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

Chapter 65 Return to Guilin
On October 15, it was early winter, Emperor Yongli and his ministers arrived in Xiangzhou exhausted. Chen Bangfu, Marquis of Si'en, sent his eldest son Chen Dengyu to lead 2,000 soldiers to defend the city.

Chen Bangfu held the seal of the General of Suppressing the Barbarians and had the power to recruit chieftains. He "exclusively controlled the Han territories in the southern and Taiqi prefectures and established officials there." He was undoubtedly the number one warlord in Guangxi.

Before that, Chen Bangfu took advantage of the Qing army's defeat outside Guilin City and sent troops to "recapture" Xunzhou, Tengxian, and Wuzhou. He also went deep into Lianzhou Prefecture in Guangdong and joined forces with the royal family member Zhu Tongjian to recapture Qinzhou and Lianzhou, and became famous for a while.

However, this person has evil intentions and is good at flattery. He does not live up to his reputation. He has connections with powerful officials at home and military generals outside. "He has never seen an enemy in his life, and only treats those who are presented to the emperor as rare treasures."

At that time, there was often a power vacuum in the border areas between the Ming and Qing dynasties. When the army was defeated on the front line, it would often flee without paying attention to the people in the city. After the victory in Guilin, the Qing army quickly retreated, and there were no Qing troops in important towns such as Xunzhou, Wuzhou, and Lianzhou. Chen Bangfu simply sent troops to take over, and there was no fierce fighting.

Emperor Yongli was unaware of the situation and thought he had a reliable army when he saw that Chen Dengyu had brought so many soldiers. Chen Dengyu also learned a lot from his father and presented gold and silver treasures to Emperor Yongli. He also made friends with sycophants such as Ma Jixiang and Pang Tianshou.

Soon, Emperor Yongli issued an edict, ordering Chen Dengyu to be in charge of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, promoted him to Deputy Censor-in-Chief, and conferred him the title of Earl of Wenshui.

At this time, the court officials who were separated in Fengtian arrived one after another, and the government began to get back on track. Although Chen Dengyu had the merit of welcoming the emperor, he was not given the title of earl. When the edict was issued, the court officials were in an uproar, and the censors wrote letters of opposition, begging the Yongli Emperor to cherish the title and withdraw the order.

Chen Dengyu relied on his large number of soldiers and colluded with Ma Jixiang and Pang Tianshou to support each other. Finally, he was named Wenshui Earl as he wished.

Xiangzhou was a small city, but it housed more than 2,000 court officials, eunuchs, and palace ladies, as well as nearly 5,000 soldiers. The city was congested and food and fodder were in short supply.

In early November, food was in short supply in Xiangzhou, and Danchu had no choice but to order a reduction in rations. Chen Bangfu wrote to the court, suggesting that Emperor Yongli move his capital to Xunzhou, which was actually an attempt to follow Liu Chengyin's example and use the emperor to control the princes.

Many ministers opposed it, and Emperor Yongli was also worried about Chen Bangfu, so he decided to move the throne to Nanning.

At this time, Nanning was ruled by Zhao Yi, a native of Daxing, Northern Zhili. Zhao Yi was a hereditary commander of the Jinyi Guards. He was appointed as the Tongpan of Nanning, and later promoted to the prefect of Nanning, the deputy envoy of Zuojiang, and the governor of Guangxi.

Chen Bangfu was quite afraid of this man, who was "bright and capable, and deeply loved by the chieftains". In order to prevent Chen Bangfu from getting involved in Nanning, Zhao Yi made close ties with the chieftains and recruited the volunteer leader Xu Biao, thus preserving a piece of clean land for the court in southern Guangxi.

Upon hearing that Emperor Yongli was going to move his throne to Nanning again, Cen Danchu was greatly disappointed. He was so angry that he wanted to order the camp to be broken up and return to Guilin immediately.

The Qing army was approaching Quanzhou. Once they captured Quanzhou, they could directly threaten Guilin. Danchu had a fiancée waiting to be married in Guilin, and a lot of things to take care of in Yong'an Prefecture. Isn't it a waste of time to run around with the imperial carriage?
Zhu Shulu couldn't persuade him, so she quickly sent someone to inform Yu Houji.

When Yu Houji got the letter, he came over to ask for an audience, and his first words were: "It's rare for the governor to protect the emperor once, so you should be as careful as ever and don't abandon the emperor lightly!"

Danchu still listened to the military advisor's words. He couldn't help but complain: "From September to now, more than two months have passed. I led 400 soldiers to wander around, eat and sleep in the open, but gained nothing. Until now, the soldiers are hungry and the horses are thin. How can we continue to fight like this?"

Yu Houji said sternly: "What the governor said is wrong. If he had not been meritorious in protecting the emperor, how could the governor be promoted from a guerrilla to a general? How could he marry Mrs. Zhu? Although the court is unjust, it is the orthodox of the Ming Dynasty; although the emperor is weak, he still has the power to confer official titles.

"If the governor abandons the imperial carriage lightly, he will be criticized by villains and impeached by the censors. Moreover, Nanning is rich in grain and is also an important town in southern Guangxi. If the governor escorts the emperor to Nanning, he can also observe the beautiful scenery of Nanning and broaden his horizons."

This was said in a very obscure way, which made Danchu's heart beat fast. When he and Yu Houji met for the first time, they talked about the base. Nanning is located in the alluvial plain of Yongjiang River, which is convenient for both land and water. It is the most ideal and feasible base at the moment. Zhu Shulu didn't know about the idea of ​​the Nanning base, and advised: "Your husband has been protecting the emperor for more than two months and has been displaced for hundreds of miles. Nanning has no war and has abundant food and grass. When the emperor arrives in Nanning, he will be temporarily settled. Wouldn't it be better for your husband to break camp and return to Guilin then?"

Yes, it doesn't matter if we send the Buddha to the west. Danchu's anger subsided a lot, but he didn't say anything.

Yu Houji said: "Over in Quanzhou, Commander He has assembled several armies, many of which are elite troops. It should be no problem to deal with the Qing invaders. If Quanzhou is safe, then Guilin is safe, and the governor can rest assured."

Zhu Shulu felt an inexplicable jealousy in her heart, and was also worried that Miss Qu was a fierce person, so she couldn't help feeling a little uneasy.

Danchu sighed and said, "In that case, let's escort the imperial carriage to Nanning. I have already said that once we arrive in Nanning, I will lead the army back to Guilin, and no one can stop me."

The situation changed very quickly, beyond anyone's expectations.

In order to prevent Emperor Yongli from making a southern tour, Chen Bangfu sent troops to fight for Nanning, and engaged in battle with Xu Biao, a brave general under Zhao Yi. Xu Biao was recruited as a volunteer, but in fact he was just a local militia, and occasionally robbed and looted, so Chen Bangfu accused him of being a big thief.

What is shocking is that Chen Bangfu's regular army was unable to defeat Xu Biao's volunteer army.

The imperial carriage encountered war and the road was blocked, so Emperor Yongli and his ministers had to return to Xiangzhou. It was already the end of November.

At this time, news of a great victory came from Quanzhou. He Tengjiao led the troops of Hao Yongzhong, Jiao Lian, Zhao Yinxuan, and Lu Ding to defeat the Qing army in Quanzhou, beheading more than a thousand people and seizing more than 300 Daxi horses.

This battle was fought beautifully, and was a rare highlight for the Southern Ming army. There are many reasons for this:

First, the Qing army was relatively weak. After the defeat in Guilin, the three Shun kings retreated to Huguang. Kong Youde and Shang Kexi did not participate in the attack on Quanzhou, only Geng Zhongming's troops were there. Geng Zhongming was the least talented among the three Shun kings. He always followed Kong Youde's lead and was not a great general.

Second, the Ming army had proper tactics. The Ming army sent a large group of infantry to advance along the main road to attract the attention of the Qing army. Generals Hao Yongzhong, Hu Yiqing and Jiao Lian led their cavalry to take a small road to Quanzhou, and arrived at the city of Quanzhou unexpectedly, disrupting the Qing army's deployment.

Third, the generals of the Ming army led by example and fought bravely. Two generals performed outstandingly. Hao Yongzhong was the first, "leading by example, leading the cavalry of the garrison to charge directly into the enemy camp. The enemy was badly defeated in the battle and fled northward."

The second was General Hu Yiqing of Yunnan, who rode a famous Yunnan horse called "Sand Rabbit" which was less than five feet tall and was mistaken for a cow by the Qing army. In this battle, Hu Yiqing was extremely brave and charged into the enemy's formation, cutting off three heads in a row. The Qing army was shocked and called Hu Yiqing "a barbarian riding a cow".

The Quanzhou victory fully proved that the Ming army was not lacking in combat effectiveness and as long as it was properly organized, it was entirely possible to defeat the Qing army.

After hearing the news, Emperor Yongli no longer had to worry about his future. He Tengjiao and Qu Shisi once again petitioned Emperor Yongli to return to Guilin.

On December 5, Emperor Yongli and his ministers returned to Guilin. Danchu followed the emperor for three months, exhausted, and finally returned to Guilin.

(End of this chapter)