The Zhenjiang Army recaptured the city of Hangzhou with the force of a strong wind and completely destroyed the base of the Jiangnan rebels. Although the culprit, Lao Jianhua, escaped early and is currently missing, the puppet Jin king Li Zhang was killed by Li Jiangyao himself. General Ye Rongcheng was also blocked by the Nulang Sixth Army during the breakout. He himself was hit by several arrows and died on the spot. .
More than 30,000 remaining soldiers were defeated and surrendered to the Zhenjiang Army one after another.
At this point, the Battle of Hangzhou ended successfully.
Almost at the same time, good news came from the direction of Haiyan. Duan Jun led the Ninth Army to pursue the remnants of Bao Yuchun all the way and won four out of four battles. When the entire army arrived at Haiyan Pier, Kunpeng's Tenth Army arrived just in time. The main force of the fleet blocked the port waters and blocked all escapes. aisle.
Seeing that there was no way forward or retreat, Bao Yuchun had no choice but to command the remaining troops to launch defense on the spot. Unexpectedly, Duan Jun and Nie Xianzang cooperated tacitly, and the two armies of land and water were not in a hurry to launch an offensive against the rebels, but encircled them at a certain distance.
They completely cut off Bao Yuchun's food route, leaving tens of thousands of fleeing rebels trapped in Haiyan County without supplies. In just two days, those guys had eaten up all the food and grass they had brought with them and were completely in dire straits.
In the next three days, these rebels were so hungry that they ransacked cities and villages to plunder local people's rations. Not only did they make people angry, but military discipline also gradually weakened, making it difficult to maintain. Bao Yuchun originally planned to lead his troops to break out of the encirclement, but in the end due to the low morale and disparity in strength of the army, he had no choice but to give up the idea of taking risks.
In the end, the little sea salt could no longer withstand tens of thousands of big mouths to eat and drink. The rebel troops directly ran out of food and were on the verge of collapse. Bao Yuchun thought for a long time and finally decided to surrender to the Zhenjiang Army.
He only made one condition to Duan Jun and Nie Xianzang: Most of the troops in Haiyan City were veterans of the Kuo Hai Navy who had followed him for many years. He hoped that the Zhenjiang Army would be merciful and treat the prisoners kindly, and would not drive his brothers to death.
As for pleading guilty and committing the crime, Bao Yuchun alone should bear all the crimes of rebellion.
Duan Jun, the commander-in-chief of the Ninth Army, gave the former famous Shengtang general the courtesy he deserved. For the helpless Bao Yuchun, there was neither beating, scolding, humiliation, nor ropes attached to him. Except that he could not wear armor or carry weapons, everything else was as usual.
Soon, he was escorted to Hangzhou City by the Kuangsha Cavalry and met Li Jiangyao.
Bao Yuchun was once a dynasty general of the same generation as He Jingming and Xie Guang. Back then, he led the elite navy of the Holy Tang Dynasty across the vast seas and made great military exploits for the country. However, now he has become a prisoner due to rebellion and rebellion. , can’t help but make people sigh.
Li Jiangyao asked Bao Yuchun a question: Did you really choose to join forces with Lao Jianhua to treason in order to repay the life-saving grace of Jin Wang Li Chengxing?
Bao Yuchun didn't expect that Li Jiangyao's first question would be so straightforward when they met, and he couldn't help but hesitate. After hesitating for a moment, he answered honestly that it was indeed true to repay his kindness, but more importantly, he still wanted to take advantage of the chaos in the world to speculate and bet that Jianhua and Li Zheng would win, and he would take advantage of the situation to make achievements.
To put it bluntly, the word fame and fortune has not escaped me.
The situation at that time was that the Turks occupied the imperial capital and the Guanzhong Plain, and also held the Tongguan Fortress in their hands. They could attack, retreat or defend the Central Plains, making them almost invincible. At that time, both Li Bing and the imperial court seemed to be alone and unable to protect themselves. Bao Yuchun led his army back from Kuohai. After repeated weighing, he believed that it was difficult to give full play to the advantages of his fleet and light-armored sailors in the northern battlefield. Even if he took refuge with Prince Li Bing, it would be difficult to make any big progress. Therefore, he finally decided to join forces with Li Zhang and stay in the south of the Yangtze River, waiting for the opportunity to conquer the world.
Li Jiangyao then asked a second question: You only weigh the pros and cons, have you never thought about what the primary responsibility of a Shengtang soldier is?
Bao Yuchun suddenly blushed.
Facing the young commander in front of him who was a nephew, he already had gray hair on his temples, and he felt quite ashamed. After waiting for a moment, Bao Yuchun shook his head heavily and said nothing.
Originally, what else could he say?
He Jingming, one of the three famous generals of the previous generation, was assassinated and died on his way to Western Xinjiang to resist foreign enemies. However, Xie Guang and him embarked on the road of rebellion.
As long as you can still remember the country and the mission of the military in your heart, you will never engage in civil strife and aid the enemy for your own selfish purposes when the people are in danger and the Holy Tang is in danger.
From this point of view, he is far inferior to He Jingming, and he is not worthy of being called a famous general with him.
Seeing that Bao Yuchun was silent, Li Jiangyao asked the third question: Why did he surrender so easily?
Bao Yuchun was very happy this time. He smiled miserably and told the reason behind it: In fact, he didn't want to fight for a long time. As a general who has experienced hundreds of battles, Bao Yuchun is an expert in military matters, with extraordinary vision and judgment. Regarding his main opponent, the Zhenjiang Army, he once made an evaluation: Invincible. And Li Jiangyao, the commander of this invincible and powerful army, is an unparalleled military genius.
If they want to defeat Li Jiangyao and the Zhenjiang Army, even Xie Guang and the Xuanjia Army in their heyday may not be able to do it, let alone the declining Jiangnan Rebels.
Originally, he planned to escape from Shengtang by sea and hide on a small island in Kuohai to the east to survive. But who would have expected that the Ninth Army pursued him too closely and almost chased him all the way to Haiyan. They finally rushed to Haiyan, only to find that the warships of Kunpeng's Tenth Army had already covered the sea surface, and their last hope was completely shattered.
In this situation, instead of struggling pointlessly and dragging down all the navy veterans under his command to death, it is better to take it up, let it go, and happily admit defeat.
"I know that my sins are so serious that I cannot escape death," Bao Yuchun said at last: "Bao has no other intentions. He just wants to beg for mercy and give my navy brothers a way to live. All their previous actions are all You do what you're told, you can't help yourself."
"You want me to let them go?" Li Jiangyao asked curiously.
Bao Yuchun shook his head: "I don't dare to hope for this. We are rebels after all, and the Shengtang Dynasty has never tolerated traitors lightly, and we know it very well. It's just that... we can either imprison or distribute. , at least let them live."
Li Jiangyao was silent for a moment and suddenly said: "I can let them go."
Hearing this, Bao Yuchun couldn't help but be startled, and then looked at the other party in confusion.
"But I have two conditions," Li Jiangyao said calmly: "First, persuade your nephew Bao Xinyan to give up resistance and surrender to our army in Mingzhou; second, hand over the nautical map of Kuohai Islands and mark them The deployment of Japanese bandits in various groups."
Bao Yuchun came to his senses and asked curiously: "You... want to destroy the Japanese bandits?"
Li Jiangyao shrugged and smiled casually: "Anyway, after the south is pacified, the Zhenjiang Army fleet has nothing to do. It is better to take over your Kuohai Navy and sweep away the wasteland. To be honest, I hate those Japanese bandits when I see them. It makes my teeth itch, and I wish I could shovel their graves and demolish their temples so that they will never be able to stand up again!"
Bao Yuchun was puzzled. He couldn't figure out when and where the Japanese pirates had offended the commander-in-chief of the Zhenjiang Army, causing him to hate him so deeply. He was about to ask and explore, but Li Jiangyao raised his hand to stop him: "Don't ask anything else. If you can agree to these two conditions, please give me a happy word."
"The Protectorate is really willing to release my sons?" Bao Yuchun suppressed his curiosity and turned to the question he cared about most.
Li Jiangyao nodded: "As you said, they are just ordinary soldiers. They only obey the orders of their superiors in everything, so it is excusable. Unless those who take advantage of the war to rape, plunder, and harm the people cannot be let go. However, I can make the decision on the rest and forgive them. If the court asks questions in the future, I will explain myself."
Bao Yuchun showed a grateful look in his eyes and praised: "Daduhu is worthy of being the number one person in Shengtang today! He is responsible and a good man! Bao is convinced. I immediately wrote to my nephew Bao Xinyan, asking him not to do unnecessary things again. Resist, and at the same time offer a map of the vast sea. Alas, our Bao family is not a coward, and we are willing to admit defeat. It is nothing more than death. In the end, if we can save the lives of thousands of soldiers, it will be worth it."
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As soon as the fighting in Hangzhou stopped, Li Jiangyao immediately sent an envoy to contact Murong Xue and Ma Hongjie. These two armies are still fighting with the remnants of the rebels, especially the Suzaku Army. After Gong Chengze took away half of its troops, they faced the powerful generals. Xie Bao seemed to be particularly struggling. As a last resort, Murong Xue sent another banner of troops to the west to reinforce Ma Hongjie.
However, the main force of the rebels has basically been annihilated by the Xinjiang Army in the Taihu and Hangzhou areas. The intensity of the fighting in the south will be getting lower and lower, and a comprehensive victory is not far away.
In this case, Li Jiangyao told Murong Xue and Ma Hongjie that because the Persian Empire suddenly invaded the Turks in a large scale and threatened Western Xinjiang, he was ready to lead his army back to the Ghost Desert of Western Xinjiang as soon as possible to stabilize the situation on the border. Here in Jiangnan, we can only ask them to take care of it slowly.
Soon, Murong Xue and Ma Hongjie sent replies respectively. Both of them expressed that they fully supported the decision of the Great Protector, and if there was any need for the services of the Azure Dragon Army and the Suzaku Army, please feel free to give them orders.
Murong Xue even said bluntly that if the Zhenjiang Army encounters malicious obstruction by some traitors on its way back west, the Qinglong Legion is willing to be the pioneer and clear all obstacles for the brothers in Zhenjiang.
This couldn't be more obvious. The so-called clearing of all obstacles means that from the south of the Yangtze River to the northwest, whether it is the white tiger or the forbidden army, people will kill people, and gods will kill gods!
In terms of overall combat power, the outcome of the Blue Dragon Legion's fight against the Forbidden Army is still somewhat unpredictable, but there is no problem in dealing with the same number of White Tiger Legion. This is very important for preserving the valuable combat power of the Zhenjiang Army so that it can fully devote itself to the chaos in the West in the future. Significant.
Li Jiangyao received a reply from the Qinglong and Zhuque families and knew that the situation in Jiangnan was basically stable, so without further delay, he immediately issued a mobilization order for the entire army to rest and regroup as soon as possible and be ready to depart at any time.
Brothers, it's time for us to go home.
