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

Chapter 376: Meeting with Hengzhou
This battle was very exciting. First, the Eight Banners Army was defeated during the day, and then a large number of Green Camp soldiers were captured and killed in the early morning and the next day. This forced Tunqi to flee to Hengzhou at night and never dared to fight with Huben Town again.

By noon, the battle was gradually coming to an end. Cen Danchu and his personal soldiers were stationed in Tunyuan and raised the central army flag on the Qing army camp. The cavalry brigade and the first personal soldiers brigade were busy cleaning up the battlefield and taking in prisoners. The two infantry brigade also accelerated their march, and the vanguard cavalry had already rushed to Tunyuan and joined forces with Huben Town.

In the evening, the results of each division were roughly counted. The Cavalry Division beheaded more than 2,000 people, captured more than 6,000 people, and captured more than 600 war horses. The First Division of the Imperial Guard beheaded more than 1,600 people, captured more than 7,000 people, and captured more than 200 war horses.

Most of the captured Qing troops were from the Green Camp. The Second and Tenth Armies intercepted the defeated Green Camp troops in the south, and they must have made a lot of gains.

The spoils of war were also very rich. The food and fodder alone were enough to meet the needs of the Red Army for ten days. More than 10,000 prisoners, many of whom surrendered voluntarily, were enough for the Red Army to replenish the losses and expand its troops.

To add to the good news, good news also came from Jiangxi.

Zhu Chenggong led his navy into the Yangtze River and headed straight for Nanjing. The Qing army was short of troops in Jiangnan, and Oboi was horrified when he heard the news. He led the Eight Banners Army to rush to Nanjing overnight.

The Red Army's pressure in Jiangxi was reduced, and Ji'an was safe from now on. Kuang Shi could besiege Ganzhou more calmly, and the garrison was cut off from external aid, and the fall of the city was just around the corner.

Many people were upset about Zhu Chenggong's attempt to seize Nanjing. Years ago, Cen Danchu wrote to Zhu Chenggong, suggesting that he lead the navy into the Yangtze River and attack Nanjing directly to cooperate with the Red Army's Northern Expedition. There was no lack of opposition in the army, fearing that Zhu Chenggong would get there first.

Gu Yanwu was from Kunshan County, Suzhou Prefecture, South Zhili. He was well aware of the prosperity of Jiangnan. He said:

"Your Majesty, Jiangnan is the richest province in the world. Since the Red Army seized eastern Guangdong, the whole country has been excited and righteous armies have risen up. The Tartars were in a panic and broke their promises, imposing the 'three taxes' again. The taxes in Jiangnan alone account for more than 20% of the total taxes in the country. Rice, cloth, silk, tea, and oil are sold all over the world. General, you should pay more attention to this."

The taxes in Jiangnan were crucial to the Qing government's finances. Therefore, the Qing government would rather sacrifice the pawns to save the chariot and transfer Oboi back to Nanjing. Especially in the past two years, when wars broke out everywhere, the Qing government had huge military expenses and was extremely dependent on the grain and taxes in Jiangnan.

Danchu, however, was very open-minded and was not worried about Zhu successfully capturing Nanjing.

Zhu Chenggong was stubborn and even headstrong. He often survived in desperate situations, but was easily careless and lost Jingzhou in favorable situations. Historically, he failed to capture Nanjing even under favorable conditions. When Oboi led the firearms battalion back to defend Nanjing, Zhu Chenggong had even less hope of capturing the city.

"It doesn't matter," Danchu said with a smile, "The Red Army is based in Lingnan. If we want to march north, we have to go to Huguang or Jiangxi. I will lead the army to Jiangxi first, then Huguang. We have to control the rivers and lakes before we can march east to Jiangnan. I will marry Cixing, and if he can capture Nanjing and sweep across Jiangnan, I will be happy for him."

Make friends with those far away and attack those near. Rather than being jealous of Zhu Chenggong, it is better to be on guard against Sun Kewang. Since the Red Army has incorporated Li Dingguo, it is now openly hostile to Sun Kewang. Given the personalities of the two, there will definitely be a battle in the future. It is better to seize Huguang and Jiangxi first.

Huguang is located in the center of the world. If the Red Army takes over Huguang, it will block the expansion of the Dashi Army and seize the initiative in conquering the world; if it takes over Jiangxi, it can increase taxes, improve finances, and threaten the wealthy areas of Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

After the war with the Qing army came to an end, Cen Danchu stayed in Tunyuan and Pingtouling to rest his troops and deal with prisoners of war. He also met with Li Dingguo to swear an oath of alliance.

Unexpectedly, Tunqi escaped again and retreated from Hengzhou to Changsha. On closer inspection, although Hengzhou is important, it is located in a plain, facing the Zhengshui River in the north and the Xiangjiang River in the east. It is good for defending the north but not the south.

From the perspective of the Qing army, if they wanted to guard against the Red Army in the south, Hengzhou was a desperate place. When He Tengjiao led his army to counterattack Hunan, and when the Dashi Army counterattacked Hunan last year, the Qing army had voluntarily given up Hengzhou. This was the reason.

The Red Army occupied Hengzhou without a fight. By chance, Ma Jinzhong arrived with his troops, and in his team there were also vanguards sent by the Thirteen Families of Kuidong. Cen Danchu then built a general platform on the Yanwuping outside the Xiaoxi Gate to hold a meeting with the various towns.

Yanwuping is quite flat and is often used by the Hengzhou garrison to organize drills. It is said that it was built under the order of Huang Chao in the late Tang Dynasty. After the Red Army's intensive renovation, Yanwuping will be flying flags on the stage, and the Hu Ben Town will be very powerful below the stage. Each association selected elite representatives, with a total of more than 10,000 people lined up in battle formations, with bright armor and bayonets like a forest. Today's meeting adopted the grand review ceremony, and some of the content was modified to avoid usurping etiquette and arousing suspicion from the towns.

At 2:00 pm, the auspicious time had arrived. All the soldiers and marquis had arrived. Cen Danchu, wearing golden armor and the four-clawed dragon robe bestowed by the emperor, walked up to the general's platform with a team of guards and the watchful eyes of the Huben soldiers.

There is only one main seat, which is at the highest position in the center of the general platform. There are two rows of main seats. On the left sit the Red Army generals, headed by Duke Xuan Jiao Lian, wearing armor. On the right sit the nobles of various towns, headed by Duke E Ma Jinzhong.

Danchu glanced around with a dignified and resolute look. Ma Bao, the commander of Huben Town, then sang the instructions to start the review ceremony.

The sun is rising above the pole and a gentle breeze is blowing, which is a good omen.

First, they welcomed the army flag and offered sacrifices to the flag god. The guards raised the red army flag on the general platform, and Danchu personally burned and read the sacrificial text, just like the other troops. Twenty eight-flag prisoners were lined up in two rows, their mouths were gagged, and they were beheaded to offer sacrifices to the flag.

Suddenly, twenty prisoners were killed, and the bloody smell filled the whole place. The soldiers present were used to seeing bloody events, and they felt an inexplicable excitement.

Then came the review of the formation. When Danchu stepped down from the platform, a guard had already brought a jade horse. The jade horse was very human, and when it saw Danchu wearing a golden armor and a python robe, it knew that the current situation was different from the past, so it also perked up and held its head high.

Riding on a jade horse, Danchu inspected the first regiment of his personal soldiers from left to right. It was incredible to think that at this time and place, they could hold a grand review ceremony in Hengzhou.

Danchu showed a barely perceptible smile on his face, and came to the front of the First Brigade of the Personal Guards, and said in a deep voice: "First Brigade of the Personal Guards!"

"Here!" The soldiers present responded in unison, their voices shaking the heavens, and they shouted the Red Army slogan: "Drive out the Tartars, restore China!"

After reviewing all the associations, Danchu returned to the general's platform, feeling satisfied and a little proud.

After reviewing the formation, it is time to march in formation.

First, the formation was changed. The central officer waved the military flag, assisted by the sound of gongs, drums and trumpets. The troops of each brigade changed formations one after another in strict order and with quick movements.

The formation is a classic three-fold formation, with the general platform facing sideways. In front is the artillery corps, with two ten-meter cannons in the middle, two sky-rocketing cannons on the left wing, and six mountain-splitting cannons on the right wing. Each has a gun carriage, which is pushed by the artillery and easy to move. In the middle is the personal guard corps, with bright bayonets that flash a little golden light in the sun. In the back is the cavalry corps, which mostly use big Western horses, which are fat and strong and were captured from the Qing army.

The trumpet sounded, and the battle formation moved forward. The whole army shouted once and advanced ten steps. After advancing ten times, the battle formation had already moved away from the general's platform.

With a gunshot, the central army changed its flag. The artillery brigade fired once, and the infantry brigade moved forward and fired alternately, which was the famous line-up shooting tactic of the Red Army. Finally, the cavalry moved from the rear to the two wings, and could fire while riding.

Laymen watch the excitement, while experts watch the doorway. The grand review opened the eyes of Ma Jinzhong and other military commanders. They realized that the Red Army had become powerful and was incomparable to the Dashi Army and the Qing Army, and their determination to surrender became even stronger.

(End of this chapter)