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

Chapter 187 The Arrival of the Tartars
On the 23rd, the Red Army used the civilian boats they had requisitioned to build floating bridges on the Guan River. Fortunately, the Guan River was much smaller than the Xiang River, so not many boats were needed to build floating bridges. Despite this, the Red Army still spent most of the day to build three floating bridges on the Guan River.

Marching and fighting is a technical job. It is a must-learn art for military strategists to build roads through mountains and bridges over rivers. The south is full of mountains and rivers, which requires a higher level of skills. Therefore, the Red Army attached great importance to engineers and incorporated them into the auxiliary troops to follow the army.

If the Red Army wanted to stop the Qing reinforcements, they had to cross the Guanjiang River and line up with their backs to the river. In terms of military strategy, this was an extremely dangerous approach. Fortunately, the Qing army had no navy, so the Red Army could cross the river without worry.

In this counterattack on Quanzhou, Cen Danchu was not active from the beginning. The Ming army also had no navy, and therefore no control over the river.

Once the Qing reinforcements arrived, they could easily cross the Xiangjiang River and then attack the Quanzhou defenders from both inside and outside. Jiao Lian and Hu Yiqing deployed their troops outside the city of Quanzhou, but the old division was in danger because they were ineffective.

The prospect was not optimistic, but military orders must not be violated. In the afternoon, Danchu led the personal guards and the second infantry battalion to cross the Guanjiang River.

The imperial guards camped at Leigong Ridge, facing the defenders of Quanzhou City across the river. Leigong Ridge is a hill with a very small slope, close to the Xiangjiang River. If there were red cannons, they could be deployed on Leigong Ridge to bombard the south gate of Quanzhou. Unfortunately, the Red Army came from afar and did not bring any red cannons.

The second infantry battalion was responsible for guarding the floating bridge and ensuring the retreat route. They set up two camps on the east bank of Guanjiang River, forming a pincer attack with the Leigongling camp. The Tusi soldiers and auxiliary soldiers stayed on the west bank of Guanjiang River and did not need to cross the river.

Jiao Lian sent people to build two floating bridges on the Xiangjiang River to connect the two banks and facilitate communication between the Red Army and the Yunnan and Guangxi divisions.

The Qing army reacted quickly. When Jirgalang heard that Quanzhou had changed, he sent Lekedehun to lead more than 3,000 Eight Banners to rescue.

Lekedehun was the Prince of Dorgon Shuncheng and a close confidant of Dorgon. He was anxious to avenge Gioro Goko and led his troops to come to the rescue overnight.

At si-hour on the 25th, Feng Jiali, the head of the Intelligence Bureau, hurried over to report: "Report to the commander-in-chief, the Tartars are coming in large numbers, and the vanguard has arrived at Huangsha Town. They are all cavalry, and no infantry has been seen."

Huangsha Town is the "place where dragons rise" for Cen Danchu. At the beginning of his journey, he lived in Huangsha Town and was very familiar with it. This place is only 30 miles away from Leigong Ridge and is a strategic point for both land and water. In the Ming Dynasty, there was a post station here, named Huangsha Post Station.

Danchu was invigorated when he received the letter and asked, "How many troops are there?"

"The Tartar army stretches for five or six miles, and the total number of cavalry is no less than three thousand."

Operations Director Yang Yuqi asked, "Have the Tartars collected boats and built a pontoon bridge in Huangsha Town?"

“No sign of that.”

It's bad! Danchu suddenly felt something was wrong. From Huangsha Town to Leigong Ridge, there are three crossing points, from north to south, namely Huangsha Town, Suoyiferry, and Leigong Ridge.

Suoyi Ferry is only ten miles away from Leigong Ridge. Since the Red Army has set up camp at Leigong Ridge, they can threaten Suoyi Ferry at any time. The Qing army will definitely not cross the river at Suoyi Ferry.

The answer was clear. Danchu frowned, clenched his fists, and said, "The Tartars are bullying me too much! Lekedehun must have made up his mind to defeat the Red Army at Leigong Ridge first, and then cross the river to attack the Ming Army on the west bank."

Yang Yuqi then asked the detective, "Have the Qing invaders collected any boats in the area of ​​Suoyi Ferry?"

“No sign of that.”

Damn it! If only there was a navy! If there was a navy, they would first burn the Tartar warships, then transport the soldiers to the enemy's rear, and attack the enemy's retreat at any time.

This is unrealistic. The Lingqu Canal connects the Xiangjiang River and the Lijiang River. There are dozens of sluice gates in this short section of the canal, which makes it impossible for large ships to pass. In addition, due to years of disrepair, the navigation conditions of the Lingqu Canal are even worse. If you want to use the navy on the front line of Quanzhou, you have to build a shipyard in Xing'an and build ships on the spot.

As a commander-in-chief, the decisions you make affect the survival of the entire army, so you cannot pin your hopes on something illusory.

At this moment, how should I make a decision?
Withdraw the army to the west bank of Guanjiang River? Retreating before seeing the Eight Banners was a common practice of the Southern Ming generals. It sounds shameless, but it is also "wise" because it can preserve strength. As long as the gun is still there, everything is easy to talk about.

If we hold on to Leigong Ridge, should we transfer the Tusi soldiers to cross the river to expand the force? With only three floating bridges, will the main force be able to cross the river in time? If we want to retreat in the future, what should we do if the troops are blocked by Guanjiang River?

Danchu fell into deep thought, unable to make a decision. Suoyi Ferry, Suoyi Ferry. Such a familiar name, I seem to have heard it somewhere!
In a flash of inspiration, Danchu suddenly realized his mistake. In history, Jiang Zhongyuan, a famous general of the Hunan Army, set up an ambush at Suoyifur and attacked the Taiping Army. Feng Yunshan, the Southern King of the Taiping Army, died in this battle.

The worry on his face gradually faded away, and his expression was no longer so tense and serious.

"General, should we notify the Marquis of Xinxing and ask him to dispatch reinforcements?"

"No need," Danchu said without hesitation, "The Tartars have not yet launched a full-scale attack, so there is no need to alarm Xinxing Hou. Send someone to tell him that 3,000 Tartars are coming to support along the east bank of the Xiangjiang River. The Red Army will hold on to Leigong Ridge and do its best to stop the Tartars. Please ask Xinxing Hou to lead the Guangxi and Yunnan divisions to attack Quanzhou with all their strength."

"Should we mobilize the Tusi troops to cross the river and strengthen the defense on the east bank?"

"No need," Danchu said resolutely, "Too many people will only make it harder to maneuver. The Tusi soldiers are weak and can be easily taken advantage of by the Tartars. These Tartars are advancing quickly on light cavalry and they certainly don't have red barbarian cannons. Our army now has three camps with more than 5,000 people. It should be no problem to hold on to Leigong Ridge and secure the floating bridge. There is no need to increase the troops. Order all battalions to prepare for battle. The personal guard battalion and the second infantry battalion should repair fortifications and hold on to the camps. The auxiliary battalion should send another batch of ammunition to the battalions on the east bank..."

Within two hours, the reinforcements of the Eight Banners arrived. Although there were only 3,000 cavalrymen, each man had more than one horse. The horses were neighing, and the sky was covered with dust. It seemed that there were thousands of troops. The cavalrymen were like a forest, which was daunting.

The Red Army retreated into their camps, defending themselves and refusing to fight.

The whole state was in danger, and Lekedehun led reinforcements from afar, hoping to fight quickly. However, Danchu refused to fight, and held on with his fortifications, first wearing down the Qing army's spirit.

The Qing army was lining up, but before the battle, they sent messengers with white flags to speak. This was a common tactic of the Qing army. Before the battle, they would send messengers to induce surrender and intimidate.

"Yuan Ping, go and meet him." Dan Chu called over the captain of his personal guards, Yuan Ping, and instructed him.

"promise."

The camp gate opened, and several Red Army soldiers moved the stakes in front of the camp gate. Yuan Ping, wearing heavy armor, rode out of the camp gate and came to the barricade.

The Qing envoy asked in a thick Liaodong accent from outside the trench: "Are you the Red Army?"

"That's it." Yuan Ping, who has always been taciturn, spoke in a northern Shaanxi accent.

"A few days ago, were you the ones who defeated the Manchurian soldiers?"

"The Heavenly Army won a great victory. Our commander killed Jueluo Guoke in battle."

The messenger's expression changed, and he said, "But Cen Danchu? My commander-in-chief has always loved talents. He said that if you are willing to surrender, you can forgive the past and make him the general commander. The rest of the officers will be rewarded. You can select a thousand elite soldiers and incorporate them into the Eight Banners of the Han Army. Otherwise, the Manchu army will be invincible and will destroy the camp and slaughter everyone."

"Who is your commander-in-chief?"

"Duo Luo Shuncheng County Prince Leke Dehun."

"I see you are a Han Chinese from Liaodong, why are you willing to follow the bandits?"

"He who knows the current situation is a hero. You don't need to say anything more, just go and tell your commander and ask him whether he will surrender."

Yuan Ping sneered and rode back to the camp.

Danchu heard the report but did not comment. He just nodded to the messenger beside him.

The command flag was waved, and two muskets were extended from the watchtower at the camp gate. With two gunshots, the Qing army envoy fell off his horse and was killed on the spot.

(End of this chapter)