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

Chapter 108: Military Management
After returning to Guangxi, Danchu felt much better.

This expedition has been going on for four months, which is much longer than expected. During wartime, the consumption of food and grass is twice that of normal times, and the transportation is difficult, which has caused great difficulties for the logistics of the Yong'an Army.

Before the troops move, the food and grass must go first. The Yong'an Army is not yet independent, and it follows the main army's movements and movements. There is no fixed amount of food and grass, so we should make enough surplus. We can't be like this time, with only two months to prepare, and insufficient food and grass, which will be quite passive later.

However, the gains were also great. The new soldiers were trained on the battlefield, killed people, and made contributions. They went from being inexperienced to being skilled, from being panicked to being calm, and they looked like veterans. The best and strongest among the prisoners were selected and incorporated into the troops, and the fourth infantry battalion was added.

The name of the Yong'an Army had begun to spread among the Ming army. They set out with 1,800 men and returned with 2,500 men, and the number of war horses had increased by 300.

It seems too early to say that the Yong'an Army has become a powerful force. But at least, the Yong'an Army can fight independently, the officers and soldiers are not afraid of fighting, the soldiers are familiar with the flags, and the officers can command their subordinates to form various battle formations. In terms of the strictness of the flags and battle formations alone, the Yong'an Army has surpassed 60% of the Southern Ming army.

On that day, the sky was gloomy, hot and humid, and it seemed that it was going to rain heavily. The Yong'an Army returned to Guangxi along the official road. The soldiers ended their journey and were not suffering from the heat. Their morale was very high.

Danchu walked side by side with Yu Houji and Feng Lin, fanning themselves and chatting along the way.

Suddenly, a scout came to report that a fight was discovered ten miles ahead, and it seemed to be a militia. The situation was chaotic, and the people also organized militias to protect themselves. It was common for militias to fight each other and even kill each other. However, it was about to rain heavily, and the militia was still fighting, so it didn't look like a fight but a revenge killing.

"Probe again. Order all camps to be on alert to prevent the soldiers from panicking."

Soon, another scout came to report: "General, one party claims to be Zhang Xianbi's subordinates. The other party speaks with a Jiangxi accent and claims to be the Jiangxi Volunteer Army."

How did the Jiangxi Volunteer Army end up at the border between Hunan and Guangxi?

Danchu was full of suspicion and ordered: "Investigate again and capture a soldier to ask."

Seeing Danchu's interest, Feng Lin said, "Marshal, Zhang Xianbi is not someone you can easily mess with. Even Marshal Jue has to give him some leeway. Let's not get involved in this."

Danchu nodded and said, "Well, I know what's going on. Let's get things straight first."

Zhang Xianbi was from Jianshui, Yunnan. He was active on the battlefield in Huguang during the Chongzhen period and fought with Zhang Xianzhong for many years. His troops were known as the "Yunnan Qiying" and were quite experienced in warfare.

In the second year of Longwu, Emperor Longwu decided to get rid of the constraints of the Zheng family in Fujian and personally led the army to Jiangxi. He Tengjiao sent two troops to welcome him, one led by Zhang Xianbi and the other led by Hao Yongzhong. Zhang Xianbi was able to fight on par with Hao Yongzhong, which shows how strong the Yunnan Qiying was.

In the first year of the Yongli reign, Zhang Xianbi defended Hengshan and once wanted to fight against the Imperial Yunnan Camp led by Zhao Yinxuan, Hu Yiqing and Wang Yongzuo. After that, Huguang fell and Zhang Xianbi retreated to western Hunan and fought against Liu Chengyin.

At that time, Danchu had just traveled through time and had a deep impression of Zhang Xianbi because of one thing. Liu Chengyin put He Tengjiao under house arrest and demanded the seal of the commander-in-chief. He Tengjiao mocked Liu Chengyin, claiming that he had many generals under his command, and even the weakest Zhang Xianbi was not afraid of him. Even if he seized the seal of the commander-in-chief, how could he control the generals?

"Zhang Xianbi is in western Hunan, fighting side by side with Ma Jinzhong, Wang Jincai and others to recover lost territory. How could he have subordinates in Quan and Yong? I'm afraid someone is using his name to fight against the Jiangxi Volunteer Army?" Dan Chu said, more interested in the fighting not far away.

Fang Yizhi was born into a noble family and had studied Buddhism for many years. Deep down in his heart, he still had a conscience. He said:
"Whether it is Zhang Xianbi's subordinates or the Jiangxi Volunteer Army, they are all anti-Qing forces. In the attack and fighting, the casualties are still our own people. The scouts ahead said it was a militia fight, and it is estimated that the two armies are not numerous. If the Marshal can mediate, he should mediate."

Danchu smiled and said, "I have the same idea."

Fang Yizhi was familiar with current military affairs and sighed: "Since the Chongzhen period, the court has repeatedly dispatched Yunnan troops to fight outside the province. Huang Chaoxuan's 'Yunnan Guangying', Zhang Xianbi's 'Yunnan Qiying', and Zhao Yinxuan's 'Yudianying' are all powerful Yunnan troops.

"However, the Yunnan soldiers were foreign troops, and their camps had no food or money, so they plundered everywhere, and their military discipline was worse than that of the bandits. Huang Chaoxuan was the most brave, but his military discipline was also the worst. He was captured by Kong Youde last year and died without yielding. "Zhang Xianbi's military discipline was better than Huang Chaoxuan's, but weaker than Zhao Yinxuan's. Since Kong Youde invaded Huguang last year, Zhang Xianbi's influence has declined, and Zhao Yinxuan has been catching up.

"From this we can see that strict military discipline is essential in managing the army. Robbing food from the people is like drinking poison to quench thirst."

Feng Lin complained a little and said, "I don't agree with what the military officer said. There is a good general under the Duge Department, named Yang Guodong, from Chengdu, who is very strict in managing his troops. The soldiers rely on the people for food, and if they don't obey the orders, they will plunder the people.

"Yang Guodong is the only one who strictly prohibits his army from going out of the city to collect firewood. Soldiers who rob civilians will be executed. Therefore, the soldiers are weak and pale. They have no food and grass, but they are still under discipline. Guodong's army is getting weaker and weaker, and there is no ceremony for the army. The cabinet has abandoned him and Guodong is on his own, with no one to rely on."

This was exactly the dilemma facing the Southern Ming army. Without food and money, they had no choice but to plunder the people, which would inevitably lead to the collapse of military discipline. Otherwise, if the army was run like Yang Guodong, the soldiers would starve to death sooner or later.

Dan Chu said sternly: "We can neither be like Huang Chaoxuan nor like Yang Guodong. The imperial court's policies are not effective, the commander-in-chief is incapable of raising food, and the troops are without food and pay. This is definitely not a long-term solution.

"There are only two ways to break the impasse. First, like Du Ge's army, we should fight to support the enemy, command the troops to advance vigorously, constantly attack cities and capture strongholds, and seize the enemy's food, grass, money and taxes. This path is very risky. Once we encounter obstacles and run out of food and money, we will be at risk of collapse.

"Second, like Sun Kewang, take Yunnan as a base, require tenants to pay taxes, and stimulate production. In this way, we can obtain stable food and wages, concentrate on training troops, and calmly fight the enemy.

"The reason why I am in a hurry to return to Guangxi and Yong'an is, first, to prevent the shortage of food and grass, and second, to follow the example of Sun Kewang and build Yong'an into a base for long-term development."

"Haha," Feng Lin said with a happy face, "Yong'an is still too small and too poor to support too many troops."

"Well, just be down-to-earth and take your time."

……

While they were discussing, another scout came on horseback, bringing with him a handsome young man.

"Report to the Marshal, this man claims to be the Jiangxi Volunteer Army, and has come to ask for help from the Marshal."

As the general commander, Danchu also had dignity, and then asked calmly: "What happened? Tell me the truth."

"Yes," the volunteer soldier was relatively calm, he bowed deeply first, then said: "Replying to the commander, I am a servant of Liu Shu of Jiangxi Volunteer Army. Miss Liu was captured by Zhang Xianbi, most of the volunteers were disbanded, and the rest were imprisoned by Zhang Xianbi in Xiangxi. Now Xiangxi is in chaos, Miss Liu took the opportunity to escape, and was chased by Zhang's troops in front.

"General, Miss Liu is the descendant of a loyal hero. She has a heart to serve her country and has spent all her family wealth to recruit volunteers, but she has been imprisoned by Zhang Xianbi until now. I beg you to send troops to help me. I am willing to die in return for your kindness."

Fang Yizhi was excited, thinking of the past, and said, "General, Miss Liu's father was Liu Duo. When he was the governor of Yangzhou, he offended Wei Zhongxian, was imprisoned and persecuted to death. He was rehabilitated during the Chongzhen period and was posthumously named a loyal hero. Please send troops to rescue him immediately."

Danchu was very touched and asked, "How many troops does the other side have?"

The scout replied, "There should be two or three hundred. Miss Liu has less than a hundred men and horses, and they are already losing ground."

"Send the order, the standard camp will attack immediately and rescue Miss Liu."

(End of this chapter)