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

Chapter 119 Not optimistic
"To be honest, I just went to Nanning to see the emperor not long ago and asked him to move to Guilin. The emperor not only did not want to go to Guilin, but also did not want to go to Wuzhou. He was determined to go to Zhaoqing. The elder had no other choice but to ask me to come to Yong'an to see you."

After Lu Kezao finished speaking, he kept sighing and his face was full of worry.

It was expected that Emperor Yongli wanted to return to Zhaoqing, and Danchu was not surprised. However, from what Lu Kezao said, he and Qu Shisi had already conspired. This matter must be confidential, otherwise he would not come here in person.

Danchu remained calm and asked, "May I ask, Governor, what can I ask of you?"

Lu Kezao said slowly, "When I was in Nanning, Duke Huiguo sent an envoy to welcome the emperor, saying that he was tidying up the Guangdong and Guangxi governor's office to prepare it as the emperor's palace, and that he would send troops to protect the emperor. The court officials were terrified, and the emperor ordered the Guangdong soldiers not to enter Guangxi and decided to return to Zhaoqing.

"There is Xingling in Wuzhou, which is the mausoleum of Emperor Duan (Emperor Yongli's biological father). The emperor will definitely stay in Wuzhou and pay homage to Emperor Duan. Duke Hui will definitely send troops to Wuzhou to welcome him and show off his military power. Duke Qing will send troops to protect the emperor all the way to Wuzhou.

"After I left Nanning, I went directly from Liuzhou to Guilin to discuss with the cabinet minister. The cabinet minister believed that Duke Hui and Duke Qing were showing off their military prowess, which was not the courtesy of a minister. The commander-in-chief was supervising the battle at the front line in Yongzhou. The Yunnan, Chu and Guangxi armies fought bloody battles, but the court did not care much.

"So, while the emperor is staying in Wuzhou, we must also send troops to demonstrate to Duke Hui and Duke Qing. Ma Qijiao is stationed in Guilin and has promised to send a thousand soldiers south. Zhu Minru is stationed in Pingle and will also send a thousand soldiers south. How many can Zhuoru send?"

So it was about this matter. What would happen if we sent troops there? What impact would it have on the current situation? If we did it well, we could win some preferential treatment for the generals on the front line, but if we did it badly, we might not even be able to save our reputation.

The army was not dispatched at will, and it had to use civilian ships, carts and other supplies, and the consumption of food and grass was twice as much as usual. But this was unavoidable. No matter who was in charge of Guilin, it was likely that they would send troops to Wuzhou.

Danchu naturally couldn't refuse Zhaoping, so he said resolutely: "No problem, I will take a thousand troops with me."

Lu Kezao was very happy and said, "Zhuoru is loyal to the country and does things without conditions. He is truly a role model for military commanders."

"Are Ma Zhen and Zhu Zhen going there?"

"Ma Zhen goes, Zhu Zhen stays. With three thousand elite soldiers arriving in Wu, my words carry weight. First, I must speak for the soldiers on the front line and ask the emperor to commend them. Second, I must lobby Duke Huiguo to ask the Guangdong troops to go north to aid Jiangxi."

Ma Qijiao is mature and steady, with a strong army, the best among Jiao Lian's troops, and his words carry weight. With him standing in front of everything, Danchu will have an easier time.

The victory or defeat of Ganzhou is the key to the current situation. Danchu could not help but say: "The Qing army has Ganzhou, and they can threaten Guangdong at any time. Duke Huiguo will definitely send troops to reinforce Ganzhou. The key is to be quick and capture Ganzhou before the Qing army's reinforcements arrive. By the way, where is Tong Yangjia? Is he still alive?"

Li Chengdong's rebellion was closely related to Tong Yangjia. Li Chengdong conquered Guangdong by himself and thought that he had made outstanding contributions and should be appointed as the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi. Unexpectedly, the Qing court appointed Tong Yangjia as the Governor-General and only appointed Li Chengdong as the Admiral of Guangdong.

After Jin Shenghuan rebelled, he gathered a large army to besiege Ganzhou. Tong Yangjia urged Li Chengdong to send troops to reinforce Ganzhou. Yuan Pengnian, the then governor of Guangdong, had long wanted to return to the right path. He conspired with Li Chengdong's adopted son Li Yuanyin to deliberately withhold food and money to induce Li Chengdong to rebel.

Tong Yangjia was forced to cut off his braids and return to the right path. But he was born into the Tong family of Liaodong, so it was impossible for him to return to the right path sincerely.

"Li Chengdong killed him. It is said that it was a conspiracy by Li Yuanyin, who first tricked him into leaving Wuzhou. Tong Yangjia wanted to go to the sea like a dragon, so he took hundreds of standard bearers on board and sailed up the Xijiang River. When the boat reached Sanshui, Li Yuanyin sent warships to intercept it from all sides, and captured and killed Tong Yangjia and his personal soldiers."

"Good job!" Fang Yizhi praised: "Li Yuanyin did a great job!" Danchu thought further and asked: "Tong Yangjia is dead, Duke Huiguo has no worries, will he go to Wuzhou in the future? Will he go to Ganzhou?"

Without a reliable source of intelligence, Danchu could only rely on hearsay and subjective speculation to make judgments. This became increasingly unbearable for Danchu.

"Looking at the memorial, it is presented respectfully to Your Majesty, and the envoy treats the civil and military ministers with courtesy. The memorial is very heartfelt and eager to see Your Majesty. There is no doubt that Wuzhou will be in the future."

"Alas!" Danchu sighed deeply and said, "Opportunities for war are fleeting, and the front line is racing against time. Duke Huiguo is not in a hurry to reinforce Ganzhou, but is eager to see His Majesty. The war situation in Jiangxi may not be good."

Fang Yizhi had seen this kind of thing many times, and with a sad face, he said, "Do your best and leave the rest to fate."

Lu Kezao naturally knew the importance of Jiangxi, but he felt that Danchu and the others were too pessimistic, so he said: "Huguang still has two big men, Du Gebu and He Dushi, who can reinforce Jiangxi at any time. It seems that it will not affect the overall situation if Duke Huiguo reinforces Ganzhou later."

Where did this blind optimism come from? He came from the Nanning imperial court and was probably influenced by the court officials.

The Yongli court had been in a state of displacement and fear since its establishment. With the rebellion of Jiangxi and Guangdong, the territory of the Southern Ming Dynasty reached its peak. The court officials were overjoyed and perhaps had the illusion that there was hope for a revival.

"No," Danchu refuted, "The imperial court has no prestige, has no command, and is located in Nanning. Not only does it not have the ability to control the front line remotely, it is also indifferent to the war on the front line.

"Whether it is Du Ge's army, He Du Shi, or even the remaining garrison, none of them can implement unified command on the front line. Most of the military governors act on their own. Even if Duke Huiguo wants to reinforce Ganzhou, he only wants to ensure the safety of Guangdong, and has no intention of rescuing Jiangxi.

"On the other hand, the Qing invaders, You Shizhong retreated to the city of Yongzhou, and General He's army of tens of thousands could not conquer it; Liu Wuyuan, Hu Yousheng, Gao Jinku and other bandits retreated to the city of Ganzhou, and were able to stop the army of hundreds of thousands led by the Duke of Yu.

"The Qing army's laws are harsh, and Kong Youde and the other three rebel kings are still in Hanyang, so they can cross the river at any time. As the war drags on, the Qing army becomes more relaxed. Even if the Eight Banners soldiers are in Beijing, they can go south along the canal and then go up the river. In a few months, they can reach Jiujiang and Nanchang.

"By then, if our army still fails to capture Ganzhou, and the Qing invaders approach Nanchang, the Duke of Yu will have no choice but to withdraw his troops, and the situation will be critical."

"Ah?" Lu Kezhao was speechless.

After a moment of silence, Danchu changed the subject and began to ask about the war in Huguang. Although Yong'an was stable, it was located in the inland and had little information. Lu Kezao had just returned from Nanning and Guilin, so he could ask him for news.

"Over at Duge, the war went quite smoothly. The Loyalty Battalion responded to the order with all its strength, crossed the river, and occupied Yiling, Hubei on the first day of July, with its sights set on Changde, an important town in western Hunan.

"Commander He, things are not going well. I heard from the garrison that the troops are watching each other and have not yet cleared the periphery of Yongzhou, and have not been able to form a siege on Yongzhou."

After hearing this, Danchu shook his head repeatedly and made a promise to Lu Kezao in person, deciding to send the standard battalion and the first infantry battalion to Wuzhou to protect the emperor. The standard battalion will set off tomorrow, and the first infantry battalion will set off the day after tomorrow.

(End of this chapter)