter-attack from the grassroots to his current position, he had long since learned to be calm in the face of danger.

The existence of the imperial navy increased the difficulty of capturing Anqing, but it was not completely without a way.

In the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, which was in the hands of the White Lotus Holy Kingdom, there were plenty of opportunities to cross the river.

It was just that the existence of the imperial navy meant they couldn't besiege Anqing from all sides, increasing the difficulty of the siege.

"Your Highness, the puppet court has concentrated the elites of the two provinces of Nanzhili and Zhejiang in Anqing.

If we attack Anqing according to the original plan, I fear it will be difficult to succeed.

At this moment, the puppet court's Jiangnan is empty; it is the time for us to show our skills.

Why not besiege Anqing on one hand, and divide the forces to march south to kill into Ningguo Prefecture, threatening Yingtian Prefecture.

As one of the two capitals, Great Dayu officials absolutely cannot afford the responsibility of Nanjing being lost.

It is quite possible that to protect Nanjing, they will hand over Anqing.

Even if the enemy refuses to abandon Anqing, they will draw troops from other prefectures to defend Nanjing.

The Holy Kingdom now has many soldiers and generals; it is a good time to expand territory by attacking from all sides.

Jiangnan land is fertile; occupying any prefecture can yield a great harvest.

……"

Hu Yuzhe proposed.

The Great Dayu never showed mercy to traitors.

Since he had defected to the White Lotus Holy Kingdom, he had to consider the White Lotus Holy Kingdom.

As the former Prefect of Jiujiang, he knew the colleagues in the Jiangnan region too well.

In the eyes of these people, the mountains and rivers of the country were far less important than their own official hats.

Even if the enemy killed their way to the door, they still had to fight internally.

The idea of considering the big picture did exist, but there were truly not many.

Since these people could abandon Jiujiang Prefecture for the sake of interests, they could also abandon Anqing City for the sake of interests.

"Official Hu's words are reasonable; if you can march south to Nanjing, you shall be credited with the first merit.

However, taking Jiangnan does not rely on military means alone; it also requires political means.

Now the one in charge of Jiangnan is the Southern Prince; this person has great ambitions and does not hate the gentry.

Among his staff, there is no lack of scholars from Liangguang and Jiangxi.

There are also many scholars from Huguang under his command, just troubled by not having a leader, so they were suppressed by them.

If you, Official Hu, can go over, the situation will immediately be very different.

The White Lotus Sect cannot become a great vessel, which does not mean the Southern Prince has no chance to compete for the world.

At the very least, he can carve out a territory and enjoy decades of wealth."

Pingnan Fu Haoxuan said with a smile.

After a series of battles, he had already realized that the Great Dayu court was still strong, and it was difficult to take the world by purely military struggle.

The gentry group was never a piece of iron.

Because of the distribution of interests, the struggle within the gentry was also very fierce.

They needed money and grain; just strike the aristocratic families that occupied a large amount of social wealth.

Those poor families and cold doors themselves didn't have much family foundation, so they couldn't squeeze out any oil, so there was no need to kill them all.

Governing the world requires scholars; dynasties of all ages have never had an exception.

The White Lotus Holy Kingdom wanted to take the world, so it had to win over Great Dayu officials and disintegrate the enemy's rule from the inside.

Since he had recruited Hu Yuzhe, he had to exert the power of an example.

In fact, when he captured the Guangdong Provincial Governor earlier, he wanted to set up an example of a surrendered official.

Unfortunately, that guy was too stupid and couldn't find his position after surrendering to the Holy Kingdom.

Although he tried his best to hide it, the contempt for the White Lotus Sect in his bones was still frequently revealed.

A person who couldn't figure out his own positioning was not worth supporting.

Later, he successively recruited some civil officials, but their ranks were generally not high, and their influence in the gentry circle was very limited.

In comparison, Hu Yuzhe was much more reliable.

Although the suggestion he put forward was not a divine strategy, it at least possessed a certain feasibility.

Standing from Pingnan Fu Haoxuan's position, whether the suggestion was good or bad was not important; the key was whether he was willing to support the White Lotus Holy Kingdom, or rather, whether he was willing to sell his life for him.

As for the problem of official titles, that was purely a big pancake.

In the vast Jiangnan, the territory occupied by the White Lotus Holy Kingdom was not even one-third.

If the Jiangnan Viceroy wanted to be real, wait until after taking the world!

Giving such a high position, besides "buying horse bones with a thousand gold," was also to increase credibility.

The gentry did not like the White Lotus Holy Kingdom; this was something the whole world knew.

To win over people's hearts, one had to show sufficient sincerity.

A Prefect coming forward to recruit people and a Viceroy coming forward to recruit people had completely different effects.

……

At noon, the guards at the city gate were lying on the ground resting, listless.

"This ghost day, I don't see a few people all day; how can I collect the entry tax!"

A soldier oiler complained.

Originally thinking that guarding the city gate was a fat job, he spent a huge price to bribe his superiors before being transferred over.

Unfortunately, Hengyang after the war had been severely damaged economically.

It couldn't be said that merchants had disappeared, but there were truly few who dared to come out to trade.

Even if they really encountered one, they didn't have the guts to blackmail.

The world outside was so chaotic, and those who could travel unimpeded were mostly backed by the high-level of the White Lotus Holy Kingdom.

"Liu Laowai, you old fellow, stop chirping here.

If you don't want to do it, go back to where you came from.

This job of guarding the city, people beg for it but can't get it, and you, this silly fellow, actually disliked it.

The front line can indeed be promoted and get rich, but that also requires risking one's life.

With your thin body, it is estimated that you wouldn't live for three days if you were transferred to the front line.

Our current income is low because of the war; once the world is peaceful, this will be a first-class fat job!"

Wang Bantou scolded unhappily.

Unlike young people with ambition, he was almost fifty years old and just wanted to spend the second half of his life in peace.

If he truly wanted to climb up, as an old man of the Hengyang White Lotus Sect, it wouldn't be difficult to get an official position.

"Wang Tou, your realm is something we can't compare to.

I heard that a few days ago, Meng my lord was prepared to transfer you to serve as a County Magistrate, but you refused.

If it were us, we would have gone down to enjoy happiness long ago!"

Liu Laowai immediately flattered.

"Enjoy happiness, my ass!

Do you really think a County Magistrate is that easy to be?

Just a tax collection task is enough to make one's scalp numb.

Now it's different from the past; which village doesn't have a few good boys serving in the Holy Kingdom's army?

My Holy Kingdom values military merit the most; maybe someone's luck will come one day and they will make a great contribution, and they will turn over overnight.

If you force them too hard for tax collection and form a blood feud with them, wouldn't that be a disaster!"

Wang Bantou scolded unhappily.

For the people at the bottom, troubled times are both a disaster and an opportunity.

If luck comes, one can truly turn over.

Knowing one's ability is limited and having no ability to climb up.

Keeping one's duty is also a kind of wisdom.

"A merchant team is coming!"

Hearing this news, the soldiers who were sitting on the ground resting all stood up and cast their eyes into the distance.

It's not easy!

If no more fat sheep come to the door, they, these old and weak soldiers guarding the city, can only eat chaff and vegetables.

The treatment of the White Lotus Holy Kingdom soldiers is much better than the Great Dayu, but that is limited to the front-line battle soldiers.

They, these old and weak left behind, can only say they won't starve to death.

To live a good life, they still need to exert subjective initiative.

"Wang Bantou, you are on duty again today."

Hearing this familiar voice, Wang Bantou's good mood was gone by half.

Sure enough, those who dare to trade in this season are all their own people in the Holy Kingdom.

The entry tax can be collected, but the blackmail is impossible.

"So it's Deacon Luo; your business is getting bigger and bigger!"

Although unhappy in his heart, he was full of smiles on the surface.

"Deacon" is not an official position, but it represents the identity within the White Lotus Sect.

In a country like the White Lotus Holy Kingdom that combines politics and religion, this kind of identity within the sect is also very easy to use.

"Haha……"

"It's all the Holy Emperor rewarding food; I'm just running errands.

There is something today, so Luo will take his leave first.

This money is for the brothers to drink tea.

When I'm busy, I will specifically set up a banquet to invite you to talk about the old days!"

While speaking, the man surnamed Luo directly handed over a string of copper coins.

Weighing the weight in his hand, Wang Bantou immediately scolded his subordinates.

"What are you guys stunned for? Hurry up and clear the way!"

After watching the team leave, a group of soldiers quickly surrounded them.

After seeing the copper coins in their hands clearly, everyone showed a disappointed look.

Affected by the war, the prices in the city soared.

The other party didn't lie; that string of copper coins was truly for them to drink tea, and they could only drink the cheapest crumbs.

"Bantou, this is too little!

Being so ignorant of the rules, we should stop the team and check it, let them learn a lesson."

Hearing his subordinates complain, Wang Bantou directly rolled his eyes.

"You guys, your heads are full of money; you really don't have any eye for things.

Just now, the wheels were so shallow after the team passed; even if they weren't empty, they didn't carry much cargo.

Even if you check until the flowers bloom, what's the use?

Besides offending people, what good is it for us?

Remember this for me.

In the future, when encountering the car teams of the brothers in the sect, keep your eyes open.

When they make a lot of money, we can follow behind and drink soup.

When they are busy for nothing, just mean it, don't poke trouble for me!"

……

A group of people successfully mixed into the city and entered a small courtyard that had been prepared early. Seeing that no one was following behind, Platoon Leader Zhou breathed a sigh of relief.

"Many thanks to Brother Luo for your help; Zhou thanks you!"

"Brother Zhou is polite; everyone is for business."

While speaking, Deacon Luo also specially raised his voice.

Being behind enemy lines, one cannot be vigilant.

"Then I rely on Brother Luo!

Tonight I will set up a banquet; Brother Luo must reward me with your presence!"

Platoon Leader Zhou took the opportunity to say.

Both were from the Embroidered Uniform Guard and had their own set of communication methods.

It seemed like they were talking about the old days, but in reality, they were agreeing on the time of action.

The banquet was just a cover to avoid leaking secrets.

Although Deacon Luo could be trusted, it didn't mean his little brothers were also loyal to the court.

To reduce trouble, it wouldn't be too late to notify them temporarily when acting.

By then, no matter what thoughts they had, they could only follow.

……

Time passed minute by minute, the sky gradually darkened, leaving only the last afterglow of the sunset.

A team suddenly appeared in the distance, getting closer and closer to Hengyang.

"An army is passing by; there was no notification from above!"

After muttering this, looking at the team that was constantly approaching, the experienced Wang Bantou immediately realized something was wrong.

"Quick, close the city gate!"

At this moment, a sky-high fire suddenly ignited in the rear.

"Fire!"

The originally quiet Hengyang City suddenly became noisy.

From the south gate to the north gate, from the east gate to the west gate, sky-high fires could be seen everywhere.

Anyone with a bit of brains knew that this was someone deliberately setting fire, intending to create chaos in the city.

But knowing was useless; the chaos still happened.

With the cover of chaos, the soldiers who had mixed into the city one after another headed straight for the city gate.

The defending soldiers who had just closed the city gate hadn't had time to breathe a sigh of relief before they were suddenly attacked.

"It's actually you…… why?"

Seeing the person who came, Wang Bantou asked in disbelief.

Unfortunately, the answer to him was not an answer, but a crossbow arrow.

Seeing that the Bantou was dead, the rebel soldiers who were still resisting with all their might scattered and fled.

The few dou of rice of the White Lotus Holy Kingdom were not worth them selling their lives.

……

In the Prefectural Yamen.

"The imperial army has killed its way here; this is impossible!"

Meng Zeyang said with a firm tone.

He would rather believe it was the White Lotus Sect having internal strife than believe the imperial army had killed its way back.

As far as he knew, the closest imperial army to Hengyang was currently busy besieging Yongzhou Prefecture.

The White Lotus Holy Kingdom had deployed over 100,000 main troops in Yongzhou, and the imperial army had only tens of thousands of people, so they had no spare power to divide their forces.

"Master, the imperial army has truly killed its way into the city.

Now the city is in chaos; while they haven't killed their way over yet, let's run away quickly!"

The butler hurriedly persuaded.

Being chased by the imperial army was not the first time.

A year ago, to avoid the imperial army's pursuit, they had mixed into the mountain stronghold to save their lives.

It was just that at that time, Meng Zeyang was just a White Lotus Sect leader.

He was just mixing in the rivers and lakes; besides a little family wealth and a group of believers, he had nothing else.

Now it's different.

Having become an official of the White Lotus Holy Kingdom, he had changed from barefoot to wearing shoes.

Once Hengyang was lost, he, this Hengyang Prefect, would also be at the end of his term.

By then, not only would the court not let him go, but the White Lotus Holy Kingdom would also not spare him.

"No!"

"Now we cannot abandon Hengyang!"

"As the Hengyang Prefect, this official wants to live and die with the city.

Pass the order down: let the defenders gather immediately, and must drive the puppet court's main army out!"

Meng Zeyang said with a firm tone.

Only after having obtained it did one know the pain of losing it.

The position of Prefect was truly too comfortable; this was the life he had never dared to think about in the first half of his life.

Now asking him to return to the past and continue to live that life of being in danger day and night, it would be better to kill him with a knife.

"Master, it will be too late if we don't leave!"

The sound of fighting was getting closer, and the butler urged again.

But at this moment, Meng Zeyang, who had fallen into a demonic obsession, could not hear the persuasion at all.