It is worth mentioning that although the news that officials are preparing to run overseas is no longer a secret among the upper-class circles, the common people, petty officials, grassroots officers, and low-level soldiers in Hangzhou are completely unaware of this matter.
Even some low-level officials were kept in the dark.
In the matter of escaping for their lives, the powerful bureaucrats who prepared to escape gave full play to their awareness of confidentiality and did things that they could not do in the past.
News that the Yellow River Project of the Ming Dynasty had been completed had indeed reached Hangzhou, and everyone knew about it. However, no one had yet associated it with the Ming army going south to destroy the Song Dynasty, and no one could have guessed that the powerful bureaucrats were ready to gone.
Of course, the fewer people who know about this kind of thing, the better. Everyone keeps their mouths shut. Things like transferring property are entrusted to their own family members and cronies to do it themselves, under the guise of doing business in a caravan. Don't bother outsiders.
So for now, no leaks have occurred.
It was similar in the army. Only the mid-level and senior officers got the news from the civil servants they were friends with through their personal connections. They knew that the Ming Dynasty had basically repaired the Yellow River. If nothing else happened, the next step would be to go south.
The middle and senior officers were also very frightened. Except for a few who were really courageous, most of them planned to join in the fun and did not want to stay here and die.
But these things in the army required Zhang Shi's permission. Without Zhang Shi's permission, how could they escape from the army and escape on their own?
Faced with private pleas from mid-level and senior military officers, Zhang Shi's attitude was very clear.
You can leave if you want, but you must leave a certain amount of money before you can leave. Depending on the level of your respective positions, you can leave different amounts of money. If the money is available, you can leave. If the money is not available, you must stay.
Many officers secretly cursed Zhang Shi for asking for money to die, asking for money to buy coffins and the like. They reluctantly handed over the money, and then decisively began to prepare to escape.
Unlike the officials, the officers were further away from the city of Hangzhou and the people, and had less worries about escaping.
Then soon, the mid-level and senior officers above the commander level in the 20,000-strong army under Zhang Shi's control were all determined to prepare to leave. Basically, there were no troops coming, and they were all nervously preparing escape routes in Hangzhou City. .
Only one of them could not bear to escape alone because he had been favored by Zhang Jun. He wanted to persuade Zhang Jun to escape together, which was considered conscientious.
Faced with this situation, Zhang Shi persuaded him directly and let him go without taking his money.
The mid-level and senior officers were ready to moisturize. Some officers with lower positions also learned about this and privately asked Zhang Shi to allow them to moisturize together. They said that there were seniors and juniors, and the whole family was pitiful and they did not want to stay. They were killed by the Ming army or purged by the Ming Dynasty.
They don't want to die.
There was no fluctuation in Zhang Shi's heart. He nodded, allowed them to pay a slightly smaller amount, and then let them prepare an escape plan.
After that, although they still held positions in the army in name, they actually had nothing to do with the army.
As a result, among Zhang Shi's 20,000-strong army, all middle- and senior-level officers decided to recruit troops, and those of mid-level and low-level officers who prepared to recruit troops accounted for more than 50% of the total number.
The remaining middle- and low-level officers who did not escape all had the same identity—revival members.
As a result, the army began to be very short of officers.
But it doesn't matter, this is exactly what Zhang Shi wants to see.
So Zhang Shi began to adjust this army to the front line reorganization of the Ming Army.
He promoted another group of people to take over the vacant positions in his army - the revival members who were secretly developed by the Ming Dynasty instructors when they were training the army.
They have learned quite solid military knowledge from the Ming Army instructors and are fully qualified for the positions of grassroots officers. Some of them are relatively good in theory and are also qualified for the positions of grassroots instructors. They are not worried about manpower at all.
After this wave of major changes, Zhang Shi promoted these revival members to the positions of officers and instructors, quickly filling the vacancies, and successfully completed the actual mutiny in a very safe and peaceful way.
Since then, there has been a shortage of senior command officers in some key positions.
An army of 20,000 people still needs some reliable senior commanders. Without senior commanders, many things will be difficult to handle.
Of course, this doesn't matter. The Ming Army has already sent some former Ming Army instructors who are familiar with the situation to serve anonymously under Zhang Shi's appointment.
Soon, everyone from the lower-level soldiers to the upper-level officers knew about the sudden occurrence of the mutiny and their actual transformation.
They are no longer a decadent feudal army.
From now on, they are the revolutionary army that symbolizes the new era.
They no longer fight for the group of gentlemen in Hangzhou, but for the revolutionary cause.
It is their mission to knock the old men to the ground and let the cows and horses stand up and take charge.
After turning the troops under his control into the Ming army through a combination of elimination and attack, Zhang Shi quickly transferred them into the city and took over important defense facilities throughout the city.
Because Shen Gai's orders were in place and Zhang Shi's power and status as Pingzhang's military state affairs officer had been clarified, the original city defense troops did not resist at all.
They honestly accepted the defense change order.
As a result, Zhang Shi controlled a series of urban defense facilities inside and outside Hangzhou and military garrisons in key areas.
The army that originally belonged to Shen Gai was disrupted and reorganized by him and incorporated into the army directly under his own control.
Needless to say, the mid-level and senior officers in Shen Gai's army were ready to do it themselves. Except for their own soldiers, they didn't care about other soldiers. Regardless, Zhang Shi could do whatever he wanted. They didn't care anyway.
The mid-level and low-level officers who did not understand the reason were abandoned by their superior officers in confusion. They were dispersed and reorganized into Zhang Shi's subordinates, and they began to accept Zhang Shi's command in a daze.
Having said that, due to manpower issues and time issues, he had no time to annex Zhou Linzhi's troops.
But if that team is not annexed, there will be other worries.
After thinking about it, Zhang Shi came up with a way.
He pretended to take the opportunity to "reveal a private vendetta" and placed the troops originally affiliated with Zhou Linzhi in the northeast direction of Hangzhou City, preventing them from entering Hangzhou City and allowing them to directly confront the Ming army in that direction.
Zhou Linzhi was very angry about this arrangement. Amidst the complaints from his subordinates who didn't know why, Zhou Linzhi found Zhang Shi and asked him for an explanation.
Zhang Shi looked calm.
"I'm giving them a chance to escape. If they enter Hangzhou City, they won't even have a chance to escape. Anyway, your senior generals will go with you. I have no interest in commanding the rest. Just let them escape, isn’t that what they want?”
Zhou Linzhi's face turned red with anger.
"Zhang Jingfu, you are avenging your personal revenge, right?"
Zhang Shi sneered.
"Yes, I am just avenging my personal revenge, so what? What can you do to me? Zhou Maozhen, remember, I am the Pingzhangjun state affairs officer, and I am the current Prime Minister of the Song Dynasty. When the country is in danger, stay and fight with me. It’s me who’s divorced from the same country! Not you!
If you have any ideas or opinions, you can, how about I abdicate in favor of someone worthy of my position, and leave this position to you. You will be responsible for the affairs of the Pingzhang Army, and you will be responsible for guarding Hangzhou while I leave. Do you want to take this position? You dare? "
Zhang Shi took out his official seal, placed it directly in front of Zhou Linzhi, scolded Zhou Linzhi angrily, and began to roll up his sleeves, preparing to punch Zhou Linzhi hard.
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