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

Chapter 371 Hong Chengchou's Unjust Imprisonment

The Red Army's Huben Town was composed of cavalry, and their marching speed was much faster than that of infantry. On the afternoon of the 23rd, the main force of the Huben Town had passed through Yongxin County, Ji'an Prefecture, and the vanguard approached Lianhua.

Lianhua is now Lianhua County, located at the junction of Hunan and Jiangxi. It was just a township during the Ming Dynasty. The Qing army set up a station here and stationed a troop to monitor the Red Army in western Jiangxi.

Looking far away, the mountains are endless, covering the sky and blocking the sun. Looking down, the mountains are high and the roads are narrow, making it difficult to travel.

What a beautiful mountain and river! Gu Zuyu sighed, "Luoxiao is thousands of miles away, and Zhuling is thousands of steps high. The ancients were not deceiving me."

The Gu family in Jiangnan was proficient in geography. Gu Yanwu was hired by Cen Danchu as a senior staff officer, and Gu Zuyu was hired by the Operations Bureau as a staff officer in the Reconnaissance Department. This time, the two Gus followed the army and studied geography, which was very enjoyable.

Danchu liked chatting with Ergu very much. Having Ergu accompany him all the way helped him increase his geographical knowledge and relieve a lot of travel boredom.

"Can you tell us about Luoxiao Mountain?"

Gu Zuyu was confident and said, "Luoxiao Mountain is named after Luo Xiao from the Three Kingdoms period. Luo Xiao was from the Eastern Wu and was originally an aide to Zhuge Ke. When Zhuge Ke was the governor of Jingyang, Luo Xiao was the governor of Ancheng County. Later, Zhuge Ke insisted on conquering Cao Wei, and Luo Xiao wrote a letter to dissuade him. After Zhuge Ke was defeated, Luo Xiao resigned and lived in seclusion in Luoxiao Mountain.

"This mountain range runs from northeast to southwest and is composed of Wugong Mountain, Wanyang Mountain, Bamian Mountain, Zhuguang Mountain, and Jinggang Mountain. We are currently in the northern part of the central part of the Luoxiao Mountain Range, heading west along the path between Wugong Mountain and Jinggang Mountain."

Jinggang Mountain! Danchu had admired Jinggang Mountain for a long time, but this was the first time he had ever been close to it. Looking south, he saw a mountain that reached the sky, but the top of the mountain was barely visible.

There is no chance to climb Jinggang Mountain this time. I will wait until the Tartars are driven out and the world is at peace, then I can take a leisurely trip to Jinggang Mountain.

A scout came galloping up to Danchu's horse and said, "My Lord, a righteous army has captured Lianhua. We welcome the Red Army to enter the country."

"Oh?" This was a pleasant surprise. Danchu asked, "Do you know which righteous army it is?"

"The leader is Liu Jing. There is another volunteer army, whose leader is Li Wenbin. They have sent envoys to welcome us."

The situation was more optimistic than expected. The Luoxiao Mountains were located at the junction of Hunan and Jiangxi, and there were several active volunteer divisions. The two largest volunteer divisions were led by Liu Jing and Li Wenbin. With the volunteer divisions responding and leading the way, it was much easier for the Red Army to fight in Hunan.

The next day, Danchu met Liu Jing in Lianhua.

"Your Majesty," Liu Jing said respectfully, "There is nothing delicious in the mountains and fields. I have only brought a dozen carts of wild goods. Please reward the king's army."

There is a "Millennium Bird Trail" in the Luoxiao Mountains. If migratory birds take the central route, they must pass through this bird trail. The Yishi hid in the Luoxiao Mountains and hunted migratory birds every year to make dried meat.

The army was trekking through the mountains, and it was a good thing to eat meat to replenish their physical strength. Danchu smiled and said, "This vassal would like to thank General Liu on behalf of the Tiger Guards."

Liu Jing then said, "Your Majesty, when Duke Kangguo first entered Hunan, he killed Nikan and the whole province was excited. At that time, the righteous armies and officials and gentry in various places responded well, and I also helped them. When Duke Kangguo retreated to Yongzhou and Chenzhou, and Sun Kewang was defeated in Qingyuan, the righteous armies stopped fighting and many gentry fled to the mountains and forests. I have heard that the king is eager to recruit talents, so I dare to say that it is better to call for the righteous armies and recruit talents."

"That's natural," Danchu said, "because our army has just entered Hunan, and it is important to catch the enemy by surprise. There is no need to call for a righteous army for the time being." "There is a famous gentleman in our army, named Zhou Kangeng, who is from Ningxiang, Hunan. He served as the Minister of Works and the Minister of War in Nanjing during the Chongzhen period. Mr. Zhou has studied water conservancy and has two volumes of "Memorials on River Management" handed down. If the king is free, he might as well meet with Zhou Kangeng."

Dan Chu originally had no time to meet Zhou Kangeng, but since the army had already set up camp today, he ordered him to meet him.

Zhou Kangeng was still in good spirits. He addressed Danchu as "Your Highness" neither servilely nor arrogantly, and had quite a bit of the demeanor of a traditional scholar-official.

"According to Mr. Zhou's advice, where should we start when we enter Hunan this time?" After the greetings, Danchu asked humbly.

Zhou Kangeng lived in seclusion in the mountains and refused to serve in the Yongli court. But when Li Dingguo led the Western Army to Hengzhou, Zhou Kangeng was still quite encouraged and went to meet him. The Qing army counterattacked Hengzhou, and Li Dingguo retreated to Chenzhou. Zhou Kangeng was afraid that he would be punished by the Qing Dynasty, so he hid in Liu Jing's army.

"It would be better to lead the army directly to Hengzhou. If we can surprise Hengzhou, it would be the best. If we cannot capture Hengzhou, we can force Tunqi to return to Hengzhou for support. Your Highness can then calmly meet Tunqi and win the battle."

Danchu was more determined to attack Hengzhou and said, "Good, sir, what you said is very true."

Zhou Kangeng further asked: "Your Highness, do you know that Hong Chengchou is raising an unjust case in Changsha?"

Previously, he was stationed in Ji'an, Jiangxi Province. Changsha was too far away, so Danchu had never paid attention to it.

"The Western Camp entered Huguang, and the whole of Hunan was in turmoil. Hong Chengchou was restless in Changsha, creating unjust cases and imprisoning more than a hundred gentry, including the Ningxiang celebrity Tao Runai. We contacted the gentry and publicly recommended Guo Duxian to Changsha to ask Hong Chengchou to release the arrested gentry."

Guo Duxian was from Yiyang, Hunan. He was a Jinshi in the second year of the Tianqi reign and served as the governor of Jiangxi during the Chongzhen reign. Like Zhou Kangeng, he had already lived in seclusion in his hometown in the late Ming Dynasty, refusing the appointments of the Hongguang and Yongli dynasties, and even more refusing the Qing Dynasty's invitation. After the Dashi Army entered Huguang, Guo Duxian provided strong support.

During the reign of Emperor Chongzhen, Hong Chengchou was imprisoned for a crime. Guo Duxian, then an official of the Ministry of Personnel, tried his best to defend Hong Chengchou and requested that he be pardoned and given a new post, thus saving his life.

From what Zhou Kangeng said, is he trying to win over Guo Duxian? Or is he going a step further and win over Hong Chengchou?
Danchu did not understand what he meant. Ren Zhou Kangeng continued, "Hong Chengchou started a big case in Changsha, which shows that he is in a state of panic. Your Highness has a strong army and horses. You should strengthen your confidence and unite the towns. First, defeat Tunqi, then conquer Hengzhou, and then go down the Xiangjiang River, break Changsha, conquer Yuezhou, and sweep across the eight Hunan provinces. After that, rest the troops and go down the Yangtze River to seize Wuchang and Jiujiang, and then Huguang and Jiangxi can be restored!"

This made Cen Danchu very excited. This time, Huben Town went west to Hengzhou, and Danchu had three goals: one was to defeat the Tunqi army, the second was to capture Hengzhou, and the third was to incorporate the various towns.

As for capturing Changsha and sweeping across the eight Hunan provinces, he really didn't think that far ahead. After all, Aobai was still in Nanchang. According to the scouts, not long after Huben Town broke camp, Aobai also became active and prepared to go south to Ji'an.

The war at the end of the Ming Dynasty was brutal, and the armies of all sides attached great importance to reconnaissance. It was a routine operation to place spies three hundred miles away and scouts one hundred miles away.

I guess Tunqi in Chenzhou, Ke Yongsheng in Hengzhou, and Aobai in Nanchang have all received the news that Huben Town has moved its camp westward. I wonder how they will react?

"If what you said is true, I will personally lead the Red Army and make a concerted effort to recover Huguang and Jiangxi as soon as possible."

(End of this chapter)