novelAbuy Chapter 213 Infernal Affairs?
Chapter 213 Infernal Affairs?
Welcome to the fantasy world of historical fiction. The entrance is here:
Jiang Muning fled south after committing murder, but was soon captured and brought into the Green Standard Army. Relying on his personal bravery and some ancestral knowledge of leading troops, he quickly took control of a battalion of men while Yue Le was away in Nanjing and the army was leaderless.
Less than six months later, Yue Le returned. He then proclaimed himself emperor and used the Green Standard Army soldiers as cannon fodder every day.
Jiang Muning hardened his heart and led two or three hundred men to surrender to Wu. After being appointed as a commander, he still faced death nine times out of ten. The only thing that kept him going was his elderly mother.
Upon seeing the letter, Jiang Muning was already in tears. Seeing that there were still outsiders present, she immediately wiped her tears with her sleeve and then looked coldly at Du Yuesheng.
"Never mind!"
"Go back!"
After Jiang Muning finished speaking, he burned the letter, reverted to his previous arrogant demeanor, pushed open the door, and strode towards the gambling den.
As soon as Du Yuesheng saw Jiang Muning leave, he touched his neck. He was terrified when Jiang Muning walked past him, because he could feel the murderous aura.
"Let's get going!"
As Du Yuesheng spoke, he turned and walked out of the mansion without daring to linger for even a moment.
……
The western part of the city was originally a wasteland, not a mass grave, but a place where refugees gathered.
In the eleventh year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign, the Manchus invaded, and Dorgon led his troops to wreak havoc in Henan, massacring hundreds of Ming soldiers who resisted. For the next thirty years, the area was filled with mass graves.
Jiang Muning was very familiar with this place because he had also been here, where he killed a Banner commander with the rank of centurion and was later responsible for massacring the remaining 600-plus Banner soldiers.
It was precisely because of this merit that he was promoted to lieutenant general, leading a battalion of 1,500 men.
Dressed in all black, Jiang Muning slowly made his way to the grave mound in the dark. Jiang Zhaoning was already waiting there. The two brothers stared at each other blankly under the crescent moon.
"Big brother!"
Jiang Zhaoning spoke first.
"Second brother!"
Jiang Muning's voice was choked with emotion, and it took her a while to utter two words before she hugged Jiang Zhaoning tightly.
"I'm so sorry, brother!"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Zhaoning patted Jiang Muning on the back.
"Why are you two brothers saying these things? Now both of us have made something of ourselves, and our mother is doing very well!"
The two men separated and sat side by side on the grave mound, then fell silent, with only the faint chirping of insects audible.
Jiang Zhaoning came to persuade them to surrender, and even asked his elder brother to be an inside agent, which was a bit difficult to say.
Jiang Muning, on the other hand, didn't know what to say.
After a long silence, Jiang Muning took out a copper pipe from his pocket, lit it with a tinderbox, took a deep drag, and then looked at Jiang Zhaoning.
"You're now a military officer in the Han army, wow, that's a higher rank than your brother! Mother certainly won't have to live a hard life!"
"So, what brings you here?"
Jiang Zhaoning doesn't smoke, but he always stammers and can't speak. Finally, he snatches the pipe from Jiang Muning's hand, smokes the last bit of tobacco, and immediately starts coughing.
After he recovered, his expression turned serious.
"Brother, this time the Han army has prepared more than 100,000 people for its southward march, including provisions, gunpowder, and lead bullets. Wu Sangui's Great Zhou dynasty won't last long!"
"I hope you can abandon darkness and embrace the light!"
Snapped!
Jiang Muning slapped Jiang Zhaoning on the head.
"I'll surrender just because you tell me to. Stop whining like a woman and acting like a stranger to my brother. Besides, this lieutenant general is someone I earned through real battles. I don't owe Wu Sangui anything!"
"Tell me, what do you want me to do!"
"Near this city, Wu Sangui has gathered nearly 200,000 troops. As far as I know, at least 120,000 of them are veteran soldiers who dare to fight and kill!"
Upon hearing about the 200,000-strong army and 120,000 elite troops, Jiang Zhaoning remained unfazed. He had fought against the Dutch and the Eight Banners soldiers before, and it was nothing special.
As long as the Han army's logistics are not a problem, they can fight three enemies at once in real combat.
So he told Zhou Peigong his plan.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Muning revealed a teasing expression.
"Your Minister of War is truly renowned for his ability to judge character. How did he know that I'm known as the Pai Gow General in the Wu army, and that there's no general, big or small, who doesn't love gambling that I can't speak to!"
"Even Wu Sangui's top general, Ma Bao, suffered a complete defeat against me!"
When it comes to gambling, Jiang Muning speaks fluently and loudly, her voice rising several notches!
Upon seeing this, Jiang Zhaoning's face immediately darkened!
"Brother, you shouldn't gamble anymore!"
"The Han army forbids gambling!"
Jiang Muning chuckled upon hearing this.
"Don't worry, I quit gambling after the murder. Gambling in Wu Jun's army was just a way to build connections!"
The two brothers chatted under the crescent moon until dawn before they each went their separate ways!
……
After returning to the military camp to report for duty, Jiang Muning continued to wander around the city as usual, looking for a target.
The official rank could not be higher than his, otherwise it would be difficult to speak and would easily arouse suspicion and cause trouble. So after wandering around for a long time, he finally found three card players.
These three men were all captains, each commanding three hundred men. Like Jiang Muning, they had all defected to Wu Sangui halfway through their careers, so their loyalty was questionable.
Upon returning to their residence, the Westerners immediately began playing Pai Gow.
After a few rounds of discussion, seeing that the atmosphere was about right and that there were no unusual occurrences after testing the waters, Jiang Muning then brought up the matter openly.
Then the first man openly presented the two thousand taels of silver promised by the Han Dynasty, along with the position of centurion. One thousand taels were for the generals, and the remaining one thousand taels were distributed among the soldiers.
After all, this is a rebellion; who would risk their life for you if you didn't have money?
Upon hearing the terms offered by Jiang Muning, these captains all showed interest. After all, they were not part of Wu Sangui's inner circle, and even with embezzlement, they could only earn a hundred taels a year. They might die on the battlefield at any time.
Now that there's a thousand taels of silver for this position, plus the hereditary title of commander of a thousand households, who would still want to be cannon fodder for Wu Jun?
As expected, the three captains immediately expressed their willingness to go through fire and water for the Han Dynasty, and to show their sincerity, they each offered to give Jiang Muning two hundred taels of silver.
After securing three commanders of the Thousand Rank, Jiang Muning continued to search for talent over the next two days, eventually finding five more commanders of the same Thousand Rank.
They then gathered the eight captains together to discuss how to open the city gates and lower the drawbridge with minimal casualties, allowing the Han army to storm in.
The final conclusion was that torches were prepared at dawn, and the 1,000 men from the west were divided into two groups, with 3,000 of them heading towards the north gate.
The remaining thousand men set fire to the other three gates to disperse Wu Sangui's 30,000 elite troops.
He then sent someone to deliver the message to the Han camp!
When Liu Mu received the news, he became very excited and immediately arranged his men according to the agreed time.
……
Time passed quickly, and the appointed day arrived. Inside Jiang Muning's residence, he summoned the five captains and a dozen or so servants under his command.