Southern Ming: A boy soldier at the beginning, supporting the world

Chapter 100: Hu Yiqing, the Bull-Riding Barbarian

The Ming army made great gains at Gantang Ferry, beheading no less than a thousand people. About a thousand Qing cavalrymen abandoned their weapons, dismounted and surrendered to the Ming army. The number of Qing soldiers who fell into the water and drowned must have been no less than a thousand.

The combat effectiveness of cavalry is several times that of infantry. The Qing army suffered heavy losses at Gantang Ferry, with corpses everywhere.

At the bridgehead on the west bank of the Li River, corpses piled up like a mountain, and the blood dyed the soil red. Trampled by people and horses, the blood-red soil was muddy and emitting a pungent smell. Countless corpses floated on the surface of the Li River, and the river water turned light red.

Looking ahead, human heads were floating on the river, which was shocking. Crows, vultures and other birds smelled the smell of the dead bodies and flew over to eat them, adding a bit of gloom.

The Ming cavalry pursued for a day and had no food at noon. Those who brought dry food ate some dry food, while those who did not bring dry food did not eat a single grain of rice. By this time, they were all starving. Many people could not bear it any longer and ate the dead horse meat raw.

The Ming Dynasty had a developed commodity economy, the military logistics supply standards were high, and the soldiers' salaries were high, which objectively caused high logistics pressure.

In contrast, the Manchus made their livings by fishing and hunting, were more able to endure hunger and thirst, were not paid in the early days, and had less logistical pressure.

This was also one of the reasons why the Ming army was defeated by the Manchu army. In the Battle of Sarhu and the Battle of Songjin, the Ming army rushed forward and fought hastily, but in fact it was due to the tight logistics and had no choice but to do so.

After traveling through time, Danchu has fully realized the importance of military logistics. In this battle, he specially sent the third battalion of infantry to guard the grain route. In addition to using rice cakes and vinegar cloth as dry food for marching, the Yong'an Army also improved the grain table and set up logistics and ordnance staff to provide support for the army.

Generally speaking, when the Ming army was marching and fighting, if they needed vegetables and meat, they would usually buy them on their own or entrust merchants accompanying the army to buy them; if the weapons were damaged, they would be repaired by the craftsmen accompanying the army.

The rituals and music of the Southern Ming Dynasty collapsed, and the army had to provide its own logistics. Many troops even had problems with food, and the discipline was corrupt and looting became a habit. The people suffered greatly and often hid when they saw the army, making the army's logistics even more difficult.

Danchu had Yongan Prefecture as its base and the support of the Mo family, so it could still support this battle. At Gantangdu, the soldiers of the Yongan Army carried rice cakes with them. As soon as the battle was over, the soldiers took out the rice cakes and devoured them.

Rice cakes, "fry two liters of rice until it turns yellow and wrap it up, grind one liter into fine powder and pack it up separately... Soak six liters of rice in liquor, dry it in the sun, soak it again, and when it stops soaking, dry it in the sun and grind it into flour and pack it up separately. Soak four liters of rice in salt and vinegar in the sun, and when it stops soaking, dry it in the sun and grind it into flour and pack it up separately."

The friendly troops in the towns were not treated so well. Many of them did not bring dry food with them, so they had to collect it from the captives. The captives were even worse off. Even if they had dry food, they dared not eat it because it would soon be snatched away by the Ming army.

Danchu was eating rice cakes with a piece of raw horse meat and vinegar cloth as seasoning. Although he was extremely hungry, he ate with gusto.

Vinegar cloth: "Use one foot of coarse cloth and soak it in one liter of strong vinegar and dry it in the sun until the vinegar is used up. Boil one square inch of it for each meal. It can be eaten for fifty days. Add three liters of salt and mix it with water in a pot and cook it over fire. It will become hard and insoluble. One person can eat it for fifty days. It is also suitable for long-distance travel in summer."

Jiao Lian originally wanted to continue pursuing the Qing army, but the soldiers were hungry, so he had to give up.

However, a fierce general rode up to Jiao Lian and said, "General, I would like to cross Gantang Ferry and pursue the Qing invaders."

This man was short and sturdy, with a lance under each armpit. He rode a famous gray-white Yunnan horse called "Sand Rabbit", with his mane cut, like an old cow. It was the famous general of the Yunnan Camp - "Bull Riding Barbarian" Hu Yiqing.

Hu Yiqing was a fierce general as famous as Jiao Lian, with good character and official ethics. However, the commander of the Yunnan Camp was Zhao Yinxuan, who was older. Hu Yiqing had great military achievements and was more famous than Zhao Yinxuan, so Zhao Yinxuan was afraid of him. Another Yunnan general, Wang Yongzuo, was at odds with Zhao Yinxuan because the Grand Secretary Yu Yuanye changed his engagement.

Therefore, there were great contradictions within the Yudian Camp, and the three main generals were at odds with each other. Hu Yiqing had made many military achievements, was awarded the title of Xingning Earl, and was given the seal of "General Wei Lu", but he could not serve as the commander of an army, so it was difficult for him to achieve great success.

It can be said that the Imperial Yunnan Camp was just a name for itself, but in reality it was internally disorganized. A single leaf can tell the whole story. Even a famous army is like this, let alone other Southern Ming armies. The military situation of the Southern Ming was not optimistic.

Most of the soldiers of the Yunnan Camp were from Yunnan and lived in Guangxi. They had no food or money. This victory was just to seize the spoils to supplement the military pay. In this battle, Hu Yiqing went out of the Banyan Tree Gate to meet the enemy, but he did not gain much, so he wanted to go to Gantang Ferry to continue to expand the victory. Jiao Lian had no power to control the Yunnan soldiers, so he smiled and said, "I have heard that you are brave and daring. I am waiting for the victory report at Gantang Ferry."

Danchu wanted to make friends with Hu Yiqing, and upon hearing the news, he volunteered to Jiao Lian: "Marshal, the Yong'an army has eaten dry food. I would like to lead the army across the bridge to meet the Xingning Earl."

"Well," Jiao Lian hesitated for a moment and said, "Xingning Bo's cavalry is not many, so it may be difficult to expand the results of the battle. You go to support them and pay attention to safety. If there is any situation, report it quickly."

"promise!"

After saying that, Dan Chu rode on his chestnut horse, and took his personal guards, cavalry, and teaching team of less than 300 people to chase Hu Yiqing.

The Dian horses are short and slow, but they can last for a long time, making them good horses. Danchu quickly caught up with Hu Yiqing and shouted from afar: "General, I am General Cen Danchu, who is fighting against the barbarians. I have asked the Xinxing Marquis to come and help me!"

Hu Yiqing had heard of Cen Danchu, but he looked down on him because he was young and didn't take him seriously. He smiled and said, "Thank you for your kindness, young general. Let's see how I defeat the enemy!"

The sun was about to set, the sky was full of red clouds, and it was getting dark, which was not conducive to fighting. Hu Yiqing still wanted to chase the enemy, wasn't that unwise?

Danchu was worried for him, but had no choice but to follow him.

The "Sand Rabbit" was indeed a famous horse in central Yunnan. It looked short, but it ran very fast. Hu Yiqing also drove his horse at a gallop, probably because he was eager to fight and wanted to get some spoils before dark.

Arriving at Sanli Bridge, we were already in Xing'an. The Qing army deployed defenses here, and the garrison commander was none other than Lian Guoan, a general of the Kong clan.

Hearing that the Ming army was chasing them, Xian Guoan was furious. The Ming army was simply too much. They were not satisfied with taking Gantang Ferry and even wanted to take Sanli Bridge. Did they really think that the Qing army had no one?

Xian Guoan personally led the Eight Banners of the Han Army to engage in battle. The Yunnan soldiers were short of spoils of war, and at this moment they all rushed to defeat the enemy and seize their supplies.

Hu Yiqing was particularly brave, and although he was short, he was very good at using a horse lance. The horse lance was heavy and long, and he held one under each armpit and was able to move freely on his warhorse.

Before engaging the enemy, Hu Yiqing threw a lance with his right hand. With great force, the lance hit an enemy rider right in the middle, and the tip of the lance penetrated the armor, killing the enemy rider on the spot.

Then, Hu Yiqing took another horse lance from his left armpit and engaged the enemy cavalry. Not long after, another enemy cavalryman fell off his horse.

Hu Yiqing rode his horse to the first lance, threw the lance in his hand first, hit another enemy rider, then pulled out the first lance and urged his horse to fight the enemy again.

The enemy cavalry was defeated. Xian Guoan refused to give in and rode to fight. After two rounds, Hu Yiqing saw Xian Guoan's weakness and crossed paths with him. Guoan raised his sword to attack Yiqing, but Yiqing dodged and held Guoan with his left arm, dragging him off his horse.

Hu Yiqing was used to holding the lance under his armpits, and his arms were extremely strong. Lian Guoan was unable to break free, and in extreme fear, he drew out his short knife and chopped.

Kong Youde stipulated that if the commander died in battle, none of his personal soldiers would be spared. The Qing army came to rescue Hu Yiqing desperately and surrounded him in the center.

(End of this chapter)