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In early June, floodwaters receded in the south, affecting millions of people.

Zhao Han suspended the Northern Expedition plan, decided to wait until after the autumn harvest, took out grain to go to various places for disaster relief, and urged local officials to carry out post-disaster reconstruction.

It's not like they didn't fight at all, Fei Ruhe led the Eastern Academy Army across the Yangtze River from Zhenjiang to Yangzhou.

The magistrate of Yangzhou is called Han Wenjing, a native of Shaanxi.

Due to the fall of the south, Chongzhen appointed a large number of northern Jinshi, and Southwest Jinshi also emerged one after another.

Seeing Zhao Han's navy approaching, Han Wenjing was shocked, and quickly ordered to defend the city, and ordered the Tongzhi, Tongju, and magistrate to prepare for the defense.

"Hurry up and open the door!"

Fei Ruhe stood at the bow of the boat and sent a loud voice to call for the city.

"kill!"

There was a lot of shouting and killing in the city, and the defenders had already started fighting themselves.

The three major merchant gangs in Yangzhou, Jiangxi merchants and Huizhou merchants all secretly collude with thieves, and only Western merchants firmly stand on Daming's side.

Han Wenjing knew about this situation.

Therefore, he forced Jiangxi and Huizhou merchants to pay money, and even carried out extortion, and recruited soldiers for training after getting the money.The officers he appointed were all big landlords and hereditary generals, and it was impossible for these people to take refuge in Zhao Han.

It seemed foolproof, but he didn't know the power of propaganda.

How could those generals seriously train the army?

The soldiers trained are idle most of the time.Even if they don't receive full military pay, they have to find a job by themselves and earn living expenses by doing part-time jobs.

Datong scholars took the opportunity to approach these soldiers, saying that as long as Zhao Tianwang came, they could go back to the countryside to divide the fields and cultivate the land, and there would be no corvee and no exorbitant taxes.After talking about this, I told them the story in "The Great Fellowship".

After half a year, the Yangzhou defenders were looking forward to it day and night, hoping that King Zhao would come to divide the fields soon.

Han Wenjing looked blankly at everything in front of him, only to see a large number of low-level officers leading soldiers to besiege and kill high-ranking generals.Moreover, more and more low-level officers started to fight, and gradually came to kill him.

The military officer at the bottom of the Ming Dynasty is also a target of exploitation!

"How dare you collude with bandits!"

Han Wenjing was shocked and angry, drew his sword and shouted: "Soldiers, follow me to kill thieves and serve the country!"

Nobody cares.

The civil servants on the city tower immediately fled when they saw this situation.

Wang Changyin, magistrate of Jiangdu County, was blocked by a group of officers and soldiers on his way to escape down the city wall.This guy had an idea, and he raised his arms and shouted: "The world is one, long live Zhao Tianwang!"

"The world is united, long live Zhao Tianwang!"

The officers and soldiers who blocked him immediately shouted, and then surrounded Wang Changyin to seize the gate and offer the city.

Wang Changyin has a hard time to say, he is from Shandong, and he really doesn't want to be a thief.But when things came to an end, survival was the most important thing. As he led his troops to the city gate, he kept shouting: "The world is united, long live Zhao Tianwang!"

He Cai, the general judge of Yangzhou government, had already fled to the street.Seeing this situation, he immediately said to the officials around him: "The magistrate Wang has already surrendered from the thief... ah bah, he has already taken refuge in Zhao Tianwang, let's go there too. Otherwise, this army is in chaos, and I am afraid that it will die unexpectedly."

"Let's go together!"

"Wang Xianzun wait a moment, we are coming too!"

"The world is united, long live Zhao Tianwang!"

A group of Yangzhou officials rushed to the city gate like this, and Wang Changyin became the leader of the surrender.

"Soldiers, kill thieves and serve the country!"

The magistrate Han Wenjing was still resisting. The gentleman swung his iron sword and beheaded several people one after another.

A spear pierced Han Wenjing's abdomen.

Another spear pierced Han Wenjing's chest.

"Kill...kill the thief..."

Han Wenjing's arm hangs down, the iron sword clangs to the ground, and he smiles sadly towards the north.

And on the same day, his brother Han Wenquan, Xiancheng defected to Li Zicheng.

Wang Changyin didn't have so much psychological burden. This guy also surrendered to the Qing Dynasty in a short time in history, and was finally involved in the political struggle of the Manchu Qing Dynasty and asked to be executed.He chanted the slogan of Datong, led the defenders straight to the city gate, and retreated as he approached the city gate, not wanting to get blood on his body.

Er, the gates of the city were wide open.

Fei Ruhe led the Datong soldiers into the city, and Wang Changyin knelt down: "The guilty minister of the Ming Dynasty, Wang Changyin, leads the army and civilians in the city, and kneels to welcome the general!"

Another group of scholars came over. Because Han Wenjing ordered the arrest, these Datong scholars did not dare to carry their swords.

"General, please go to the city to appease, we have already contacted all places." The scholar leader stepped forward and cupped his hands.

Fei Ruhe cupped his hands in return: "Thank you, everyone."

As for Wang Changyin who was kneeling on the ground, Fei Ruhe didn't even bother to take a look.

Xu Ying had already contacted her. Once the army arrived, Yangzhou would definitely be taken.Just like Wang Changyin's cowardly prostration and kneeling, how can it be like the internal response developed by Xu Ying?He must have come out halfway to claim credit!

After a military disaster, there was no chaos in Yangzhou city.

Jiangxi merchants and Huizhou merchants took the initiative to maintain order, and their common enemy was Western merchants (Shanxi, Shanxi).As long as Zhao Han wins Yangzhou, they can drive the Western Merchants out of Yangzhou even if they don't rely on political power!

If Zhao Han came to Yangzhou City in person at this moment, he would definitely feel emotional.

What a rich and beautiful city, 80 people were killed in history. The massacre lasted for ten days, and the entire city of Yangzhou was almost wiped out.

In this time and space, "Yangzhou Ten Days" will definitely not appear again.

The news of taking Yangzhou lightly did not cause any disturbance in Zhao Han's heart. After all, it had been planned for several years, and now it is just ripe.

Another military situation from the north made Zhao Han sigh.

Wu Sangui surrendered, and the Manchu Qing occupied Songshan Fort, completely turning Jinzhou into an isolated city.

The outer city of Jinzhou has been lost, and the satellite cities have also surrendered, but Zu Dashou is still standing firm in the inner city of Jinzhou.

Zu Dashou was a little scared, he had feigned surrender once.He killed the general who advocated standing firm, surrendered with his son, and left his son as a hostage, claiming that he was going to cheat the city.Then he was gone forever, and his son was gone, which made Huang Taiji feel bad.

How can a person who feigned surrender once dare to surrender easily again?

Chapter 336 [Lu Xiangsheng]

The layout of Nanjing Imperial City and Beijing Imperial City is not to say exactly the same, but it can be called similar with minor differences.

There are six offices with similar locations.

Zhao Han now lives in the area west of Liubu, walking north along the Qinhuai River, he can reach the Taiping Gate, and Xuanwu Lake is just outside the Taiping Gate.

In the late Ming Dynasty, there were many lakes in Nanjing. In addition to Xuanwu Lake, there were also Qianhu Lake, Nanhu Lake, Zhonghu Lake, Mochou Lake and so on.

Before Zhao Han conquered Nanjing, Xuanwu Lake belonged to the forbidden area of ​​the royal family.

Now, of course, the ban has been lifted. There are fishermen fishing in the lake, farmers farming by the lake, and even famous prostitutes moving their boats to Xuanwu Lake.

Today Zhao Han took the boat, not to visit famous prostitutes, but to bring his whole family out together.After the flood receded, they took advantage of the leisure time to visit the lake, and let Fei Rulan, Pan Qimei, Zhao Zhenfang and the others relax by the way.

Several women were lying on the window of the painting boat, looking at the scenery of Zijin Mountain in the distance, chatting about private matters.

"The city wall over there should open a sluice gate."

Zhao Han pointed to a section of the city wall to the northwest of Taiping Gate: "Emperor Hongwu built the city and forcibly separated the Qinhuai River and Xuanwu Lake, so that Xuanwu Lake could not be used for flood discharge during floods. The water of the Yangtze River could not flow into Xuanwu Lake through the Qinhuai River. It will become smaller and smaller. There must also be an order that the area around Xuanwu Lake, within half a mile, must not be used for farming!"

After the fall of the Ming Dynasty, the ban on Xuanwu Lake was lifted, and the gentry and dignitaries continued to reclaim land from the lake, resulting in a crazy reduction in the area of ​​the lake, and the reclamation of the lake made Nanjing Zhonghu disappear directly.

Xu Nianzu nodded and said, "It is indeed time to reconnect the Qinhuai River and Xuanwu Lake. This year, the Qinhuai River has flooded the streets on both banks."

The famous prostitute Gu Hengbo was playing the piano in the cabin.

Lu Xiangsheng listened to the sound of the piano, closed his eyes and rested his mind. He was waiting for Zhao Han to assign errands.

Zhao Han got up and looked at the lake, but he was thinking about how to stabilize Beijing if Nanjing was his capital.

In the Ming Dynasty, there was Shuntian Mansion where Beijing was located, Yingtian Mansion where Nanjing was located, and Chengtian Mansion (the hometown of Jiajing) in Hubei.These three are equivalent to municipalities directly under the central government, and Fengyang must be added to the strict calculation.

If you want to stabilize Beijing and prevent Beijing from declining, you must establish a "municipality directly under the Central Government".

The administrative establishment of Chengtian Mansion must be abolished, and Zhao Han, the municipality directly under the central government, intends to set up five——

The first is Nanjing, the second is Beijing, the third is Shenyang, the fourth is Xi'an, and the fifth is Kunming.

The prefects of the five municipalities directly under the central government must be of the same rank as the chief envoys.Only a large city with a high enough grade and remote communication can radiate the surrounding areas and play a role in stabilizing the country.

Suddenly, Zhao Han turned around: "Mr. Jiutai, you go with the army to fight Anqing."

"Yes." Lu Xiang stood up and cupped his hands.

Zhao Han smiled and said, "First read "The Collection of Great Harmony" carefully several times, and serve as a military propaganda and instructor for a year, so that I can transfer you to a commanding general."

This summer suffered floods in several provinces, and it was indeed not suitable for an all-out Northern Expedition.

However, it is still possible to occupy cities along the river as strongholds for the Northern Expedition.

Fei Ruhe has already occupied Yangzhou, and Liuhe, Jiangpu, Hezhou, Wuwei, Wangjiang, and Anqing can be occupied.

These cities are all on the riverside, or not far from the Yangtze River.

There is no need to recruit a large number of civilians to transport supplies, and you can fight across the river by boat, which will be the former stronghold of the Northern Expedition.

end of june.

Lu Xiangsheng carried "Da Tong Ji" in his arms, and followed Zhang Tieniu to fight in Anqing.

Anqing, Jiancheng also.

King Ning rebelled, and he was always blocked here, and the Jiajing Dynasty built another city.

"Fujun, Jiangxi soldiers are coming." Fang Yuegong, the magistrate of Anqing, said.

Li Yukui, governor of Anlu, asked back: "Do you want to surrender the bandits?"

Fang Yuegong sighed: "My home is in Gucheng, which was stolen by eight thieves (Zhang Xianzhong) for a year, and now it has been completely occupied by eight thieves. My father wrote a letter saying that the family property is still there, but the floating wealth has been looted. Silver buried in the cellar."

Li Yukui smiled wryly: "You still know the information about your hometown, but there is no news about my family. I don't know if they were robbed by intruders (Li Zicheng)."

Li Zicheng is sweeping Shanxi, and Li Yukui is from Shanxi.

Fang Yuegong said again: "Zhao Han opened a port in Shanghai, and I built the sea wall and stone pond in Shanghai County by myself. If you want to come, you can go there to ask for an errand."

On the other side of Shanghai, there is Fang Yuegong's ancestral hall... built by ordinary people spontaneously.

It is also because of the construction of seawalls and stone ponds that forced wealthy households in Shanghai to pay.Those with more than 3000 mu of land were paid [-]% of silver per mu, which violated the interests of the gentry, and they were falsely accused of embezzling [-] taels of silver. Fang Yuegong was once imprisoned.

After the grievances came to light, Fang Yuegong was sent to supervise the transportation of grain.

In the past few years, the grain supply has been cut off twice in three days, and Fang Yuegong was relegated to be the magistrate of Anqing because of his unfavorable handling of affairs.

Li Yukui walked out of the governor's private residence and came to the top of the city with Fang Yuegong.

Looking at the enemy troops landing outside the city, Li Yukui said to the officials and soldiers around him: "If you want to surrender, surrender over there, Jiangxi soldiers will not kill innocent people indiscriminately."

Anqing, I can't keep it.

Two years ago, Shi Kefa trained Anlu's new army, and Ding You went home to observe the funeral.Last year, Zheng Eryang crossed the river with the new army, held on to the Taiping Mansion, and was finally forced to lead the crowd to surrender.

Now, Li Yukui succeeds the governor of Anlu, how can he still have soldiers in his hand?

There are only a few thousand recruits in the whole city, and they are all recruited vagrants!

Anqing is a very important cargo transfer station in the Yangtze River Basin.In particular, many grains from the provinces in the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River are first transported here for storage.Therefore, the transit trade is extremely prosperous, the population gathers rapidly, and the vagrants can also find jobs to make a living.

After Zhao Han occupied Jiangnan, he did not dare to transport food to Anqing for transit, fearing that it would be seized by the court officers and soldiers.

There are also many other goods that dare not go to Anqing.

The trade volume in Anqing declined rapidly, and a large number of urban homeless people lost their jobs. Li Yukui could only recruit these homeless people as soldiers.

Now that Zhao Han's army is coming, what choice will the vagrants defending the city make?

Of course, surrender quickly and resume Anqing's trade and transportation as soon as possible. They can find jobs and earn money to support their families. If they continue to serve as soldiers, the whole family will starve to death sooner or later!

Li Yukui knew this well, and said with a wry smile, "Surrender, all go to Kaesong and surrender."

Li Yukui looked to the north again, and murmured: "The emperor is in power, the treacherous ministers are abundant, and the Ming Dynasty is hopeless. But how can there be fewer martyrdom ministers for 300 years? Your Majesty, let me go first." One step, you won't be too late."

Fang Yuegong felt something was wrong, and asked: "Fu Jun, don't think too much. The world is changing, the destiny is reincarnated, beyond human power...Fu Jun!"

Li Yukui suddenly rushed forward, turned over the female wall, jumped down from the high city wall, and still fell with his head down.

Fang Yuegong wanted to stop him, but his movements were too slow, and he only caught the corner of Li Yukui's clothes.