Chapter 68: Down Tianjin

  Tianjin, the ferry crossing of the Son of Heaven!

  The Jingnan campaign, Prince of Yan Zhu Di marched south from here and later built the city and its defenses, making Tianjin the only city in Chinese history with a precise date of foundation.

  After more than two hundred years of development, Tianjin has become a commercial center connecting the north and south, with merchants gathering and trade flourishing. Moreover, with the rise of the Qing dynasty, Tianjin's military role became increasingly prominent.

  "Look, my daughter," said Li Yan, pointing to the map. "The population of Beijing is one million, all relying on grain supplies from the south. To defend Beijing, we must defend Tianjin and control the Grand Canal. The two cities are interdependent, like the horns of a bull, in order to stop the Qing army's advance southward."

  The matchmaker smiled wryly: "Master is far-sighted and has a long-term plan, but some people may not understand your good intentions!"

  Li Yan also shook his head and sighed, lowering his head, without saying a word.

  After the defeat at Shanhai Pass, Li Yan protected Li Zicheng's southward march. He was very clear that the Qing army would inevitably pursue southward, and what the Dashun Army should do next would test everyone.

  There are many generals who advocate abandoning the capital and retreating directly to Shanxi, Shaanxi and other places. However, Li Yan resolutely opposed it, saying that morale can be boosted but not leaked, and once the capital is abandoned, the Dashun Army will lose its leverage over the world. Moreover, in various parts of the Central Plains, there are still large numbers of elite troops who have not been deployed yet.

  If the Dashun Army is given some time, it may not be impossible to turn defeat into victory. For this reason, Li Yan proposed to occupy Tianjin and rely on Beijing and Tianjin to engage in a long-term struggle with the Qing court.

  To be fair, Li Yan's argument was very reasonable, but Li Zicheng didn't care. Under Li Yan's repeated requests, he only assigned 8,000 remaining soldiers to let Li Yan attack Tianjin, apparently Li Zicheng didn't care about the importance of Tianjin!

  Li Yan had no choice but to lead his troops towards Tianjin, and they rushed overnight to arrive at Li Village in the south of Tianjin City.

  "Daughter, I've been thinking about Gu Zhenhua's words these past two days. His rise was swift and his fall was sudden. Could it be that one word can really seal one's fate?"

  Hong Niangzi said: "I don't know either, I just feel that Chuan Wang doesn't have the same enterprising spirit as before!"

  Women's hearts are meticulous, Hong Niangzi spoke out, Li Yan was suddenly stunned, indeed after the defeat of Shanhaiguan, Li Zicheng had no more spirit, as if he was a deflated balloon. In fact, it wasn't just him, the entire Dashun Army was like this.

  Li Yan could only sigh and say: "No matter what, I'll have to take a chance!"

  Just as they were talking, the sound of footsteps suddenly came from outside, and Li Yan's younger brother, Li Nian, walked into the tent, his whole body drenched in rainwater, with water droplets dripping down from his temples.

  He didn't care about these things, and after walking in, he anxiously said: "Big brother, Yuan Yizong this son of a bitch, closed the door and refused to let us enter Tianjin!"

  "What?" Li Yan suddenly stood up: "Second brother, are you clear? We came under the order of Chuang Wang. Do they want to rebel or not?"

  "Big brother, I think they want to rebel. The brothers I sent to the city were all shot dead by them." Li said with a humph.

  "There's nothing unusual about that," said Hong Niangzi: "Yuan Yuizong is an official of the Ming dynasty, and if he can betray Chongzhen, he can also betray the Li Zicheng. If we want to take Tianjin, I'm afraid there's only one way - a strong attack."

  "We have only five thousand men, can we take Tianjin?"

  "We must take it down even if we can't!" Li Yan said resolutely: "Without Tianjin, the capital city cannot be kept safe. If we lose the capital city, we will not be able to afford it!"

  ……

  On a rainy night, the wind swept the raindrops onto my body, and with a blast of cold air, it was a bit chilling to the bone. However, under the city of Tianjin, it was exceptionally lively, as the Dashun Army launched an attack in the rain.

  The dense soldiers rushed up like a tide, crossing the moat and climbing the cloud ladder, and then rushing into the city. Li Yan personally supervised the battle from behind, and anyone who dared to retreat was beheaded without mercy.

  The Dashun Army attacked fiercely, while the soldiers in the city defended with all their might, without retreating.

  In charge of Tianjin were two people, Wen Yu Zong, the original Bing Bei Dao, and Wu Jiang Lou Guang Xian. After Li Zicheng occupied the capital, they immediately surrendered to the Dashun Army.

  Facing Tianjin, a crucial stronghold, Li Zicheng acted extremely foolishly and did not send troops to take over, leaving the original Ming army to continue defending.

  Yuán Yí Zōng had nominally surrendered to Lǐ Zì Chéng, but in reality was an independent small kingdom waiting for a buyer.

  After hearing the news of Li Zicheng's defeat at Shanhaiguan, these two guys suddenly had different thoughts, and they would not let Li Yan's soldiers enter the city. The two sides launched a fierce battle around Tianjin.

  "Hold on, hold on for me, absolutely cannot let the bandits break into the city!"

  Luo Guangxian personally went up to the city wall to direct the battle, holding a precious sword in his hand, just like a firefighter, and personally cut down several large Shun army soldiers. The rain made it slippery, and the defensive firearms were unable to be used. However, for the attacking side, the difficulty increased greatly, and both sides were stuck in a stalemate, with casualties becoming increasingly severe.

  "Gentlemen, I suppose you all know about the situation at Shanhai Pass. The rebels have been defeated and General Wu is leading the Qing army into the pass to restore the Ming dynasty. If we can't see the situation clearly now, then we are utterly confused. Those present, whoever has money should contribute it, whoever has men should send them out, we must hold onto Tianjin and wait for General Wu's great army!"

  Facing the Tianjin gentry and merchants, Yuan Yizong spoke loudly. Apparently he still didn't understand the situation at Shanhai Pass and was one-sidedly thinking that Wu Sangui was borrowing troops to help suppress the rebellion.

  Since the war between Ming and Qing, grain was transported from south to north to support the front line. Tianjin quickly expanded into a large group of grain merchants who were extremely wealthy. These people were also very afraid of Li Zicheng and feared that the Dashun army would pursue them for food and supplies, so they all wanted to help defend the city.

  You contribute 30,000 taels, I'll contribute 50,000 taels, and we'll have an extra lively time.

  At this moment, a grain merchant named Wu Shizhen suddenly appeared in front of Yuan Yuzong and handed him a note. As soon as Yuan Yuzong saw it, he was frightened to the point of turning pale and trembling all over.

  "Is this, is this, is this true?"

  "It's absolutely true, Lord Yuan. Pingxi Duke has already surrendered to the Qing Dynasty and is now known as the King of Pingxi. The Qing court also holds you in high esteem, Lord Yuan. As long as you can deliver Tianjin intact to the Qing, promotion, wealth, and noble titles for your family are within reach."

  "Mr. Wu, you say this, but do you have any evidence?"

  "Of course, to be honest, Wu has been sending a lot of grain to the Qing dynasty over the years. The Qing army's momentum is unstoppable, please think carefully, sir!"

  Yu Rong's eyebrows were tightly furrowed, but in fact he had also thought about surrendering to the Qing. It was just that when it came down to making a decision, there were some reservations. After a while, he said: "Mr. Wu, if the Qing can guarantee my official position, I am willing to surrender, but this matter must not be leaked out, for fear of stirring up public opinion."

  "Don't worry, adults."

  Yu Zong thought of surrendering to the new lord, and suddenly became very cautious, wanting to make a good impression. He personally brought the prepared military salary and went up to the city gate.

  "Brothers, beheading a first-level officer will be rewarded with 10 taels of silver, killing a general officer will be rewarded with 100 taels of silver, paid on the spot, no empty promises!"

  Yu Zong said, and then let his men move the box to the back of the soldiers. The sound of silver ingots clinking together made people's hearts flutter and their blood boil.

  The morale of the defending army was greatly boosted, and in one vigorous effort, they drove the Dashun Army off the city wall.

  "Big brother, I'll personally lead the charge and guarantee we take Tianjin!" Li Nian ordered.

  Li Yan furrowed his brow and nodded slowly after a while.

  Li Nian immediately led the most elite soldiers and rushed towards Tianjin. Li Nian held a shield in one hand and grasped a steel knife in the other, quickly climbing up the cloud ladder. When he was still over a foot away from the top of the city wall, he suddenly swept his knife, cutting off the legs of a soldier, who fell to the ground. Li Nian took advantage of the momentum and jumped onto the top of the city wall.

  "Follow me!"

  Li Niang was like a fierce tiger, rushing to the top of the city wall, killing and chopping wildly. At one time, the defending army suffered heavy casualties, and the subsequent Dashun Army also surged up, with more and more people, looking at the situation, it seemed that Tianjin Wei would be captured in one fell swoop.

  Luo Guangxian and Yuan Yizong were both extremely frightened, desperately summoning their troops and fighting to the death. The two sides fought fiercely throughout the night, the rain had stopped, and there were corpses everywhere on the city wall, the Great Shun Army was pressing step by step, and the defending army was in a precarious situation.

  Just then, someone rushed hastily to Yuanyu's front.

  "Reporting to your lordship, a cavalry unit has arrived from the north."

  "Cavalry?" Yu Rongzong hastily asked: "What banner are they flying under?"

  "It's Wu Zilang's big flag, and judging from their attire, they seem to be from the Guanning Army."

  "Great, King Pingxi has finally arrived!"

  Yuanyu Zong personally led his men to the North City and looked out, and indeed there were two or three thousand cavalrymen, all of whom had one person with two horses, with bright helmets and armor. The general at the front was not tall, but he was majestic, holding a seven-star sword in his hand, with a strong killing intent.

  "Could it be Lord Wu outside the city?"

  "That's right, open the city gate quickly!"

  Yuán Yù Zōng was still uncertain and feared it might be the Qing army's deception, so he called over a few people who had seen Wu Sangui before to verify.

  "Master Yuan, no mistake, see that Seven Stars Sword? That's a specially crafted one, weighing over 20 catties. Except for Ping Xi Bo, no one can wield it!"

  Yuan Yizong saw that there was no flaw and hastily led his men to welcome him. When he arrived in front of Wu Sangui's horse, Yuan Yizong suddenly knelt down on the ground.

  "Pay respects to King Pingxi."

  "Heh heh, how did you know about this king's enthronement?"

  "To be honest, I've already heard that Your Highness has surrendered to the Qing dynasty. As the saying goes, 'A wise bird chooses a tree to perch on, and a virtuous minister chooses a lord to serve.' I also wish to surrender to the Qing dynasty. Now that Your Highness is here, Tianjin is indeed part of the Qing's territory. I hope you can take care of me, I'm eternally grateful!"

  "Haha, Yuan Gong, you're so obedient. I won't treat you unfairly. Lead the way ahead, I'll enter the city immediately and help you drive back the Dashun army!"

  "Everything relies on the tiger's might of the king."

  Yuan Yu-zong hastily welcomed Wu San-gui into the city, but as soon as they entered the city gate, Wu San-gui's Seven-Star Sword was placed on Yuan Yu-zong's neck.

  "Dog thing, look at who grandpa really is?"