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

Chapter 186: When doing big things, you need a backup

The sun was setting, and it was almost noon. The Red Army crushed the enemy with ease, and the battle was over in less than half an hour. The Qing troops were either captured or killed, with only a very small number of cavalry escaping and retreating to the east bank of Guanjiang River via the pontoon bridge.

In order to prevent the Red Army from crossing the river, the Qing army simply dismantled the pontoon bridge and completely abandoned the Green Camp soldiers on the east bank of the Xiangjiang River and the west bank of the Guanjiang River.

Just as Danchu had expected, the Green Camp was defeated, and the Eight Banners soldiers at Fenghuangping also led their troops to retreat and defend the city.

Jiao Lian left troops to guard Fenghuangping, and then crossed the Yixiang River and occupied Shufangling in the north of Quanzhou City.

Quanzhou City is located at the confluence of three rivers. The terrain is dangerous, surrounded by rivers on the east and south sides, and close to Shufangling on the west. Only the northeast side is slightly spacious. The three rivers are Yixiang River, Xiangjiang River, and Guanjiang River. Yicheng River runs east-west, the river is narrow and shallow, and can be waded in the dry season. It goes around the south gate of Quanzhou and merges into the Xiangjiang River.

Shufangling spans the north and south of the Yixiang River and overlooks the city of Quanzhou. Jiao Lian ordered people to set up artillery on Shufangling and bombard the city day and night.

Danchu's mission was to cross the Guanjiang River, go down along the east bank of the Guanjiang River to Sanjiangkou, set up a camp at Leigongling for defense, and block the Qing army's reinforcements.

Leigong Ridge is located in the east of Quanzhou City, and is separated from the east gate of Quanzhou by the Xiangjiang River. Starting from Leigong Ridge, you can go down along the east bank of the Xiangjiang River for 30 miles to reach Huangsha Town. Huangsha Town is the northern gateway of Quanzhou. In the Ming Dynasty, there was a post station here, called Huangsha Post Station.

As he approached Quanzhou, Danchu suddenly felt like he was revisiting an old place. Two years ago, when he first crossed over, he was in Jiaolian Old Camp and stayed in Huangsha Town, Quanzhou for several months. Now everything has changed, and everything he sees is even more desolate, which makes him feel melancholy.

Although the Red Army won another great victory, Danchu remained calm. The enemy was the old and weak Green Camp, with only a thousand men, and was clearly no match for the Red Army.

However, it is strange that the 1,000 Green Army soldiers were so weak that they dared to cross the Guanjiang River and line up behind the river. Did the Qing army want to lure the enemy deep into the river? Or did Tong Tulai use coercion and inducement to force the Green Army to cross the river?
Regardless, the Green Camp soldiers dared to line up with their backs to the river, which showed how strict the Qing army's laws were. Based on this alone, they were able to defeat half of the Southern Ming army.

Danchu was alert and ordered not to cross the river for the time being and to set up camp on the spot. Facts have proved that although it may seem clumsy to build a strong camp and fight a stupid battle, it is a very effective tactic. In the late Qing Dynasty, Zeng Guofan used this tactic to defeat the Taiping Army. Danchu will also learn from it and use it to deal with the Eight Banners cavalry that come and go like the wind.

The essence of this tactic is to protect oneself and to be invincible. When the enemy is strong and we are weak, building a strong camp and fighting a stupid battle can minimize casualties and increase the probability of victory, thereby improving the confidence of the soldiers and constantly training the troops.

Its shortcomings are also obvious: the method is too clumsy, the speed is too slow, and the logistical burden is too heavy.

But for the current Red Army, the tactics of building strong camps and fighting stupid battles are generally more beneficial than harmful.

As soon as the battle was over, the Red Army began to select sites and build camps. Danchu stipulated that a trench must be dug outside the camp, surrounded on all sides, and a suspension bridge must be built to connect the inside and outside. Two meters inside the trench, a wall of chevaux de frise was built with the soil dug from the trench. Further inward, a circle of stakes was built around the camp, which was the third and final line of defense.

The project is huge, so we must set up camp as soon as possible. We must not be careless in building the camp, and the standards must not be lowered.

Yang Yuqi walked into the central army tent with a smile on his face. He was from Mizhi, Shaanxi, and was Cen Danchu's elder brother. He was the director of the operations department of the Red Army Camp Affairs Office, and held a very important position.

"General, the results of the battle have been counted. A total of 312 enemies were killed, 624 captured, 123 horses, and more than 2,700 taels of platinum. Thirty-nine of our soldiers were killed in the battle, and 57 were seriously injured."

The Red Army suffered less than 100 casualties and won a great victory by annihilating 1,000 enemies. This record was truly dazzling.

"Well, report the victory truthfully." Danchu instructed his secretary Yang Yunqing, "You review the victory report. If there is no problem, just issue it directly. You don't need to ask me to review it. Yuqi, let's go and see the prisoners."

Danchu was so busy on the battlefield that he could not spare time. He finally understood a saying: "For those who want to do big things, the first priority is to find more replacements." There were still too few talented people around him. As the Red Army grew stronger, he had to find more talents, train more talents, and establish various rules and regulations.

The left assistant Yu Houji and the right assistant Fang Yizhi were both capable assistants, one stayed in Nanning and the other in Zhaoping, and they were inseparable. As for the concubines, Madam Qu was able to command all the concubines.

On the front line, Danchu still lacked a capable assistant, or a substitute. The Camp Office's Operations Bureau, Training Bureau, and Logistics Bureau each had a director, who could handle the business, but none of them could serve as a deputy.

A deputy is indispensable. Zhang Xianzhong had no deputy, died in a hurry, and had no successor. His adopted sons fought for power, which has had an impact to this day. Liu Zongmin could be regarded as Li Zicheng's deputy, but the two died in battle one after another. Li adopted the leadership of the Dashun Army, but his prestige was insufficient, which led to the disintegration of the Dashun Army. At present, Danchu is young and energetic, and the Red Army is a newly established army. He needs to take care of everything himself and set rules for the Red Army.

From now on, we have to hurry up and find a replacement. This replacement is not the successor, but someone who can help Danchu deal with the chores. When the commander is away, he can take charge of military affairs on his behalf. Otherwise, the complicated military affairs on the front line will sooner or later make him exhausted.

Each regiment has a deputy commander who can serve as a substitute for the commander. Military power lies in one person. Since ancient times, the army has only a commander-in-chief, not a deputy commander-in-chief.

When doing big things, you need to have a substitute. How to monopolize military power and find a substitute to share the work requires careful consideration.

More than 600 prisoners were squatting on the ground in fear. When they saw Dan Chu and others coming, they immediately lowered their heads in fear.

The teaching department is responsible for handling prisoners of war, and the director Chu Yongpei has begun to identify prisoners of war. Chu Yongpei is in charge of the selection, examination, rewards and punishments, and other major powers. He was born in Yongan and is also Danchu's confidant.

He introduced to Danchu: "Marshal, after the prisoners identified them, we found 18 officers above the rank of captain. Most of the remaining 600 prisoners were forced to surrender because they had nowhere else to go."

The Red Army came from afar to fight in Quanzhou, thousands of miles away from the rear base, and had no extra energy and manpower to deal with prisoners of war. The Red Army slaughtered all the Manchurian prisoners of war. These Green Camp prisoners of war were all Han people, so they should be treated differently. In addition, Xu Yong was a general under Zuo Liangyu, and he had fought for many years, so his troops were all veterans.

Yang Yuqi just counted the results of the battle and found that the Red Army captured more than 2,700 taels of platinum. So, the Red Army should have found at least 5,400 taels of platinum from the prisoners.

This is only the money the captives brought with them, and the money deposited in the old camp would be even more. The Qing army had repeatedly massacred and looted cities during their march south, and the Green Camp soldiers were accomplices and their crimes were notorious. If these captives were released, it would be too easy for them.

How to deal with these Green Camp prisoners of war will ultimately be decided by Danchu. If handled properly, it will be enough for the Red Army to follow in the future.

He hesitated for a moment, then shouted, "All officers above the rank of captain, stand up."

At the command of the Red Army's personal soldiers, the Qing army officers stood up trembling.

"You are all Han people, willing to do evil for the Tartars, your crime is unforgivable. Kill all of you, leaving no one alive."

As the Qing army officers begged for mercy, the Red Army soldiers took up their sharp swords and killed the captured officers one by one.

Killing the chicken to scare the monkeys, the remaining captives were terrified and pale.

"For the rest of the captives, select the strongest, bravest, and most resolute ones and add them to the various regiments."

Chu Yongpei already had enough experience in identifying prisoners, and had a thorough understanding of strong, brave, and simple, so he replied, "Yes."

"As for the remaining captives, I will spare your lives because you are Han Chinese. You will be forced to do hard labor today and tomorrow. Those who work hard will be kept alive, and those who do not will be killed. If we meet you on the battlefield again next time, we will kill you without mercy."

"Thank you, Marshal!" The captives were spared and were grateful to Danchu.

Danchu turned to Chu Yongpei and whispered, "Cut off the ears, noses, braids, and right hands of the released captives as a mark."

Not killing the prisoners but crippling them could not only eliminate their potential threat, but also force the Qing army to provide them with pensions, further consuming the Qing army's resources. It was like killing two birds with one stone.

(End of this chapter)