Chapter 123: Expansion site

Chapter 123: Expansion site

Zhang Wuji and Monk Hengzhou accompanied Liu Ji on a trip, at least to ensure his safety. He also knew that A Li did not want to forcefully attack Mingzhou City, and if he had to recruit most of the rebels in the city, his forces would be even stronger.

Tiantong Temple is located at the foot of Taibai Mountain. It was built in the Western Jin Dynasty and is one of the five famous temples of Zen Buddhism.

The three arrived outside the temple on horseback, and the monk Hengzhou went to report his name to the monk monk, and asked to see the elders from Dongshui, whom the temple met. Monk Hengzhou is also well-known in the eastern Zhejiang area. His virtue can be admired by celebrities and even the Yuan court. He is the elder of Ruiyan Temple. When the monk who knows his name hears his name, he does not dare to delay.

Zhang Wuji, Liu Ji, and Hengzhou monks entered the temple, only to see a white-bearded and yellow-robed monk who came forward, called the Buddha's name, and greeted the three of them.

The three returned their salute, and Liu Ji said, "I haven't seen the master for several years, is the master okay?"

Dongshui Human said: "It is said that Liu Shizhu resigned in his early years and devoted himself to studying the "Liujia Tianshu", and now it appears in Qingyuan, I am afraid that there is something important."

Liu Ji laughed and said, "Master's pride is still the same as before."

The people from Dongshui smiled slightly and invited three people into the house to serve tea, and a little novice brought tea.

After drinking half a cup, the people from Dongshui looked at Zhang Wuji, who was sitting under Liu Ji's head, and said, "This donor has a good face, bright eyes, and his demeanor returns to the original. The martial arts of this dynasty have long ceased to be the gathering of heroes from the previous dynasty, and the five uniques of the Central Plains have disappeared. I never thought that there would be such young masters.”

Zhang Wuji said: "Master has won the prize." Zhang Wuji saw that his face was ruddy and his breath was long. Although he was old, his eyes were still clear and full of energy, and he knew that his martial arts skills were not weak.

The people of Dongshui thought for a while and said, "It is said that among the famous martial arts schools today, the six major schools of martial arts are the authentic ones, but according to the poor monk's opinion, the six major schools are afraid that they will not be able to teach disciples like your Excellency."

Zhang Wuji smiled slightly and said indifferently: "My name is Zhang Wuji, my father was the master of Wu, and my mother was the daughter of the Tianying sect master. My kung fu did not originate from the six major sects and Tianying sect, but another adventure. ."

The people from Dongshui didn't ask him any more adventures, and sighed softly: "So that's how it is... The Eagle Cult is very prosperous now. The Sky Eagle Cult is a side branch of the Ming Cult, and Bowen got the "Liujia Heavenly Book" in the Overturned Mountain. , I got to know some sages of Mingjiao, and finally belonged to Mingjiao.”

Liu Ji said: "Master, there is no way in the Yuan Dynasty, and the world will be lost. It's been a long time. Master is merciful, why not help Ji with a helping hand, and the world will be at peace soon, so as not to involve more innocent people."

The Dongshui people were silent for a while, then took out two kits and handed them over to Liu Ji, saying, "Though my two disciples were monks when they were young, their hearts are too heavy and their aptitudes are limited, so I'm afraid they won't be able to be used by Master Zhang. "

Zhang Wuji was taken aback and thought to himself: Is this old monk a bit of a man, can he see his ambitions? With his acting skills, neither Zhang Sanfeng nor the Six Heroes of Wudang thought he was an ambitious person.

Zhang Wuji smiled and said, "Guo Jing, the hero of the previous dynasty, is also from Jiangsu and Zhejiang. It is said that when he was young, he was regarded by his teachers as mediocre in aptitude, but he was already a top expert in his early twenties. Guarding Xiangyang City, guarding the people, which one? Don't let the heroes of the world admire? If a person has the belief of Guo Daxia, no matter how mediocre the aptitude is, he is not a mediocre person."

The Dongshui people couldn't help but change their expressions, and said, "Zhang Shizhu is young, and he still knows what happened in martial arts a hundred years ago."

Zhang Wuji said, "I often teach Master Tai, and I heard him talk about a hundred years ago."

The people from Dongshui nodded and said, "Okay, okay." Then they took off the Buddha beads and handed them to Liu Ji, so that they could use it as a token to meet his two disciples.

The military situation was important, and the three of them didn't have to worry about it. They left Tiantong Temple and walked around the mountain road to the north of Mingzhou City.

It was not until noon on the third day that they arrived at the north gate of Mingzhou City. At this time, the gates were closed, and the defenders were distributed at various gates. Obviously, the number of defenders at the north gate was the least.

With such a smooth and towering city wall, it was not difficult for Zhang Wuji to climb the wall by himself, but it was not a little difficult to bring an adult who did not know martial arts to the wall without being shot by the guards' random arrows.

So the three of them shouted, saying that they wanted to find Captain Qi and Captain Jin to pass a message on behalf of the people from Dongshui in Tiantong Temple. They were let down from the city wall to search the body of the three of them. Without dangerous items, they dragged them up to the city.

...

Speaking of which, Ah Li led the army to attack Nancheng, and was about to divide into three shifts to disrupt the enemy. At this time, each shift had two rounds. Eight hours for each shift, sixteen hours for the rest, eight hours for sleep, eight hours for logistical work and food, drink and lasa.

On this day, A Li personally led the team and set off firecrackers outside the Nancheng Gate, making a lot of trouble. The most serious thing is to let Zhang Hai push the catapult cart over and send some poisonous salt to the city wall, causing a lot of turmoil to the defenders on the city wall.

When Ah Li left, he pulled his bow and hit his horse forward, and shot three arrows at the city wall, and shot down the opponent's general flag, which attracted applause from the soldiers and was beaming with joy.

Li Tianyuan brought another 3,000 people to continue the harassment. At night, some people brought oil and salt to sneak across the moat and set fire to the city gate. Oil and salt are definitely flammable, but no matter how thick the city gate is, it is made of wood, and it will burn quickly. The guards at the city gate had to open the door and come out to put out the fire, but under the conspiracy of the masters of the Tianying Sect, dozens of brothers were killed and injured. The fire was finally put out, but this incident has already caused the guards of the city gate to panic.

At this time, the general guarding Mingzhou City was Fang Guozhen's elder brother Fang Guozhang. Because Fang Guozhen died suddenly, as an elder brother, he had always been brave. Apart from Fang Guozhen, he was the most powerful and intended to take over Fang Guozhen's position. After all, Fang Guozhen's eldest son, Fang Li, was not yet twenty years old.

However, Fang Li joined Fang Guoying, who had lost the battle in Taizhou, to win over Fang Guomin. He was alone and could not help them. He did not become the Marshal of the Rebel Army and returned to Qingyuan Mansion first.

At this time, Fang Guozhang also felt a dilemma. If he continued to shrink like this, the people of the city could not bear it and would rebel, and the rebels could not bear it psychologically. But if he went out of the city to fight, he only had 7,000 people, and he had no advantage in military strength, but he was in a situation where there was no danger to defend.

Fang Guozhen had occupied eastern Zhejiang for many years, and he had no choice but to take the members of the Ming and Tianying sects in the territory. At that time, Taizhou was also the territory of Qinglongtan.

The other party only disturbed the enemy and did not dare to attack the city. Fang Guozhang could not make a decision, and the matter was delayed for another four days.

Fang Guozhang, who had been tired for three days, couldn't stand it and finally went back to his house to sleep. When he woke up, there was still the sound of drums outside the city. Fang Guozhang could hear the sound coming from the north. It wasn't the reinforcements from Hangzhou, and he didn't care too much. But the sound of the drums was a little closer, and it sounded like the sound of drums on the tower. Fang Guozhang put on his armor and took the personal soldiers out of the house.

After a while, I heard the sound of killing in front of the sky, and I saw that it was my own people who killed my own people.

Fang Guozhang hurriedly shouted, "What's going on?"

Suddenly a badly wounded colonel withdrew, and when he saw Fang Guozhang, he said bitterly, "General, Qi Dingguo and Jin Xian rebelled and surrendered to the enemy! They killed Ye Zude and went to open the city gate. The enemy is about to come in!"

Fang Guozhang said angrily: "What? I treat them well, why would they betray me?"

But at first sight of the war situation, what's the use of thinking that I am not thin to them?

After all, Fang Guozhang had been fighting for many years. Seeing that the situation was not right, he hurriedly raised his arms and shouted to retreat to the north gate.

The soldiers of the rebel army were uprising and made meritorious deeds. Seeing Fang Guozhang's figure, he couldn't help shouting "Live the country Fang Guozhang!"

Fang Guozhang had already left the north gate when Ah Li led his troops into Mingzhou City. After Ah Li found out, he would not be pursued and let him escape to Hangzhou.

A Li asked Zhang Wuji to take people to open the treasury and reward the three armies. The first meritorious deeds should be the uprising generals Fang Dingguo and Jin Xian, who were rewarded with hundreds of gold, and the two were appointed to lead the surrendering army respectively. The roster of the army was recompiled, and the matter was handed over to Liu Ji and Hengzhou first.

Liu Ji and Hengzhou were busy compiling books, while Zhang Wuji managed the complicated logistics. There are nearly 5,000 rebels in Xinde County. If there is no local food supply guarantee, Taizhou will not be able to collect so much food.

After A Li inspected the camp, he returned to the handsome tent. Next to the handsome tent was Liu Ji and Hengzhou's tent. The two were busy sorting out the roster. Yang Bugui and the Qin sisters were also helping with research, cutting paper, ordering books, etc. Pour tea and water, proofread.

"marshal……"

A Li said: "You can take care of yourself, don't be too polite and troublesome."

Liu Ji and others didn't get up and salute. A Li sat beside Liu Ji, Qin Yao poured tea over, and seeing that Liu Ji's tea bowl was all faded, A Li gave him the hot tea first.

A Li said: "Sir, do you think it's better for us to make a quick attack on Hangzhou, or temporarily guard Qingyuan Mansion?"

Liu Ji stopped writing and said, "The marshal has an idea, why are you still asking me?"

A Li said: "At this time, there are many tricks to capture Qingyuan Mansion, but you can't always use tricks in a war."

Liu Ji smiled and said, "It is the best policy to subdue the soldiers without fighting."

A Li said, "It's always a little bit like taking Fang Guozhen to threaten people... If I don't have the skills to fight hard, then maybe who will die and who will live."

Liu Ji did not comment on this. A Li sighed a few times and said, "Since Mr. has no objection to my blitzkrieg plan, I will do it. Hangzhou has outstanding people, Crouching Tiger and Tibetans. In the future, our stall will be bigger, and the number of people will increase. Not enough, sir, do you have any good friends you can introduce to work. Salary can be negotiated, talented people can ask for sky-high prices, and I can see that I can pay back the money on the spot, so it doesn't hurt."

A Li said a few words, seeing that Liu Ji's attitude was not enthusiastic, he murmured and left with his hands behind.

Qin Zhen said, "Sister, why do I think Master is weird today."

Qin Yao said: "Master, her old man's mind, how can you guess it, let's work."

Yang Buhui said: "Junior sister, sister Ali is not old. You call her an old man, she is not happy."

Qin Yao's face flushed, but she didn't argue much, and Liu Ji just smiled.

This little girl is also nervous. When people are nervous, their nerves collapse, and sometimes they will do things unconsciously. A young girl bears the weight of the three armies and the rise and fall of the Tianying Sect, so many people's future lives, the pressure can be imagined.

Only a thousand people were left to guard Mingzhou, and together with the surrendered army, the army marched north to the southern suburbs of Hangzhou, taking the Qiantang River as a natural danger, and the two armies faced each other.

At this time, the members of the Haisha faction with excellent water skills, the former salt workers who worked for the Tianying Sect, and the folk church members secretly contacted by the Qinglong Temple helped a lot. The frogmen team they organized scuttled several naval battleships at night.

The enemy found that the warships were too scattered, and it was easy for the frogmen to conspire to destroy them one by one. There were ports where the warships were concentrated, and the landing key was guarded.

It was July, and the weather was hot and dry in the sub-high south of the Yangtze River. A Li ordered the three troops to set up bamboo rafts and wooden rafts. In three days, nearly 2,000 rafts were tied.

Five hundred of the rafts were pulled out, piled with dry wood and hay, and a simple sail was set up.

At night, the soldiers of the Tianying sect dragged their rafts and bamboo rafts down the Qiantang River. Ali asked members of the Haisha faction to drag their poisonous salt and sprinkle the poisonous salt on the hay and dry wood.

That poisonous salt hurts people by poison, but it is still poison added to salt, and salt is a combustion-supporting product. Anyone who has burned a coal stove will know that sometimes the coal is not easy to ignite, and it is easy to burn with some salt on it.

Escorted by the battleship, one thousand warriors rowed five hundred rafts to the north shore. The southeast wind was blowing in the summer, and the wind was blowing. When they were 100 meters away, the enemy found them attacking at night and hurriedly boarded the boat to shoot arrows at the Eagle Army.

A thousand warriors went into the water, but they left the fire stick on the raft. They swam to push the raft, and it was difficult for the enemy troops dozens of meters away at night to shoot the people in the water.

The navy general ordered the boat to fight back, and A Li sent a signal, and a thousand warriors opened the fire and ignited the hay and dry wood on the raft, and the fire burst into the sky.

Before the southeast wind blew the raft to the side of the enemy ship, the thick smoke rushed to the enemy ship first. The thick smoke from the poisonous salt and hay was not necessarily the poison that blood sealed the throat, but it also choked the sailors of the other side. Eyes were red and swollen, breathing was difficult, and he vomited.

Only about 20% of the enemy ships were actually on fire, but the enemy troops were already in chaos. Ah Li was on the battleship, and when he saw the flames in front of him, he hurriedly ordered a signal to be sent. Li Tianyuan, Bai Guishou and other generals saw the signal flares and led infantry. The main force got on the remaining bamboo rafts and launched a general attack.

Those sailors who were choked and vomited enough to hear the enemy attacked and shouted "surrender or not kill." There is no other better way. At this time, their morale was low and their health was unwell. They persisted in resisting and died. more ingredients.

Only a few high-level Mongol-born leaders abandoned their ships and fled under the protection of hundreds of guards.

The army crossed the Qiantang River, and there was no natural danger to defend in Hangzhou. Zhao Min was in Hangzhou. No matter how smart she was, Jiang Zuo, Jiangbei, and Zhongyuan Pan left behind Han Liner, Zhu Yuanzhang, and Zhang Shicheng's rebel army. Ruyang Wang's army could not go south smoothly. Hangzhou cannot be saved.

Although Zhao Min was displeased, for her, the destruction of Fang Guozhen Group would not cause her much distress.

Zhao Min took the group of heroes to the north, thinking that Mingjiao and the Central Plains martial arts were the source of the rebellion, and returned to most of them to report to the king of Ruyang Chahan Timur.

In the early August of the seventeenth year of Zhizheng (1357), Yin Li led the Tianying Sect army to attack the city of Hangzhou.

The Fang clan closed the city gates and did not go out, because when they attacked Mingzhou, the captains Qi Dingguo and Jin Xian surrendered to the Yin clan, and rumors spread in the city recently that all the captains under the Fang clan were imitating Qi and Jin. Fang Guoying, in a fit of anger, mistakenly executed three captains, which made him feel even more disappointed.

A high platform of more than ten feet was erected outside the South Gate of Hangzhou, and Fang Guozhen was tied on the high platform and called down Fang's guards.

After being besieged for seven days, before launching the general offensive on the eighth day, the Fang family offered the city to surrender.

So far, the Tianying Religious Army has occupied the four counties of Hangzhou, Qingyuan, Tai and Wen, and developed on this basis.

In November of the seventeenth year of Zhizheng, he attacked Quzhou in the south, and in March of the eighteenth year of Zhizheng, he captured Chuzhou and Jinhua, and gained a large area of ​​wealth in Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

Tianying taught the land, encouraged farmers and merchants, recuperates and recuperates, and the people live in peace. Because the Tianying Sect was also a branch of the Ming Sect, Zhu Yuanzhang, the head of the Jiangzuo Group, still had to wear the skin of the Ming Sect, so he did not dare to compete with the Tianying Sect at this time.

Zhu Yuanzhang had already occupied Jiqing (Yingtianfu), with Yuan Dynasty troops to the east, Zhang Shicheng to the southeast, and Xu Shouhui to the west. Can not develop to Jiangsu and Zhejiang, the site is reduced by half.