Luo Yangming managed to survive until dawn despite extreme suffering - his family members were still in the house. Although they were looked after by Wen Tietou and his men, they were weak and weak, and the disaster would be unimaginable if they were attacked by soldiers.
Although it has only been four or five days since the Fubo Army arrived at the city, it feels like half a lifetime has passed. It really is like living a day like a year.
He wanted to send people to pick up his family several times, but the streets were in chaos. He was worried that an accident might happen on the road, so it was better to hide behind closed doors at home. Most of them were in Mihang. Although the target was big, the guild also had young men. On guard.
As the sky dimmed, the sound of cannons could be heard outside the northern and southern cities of Wuzhou. Luo Yangming couldn't help but perked up - the city was under attack!
Signal rockets of various colors streaked across the sky from time to time. To Luo Yangming, they were as beautiful as holiday fireworks. He didn't care to look any further and quickly climbed down from the roof and reported to the directors of the Rice and Grain Guild in the hall.
"The Australians have begun to attack the city. In less than half a day, Wuzhou will be ruled by the Song Dynasty!" Luo Yangming said happily.
The dull and depressed faces of the directors of the Rice Grain Guild suddenly relaxed. They had been on tenterhooks for a few days. Now that they heard that the Australians were about to enter the city, these lawless days were finally coming to an end, and everyone's wealth and lives would probably be saved. The originally solemn atmosphere in the hall became somewhat lively. The breakfast brought by the servants had been left unattended on the table, but now it was suddenly crowded with people. Some people were yelling at their servants for "not having the eyesight" and not knowing how to "warm up the porridge."
Luo Yangming saw that these businessmen began to show off their power and airs to the servants again, and he knew that they felt confident again. However, this is not the time to relax. There are a lot of rebels in the city, and even jumping over the wall in a hurry can cause great losses.
On the contrary, Mr. Qiao, the leader of the guild, had a plan. While he sent people out to contact the strong men and local soldiers in various places, he asked them to "defend the defense areas" and "protect the country and the people". They would be "rewarded heavily" afterwards, and at the same time he also Send an envoy to see General Xun Wuzuo, the top commander in the city.
The general was still in the city out of necessity, because Wuzhou was his defense zone. Once he is lost, the court will definitely hold him accountable, and it will also harm his family - the generals of the Ming army are mostly hereditary officers from the garrison. They are actually small feudal lords. The interests of the family are closely related to him, so in Regardless of the circumstances, he would stick to it to the end and sacrifice himself for the city.
Therefore, the envoy sent by Mr. Qiao is a "dead soldier" - because the other party is likely to directly kill the envoy out of the determination of "the Han and the traitors are not at odds".
What Master Qiao asked the envoy to bring was very simple: as long as he immediately ordered his men to surrender in Kaicheng and restrain their troops. After surrendering, he immediately gave him 20,000 taels of silver as a reward and an additional 3,000 taels of silver as a personal gift. The Australians will also help him mediate to ensure his safety.
After sending the envoy, Mr. Qiao called Luo Yangming aside and asked him in a low voice if he had any acquaintances in the Australian Army.
Naturally, Luo Yangming did not dare to reveal his identity, so he said that he had always been in contact with Dachang. This time he heard that Dachang helped the Australians supply military rice, and he might have an acquaintance in Fubo's army.
"So you don't have any reliable acquaintances?" Mr. Qiao's eyes showed doubts.
"Although I have no acquaintance, the Fubo Army has always had strict military discipline. Naturally, someone came to contact me. Master Qiao doesn't have to worry too much..." He saw that Master Qiao didn't mean to relax, so he had to add, "I have and As long as you show the 'authorization certificate' of Dachang Trading, it will probably not be a problem to ask for a meeting with the person in charge..."
After saying that he had "credentials", Mr. Qiao became more relaxed. He has lived in Wuzhou for a long time. Although he has heard about Australians and used Australian products, he lacks an intuitive understanding of the behavior of the "Kun Thieves". Moreover, it is a military crisis like the destruction of the city. If he fails to deal with it properly, he will A strange disaster is coming!
Fortunately, there is a "tongkun" figure like Luo Yangming. Mr. Qiao felt somewhat dependent on him. Then he told Luo Yangming the "rewards" that had been negotiated by the gentry and merchants in the city, roughly how much the "rewards" were for each soldier, how much each officer was, and how much the general was. He also asked Luo Yangming whether the "price" was appropriate - naturally, he would have to ask "Brother Luo" to come out and contact him...
Luo Yangming was secretly amused, but the money and food should not be wasted, and there was no need for him to save money for the wealthy people. Moreover, the army came from afar, and it was not without some small supplement to get a small amount of income. He immediately expressed his willingness to "get in touch", which made Mr. Qiao relieved.
After Dayunmen broke through the city, the last organized resistance of the Ming army in the city completely collapsed. After a few elite attacks against Dayunmen failed several times, with the core of the soldiers and servants under General Xunwu Zuo, the army basically collapsed. As for the rebels who had been doing evil in the city and intending to take advantage of the situation, Gengshi fell into the final madness at this moment. The organization was completely collapsed, and the rebels set fire to and looted everywhere. The city fell into total chaos.
After the second battalion commanded by Zhu Quanxing entered the city, they occupied key points and captured rebels along the way. At the same time, they sent people to contact the surrendering troops. All Ming troops who surrendered, whether local or guest, were ordered to leave the city and wait for acceptance at the waiting point. The strong men and strong squads in the city were ordered to guard the key points of the road, suppress the incoming rioters, and mobilize in groups to put out fires at any time.
Yang Zeng's battalion then entered the city from the south, used squads and platoons as units to search and suppress rebels throughout the city, and assisted the strong men in putting out the fire. Everything was in order, and before noon, the whole city of Wuzhou had calmed down. Although fires continued everywhere, no large-scale excessive fire occurred due to timely extinguishment. Although some slums and alleys were burned down, causing hundreds of families to become refugees, the dock area along the river outside the city was also seriously damaged and was almost razed to the ground. But overall the damage to the city was not too great.
The people of Wuzhou, no matter rich or poor, who had been disturbed and violated, finally welcomed their new masters in fear and anxiety. However, some people will no longer be able to see the sunrise today. The bodies of the people who died in last night's riots are still lying on the streets. In the Cangwu County Yamen, the county magistrate who committed suicide in despair is hanging in the room of the second hall. On the beam, the backyard was in a mess.
Zhu Mingxia did not enter the city - Wuzhou was just a place name to him, and his mission was to fight: the main force of the Ming army was not far from here.
So the job of director of the interim Military Control Commission fell on Zhu Quanxing.
Zhu Quanxing entered the city on foot. Wuzhou City was different from other cities in that it was opened without any major damage. Several attacks and defenses around Wuzhou and arson plots in the city caused considerable damage to the city. Although Xiong Wencan's plot to burn the city was foiled due to the efforts of the "lone wolf", the city is still unstable. In this case, it is naturally not advisable to enter the city.
The village sages in the city wanted to come to the city gate to "greet" them, but Zhu Quanxing responded "no need" and told them to go to the government office, the location of the temporary military control committee, to wait for orders.
Logically speaking, there is no need for veterans to take part in this kind of work. Naturally, a reception team composed of cadres from the Qiongya Column going north will be responsible. However, Wuzhou's status is unusual. Whether it is to immediately send troops deep into Guangxi or to wait for the opportunity here with strong troops, Wuzhou is an important Transportation nodes must be well managed.
"Except for the members of the fire-fighting committee and the government and county government's elite teams in the city who stayed behind, the rest dispersed on the spot and went home."
"All soldiers in the city, regardless of locals or foreigners, will march out of the city and undergo inspection outside the north gate. Those who stay in the city after sunset will be punished as rioters."
"Officials of the Ming Dynasty are required to report to the Cangwu County Yamen at sunset and wait for disposal. Anyone who hides will be punished for treason."
"All sulfur, gunpowder, tung oil and other flammable items in the city will be moved out of the city and stored centrally."
…
Orders were issued from the door of the Provisional Military Control Council. The work of taking over is complicated, but over the past few years the Senate has gained a mature set of experience in taking over cities, and there are also several veterans among the cadres going north. After entering the city, he commanded the troops to occupy key departments, seal and collect weapons, and search for broken soldiers...all the work was in order.
Zhu Quanxing was relieved. He arranged a table map in the government office where the Provisional Military Control Commission was located, and began to arrange Wuzhou's defense and security work.
In terms of the current situation, Wuzhou is a "frontline city" and the environment is very unfavorable. Not only is it far away from the Pearl River Delta region, the core of Tongzhi in Guangzhou, where the Senate is located, but it is also located at the junction of Guangdong and Guangxi. To the west is the Guangxi Ming Army Group, which still has strength. At this time, the Yao defense generals from the two mountains who had retreated from Guangdong and the troops guarding the middle road gathered together, and their strength increased to another level. Although Guangxi has historically been poor, it has several grain-producing areas, so self-sufficiency is not a problem. In contrast, the Fubo Army in Wuzhou already had difficulty in providing relief due to the lengthened communication lines. To the east, from Zhaoqing to Wuzhou, there are a large number of Yaodongs in the mountainous areas along the river. Once a large-scale riot occurs, Wuzhou will become an isolated city.
Whether the second battalion serves as a sharp knife to attack Guangxi or a shield to defend Guangdong, it must first do a good job in the defense of Wuzhou.
The first step is to understand the current situation in Wuzhou. The most suitable candidate is naturally the "lone wolf" who sends them signals and secret messages - logically speaking, this intelligence agent should come to contact them quietly at this time.
I wonder what kind of information this lone wolf can bring to me? Not only him, but also Li Li were very interested in this intelligence agent in Wuzhou City. If his timely actions hadn't ruined Xiong Wencan's plan to burn the city, they might have faced a Wuzhou City filled with fireworks and refugees everywhere.
But until now, this mysterious lone wolf still has not appeared.
At this time, the orderly around him came again to report: The "village sages" in this city have been waiting for a long time.
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Volume 7 - Guangzhou Governance Section 328
