"Report, King of Han. Our vanguard has arrived in Nanjing as scheduled." A messenger from the vanguard came to report.
"I know, you go down and have a rest first!" Zhang Rui nodded.
"yes…"
"Taiping, pass the order. After everyone arrives within five miles of Nanjing City, they will rest and camp. Let the soldiers cook first, and everyone will have enough to eat and have strength. At the same time, let Commander Li De arrange someone to call for surrender. They are limited to two hours. Surrender within the next few days." Zhang Rui ordered Chen Taiping, the flag officer on duty.
"Yes, King Han. I will go and deliver the order right now." Chen Taiping answered the order neatly.
The troops who besieged Nanjing this time were the Sharp Sword Army (Li De), the Chiye Army (Wang Yan), the Zhongyong Army (Zhang Zhishan), and the Tiger Army (Li Guozhong). The main combat strength of the Fourth Army is 130,000, combined with logistics, the total strength of the troops dropped is about 300,000, and the external strength is 1.2 million.
Marching across the border is like moving ants. There is a long queue and it will not be possible for everyone to arrive in a short while.
At this time, the Qing army was hiding within the tall city wall. It would be unwise to rashly attack the city with exhausted bodies if the vanguard has just arrived. It is better to paralyze the enemy by giving the city time to surrender, so that the soldiers on the way can recharge their batteries and wait for the arrival of logistics supplies.
Although the city of Nanjing was just ahead, Zhang Rui had no intention of ordering the army to speed up. The army is still moving forward in an orderly manner according to the pace. It is not necessarily a good thing to randomly disrupt the progress of the march.
…
An hour and a half later
…
"Dong...dong...dong..."
The drums were beating loudly in the bandit suppression army, and the rested bandit suppression army began to formally assemble.
Outside Nanjing City
The surrounding area is covered with snow, and only the towering city walls stand out. Under the sunlight, this majestic city scatters a confusing light. When it appeared in Zhang Rui's sight, Zhang Rui could not help but be shocked by the momentum it displayed.
"Such a tall city wall is indeed difficult to attack. I really don't understand how those guys in the Southern Ming Dynasty built such a good city. I don't know that Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang knew that the city he built could be captured so easily. What are you thinking?" Standing on the hill at the high point of the battlefield, looking at the magnificent Nanjing City Wall, Zhang Rui couldn't help but complain in his heart.
"Sure enough, defense is an offense, and the best city wall is the human heart. However, those pig-like things in the Manchu and Qing Dynasties can attack this city. Are we going to be able to do it?" After seeing the people who have gathered below, Standing neatly in a square formation, Zhang Rui felt a surge of pride in his heart.
"Oh dear lord, who domains the fate of this world?"
"Report, King of Han. Chief of Staff Zhao asked me to come and report. Yi Jishan, the puppet governor of Liangjiang in the Qing Dynasty, claimed that the time given by our army was too tight. I hope we can give him more time so that he can persuade others to agree to surrender! Invite King of Han Decision." A staff officer from the front who participated in the call for surrender came back to report.
The counselor's words sounded very normal, but Zhang Rui immediately warned himself in his heart: "Zheng Chenggong, the country's surnamed master, suffered a big loss because of his mistakes back then. Now these guys want to do this again, I can't We must not make the same mistake.”
"I know. You go and notify Chief of Staff Zhao Li and bring someone back immediately." Zhang Rui replied.
"Yes, I obey." The staff officer immediately saluted and retreated.
"King Han, what should we do now? Will those Qing dogs really surrender? Should we wait for those Qing dogs?" Li De asked anxiously.
"Wait? Are we fools? He just thought that he could delay time and let other Qing dogs come to rescue them. Isn't this how Zheng Chenggong, the country's surnamed master, was defeated? He could have nearly 100,000 armored soldiers at that time , hundreds of thousands of troops." Zhang Rui said angrily.
"Send the order and prepare to attack the city."
"Okay, King Han." Li De said happily.
"As you command, King Han." Wang Yan still replied respectfully.
…
"Dong...dong...dong..."
The drums in the bandit suppression army beat again.
"Tiger...Tiger...Tiger..."
There was a loud cry from the army. Three shouts, the sound is compelling and the momentum is majestic and shocking. The defenders on the Nanjing City Wall Road were all extremely nervous.
…
"Attention, the rebels are about to attack the city, the rebels are about to attack the city..."
"Golden juice... hurry up and cook the golden juice..."
"Stones, rocks are not enough. Hurry up and bring more rocks...quickly..."
"...wood...yes, wood...and lime..."
"...Firewood, firewood...hurry up, don't wait. Oil ①...Have you brought the oil? What? Not yet? Why don't you hurry up and transport it up? Do you want the rebels to send it to you?..."
On the city wall road, there was a chaos of shouts.
Nanjing has not experienced war for a long time!
"Dong...dong...dong..."
While defense supplies were being prepared on the top of Nanjing City, the drums of the bandit suppressing army were still beating unhurriedly.
Pioneer camp in front of the bandit suppression army
This is a special battalion, with about three thousand people.
Different from other formations that are purely young and strong, they are mixed with many children as young as sixteen and as old as fifty. But they all have one thing in common, that is, they are all descendants of the Eight Banners.
The bandit suppressing army has always carried out brutal bloodbaths against the Qing Eight Banners who dared to resist, which was even worse than the practices of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.
When the city of Jingzhou was captured, except for the Eight Banners soldiers who surrendered along with the guard Tumen Shi and his family, the other Eight Banners people were almost slaughtered. Discarded corpses covered the water of the Yangtze River, causing the water of the Yangtze River to be dyed red for a while.
Zhang Rui doesn't actually hate them that much, but war is always cruel, either you die or I die.
Zhang Rui always believes that as long as he loses, his death will never be easier than these people. After all, none of the Taiping Heavenly Kings who were captured alive was not executed by Ling Chi.
Zhang Rui didn't want to be executed by Ling Chi.
So, even if it’s inhumane. Zhang Rui also believes that in this era, we must abide by the rules of this era, and deterrence by massacre is still necessary.
Since the Manchus could tame the Han people through massacre, why couldn't they do the same?
It is precisely for this reason that when the bandit suppressing army attacked Fujian and Hangzhou, most of the bannermen surrendered.
It is okay for this small number of bannermen to surrender, but if too many people surrender, it will be dangerous if the battle situation becomes unstable.
For this reason, Zhang Rui could only set up a labor reform camp.
Yes, you can avoid death by surrendering. But the death penalty is exempted, so why have you enjoyed the wealth and blessings of the people for so many years? Not counting these, how many Han people did your ancestors kill? Isn’t it true that the father owes his debt to his son?
It is a promise not to kill you, but your ancestors have done so.
We have done so, but you have done nothing to make it happen, so of course the merit is not worth the demerit.
Then you have to go through labor reform until you can make up for the mistakes your ancestors made.
As for how long it will take to transform, it depends on what kind of contribution you can make. Maybe it’s three to five months, maybe it’s just three to five years!
…
