The situation in Huiji County is far more complicated than it seems.There are many treacherous deep forests in Soochow, and the harbor branches and rivers and lakes are dense, cutting the land into pieces.With such geographical conditions and the lack of fertile soil, it is difficult to carry out agricultural planting, and the local people can only rely on fishing and other sideline industries to watch the weather and eat, and the stability is extremely poor.The labor force was not kidnapped in the fields, and the labor force was engaged in farming, so it would be active in all directions and find a way out, so the commerce and trade of Soochow had always been prosperous, and a large number of merchant gangs and consortia had emerged, controlling the economic lifeline of the previous dynasty.This can understand why Donglin Academy, located in Huiji County, will try its best to advocate the importance of commerce and trade, and fight against the Xiling Party in the court.The human geography of Soochow determined their political demands.From ancient times to the present, most dynasties have suppressed commerce for a reason.The merchant population was highly mobile, unable to provide a stable tax payment, and more importantly, it brought many uncertainties to society, which could easily cause unrest and threaten the rule of the imperial court.The six counties of Huiji are the most striking examples.After the empress Wu Qingyi succeeded to the throne, the court was dark and corrupt, and corruption in the local government was rampant, and the people were prey.Many Dongwu men were unwilling to swallow their anger, and they did not have ploughing fields and houses, so they had no worries, so they simply ran into the mountains and became bandits and robbers.In recent years, thieves have been rampant in the six counties of Huiji.Due to the complex terrain, which is easy to defend and difficult to attack, the government has repeatedly suppressed bandits in vain.What's more, there was a situation of collusion between officials and bandits, and every time the peak exerted pressure, the officials would ventilate in advance, cooperate with the bandits and act, and do things perfunctorily.The social atmosphere of Soochow can be seen.Last autumn, when Ren Zhen was still in Yunyaozong, due to dissatisfaction with the government's exploitation and extortion, a large-scale rebellion broke out in the six counties of Huiji.The green forests and grass recklessness gathered together and dared to attack the state and county, which shook the government and the opposition and caused an uproar at that time.Under the anger of the empress, she appointed Feng Wanli of Donglin Academy to take command and personally lead the army to suppress bandits.The five Confucian gentlemen are generals, and this move is a precedent for this dynasty, and it also reflects how serious the banditry in Soochow has become.Chapter 50 Later, Feng Wanli failed to quell the rebellion, so he left in a hurry and participated in the Battle of Xiegu, and the matter was also closed.The banditry in Soochow not only did not suppress it, but intensified.To sum up, it can be well explained why after Beihai issued a document to discuss Wu, the most positive and strong response will be the old land of Soochow.The rebels had a total of 16 routes, and only in the six counties of Huiji, there were 5 roads, an astonishing number.These people don't need to prepare in advance, they have been dissatisfied with the imperial court for a long time, and they have long been in the grass, and now they have received the call of Beihai, of course, they rushed down the mountain, raised the banner of crusading against the Wu clan, and dressed up as loyal ministers who supported the old royal family.Actually, they're just a bunch of bandits.If these so-called rebels are really allowed to succeed, capture the capital, and seize the national weapons, then, with their bandit habits, the consequences can be imagined, not only the miasma of the capital, but also the chaos in the north.The rebels from all walks of life are mixed, good and bad, which is what Ren Zhen is most worried about.Therefore, when he was in Beihai, he once stated in public that before entering Beijing to mutiny, he would first subdue the rebels and prevent them from making waves again.Especially the eight-route coalition army of Eastern Wu, he must control it.Of course, there are priorities, and Ren Zhen's primary goal is still Jinghou's 200,000 army.On the third day of September, Ren Zhen arrived in Huiji County.The art of war is cloudy, and it is necessary to win by surprise if it is a coincidence, which means that there is a match before it needs to be surprisingly successful.According to the current situation, Ren Zhen has 400,000 people under his command, strong troops, sophisticated ordnance, and many martial arts cultivators, occupying the absolute upper hand, and it is enough to go head-to-head, and there is no need to make any more surprises.The next day, the army stormed the city.At the same time, Ren Zhen sent Zhuoer as a messenger to persuade the Eastern Wu coalition forces to join forces to attack the city.The coalition army numbered about 100,000 people, temporarily allied together, each with its own ghosts, lacking the backbone, and seeing that Ren Zhen's momentum was huge, as if he had the posture of commanding the heroes, he was frightened, and finally chose to stand still and did not rush to support.After hearing the news of Ren Zhen's siege of the city, they decided to sit and watch the tiger fight, and after both were defeated, they would take Huiji County again.According to their prediction, the Northern Navy led by Ren Zhen fought bloodily, and even if it could break the city, it would be greatly damaged and would not regain its original prestige.When the time comes, he will be powerless and difficult to override the Eastern Wu coalition army.Even if the alliance is reunited, it will be Soochow, not Beihai, that will be the master of the rebels.Their imagination is very beautiful, but unfortunately, they underestimate Ren Zhen's strength.Ren Zhen didn't take Li Cunxiao in his eyes at all.In an ordinary battle, we should concentrate the strongest forces and violently attack one or several points of the city, and strive to open a breakthrough as quickly as possible, so as to break down the defense and capture the entire city.However, he didn't want to go off the beaten path.His troops are too abundant, if he attacks one place, in a small area, it is difficult to give full play to the advantage of sending more troops, and he can only take turns to attack and fight with the opponent with a limited number of people.To put it bluntly, it's more like a gourd baby saving grandpa, taking turns rushing up to die.Therefore, he immediately made a decision, set up all the 400,000 troops, and surrounded Huiji City.He did not determine the direction of the main attack, but ordered all the troops and horses to attack the city at the same time, roll up their sleeves and do a big battle.In this way, even if it is calculated according to the head, it is two against one, and it is a sure win.He stipulated that those who broke the city first would be rewarded, and those who broke the city later would be severely punished.It's about speed.This trick really worked, and after the siege battle was launched, in just two hours, Huiji City bloomed in many places, and the gap was torn open by the ferocious attack frenzy.Especially the two soldiers and horses of Yang Jing and Guo Kang, who were red-eyed, they bravely crowned the three armies and became the vanguard of breaking the city.The city of Huiji was broken, Li Cunxiao couldn't escape, and in order not to be captured alive, he killed himself at the head of the city.At the cost of 20,000 people, Ren Zhen annihilated 100,000 enemy troops, and the remaining 100,000 surrendered.After this battle, he had no worries about attacking the capital.After the city was broken, he immediately ordered the troops to withdraw from Huiji City, and did not arrange city defenses.He has his considerations.On the one hand, he was worried that his soldiers were undisciplined, burning, killing and looting in the city, and trampling on innocent people.On the other hand, the fact that the Eastern Wu coalition army did not come to the battle shows that they have ill intentions and do not want to obediently surrender.In this case, then we can only meet each other.He expected that the other side would think that the Northern Navy had just finished fighting and needed time to rest and reward the whole army, so he relaxed his vigilance.Tonight is the perfect opportunity to take advantage of the sneak attack.At this time, Drow returned from the enemy camp.He didn't come back alone, he also brought an old man with him, Han Xiangzi
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