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

Chapter 329: Iron Barrel Siege
On the 25th, the day after Zhaoqing City was captured, Cen Danchu immediately led the Huben Town downstream to join the First Town to besiege Guangzhou.

On the morning of the 27th, Wei Guosong, the commander of the First Town, asked for an audience. He was in high spirits, and when he saw Danchu, he gave a standard military salute and said with a smile: "My Lord, the First Town arrived in Guangzhou before Huben Town."

"Damn it," Danchu cursed with a smile, "Hu Ben Town was fighting hard with the Tartars on the northern front, and you took advantage of it."

Wei Guosong was a very senior member of the Red Army and had a close relationship with Danchu, so close that they could joke with each other. He said, "Zhizhen dare not take the initiative, so he is waiting for the king at the foot of Guangzhou City, asking the king to take charge of the major plan."

"Well, let's not rush to fight. Our army's primary mission is not to capture cities, but to continue to eliminate the Tartars." Danchu stopped smiling and said, "Geng Jimao led the remnants of the Jingnan Clan to flee to Nanxiong, so let's ignore him for now. The main force of the Tartars is in Guangzhou, so we must concentrate our forces to eliminate the enemy in Guangzhou. When the Nanyang Fleet and the main force of the Second Regiment arrive, we will surround Guangzhou like an iron barrel and then launch a general attack."

The navigation of ships depends on wind power. The monsoon is not strong now, and the Nanyang Fleet is moving slowly. The Red Army mainly relies on Wang Xing's navy at the mouth of the Pearl River, and the blockade of the waterway is not strict.

Without waiting for Danchu to ask, Wei Guosong said, "Shang Kexi retreated all the way to Gaoming, but failed to cross the West River to the north. He had to turn east, pass Jiujiangkou and Foshan, cross the West River and the Pearl River in turn, and retreat into Guangzhou. These days, Wang Xing led the navy to harass everywhere, and the Qing army suffered terribly. It was not until the day before yesterday that they all crossed the Pearl River."

Wei Guosong received great help from Wang Xing. The Red Army in the south marched thousands of miles, setting up boat bridges, camping at night, accommodating the wounded, and looking for guides, which was very tedious. Wang Xing, the Huben General of Guangning, sent people to greet and guide them, and the Red Army made rapid progress.

Danchu also had contact with Wang Xing and had a good impression of him, so he asked, "Is Wang Xing also a great general?"

Recommending talents has always been the privilege of senior officials. Wei Guosong knew the importance of this and carefully considered his words, saying, "Wang Xing may not be good at field battles, but he definitely has a talent for defense."

The Red Army can be simply divided into combat troops, defense troops, and militia. Militia soldiers are not retired, so there is no need to explain more. Combat troops are field forces, and defense troops are garrison forces.

Danchu had an idea in mind. Soon after he pacified Guangdong, he would have to set up the Guangdong Garrison. It would be too high to give Wang Xing the title of assistant commander, and too low to give him the title of flag commander. It would be better to give him the title of deputy assistant commander.

"What did Fan Chengen say?"

Fan Chengen was originally a general of the Eastern Army, and had always been at odds with Du Yonghe, the governor-general of Guangdong and Guangxi. When the Qing army surrounded Guangzhou, Fan Chengen surrendered and opened the west gate to welcome the Qing army, and was the main culprit for the fall of Guangzhou.

"Fan Chengen still had three or four thousand soldiers and horses under his command. He had long been planning to rebel and had repeatedly sent people to surrender. Li Qifeng was deeply concerned about this and transferred him to guard Huizhou. Fan Chengen refused to leave and stayed in the city. Li Qifeng did not dare to use force, nor did he dare to let him guard the city, so he ordered him to stay in the parade ground and wait for orders."

The Qing army asked Fan Chengen to stand by, and the Red Army also asked him to stand by. Fan Chengen had become a key figure in the battle of Guangzhou.

"I wonder if Shang Kexi will harm Fan Chengen after entering Guangzhou?"

"Shang Kexi has just arrived in Guangzhou, so he may not dare to kill people."

"If he dares to kill Fan Chengen, he will be cutting off his own escape route."

While the two were discussing, Ma Xiong came to see them. Ma Xiong was originally the deputy general of Dingnan, and he rebelled in Huizhou and blocked the Qing army's escape to Fujian.

Danchu was summoned immediately. Soon, a middle-aged general in his thirties entered the central army tent. He was tall and strong with a thick beard. He bowed to Danchu and said, "I am Ma Xiong, and I am here to see the king."

"Please get up, please get up."

"I am late anyway, please forgive me, Your Majesty."

"No problem. Jiaolin has repeatedly mentioned you, saying that you are brave and good at fighting, and that you are braver than ten thousand men. Today, I saw that you are strong and handsome, and I know that what Jiaolin said is true. You and your son are both the commanders of the Red Army's infantry, which is unprecedented in the Red Army and is enough to be passed down as a good story." "The king has shown mercy and let bygones be bygones. My father and I are grateful and will swear to be loyal to the king until death."

After the greetings, Ma Xiong offered a suggestion: "Shang Kexi has just retreated to Guangzhou and has not yet established a firm foothold. If the king is willing, I can lead the troops to help and try to capture Guangzhou in one fell swoop."

Instead of transferring Ma Xiong to Guangzhou, it would be better to let him continue to guard Huizhou, firstly to block Shang Kexi's retreat route, and secondly to echo Hao Shangjiu in Chaozhou.

"No," Danchu said decisively, "Our goal is not to seize Guangzhou, but to annihilate the Tartars. The battle of Guangzhou this time is the same as the battle of Zhaoqing. The Red Army will surround the city with an iron barrel, and try not to let a single Tartar escape."

The battle of Zhaoqing had not yet been completely concluded, and the Red Army could not gather in Guangzhou in a short time. The Operations Bureau estimated that it would take at least six days for the Second Regiment and the main force of the Nanyang Fleet to arrive in Guangzhou and participate in the siege.

"Then, should I still guard Huizhou?" Ma Xiong asked, a little disappointed.

"Well," Danchu hesitated for a moment and said, "I'll let Huang Yingjie guard Huizhou, and you lead your troops to attack Zengcheng."

Huang Yingjie, the Earl of Fenghua, and Hao Shangjiu, the Earl of Xintai, were both former generals of the Dongxun Army. They surrendered to the Qing Army first and then to the Red Army. Huang Yingjie's troops were average in combat effectiveness, and most of their soldiers were ordinary people, not as elite as Ma Xiong's troops.

As for Zengcheng County, it belongs to Guangzhou Prefecture and borders Huizhou. The coastal areas of eastern Guangdong are mostly plains, and there is a post road running through the province, connecting Fujian and Guangxi. Zengcheng is located on the post road. If the Qing army wanted to escape to Fujian by land, Zengcheng was the only way.

If Ma Xiong could capture Zengcheng, he could further threaten the Qing army in Guangzhou. He was delighted to see the prey and said, "Don't worry, my lord. I will definitely fulfill my mission."

He was about to say goodbye, but Danchu asked him to stay, "Don't leave so quickly. I'll host a banquet for you at noon."

"Military affairs are urgent. I want to rush back to Huizhou immediately to arrange for the siege."

Ma Xiong had been in battle for a long time and had already started to calculate silently. Guangzhou was more than 200 miles away from Huizhou. It would take at least a day and a night for a messenger to ride a fast horse from Guangzhou to Huizhou. Huizhou was 120 miles away from Zengcheng, and the troops would take at least two days to walk. With this calculation, it would take at least three days for his troops to reach Zengcheng.

"No hurry, no hurry." Danchu said with a smile: "After Huizhou became Zengcheng, Zengcheng will not be so important with Huizhou around."

In front of Ma Xiong, Operations Director He Zhaoji began to introduce the Guangzhou city defense situation.

The Qing army in Guangzhou was already in a desperate situation, and Shang Kexi had few options if he wanted to break out.

There is no need to think about the water route. The Qing army has limited warships and cannot carry many troops. The Qing army has four naval commanders, namely Wu Liuqi, Suli, Xu Long, and Gai Yipeng. Wu Liuqi returned to Haifeng to support his old nest. Suli and Xu Long were both pirates and were fickle. Only Gai Yipeng was born in Pingnan Fan, but most of his subordinates were newly recruited and their combat effectiveness was quite average.

If they went by land, they could only break out from Qingyuan, Conghua, and Zengcheng. The Chu division had already occupied Qingyuan, and in order to reinforce the Qingyuan defense line, Danchu asked Jiao Lian to stay in Qingyuan. Zengcheng didn't need to be a concern, the real concern was Conghua.

As the Red Army entered Guangdong in large numbers, the anti-Qing righteous forces in various places became more active. In Chaozhou alone, there were Huang Hairu from Chenghai and Liu Gongxian from Jieyang, whose forces were quite powerful. Liu Gongxian, in particular, was a Hakka who had nine generals under his command, known as the "Nine Armies". The righteous forces provided assistance, and they could launch a general attack as soon as the main force of the Red Army arrived in Guangzhou.

After a quick calculation, the Red Army had been at war for nearly two months, and most of its food and grass had been consumed. After taking Guangzhou, all parts of eastern Guangdong would certainly compete to oppose it, and the food and grass problem would be greatly alleviated.

"It's time to close the net," Danchu said, "Send the order, send Ma Bao to attack Conghua and cut off the Tartars' retreat."

(End of this chapter)