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

Chapter 286 Conquering Hongshaao

This infiltration was crucial, so the Red Army found three fellow villagers to serve as guides. Danchu also talked to them to show his respect.

The guides were three familiar Yao people. When they saw Dan Chu sitting on a chair surrounded by generals, they knew that he was of extraordinary status and knelt down with a plop.

Judging from their appearance, they seemed quite honest. The Intelligence Bureau sent the best soldiers to the front line, and since they were chosen as guides, there would be no problems.

Danchu asked knowingly, "Three fellow villagers, please stand up. I heard that there is a small path on the right mountain that can lead to the back of the Tartars?"

The guide in the middle seemed to have seen the world and looked quite calm. He replied, "To answer the question of the great commander, the mountain on the right is called Leipi Ridge. It is long from north to south and narrow from east to west. It stretches eastward all the way to the Li River. We make a living by cutting wood and burning charcoal, so we are familiar with the conditions on the mountain. There are many small paths on it, and one of them leads to the back of Hongshaao."

"Well," Danchu groaned in silence, then asked, "How long will it take to get through?"

"At the fastest, it will take an hour. At the slowest, it will take an hour and a half."

Fortunately, it won't delay the war. Danchu winked at the guard beside him. The guard took out three ingots of silver, each weighing about five taels, and said, "The commander-in-chief will reward each of you with five taels of silver. I hope you will lead the way well."

The guide showed a look of joy in his eyes, and wanted to take it but didn't dare to.

Danchu smiled and said, "You are brave enough to serve as guides, so you are the heroes of the Red Army. After the mission is accomplished, you will be rewarded."

The Yao guides took the silver and were no longer afraid. The middle guide kowtowed again and said, "Thank you for your reward, Marshal. The Tartars captured all the people and forced them to dig trenches, cut wood, and cut bamboo for them. If the people did not obey, they would be accused of collaborating with bandits and killed without mercy. My younger brother was captured by the Tartars and built a wooden city for them. He died of exhaustion and illness, and his body was not found. I dare not ask for a reward, but only ask the Heavenly Army to kill all the Tartars and vent our anger!"

The Qing army of Dingnan traveled thousands of miles to fight in the south. After entering Guangxi, they captured cities and were extremely brutal.

The Luoqing River Valley is an important transportation route between Guilin and Liuzhou. The Qing army robbed food and captured civilians, causing unrest wherever they passed. The Red Army did the opposite, preparing dry food and not disturbing the people.

The superiority of the two armies was immediately apparent, and the people overwhelmingly supported the Red Army.

Cen Danchu intended to intimidate the Qing army and said, "Don't worry, once we capture Hongshaao, we will not leave any of the Tartars alive."

Around the early afternoon, the setting sun was blocked by the mountains from time to time, and the mountain path was steep and quite dark. The mountains here were high and the forests were dense, wild animals were rampant, and few people were present.

If it weren't for the need to make a living, who would come here to burn charcoal? If it weren't for the charcoal burners, who would know this secret passage?
Zhou Yiming and two hundred warriors had been walking on the mountain trail for an hour. They were all soldiers from the first battalion of the imperial guards, most of them were from Guangxi, and they had climbed mountains and crossed streams since childhood, so they walked as if they were on flat ground.

"Fellow countryman, how long will it take?" Zhou Yiming asked anxiously. The army in the rear was not advancing, and if they were counting on them to attack the Qing army's flank, they could not afford to delay too much.

"It will take at most a quarter of an hour." The fellow villager said confidently, "The Red Army is really great. You can walk very fast on such a steep mountain path. We are used to walking on mountains, but we can't walk as fast as you."

The commander of the first battalion laughed and said, "I'm not bragging to you. Our battalion is the most elite unit of the Red Army, and our battalion is the most elite unit in the battalion. When others practice marching, they only carry bedding, weapons, and dry food. When our battalion practices marching, we are not allowed to wear shoes. In addition to carrying bedding, weapons, and dry food, we also have to tie sandbags on our legs. After a long time, our leg bones are strong and we can walk on the mountain roads as if they were flat ground."

The guide was amazed and sighed, "No wonder the Red Army always wins battles. They train so hard, so dealing with the Tartars shouldn't be a piece of cake for them."

After turning a corner, the group began to walk downhill to the north. Soon, the Luoqing River was vaguely visible, and the sound of gurgling water seemed to be heard in the distance.

"Bannerman, look, this is the Tartar flag." The flag officer had good eyesight and was the first to spot the Tartar flag.

Zhou Yiming remained calm, walked to a huge rock, took out a telescope and looked, and indeed saw the Qing army camp.

The Red Army successively captured Luzhai and Huangmian, cutting off information and keeping the Qing army in the dark. It was not until the Red Army attacked Huangshaao that the Qing army woke up from their dream and hastily organized a defense.

Huangsha'ao has a special terrain, and the Qing army's defense is strong enough to stop the Red Army. However, the Qing army came from afar, and the camp at Hongsha'ao was set up in a hurry, a typical case of focusing on the front and not the back. There were trenches, suspension bridges, cannons and other defensive facilities on the front, but not only were there no cannons, but there were no trenches dug at the back. There was only a camp gate and a wooden wall made of solid wood.

Due to the fighting on the front line, the Qing army's grain ships were unable to move downstream and were all anchored on the river behind Huangshaao. The scene was quite chaotic.

"Gather the troops, prepare your weapons, put on your rattan armor, and prepare to engage the enemy."

"promise."

The two hundred soldiers were delighted to hear about the battle. They passed on the order and took out their weapons and ammunition. There were many grain ships parked on the river, which was a pleasant surprise. Zhou Yiming immediately adjusted the order and said, "Captain of the First Battalion, you take 40 soldiers and set fire to the grain ships. The rest of you, follow me to attack the wooden city. Be careful, don't install the bayonet yet. It won't be too late to install the bayonet when you are about to engage the enemy."

The bayonet will affect the accuracy of the musket, and when troops charge with bayonets, they may easily injure their comrades by mistake.

The battalion commander refused to accept the decision and said, "Biaotai, I will lead the troops to attack the city. Please go and burn the wooden boats."

"No, this is a military order. You must not disobey my order."

The battalion commander had no choice but to gather forty soldiers and prepare firewood and other items.

The Qing army was poorly prepared, with its main force on the southern wing of the camp to guard against the Red Army, and only a few guards on the northern wing. Due to the accumulation of grain ships, a large number of baggage soldiers and civilians gathered on the riverside outside the north city.

At this distance, it was unrealistic to rush directly into the wooden city. Zhou Yiming took a quick look at the situation and made a quick judgment. He seemed to be born for war, with a great talent for tactical command, decisiveness, and clear orders. He would become a great man in the future.

"Form a stacked formation. I will lead the left wing, and the deputy battalion commander will lead the right wing." Zhou Yiming did not rush to the Qing army camp in a swarm, but formed a battle formation as usual. On the battlefield, discipline is crucial. A calm and orderly advance is often better than a swarm of charges.

"Go to battle!" Zhou Yiming gave an order, and the Red Army emerged from the bushes. The battalion commander led 40 warriors straight to the river, and Zhou Yiming led the rest of the people and quickly formed a battle array on the mountain road.

One hundred and sixty soldiers were divided into two wings, with two rows on each wing and forty riflemen in each row, with a width of only about twenty-five steps. They stepped forward quickly at the sound of whistles and headed straight for the wooden city gate.

The Qing army was stunned for a moment, not knowing where this Red Army came from. Soon, bells and drums rang from the watchtower, and the sentry shouted: "The Red Army is coming! The Red Army is coming!"

A scattered group of cavalry rushed out of the city and hastily fought to buy time for the defenders in the city. They didn't even wear armor, and were obviously unprepared, not expecting the Red Army to fall from the sky.

"Stand still! Put on the bayonet!" Zhou Yiming responded quickly and gave the order calmly.

The soldiers were all elite. They were not afraid of the enemy cavalry. They quickly attached their bayonets, then tightened their formation and marched forward to fight against the Qing cavalry.

A battalion commander and another 40 cavalrymen had already rushed to the bank of the Luoqing River. The Qing army's baggage soldiers were scattered, and several grain ships gradually caught fire.

The Red Army opened fire, and the Qing cavalry was thrown to the ground. The situation was urgent, and they rushed over under the Red Army's bullets, but before they could get through, most of the men and horses had fallen. A few people managed to avoid the bullets and tried to break through the Red Army's horizontal formation.

The Red Army fought hard and used bayonets to meet the enemy without losing the upper hand.

The Qing cavalry retreated, with one part escaping back to Mucheng and the other part fleeing northward.

It was almost evening, the sun was setting in the mountains, and the valley road was very dark. A fire broke out on the grain ship, and thick smoke was billowing over the Luoqing River, which was shocking to see.

Outside the south city, the Red Army saw the thick smoke and realized that Zhou Yiming had succeeded, so they launched another fierce attack.

The Qing army was so nervous that they didn't know how many Red Army soldiers had come. They were divided into the southern and northern parts of the city. The northern part of the city had no cannons or trenches, only a wooden wall as high as a person. The defenders leaned against the wooden wall and shot arrows outward.

The Red Army quickly attacked the wooden wall with bows and arrows. Zhou Yiming made up his mind and shouted, "Brothers, follow me and charge into the city in a pyramid formation."

A soldier had already squatted down, arched his back, and formed a human ladder. Zhou Yiming was not afraid at all, he stepped on the soldier's back, holding the gun in one hand and leaning against the wall with the other.

With a "bang", Zhou Yiming felt pain on his back, and was hit by a flail. He was furious and climbed over the wooden wall, and saw a pigtail soldier holding a flail.

"The Red Army is coming! Surrender and you won't be killed! The Red Army is coming! Surrender and you won't be killed!" Zhou Yiming shouted while raising his gun and stabbing the Qing soldier to death with one blow.

More and more Red Army soldiers attacked the wooden city and set fire everywhere. The defenders were few in number, panicked, and unwilling to fight, and gradually collapsed.

Soon, some soldiers opened the north gate and fled. The Qing army was defeated and the Red Army successfully captured Hongshaao.

(End of this chapter)