I

"Fushuai, let's demolish the house." Li Zongxue advised.

Xie Xuelong's face was full of distress: "The rebels didn't demolish the house, but the governor actually demolished the house. What kind of official am I?"

Generally speaking, the city defenders will take the initiative to demolish the houses outside the city, and even burn the woods near the city wall. This is to make it more difficult for the siege party to obtain materials for making siege equipment, and it also makes it more difficult for the siege party to set up ambushes.

But Zhao Han defended the city, but he didn't demolish the house, he wanted to leave it to Xie Xuelong!

There have been no wars in Ji'an for many years. Even under the city wall, there are many illegally built dwellings.

If Xie Xuelong wants to attack the city, he must demolish these houses. Otherwise, if Zhao Han threw the torches down, it would burn a large area, and the offensive and defensive battle would inevitably turn into a barbecue meeting.

And after the house is demolished, the wood can be used to make siege equipment.

But does Jie Xuelong really dare to demolish residential buildings?

Li Zongxue said: "Commander Fu, the prefect and county magistrate are dead. They sacrificed their lives for the city and the country. When the city fell and the court questioned the crime, Commander Fu was the first to bear the brunt. Guarding the eunuchs was also a serious crime, but the eunuchs were far away in Nanchang and did not participate in the war here. In order to evade the crime, the eunuchs , must blame Fu Shuai for all the faults. If you don’t recover Fucheng quickly, dismissal from office and imprisonment will be light!”

There were several staff members of the governor, but now they all ran away, leaving only one Li Zongxue.

Including Zuo Xiaocheng, who defected a few days ago, immediately disappeared without a trace when he learned that Fucheng had fallen.

"Wait a little longer, wait a little longer." Xie Xuelong was in a dilemma, he really didn't dare to demolish the houses.

There was a confrontation inside and outside the city.

When Zhao Han was defending the city, he still had time to train recruits in rotation. Every morning and afternoon, 500 soldiers were dispatched for drills.

On Xie Xuelong's side, if it weren't for the deployment of troops on Bailuzhou, surrounded by the waters of the Ganjiang River, it is estimated that Xiangyong has already run away.

This time is a decisive battle, not an encounter.

There is no rush for the decisive battle, both sides are preparing patiently.

Zhao Han is busy training recruits, and Xie Xuelong is also training soldiers. The governor, while sending people to the neighboring state capital to collect food, also asked the gentry to recruit local bravery, because it was impossible for him to break through the city with the little soldiers in his hand.

Two more days passed in the blink of an eye.

The hundreds of township braves who had just been recruited mutinied before they reached the river, knocked the officer unconscious in the middle of the night and ran away.

Immediately afterwards, two of Xie Xuelong's warships also ran away, and Xiangyong from Bailuzhou began to jump into the river to escape. They knew there was no hope of attacking the city and were unwilling to follow the governor to death. In two or three days, one-eighth of their number was reduced.

Faced with such a predicament, Jie Xuelong actually remained calm and sent his confidants to prevent the soldiers from escaping. At the same time, the soldiers were given extra meals and those who performed well were rewarded.

Deserters still existed, but the momentum was finally stemmed.

Jie Xuelong still had illusions at this time, and he had a good relationship with Zuo Buzheng He Yingrui. He was able to successfully recruit troops to Ruijin before because of He Yingrui's help. I hope he can increase his troops and food supplies this time.

However, as soon as he sent out the letter, he suddenly received a secret letter from He Yingrui.

There are only ten words in the letter: I am slandering and slandering, I hope you will take care of yourself.

Jie Xuelong put down the secret letter, his face was ashen, everything was over.

This letter clearly stated that the eunuch was going to file a complaint and asked Xie Xuelong to make preparations in advance. The subtext is, you are dead this time and there is nothing I can do to help you.

During the Chongzhen period, the emperor kept urging taxes, but Jiangxi was the only province that dared to defy the emperor's order and impose taxes every year.

What is pressure levy?

Even if there are various disasters in the local area, this year's taxes will have to be collected next year.

Shaanxi and Shanxi are in such trouble that the chief envoys dare not impose levies every year, but the rich Jiangxi dares!

As the political envoy of Jiangxi Zuobu, He Yingrui has been criticized several times by Chongzhen. It's not that he is very courageous, or that he is too greedy, but Jiangxi's taxes are simply not collected in full.

The land was occupied by the gentry, and there were very few small landlords and self-cultivating farmers. How could the government collect land taxes?

Only this family has no semicolon. In Jiangxi at the end of Ming Dynasty, there was no year when all taxes were collected.

Until now, Chongzhen thought that Jiangxi had been suffering from catastrophes year after year...

He Yingrui couldn't add troops to Xie Xuelong, he had to dig out every penny of money and food and obediently send it to the emperor. As much as you can send, anyway, if the payment is not complete, Emperor Chongzhen has long been used to it.

"Hey, withdraw your troops." Li Zongxue said.

Xie Xuelong said with a bitter face: "The rebels are in Fucheng, how can I withdraw my troops? Once I withdraw my troops, I'm afraid I will be executed!"

Li Zongxue asked back: "Just looking at it like this?"

"That's the only way," Xie Xuelong sighed, "Even if there is only one soldier left, he must stay in Bailuzhou. If he leaves, he will flee for abandoning the city."

Zhao Han did nothing but defend the city, Xie Xuelong was at the end of his rope.

Who asked him to send troops to suppress thieves?

If Xie Xuelong doesn't do business and stays in Nanchang honestly, he won't have to bear the blame for Ji'an's fall.

If you do more, you will make more mistakes; if you do less, you will make more mistakes; if you do less, you will make more mistakes.

Whoever does something will be unlucky!

Standing on the shore of Bailuzhou, Xie Xuelong looked at Fucheng opposite, his whole heart was ashamed.

He couldn't attack or move, he could only stare blankly.

In Jiangxi, no one is willing to help him. He is fighting against the rebels alone.

The rebel Zhao Han was supposed to be encircled and suppressed, but the world is strange, but it seems that the governor was encircled and suppressed, and Xie Xuelong was already overwhelmed.

Li Zongxue came to Xie Xuelong: "Commander Fu, we can't delay it any longer. Even if we are bound to lose, we still have to find an opportunity to attack the city, otherwise our Xiangyong will run away quietly on his own."

"Mu Zong, what do you think happened to Ming Dynasty?" Xie Xuelong looked up at the sky.

Li Zongxue was silent.

Xie Xuelong pointed in the direction of the south dock of the city: "Just because the rebel thieves stopped looting, the gentry and merchants outside the city acted as if nothing happened. Instead of helping me suppress the thieves, they blamed me for provoking the war. After all, I am a thief. Or is Zhao Yan who took the city a thief?"

Li Zongxue said: "They actually know it in their hearts, they are just waiting and watching."

"Wait and see?" Jie Xuelong sneered.

"Yes, they are waiting and watching," Li Zongxue said. "Now that the Zhao thieves are powerful, they can go out of the city to kill people at any time. They are in danger, so they naturally complain that Fushuai is too troublesome. If Fushuai has more than a few thousand soldiers in his hands, but a Ten thousand elites in the imperial court. So Fushuai is powerful and Fushuai has the power of life and death, so they will help Fushuai kill thieves."

Jie Xuelong shook his head and smiled bitterly, and said with waning interest: "Mu Zong, you still see clearly, this is how people's hearts are. The court is like this, and the place is like this."

Li Zongxue whispered: "The imperial court has lost its majesty. Jiangxi is so big that it can't even gather a few hundred regular soldiers. Otherwise, how can we allow those little rebels to cause trouble?"

Jie Xuelong suddenly pressed the hilt of his sword and said seriously: "Mu Zong, if I die, you can surrender to the thieves."

"Why did Commander Fu say this?" Li Zongxue didn't understand.

Xie Xuelong said: "The Ming Dynasty is hopeless. I am deprived of the emperor's salary and loyal to the emperor, so I can only repay the emperor with death. But the bandits in the northwest and the Tatars in the northeast have no ability to rebuild the world. The rebel thieves everywhere are also short-sighted. Others. Only the Zhao thief in front of me, after occupying the city, was able to restrain his subordinates and keep the prosperity outside Ji'an City intact. If the Ming Dynasty is overturned, this person will be the one who will succeed!"

Li Zongxue shook his head repeatedly: "How can I be a thief if I am the only one who can raise people?"

"It's up to you," Xie Xuelong didn't bother to talk about the matter anymore and just said, "Tomorrow we will demolish the houses outside the city and step up the construction of siege equipment. We must forcefully attack the city within ten days."

Jie Xuelong already has a death wish. He is not attacking the city, but is going to hit the city wall and die!

Jiangxi is the only country in the country where taxes are collected year after year and taxes are not paid according to the amount.

The governor cannot openly open a government office or recruit model soldiers legally, which Jiangxi is unique in the country.

How could Xie Xuelong be so aggrieved if he went to be a governor in another province? He can train at least 2,000 governor's model soldiers, which is the kind of formal army establishment. The local government must provide money and food honestly!

The next day, Xie Xuelong sent out soldiers from the countryside to demolish residential buildings outside the city on a large scale.

The gentry and the common people were shocked and angry. When the rebels came, they all had houses to live in. But the governor actually demolished their houses?

"A bold and corrupt official dares to harass my people!"

Zhao Han stood on the city tower and shouted angrily: "Ruhe, lead the troops out of the city quickly to protect the people's houses and property!"

"okay!"

Fei Ruhe was so happy that he immediately led five hundred soldiers out of the city to kill the officers and soldiers who were demolishing the houses.

The officers and soldiers were so frightened that they turned around and ran away. Fei Ruhe gave chase.

Zhao Han ordered again: "Dashan, get out of the city quickly and help the people repair their houses!"

Jiang Dashan set out happily, and actually took soldiers and some carpenters with him to help people repair their houses.

"Master Qingtian!"

Countless people at the bottom knelt down and shouted in unison, kowtowing to Zhao Han on the tower.

When Xiao Huan saw this, he couldn't laugh or cry.

After all, who is the official and who is the thief?

Ouyang Zhan is also in the city and is no longer tied up. Of course, he is not a thief either. The guy was dumbfounded, and then he turned towards Bailuzhou and cursed loudly: "Jie Thief, you are in vain to be an official of the imperial court, you are worse than a rebel thief!"

Xie Xuelong was also furious, feeling like a clown.

"Follow me ashore and kill the thieves!"

Zhao Han sent a thousand soldiers out of the city one after another. Xie Xuelong immediately seized the opportunity because he was afraid that Zhao Han would hide in the city and not come out.

"Blow the trumpet!"

Zhao Han ordered the trumpeter to blow the assembly horn with the suona.

He led more than a thousand soldiers to defend the city, and sent the rest out of the city to fight openly and openly with the officers and soldiers.

Jie Xuelong was afraid that Zhao Han was hiding in the city, and Zhao Han was also afraid that Jie Xuelong was hiding in Bailuzhou.

The two sides seemed to have reached some kind of tacit understanding, and collectively gathered troops toward the north of the city, unwilling to start a war in the prosperous place south of the city.

Jie Xuelong's military strength... well, it's hard to calculate.

Because the boat sailed from Bailuzhou, another boat ran away in the short distance in the blink of an eye.

Especially the conscripted civilian men, seeing that a war was about to begin, jumped into the river to escape one after another, regardless of the cold water.

There were also many civil servants in the army who were unwilling to follow the governor ashore and hid in Bailuzhou Academy and refused to show up.

Both sides formed an array.

The rebel army consisted of three thousand people, led by Fei Ruhe.

There are nearly three thousand officers and soldiers, led by Jie Xuelong.

Both sides had no long-range troops and fought solely with infantry, and both used a simplified version of the Yuanyang Formation.

The battle is about to begin, and the missionary officers mixed in with the army are constantly doing pre-war mobilization: "Kill the dog officer, everyone will have fields to farm, everyone will have clothes to wear, and everyone will have food to eat. If we lose, our fields will... They are about to be snatched away by the government! My fellow recruits, if you win this battle, Mr. Zhao will take everyone to divide the fields!"

Jie Xuelong also shouted: "My sons, be loyal to the king and serve the country, defend your hometown, and follow me to kill these rebels!"

"Dong-dong-dong-dong!"

The war drums were beating and the troops marched slowly.

The Chinese troops on both sides did not move. They sent three sentry posts to fight, and the left and right sentries advanced to standby.

What's even more ridiculous is that neither side dares to go too fast. Once they speed up, their formation will be chaotic, and they are all a fucking mob.

Before the battle started, some of their soldiers fled.

Jie Xuelong immediately dispatched a supervising team to kill Xiang Yong who escaped from the battle.

On the rebel side, the law enforcement team blocked them with sticks. The missionary team shouted wildly: "Old man, if you escape, you will have no fields to farm. If you escape, you will live a hard life! We have to farm and eat!"

The missionaries kept shouting and chasing after the deserters.

Shouting and shouting, the escaped soldiers returned one after another, shouting and charging again: "Farm and eat! Plant and eat!"

“Farm and eat!”

“Farm and eat!”

The rebels shouted collectively, as if they were possessed by gods, rushing forward with no regard for life or death.

Except for the eight hundred veterans in Wuxing Town, the formations of the other recruits were all in chaos. No matter what weapon he holds in his hand, he just rushes forward, forgetting the skills he mastered during training.

Wu Yong, who was a guard soldier, has been found out, but Zhao Han did not expel him.

Wu Yong has been promoted to a very high position due to his many meritorious services.

I can let my brothers take care of my mother at home first. He wanted to follow Mr. Zhao and go to the countryside to divide the fields. If he met a widow, he might be able to get a wife.

Wu Yong dreams of having his own land and a wife.

“Farm to eat, plant to eat!”

Wu Yong rushed forward with his gun in hand. He forgot to command his ten-man team, and his team members did not know how to obey the commander's command.

Anyway, just rush and that’s it!

Wu Yong even rushed out of the military formation and ran in front of the wolf soldiers. He risked his life and broke into the enemy's formation. He only shouted repeatedly: "Farming to eat, farming to eat!"

The battle quickly decided the winner. The rebels were not afraid of death, but the local heroes were all afraid of their lives.

Most of these country warriors are from good families. They have land at home and don't have to worry about food and clothing. How can they be willing to fight with mud-legged people?

Xie Xuelong's supervising team could not stop him, so the governor could only hold down the battle in person and charge with his sergeants: "Kill the thieves to serve the country and defend Sangzi!"

“Farm and eat!”

“Farm and eat!”

The rebels shouted even louder, and even the veterans lost their minds and gradually lost their proper formation.

Of course, there is no need to maintain formation.

"Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo~~~~~~"

"Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo~~~~~~"

The sound of suona resounded on the battlefield, and the rebel army became completely fanatical, and even Fei Ruhe's Chinese army also charged.

Jie Xuelong's Xiangyong has completely collapsed.

Xie Xuelong originally wanted to lead the Chinese army to hold the ground, but at this moment he was scattered by the rout. His eyes were red, he suddenly drew his sword across his neck, turned to look at the north and said to himself: "Your Majesty, a minister is not responsible for the king, can the king be responsible for the minister?"

Xie Xuelong, who was supposed to jump into the river in Nanjing to die for his country, committed suicide outside Ji'an more than ten years in advance.

Knowing that Xie Xuelong was defeated and committed suicide, his staff member Li Zongxue, who was far away in Bailuzhou, also resolutely jumped into the Ganjiang River to commit suicide. He did not die for the country, but followed his benefactor, and the court had no affection for him.