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

Chapter 274 Besieged on all sides
When Jiao Lian returned to Maoerbao, he saw that the camp outside was well-organized and the security inside was tight, and he finally let go of his worries. A medical officer came over to clean his wounds and apply herbal medicine.

The guards brought wine and food, and Zhao Xing drank with Jiao Lian, saying, "General, it's not that I don't want to send troops to help, it's because the general has other plans..."

There were guards and staff officers in the central army account, so it was inconvenient to disclose secrets. The first battalion was originally brought up by the assistant commander Wei Guosong, and his pedigree was red. Although Zhao Xing was the commander of the first infantry battalion, he was not a direct descendant of the Red Army, so it was inconvenient for him to be alone in a room with Jiao Lian, so as not to arouse suspicion.

"I know that. Someone from Songpo told me." Jiao Lian interrupted him, addressed Cen Danchu by his nickname, and sighed, "I am a military commander. I have already been defeated in Hunan, so how can I not defend my post? If Pingle is lost, Guilin upstream will be alerted, and the imperial court downstream will be uneasy. Alas, I really have no face to face the people of Jiangdong."

"Why do you say that, Marshal? As long as there is green, there will be no shortage of firewood. The general is planning a counterattack against the Tartars, and there will be a big move in the near future. Wouldn't it be great if we could ask Marshal to lead the troops to counterattack then?"

As for what the big move was, Zhao Xing had no idea. This was the core secret of the Red Army at the moment, and Jiao Lian had no way of knowing it.

The war situation was deteriorating. The two men sat in the military camp, feeling powerless and could only look at each other and sigh.

The next day, Wei Guosong, the commander of the First Brigade, rushed to Maoerbao upon hearing the news. He was also a former subordinate of Jiao Lian, and now he was the general of the Red Army's land division, so he knew a lot about the plan.

As soon as they met and exchanged a few pleasantries, Wei Guosong dismissed his attendants and had a secret conversation with Jiao Lian and Zhao Xing only.

"Marshal, I met Qu Changwen in Zhaoping yesterday."

Qu Changwen is the grandson of Qu Shisi. He sailed from Changshu to western Guangdong last year and traveled thousands of miles to meet his grandfather and help him deal with military affairs. He was supposed to be in Guilin, but he appeared in Zhaoping yesterday.

An ominous premonition came to Jiao Lian's mind. Has Guilin fallen?
It shouldn’t be that case yet.

There were many Ming troops around Guilin. In the Yanguan and Lingchuan areas, there were the troops of Zhao Yinxuan, the founding duke, and Hu Yiqing, the defending duke. In the short distance of 100 miles from Lingchuan to Guilin, there were also the troops of Yang Guodong, the Marquis of Wuling, Pu Ying, the Earl of Suining, and Ma Yanglin, the Earl of Ningwu.

Qu Shisi still had his own troops in Guilin. Even if Yanguan was lost, the towns would retreat to Guilin and be able to hold out for a while.

In order to appease the Yunnan army, Qu Shisi "disdainfully sent troops away from the inner circle" and placed his trusted confidant Jiao Lian in Pingle, far away from Guilin. Now that Guilin was in urgent need, Jiao Lian was powerless.

Wei Guosong continued, "The elder sent Changwen to the imperial court to return the imperial seal and resign his title. I heard that the Tartars have already breached Yanguan Pass, and Zhao Yinxuan fled without a fight, abandoning Lingchuan. The troops of various towns were defeated, and Guilin is in imminent danger."

The brave general Hu Yiqing was guarding the pass, but the soldiers were starving due to lack of food and fodder. Hu Yiqing rode to Lingchuan and cried to the commander Zhao Yinxuan, begging for the supply of military pay and food.

Kong Youde learned that the commander of Yanguan Pass was not there, so he sent troops to attack Yanguan Pass fiercely. The Yunnan army was defeated and Yanguan Pass was lost.

From Yanguan to Guilin, the Ming army focused on defense, and troops were deployed along the way. If the towns could hold on, they might be able to counterattack Yanguan and drive the Qing army back to Hunan.

Zhao Yinxuan, as the commander-in-chief of the Yunnan Division, was the first to flee without a fight, abandoning Lingchuan and rushing to Liuzhou and Liping.

The Ming army became even more discouraged and panic-stricken, and they were defeated one after another on the front lines.

Jiao Lian sighed, "The elder returned the imperial seal, which shows that he is ready to die in the city."

"Marshal, the Lord is the one who matters to the whole world, and he is also the father-in-law of the great general. We must find a way to rescue him. I will send someone to Guilin overnight, and I beg you to select a brave general to strengthen our army."

Qu Shisi had a special status and had to be saved. Before that, Cen Danchu and Jiao Lian had sent people to Guilin to persuade him to come, but Qu Shisi was unwilling to leave Guilin.

The situation is tense now, and the Qing army is about to capture Guilin. If you want to save Qu Shisi, you must race against time.

Jiao Lian was full of suspicion and complained: "Since Songpo wants to rescue the elder, why not send troops to defend Guilin? Although there is a rebellion by landlords in the south, it must be too small to send troops. The people are panicking, the soldiers are turbulent, and the governor is suspicious. Does he have to let the Tartars occupy Guilin before he is willing to send troops to help Guilin?" "Marshal Jue is wrong." Although Wei Guosong was an old subordinate of Jiao Lian, he had become Cen Danchu's confidant and directly refuted: "The general is brewing a big plan, and we must strike a fatal blow before we can send troops to the north."

Jiao Lian had no choice but to send Jiao Ke to accompany the Red Army to Guilin to try to persuade Qu Shisi to leave the city.

On the 15th, a group of Ming cavalrymen approached the Wenchang Gate in the south of Guilin. Each cavalryman rode two horses and was well-armored, which was very different from the defeated army. The three leading them were Lu Shouyi, the scout of the Red Army Intelligence Bureau, Yan Wei, the councilor of the military government, and Jiao Ke, the general of Jiao Lian's central army. Their purpose was to rescue Qu Shisi in Guilin.

Wenchang Gate is a main gate, closest to the garrison. But at this moment, the people in the city were fleeing, and the carriages blocked the gate. Lu Shouyi and his party could not get in at all.

The crowd had no choice but to turn their horses around and enter the city through the south gate. There was a moon city built at the south gate, and soldiers were stationed there to guard the city, so the situation must be better.

Sure enough, there were not many people fleeing at the South Gate. Most of them were defeated soldiers of the Ming army, wearing armor, holding sharp swords, and escorting their families to escape.

Most of the families of the Ming army generals were in Guilin city. When the army was defeated on the front line, all the towns rushed to escort their families out of the city.

Lu Shouyi and his companions were extremely alert and rode into the city, but guards came with arrows in hand to stop them.

"Brothers, I am Jiao Ke, the commander of the Central Army of Duke Xuan, and I have been ordered to go to the city to meet with the elders."

Jiao Lian had been stationed in Guilin for a long time and had fought three battles with the Qing army outside the city of Guilin, making him famous. The gatekeeper also knew Jiao Ke, so he stepped forward to salute and said, "The governor is entering the city now, and Guilin is safe."

Jiao Ke smiled bitterly, but said nothing, "I will go into the city to see Lord Qu first, and we will talk another day."

The gatekeeper did not check Jiao Ke's token and let them in. Lu Shouyi and Yan Wei looked at each other in bewilderment, and it was obvious that Guilin's defense was empty and the guards were useless.

When we entered Yuecheng, we saw several sedan chairs and carriages lying on the ground, their boxes and cages had been pried open, and all the valuables had been looted. There were also more than a dozen corpses on the ground, their coats and jewelry had been stripped off. Among them was an old man who had been tortured before his death, with two knives in his chest, and blood was still oozing out.

Yan Wei felt that the man looked familiar and was worried, so he turned back and asked the gatekeeper.

The gatekeeper said lazily with a mocking look on his face: "This is our Grand Secretary Yu Yuanye!"

According to historical records, when the Qing army approached Guilin, Yu Yuanye "fled incognito, and as soon as he arrived in Yuecheng, he was killed by the rebel soldiers."

When they entered the garrison, Qu Shisi was not at home. The housekeeper Qu Gongmei received everyone and said that Qu Shisi had gone to the Jingjiang Palace to ask Zhu Hengxun and his son to flee south.

Without further ado, they turned their horses around again and headed for the Jingjiang Palace. On the way, Qu Gongmei introduced the latest enemy situation, and everyone felt even more depressed.

Zhao Yinyuan abandoned Lingchuan, and the Qing army became even more arrogant. Kong Youde led his army across Lingchuan and passed through the Darong River first. Yang Guodong, the Marquis of Wuling in the Southern Ming Dynasty, set up defenses here and built three camps, which supported each other.

Yang Guodong was the most strict in his military discipline, but he had no money or food. His soldiers were hungry, ragged, and looked like beggars, and the army was not loyal. Yang Guodong knew that his army could not fight, so he built a strong wall and waited for the Qing army to attack.

Unexpectedly, the Qing army directly passed Yang Guodong's camp, crossed the Darong River, and rushed to Gantang Ferry, which was the last line of defense outside Guilin City and was defended by Suining Earl Pu Ying.

Yang Guodong led his troops to attack the Qing army from the flank. Soon after the troops left the camp, they encountered a Qing army detachment. The soldiers were terrified and most of them mutinied and dispersed before the battle.

Pu Ying was not a brave general, and it was impossible for him to defend Gantang Ferry. The army in Guilin was demoralized, and the defenders fled one after another. They were surrounded by enemies on all sides...

(End of this chapter)