Water Margin: The opening scene involves assassinating Emperor Huizong of Song and forcibly taking L

The one before us has already submitted to the Ming Dynasty.

They still have the habits of warlords.

Li Gong and Cao Cheng were the most powerful forces in the south.

As long as the two of them cooperate sincerely

They could then quickly advance along the Xiang River to the heart of Zhongxiang.

However, Li Gong's attitude was to fight each other independently.

He was unwilling to cooperate with Cao Cheng.

Of course, there are advantages to doing this.

To avoid further friction between them.

Late April.

Li Gong used trebuchets to bombard Xing'an County.

At the same time, advance using standard siege engines.

They built a seven- or eight-meter-high earthen platform outside the county town.

Arrows rained down from the earthen platform.

Stones rained down from both sides of the outer perimeter.

Li Gong's two sons led their troops to the front lines.

They quickly occupied both sections of the city wall.

The pseudo-Chu garrison here,

It is significantly weaker than the area around Dongting Lake.

Let alone fighting in urban areas,

When the Ming army gained a foothold on the city wall

The defending troops then began a large-scale retreat.

The military supervisor sent by Zhong Xiang was the first to flee.

Conquering Xing'an County

Li Gong continued his work without stopping.

He led his troops to conquer the entire prefecture.

The Chu army in Quanzhou is currently suppressing a rebellion by the Su clan of the Dong ethnic group.

I heard that Li Gong has come to kill us.

They hastily withdrew their troops to reinforce the city.

They were ambushed on the way.

They were almost completely wiped out.

The whole prefecture was thus captured.

Li Gong, however, got into a fight with Su Shi.

As early as the reign of the Song Dynasty,

The Su family repeatedly surrendered and then rebelled.

They would occasionally descend from the mountains to plunder Han Chinese people.

They even plundered the government's transport goods.

This time, taking advantage of Li Gong's occupation of the prefecture,

The Su family looted and plundered throughout the countryside.

In a fit of anger, Li Gong

They actually lured and killed the leader of the Su clan.

They also executed several minor Dong ethnic leaders!

When the news spread, the Dong ethnic minority rebels throughout the prefecture were greatly excited.

They began to plunder the surrounding villages even more frantically.

The Han Chinese rebels were thus enraged.

He didn't follow Li Gong north either.

They immediately started fighting with the Dong people.

Upon receiving the news, Yang Bangyi was so angry that he slammed his fist on the table:

"This Li Gong has absolutely no sense of priorities."

"Even if we must punish the perpetrators,"

"We should eliminate Zhong Xiang first,"

"How can he advance his troops now that he's tied down by the Dong people?"

...

On Cao Cheng's side, he bribed and turned the garrison commander of Gupo Ridge against the enemy.

They quickly breached the passes and entered Jianghua County in Daozhou.

Daozhou city has been captured by Han Chinese rebels.

The soldiers guarding Jianghua County were filled with anxiety.

Cao Cheng promised to spare the life of the defending general.

The puppet Chu army in Jianghua County surrendered immediately upon opening the city gates.

Cao Cheng also went back on his word.

Not only were the surrendered garrison commanders executed,

They also slaughtered all the altar masters and religious leaders in the city.

Han, Dong, Yao, and Miao armies

They cooperated seamlessly within Daozhou.

They specifically targeted and slaughtered leaders of Manichaeism, both high and low.

Including those who use the Manichaeism banner,

Merchants, gentry, ruffians, monks, and Taoists who engaged in exploitative practices.

The allied forces of various ethnic groups also killed anyone they saw.

Incidentally, they also confiscated his property.

They also abducted the women from these families.

The situation in Daozhou is extremely chaotic.

Surprisingly, they weren't in a hurry to head north to strike the bell.

They started taking revenge and dividing the spoils right there in Daozhou.

Without the Ming Dynasty's new armies from Hubei and Jiangxi...

With only these people fighting against Zhong Xiang,

It's estimated that they'll fight until the end of time and still not reach a conclusion.

Cao Cheng also knew that this was not a solution.

But he couldn't control the situation.

Many rebel leaders simply ignored him.

On the contrary, it was the miners' uprising army from the neighboring Guiyang prison...

They robbed the silver from the silver mine supervisor but didn't divide it among themselves.

Instead, they collected the money and used it for military expenses.

After executing some notorious individuals,

Several rebel armies joined forces in one place.

They quickly marched eastward to Chenzhou.

......

Wugang.

Yang Zaixing returned to his hometown to raise an army.

Leading the clan's children,

They have already occupied Chengbu Village.

Another Miao ethnic group rebel army,

They are besieging Guanxia Village.

Yang Zaixing led his troops to set up an ambush on the north side of Tangjiu Mountain.

The Chu army stationed in Wugang City,

Whether it was to rescue Guanxia Village,

They still intend to retake Chengbu Village.

They would all run right into their ambush point.

They lay in ambush in the mountains for seven or eight days.

Not a single Chu soldier was seen.

“Those people dare not come,”

"Let's call them over," Yang Zaixing muttered.

The garrison at Wugang was not Zhong Xiang's direct subordinate.

This is not a strategic location.

Moreover, the surrounding area is inhabited by ethnic minorities.

The garrison commander is a local.

The altar master sent by Zhong Xiang has been won over and corrupted.

to be honest,

They were landlords and gangsters.

It's just a Manichaean guise.

The allied forces of various ethnic groups numbered several thousand.

They arrived one after another outside Wugang City.

The defending soldiers were so frightened that they hid in the city and dared not come out.

They abandoned all the surrounding fortified villages.

These various ethnic groups' rebel armies,

Although they fought bravely

But most of them would struggle to even form a proper formation.

They know nothing about siege warfare!

Only Yang Zaixing followed Cao Cheng.

Its headquarters still has some fighting capabilities.

Yang Zaixing also had an army to raise.