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

Chapter 106: Internal Struggle Missed Opportunity
As summer approaches, the south is full of life.

He Tengjiao's advancement in southern Hunan was slow and his counterattack was ineffective, but Du Yinxi was advancing rapidly in western Hunan.

On April 18th, Du Yinxi and Ma Jinzhong set out from Jiuxi Wei in western Hunan (now northwest of Cili County, Hunan) and Yongding Wei (now Dayong County, Hunan) respectively, and recaptured the important town of Changde on the 24th.

In May, Du Yinxi and Ma Jinzhong led their troops to successively recover Luxi, Chenxi, Qianyang, Ningyuan, Xintian, Qiyang, Anren, Leiyang, Lingxian, Chengbu, Xinning, Anhua, Jianghua, Mayang, and Dong'an, with extremely fruitful results.

The Manchu governor of Pianyuan, Lian Jin, exclaimed: "The bandits are getting stronger and stronger. Not only has Changde fallen, but the people of Hunan and Hubei have all wrapped themselves in net scarves and white cloth around their heads. They have captured and killed county officials, and forced them to seize their seals. Official documents are blocked, and there is no news. This is very worrying."

Du Yinxi was much more capable than He Tengjiao. He had a magnanimous mind and flexible tactics. He decided to speed up the counterattack on Changsha to support Jin Shenghuan in Jiangxi.

Jin Shenghuan rebelled in Jiangxi, proclaimed himself Duke of the State, and led his army to capture Jiujiang. Jiujiang was the waist and rib of the southeast. Once Jiujiang was captured, the Ming army in Jiangxi could go down the river and threaten Nanjing.

Since the Qing army in Nanjing had received the news, Jin Shenghuan had to abandon the plan of a surprise attack on Nanjing. He believed that "Ganzhou is the throat of Guangdong and Guangxi, and if the two are not connected, there will be no foundation in the end", so he led his army south to attack Ganzhou, but was met with stubborn resistance from the Qing garrison commander Gao Jinku.

In order to support Jin Shenghuan, Du Yinxi personally crossed the Yangtze River and went to Kuidong to lobby Li Chixin and Gao Bizheng, asking them to lead the Loyal Camp to counterattack Hunan.

Li Chixin is Li Guo and Li Jin, nicknamed "a tiger" in the Dashun Army, and is Li Zicheng's nephew. Gao Bizheng is Gao Yigong, Li Zicheng's brother-in-law.

Du Yinxi was kind to Li Chixin and Li Chixin gladly accepted the order and led his troops across the river.

At this time, the Yongli Dynasty had three recognized elite troops that were feared by the Qing Dynasty: Li Chixin, Ma Jinzhong, and Hao Yongzhong. Jiao Lian's Gui Division and Zhao Yinxuan's Yunnan Division were not as good as these three troops. Danchu's Yong'an Army was even worse.

Du Yinxi already had two elite divisions, Ma Jinzhong and Li Chixin, under his command, and was determined to successfully counterattack Hunan.

At the same time, the situation in southwestern Hunan also underwent tremendous changes.

On April 15, Chen Youlong, the former garrison commander of Jingzhou in the Qing Dynasty, defected to the Ming Dynasty. Chen Youlong was a general under Liu Chengyin, Liu Tiegun. When Liu Chengyin surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, Chen Youlong was coerced and had no choice but to surrender. Now that the situation has changed, Chen Youlong immediately defected.

On the 17th, Chen Youlong captured Liping Prefecture in Guizhou, and then divided his troops to besiege Wugang Prefecture. Wugang Prefecture was the former Fengtian Prefecture, where Liu Chengyin held Emperor Yongli hostage.

Liu Chengyin suppressed the rebellion of Prince Min in the last years of Chongzhen's reign and obtained many rare treasures and artifacts from the Min Prefecture. He also held the Yongli court hostage and took control of the financial resources of the southwest, with gold coins piling up. At this moment, he was staying in Wuchang with Kong Youde.

Kong Youde had coveted the throne for a long time. When the news of Chen Youlong's rebellion against the Qing Dynasty reached Wuchang, Kong Youde immediately took the opportunity to cause trouble. He led his troops to besiege Liu Chengyin's old camp and killed everyone. Tens of thousands of people were killed and all their property was confiscated.

Liu Tiegun was arrogant and indulgent all his life, and he lost his chastity and committed adultery, but he deserved this fate.

Chen Youlong rebelled, but He Tengjiao hated him to the core. It turned out that Liu Chengyin was He Tengjiao's relative and was at odds with him. When Liu Chengyin surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, in order to please Kong Youde, he ordered Chen Youlong to capture Liping and captured He Tengjiao's family. Although He Tengjiao had no talent as a commander, he was a man of integrity, and his family members were also strong-willed and died for him.

For this reason, He Tengjiao took his anger out on Chen Youlong and wrote a secret letter to Hao Yongzhong, inviting Hao Yongzhong to go north from Liuzhou to Hunan, trying to compete with Du Yinxi for credit. He also instigated Hao Yongzhong to kill Chen Youlong:
"Chen Youlong has captured more than 20 cities, and is the richest among all the generals. He has enough gold and grain to eat for ten years. It is easy to see how difficult it is for Youlong to fight against the Qing invaders... If the general sincerely holds Baoqing and waits for me to take Changsha, even if Youlong is killed, the court will not be able to question the general..."

Hao Yongzhong was a reckless man. He was overjoyed when he received the letter and said, "I am here to attack Chen Youlong on the orders of the commander-in-chief." He doubled his speed and attacked Youlong in Wugang. Chen Youlong was defeated and Hao Yongzhong took over all his troops. He Tengjiao, as the commander-in-chief, manipulated Hao Yongzhong to fight against his own people, which had a very bad impact on the war situation in Hunan.

……

However, Jiao Lian killed Feng Zhiji without authorization, and the conflict between him and He Tengjiao quickly intensified. Danchu originally thought that the conflict between the two would become public. Maybe Jiao Lian would leave in anger, or return to Pingle, or turn to Du Yinxi and leave He Tengjiao, the jinx.

Unexpectedly, He Tengjiao did not comment on this. Jiao Lian not only did not leave in anger, but actively planned to attack Quanzhou.

Talking about this with Fang Yizhi, Danchu was very generous and said, "When masters fight, the results are always unexpected. Marshal Jue is unwilling to turn against the commander-in-chief, so we have to continue to be under his control and waste our time here."

Fang Yizhi also sighed, "There is no way. When you are under someone's roof, you have to bow your head. The commander-in-chief is in a high position and has great power. Even Du Yinxi is under his control, and the emperor trusts him. He ordered Hao Yongzhong to attack Chen Youlong, and Chen Youlong escaped and ran to the imperial court to complain. The court protected the commander-in-chief and ignored Youlong.

"If Marshal Jue and the Commander-in-Chief openly fall out, and if the Commander-in-Chief orders Zhao Yinxuan and Hao Yongzhong to attack Marshal Jue, can we stop them? Even if Marshal Jue can stop them, he will become a figure like Cao Zhijian, and will be ostracized in the court in the future."

Cao Zhijian, the Marquis of Baochang, was arrogant and domineering, and once attacked and killed the Prince of Yuan'an. He took Zhenxia Pass to defend against the Qing army, and made great contributions. Emperor Yongli granted him the right to act at his own discretion.

He Tengjiao impeached him for being "stubborn and unrestrained", which made Cao Zhijian furious. He resigned his official title and signed himself in the memorial as "Cao Zhijian, a voluntary minister who has made meritorious contributions despite his crime", and his relationship with the court was quite tense.

Difficult! Being in the Southern Ming Dynasty, everything is difficult, it is simply hellish!
Dan Chu couldn't help but smile bitterly. He could travel to any place, but he had to travel to Southern Ming!
"There is no reply from Lord Qu yet, and I can't ask Marshal Jue for help. I have no excuse to return to Yong'an."

Fang Yizhi replied, "Marshal Jue left Zhu Minru to defend Pingle, and his forces are quite weak. The emperor is stranded in Nanning, and only Chen Bangfu's troops are still strong in Guangxi. If Li Chengdong sends troops to attack urgently at this time, how can Chen Bangfu resist? How can Zhu Minru resist?"

How could Yong'an Prefecture resist without a garrison? Fang Yizhi did not say this, but he was worried in his heart.

Danchu was not worried. According to the course of history, Li Chengdong would soon return to the Ming Dynasty in Guangdong, and Jiang Ge would also return to the Ming Dynasty in Shanxi, creating the greatest opportunity for the revival of the Southern Ming Dynasty.

He was originally very optimistic and believed that he could change history. If he could seize this opportunity, he might be able to separate the Southern Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty.

After going through so much and witnessing He Tengjiao's tricks, Danchu realized how naive his thoughts were. The Southern Ming Dynasty was already in a state of despair, and it was extremely difficult to divide the country and rule it with the Qing Dynasty.

The wheel of history rumbles by, and how easy is it to change its trajectory? Even if Jin Shenghuan, Li Chengdong, and Jiang Ge, three powerful factions, rebelled, it was unlikely that the Southern Ming would seize this opportunity.

I am of low status and my influence is not important. Even if I have many brilliant ideas, I can't change He Tengjiao's stubborn mind or influence the overall situation in Huguang.

The most urgent task at the moment is to return to Yong'an as soon as possible and step up the accumulation of strength. Guangxi is still safe. Only in Guangxi can the Yong'an Army grow and become stronger, and only in Guangxi can it be prepared before the overall situation collapses.

(End of this chapter)