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

Chapter 311: The Dashi Army Heads to Sichuan and Lakes

On the first day of February, Cen Danchu was still in Guilin, urging the Red Army to speed up its reorganization. Intelligence showed that the Qing army was gathering troops and collecting food and fodder, and would soon launch a large-scale attack on western Guangdong.

The Red Army originally planned to complete the reorganization by the end of February, but had to speed up the process. The First and Third Infantry Regiments of the First Regiment were established earlier and involved less reorganization. They were ordered to go forward to resist the Qing army. The First Infantry Regiment went to Wuzhou, and the Third Infantry Regiment went to Leizhou and Yulinzhou.

The Operations Bureau and the Intelligence Bureau were very optimistic, believing that the Qing army could move westward as early as the tenth day of February. Taking into account the resistance along the way and Dongxun's former subordinates, the Qing army could reach Deqing Prefecture and Leizhou as early as the end of February and come into contact with the Red Army.

As luck would have it, the Dashi Army sent Yang Weizhi on a diplomatic mission to the imperial court, and he passed through Guilin on the way. Danchu had an old acquaintance with him, so he hosted a banquet in the camp to entertain him.

"General, I heard that the court wants to confer the title of King of Nanyue on you. Congratulations." After not seeing him for a long time, Yang Weizhi looked much older.

Sun Kewang once sent him as an envoy to the Yongli Dynasty to force him to be crowned the King of Qin. Yang Fuzhi failed to accomplish his mission, but Hu Zhigong got there first and used a fake imperial edict to crown Sun Kewang as the fake King of Qin, which made Sun Kewang very embarrassed. Afterwards, Sun Kewang imprisoned Hu Zhigong and Yang Weizhi, and later executed Hu Zhigong. Yang Fuzhi had a high reputation, so Sun Kewang was afraid to act rashly and released him soon after.

Danchu smiled, led him into the hall, and said, "Jie Weng has left the West Camp and is like a fish in water. It is also a cause for celebration."

The Red Army had already occupied Quanzhou and Yanguan, so it was inconvenient for Sun Kewang to send troops to monitor Yang Fuzhi as he did last time. Yang Fuzhi also wanted to take the opportunity to get rid of Sun Kewang, so he smiled knowingly and said, "I was originally an official of the Ming Dynasty, not an official of the Western Camp, and I should have returned to the court long ago."

After returning to the lobby and sitting down, Cen Danchu dismissed the others and asked, "Is Wang still obsessed with the title of King of Qin?"

"That's right." Yang Weizhi said, "When Hu Zhigong forged the imperial edict to confer the title of King of Qin, Sun Kewang assembled the civil and military forces to hold a ceremony, and the Yunnan army and civilians celebrated for three days, and everyone knew about it. He wanted to confer the title of King of Qin, but he also knew that the ministers opposed it, so he proposed to 'keep the original seal, but ask for an imperial edict.'"

Sun Kewang meant that he still wanted the court to confer the title of King of Qin and give an explanation to the military and civilians in Yunnan. However, the court could issue another imperial edict without using the inappropriate words in the fake edict, such as "father and teacher of the king", "regent", "nine gifts", "prime minister of the court", etc., so that the court could look a little more respectable.

Grand Secretaries Yan Qiheng, Wu Zhenyu, Zhu Tianlin, and the Vice Minister of the Ministry of War Yang Dinghe all strongly opposed the enthronement of Sun Kewang as the King of Qin. Now that the Red Army has recovered western Guangdong, its strength is on par with that of the Dashi Army. The court does not need to rely on the Dashi Army, and it is even less likely to really enthronize Sun Kewang as the King of Qin.

"It is impossible to actually confer the title of King of Qin, and Jie Weng's trip will be fruitless." Danchu said decisively. He himself had just been conferred the title of King of Nanyue, and had not received the imperial edict yet, so naturally he did not want to be ridden over by Sun Kewang.

"Yes, I also know that. I plan to stay in the court and not return to the West Camp."

Yang Weizhi's family were all in Kunming. Abandoning the elderly and children and betraying Sun Kewang would naturally involve great risks.

Danchu sighed and said, "If Jie Weng stayed in the court, he would surely be appointed as a Grand Secretary and serve in the cabinet to assist in government. However, the imperial court is in turmoil and the court officials have different opinions. Jie Weng is constrained when encountering things and may not be able to achieve anything. It is better for him to assist me in the court and deal with the powerful enemy in eastern Guangdong together."

"I will remember the general's kindness. I will make plans after I arrive at the imperial palace and meet the emperor."

The two soon talked about the Dashi Army's achievements in Hunan. Yang Weizhi came from the front line and knew everything about it. He said, "The Dashi Army is very sharp..."

The Dashi Army was very sharp. First, Sun Kewang sent General Feng Shuangli to lead 60,000 troops, including 10,000 cavalry, 50,000 infantry, and more than a dozen war elephants, from Guizhou to Hunan. Feng Shuangli's army went through Tongren and Mayang, Pingxi and Bianshui, and Dasuoluo, and conquered Yuanzhou (now Zhijiang, Hunan). Then, Feng Shuangli moved his troops to Chenzhou.

The Manchu general Xu Yong, the general of Chenchang, was a famous general. He defended very strictly and Feng Shuangli failed to succeed. Shen Yongzhong, the Duke of Xushun, led troops to support and tried his best to support. The two sides gradually reached a stalemate. Sun Kewang could send Li Dingguo to lead 50,000 troops into Hunan, and he himself led the front army to supervise the battle. Li Dingguo and Feng Jiali joined forces and attacked Jingzhou fiercely.

Shen Yongzhong, Duke of Shun of the Manchu Dynasty, sent General Zhang Guozhu to lead 8,000 troops to help, but they were surrounded by the Dashi Army in Jingzhou. The Qing army was defeated, losing more than 5,000 officers and soldiers, more than 800 war horses, including more than 100 Manchu soldiers, and almost the entire army was wiped out.

The Dashi Army seized the opportunity to capture Jingzhou and Wugangzhou, opening the western gate to attack Hunan. Sun Kewang was so proud of himself that he sent Yang Weizhi to the imperial court to force him to be crowned the King of Qin.

Yang Weizhi was very optimistic and said, "Hong Chengchou has not yet arrived in Hunan, and the Tartars have been defeated in successive battles. The Western Camp is expected to sweep Hunan."

"I heard that Kakamu has led the Manchurian troops to the west to aid Hunan?"

Kakamu, a member of the Saharcha clan, was a member of the Bordered Yellow Banner of Manchuria. He was brave and good at fighting. He replaced Bashan as the governor of Jiangning. Now that Hunan was in danger again, the Qing court ordered Kakamu to lead the Eight Banners stationed in Jiangning to reinforce Hunan, and Zhumala, a famous general of the Bordered White Banner, took over as the governor of Jiangning.

"The Manchus have few soldiers and may not be able to turn the tide of the war. The front army has been gathering strength for a long time. Li Dingguo and Feng Shuangli are both famous generals. They should be able to defeat Kakamu. Sun Kewang is also very ambitious and has threatened to go down the river and take Nanjing directly."

"Haha," Danchu smiled and said disapprovingly, "The elite troops of the Dashi Army are all in Hunan, trying to block our way north and fight for the fertile land in the south of the Yangtze River. However, Sun Kewang was too clever and neglected Sichuan.

"Sichuan is certainly not as important as Hunan, but it threatens the Dashi Army's flank. Sun Kewang sent Liu Wenxiu to Sichuan, and he himself went to Hunan to supervise the battle. If Liu Wenxiu fails, the Tartars can sweep across Sichuan and threaten Yunnan and Guizhou."

This? Is it too much to think about? Sun Kewang led his army to attack Hunan, so he had the intention of fighting for Hunan and stopping the Red Army. But Cen Danchu's statement that Liu Wenxiu was not up to the task was perhaps biased.

Liu Wenxiu was as famous as Sun Kewang and Li Dingguo, and they were all adopted sons of Zhang Xianzhong. The Dashi Army had fought in Sichuan before, and Liu Wenxiu was familiar with the situation. Wasn't it more than enough for him to deal with the Qing army in Sichuan?
Yang Weizhi was not in a position to refute, so he changed the subject.

After chatting for a while, Danchu said, "I plan to send an envoy to the West Camp to meet Sun Kewang and Li Dingguo. I heard that these two people are not on good terms with each other, and are even wary of each other. What do you think, Jiefu?"

"They are brothers in name only, but they are enemies in reality. Sun Kewang beat Li Dingguo with a stick in the parade ground, and Dingguo felt deeply resentful. If the general wants to send an envoy, the envoy can only see Sun Kewang, not Li Dingguo, so as to avoid Sun Kewang's suspicion."

"Dingguo is a brave warrior. I have admired him for a long time. The envoy must meet him. I heard that he has a daughter?"

"Yes." Yang Weizhi was suspicious and said, "But this daughter was born to a concubine, so her status is not respected."

"I plan to become a relative of Li Dingguo and let my adopted son Wang Hua marry Dingguo's daughter. What do you think, Mr. Jie?"

"No, no. If we do this, Sun Kewang will definitely be angry." Yang Weizhi blurted out and was about to persuade Cen Danchu, but he suddenly realized it.

(End of this chapter)