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

Chapter 383: First Huguang, then Jiangxi
The Red Army defeated Oboi and Tunqi successively, occupied Ganzhou and Hengzhou, and gained a firm foothold in Jiangxi and Hunan, taking the initiative in the Central and South battlefield.

"Xiying and Cixing were defeated successively, and the Red Army stands out and attracts attention from all over the country. This clan believes that we should end the rest and reorganization in advance, attack Changsha and Yuezhou in the north, and connect the whole of Hunan. What do you think?"

Danchu was very proud and he called a meeting of the military officers above the rank of assistant commander stationed near Hengzhou and asked.

Sun Kewang was defeated in Qingyuan, and Zhu Chenggong was defeated in Nanjing. The facts have eloquently proved that neither of them is a talented commander and is not up to the task. Only the Red Army defeated the Qing army in succession and captured famous cities, and Cen Danchu was a man of both military and literary skills, who was able to carry the banner of anti-Qing.

The generals were greatly excited and expressed their agreement unanimously.

Mo Guangshu, the assistant military officer, said, "The Tartars have gathered a large number of troops in Baoning, Sichuan and Nanjing, South Zhili. Wu Sangui and Aobai are particularly elite. The Three Gorges and Kuidong areas are occupied by the righteous army. Wu Sangui stationed troops in Sichuan, looking back and forth, and preserving his strength is the most important thing. He will not take Huguang lightly. Aobai suffered heavy losses in Yudu. After all, he won in Nanjing. Even if he wanted to reinforce Jiangxi, his soldiers were tired and would not easily accept the order. The king plundered Chang and Yue in the north and invited them to attack Tunqi. It's the right time."

The Yongan Mo family was a great help to the early Red Army. Mo Guangshu's daughter Mo Yufen was Cen Danchu's third concubine, and his son Mo Erzhen was the commander of the personal soldiers of Huben Town. It can be said that the Mo family was the most powerful "relative" in Nanyue. With the death of Mo Erzhen in battle, the Mo family's influence in the Red Army declined.

He Zhaoji, the director of the Operations Bureau, said: "Since entering Huguang, the Tunqi Tartars have lost two great generals, Nikan and Tongtulai. As a result, Tunqi has become much more cautious. It can be seen from his initiative to give up Hengzhou that Tunqi does not seek to fight to the death, but only to preserve its strength.

"Changsha is the capital of Hunan Province, and Tunqi will not dare to give it up easily. We can take advantage of their hesitation to mobilize troops to surround Changsha and annihilate the main force of the Tartars. As long as we get rid of the main force of the Tartars, our army will have no problem conquering Hunan."

"Right!" Dan Chuyi clapped his hands and praised: "Whenever there is a war, the primary goal is to annihilate the enemy's main force, and capturing the city is secondary. Previously, although our army won in Hengzhou, it could not advance northward. The main reason was that the main force in Tunqi was still there."

"We let him escape at night last time, but we can't let him escape again this time." Ma Bao said, "We can use cavalry to march day and night to seize the key pass outside Changsha. The infantry and baggage can go by water, down the Xiang River, at a very fast speed. When the army is assembled, we can use the Red Barbarian Cannon and the Ten-Eleven Cannon to attack the city fiercely, forcing the Tartars to fight us."

"Humph! Tunqi can't run away even if he wants to!" Liu Fangliang, the commander of the 12th Brigade, said, "The Thirteen Clans of Kuidong are not called that for nothing! With a single order from the king, the Thirteen Clans of Kuidong will float down the river. Tunqi can't even think of crossing the river and escaping to the north."

"There are also the chieftains of western Hunan," said Ma Jinzhong, the commander of the 11th Brigade. "I have been in western Hunan for many years and have made friends with several loyal chieftains, such as the chieftain of Zhenjian, whose soldiers are brave and good at using poison arrows. The king can order the chieftains of western Hunan to leave Changde and Yuezhou to threaten Changsha's flank."

The 11th regiment of the 4th Infantry Regiment, Ma Jinzhong's troops, and the 12th regiment of Liu Fangliang's troops, had besieged Changsha before. This time, the 4th Regiment was the leader of the expedition to Changsha. The commander of the regiment, Jiao Lian, said:

"The southern Tartars are concentrated in Baoning, Sichuan, Changsha, Huguang, and Nanjing, Nanzhili. Once our army besieges Changsha, only the Tartars in Jingzhou and Wuchang still have a few elite troops, who may reinforce Changsha and be of use. Although there are Tartars in Yuezhou, they are actually useless. Oboi may be able to come to reinforce, but Nanjing is too far away from Changsha, and distant water cannot quench nearby fire."

Gu Yanwu was well versed in geography and agreed, "Hengzhou is only 300 miles away from Changsha, while Nanjing is more than 1,500 miles away. As long as our army launches a fierce attack, or uses artillery bombardment, or tunnels, and attacks in a coordinated manner, we will be able to capture Changsha before Oboi arrives."

Some people also expressed different opinions: "Jiangxi is much richer than Hunan, and the Tartars' defenses are empty. If we turn our troops into Jiangxi at this time, it will be easier to attack Nanchang than Changsha."

The generals were optimistic. Cen Guangyun, the commander of the Second Brigade of the Imperial Guard, had just been transferred from Jiangxi and was familiar with the situation on the Jiangxi battlefield. He said, "Why not launch the Northern Expedition in Huguang and Jiangxi at the same time? The Jiangxi Tartars only have the Green Camp soldiers, and they are already scared and afraid of fighting. Kuang Zhentong, with the Second Brigade of Infantry, is enough to besiege Nanchang." The situation was optimistic, and the generals were a little proud. Fortunately, Danchu remained calm and stopped them, saying:

"With our current military strength, we are not able to support two battles at the same time. Nanchang is also a strong city and should not be underestimated. When Jin Shenghuan and Wang Deren rebelled in Jiangxi, Tan Tai led a 100,000-man army of Manchus, Mongols and Han people to besiege Nanchang. After six months of siege, they finally captured Nanchang with the help of internal and external forces.

"The reason why this vassal decided to attack Changsha was after careful consideration. First, Lingqu has the advantage of water conservancy, and Meiguan has the barrier of Yuling. For the sake of food and grass, we should enter Huguang. Second, Huguang is upstream of Jiangxi. Whenever we use troops, we must first attack upstream and then downstream, taking advantage of the situation, and then go downstream. First, we will conquer Jiujiang, then take Hukou, and block Poyang Lake. Then we can gather and annihilate the Jiangxi Tartars."

All the generals were pleased, so Danchu made up his mind to move north to Changsha on August 20th and concentrate the Huben Town and the Fourth Infantry Town to fight a decisive battle with the Qing army.

The Huben Town has 70,000 troops, and the Fourth Infantry Town has 54,000 troops. However, the two towns are still in the process of reorganization, and some are missing or some are stationed in Jiangxi. In fact, there are only 80,000 troops in Huguang. Fortunately, these 80,000 troops are mobile forces, and they can all go north, which is enough for a decisive battle with Tunqi.

"I sent a message to Jiangxi that the Second Regiment must not attack Nanchang without authorization, so as not to alarm the Tartars. Otherwise, if the Second Regiment is stationed at the gates of Nanchang and Oboi leads his troops to rescue them, and the Huben and the Fourth Regiment are in Huguang and cannot get away, the Second Regiment will be in danger."

Danchu emphasized this and said, "Next, Kuangshi should still stick to the strategy used in the battle of Ganzhou, 'cut off the branches and leaves, and remove the main trunk', to further isolate Nanchang. You can divide your troops to attack Linjiang, Yuanzhou, Fuzhou, Guangxin and other prefectures, and concentrate on reforming the regime in the above prefectures and implementing the tax system. After the vassal annihilates Tunqi and occupies Hunan, you can then lead your troops down the river to seize Jiangxi."

The Second Brigade of the Imperial Guards was originally to remain in Ji'an, but was to be ordered to march westward into Huguang and be affiliated with Huben Town to strengthen the military strength of Huben Town.

The first infantry regiment and the second infantry regiment stayed in Hengzhou to ensure the safety of the grain route and prevent the Dashi army from stabbing in the back. Sun Kewang had just been defeated and the front army had suffered heavy casualties, so the Dashi army must not dare to attack for the time being.

All the generals dispersed, but the chief of the intelligence bureau, Feng Jiali, stayed behind, looking grave, and reported to Cen Danchu: "Sir, the capital has confirmed that the Tartars have invented a reliable flintlock rifle and a nine-section, ten-percent cannon!"

This was to be expected. The Qing Dynasty occupied the vast majority of land and population, and could invest more resources in the war. As long as the funds were sufficient and the Qing government paid enough attention, they would sooner or later invent reliable flintlock rifles and nine-section 100-percent cannons.

Danchu was a little surprised despite feeling lonely, and asked, "Is our steelmaking technology still a secret?"

"It's still a secret," Feng Jiali said confidently, "The Tartars' flintlock rifles are still forged with fine iron, which is very expensive. The nine-section 100-percent cannon is similar, the cost remains high, and the steelmaking technology remains the same."

Danchu felt relieved and said, "Steelmaking is our clan's top secret technology, and it must not be leaked in the slightest."

"promise."

(End of this chapter)