After Li Xianzhong ordered the siege, the Liaodong Army's artillery began to pour artillery shells on Jinan City.
The Hongyi cannons used by the Liaodong Army before were actually imitating Western smoothbore cannons.
It's just that the Liaodong Army's granulated black gunpowder was blessed with sugar, making their Hongyi cannons exceed the current Western artillery of the same specifications in terms of firepower and range.
But this is just that the gunpowder formula is more advanced than that of the West, so the advantage is not great.
In fact, the Hongyi Cannon is essentially a ship-based gun and is not particularly suitable for land warfare.
As a person of later generations, although Li Xianzhong does not know how to build cannons, he can still give some advice to those professionals.
Currently, Li Xianzhong has three artillery experts.
The first one is naturally Song Yingxing, the "Encyclopedia of Craftsmanship in the 17th Century".
However, Song Yingxing is an all-round scientist, and artillery is not his specialty.
Relatively speaking, Eunuch Han from the Liaodong Arsenal and Sun Yuanhua, who had been given ideological work, were very professional.
Li Xianzhong proposed the concept of rifled cannon to them.
A rifled gun is an artillery piece with different numbers of riflings carved into the barrel. The rifling can effectively ensure the stability of the projectile and increase the range.
As the name of the smoothbore gun suggests, the shells are front-loaded and the shells slide directly from the muzzle.
The projectiles of rifled guns are generally loaded from the rear of the gun because the diameter of the belt is slightly larger than the caliber of the gun.
The ammunition belt and the rifling are closely matched to prevent the leakage of gunpowder gas and ensure that the gunpowder gas has sufficient thrust on the projectile to increase the range and increase the shooting density.
It is no exaggeration to say that the rifled gun subverted traditional artillery and was a milestone in the history of artillery development.
However, it is very difficult to manufacture.
First of all, high-quality steel is needed to ensure that the barrel can withstand the impact of rifling.
Secondly, it is not simple to carve rifling in the barrel.
In fact, a prototype of the rifled gun had been produced several years ago.
However, the rifling technology cannot be mass-produced, the production cycle is very long, and the yield is low, making this artillery unable to be mass-produced.
After several years, the Liaodong Arsenal improved the original hydraulic machine tools and greatly shortened the production cycle of rifled guns before it began to be installed in the Liaodong Army.
Li Xianzhong brought this new rifled gun with him when he went south.
The Ming Army imitated the Dutch's 18-pound Hongyi cannon with a range of 5-6 miles. The Liaodong Army's previous 18-pound ship-borne Hongyi cannon could shoot a range of more than 7 miles.
This latest 18-pound rifled cannon has a range of up to 10 miles.
In order to match this breech-loaded gun, the Liaodong Arsenal also modified the shells to make them more powerful.
Moreover, the accuracy of the artillery fire was much higher than that of the previous Hongyi cannon.
After repeated tests, his shooting error was less than 5 meters.
Due to Hou Xun's arrogance, it was unfortunate that Jinan City became the experimental subject of this new type of artillery.
A total of 40 18-pound rifled cannons were lined up outside Jinan City, and then countless shells exploded on the top of Jinan City.
The city tower in Jinan was directly blown down.
The huge impact of the cannonballs caused huge damage to the soldiers on the city.
Although the sandbags they piled on the city increased the protection of the soldiers to a certain extent, the huge air wave still directly knocked many soldiers off the tower.
Moreover, the accuracy of these artillery pieces is so high. If half of the shells of ordinary Hongyi cannons can hit the city, it is considered that the artillery gunners are well-trained.
But almost all of these cannons can hit the city, and only a few shells will fly away.
In just one round of shelling, the Yulin Camp on the city suffered seven to eight hundred casualties.
There were broken limbs and broken arms everywhere, as well as the painful wails of injured soldiers!
At this time, Zuo Liangyu's intestines turned green with regret, the Liaodong Army's artillery was so sharp.
In just one round of shelling, half of the Hongyi cannon on Jinan City was blown up.
He quickly ordered the artillery on the city to fire back. Despite the roar of the artillery, their artillery was still far away from the Liaodong Army.
The morale of the Jinan defenders instantly fell to the bottom.
After several rounds of shelling, all the Hongyi cannons on the city were disabled.
However, Li Xianzhong did not order an immediate attack on the city, but ordered the army to rest where it was.
Zhang Zhiji on the side asked in confusion: "Jinan City has lost all morale. The siege of the city will surely be carried out at once. Why did the prince suddenly stop attacking?"
Li Xianzhong said: "The reason why Donglin Party members such as Hou Xun resisted desperately was not because they were loyal to Emperor Chongzhen, but because they represented the interests of the majority of gentry."
"The 'gentlemen and gentry's unified payment' implemented by this king has attacked the privileges of these bureaucrats and gentry. Destroying people's wealth is like killing their parents, so they will fight to the death to stop it!"
"What they are blocking is not my king's army, but His Majesty's 'Hongguang New Deal'!"
Zhang Zhiji said: "Your Majesty's new policy is a good policy that benefits the country and the people. These people are going against the trend for their own selfish interests! They are just trying to block the car and bring humiliation to themselves!"
Zhang Zhiji, as a powerful person in the dynasty, could say these words, which really made Li Xianzhong look at him with special eyes. This kid has high political consciousness and has a bright future!
Li Xianzhong said: "If everyone was as enlightened as my father-in-law, the British Lord, how much less killing would be done in the world!"
Zhang Zhiji said with a smile: "Although I am not as enlightened as my father, I knew from the first moment I saw the prince that I would definitely make money by following him."
"How much money is there in that little land tax? Going overseas with the prince is a big business that makes a lot of money every day. Those people spend all day staring at the three melons and two dates in the hands of ordinary people. They are all rich men who have never seen the world!"
Li Xianzhong said: "Once these rebellions are suppressed, our focus can be placed overseas. Don't worry, whenever I have wronged my brothers, everyone will benefit from it!"
Zhang Zhiji quickly thanked you in advance!
Although Li Xianzhong did not attack the city immediately, the current situation in Jinan City is not optimistic!
Most of the gentry from Shandong gathered in Jinan City.
Ever since Zheng Zhilong wreaked havoc on Denglai a few years ago, their lives have not been easy, and these pirates have always been "killing" them.
The gentry in Denglai Prefecture were directly confiscated and beheaded. Not only their land and money were demanded, but their heads were also demanded.
They were filled with hatred when they saw Zheng Zhilong's "pirate army".
That's why he paid and provided food for Zuo Liangyu to defend Jinan Mansion.
At this moment, they all gathered at the residence of King De Zhu Youshu!
Gao Hongshang, the younger brother of Gao Hongtu, Minister of Industry, said: "Before, the pirates attacked Jinan. If we broke the city, we would be dead. Now that Li Xianzhong, the king of Liaodong County, has come in person, we might as well open the city and surrender!"
"Although the Hongguang court requires 'gentry and gentry to pay taxes as one body' and collects business taxes, it's better than losing your head!"
At this time, King De spoke, and he said: "Brother Gao, please don't be too naive. As far as I know, Zheng Zhilong's East Ryukyu Company was originally created by Li Xianzhong."
"According to reliable information, these so-called pirates are actually the Liaodong Army!"
"So the one who robbed our land, money, and our heads was not the pirate Zheng Zhilong at all, but Li Xianzhong himself, the prince of Liaodong County!"
Although these people had heard some rumors about Zheng Zhilong and Li Xianzhong and guessed the relationship behind them, when King De told the truth in public, it still caused quite a stir!
Jinan gentry Fan Fucui said: "Li Xianzhong is too ruthless. He is simply more terrifying than a bandit. Is this the only way for us to die?"
Gao Hongshang said: "Actually, Li Xianzhong just wants us to take the lead in supporting his 'Hongguang New Deal'. Now that our land has been taken away by him, we will use some money to reward the army. I believe he will not kill them all." !”
After Gao Hongshang finished speaking, everyone present began to make calculations.
The reason why they supported Chongzhen was because they were reluctant to part with the land. If the imperial court came back to drive away these "sea pirates", then they would be able to get back the land that originally belonged to them.
But the current situation in Jinan is not to mention the lost land. If they continue to resist, it will be a question whether their lives can be saved.
The Liaodong Army's cannons don't have eyes.
Although it is impossible for Li Xianzhong to massacre the city, who can guarantee that he will not die "accidentally"?
In the end, everyone looked at King De. After all, he was the backbone of the Jinan gentry.
In fact, King De was also hesitant. If Li Xianzhong insisted on letting the "sea pirates" attack the city, it would be clear that he was not prepared to leave a way for them to survive.
Now that he has personally come to attack Jinan, it means that he can accept their surrender.
After all, King Dai was not killed after he announced his support for Emperor Hongguang.
He said: "Actually, General Zuo also supports surrender, but I still hope that we can get a commitment from the Liaodong County King. Who dares to go outside the city to negotiate with Li Xianzhong on our behalf?"
"The bottom line will naturally guarantee the safety of our lives. The military expenditure of the Hongguang court must be tight at present. I am willing to spend 800,000 taels of silver. You can also chip in some. We can collect 2 million taels of silver as military expenditure. I believe we can always satisfy Li Xianzhong. I’ve got an appetite!”
Most of the gentry from Shandong were here, and soon they collected the remaining 1.2 million taels.
Gao Hongshang volunteered to go out to the city to negotiate with Li Xianzhong on behalf of the Jinan gentry.
After the battle during the day, Zuo Liangyu still had the willpower to resist.
However, Hou Xun was his benefactor after all, so he contacted King De to ask him to surrender.
This is better than betraying Hou Xun directly.
Zuo Liangyu also sent his deputy general Li Guoying to escort Gao Hongshang out of the city. His only condition was that he hoped that Li Xianzhong would not kill Hou Xun.
The arrival of Gao Hongshang and others had long been expected by Li Xianzhong, which was why he stopped attacking Jinan.
Li Xianzhong was not too embarrassed by Zuo Liangyu's request not to kill Hou Xun.
Although Hou Xun had spoken nonsense about him in the city before, he was still not without tolerance.
He said that as long as Hou Xun was loyal to the Hongguang court, he would not hold Hou Xun accountable, and he did not even need Hou Xun to apologize to him.
Gao Hongshang's elder brother Gao Hongtu has now joined the Hongguang court. However, except for the Ministry of Rites, Li Xianzhong, the chief officer of the six ministries, directly appointed Liaodong officials, so Gao Hongtu was demoted one level and served in the capital as the Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of Industry.
It was Gao Hongtu's intention to seek refuge with Li Xianzhong.
King De and others were willing to donate 2 million taels of silver, and Li Xianzhong was naturally happy to see it happen.
Of course he couldn't admit what happened to Zheng Zhilong.
However, Li Xianzhong said that His Majesty Hongguang has decreed the recruitment of Zheng Zhilong and is currently negotiating.
He will find a way to get back their ancestral home and other properties. As for the land, he will leave 1,000 acres for each of them. King De will also retain 10,000 acres of farmland.
As for their donation of military salary, he will report it to Emperor Hongguang, and I believe that His Majesty will definitely commend them.
On September 13th of the first year of Hongguang, King Zhu Youshu declared his allegiance to Emperor Hongguang Zhu Yousong and drew a clear line with the puppet emperor Chongzhen!
At the same time, Zuo Liangyu opened the city gate of Jinan and welcomed Li Xianzhong, the king of Liaodong County, into Jinan Mansion.
After Hou Xun learned about the actions of Zuo Liangyu and others, he cursed angrily: "You people who are greedy for life and afraid of death, are you going to let Li Xianzhong slaughter you like this?"
Zuo Liangyu lowered his head and said nothing, but Gao Hongshang said: "We are relying on the Hongguang court, not the Liaodong prince himself. The Liaodong prince has already sent a memorial to the emperor to commend us for our righteous act of funding the army, and promised to try to get rid of the bandits. Taking back our ancestral home, property, and some of our farmland is an act of benevolence and justice!"
"Everyone in the Hongguang court, from the Emperor Hongguang and the Prince of Liaodong himself, down to the common people, pays land tax. It is not targeted at us gentry alone."
Hou Xun knew that they had lost, completely lost. As long as this group of people set an example for other gentry, more and more gentry would succumb to Li Xianzhong's lust!
He then drew out his sword and wanted to kill himself!
Zuo Liangyu beside him had quick eyes and quick hands and quickly grabbed the sword from his hand!
He said: "Teacher, if you keep the green hills, you won't have to worry about having no firewood!"
At this time, Li Xianzhong's voice came, and he said: "I promised Zuo Liangyu that I would not embarrass you, and that Hou Shilang would not have to seek death or survival."
"I know that you are dissatisfied with the battle in Jinan, so I will give you another chance and let you go to Nanjing. When we meet next time, you must not let me down!"
Hou Xun originally thought that Li Xianzhong would definitely humiliate himself as a winner.
His move was really beyond his expectation.
At this time, Hou Xun clasped his fists and said, "Hou thanked the prince for not killing me!"
So he left without looking back.
At this time, Li Xianzhong patted Zuo Liangyu on the shoulder again and said: "I have always been clear about love and hate, and grudges must be repaid! This time, I think I made an exception for General Zuo. Next, you must serve the court well!" "
Zuo Liangyu was still very grateful to Li Xianzhong. Although he dedicated the city in the name of King De, he would still have to bear the bad reputation of betraying his mentor!
Li Xianzhong's move undoubtedly saved Zuo Liangyu's image a lot!
Zuo Liangyu immediately knelt down and said: "The last general was the pioneer going south, and he was determined to be the prince's heartless one. He did not hesitate to do so!"
After everyone dispersed, Zhang Zhiji on the side said: "I think Zuo Liangyu is quite naughty. Hou Xun has a good reputation and is one of the few civil servants who knows how to fight."
"The prince gave up Hou Xun in order to win over Zuo Liangyu. I'm afraid the gain outweighs the loss!"
Li Xianzhong naturally knew who Zuo Liangyu was.
But he was still somewhat grateful to Hou Xun!
Li Xianzhong said: "My main purpose in winning over Zuo Liangyu is not to reassure the Shandong gentry who have surrendered to the imperial court. I am by no means a person who breaks his promise!"
"I can let go of people like Hou Xun who have insulted me, so naturally I won't settle accounts with them!"
"In addition, I also need someone to bring news about Jinan to Jiangnan. So that the gentry in Jiangnan will know how to line up!"
Zhang Zhiji said: "Your Majesty is still far-sighted, but with the current military strength of Nanzhili, there is no way to stop our cavalry. Even the proud navy in the south is not as powerful as us. The general thought that as long as we intercepted Chongzhen, Jiangnan can be decided by sending a message, there is no need to use weapons anymore!"
Li Xianzhong originally thought that Zhang Zhiji was just a "second generation ancestor", but he didn't expect that he was quite insightful. It seems that the British Duke's tutoring was very strict, much better than that of Zhu Chunchen, the Duke of Chengguo!
However, he still underestimated these gentry in Jiangnan. If you disturb their core interests, they will definitely fight you.
Li Xianzhong said with a smile: "In fact, for Emperor Hongguang, letting Chongzhen die at the hands of bandits is the best result. As ministers, we naturally have to take the initiative to share His Majesty's worries!"
"This is also the reason why I am unwilling to directly send troops to arrest Chongzhen."
"I am not as optimistic as you about the gentry in the south of the Yangtze River. Don't forget that the one who resisted the tax the most fiercely was the Suzhou Prefecture. They didn't even buy into the powerful 'nine-thousand-year-old' Wei Zhongxian. I don't expect them to submit obediently. !”
Now that Jinan has been won, there is still Yanzhou in Shandong.
There are two big fish in Yanzhou, one is naturally the King of Lu Zhu Shouyong in Yanzhou Prefecture, and the other is his 'old friend' Kong Yinzhi, the Duke of Yansheng!
Yanzhou is currently being ravaged by the White Lotus Sect, and many local gentry have been killed.
However, Wang Xifan did not move these two big fish.
Li Xianzhong asked Zuo Liangyu as the vanguard to lead his 15,000 men to attack Yanzhou Prefecture.
Shandong Commander-in-Chief Liu Zhaoji and Zuo Liangyu are old acquaintances.
Even Zuo Liangyu's Yulin camp was no match for Li Xianzhong, so there was no need for him to block the car.
In addition, King De also sent a letter to King Lu, and King Lu was also ready to surrender!
With the precedent of Jinan Prefecture's gentry actively offering silver, Yanzhou Prefecture's surrender would be much easier.
If they agree to these conditions, Li Xianzhong's Liaodong Army will go south to recover Yanzhou.
If they don't agree, then Wang Xifan's White Lotus Sect will conquer Yanzhou City. He has already killed King Heng in Baoding Mansion, so naturally he doesn't care if he kills another King of Lu.
Soon King Lu and the gentry in Yanzhou also announced their support for Emperor Hongguang and severed relations with the puppet emperor Chongzhen.
However, Yanzhou has been ravaged by the White Lotus Sect for many years, and finally their stipend was reduced to 1.5 million taels!
Li Xianzhong entered Yanzhou Mansion in a swaggering manner.
Since the Southern Expedition of the White Lotus Sect in the second year of Tianqi, I have not picked up the wool of the Kong family in Qufu for 8 years!
I believe that the fat sheep of the Kong family has recovered a lot now.
The first order Li Xianzhong gave after entering Yanzhou was to send Zhang Zhiji to lead troops to Qufu and capture Yan Shenggong Kong Yinzhi to Yanzhou!
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(End of chapter)
