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

Chapter 315: Victory in the First Battle
On the 23rd, Cen Danchu led the personal soldiers of Huben Town to rush to Luoding Prefecture. The road along the way was all mountain trails, which was inconvenient to march. Fortunately, the two places were about 100 miles apart, and Huben Town had many cavalry, so they could reach Luoding on the same day with a normal march.

The Qing army did not dare to attack Cenxi via the mountainous route, but they set up defenses along the way at Tibin Town and Jintanling. The defenders were few in number and unable to stop the Red Army, but they slowed down the Red Army's advance.

When the Red Army rushed out of the mountain road and entered the Luodingzhou Plain, it was getting dark. The Qing army sent troops to harass them, and there was a melee between the two sides, with both sides suffering losses.

The troops that dare to fight at night are not all elite, but at least they are not weak. Danchu vaguely felt that the Red Army would have a fierce battle in Luodingzhou. Maybe this would be the place where the two armies would fight a decisive battle.

Battlefield intuition is something that depends on experience as well as talent. Cen Danchu has traveled through time for five years, winning every battle, and rising from a boy soldier to a prince. He has a sense of confidence that his destiny is in his hands. His keen battlefield intuition, as if born with him, helped him rise quickly in the brutal Ming-Qing war.

The Red Army set up camp on the spot, with scouts, reconnaissance officers and soldiers coming in and out, and the situation on the battlefield gradually became clear.

The Imperial Guards' Camp was about 20 li away from the city. The Imperial Guards', Cavalry's, and Artillery's Battalions had all arrived. The Auxiliary Battalions were not far away either and would arrive in an hour.

That's 12,000 troops, of which about 8,000 are combat troops. In an emergency, 4,000 auxiliary troops can also join the battle. After all, they are auxiliary troops of the personal soldiers, and their combat effectiveness is not weaker than that of the infantry combat troops.

In the next two days, 10,000 auxiliary troops will arrive one after another, including engineers, pontoon soldiers, and baggage soldiers, who are necessary for sieges and protracted wars.

The nearest reinforcement is the cavalry battalion of the second infantry regiment, which has about 2,000 men and can reach Luoding within two days. The fourth brigade of the second infantry regiment, with 15,000 men and horses, is in Zhaoping. It will first go down the Guijiang River to Wuzhou, and then march quickly to reach Luoding within four days. The second brigade of the second regiment is in Xunzhou, with about 15,000 men and horses. It is the general reserve. It will first go down the Xunjiang River to Wuzhou, and then march quickly to reach Luoding within six days.

With this calculation, the Red Army could indeed launch a decisive battle with the Qing Army in Luoding.

The Qing army was closer to Luoding, and the main force on the northern line could be moved to Luoding at any time. However, the northern battlefield included the Xijiang waterway, which was the most convenient passage from western Guangdong to Guangzhou. The Qing army had to maintain the necessary forces on the northern line to prevent the Red Army from going down the Xijiang River.

In fact, both armies had to deploy heavy troops along the Xijiang River. If the Red Army wanted to protect Wuzhou, it had to protect Fengchuan. If the Qing Army wanted to protect Zhaoqing, it had to protect Deqing. Wuzhou, Fengchuan, Deqing, and Zhaoqing were all built along the Xijiang River. There were many canyons along the way, which made it difficult to deploy troops and was not conducive to large-scale combat.

The next day, the Red Army moved eastward. In less than an hour, the west tower of Luoding Prefecture was already in sight.

Luodingzhou City was built on the east bank of Longshui (now Luoding River). During the Ming Dynasty, a garrison was built here, called Longshui Suo, which was governed in the same city as the prefecture.

The water of Longshui is shallow, and there was already a Qing army lined up with its back to the water. Judging from their flags, it was exactly the Jingnan vassal army of Geng Zhongming.

"Reporting to the Lord, there are about 3,000 Tatars from the Jingnan Clan ahead, and they are lined up two miles in front of our army."

There were about 2,500 veterans in Dongjiang Town of Jingnan Fan. In order to capture eastern Guangdong, they were ordered by the Qing court to expand to 10,000 people, divided into the left camp, right camp, central army, front camp, and rear camp. These 10,000 troops were either veterans of Dongjiang Town or green camps and strong warriors from various places, and their combat effectiveness was quite impressive.

Shang Kexi and Geng Jimao entered eastern Guangdong, recruiting soldiers along the way, and the Jingnan vassal's troops expanded to more than 20,000 people.

"Who is the leader?"

"The banner they are flying is the Right Wing General Company, so it should be the Jingnan Fan Company that succeeded."

Lian Decheng was an old general of Dongjiang Town and had followed Geng Zhongming for many years. Although he was not a famous general, he was mature and prudent and had experienced many battles.

"Any news about Bashan and Geng Jimao?"

"Not yet."

Danchu personally went to the nearby area for reconnaissance and saw that the Qing army was wearing bright armor and was in a very neat formation, which seemed different from the last year when they fought with the Jingnan vassal. The Qing army paid generous salaries and implemented a strategy of elite troops. Even the Green Camp soldiers raised by stepmothers did not have many personnel, but they had a high rate of wearing armor. The Jingnan vassal had expanded to more than 20,000 troops. It was not that they would accept everyone, but that they would dismiss the old and weak and retain the elite, so they were more elite than the general Green Camp.

The people around him were very optimistic and said, "The Tartars have only 3,000 men and horses, yet they dare to line up their troops with their backs to the water. They are really trying to stop a chariot with a mantis arm."

"No," Danchu judged, "Lian Decheng is the general of the right wing of the Jingnan Clan. He has 3,000 soldiers to fight against our elite Red Army. His intention is not to fight to the death, but to test our strength. Our army will go straight to Luoding. It is better to fight quickly and win the first battle to boost morale. Send an order, the personal soldiers will fight in the front, and the cavalry will bypass the enemy and try to annihilate Lian Decheng in one fell swoop."

Danchu used a sledgehammer to overkill, sending his elite troops to the battle. The Red Army attached great importance to the first battle, and if they could win the first battle, it would have a great impact on the subsequent battles.

The Qing army built three camps on the west bank of Longshui River as the first line of defense for the city. Logically speaking, there were food and supplies in the camps, which should not be abandoned lightly. Even if the Qing army was defeated, they should retreat into the camps and defend themselves.

But as soon as the battle started, the Red Army's dense bullets stunned the Jingnan soldiers. Lian Decheng reacted quickly, knowing that he was facing the elite of the Red Army, and immediately led his troops to retreat.

In less than half an hour, the battle was over and the Qing army was defeated.

"Lord, the Tartars are vulnerable. We killed more than 200 of them and captured more than 100."

Zhou Yiming, the commander of the personal guards, was very excited and rushed back to report the battle results. The former commander Yuan Ping was promoted to deputy commander of the infantry brigade, and Zhou Yiming succeeded him as commander. He was young and promising, and was highly trusted by Danchu, like a rising star in the army.

Including the cavalry flag, the Red Army captured and killed more than 600 people in the first battle, which can be said to be a great victory.

This battle did not completely wipe out the Qing army, or annihilate most of the Qing army, and failed to meet Danchu's expectations. He smiled, with a hint of disappointment on his face, and said, "Yiming, what is the first principle for our Red Army to fight?"

"Destroy the enemy's effective forces!"

"What does it mean to destroy the enemy's manpower?"

"It's called beheading, it's called capturing, it's called disability, it's called serious injury."

"We failed to destroy a large number of the enemy's manpower in this battle. What can we do?"

"Cross the river, call on the righteous army, persuade the surrendered troops to revolt, and use 100% artillery fire to break through the city wall."

"If the Tartars come in large numbers to support us, and our army continues to attack Luoding but fails, what shall we do?"

"Uh..." Zhou Yiming was a bit clumsy, but he quickly regained his confidence and said, "We should hold on under the city and wait for the main force of the infantry to follow up, and then we will have a decisive battle with the Tartars!"

"Yeah." Danchu didn't comment and looked around subconsciously.

The battlefield was in a mess. Although it was only a small-scale battle, it left behind a lot of clothes, armor and corpses. In the distance, the Qing army camp was on fire, and thick black smoke rose. The defenders crossed the Longshui River and fled back to Luoding City.

At some point, the sun had already disappeared into the clouds, and the weather had turned from sunny to cloudy. Was it going to rain? Rain was not conducive to fighting, and would delay the battle, which was disadvantageous to the Red Army.

Danchu resolutely ordered: "Cross the river immediately, and the artillery standard will be ready to bombard the south gate of Luoding Prefecture."

(End of this chapter)