Jingzhou City, also known as Jiangling, is located in the south-central part of Hubei Province, in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. It is bordered by the Yangtze River to the south and the Han River to the north. Li Bai's poem of the Tang Dynasty says, "Jiangling, a thousand miles away, returns in a day" refers to this place. In ancient times, it was as famous as Jiankang (now Nanjing). It has always been the largest and most prosperous city in southern China.
There are many teahouses and restaurants in the city, and people of all kinds come and go on the streets, representing all kinds of religions. It was really lively. In an alley not far away, many coquettishly dressed prostitutes were leaning against the door, winking at the passers-by from time to time, showing off their coquettishness.
Turning around a street is the Jingzhou Government Office. It is almost dusk. Lights have been lit early outside the government office. There are soldiers and generals on both sides of the government office.
In the three rooms in the backyard of the yamen, there are two Eight Immortals tables made of red rosewood wood. On the table are two neat pairs of bowls and chopsticks, and a pot of freshly opened old Luzhou Daqu. The dishes on the table are full of unspeakable delicacies.
A middle-aged man wearing a blue round collar and purple brocade robe was cleaning his hands with a gold basin held by two little maids with their hair tied in buns. While he was cleaning his hands, he turned back to the general standing beside him and said:
"General Tong, don't be restrained. Treat him like your own family, okay?" After saying that, he wiped his hands and sat on the main seat. A little maid quickly stood behind him and fanned.
"Yes, Your Majesty, I don't dare!" The general looked flattered.
These two people are Duduo, the ten kings who guard Jingzhou, and Meile Zhangjing (the title of the Eight Banners of Manchuria, belonging to the same level of deputy general or deputy capital) Tong Yanghe!
"General, please take a seat," Duduo waved his hand.
"Cha!" Tong Yanghe sat down with his butt sideways.
"Look, this is 'Braised Bear's Palm', this is called 'Arhat Prawn', this is 'Dry Braised Mandarin Fish', this is called 'Crab Roe Shark's Fin', and this is 'Crab in Sauce', Duduo sighed He named several dishes, and they were all treasures from home.
"This is called 'osmanthus rabbit meat', this is..." I seem to remember again, "Oh, yes, this is called 'fried quail cubes with pine nuts'."
"These are all made by my North Korean chef. They are authentic Korean dishes. You are in good luck, General Tong." He then pointed secretly at his back, "These two are also from North Korea!"
After saying that, he laughed loudly and said, "Hahahaha..."
Amid laughter, the older maid hurried over. Fill the sieve with wine, and then stand by with the wine pot in hand.
"Well, come on, eat, eat some vegetables," Dodo said to him, picking up a piece of rabbit meat and putting it in his mouth.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Tong Yanghe was still cautious. Although he was the Prince Regent's personal general, he did not dare to be disrespectful to the Prince Regent's younger brother.
After three rounds of drinking, the prince said seriously:
"Reinforcements from Xiangyang will arrive within three days. General Tong, you should prepare quickly to wipe out the remaining parties of the Southern Ming Dynasty and make great contributions in this battle. I am very optimistic about you!"
"Yanghe, thank you for your support, Your Majesty!" He immediately stood up and clasped his fists in thanks.
The Tenth Prince shook his hand and continued:
"After you go back, cross the river immediately and give an order to Li Qinxiang on the other side in my name, instructing him to quickly prepare all the men, horses and warships, and send out sentries along both sides of the river to get ready for a battle!"
"Hey, I will obey the order!" He picked up the unfinished Luzhou Daqu in front of him, drank it all in one gulp, and then said goodbye.
"Hey, don't worry, have a few more drinks, sit down, sit down!" Duduo advised.
Although Tong Yanghe felt very restrained, he could not resist the prince's kindness. The two drank a few more drinks before saying goodbye and returning to the military camp outside the city.
Inside the felt tent, a Han man wearing patched coarse cloth clothes was hunched over and chatting with a man who looked like a steward. At this time, they heard the sound of horse hooves outside the tent, and the steward said "I'm back" and hurriedly went out.
I saw Melezhangjing Tong Yanghe walking towards the felt tent with drunken steps, followed by a group of soldiers.
The steward immediately supported Tong Yanghe and whispered a few times in his ear, causing Tong Yanghe to wake up half-soberly.
"Where are people?"
The steward licked his lips, signaled that he was inside, and followed in.
When the man dressed as a farmer saw it, he immediately knelt down and said:
"The villain is a soldier under General Mao Shoudeng. There is a letter here." He immediately tore open his trouser leg and took out a thinly folded letter and handed it to Tong Yanghe and the soldier in front of him.
Tong Yanghe stared at the man in front of him, took the letter that was handed to him, and after reading it once, he asked himself, "Whether it is a real surrender or a fake surrender, I don't know. If it is a true surrender, it will be of great benefit to our Qing Dynasty." A good thing is a great achievement for you, but if it is a false surrender, it will also cause a lot of harm to you!"
He weighed the pros and cons in his mind, "But you can't give up eating because of choking!" After a moment, he made up his mind and said:
"If he, Mao Shoudeng, sincerely surrenders, I'm afraid he can't do it without sincerity?!" He stared at the person in front of him with an eagle-like gaze.
"Sir, General Mao is willing to pledge Mr. Mao to your place to show his integrity!" the man replied hurriedly.
"Oh, please come in quickly!" Tong Yanghe's eyes suddenly lit up. "So good, so good!"
…
But at this time, the lights in the lobby of Xiangyang Mansion were brightly lit, and there was a solemn atmosphere. There are many "Goshkhas" wearing yellow mandarin jackets and wearing swords standing outside the hall. (Goshkhas are the attendants and guards of high-ranking Manchu officials). These Ghoshkhas are all of the "Baturu" level, and they are all The dead soldiers raised by Dorgon!
Dorgon, the regent, sat on the mahogany grandmaster's chair in the hall, with gold seals, command flags, command arrows and other objects in front of him. On the seats on both sides are "General Dingxi" Tu Hai on the left, "General Xi'an" Fu Kachan, and "Gushan Ezhen" (an official of the Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty) Jin Li. On the right hand side are "Governor of Huguang" Zhang Changgeng, "Governor of Shaanxi" Bai Rumei and "Admiral of Shaanxi" Wang Yizheng.
"Generals, we can say that we have a general understanding of the Li Laiheng tribe of the Southern Ming Dynasty based on the horse exploration reports sent during this period. If you have any opinions and suggestions, you might as well tell us." Dorgon's sharp eyes swept across the audience. .
In just a moment, all the generals on their seats stood up. They looked at each other and said in unison:
"I am willing to listen to the prince's orders!"
"Yes!" Dorgon nodded and said: "At present, the Southern Army is basically concentrated in several important market towns centered on Baiyangzhai. Now most of our Qing soldiers and horses are also here, where they will fight the enemy decisively. The best chance."
After a pause, he continued:
"Tuhai, Fu Kachan and you two will lead our troops to Dangyang tomorrow to merge with Azige, and I will meet you later. Jin Li and your troops will take the waterway to Jingzhou and join the ten kings. Zhang Changgeng, Bai Rumei, Wang Yizheng, the three of you are going to Nanyang Town from Wollongong Road. You must launch a general attack on the enemy in three days!"
"Cha!" All the generals led him one after another, took their command arrows and left.
…
It's time to be ugly. Wang Jincai looked at Mao Shoudeng, who was pacing anxiously from time to time, and said:
"Brother Mao, don't be too anxious. Maybe it won't be a big deal if the other party keeps Wang Si for a few more drinks!" Although Wang Jincai said this, he couldn't help but frown. After all, the matter was serious and his life was at stake!
"Alas, this bastard!" Mao Shoudeng said with a sigh.
…
"Come on and be honest."
"Oh, man, one of our own, one of our own!"
Lang Wu, who had just fallen asleep with his clothes, was awakened by a noise. As soon as he sat up, the general came in and whispered:
"It's a person named Mao who comes from the 'east'." The 'east' he mentioned naturally refers to the direction of Jingzhou.
"Interrogate carefully!" Lang Wu ordered him seriously.
"Yes, Lord Wu." The general agreed to leave.
"Name, where did it come from?"
"My name is Wang Si, I am a member of General Mao and one of my own!"
The general actually had some tricks up his sleeve. When the tea time passed, the king didn't resist, so he took action!
Lang Wu was both excited and angry. He just cursed, "You greedy bastard!" and spat. Looking at the sky again, it was already bright, so I wanted to send someone to deliver Tangbao to Laiheng.
"Master Wu, Li Yong of the old camp and the second master of Huangliang Town are here!" I heard the general announcing outside the door.
"Invite me quickly!" Lang Wu hurriedly put on his shoes and stood up. "It's so timely, the general is so clever!" He was really afraid that he wouldn't be able to handle this! Now, okay, help is here!
…
