"It's greedy and it's gone. The current situation is no better than that of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. The Green Camp soldiers are completely corrupt. The army can fight down the river and become stronger and stronger, occupying Nanjing and forming a confrontation with the Qing court."

"What's more, there are still three vassals in the south. Even if we can get 100,000 or even more troops by surrendering and accepting rebels, our combat power will be worrisome and it will be difficult to defeat the enemy."

Huang Li laughed self-deprecatingly and said, "What Mr. Jing Guo said is reasonable, but I am frivolous."

Duke Jing hurriedly waved his hand and said sincerely: "Your Highness's words are wrong. The Qing army along the coast has not fought for several years, and the city's defense equipment is insufficient. It is difficult to stop our army from charging. If it were not for the water west, let alone Jiujiang

, Anqing, even Yaowu Nanjing, are sure to win."

After a pause, he added: "The general believes that our army can go down the river to capture Tianjia Town. This place is known as the 'gateway to the two rivers and the throat of Jinling'. Together with Banbi Mountain, it guards the Yangtze River route. Its strategic location is extremely important."
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Tianjia Town is located in the southwest of Wuxue City (former Guangji County) in eastern Hubei and at the southern foot of the Dabie Mountains. It has a dangerous terrain and is known as a natural hazard.

The mighty Yangtze River flows through here. The river suddenly narrows. The river flows like a bundle and is shaped like a throat. The width of the river is only more than 170 feet.

As a battle fortress, Tianjia Town is the key to Wuhan and the gateway to conquer Jing and Chu. It is the strongest and largest fortress among the fortresses along the river, and is also known as the "Key to the Chu River".

In history, there have been two major defense battles in Tianjia Town:

One was the Nanjing Defense War. The Taiping Army and the Hunan Army fought fiercely in Tianjia Town, causing Zeng Guofan's attempt to "attack Anqing" to fail.

The other time was the Wuhan Defense War. The Chinese army fought fiercely with the Japanese army in Tianjia Town for more than a month, thwarting the Japanese army's attempt to win a quick victory.

"Very good." Huang Li thought for a moment, then he followed Wang Guangxing's advice and said with a smile: "By capturing Tianjia Town, the enemies of Jiujiang will be frightened. Being able to contain the Qing army in Jiangxi will be more beneficial to our army in the future."

Huguang Zongheng."

In fact, in Huang Li's view, the key and the danger of the day are not suitable for the current Ming army to hold on. It is not a long-term occupation, so water wars can be resolved on the water without wasting troops.

But from a strategic level, it is still necessary to shock Jiangxi, seize the weapons and ammunition of the fortress, and weaken the Qing army's defenses along the river.

Huang Li's characteristic was to do what he said. He immediately sent an order and the navy dispatched, leading a battalion of troops down the river to attack the Tianjia Town Fortress.

"Your Highness, Zhang Changgeng has been captured." The soldiers came in and reported: "The concubine from the outside room was also brought with him."

Huang Li was stunned for a moment. Luo Shuangfu was very efficient in doing things, but if you just capture Zhang Changgeng, it would be over. Why would you bring a concubine here?

"Bring him in and have a look!" Huang Li felt that since he had already been escorted, it would not be troublesome to meet the governor of the two provinces. Moreover, Zhang Changgeng did not have any bad deeds.

Zhang Changgeng was escorted in in a very embarrassed state. His clothes were rumpled, his braids were messy, and his face and body were stained with dust and mud. He didn't know where he had gotten into to hide.

I guess Lao Zhang wanted to show off his character, but the rude soldier didn't give him a chance and kicked him in the crook of his knee, causing Lao Zhang to kneel down.

Alas, I have to kneel down, so there is no need to speak harshly.

Lao Zhang kowtowed his head vigorously and said in a trembling voice: "The guilty minister pays homage to His Highness Thousand Years Old."

Huang Li asked in a deep voice: "Now that you know you are guilty, how can you change your past mistakes?"

Zhang Changgeng suddenly choked up. "Guilin" is just a title, okay? How could this legendary third prince climb up the ladder?

After being stunned for a long time, Zhang Changgeng spoke again: "The guilty minister is willing to redeem himself by performing meritorious service, please do as you please, Your Highness."

Huang Li smiled faintly and told the soldiers: "Take it down and hand it over to the personnel of the Military Intelligence Department!"

Huang Li is too lazy to say much about people like Zhang Changgeng.

The Military Intelligence Department will naturally interrogate the export confessions, and then use Zhang Changgeng's name to distribute letters of surrender. The so-called governors of the two provinces have only this value.

Zhang Changgeng was stunned again, and was escorted out in a daze. Why did he say that he was the governor after all, and he knew many, many things, but he didn't even give him a chance to say it?

"That concubine outside, please give me some silver!" Huang Li looked at Yuan Dongbao and others and said casually: "You go and confiscate the criminal's property as soon as possible, take out the money from the treasury, and immediately purchase the materials listed in the list

."

The three towns in Wuhan are more prosperous than Baoning, and their large-scale purchases are more clear. Sugar, as a strategic material, has been ranked first.

Yuan Dongbao, Wang Shide and others bowed to accept the order, turned around and left the house, immediately feeling happy and relaxed. They could buy, buy, buy. They left the Governor's Mansion laughing and talking.

"Alas, it's a pity that Liu Xiang is not here, so he can't have another meal and drink with us to have fun!" Yuan Dongbao felt a little missing and regretful, and he and the others led the soldiers to separate.

Behind them, Yinghua held twenty taels of silver and walked out of the Governor's Mansion with a bitter expression.

I met His Highness Chitose last time, but I didn’t even meet him this time. Your Highness, are you here specifically to make me a widow?

In Yiling, His Highness captured the city and killed the admiral Dong Xueli; he did not stop when he returned to Wuchang, and even Zhang Changgeng, the governor of the two provinces, could not save him. When will the slave family have a place to live?

Putting away the money with a wry smile, Yinghua walked a little sadly on the sparsely populated street. When she saw the newly posted notice, she couldn't help but take a closer look.

………………

Daye County.

The county government sent civilians to transport grain to Xishan, and it was the turn of the second batch of more than 300 people. But these 300 people escaped midway and gathered in Beiguan.

"When I get home, those gang of government officials will come and arrest me, scaring my wife and children." A stout civilian husband gritted his teeth and uttered words of resentment.

"I went to Xishan to transport grain, and out of ten I went, five died. What should I do at home?"

"I heard that the Ming army was coming and had already arrived in Wuchang. I think it was said by the boatman who escaped from Xiangxi mouth."

"Where did you hear this news? Don't talk nonsense."

"Transporting grain in Xishan means death. We don't want to die in vain, so we go against the county government. There are only a dozen government officials, but we have hundreds."

A rough man's voice sounded, attracting everyone's attention. Everyone looked at the advocate with complicated expressions.

This man's name is Zuo Gongxuan, he has always been bold and has quite a bit of prestige among the people. This time he escaped halfway, it was mostly his idea and instigation.

At this moment, a thin man ran from a distance, came closer and said breathlessly: "The Ming army is coming. There are hundreds of ships on the river and they have gone downstream."

"Really?"

"Aren't you blinded?"

The thin man had a red face and a thick neck. He was very angry at everyone's doubts and shouted: "I can see it really. The Ming army is still shouting at me on the boat. The king's master has arrived and the third prince is coming in person."

"That's right." Zuo Gongxuan said loudly: "If the Ming army can move downstream, then Wuchang has probably been captured. This is a good opportunity for us to capture the county government, capture the dog officer, and surrender to the Ming Dynasty

Army."

Everyone's mood became high. Some agreed, most of them were Zuo Gongxuan's friends, while many others were still hesitant.

"Let's go, capture the dog official and rob the county government." Zuo Gongxuan raised his arms and shouted, holding the pole and walking towards the city gate.

"Let's go, grab food and money, and join the Ming army." Someone shouted in agreement, and then followed.

More and more people followed, hesitantly moving their steps, but following from a distance.

"Daye County Chronicle" records: "In the spring of the third year of Kangxi's reign, troops were employed in Xishan and the county conscripts were transporting grain. They fled back on the middle road and gathered outside Beiguan. Zuo Gongxuan and others initiated the initiative to seize Gongxian County and robbed the Hou Yamen and Sly.

At Xu's house, the county magistrate stayed in hiding for several days before leaving. Gongxuan called himself General Zuo. He went to the county to appeal for peace, and went to the county to encourage him to welcome him. Gongxuan benefited."

History has changed. Zuo Gongxuan and other civilians mutinied, but they had higher pursuits and goals. The Ming army entered Huguang, and they were no longer satisfied with resisting the demands for conquest.

As the Ming army began to launch offensives and proclamations, the news spread rapidly across the lake, as if it had wings, from along the river to the inland.

The common people who suffered from the labor of conscripts, and who still had the ideals of restoring the Ming Dynasty and opposing the Qing Dynasty, rose up in response, setting off a larger and wider wave of riots.

Among them, there are also some careerists who smash, loot, and recruit people for their own purposes, which further aggravates the chaos in Huguang.

As the news became more and more certain, many people dragged their families and began to move to the river. When they went to Sichuan, each family had a hundred acres of farmland, and Ming army ships picked them up along the river and settled them properly.

New policies such as exonerating the humble for good, abolishing torture, banning foot binding, and advocating remarriage were also spread at the same time, and spread from Huguang to the wider region.

The one with the fastest progress and the most violent offensive was Ta Tianbao. Ma Tengyun, along the way, first captured Yueyang, opening the door to Hunan.

Subsequently, the navy pursued and killed all the Qing navy who had fled back to Dongting Lake, and then moved south in a large scale, first attacking Yiyang and then marching into Changsha.

At this time, this Ming army had captured nearly 2,000 large and small warships, merchant ships, and civilian ships in Yueyang, Yiyang and other places, recruited more than 20,000 new soldiers along the way, and captured more than 3,000 Qing troops. The momentum was huge.
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At that time, there were two governors in Huguang, and the eight prefectures in Hubei, namely Wuchang, Hanyang, Huangzhou, Anlu, De'an, Jingzhou, Xiangyang and Yunyang, were under the jurisdiction of the governors of Hubei;

The seven prefectures of Changsha, Hengzhou, Yongzhou, Baoqing, Chenzhou, Changde, Yuezhou, Chen and Jing in Hunan are under the jurisdiction of Governor Pianyuan.

When Zhou Zhaonan, governor of Pianyuan, heard that the Ming army was coming to attack, he hurriedly summoned people from surrounding prefectures to come to Changsha to defend the city. He also mobilized local braves to assist in the defense, totaling more than 10,000 people.

After Ta Tianbao and Ma Tengyun led their troops to Changsha, they immediately launched an siege with prisoners as the vanguard. After the first battle was frustrated, Ta Tianbao withdrew his troops and besieged the city, while the Tuying camp dug tunnels in the area of ​​Kuixing Tower and Jinji Bridge in the south of the city.

Two days later, the Ming army once again launched an attack on the city. With an earth-shattering noise, more than twenty feet of the city wall collapsed. The Ming army swarmed into the city. The defenders were frightened and surrendered one after another. When Zhou Zhaonan heard that the city was lost, he killed his wife and hanged himself.
Chapter completed!