met free Page 2553
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He was a little confused, but then he realized: "The enemy is in turmoil. Quickly occupy the city."
"Also, capture prisoners to put out the fire, don't burn all the supplies!"
The generals and deputy generals of each tribe were all killed, and their soldiers were driven to their deaths, leaving them completely disorganized.
Tens of thousands of soldiers fled in disarray, some looting within the city, intending to return home with the loot.
Some were only concerned with escaping for their lives, rushing out of the city gates in a frenzy.
Only a few mid- to low-ranking officers gathered a few hundred soldiers and wanted to leave the city to surrender to the Ming army.
They were blocked by the chaotic soldiers and stuck at various city gates, unable to leave.
No one was there to put out the fire.
Not only were several granaries set on fire, but the fire also ignited nearby houses.
Yang Yun led the Ming cavalry across the moat, only to be met by a group of routed soldiers who blocked their way and made it impossible for them to enter the city.
"Quickly shout, 'Kneel down to avoid death!'" Yang Yun urged.
Kneel down to avoid death!
Kneel down to avoid death!
They shouted as they killed people, slaughtering anyone who blocked their path.
The routed soldiers scattered and knelt down, and Yang Yun fought his way through the gate, leaving a trail of corpses before finally leading his troops into the city.
An officer led over a hundred soldiers to kneel and shout, "We want to surrender to the Ming!"
Chapter 3419 Working Together from Inside and Outside
Yang Yun shouted, "Putting out fires will earn you merit!"
The officer, as if struck by a sudden inspiration, shouted in a Liaodong accent, "Come with me to put out the fire and earn merit!"
"Fighting fires is a meritorious deed!"
The slogans of the Ming cavalry became like this, as they shouted and galloped along the way.
Many fleeing soldiers, upon hearing this, also went to help put out the fire, and more and more of them joined in.
The Ming cavalry split into several groups, and after searching the entire city, they returned to report: "The granaries in the north and east of the city are beyond saving, but the rest of the granaries can still be saved."
"Demolish houses in the north and east of the city to isolate the fire,"
Yang Yun commanded,
"The rest of the soldiers and surrendered troops went to rescue other granaries."
When Zhao Yuan led his main force to the city, the fire inside was still burning.
Chen Ao, standing beside Zhao Yuan, flattered him, saying, "Your Majesty's reputation is so great that the enemy fled without a fight."
Zhao Yuan muttered, "What the hell kind of battle is this? Did I bring too many troops?"
...
Hesuguan City was once bombed by the Ming army across the sea, which destroyed the city walls, and then the buildings inside the city were burned to the ground.
The Jin dynasty went to great lengths to raise and thicken the city walls, hoping they could withstand artillery attacks.
Now, without firing a single shot, the Jin army has fallen into chaos, and Zhao Yuan has captured the place without lifting a finger.
The rising sun casts its first rays, filling the sky with rosy hues.
The fire in the city was finally extinguished. Fortunately, not many houses were rebuilt, otherwise it would have been much more difficult to deal with if it had burned down.
Countless surrendered soldiers collapsed by the roadside to rest. They had been exhausted, hungry, and thirsty since the night before.
"Rise and kneel! His Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty has arrived!"
The Ming cavalry ran and shouted along the street, and the surrendered soldiers were terrified and knelt down on the spot.
The name "Crown Prince of the Great Ming" had spread throughout Liaodong several years ago, and parents even used it to scare their children.
It can stop a child from crying at night!
The surrendered soldiers knelt on the ground, and when they heard footsteps coming from ahead, most of them didn't even dare to raise their heads.
A few bolder ones secretly peeked up, then quickly lowered their heads again.
A very few were stunned, seeing a powerful and majestic horse carrying a general who looked like a god.
The crimson sunrise reflected off the golden armor, casting a reddish-gold radiance, like a god descending to earth.
No wonder the Jurchens couldn't defeat him; the Crown Prince of Ming... no, the Emperor of Ming was a god descended from heaven!
Yang Yun rode up and said, "Your Majesty, we have rescued a small portion of the grain, estimated to be over 100,000 shi."
"The city was in too much chaos before, making it difficult to effectively organize the surrendered troops to fight the fire, and the granaries in various places were burned for a long time."
Zhao Yuan nodded approvingly: "You have done a great service in saving the grain."
The Jin state certainly had more than this amount of military rations; it's estimated that they had a lot stored in Liaoyang and a considerable amount stockpiled in Jinzhou as well.
Yang Yun added, "All the local tyrants and chieftains are dead, and their bodies are right outside the yamen."
Zhao Yuan was to temporarily stay at the government office on Hesuguan Road. The corpses had been moved to the street, and dozens of surrendered soldiers were brought to the main hall to wash the floor and wipe away the blood.
Zhao Yuan reined in his horse and assigned tasks, sending out light cavalry to scout out enemy positions, while each unit set up camp inside and outside the city, waiting for the artillery and supply train to arrive and join them.
As for the prisoners, they were all taken outside the city and placed under guard.
Arriving at the main street outside the yamen, Zhao Yuan saw corpses strewn all over the ground and couldn't help but ask, "Does anyone know what happened?"
Yang Yun raised his right hand, and several surrendered soldiers were brought in.
Zhao Yuan casually pointed to one of them: "Which clan are you from?"
The surrendered soldier knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, I am from the Da clan of Liaoyang."
Zhao Yuan said, "I remember once slaying a great general in battle!"
The surrendered soldier pointed to a corpse and said, "That's the great beaked tiger, Lei Youjiting!"
Da Pan's cousin was none other than Wanyan Liang!
Even in the Jin Dynasty, where civil officials were rampant with corruption and military generals were arrogant and domineering, Da Pan's reputation was among the worst: a violent and tyrannical man who repeatedly violated the law and was not fit to be reused.
However, since his father was the only son of the Jin dynasty, the Jin state had no choice but to allow him to inherit the title.
Zhao Yuan asked, "What happened back then?"
The surrendered soldier replied, "I am your personal guard, and I am accompanying you to the meeting at the yamen."
"The young master and the other chieftains went into the main hall, while we, the personal guards, waited outside."
"After waiting for a long time, we suddenly heard shouts of killing, and everyone rushed in to save their husbands."
"I was halfway there when I suddenly heard arrows being shot from somewhere. I was so scared that I ran away as fast as I could."
"After running a few steps, I saw many Jurchen soldiers rushing in from outside, and there were archers on the wall drawing their bows."
"I was scared to death, and I ran diagonally, but I tripped over someone while running."
“I pretended to be dead after I fell down. The Jurchen soldiers didn’t check me. They left in a hurry after killing me.”
"I only dared to get up after the Jurchen soldiers had all left, and I found that the rest of them were also pretending to be dead."
"We rushed into the main hall and found that all the husbands were dead."
"The city was in chaos, so we stayed and guarded the bodies."
"After a while, the general led his troops in and tied us all up."
Yang Yun speculated, "It's likely that various ethnic groups conspired to rebel against the Jin, but the Jurchen commander discovered it beforehand and decided to strike first and kill them all."
Chapter 3420 Infantry Landing
Zhao Yuan instructed, "Summon ships here. You and Deng Chun will lead 10,000 infantry and cavalry to sail to Jinzhou immediately."
"Cooperate with Li Jinyi there to launch a pincer attack on the enemy forces in Jinzhou!"
"Yes!"
Yang Yun accepted the order and left.
With Zhao Yuan's main force capturing Hesuguan City and Wanyan Zongfu fleeing towards Liaoyang, the Jin troops in Jinzhou were left isolated.
The Ming general in charge of the Jinzhou direction was Li Jinyi, whose initial plan was to attack Haiyang (Qinhuangdao).
As a result, the Jin army withdrew its forces and abandoned the coastal route, allowing Li Jinyi to lead his troops all the way to the walls of Jinzhou.
Now we can attack Jinzhou from both sides. If we capture the city, the two Ming armies can join forces, and our total strength will instantly exceed 100,000.
Zhao Yuan then summoned Zhang Xian: "Take 10,000 infantry and cavalry, take a boat to the mouth of the Yalu River, and attack Posulu together with Zhe Yanzhi."
The Ming army certainly didn't have the capacity to transport 20,000 infantry and cavalry by sea at once, along with corresponding supplies and equipment—many merchant ships had already returned to Shandong to transport grain.
We can only transport some infantry to land first, form a vehicle formation with the tanks, and build a position on the shore. We can deal with the rest later.
...
Meanwhile, Gao Jingshan and Wang Zheng, without prior arrangement, took advantage of the chaos to slip away, leading their clan soldiers on horseback and galloping towards Liaoyang.
The cavalry they took with them, though not exceeding a thousand in total, were all seasoned veterans.
Although Wang Zheng doesn't have many soldiers, he has made good use of marriage alliances.
His sisters and nieces either married into powerful families in Liaoyang or married nobles of the Jin Dynasty.
Moreover, he had been following Aguda for a long time and had a long enough seniority among the Jin soldiers.
Currently serving as the Commander of the Imperial Guard, he is responsible for "protecting" Wu Qimai and also oversees military funds (this is a position with considerable power and lucrative benefits).
"Take a break."
They rode for dozens of miles in one go and came to a small river. Wang Zheng reined in his horse and blew his horn to give orders.
Everyone dismounted and led their horses to drink water and graze.
I didn't bring any feed, only a small bag of salt, which I can use to replenish the salt for my warhorse.
Gao Jingshan even had the mood to joke: "You hold a higher official position than me, so why are you also thinking of betraying the Jin and surrendering to the Ming?"
Wang Zheng said, "If Gao Yongchang hadn't been so cruel, I wouldn't have surrendered to the gold mine back then."
"The Jurchens are barbarians, while my Wang family is a family of scholars."
Historically, all of this guy's descendants were civil officials in the Jin Dynasty.
His grandson, Wang Tingjun, was the foremost painter, writer, and calligrapher in the Jin Dynasty.
Gao Jingshan chuckled and said, "Why make it sound so grand? It's just that the Ming Dynasty is in power."
"This land of Liaodong will be won by whoever has the strongest army and the most powerful horses."
"If the Liao Kingdom occupied it, the Jin Kingdom occupied it, and naturally the Ming Kingdom could occupy it as well."
"No matter who becomes emperor, we, the great Bohai people, must work together."
"I have a daughter who is still unmarried, and your young man is also single. Perhaps..."
“It’s a deal!” Wang Zheng immediately agreed.
The Wang family originally looked down on the Gao family of Chengzhou, and their intended marriage partner was the Gao family of Liaoyang.
Now, the two families are going to arrange a marriage.
They will all gain merit in capturing Liaoyang and will most likely be highly valued by the Ming Dynasty, joining forces to develop together in the future.
After a short rest, the two led their troops on another raid.
They bypassed Tangchi and Chengzhou, and by the afternoon of the second day, they were approaching Liaoyang City.
Gao Jingshan selected several warhorses that were exhausted to the point of death, ordered them to be killed, and then smeared their blood on the armor.
Chapter 3421 Absolutely Flawless
Then they threw away some helmets, leaving the tribal soldiers disheveled.