Other places were also unreliable. In the end, most of the gentry chose to flee to the countryside.
If other thieves had come to kill them, if it were not for the big landowners who have fortresses and large estates in the countryside, it would be more dangerous to flee to the countryside, because most of the thieves and the officers and soldiers who suppress thieves like to go to the countryside. Collect money and food...
It may be more difficult for them to attack the manors of big landowners, but for ordinary manors and ordinary villages, they can hit them with certainty.
Therefore, when the bandits came to kill them, the gentry and landlords often liked to hide in the city.
However, when the Chu thieves came over, these gentry and landlords, in turn, did not like to hide in the city. Instead, they liked to hide in the countryside, even if they did not have a fortress-style manor at home, but just an ordinary farm.
Because Chu thieves behave differently from other thieves, officers and soldiers.
Other bandits, officers and soldiers, all like to plunder the countryside, but the Chu army is different. They like to attack the city, and then ransack the homes of the gentry and officials in the city one by one...
On the contrary, they generally don't attack rural areas too harshly.
As long as the gentry hiding in the countryside did not engage in armed resistance during the war, the Chu army would generally not pay much attention to them.
As for the subsequent large-scale military extermination of the big landowners hiding in the countryside by the Chu Empire, the military said that it was none of our business. It was the work of the armed tax policemen of the tax department. Don’t blame me...
Besides, when the tax department collects taxes, it doesn't matter whether you are hiding in the city or in the countryside. It doesn't matter whether you are hiding in the city or in the countryside. It collects taxes when it's due and searches your home when it's time. If you don't accept it, you'll be bombarded.
As an aside, the tax patrol police are equipped with two-and-a-half-pound field guns in batches. The Jiangbei Taxation Department's "Jiangbei Armed Tax Police" under the Jiangbei Taxation Department, which the Ministry of Taxation has recently focused on planning and expansion, is even more powerful and luxuriously equipped.
Jiangbei's armed tax police, which has more than 4,000 people, has eight two-and-a-half-pound field cannons and four five-pound field cannons. There are eight 24-pound mortars, and all kinds of individual equipment are in line with the main force of the army.
If Zhenla went out to fight, it would be worthwhile to face a mixed brigade under the old organization of the Chu army.
However, it is basically impossible for this powerful Jiangbei armed tax police to concentrate on operations, because they were in collective action when they were organized, and soon dispersed in the form of brigades, squadrons, squads, etc., following the rear of the army. Taxes were collected in various places in Jiangbei.
After all, tax collection, after all, this is not a war... It's a bit nonsense for you to bring thousands of people to collect taxes, but if you bring hundreds of fully armed tax police to collect taxes, then it is very reasonable.
When the tax officials from the Taxation Department of the Dachu Empire came to the landlords with hundreds or even hundreds of armed tax policemen and several artillery pieces, the landlords were all law-abiding and good tax-paying citizens, and they all took pictures. Chest said: It is an honor for us gentry to pay taxes for the empire!
However, even though the Chu Empire's armed tax police were powerful, they were unable to reach Qinghe County. This place was far away from the hinterland of the Chu army's control area. At this time, all units of the 10th Division were deep into the enemy's hinterland, and even around Hongze Lake covers a large bay.
When Meng Junli led the 39th Infantry Regiment and other troops to the outside of Qinghe County, all the wealthy gentry in the city had already fled, leaving only the local county magistrate and other officials responsible for defending the land and more than 4,000 Ming troops. garrison.
These more than 4,000 Ming army defenders did not flee, nor did they even build basic anti-artillery fortifications like the defenders in Suqian, Pizhou and other places.
Among the more than 4,000 defenders, more than 1,000 were part of the Water Transport Supervisor reorganized by Yang Sichang. Although this Water Transport Supervisor was also a new unit and had only been formed for a short period of time, Yang Sichang was a knowledgeable and capable person. .
He was someone who had managed the Huguang New Standard Army before and fought several battles with the Chu Army.
Therefore, even though the water transport supervisors he created were all new recruits, they were equipped with basic guns and artillery, and their training was pretty good. The most important thing was that they knew how to build various anti-gun fortifications.
After Meng Junli led his army to arrive outside Qinghe County, after a brief look, he knew that it was impossible to capture Qinghe County quickly. He could only attack slowly with superior firepower, or at least deploy them outside the city. The firepower points of many fortresses were allocated one by one before the next step of the siege offensive could be launched.
Ever since, the Battle of Qinghe began.
The scale was not too big, and the infantry did not fight like this. The main thing was that the artillery from both sides took turns to bombard.
But most of the time, the Ming army was suppressed and beaten by the Chu army's artillery.
Just when Meng Junli led the 39th Regiment to attack Qinghe County, in Huai'an City, which was only more than ten kilometers away to the south, Yang Sichang looked down at a large group of frowning civil and military officials, and finally couldn't help but sigh.
At this point in the battle, Yang Sichang already knew that Jiangbei was going to be completely finished.
Not only Jiangbei will be completely destroyed, but I am afraid that Jiangbei's tens of thousands of troops, especially the nearly 20,000 new standard troops, will also be completely destroyed.
Suqian, Pizhou, and Taoyuan counties in the north had been completely captured by the Chu bandits, completely cutting off our own channel to retreat northward.
At the same time, Sizhou, Jiuxian, Wuhe and other places were captured, and the connection between Fengyang and Huai'an was also cut off.
Baoying and Gaoyou Prefectures in the south fell into the hands of Chu thieves early on.
Huai'an has been heavily besieged by Chu thieves.
As for Song Zushun and others in Yangzhou further south, they were also besieged in the isolated city of Yangzhou at this time.
The two core cities of Yangzhou and Huai'an along the Jiangbei Canal have been divided and strategically surrounded by the Chu army. Now they can't retreat even if they want to break through and retreat north.
What can they do under such circumstances?
You can still do this and continue to resist as long as you can.
As for continuing to hold on and waiting for the imperial court to bring reinforcements from the north, Yang Sichang had no hope at all.
Because the imperial court did not have many fresh troops in Shandong and southern Beizhili.
When Yang Sichang resurrected and went south to Huai'an, he had already brought down the local guardsmen from Baoding and Shandong together with the few new standard troops.
At the same time, the imperial court was also asked to send troops southward from Shanxi, Jiliao, Xuanda and other places to reinforce the battlefield in Jiangbei.
Otherwise, the Ming court would not have been able to gather more than 70,000 troops in the Jiangbei area, including five to six thousand frontier cavalry.
Many of these troops are Northern soldiers.
In order to defend the north of the Yangtze River and fight against the Chu bandits, the Ming court had basically mobilized all its mobile forces in the southern areas of Shandong and Beizhili.
They even mobilized a lot of frontier troops from Jiliao and Xuanda areas. This is how the more than 5,000 frontier army cavalry active in Jiangbei came from.
In this case, if the more than 70,000 troops in the north of the Yangtze River cannot defeat the Chu rebels, or are even surrounded and annihilated by the Chu army, it will be impossible for the imperial court to dispatch many troops south for rescue in a short period of time.
To put it bluntly, it would take time for the imperial court to directly transfer the main force of Ji Liao southward regardless of the threat of the Eastern Capture. It would take several months for the army to march southward.
And a few months later?
I'm afraid the grass on Yang Sichang's grave is one foot high...
There is no hope of breaking through and no rescue. All Yang Sichang can do now is to continue to resist calmly and calmly, for as long as he can...
Wait until the city is broken and die calmly!
In this way, he can be regarded as worthy of Emperor Chongzhen's great use of him, and he can have a clear conscience.
Yang Sichang is now sitting in Huai'an with the mentality of dying in Huai'an, but not everyone under him has the determination and courage to fight to the death like Yang Sichang.
On the eighth day of February, after many days of fierce attacks, the 39th Regiment of the 10th Division of the Chu Army and a mortar battalion and other troops that were subsequently reinforced successfully broke through the outer defense line of Qinghe City and cleared the Ming army in the city. numerous outlying forts.
At this time, the Chu army's troops had directly arrived at the gate of Qinghe City, and the mortars had maneuvered to the front trenches, preparing to carry out a covering artillery bombardment on the city head.
Seeing that the outer defense line had been breached and that the overall situation was hopeless for a breakout and no hope for assistance, the water transportation supervisor in the city and thousands of local guardsmen were already panicking. That night, many Ming troops fled their positions and went to the Chu army's positions. surrender.
There were even people surrendering!
After Li Xiangyu, the commander of the left army in charge of water transportation, was once again refused rescue by Yang Sichang, he gritted his teeth and sent an envoy to meet with the commander of the Chu army on the opposite side and offered his surrender.
When Meng Junli heard that the commander of Du Biao's army on the opposite side wanted to surrender, he was naturally very happy and immediately replied, as long as he surrenders, I will definitely protect the lives of thousands of Ming troops in the city.
At the same time, he also promised that he would definitely get a better treatment for Li Xiangyu. It would be impossible to directly lead the troops after he voted for him. However, it is not a big problem to give a military rank a false position. If he performs well in the future, he will be rewarded. Can continue to lead troops.
In order to avoid long nights and dreams, Li Xiangyu had just negotiated the surrender in the morning, and in the afternoon Li Xiangyu took the remaining garrison in the city and went directly out of the city to surrender.
With Li Xiangyu's surrender, Qinghe County, which had blocked the Chu army for many days, officially fell into the hands of the Chu army.
Then the 39th Regiment built a pontoon bridge directly on the Yellow River, crossed the river directly and occupied Qingjiangpu.
Immediately afterwards, the 39th Regiment successfully made contact with the troops of the 11th Division.
The 10th Division, which attacked in a roundabout way, circled the huge Hongze Lake, and finally completed the rendezvous with the 11th Division at Qingjiangpu, and formed a north-south pincer attack on Huai'an City.
Huai'an City cannot be said to be strategically surrounded at this time, but directly and comprehensively surrounded by the Chu army...
The Chu army's troops have directly approached the outer defenses of Huai'an City from the north and south.
The destruction of Huai'an City and Yang Sichang's defeat was only a matter of time.
And this time will not last long, because after the 10th Division captured Qinghe County, it cooperated with the main force of the Third Army to surround Huai'an City.
The Emperor of the Chu Empire, Luo Zhixue, also set out from Jinling City and arrived outside Yangzhou City.
Luo Zhixue not only came by himself, but also brought most of the Second Guards Division and a regiment of the 15th Division, as well as the First Heavy Artillery Regiment, two mortar regiments and other troops.
After arriving in Yangzhou with Luo Zhixue, these troops, together with the two divisions of the First Army and other units, officially launched a comprehensive attack on Yangzhou City with the firepower support of the navy's river warships.
Once the Chu army captured Yangzhou City, a large number of siege heavy artillery and artillery shells and other supplies would continuously flow north to Huai'an through the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal and be used to attack Huai'an City.
By then, even if Huai'an City is a tortoise shell with a relatively complete defense system, the Chu army will still be able to pry it open.
Once Huai'an is finished, it can basically be declared that the entire Jiangbei is also finished!
