"The imperial court wants us to protect Taicang without letting go of the wealthy gentry, and also ensure Zhang Jinglue's safety. This battle is not easy to fight."
Lin Zhenbei was worried about the upcoming war. The task assigned by Shangguan to the First Battalion was very difficult, and he needed both.
This is in line with the characteristics of Daqi.
"Without further ado."
He Longzhou's eyes were firm and he obviously did not take these difficulties seriously.
"Who else is there in this city?"
Lin Zhenbei suppressed his anger, thought for a while and said:
"There are seventy or eighty people in training, as well as training officers from each regiment. They came a few days ago."
The instructor Lin Zhenbei mentioned was sent by the Nanjing court to encourage people to support the New Deal.
It is said that it comes from twelve corps, only the Eighth Corps does not have it.
It is difficult to understand for a warrior like He Longzhou to expect that a powerful man with red mouth and white teeth can open and close his mouth to make the rich and powerful people spit out their benefits.
"How can a rat spit out food without seeing blood? What's the use of sending a few trainers! Those people in the cabinet are really funny!"
He Longzhou snorted and asked about the situation of the guards in the city.
On the way to Taicang, the Eighth Corps received information from the Capricorn Guards one after another.
According to the Daqi military system, all battlefield intelligence must be summarized and reviewed by the training officer before being passed to the battlefield commander to prevent things like the Xuzhou Rebellion from happening again.
Lin Zhenbei was very dissatisfied with this chief officer's unruly behavior.
"We were preparing for the Japanese army. Didn't I tell you just now that the situation is very unfavorable to us."
The meaning of Lin Zhenbei's words is obvious.
He Longzhou didn't care about the instructor's anger and asked eagerly:
"You mean, the defenders and the attackers will collude with each other? They will deal with us together."
"We may not have the courage to rebel openly, but we have to guard against stabbing us in the back."
The instructor looked solemn: "Dozens of people died in the model battalion under Zhang Jinglue. The defenders can never escape the involvement. It is estimated that they have been bribed by powerful men a long time ago, and there are also two eunuchs sent by the imperial court to supervise the army. It is said that they have been there for several days. There’s no news, so it’s probably a bad time.”
He Longzhou clenched his fists, reined in his horse and looked towards Taicang City. Under the night cover, he couldn't see the expression on the general's face clearly:
"A group of turtle grandsons are very brave. It's their fault that they fell into my hands today!"
Taicang Prefecture City, like most cities in the south of the Yangtze River, surrendered to Daqi immediately after the surrender of the Hongguang court.
Because of the severe shortage of northern officials who could be transferred, the imperial court was unable to place more outside officials in the south of the Yangtze River. Many surrendered prefectures and counties, but the original prefects and counties were exchanged. For example, the prefect of Taicang was transferred to Suzhou as prefect, and the prefect of Suzhou was transferred to Songjiang. After many changes, in the end they were still the old men in the officialdom of the former Ming Dynasty.
The magistrates of prefectures and counties can be changed, but the magistrates and magistrates below basically remain the same.
As for the troops stationed in various places, it is even more necessary to rely on the power of the Ming army. The area that the Qi army can truly control is very limited. The city defense of Taicang remained almost intact, and was still in charge of the original Biwa military garrison soldiers.
The surrendered Ming army put on a black military uniform and transformed into the Qi army, continuing to eat their imperial rations.
Of course, the imperial court is not a fool. Since the end of last year, it has been continuously placing mid-level officers in the garrisons in various places, and also sent eunuchs to supervise the army. Because the time was short and the manpower was insufficient, no one can tell how big the effect was in the end. .
"Hey, to replace the Ming Dynasty, there is no need to change the soup or the medicine. When the Ming army was recruited to guard various places, many people in the court objected... This move is easy and does not waste troops, but it will have endless consequences."
Lin Zhenbei looked up at Taicang Prefecture City under the night, with a look of compassion on his face.
He Longzhou glanced at the instructor lightly, raised his telescope, and saw a few sparks in his distant field of vision, and faintly saw thick smoke billowing over Taicang Prefecture City.
He Longzhou frowned slightly, put down his telescope, and murmured to himself:
"It's not a future problem."
The instructor heard the tone of his voice and realized that something was wrong. He quickly took the binoculars to look at it, and his face suddenly showed a trace of death.
"It's over, it's too late."
"It's not too late, just send them on their way."
A messenger suddenly stepped forward on horseback and loudly reported to the two chief officers:
"There's a fight in the city! There's looting and arson everywhere, and there are still our people in the city. The forward cavalry said they found trumpet arrows being fired!"
Lin Zhenbei said with a trembling voice:
"They must have jumped over the wall and besieged Zhang Jinglue's pacesetter camp. Leader, let's..."
He Longzhou waved his hand to interrupt the slightly flustered instructor, took down the flag, and handed it to the ordering soldier:
"My general ordered the cavalry to move out of the way, and the escorting artillerymen came forward, approached the city wall three hundred paces, and shouted to the defenders at the top of the city, saying that by the emperor's decree, Taicang is now under the control of our eighth corps. There are people in the city who are trying to rebel. Ask them to open the city gates immediately and let the army enter the city."
The messenger stopped the reins and asked carefully:
"Officer He, what if the defenders don't open the door? Just now, the sentry horse in front saw artillery positioning at the top of the city."
"Don't open the door?" He Longzhou's face showed a ferocious look:
"Then let the artillery fire rockets at the top of the city until the defenders change their minds. After entering the city, line up, with the grenadier in front, the artillery in the middle, and the cavalry in the rear. If you encounter any obstruction, shoot and kill without mercy. Do you hear me clearly?"
The messenger repeated He Longzhou's order, and after confirming that it was correct, he rode his horse and disappeared into the night ahead.
After the messengers left, Lin Zhenbei said in surprise:
"Longtou, why did you ask the artillerymen to follow you into the city? Are you using them as infantry?"
He Longzhou said casually: "Artillery is artillery. When did I say that I want them to be infantry!"
Lin Zhenbei said anxiously: "Loucheng is not as good as the towns in Liaodong. It is densely populated and full of markets. The prefectural city alone has a population of hundreds of thousands. Director Xie sent someone to say that Taicang's business cannot be destroyed and as few people are killed as possible. This is a waste of time and money." Yes, a field gun weighing more than ten kilograms, one shot, I don’t know..."
"How does the Chamber of Commerce know how to fight? Artillery shells are not valuable, and rebels are even less valuable. The lives of soldiers are valuable! If artillery does not intervene in street fighting, how can I let my soldiers spend their lives to fill it?"
Lin Zhenbei raised his finger and said tremblingly;
"He Longzhou, you are taking human life seriously! I want to impeach you."
He Longzhou waved his hand nonchalantly:
"Go and impeach. See who among those people can speak for you."
Lin Zhenbei was speechless.
"The superiors asked us to put down the rebellion in ten days, so we walked on the road for eight days. If we don't enter the city tonight, we will delay the fight. General Zhao will chop off your and my heads. Your and my heads are worthless. The Eighth Corps wants revenge. This is the most important thing." .”
He Longzhou let go of the reins, and the horse under his crotch had a clear understanding of the situation and began to accelerate slowly.
"It only took three months to measure the land. So many people died. You know what is going on in the city. The Japanese pirates are making trouble in Shandong. The battlefield of the Eighth Army is in the Japanese country. I am very pressed for time and have no time to talk to my mother-in-law and mother-in-law." , they should be thankful if they don’t massacre the city today, it doesn’t matter if they shoot him a few times.”
He Longzhou finally concluded:
"You will be outside, and your life will be compromised!!"
After saying that, he raised his whip and slapped it on the horse's back. The horse suddenly accelerated and ran towards the slowly advancing artillery in the distance.
Lin Zhenbei was left standing alone. He looked at the state city where the fire was spreading, and secretly prayed that Zhang Jinglue and his fellow instructors would be safe.
After a while, Lin Zhenbei cursed, raised his horse and whipped his horse, and chased after him.
