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

Chapter 206 Snake Swallows Elephant

It is necessary to give a brief introduction to the origin of the Loyalty Camp.

After the Battle of Shanhaiguan, the Dashun Army retreated to the northwest, and the Qing army pursued them relentlessly. The two sides fought two more major battles - the Battle of Tongguan and the Battle of Northern Shaanxi, and the Dashun Army was defeated in both battles. The Qing army was strong and the situation in the north was hopeless, so the Dashun Army gave up the northwest and retreated to the south.

Li Zicheng and Liu Zongmin led the main force of the Dashun Army to retreat to Henan and Huguang via Lantian and Shangluo in Shaanxi (Eastern Route Army). Another detachment, led by Li Chixin and Gao Bizheng, marched south from Hanzhong in Shaanxi and retreated to Huguang via Sichuan (Western Route Army).

Dorgon ordered his brother Ajige to lead the army to pursue the Dashun Army and relentlessly pursue the main force of the Eastern Route Army. Liu Zongmin was captured and killed, Prime Minister Niu Jinxing and military advisor Song Xiance surrendered, and Li Zicheng was killed by the Huguang Tongshan landlord militia.

Li Zicheng died suddenly without designating a successor, and the Eastern Route Army fell into chaos. Some surrendered to the Qing, such as Tian Jianxiu, Zhang Nai, Wang Tizhong, etc. (most of them were later killed); some changed their allegiance, such as Hao Yaoqi, who was marginalized and turned to He Tengjiao. He Tengjiao also tried his best to win over Hao Yaoqi in order to split the Dashun Army; some set up their own factions, such as Yuan Zongde and Liu Tichun, who persisted in the war of resistance in western Hunan and Guizhou and maintained a high degree of independence; some joined Li Guo and Gao Yigong.

The Western Route Army's detachment led by Li Chixin and Gao Bizheng replaced the Western Route Army and became the main force of the Dashun Army. It was later reorganized into the Loyalty Camp by Du Yinxi.

Li Zicheng's widow, Mrs. Gao, also came to the Zhongzheng Camp. Li Chixin was Li Zicheng's nephew, and Gao Bizhen was Mrs. Gao's younger brother. The Zhongzheng Camp became the orthodox Dashun Army.

Even a centipede will not die without being stiffened. The Loyalty Camp has been defeated many times, and there are still at least 100,000 people. But Cen Danchu boasted that he would swallow up the Loyalty Camp. Isn't that arrogant?
Seeing Feng Jiali's puzzled expression, Danchu said, "Li Chixin is cunning and uncouth. Although he is the commander-in-chief, he listens to Gao Bizheng for all major decisions. Gao Bizheng is a man of integrity and prestige. He also has the support of Madam Gao. Although he is not the commander-in-chief, he is able to make major decisions. The two have equal qualifications and there is no distinction between the commander and the subordinate. Apart from these two, who are the other generals in the Loyalty Camp?"

The Intelligence Bureau had already figured this out very well. Feng Jiali said, "It was mainly Liu Xiyao, Liu Fangliang, Dang Shousu, and Li Laiheng, four generals, and Tian Hu, Zhang Neng, Liu Guochang and other minor generals."

After Li Zicheng established the Dashun regime, he reformed the military system and appointed General of Power, General of Control, General of Might, and General of Resoluteness. These were the famous "Five Camps and Twenty-Two Generals" and were Li Zicheng's direct generals.

Liu Xiyao, Liu Fangliang, and Dang Shousu were all members of the 22 generals of the Fifth Battalion, while Li Laiheng was Li Chixin's adopted son and had a special status. These four generals were the pillars of the Loyalty Battalion.

Danchu said: "I heard that Liu Xiyao is very senior. He was a leader during the Ge and Zuo Wuying periods. He is older than Li Zicheng. How could he sincerely obey Li Chixin?

"Liu Xiyao has always been against cooperating with the Southern Ming, and Liu Fangliang has a close relationship with him. Li Chixin and Gao Bizheng cannot control the two Lius at all, and they only have Dang Shousu and Li Laiheng to rely on. As for Zhang Neng, Tian Hu, Liu Guochang and other minor generals, they are not worth mentioning."

The Intelligence Bureau set up an intelligence station in Guilin, with Lu Shouyi as the station chief. Lu Shouyi paid close attention to the Zhongzheng Battalion and said, "The Zhongzheng Battalion is said to have more than 100,000 troops, and the camps are often spread over hundreds of miles. In fact, half of them are women and their families. Only 40,000 to 50,000 of them can go to the battlefield to fight, and only 20,000 to 30,000 elite soldiers in armor. During the Battle of Chenzhou, Jirgalang led the main force to attack the Zhongzheng Battalion, which suffered heavy losses, and the number of elite soldiers in armor was less than 20,000."

"Well," Danchu sneered, "The Loyalty Camp may seem strong, but it is actually at the end of its rope. These bandits are not welcome wherever they go. Tian Jianxiu, Zhang Nai and others surrendered to the Tartars, but were killed by them. After that, the peasant armies did not dare to surrender to the Qing Dynasty easily.

"The Zhongzheng Camp wanted to surrender to the Tartars at one point, but they insisted on not shaving their heads, which aroused the Tartars' suspicion. Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong had always been at odds, and they had even fought each other. It was impossible for Li Chixin to surrender to Sun Kewang.

"Now that Du Yinxi has lost power, the Loyalty Camp has nowhere to turn to, and is being marginalized. It is very likely that they will respond to Chen Bangfu and enter Guangxi to fight for territory. I am not afraid of him coming to fight for territory. If he does well, I will take the opportunity to recruit him."

If the Red Army incorporated the Loyalty Camp, wouldn't that be like a snake swallowing an elephant?
However, after so much, Cen Danchu has established a high prestige in the army. Feng Jiali and Lu Shouyi also have great faith in him. The Red Army can not only defeat the Eight Banners of Manchuria, but also recruit the Tusi soldiers, so it will be no problem to deal with the Zhongzheng Camp. Talking about Du Yinxi, Danchu was very interested and asked: "When Du Yinxi passed Zhenxia Pass, he was imprisoned by Cao Zhijian. How did he escape?"

Looking at the current court, few people can catch Danchu's eye. He admires Du Yinxi very much, but he has never had the opportunity to meet him. Now that Du Yinxi is in trouble, Danchu really wants to extend an olive branch to him and recruit him for his own use.

However, this was a difficult matter. Because Du Yinxi was a respected official, holding the title of Grand Secretary and Minister of War, and was granted the Imperial Sword and was in charge of military affairs. Danchu was just a small military leader who had just emerged, and the difference in their status was too great.

Feng Jiali replied: "This matter has been investigated. There is a Jiangxi royal family member in Cao Zhijian's army..."

Cao Zhijian's army had a member of the Jiangxi royal family named Zhu Moulie, who was incompetent but always failed. Zhu Moulie deceived Cao Zhijian, saying that Du Yinxi came to Zhenxia Pass to act as a traitor to the Zhongzheng Camp, and instigated Cao Zhijian to kill Du Yinxi. Du Yinxi was of high status, so Cao Zhijian did not dare to kill him without authorization, and buried more than a thousand of his men.

Hui Yannian was a general under Cao Zhijian, a man of integrity and loyalty. He colluded with the Yao people and secretly released Du Yinxi. The Yao people also knew loyalty and righteousness, so they escorted Du Yinxi to the mountain stronghold of He Tufu in Fuchuan County.

He Tufu's father, He Yushi, was an old friend of Du Yinxi. Cao Zhijian led his army to He Tufu's camp to demand the people, but He Tufu refused to give them, so Cao Zhijian led his army to attack.

He Tufu's family was close to the corvées, and he was wealthy and able to gather the corvées together. So he fought with Cao Zhijian and defeated him repeatedly.

The imperial court did not dare to offend Cao Zhijian, so it sent an envoy to Fuchuan to mediate between the two. Cao Zhijian pretended to agree and invited He Tufu to come out of the camp to apologize. He Tufu thought that since the angel officer was present, Cao Zhijian should not dare to act, so he left the camp and was killed by Cao Zhijian.

Cao Zhijian took his anger out on the Yao people and massacred them on a large scale.

Du Yinxi and his son managed to escape and returned to the imperial court in Zhaoqing, but were impeached by the court officials. He Tengjiao made a big mistake during his lifetime, lost the city and the land, and the overall situation collapsed, and all the blame was put on Du Yinxi. The Zhongzheng Camp roamed the border between Guangdong and Guangxi, threatening the imperial court, and the fault was also Du Yinxi, who was blamed for his lack of self-control.

……

Danchu sighed upon hearing this. Du Yinxi was a cabinet minister, and his status was once equal to He Tengjiao. He was the most strategic and courageous minister in the entire Southern Ming Dynasty, but he didn't expect to end up like this.

Cao Zhijian was a military leader, but he dared to imprison Du Yinxi and killed more than a thousand of his soldiers. The imperial court did not dare to intervene, and its prestige was completely gone. If the military commanders were so arrogant, it would be a miracle if the Southern Ming Dynasty did not fall.

"If you do too much evil, you will eventually perish." Danchu sighed, "Cao Zhijian used Zhenxia Pass as his territory and collected commercial taxes from travelers. I heard that he made a lot of money. But there are many Yao people near Zhenxia Pass. Cao Zhijian is on bad terms with the Yao people. If something happens in the future, the Yao people will take advantage of him and it will be dangerous.

"Du Gebu is very intelligent. He will be excluded if he returns to the court this time. It will be difficult for him to find a place to stay. Send someone to contact Du Gebu and invite him to Zhaoping for a chat. I want to meet him in person."

(End of this chapter)