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

Chapter 42: Taking Yangshuo by Strategy (Seeking Follow-up Reading)

Upon hearing that Cen Danchu and He Guoju wanted to see him, Jiao Lian was overjoyed. He jumped out of the bed and walked out of the tent barefoot to greet them.

"General, please forgive me for disturbing you so late at night." Dan Chu saluted and secretly admired Jiao Lian, who really had the demeanor of a great general. Even if the battle was not going well during the day, he could still sleep peacefully at night.

Always stay calm when facing a big event. This is a trick you must learn as soon as possible.

"You brought Juzi to visit late at night, there must be something good going on." Jiao Lian welcomed the two into the tent and asked He Guoju impatiently, "Juzi, is everything settled?"

Jiao Lian loved his soldiers like his own sons, and was very fond of He Guoju, who had made great military achievements, and called him "Juzi".

He Guoju's eyes were bloodshot, but he could not hide his excitement and said, "It's settled."

Jiao Lian was no longer sleepy and asked like a child, "Tell me about it, what's the process?"

"The day before yesterday, I arrived in Yangshuo ahead of schedule..."

The day before yesterday, He Guoju arrived in Yangshuo ahead of schedule. At that time, Bai Gui's 1,500 soldiers had not arrived yet, and the Ming army only had 2,000 soldiers from Ma Qijiao's army. The Qing army went out of the city to fight, but was defeated and retreated back to the city. He Guoju shaved his head, hid outside the west gate, and followed the defeated Qing army into the city.

After entering the city, He Guoju went straight to the point and looked for the Yao soldiers to understand the situation. It turned out that the Yangshuo soldiers were led by the scholar Mo Zhiyuan, who gathered more than a thousand Yao and Dong soldiers to guard the east gate.

Yangshuo is adjacent to the Li River in the east, and the east gate is a water gate, also known as the Shuidong Gate. The Ming army lacked warships, and the Shuidong Gate was not the focus of defense, so it was handed over to the Yao people for defense.

He Guoju bribed the Yao people with 10 taels of gold to persuade them to surrender, but they were hesitant at first. In the past two days, the Ming army arrived in Yangshuo one after another, and surrounded Yangshuo from the west, north and south, and the situation changed.

Yesterday afternoon, the Yao people decided to surrender. The conditions were: after the city was captured, the Ming army would not persecute the Yao people, and after the war, they would be allowed to return home or be incorporated into the Ming army. For those who were incorporated into the Ming army, their officers would be promoted one level.

He Guoju acted decisively and agreed to the Yao people's conditions. He also used his identity to gain the trust of the local soldiers and swore an oath of blood alliance with them.

The two sides agreed that the Yao people would open the Shuidong Gate at the right time, so that the Ming army could take the opportunity to enter the city. The Yao people tied a white cloth strip on their left arm to distinguish themselves from the Qing army.

After listening to this, Jiao Lian thought for a moment and felt that there was no loophole in what He Guoju said, so he smiled and said:
"Juzi, you have accomplished another great feat today. If you can really break into the city from the Shuidong Gate, you will be the first to reach the city. You were once a prisoner of the Yao people, and many veterans were skeptical of you. Unexpectedly, you have accomplished great feats one after another, burning Limuling and taking the Shuidong Gate by force, which shows that you have the talent of a great general."

He Guoju was a talent discovered and promoted by Cen Danchu. He was recognized by Jiao Lian, and Danchu was also proud of it. He couldn't help but praise him and then sighed:

"In March, the Biaoying defeated the Qing army outside Guilin. At that time, there was a group of Yao soldiers led by Li Xian, a military scholar from Yangshuo. How come another Mo Zhiyuan appeared, also a scholar?"

He Guoju said: "When I was in my hometown, I heard that he was eager for quick success and instant benefits in his early years, and worshipped the eunuch party as his teacher. Later, Emperor Chongzhen personally approved the "Rebellion Case", and his teacher was listed among them. Mo Zhiyuan was implicated and could not enter the officialdom. He took on all the lawsuits in the village.

"Li Xian gathered local soldiers and asked the Qing invaders for a reward, and was appointed as the grain supervisor of Guangxi. Mo Zhiyuan followed suit and also surrendered to the Qing invaders, gathered local soldiers, and put up a stubborn resistance."

"Humph!" Jiao Lian said bitterly, "We are determined to protect the Ming Dynasty and kill the Tartars. But I have fought for so many years, and there are only a few who have really fought against the Tartars. In most of the battles, those killed were traitors, our own compatriots. How sad! How hateful!"

Cen Danchu also felt the same way. In the past few months, he had killed at least thirty people, but not a single Tartar.

When can I have a good fight with the Tartars? When can I kill a Tartar with my own hands?
Never mind, let’s get rid of the traitor Mo Zhiyuan tomorrow!

Late at night, the Ming army dispatched troops and prepared ships overnight.

At the hour of Yin, Danchu led more than 300 elite soldiers of the Du Biao Zuo Xie, and sailed down the Li River in small boats, approaching the Shuidong Gate.

Through the telescope, Danchu really saw three torches lit on the Shuidong Gate, and a military flag was erected on the right side of each torch, which was the signal for the defenders to surrender. His breathing became heavy involuntarily, and his heartbeat was slowly accelerating. This was the excitement before the battle, which could not be controlled by human power.

Danchu silently reminded himself in his heart: Whenever faced with a major event, stay calm and composed, and don't be anxious.

He took a deep breath and ordered an attack. He Guoju led the first patrol of the third team, took three small boats, and served as the vanguard to explore the Shuidong Gate.

The soldiers were all in small boats, without war horses, spears, lances or other long weapons. If the Yao people were to cheat, it would be difficult for the first sentry to escape, and nine out of ten would die.

The first sentry actually acted as a death squad. According to the rules of the Dubiao, each member of the death squad was given a reward of 10 taels of silver before the battle, and another 10 taels of silver if he survived the battle. If anyone died in the battle, his family would be given 50 taels of silver as a pension.

The money was not much, but it was not difficult to recruit the death squad. In addition to the pension, the army had other means to recruit death squad members: promotion, military orders, drawing lots, superiors taking the lead, and descendants protecting them...

During the wars between the Ming and Qing dynasties, the armies developed a variety of management methods.

He Guoju was brave in battle, not afraid of death, and dared to venture into dangerous places. He was known as "He the King of Hell".

This time he bravely entered the Shuidong Gate, but he was even more nervous than the last time he bravely entered the Limuling. There was no other reason. Last time he only brought two comrades with him, but this time he brought thirty comrades with him, all of whom were his subordinates.

There was no choice but to go ahead. He Guoju took the first boat and arrived at the Shuidong Gate with trepidation. He hooted three times as agreed. The top of the city wall quickly responded with three pheasant calls.

The Yao people live deep in the mountains and often rely on hunting to supplement their family income. They can imitate birds very realistically.

Then, at the east gate of the water, the gate slowly rose, and a wave rocked the boat up and down.

Inside the city gate, on both sides of the water, there were already Yao people waiting with torches in their hands.

He Guoju took a deep breath and directed his men to row through the doorway. He had already strung the bowstring, and if anything unexpected happened, he would take a few people with him before he died.

Fortunately, the Yao people kept their promise. After seeing He Guoju, they chatted and laughed with him and invited the Ming army to go ashore. Seeing this, everyone was relieved, went ashore first, then climbed up the city wall and waved flags to the Ming army outside the city.

When Danchu saw the situation, he knew everything was in place and ordered the rest of his troops to enter the city. Going through the water gate required rowing, which was more troublesome, but it could catch the enemy by surprise.

The left-wing standard-bearers entered the east gate before daybreak. Danchu left fifty men to guard the city gate and escort the friendly troops into the city, while he led the main force of three hundred men to the south gate.

Deputy General Bai Gui led 1,500 troops and stationed outside the South Gate of the city. He was originally responsible for blocking the Qing army's reinforcements and had been holding out here for a long time.

Yangshuo was a small city, and it was early morning, so the Qing army was not well prepared. Soon, Danchu led his men to the south gate, opened the gate, lowered the drawbridge, and welcomed Bai Gui into the city, and then proceeded to kill him without restraint.

The Qing army was caught off guard and the Ming army quickly captured the South Gate. Bai Gui led the main force into the city and engaged in street fighting with the Qing army.

The Ming army stationed in Yangshuo for many days. Relying on their large numbers, they surrounded Yangshuo without leaving any gaps.

As the South Gate and the Shuidong Gate were breached, a large number of Ming troops entered the city. By noon, the situation was settled, the defenders surrendered, and the governor Ma Bijin, deputy general Guan Xiong, the governor Li Sheng, the lieutenant general Mo Zhiyuan and others were captured.

During the new book period, we sincerely invite readers to read and give valuable suggestions

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(End of this chapter)