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

Chapter 369 Zhu Chenggong Goes North to the Yangtze River

It is not easy to reinforce Li Dingguo.

The Red Army's blockade of Ganzhou became increasingly strict, and the defenders had less and less food and fodder, and even had to kill horses for food.

The famous Manchu general Zhumala was in charge of the city defense and was still trying hard to hold on. With Oboi in Nanchang, the Ganzhou defenders had hope. With hope, Ganzhou could continue to hold on. At worst, they would kill people for food. The Qing army was like beasts, and it was not the first or second time that they ate human flesh.

In order to break the deadlock in Ganzhou, Kuang Shi organized a strong attack. The Second Town selected elite troops and launched a fierce attack from the South Gate and Baisheng Gate in the south of the city. There were also righteous people in the city who responded, and the momentum was quite strong.

However, Ganzhou had a special terrain and strong city defenses, and the Manchu and Mongolian Eight Banners fought desperately. The Second Town failed to capture Ganzhou, but suffered heavy casualties, and the righteous people in the city were also massacred. Kuang Shi decided to continue to intensify the siege and wait until the defenders ran out of food before looking for an opportunity to break the city.

The Red Army had more than 100,000 troops entering Jiangxi. If they failed to capture Ganzhou, they would have difficulty gaining a foothold. Although Nan'an, Ji'an, and Jianchang had surrendered, they were not fundamental and could not be relied upon.

The 15,000 men of the Second Brigade had already left Quanzhou and entered Yongzhou Prefecture in Hunan, threatening the flank of Tunqi. Li Dingguo still had 20,000 former members of the Dashi Army, and his situation in Chenzhou would be greatly improved.

But Tunqi had 100,000 soldiers, including more than 30,000 Eight Banners soldiers. If they wanted to completely resolve the siege of Chenzhou, they had to send Huben Town into Jiangxi to fight elite troops against elite troops. Huben Town could defeat the Manchurian Firearms Battalion in a field battle, so they should have no problem fighting against Tunqi's Eight Banners.

The problem is that Oboi has been eyeing Nanchang. Once the Huben Town leaves Ji'an, Oboi will surely march south to suppress it. Can He Guoju defend Ji'an with the strength of the Second Brigade and the First Brigade of his personal soldiers?
With many questions in mind, Danchu climbed to the top of Ji'an City and took a walk to relieve his worries.

After nearly three months of operation, the city wall of Ji'an was much stronger. In order to prevent the Qing army from attacking the city, He Guoju organized people to build eight artillery batteries on the city wall and set up plum blossom stakes on the main roads outside the city to block the Qing cavalry.

"How long has Huben Town been stationed in Ji'an?" Danchu asked.

Secretary Yang Yunqing counted on his fingers and said, "There are only five days left, and it will be three months."

"Guo Ju, how long have you been the commander of the Second Brigade of the Imperial Guards?"

"Two months plus sixteen days." He Guoju also remembered it very clearly and answered casually.

"I can't believe that the Northern Expedition has turned into a protracted war with only a few major battles." Danchu sighed, "Thanks to the richness of Jiangxi, it is relatively easy to collect food and fodder. Otherwise, the great military advisor would have been ineffective for a long time, and something strange would have happened."

He Guoju was optimistic. He said, "The king has received the mandate of heaven and has great prestige. He forced Chen Tai to death and dealt a heavy blow to the Tartars. Heroes from all directions responded. Except for the isolated city of Ganzhou in southern Jiangxi, the rest of the country has been stained with red. If the Red Army adds the Second Brigade of the Red Guards and the Jiangxi Independent Brigade, wouldn't it have a remarkable record compared to Sun Kewang's front army?"

"Haha," Danchu laughed, "You kid, you've also learned to be smooth-talking."

Everyone laughed heartily. Ho Kwok-kui said with a smile: "It's not that I'm being glib, it's because every word I say is true."

Thinking back to those days, I was filled with emotion. Cen Danchu joined the army as a boy soldier, became famous in one battle, and was promoted to the captain of the standard battalion. At that time, He Guoju was still a captive of the Yao people and could not read a single word. Danchu had a keen eye for talent and used He Guoju as his personal soldier. Five years later, he had become the ruler of Nanyue. He Guoju was used by Jiao Lian in the middle, and took a detour for two years. In the end, he returned to the Red Army and was promoted to the assistant commander.

This kind of comradeship and this kind of gratitude are beyond the reach of ordinary people.
After laughing, Danchu looked much more relaxed. Looking to the north, he seemed to be worried again, walking in front of the others.

He Guoju and Yang Yunqing looked at each other and asked, "When is the king going to move camp westward?"

Going west refers to going west to Hengzhou. Huben Town set out from Ji'an to the west, following the Heshui River, and passing through Yongxin County to enter Chaling Prefecture, the official residence of Huguang. After that, they either headed west to Hengzhou or went south to attack Chenzhou, and the siege of Chenzhou was lifted. This road is more than 500 miles long, with no water transportation and obstacles from mountains. Hunan was devastated, and it was not easy to raise food locally. If Cen Danchu really wanted to lead Huben Town into Hunan, he would undoubtedly bear great risks.

"It depends on Cixing's side." Danchu said: "If Cixing is willing to cross the Yangtze River to attack Nanjing, we can move our camp westward without worry, and either attack Hengzhou or Chenzhou."

He Guoju was relieved. The king did not talk about the food and grass problem, but only talked about Zhu Chenggong, so the food and grass problem must have been solved.

Thinking carefully, it seems that it is not a big deal. If the Red Army really wants to use troops in Huguang, they can go through Yanguan and use Lingqu to transport food and grass, which is quite convenient for water conservancy. Cen Dan initially ordered the Second Brigade to enter Huguang through Yanguan instead of Zhenxiaguan, which obviously had this intention. Zhenxiaguan is closer to Chenzhou. If the supply of food and grass is not considered, it is more convenient to go through Zhenxiaguan to reinforce Li Dingguo.

"After Cixing suffered a setback in Quanzhou, he will surely come to his senses and obey the call of the king to cross the Yangtze River to seize Nanjing." Yang Yunqing said.

In order to cooperate with the Red Army's Northern Expedition to Jiangxi, Cen Danchu wrote to Zheng Chenggong in succession, inviting him to send out his navy to cross the Yangtze River to attack Nanjing.

At that time, Tunqi sent a large army to station in Huguang, Chen Tai led a large army to aid Jiangxi, and the situation on the battlefield in Central and South China was unclear. In order to guard against the Cixing vassal, the Qing army sent Gushan Ezhen Jinli to station in Quanzhou and Fuzhou.

What is certain is that the main forces of the Qing army in the south were concentrated in Huguang, Jiangxi, and Sichuan. The defenses of Nanzhili (today's Jiangsu, Anhui, and Shanghai, known as Jiangnan in the Qing Dynasty) and Zhejiang provinces must have been weak.

Dingxi Marquis Zhang Mingzhen and Military Supervisor Zhang Huangyan strongly suggested that Cixing Fan lead a powerful naval force to march north directly into the Yangtze River and attack Nanjing directly to "strike the enemy's heart."

Zhu Chenggong, including most of the high-ranking officials of the vassal states, were still worried about the Qing army's attack on Zhongzuo. After careful consideration, Zhu Chenggong sent Zhang Mingzhen to lead the former Lu Jianguo Navy to the north of the Yangtze River to test the waters. He personally led the main force to attack Quanzhou by land and sea in order to expand his territory and consolidate his foundation.

The Qing army was defeated one after another. Chen Jin, the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang of the Qing court, and Gushan Ezhen retreated to Tong'an County of Quanzhou Prefecture, where they stubbornly resisted in the city and blocked the gateway to Quanzhou.

Zhu Chenggong led his army to attack fiercely, and Chen Jin became restless and abused his servants, killing his men from time to time to vent his anger.

Li Zhong, Li Jinzhong and seven other servants conspired together, took advantage of Chen Jin's drunken sleep at night, stabbed Chen Jin to death, and took his head to join Zhu Chenggong.

What was surprising was that Zhu Chenggong actually wanted to kill Li Zhong and others. Everyone around him advised him against it, but Zhu Chenggong said, "To take over Fujian is only for temporary personal gain; to kill the rebels is for the justice of all eternity." He was determined to kill the servants who came to surrender.

No matter what, Zhu Chenggong also forced Chen Jin to death. Before that, Li Dingguo killed Nikan in battle, and Cen Danchu forced Chen Tai to death. Zhu Chenggong forced Chen Jin to death, and became famous for a while.

However, the army of Cixing Fan was weak. Although they captured Tongan, they were defeated at the gates of Quanzhou.

"It is unwise to attack the enemy with your own weakness." Danchu said, "Zhang Mingzhen and Zhang Huangyan led the navy into the Yangtze River and traveled smoothly all the way. It is said that they have set up camp in Chongming and the vanguard is approaching Zhenjiang with great momentum. Zhu Chenggong is also a smart man. I believe he will realize something and lead the navy north to the Yangtze River."

On June 20, the Intelligence Bureau finally delivered accurate news: at the beginning of the month, Zhu Chenggong swore an oath at Zhongzuo and set sail northward to capture Nanjing.

After more than half a month of sailing, Zhu Chenggong's fleet must have arrived in Chongming. Nanjing was the ruling center of the Qing Dynasty south of the Yangtze River, much more important than Nanchang and Ganzhou. How could Oboi sit idly by? How could the Qing court sit idly by?
Cen Danchu finally felt relieved and ordered the Huben Town to assemble and march west to Huguang to fight.

(End of this chapter)