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

Chapter 245: Guarding the Emperor General Ma Bao

In the evening, Ma Bao was invited to the Red Army camp.

Ma Bao, also known as Chengbi and Peiyuan, was a native of Longde County, Pingliang Prefecture, Shaanxi (now Longde, Ningxia). In the 16th year of Chongzhen, the Dashun Army conquered Longde, and Ma Bao joined the Dashun Army. This man was as strong as an ox, brave and good at fighting, "although he started out as a bandit, he liked to hang out with scholars and officials."

After Li Zicheng was killed in battle, Ma Bao surrendered to the Qing army like many Shun troops, and eventually served under Li Chengdong, where he was famous for his bravery. When Li Chengdong rebelled and returned to the Ming Dynasty, Ma Bao became a deputy general under Li Chengdong and was appointed as the governor-general.

At the beginning of this year, the Qing army invaded Guangdong. In order to encourage Dongxun, the court promoted Ma Bao to the title of Anding Earl. When Emperor Yongli fled from Zhaoqing to Wuzhou, he ordered Ma Bao to protect him and named him "General of the Imperial Guard".

There were more than a dozen generals in Dongxun, and Ma Bao was just one of them, without even a decent piece of land. Why did Emperor Yongli attach so much importance to Ma Bao and specially let him protect him? It was because Ma Bao was extremely brave and unmatched among the Dongxun generals. Emperor Yongli was able to use Ma Bao and appointed him as a general, which showed that he was not a fool.

Historically, Ma Bao persisted in resisting the Qing dynasty and served under Sun Kewang and Li Dingguo successively. After Li Dingguo's defeat, Ma Bao surrendered to Wu Sangui and became the most important general under Wu Sangui. During the Three Feudatories Rebellion, Ma Bao served as the Grand Marshal of the Army and presided over the military affairs for Wu Sangui and his son, and made great achievements in the war.

The sun was setting in the west. Danchu heard that Ma Bao had arrived and went out to greet him. He was in his early twenties, with a burly figure, thick eyebrows and red eyes. He was from Pingliang, and probably had Hu ancestry.

After seeing Danchu, Ma Bao bowed respectfully and said, "Marshal, I have heard a lot about you."

Danchu returned the gift with great enthusiasm, saying with a smile: "Two years ago, the emperor went on a tour from Nanning to Wuzhou. People from all the towns gathered and a grand archery ceremony was held. My brother Sanbao and I each shot three times and hit the target. The court officials were very happy and thought that there was someone who could revive the country. Thinking about it now, it is still vivid in my mind, as if it was yesterday."

"Alas!" Ma Bao sighed with regret, "Two years ago, the Prince of Yulin and the Prince of Ningxia rebelled one after another, and the Prince of Zhongxiang led his troops to counterattack, and the situation was very good. Who would have thought that in less than two years, the overall situation would deteriorate to this point, and the Tartars have already arrived outside Guangzhou."

There were many messengers inside and outside the camp, waiting to be received. Some messengers, Danchu would not meet them at all, and they would be met by the military assistant or the director of the training bureau. Seeing Ma Bao being treated so courteously, they looked envious and occasionally greeted Ma Bao, hoping to attract Danchu's attention.

After entering the central military tent, the two men sat down as host and guest, and their personal soldiers served them tea.

Danchu asked, "Brother Sanbao, how old are you this year? Where is your hometown?"

Ma Bao is the third oldest in the clan, known as "Sanbao". He was born a bandit, looks fierce and rough, but likes to hang out with scholars and officials, is elegant and knows etiquette, and said: "The etiquette of the title and the commander cannot be abolished. You are the Duke, the Governor of the Southwest Guangxi Military Affairs, how dare Sanbao call you brother? Sanbao was born in the first year of Chongzhen, is 22 years old this year, and his family is in Longde County, Pingliang Prefecture."

His sincere words moved Danchu's heart. He was quiet and elegant in his secluded room, but he was the bravest among the three armies in the battlefield. This Ma Bao was indeed a brave general, and he should find a way to recruit him for his own use in the future.

"Then I will be generous and address you by your courtesy name. I was born in the third year of Chongzhen, two years younger than Chengbi, and my native place is Qingyang Prefecture, which is close to Pingliang."

"Marshal Jue is young and promising, and has good command of the army. He defeated the Tartars in two battles of Quanzhou, and is truly a role model for the people of Shaanxi."

"Haha," Danchu smiled and said meaningfully, "From now on, we must always remember the friendship between fellow townsmen, keep in touch with each other, and support each other when encountering problems."

Most of the Dongxun generals were from Henan. Li Chengdong was born in a Ningxia Weijun household in Shaanxi. After surrendering to the Ming Dynasty, he was stationed in Kaifeng. He performed outstandingly in the Battle of Kaifeng, and most of his generals were former Kaifeng soldiers. Comrades fought side by side during the war, and the friendship was different, enough to surpass hometown friendship.

Ma Bao surrendered to Li Chengdong after the fall of the Ming Dynasty. Although he was from the same hometown as Shaanxi, he was not a direct descendant of Li Chengdong and never helped in the Battle of Kaifeng. After Li Chengdong's death, although Ma Bao was brave, he mixed in with Ji Dongxun and could never stand out.

He thought highly of himself and sighed, "The military strength of the Shaanxi people is no less than that of the Liao people. The strongest Shaanxi army today is naturally the Western Army. The Shun Army has declined greatly since the death of Zicheng. The Zhongzheng Battalion was once strong, but it has been declining day by day. Marshal Jue's Red Army is a rising star, but it has already surpassed the Zhongzheng Battalion."

During the Ming Dynasty, Shaanxi was an important border town. In addition to setting up a province in Shaanxi, the imperial court also set up the Shaanxi Xingdusi to the west of Shaanxi to guard the Hexi Corridor. The Shaanxi army fought against the Mongolian cavalry for many years and was the elite of the Ming Dynasty's border troops. The peasant armies of Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong, etc. also rose in Shaanxi, and most of the backbones of the army were border troops and border residents. By the end of the Ming Dynasty, the number of famous generals from Shaanxi was comparable to that of the Liao people.

If Danchu's prestige is sufficient, if the Red Army is strong enough, if the military government's territory is large enough, and if the generals of Shaanxi can be integrated, the conquest of the world will be assured. However, this matter is a long and arduous task, and we have to proceed step by step. "Chengbi is too kind. We are all from Shaanxi, and we have traveled thousands of miles just to resist the invaders. If the Red Army can take on this great responsibility, we will be determined to resist the invaders and will never dare to have the slightest selfish motive."

"Marshal Jue is sincere, even Bao is not as sincere as him." After finishing the polite words, Ma Bao asked mysteriously: "Marshal Jue, do you know that a big battle was fought in the north of Guangzhou a few days ago?"

"Yes, I've heard of it." Danchu said calmly, "On the sixth day of March, Shang Kexi led his troops to the northern suburbs of Guangzhou and sent people to persuade Du Yonghe to surrender, but was sternly rejected. On the morning of the ninth day, the Tartars carried ladders to attack the northern city of Guangzhou. Du Yonghe fought tenaciously and the Tartars were defeated and returned."

If Guangzhou is safe, Wuzhou will be safe for the time being. People's hearts will gradually settle down, and the matter of going east to aid Guangdong can be postponed.

"In your opinion, can Du Yonghe defend Guangzhou?"

"We will definitely not be able to defend it." Dan Chu's tone was firm, without a doubt, which made Ma Bao quite puzzled.

He looked at Ma Bao and said, "I heard that after the emperor fled Zhaoqing, Du Yonghe panicked and fled Guangzhou. He prepared a boat in Xinhui and was ready to flee to Qiongzhou. When my brother Li Yuanyin learned about it, he rode a horse to question him, and Du Yonghe gave up and returned to Guangzhou to defend the city. Did Chengbi know about this?"

Ma Bao was shocked that Cen Danchu had such a clear grasp of the scandal within Dongxun. He had heard that the Red Army Intelligence Bureau was omnipresent, and it really lived up to its reputation.

"I dare not hide it from you, Marshal. It is true." Ma Bao looked a little embarrassed and said no more.

Danchu said: "Dongxun won a victory in the north of the city, but it was because the Tartars came from afar and attacked the city in a hurry without adequate preparation. It was called a great victory, but in fact, not many enemies were killed. The Tartars camped calmly in the north of Guangzhou and their strength was not greatly weakened. Once the Tartars transported the red cannon, Guangzhou would be in danger.

"Du Yonghe was the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi and had the responsibility to defend the city, but he was passive in defense and only set up defenses in Guangzhou, hoping for rescue from the various towns. However, the various towns in Dongxun were not active in reinforcing Guangzhou.

"Although Li Yuanyin is the adopted son of the King of Ningxia, he has no direct troops. It is difficult to expect him to lead the various towns to aid Guangdong. Hao Shangjiu and Huang Yingjie are stationed in Chaozhou and Huizhou respectively, and Zhu Chenggong is eyeing them covetously. Hao, Huang and others are busy with their own affairs, let alone aiding Guangdong.

"Chengbi, you are General Dongxun, you must recognize the situation and plan for the long term."

Zhu Chenggong had many naval forces under his command, monopolized maritime trade, and amassed countless wealth. However, he lacked territory, only the tiny areas of Kinmen and Xiamen, and had many soldiers but little food, so the food shortage was very serious.

This man was very strict in managing the army, but he was not a talented commander, and he had neither strategic vision nor a sense of the overall situation. After the Qing army invaded Guangdong, Zhu Chenggong wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to take advantage of the situation and seize Chaozhou and Huizhou adjacent to Fujian to completely solve the problem of food shortage for the navy.

Ma Bao was not very knowledgeable, but after hearing Danchu's comments, he was deeply touched and said, "Marshal Jue's insight is really like a revelation, it makes me suddenly enlightened."

Danchu smiled and said, "I love to meet heroes the most in my life. This time I am going east to aid Guangdong, and I am able to fight side by side with Chengbi and become comrades in arms. That is enough."

After that, Danchu clapped his hands, and his personal soldiers brought ten Dinglu rifles, saying: "This is a sharp weapon of the Red Army, and it has never been passed on to outsiders. Chengbi is one of us, so I will give you ten rifles first as a token of friendship."

Ma Bao was overjoyed, stroking the shiny black barrel, and praised: "I have heard that the Red Army's magic gun is invincible. Today I see this thing, and it is indeed worthy of its reputation."

There was a gun but no bullets. Perhaps it was Danchu's negligence, perhaps it was for safety reasons, or perhaps it was intentional. Ma Bao was immersed in the joy of getting the gun and did not pay attention to it.

He has sensed Cen Danchu's intention to win him over, and decided to return the favor. He will send someone to give him a gift in return tomorrow to show his intention to make friends with him.

(End of this chapter)