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Volume 1: Fierce Battle in Changsha Chapter 215: In front of Hushu Pass

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    When Lin Qirong and other generals successfully repelled the Heshun Qing army, the battle on the Suzhou battlefield on the other side also entered a fierce situation.

    That night, the Western King Xiao Yungui rushed back to Suzhou with Hong Yun'er and Tang Erniu. Since they brought a lot of artillery, guns, red powder, and lead, Xiao Yungui changed to the waterway after arriving at the Suzhou River, which took more than a day.  Only then did he return to the Taiping Army camp in Wenchang Pavilion outside Suzhou.

    Suzhou Wenchang Pavilion is located on the mound on the west bank of the Grand Canal south of Xingxian Bridge in Xushuguan Town, Suzhou. Wenchang Pavilion was built in the 23rd year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty and is surrounded by small rivers. The Wenchang Pavilion of the Ming Dynasty had been destroyed when the Qing army went south in the late Ming Dynasty. It now exists  The building was rebuilt during the Kangxi Dynasty of the Qing Dynasty. It overlooks the canal from a high position and the situation is dangerous.  After the West Palace Taiping Army launched troops to besiege Suzhou, Zuo Zongtang saw at a glance the dangerous terrain of Xushuguan and Wenchang Pavilion, so he divided his troops to garrison Xushuguan and Wenchang Pavilion, and built Wenchang Pavilion as the general camp as a fortress to guard the canal.  The place where grain and grass are stored in Hetun.  A brick wall more than 3 meters high and about 1 meter thick was built around Wenchang Pavilion. There were several trenches and earth walls as fences outside to ensure the safety of all the money, food and medicine in the general camp.

    When talking about Suzhou, we have to mention Xushuguan. Xushuguan is located in the northwest of Suzhou City and the northeastern foothills of Nanyang Mountain. It is more than 20 miles southeast from the center of Suzhou City. It is located on both sides of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, close to the canal, and connected to Guabu.  It connects with the river in the middle, flows down to the Wuhui River, and flows into the sea. It is known as the thoroughfare of the fourteen provinces. Cotton, wheat, and grains from the north, seafood from Fujian and Guangzhou from the south, silk, cotton fabrics, and other handicrafts from Suzhou, Hangzhou, Jiahu, etc.  Goods from the north to the south must be communicated here, so merchants gather in the town and trade is prosperous.  Thousands of them come in groups every day, and merchants from all over the world sell them here, and guests and travelers who pass through the border must also buy them.

    The Zhengde period of the Ming Dynasty.  A customs was set up in Hushu to collect taxes, and it has since become one of the most famous customs in the Ming Dynasty, with considerable annual commercial tax revenue.  Until the Qing Dynasty, Jishuguan was still a prosperous town well-known throughout the country, known as "the source of business travel and the majesty of Zeliang".  The establishment of Hushu Chaoguan was actually started as early as the beginning of Hongwu.  In the fourth year of Xuande, the Ming Dynasty had already used banknotes to pay taxes on commercial goods in commercial transportation centers, and set up more than a dozen banknote checkpoints on the Yangtze River and the Grand Canal to collect banknotes. By the first year of Jingtai, it was only officially introduced.  Merchants were active in the Ming Dynasty.  The establishment of customs and taxation across the country can be regarded as keeping pace with economic growth, which is both lamentable and understandable.  It's a pity that although there are clear tax rules and specific regulations.  In the hands of Guan officials, the endings will often vary from person to person. Integrity, corruption and perversion of the law can create completely different scenes of Guan Guan.

    The so-called "money".  They are special banknotes, Daqing treasure banknotes and official banknotes from the Ministry of Household Affairs.  Commonly known as "banknotes", they are actually paper money.  The banknotes are collected based on the carrying capacity, cargo and distance of the passing ships.  According to the regulations for collecting banknotes in the Qing Dynasty: "Each banknote is always discounted by three cents of silver, and every seven cents of money is discounted by one cent of silver." There is a local jingle in Hushu, and seven copper coins are discounted by one cent.  There are regulations for bank boats, river boats, hall boats, and sailing ships, starting from five feet (wooden feet) and ending at one foot and four feet.  For example, five feet: collect ten guans; six feet: collect 20 guan; one foot: eighty guan; one foot and four feet: two hundred guan.  There are also other regulations for long boats, Sichuan boats, Wu boats and Gan boats.

    But the specific implementation is not that simple.  The honest officials followed the rules; the plague officials shouted loudly, and the people lamented that passing the Hushu Pass was like a ghost gate.  From the time when the first official of Xushuguan was established to the 17th year of Chongzhen in the late Ming Dynasty, a total of 146 customs officers were appointed, with 148 person-times, in 194 years.  After the fall of the Ming Dynasty, in the second year of Shunzhi of the Qing Dynasty, Cheng Liangru, a Guan official sent by the Hongguang court, surrendered to the Qing Dynasty. By the sixth year of Daoguang period, there were a total of 116 official posts and 211 person-times.  The above statistics are from 1450, when the customs was established, to 1826, the first recorded year. In a short period of 376 years, there were a total of 359 officials, with an average term of just over one year. The frequency of replacement was rare.

    It is not difficult to see from this that the Ming and Qing dynasties attached great importance to the wealth that could be collected here. To be fair, exploitation was one side of the problem. On the other hand, the establishment of Hushu Chaoguan undoubtedly had a significant impact on the development and management of waterway transportation and dredging of waterways at that time.  , Building embankments and docks, promoting the circulation of goods, and improving the safety of one place also have their advantages.  However, as the Qing Dynasty became more and more corrupt, more and more corrupt officials became more and more corrupt, and the long-standing disadvantages that had to be collected and retained became deeper and deeper. Xushuguan became a gate of hell.

    Since the Taiping Army captured Xushuguan, miscellaneous taxes on customs clearance have been cancelled, and only one customs duty will be levied on all business trips, which makes the common people traveling in and out of the business very happy.

    In contrast, Xu Naizhao, the governor of Jiangsu Province in the Qing Dynasty, was unpopular with the people. Tens of thousands of Taiping troops came from the West Palace. Xu Naizhao, the governor of Jiangsu Province, and the Qing troops under Zhang Guoliang retreated to Suzhou early. When they arrived in Suzhou, Zhang Guoliang  With many years of experience in military operations, he ordered Ma Dezhao, the commander-in-chief of Daming Town, to "order the civilians to dress up first, relocate them second, and set fire to the third order", preparing to burn the residential buildings outside the city to ashes to prevent the Taiping Army from using these residential houses to approach the city wall and attack the city.

    Ma Dezhao complied with the order and set fire. In an instant, the area from Nanhao Street, Shantang to Huqiu outside Changmen, and from Zhongshi Street to Jiejiaqiao and Wuqufang outside Changmen were destroyed.  The shop was destroyedAfter the ashes were destroyed, some guerrillas of the Qing army took the opportunity to loot and loot. All the people in Suzhou were forced to move into the city. For a while, the people complained.

    After a day of fierce fighting, the Taiping Army easily defeated the surrounding Qing troops and surrounded the six gates of Lou, Feng, Qi, Pan, Xu, and Chang in Suzhou.  For more than ten days, the Taiping Army sent out troops to attack Suzhou. Xu Naizhao, Zhang Guoliang, Ma Dezhao and others used their strength to barely block the Taiping Army's offensive.

    Early that morning, Zhang Guoliang stood at the top of the city with a tired face. He looked at the city tower that was damaged by the Taiping Army's artillery fire yesterday and said nothing for a long time. He found that in the Taiping Army's formation this morning, the Western King's banner appeared again.  It means that the Western King Xiao Chaogui has returned to Suzhou to supervise the war.  Zhang Guoliang felt sad in his heart. He also knew that if reinforcements did not come, it would only be a matter of time before Suzhou fell. No matter how brave and skilled Zhang Guoliang was, he would not be able to withstand the Taiping Army's Western King's brigade.  Thinking of this, Zhang Guoliang laughed bitterly. He recalled the day when he entered Suzhou City in high spirits and said that he could defend this isolated city. Looking back more than ten days later, Zhang Guoliang felt how ridiculous he was at that time.

    On that day, when Zhang Guoliang was passing through Nanchang and preparing to attack Tianjia Town, he suddenly received an urgent order from the imperial court, ordering him to rush to Suzhou to guard and intercept Chang Mao's eastward advance.  On the second day after setting off for Suzhou, I came to report from the expedition and found out that there were tens of thousands of Taiping troops.  More than a thousand warships went down the river, had already broken through Zhenjiang and Guazhou, and headed for Jintan and Wuxi.  Zhang Guoliang broke out in a cold sweat. He did not expect Changmao to use his troops so quickly. Once Jintan and Wuxi fell, Suzhou would be in danger.  During the rush to Suzhou, he received a letter from the imperial envoy Xiang Rong, ordering him to rush to the aid of Suzhou. Xiang Rong himself led the troops to guard Hangzhou, thinking that he could take advantage of the situation.

    Zhang Guoliang knew that Jintan and Wuxi were lost.  Suzhou will be in danger. When the time comes, Hangzhou and Shanghai will also be exposed to the long-haired military front, and the entire Jiangnan will be even more difficult to defend.  So he traveled day and night, and soon he arrived at the foot of Suzhou City and saw Suzhou City from a distance.  Zhang Guoliang felt a little more at peace.

    Entering Suzhou City, he arranged for his soldiers to rest.  Governor Xu Naizhao heard the report.  He also came to meet Zhang Guoliang, and the first words he said when he saw Zhang Guoliang were: "With Zhang Dianchen helping to guard, Suzhou will have no worries."

    Zhang Guoliang was proud of his heart. He gave a brief salute, frowned and said: "Master Futai is too complimentary, and the subordinate officials are not trivial. The defense of the city still requires the combined efforts of the people. Sir, where is the long hair?"

    Xu Naizhao knew Zhang Guoliang's arrogant and bad temper, so he smiled slightly and said: "It will come in the next two days. If you arrive one day later, it will be extremely dangerous to fight against the Changmao outside the city."

    Zhang Guoliang snorted and said: "Others don't dare to talk about wild battles. I, Lao Zhang, will not be vague when facing a long-haired thief. I'm lucky that Changmao didn't meet me, Lao Zhang, in the wild. Mr. Futai, let's go to the city to inspect  Just a moment." Xu Naizhao didn't feel dissatisfied. He smiled and went to the city with Zhang Guoliang and a group of generals to inspect.

    Looking at the houses outside Suzhou City, Zhang Guoliang pointed at the houses and said: "Any house close to the city wall must be burned immediately to prevent the long hairs from using it as a nest to occupy the city or dig into the ground to attack the city."

    Xu Naizhao hesitated slightly and said: "Nanhao Street outside Changmen, Shantang to Huqiu, and shops from Zhongshi Street to Jiejiaqiao and Wuqifang inside Changmen are the prosperous areas of Suzhou. It would be a pity to destroy them.  If the attackers destroyed these residences, how would these people live in peace in the future?"

    Zhang Guoliang thought that prosperity was the right thing to do, and said with a slight smile on his face: "Master Futai, if Suzhou City is lost, the prosperous place will also become the territory of long-haired thieves. What's the use of keeping it? As for how to resettle the people, this  I would like to ask Mr. Futai to think of a solution. I can ask the court to allocate some money to rebuild houses for these people."

    Xu Naizhao was slightly angry. These arrogant generals only knew how to fight and kill, and never cared about the local people's livelihood. He immediately said: "The war in the south of the Yangtze River continues, thank God for the imperial court to exempt some taxes. How can you dare to ask the imperial court for money? That's all.  , I¡¯ll just bear this infamy once.¡±

    Zhang Guoliang laughed and said: "Master Futai is joking, I have a bad idea for you. Aren't the wealthy households in Suzhou City panicked? Master Futai can help them. These houses were still burned clean.  Otherwise, when the city is destroyed, none of them will be able to escape. Let them give some money to these people, and then won¡¯t the money for rebuilding the houses be available? "

    Xu Naizhao said with a grimace: "In preparation for the previous war, I recruited thousands of brave soldiers and donated more to the rich households in the city. I'm afraid no one is willing to donate anymore."

    Zhang Guoliang chuckled, pulled Xu Naizhao aside and whispered: "You can make it clear to these wealthy households that it is Zhang Guoliang's troops who have come to urge them again. I am not afraid of those wealthy businessmen blaming me. Mr. Futai  But give me the crime."

    Xu Naizhao was stunned for a moment and looked at him.He spoke with a smile, but his eyes were not teasing. Instead, he was very sincere and said in a low voice: "Your Majesty, please don't trust us. This court is already suspicious of us Han governors and generals. If you offend us,  These wealthy businessmen were involved in the crime, but their crimes were extremely serious."

    Zhang Guoliang winked and whispered in a low voice: "I'm not afraid, Old Zhang. The court still needs me to kill the long hair, haha." Xu Naizhao's eyes widened and he was speechless for a long time.

    Therefore, the Qing army collected donations from the wealthy households in the city like wolves and tigers, and looted the residences outside the city. The common people and wealthy businessmen inside and outside Suzhou were all resentful, but the wealthy businessmen just kept their anger in their hearts. After all,  As long as the officers and soldiers can defend Suzhou, they can keep most of their money. If Changmao invades, they may even lose their lives.

    After looting the outside of the city, the Qing army always set fire to the vacant houses outside the city without mercy. For a while, Suzhou City was surrounded by thick smoke.  Most of the people outside the city were frightened by the Qing army's rhetoric. They killed people without blinking an eye and only killed those who believed in Buddhism and Taoism. These vicious words were indeed effective. Long before Zhang Guoliang entered the city, the people outside the city were  Most of them fled into the city.  The next day, the Qing army recruited tens of thousands of civilians, dug a deep ditch outside the city, and filled it with water to prepare for the Taiping Army's tactics of attacking the city in a hole.  (To be continued, please search Piaotian Literature. The novels will be better and updated faster!
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