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

Chapter 372 Battle of Hengzhou
On June 26, the cavalry of Huben Town approached Hengzhou and immediately adopted an aggressive posture, sending troops to sweep through the Qing army's various stations and scouts.

In Hengzhou City, Ke Yongsheng was as anxious as an ant on a hot pot, and had long been at a loss. He had received intelligence about the Red Army's westward advance, and at first he did not believe it, then he was terrified, and now he was at a loss as to what to do.

The defense of Hengzhou was weak, and many of Ke Yongsheng's troops were transferred to Chenzhou and Yongzhou. If the Red Army really launched a large-scale attack, he might not be able to hold Hengzhou.

Ke Yongsheng, a native of Liaoyang, was a member of the Red Banner of the Han Army and served as the governor of Huguang in the Qing Dynasty. The Manchus had a small population and had to win over foreigners. The people that the Manchus valued most were naturally the Chahar Mongols, followed by the Liao people.

The reason why Ke Yongsheng was promoted to the position of Governor of Huguang was not only because of his repeated military achievements, but also because he had an uncle who held a prominent official position - Ke Ruji, the deputy commander-in-chief of the Han army of the Bordered Red Banner.

The Ke family was prosperous and their careers were flourishing. Ke Yongsheng followed Tunqi to conquer Huguang and was successfully promoted to the governor of Huguang. He wanted to earn more military merits. Unexpectedly, the Qing army defeated the Dashi army, but a Red Army suddenly appeared and rushed straight to Hengzhou.

Someone suggested: "Looking at the situation of the Red Bandits, they may only have a small group of cavalry. It is better to take advantage of their momentum and rush out of the city to attack them before their main force arrives to dampen their fighting spirit. Liu Wuyuan and Hu Yousheng defended Ganzhou and defeated Li Chengdong twice because of this move."

The Red Army was famous, and Huben Town was the elite among the elite of the Red Army. A few months ago, Huben Town defeated the most elite firearms battalion in Manchuria. With only the few Han troops under Ke Yongsheng's command, did he still want to fight Huben Town?
In fact, the combat effectiveness of the Han Army's Eight Banners was not strong, and in many cases it was not as good as the Green Camp soldiers. Within the Eight Banners, the Manchus also discriminated against the Han Army's Eight Banners. Huang Taiji created the Han Army and was best at united front work. He also publicly criticized the Han Army: "The Manchu officers and soldiers fought to the death, unlike you Han people who were like guests and sat back and watched."

The Qing court made use of the Eight Banners of the Han Army. On the one hand, it valued the Eight Banners' proficiency in using firearms. On the other hand, it insisted on the national policy of winning over the Liao people and expanding the basis of its rule.

With Nikan's death still fresh in his mind, Ke Yongsheng said to his men, "The Red Bandits have come from afar, so we should fight them quickly. Hengzhou is of vital importance, so our army should hold on to it. When the general leads his troops back to support us, we will attack them from both inside and outside, and we can defeat the enemy in one battle."

The vanguard of Huben Town marched with great fanfare and raided the key passes outside Hengzhou City, hoping to lure the Qing army into battle. Unexpectedly, Ke Yongsheng was able to remain calm and hold the city firmly.

When Cen Danchu received the letter, he had no choice but to speed up his march and occupy the advantageous terrain before Tunqi arrived.

Hengzhou "borders Jing and Hu, controls Jiao and Guang, has Hengshan Mountain behind it, Xiaoxiang River surrounds it in front, and is the secret area on the right side of the lake. Moreover, if you go north from the ridge and pass through Hunan, Hengzhou must be the key point. If you go from Yichun to western Guangdong, Hengzhou is also the key point."

The Red Army attacked the enemy and needed to rescue them, so Tunqi had to return to rescue them. From Chenzhou to Hengzhou, the land route is less than 300 miles, and the cavalry can arrive in less than two days by rapid march.

On the morning of the 28th, the main force of Huben Town arrived in Hengzhou one after another, set up camps on both sides of the Leishui River, and set up a large camp on the east bank of the Leishui River.

Hengzhou is located at the confluence of three rivers, namely Xiangjiang River, Zhengshui River and Leishui River. Zhengshui River is in the west, Xiangjiang River is in the middle and Leishui River is in the east. Hengzhou City is bordered by Zhengshui River in the north and Xiangjiang River in the east.

The Red Army camped on both sides of the Leishui River, separated from Hengzhou City by the Xiangjiang River.

There was a convenient post road from Chenzhou to Hengzhou, located east of the Xiangjiang River and west of the Leishui River. Tunqi was anxious to return to Hengzhou for assistance, so he took this post road.

The Manchu, Mongolian and Han Eight Banners all had war horses, but the Green Camp soldiers suffered. A small number of Green Camp soldiers stayed behind to block the Red Army, while most of the Green Camp soldiers followed the Eight Banners to reinforce Hengzhou and had to give their war horses to the Eight Banners masters.

When the Qing army marched quickly, the Eight Banners often requisitioned war horses from the Green Camp. The Red Army also often did this. However, the Red Army advocated equality, and soldiers were divided into different arms, but not noble or humble. The Qing army artificially divided soldiers into different ranks, deliberately raising the treatment and status of the Eight Banners.

In order to resist the Red Army and consolidate the defense of Hengzhou, Hong Chengchou also dispatched troops from Yuezhou, Changsha and other places. On the Red Army side, Li Dingguo's 10th Infantry Brigade was oppressed by the Qing army. Tunqi took away the elite Manchu and Mongolian troops, and the pressure on the 10th Brigade was immediately relieved. Li Dingguo immediately decided to reorganize the troops and launch a counterattack.

The Second Infantry Brigade was ordered to cross Yongzhou and march directly to Hengzhou. The Qing army withdrew from Chenzhou, and the Qing army in Yongzhou suddenly lost its barrier, and the morale of the soldiers declined, so the Second Infantry Brigade could march north without any worries.

The Red Army's food and grass mainly rely on Lingqu and Xiangjiang for transportation, and the Second Infantry Brigade actually plays the role of escorting food and grass. If the Second Brigade does not go to the front line early, how can the food and grass of Huben Town be guaranteed?

By the time of the Southern Ming, the war in the south was simple and brutal. The success or failure of a battle was often determined by the duel between the elite troops. The main force of the infantry became a supporting role, taking on auxiliary tasks such as siege and escorting food and grass.

The Chi and Qing armies gathered in Hengzhou, and a major battle was about to begin!

"Reporting to the king, the Tartar vanguard has arrived at Wayuan, and their flag is the Manchu Bordered Blue Banner. The Tartar scouts have advanced to Pingtouling and are fighting fiercely with our scouts." Scout Lu Shouyi came to report, with a mixture of excitement before the battle and unexpected nervousness.

Bordered Blue Banner Manchu? This is an old acquaintance of the Red Army. In the Second Battle of Quanzhou, Cen Danchu once fought against the Manchu Zheng Prince Jirgalang at Suoyifur, and Jirgalang was the leader of the Bordered Blue Banner Manchu.

Aixinjueluo Tunqi's official position in the Eight Banners was the Manchu General of the Bordered Blue Banner. It is not surprising that the vanguard of the Qing army was the Eight Manchu Riders of the Bordered Blue Banner.

"You Tartar dogs, so fast!" Danchu was a little surprised, but not surprised.

Pingtouling is about 30 miles away from Hengzhou and is a hilly highland. The Xiangjiang River makes a sharp turn to the east here, and the Leishui River makes a sharp turn to the west here. Therefore, Pingtouling is narrow from east to west, making it an excellent blocking terrain.

Cen Danchu planned to stop the Qing army at Pingtouling and engage in a decisive battle with Tunqi, and had sent cavalry to help seize Pingtouling.

Wayuan is about 60 miles away from Hengzhou. It is also a hilly area, but the rivers flow in the opposite direction. The Xiang River turns westward here, and the Lei River turns eastward here.

From the map, the Xiangjiang River and the Leishui River flow northward and merge at the north of Hengzhou City, just like the mouth of a gourd. Seventy or eighty miles south of the mouth of the gourd, the Xiangjiang River and the Leishui River form a gourd-shaped area.

Pingtouling is located exactly at the waist of the gourd and is expected to be the decisive battlefield of the Hengzhou Battle.

"Order the First Brigade of Imperial Guards and the Artillery Brigade to cross the river as soon as possible and advance towards Pingtouling. The Auxiliary Brigade should establish a defense line on both sides of the Leishui River and guard the bridge. The Second Brigade of Infantry should advance rapidly along the Xiangjiang River by land and water to stop Ke Yongsheng in Hengzhou and protect the western wing of the Tiger Guards."

Hundreds of thousands of soldiers from the two armies were squeezed into the narrow area between the Xiangjiang River and the Leishui River. This deployment, which went against military common sense, became the unanimous choice of the commanders of the two armies under the special circumstances.

As the battle was imminent, Manchu generals such as Tunqi and Tongtulai appeared quite calm. Tunqi ordered to set up camp in Wayuan and confront the Red Army 30 miles away. In addition, he sent troops to the east bank of the Xiangjiang River to contact Ke Yongsheng and build a floating bridge on the Xiangjiang River, connecting the two banks and cutting off the water route of the Second Red Army.

This move was quite vicious. As long as the Qing army held the floating bridge, the food and grass transported by the Second Infantry Brigade would not be able to be supplied to Huben Town. The Red Army would have to take the initiative to go to Tunyuan to invite the Qing army to attack, giving them the home advantage.

(End of this chapter)