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

Chapter 260 North to Sanjiangkou

The Red Army Navy won a great victory, completely wiped out the Red Flag pirates, and the situation in eastern Guangdong improved greatly.

Wu Liuqi led the remnants of his army back to Raoping. The Qing army had almost no warships in the waters near Guangzhou, and the vast rivers allowed the Red Army to roam freely. However, Shang Kexi, who called himself a king, still refused to admit defeat and refused to withdraw his troops from the Guangzhou front. He consolidated his defense line while waiting for reinforcements.

The Qing army continued to deploy troops to the north of Guangzhou City, set up camps in the two wing cities, and maintained a siege. Jinli and Mude were located to the north of Liuxi River, which was related to the safety of the Qing army's rear route, so they should strengthen their defense. In addition, Conghua and Qingyuan counties were related to the Qing army's food supply route and had been attacked by the Qing army, so they also increased their troops for defense.

The Ming army was greatly encouraged, and the various towns finally reached a consensus and decided to counterattack. On May 30, the Ming army divided into two groups and launched a counterattack against the Qing army.

The Northern Army was commanded by Grand Secretary He Wuzuo, who led troops from four garrisons including Duke of Qing Chen Bangfu, Vice Governor Guo Dengdi, Vice Governor Liu Guochang, and Minister of War Ma Jixiang. They set out from Zhaoqing and Sihui, and headed north to capture Qingyuan and Yingde, intending to cut off the enemy's retreat and burn down the enemy's Yingde shipyard.

The Southern Army was commanded by General Cen Danchu, who led troops from four towns, namely, Ma Bao, Earl of Anding, Li Yuanyin, Earl of Nanyang, Chen Qice, the Vice Governor-General, and Wang Xing, Earl of Guangning. They set out from Sanshui and Foshan, and joined forces with Du Yonghe, the Duke of Rui, who was defending Guangzhou, to attack the Qing army outside the city of Guangzhou.

At 7:00 p.m., the southern army moved out one after another. Li Yuanyin led a small army, together with Ma Bao, and set out from Sanshui to attack Jinli and Mude by land. Cen Danchu led the main force, controlled the two armies of Wang Xing and Chen Qice, and set out from Foshan to attack the Qing army north of Guangzhou by water.

The Red Army had already gained control of the river, and ships were able to travel freely on the Pearl River. At noon, Cen Danchu led the main force to the waters of Shamian Island.

There are two tributaries on the right side of Shamian Island, namely Shijing River and Zengbu River. Shijing River is wide and deep, and can be used by sea vessels. Going upstream, you can reach the north of Guangzhou City.

In order to strengthen the defense of Guangzhou, Du Yonghe built wing cities on the two northern wings of the city and stationed troops for defense.

If the Qing army wanted to attack Guangzhou, they had to first conquer Yicheng in the north of the city. To this end, Shang Kexi ordered the construction of a camp east of the Shijing River and bombarded Yicheng with red cannons day and night. To prevent the Red Army's navy, the Qing army built trees as fences at the mouth of the Shijing River, loaded wooden boats with sand and stones, and sank them at the mouth of the Shijing River to block the Red Army's warships. A floating bridge was also built upstream of the Gujingkou to connect the two banks and prevent the Red Army from landing.

The Red Army navy tried to attack the mouth of Shijing River, but found that the Qing army's artillery fire was fierce. The Qing army's red cannons were very powerful and their shooting skills were superb, destroying two Red Army warships.

The Eight Banners of the Han Army were good at using firearms. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, Sun Yuanhua, the governor of Denglai, hired Portuguese and introduced the red cannon technology in all aspects. Kong Youde was in charge of the artillery team for Sun Yuanhua. He not only mastered the cannon casting technology, but also was proficient in using the gun gauge to adjust the shooting angle.

The Intelligence Bureau had already found out that the Qing army only had 27 red cannons on the Guangzhou front. The Conghua cannon foundry had been destroyed, and even if the Qing army rebuilt the cannon factory, they would not be able to find all the craftsmen.

The Qing army was used to using red cannons to break through strong cities, and the existing red cannons they had were far from enough to capture Guangzhou. Shang Kexi could only find a way to mobilize red cannons from Jiangxi or Fujian, which either required crossing Dayuling Mountain or traveling across the ocean, neither of which was a good idea.

There are many water networks near Guangzhou. Since it is difficult to travel through the Shijing River estuary, the Red Army continued to go upstream and landed in the Chenxiangsha area.

At 5 p.m., the main force of the Southern Route Army arrived at the Chenxiangsha waters and forcibly landed on the east bank of the Pearl River. The Qing army tried to stop the Red Army from landing, but without red cannons, they could only sigh at the river.

The Ming army bombarded the Qing army with ship cannons and quickly cleared two landing sites. The Red Army landed on the right wing, and Wang Xingyi's division landed on the left wing. The troops were majestic and stretched for several miles.

Shang Kexi did not dare to be negligent and personally led his troops to block the enemy. He lined up his troops across the Shijing River and did not dare to cross the river easily.

When Cen Danchu received the news, he was not in a hurry and ordered to set up camp calmly, and was not in a hurry to cross the river to fight. The Ming army was fully prepared for the rescue of Guangzhou. It had advantages in numbers and navy, and was adept at deploying troops.

The Qing army lost its navy and its response in various places remained unchanged, which made it quite passive.

On that day, the Ming army landed nearly 10,000 troops on the east bank of the Pearl River and set up camps for three or four miles. The Red Army's personal guards and artillery battalions of 5,000 people landed and built camps overnight. The Qing army tried to attack at night, but was blocked by the Shijing River and only sent a small number of elite troops, which did not affect the overall situation.

The next day, the Ming army did not cross the river, nor did it go south to attack Shijingkou. Instead, it went north to Sanjiangkou, advancing both by land and sea, preparing to attack Dazhou Island.

The three rivers are Liuxi River, Xinanyong River and Baini Waterway. The three rivers converge at Sanjiangkou to form the West Channel, which can reach Guangzhou directly via the two river islands of Chenxiangsha and Shamian.

Dazhou Island is located at the intersection of Baini Waterway and Liuxi River. The Qing navy was not strong enough to block the Sanjiangkou, so they had to settle for the next best thing: setting up artillery on Dazhou Island and setting up wooden fences on both sides of Liuxi River and Baini Waterway, sinking ships, trying to prevent the Ming army from entering Liuxi River.

Liuxi River is a big river, and going upstream leads to Conghua. In addition, the two important towns of Jinli and Mude are both located north of Liuxi River.

If the Red Army captured Dazhou Island, they would have a chance to control Liuxi River and join forces with Li Yuanyin and Ma Bao's troops attacking Jinli and Mude. On the contrary, the Qing army would be separated, and Shang Kexi and Geng Jimao on the Guangzhou front would be threatened, so they would have to withdraw and flee to Conghua.

There are key points in chess, and Dazhou Island is the key point in the Guangzhou battle. Danchu’s use of troops, if not superb, can at least be called handy. The initiative on the battlefield is firmly in hand, making the enemy run around in a hurry.

Dazhou Island was a battleground for both armies. The Qing army had already deployed heavy troops there, equipped with red cannons. Shang Kexi was still worried, so he had to hurry up and personally lead his troops to reinforce. The Qing army was originally fighting on the inner line, but was separated by the Shijing River, so they had to take a long detour to cross the bridge, which was quite embarrassing.

At 5 p.m., the Red Army Navy arrived at Sanjiangkou. The first batch launched the attack first, using the Sanban and Changlong ships, but the ship's guns were too weak and several ships were destroyed by the Qing army's artillery. If they were to attack by force, they would suffer heavy casualties. The fourth and fifth batches then boarded the Guang ships, but the Guang ships also had insufficient firepower and were no match for the shore-based Red Army cannons, and were also defeated.

It was true that the Eight Banners of the Han Army were good at using firearms. The Red Army Navy had just won a great victory, and the officers and soldiers were quite arrogant, but after this failure, they restrained themselves.

The artillery arrived and launched a killer weapon - the Ten-Complete Cannon. The Ten-Complete Cannon is also a red cannon, but it is divided into nine sections and connected together before the battle. The red cannon has always been heavy, weighing several thousand pounds, inconvenient to transport, and cannot be used in the field. The Ten-Complete Cannon can divide the barrel into ten sections, each weighing several hundred pounds, greatly enhancing its mobility.

The artillery battalion was organized into a 100% artillery battalion, with a total of nine 100% artillery pieces. This battle was the first time that the 100% artillery pieces were used in actual combat, and everyone in the artillery battalion was excited. The battalion commander, Governor Ferreira, led the soldiers to transport the artillery pieces to two miles south of Sanjiangkou, where they assembled the artillery pieces.

At 3:00 pm, the nine-gun artillery battalion was ready. Ferreira divided the artillery battalion into two groups, four on the left wing and five on the right wing, separated by 200 steps. The right wing stayed where it was, firing at the Qing army's Dazhou Fort to suppress the enemy's firepower, while the left wing took the opportunity to advance, alternating every 100 steps.

The imperial guards were equipped with Dinglu rifles, mountain-splitting cannons, and sky-rocketing cannons, and they covered the flanks of the 100% artillery battalion. In addition, Wang Xingyi's division of several thousand men advanced along the west bank of the Shijing River, confronting the Qing army across the river.

Shang Kexi led the reinforcements to the east bank of Shijing River. Seeing the powerful Ming army, they did not dare to cross the river to intercept. The Ming army brought nine red-haired cannons, which frightened the Qing army. The red-haired cannons were a magical weapon for attacking strongholds. With these cannons, the Dazhou Fort would be difficult to preserve.

Instead of reinforcing Dazhou, it is better to attack Wei and save Zhao. Shang Kexi made a prompt decision and decided to lead a special force to the south, cross the river from Shijing River, and attack the Ming army camp. Geng Jimao led the reinforcements and continued to reinforce Dazhou.

At 3 p.m., the Red Army's land division approached Dazhou, and both sides used cannons to fire at each other. The Qing army had artillery batteries on Dazhou Island and on both sides of the Liuxi River, but there were only four red cannons, which were deployed in a relatively scattered manner and were at a disadvantage in terms of firepower. The artillery battery on the south bank of the Liuxi River was closest to the Red Army and suffered the most severe artillery fire. In less than a quarter of an hour, the artillery battery was destroyed, and the defenders suffered heavy casualties.

At this time, a scout came on horseback to report: "General, the Tartars crossed the river from Shijingkou and attacked our army from the flank."

The Red Army emphasized "building strong camps and fighting stupid battles" when marching and fighting. They built a camp east of Chenxiangsha and left a thousand soldiers to guard the camp. However, after the land division landed, they piled up a lot of supplies at the camp, so they should have no problem protecting themselves. Wang Xing's volunteer army had average combat effectiveness and was not used to field battles, so they might not be able to stop the Qing army's attack.

Danchu was unmoved and said, "How soldiers are trained is how the war is fought. After we conquer Dazhou, we will return to rescue the old camp."

(End of this chapter)