Zhu Yuanzhang in the cellar

Chapter 271: Annihilation of the Qing Army
After Lao Zhu made the coordination, the action was very quick, and five thousand people were immediately dispatched.

At the same time, strategic plans were made, and analyses were conducted on how they could conveniently travel to Yunnan.

Oil-powered cars, electric cars, hybrid vehicles, and airplanes were all rejected.

Ultimately, these things are easy to transport; there's plenty of them, and there's no shortage of excellent transportation.

However, energy remains a major weakness.

Once the passage is closed, gasoline will be unavailable, solar power will be completely unable to charge the electric vehicles, not to mention wind, nuclear, and hydropower.

So after all the research, in the end we still have to rely on human resources.

Bicycle and three-wheeled vehicle.

However, with modern support, the tricycles and bicycles this time are not the same as those bought in the markets during the Chongzhen era.

Hyundai directly transferred a batch of vehicles with the best off-road performance. The tires were specially made, very strong and wear-resistant, and adaptable to various terrains, making it more convenient for transporting supplies.

Since this is just a strategic retreat, not a siege, heavy weapons will not be brought.

They only brought basic supplies such as sniper rifles, assault rifles, drones, thermal imaging night vision devices, marching rations, tents, sleeping bags, bullets, walkie-talkies, radios, marching parachutes, mortars, and rocket launchers.

Although attacking heavily defended major cities is certainly not easy, they are basically invincible.

After all, they carried over a million rounds of ammunition, using my country's independently developed 5.8×42mm intermediate bullets, each weighing 12.7 grams, for a total weight of 12700 kilograms, which were distributed across more than a thousand tricycles.

The allocation of supplies took half a day, and the delivery of soldiers and supplies took about a day. By June 5th of the 15th year of the Yongli reign, all personnel and equipment were in place.

The Shangfeng Mountain was unusually overcrowded, and the soldiers had to stand in the sinkhole outside Zhu Cibei's house.

At this moment, Zhu Di went up to the megaphone and addressed the troops: "Gentlemen, as you all know, we are now in the late Ming Dynasty. The Jurchen Tartars have conquered almost all of China's territory. The last emperor of the Ming Dynasty has been forced to flee to Burma. In a while, the Burmese will betray us, kill our Ming officials, capture our Ming emperor, and cause the complete demise of our Ming Dynasty. Gentlemen, my Ming soldiers, do you agree to this?"

"No! No! No!"

The Hongwu Imperial Guards below roared like a tsunami.

Many of the soldiers in this group were those who followed Zhu Yuanzhang to the Chongzhen era.

However, he was not an ordinary soldier, but rather a mid- to lower-ranking officer.

Because of their ample combat experience and outstanding military achievements, they were all promoted after returning home.

The current 5,000 people are just an advance team; Lao Zhu plans to bring at least 20,000 people.

Therefore, many veterans were selected to join the ranks and command lower-ranking soldiers in battle.

Although these soldiers undergo military training every day, they lack real combat experience, and now is the opportunity for them to do so.

Therefore, not only were the veterans who went to the Chongzhen era extremely excited, but the newly transferred soldiers were also thrilled, for it was the perfect time to make their mark.

"it is good."

Seeing the army's morale soaring, Zhu Di was very pleased and said, "Then everyone, follow me to Burma. Remember, the main focus along the way is marching. If you see any Tartars, just kill them. Do not pursue them. Do you understand?"

"Yes!"

The soldiers shouted in unison.

Where is Zhou An?

"The end will be here."

"I hereby appoint you as the vanguard to take Huaihua directly."

"Yes."

"Where is Chen Gui?"

"The end will be here."

"I hereby appoint you to the right wing, to support the right flank."

"Yes."

"Where is Yang Heng?"

"The end will be here."

"I hereby appoint you to the left wing, to support the left flank."

"Yes."

Where is Wang Xingwu?

Zhu Di issued military orders in an orderly manner.

The soldiers were ordered to set off in a standard marching formation, consisting of the vanguard, the front army, the central army, the left and right wings, and the rear army.

Although Zhu Yunfeng felt it was unnecessary.

This is because it was an ancient way of marching. Modern marching structures are much looser, with even a few people forming a tactical squad, easily defeating thousands of Jurchen Tartars.

However, their goal was not to go out and fight, but to march quickly. Therefore, using a ring structure was the safest strategy to protect their supplies.

Many soldiers began to descend the mountain.

Zhu Yunfeng then brought Zhu Cibei's family along. The old ancestor was clearly somewhat reluctant and repeatedly asked if they could stay on Shangfeng Mountain and wait for their triumphant return.

However, Zhu Yunfeng threatened him with machine guns and grenades, and he finally "voluntarily" got on the tricycle.

He loaded all the family property he had painstakingly hidden onto the tricycle as if it were a treasure. The five of them squatted obediently inside the vehicle, looking ashen-faced as if they were about to be executed.

In later generations, it was very convenient to go down Shangfeng Mountain, but now it's a real pain. There are no proper main roads, only small paths, and many of them have uneven slopes, even stony ground, with undulating rocks blocking the way.

Therefore, the soldiers had no choice but to painstakingly clear the road again, leveling obstacles such as rocks, trees, and bushes. What should have been a two-hour journey took them most of the day.

It was already dark when they came down the mountain.

However, Mao Xiang has already sent men to capture Lansha Town, so there is no need to worry about security issues.

At this time, Lansha Town was nothing like what it would become in later times. There was a row of wooden houses on the north bank of the Lansha River, and a single old, dilapidated street paved with bluestone slabs in the middle. A small wooden bridge connected the two sides to the north. The south bank, which would become the most prosperous place in later times, was just a field of wild grass.

The soldiers did not enter the town, but pitched tents on the grassland on the south bank and spent the night there. The next day, they set off again, heading southwest along the winding mountain roads towards Xupu and Huaihua.

After they left, the village chief of Lansha Town hurriedly ran towards the county town to report the matter.

However, it was of no use.

Firstly, Hunan was already in the heart of the Manchu territory at this time, and no heavy troops were stationed there. The total number of garrison troops in Hunan was only tens of thousands, and the number of patrol officers and yamen runners in the county towns was less than a hundred.

Secondly, this army's combat effectiveness is such that even if the entire million-strong army currently under the Qing Dynasty were transferred here, they still wouldn't be able to deal with them.

Therefore, their march can be described as swaggering, without any attempt at concealment.

However, the roads were rugged, and although their supplies were not particularly abundant, each vehicle was still loaded with about 100 kilograms of goods. Even when traveling on main roads, their marching speed was not fast.

Sometimes, when they encountered slopes, even tricycles couldn't make it up, and the soldiers had to push them. They marched only forty or fifty kilometers a day, which was about the same speed as walking.

The landscape along the way was desolate, with many mountain villages barely inhabited. Clearly, the turmoil at the end of the Ming Dynasty and the beginning of the Qing Dynasty had a profound impact, leaving nine out of ten houses empty in the Central Plains and even affecting the remote mountainous regions of the south.

However, the Qing dynasty has now secured its rule. Apart from the border factions of Wu Sangui and Geng Jimao continuing to attack the Southern Ming forces and Zheng Chenggong's forces, the internal situation has gradually entered a period of stable development.

Therefore, with order already established and local government systems in place, their situations naturally began to be reported up the chain of command quickly.

Zhu Yunfeng and his group descended the mountain on the fifth day of the sixth lunar month. On the sixth day of the sixth lunar month, the village head of Lansha Town reported the news to the county. The county immediately sent a report to the prefectural city that same day. Prefect Dong Yingkui of Baoqing did not dare to delay and also sent someone to report to Changsha overnight.

Although the early Qing dynasty seemed to value surrendered officials, it was actually more about guarding against them. Therefore, many local officials were not surrendered officials, but rather Han bannermen.

For example, Dong Yingkui belonged to the Bordered Yellow Banner of the Han Army, while Zhang Hongyou, the prefect of Changsha, belonged to the Plain Yellow Banner of the Han Army.

Their leaders, Zhang Changgeng, the Governor-General of Huguang, and Yuan Kuoyu, the Governor of Pianyuan, were both from the Bordered Yellow Banner. They were Manchus from Fengtian and were standard Manchu Han Bannermen, barely belonging to the Eight Banners. They were qualified to call themselves servants in front of their banner lords.

Therefore, they were extremely loyal to the Manchus. When they learned that there was a group of soldiers in their territory who claimed to be soldiers of the Ming Dynasty, Yuan Kuoyu, the highest official in Hunan, immediately led his troops out.

As a Han Chinese bannerman who followed Dorgon into the pass, Yuan Kuoyu was able to directly command 21,000 Green Standard Army soldiers in battle. Under his command were generals Li Ruchun, Wang Ping, Nan Yikui, Chen De, and others. He was once ordered to conquer the entire Hunan province.

Upon hearing the news, he quickly led his men to pursue the enemy towards Huaihua, while simultaneously riding to Guizhou to inform the Guizhou governor, Bian Sanyuan, of the matter.

To meet military needs, the Qing Dynasty had been developing post stations since the first year of the Shunzhi Emperor's reign. After entering the Central Plains, they established a large-scale post station system, which enabled them to transmit messages very quickly.

Driven by the fast horse, the news traveled more than 700 kilometers from Changsha to Guiyang in just three days, on June 12th.

Guizhou Governor Bian Sanyuan attached great importance to this matter, because as early as yesterday, June 11, Tongren Prefecture sent a message saying that a group of strangely dressed people of unknown origin had entered Tongren Prefecture and were heading towards Guiyang.

The Tongren garrison sent men to intercept them, but they were all killed before they could get close. More than a hundred men were wiped out in just a few breaths, which terrified the Tongren garrison, who hurriedly closed the city gates and trembled with fear.

Sensing hostile intentions, Bian Sanyuan hastily assembled over 30,000 troops from the Guizhou garrison and dispatched Li Benshen, the Guizhou General, and Gao Qilong, a Green Standard Army commander, to ambush and repel the enemy at Pingyue. This differed from the situation in Hunan.

Because Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan were on the front lines of the attack on the Southern Ming, there were a large number of troops stationed there.

In particular, Wu Sangui's strength has expanded dramatically in recent years, with a core army of over 50,000, a regular army of 100,000, and other auxiliary troops, totaling as many as 200,000.

These troops were scattered throughout Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan. For example, Li Benshen, the general of Guizhou, was a subordinate of Wu Sangui and only had a cooperative relationship with Bian Sanyuan.

Therefore, Guizhou still has a sufficient number of troops.

If time hadn't been so tight, Bian Sanyuan could have gathered around 50,000 people.

At this time, Zhu Di and his men were naturally unaware that they were being pursued from behind and blocked from the front.

They were completely focused on getting there.

On June 16th, Zhu Yunfeng sat on the back of the tricycle while Mao Xiang pedaled hard in front, until the chain was almost sparking.

In other words, their vehicles are all super mini tricycles, made with top-quality materials, and equipped with lubricating oil. Otherwise, ordinary tricycles would probably have run into problems long ago if they were made this way.

The surrounding area is characterized by towering mountains, undulating slopes, and dense forests and vegetation.

Although we were traveling on an official road, the official roads in the deep mountains and forests of Guizhou were no different from narrow, winding paths.

Zhu Yunfeng and his team really suffered a lot. Because the vehicles were carrying supplies, the roads were often difficult to pass. They were doing relatively well in Hunan, but it became really tough after they passed Tongren.

Finding a flat road is difficult; it's either uphill or downhill, or along cliffs. Although the three-wheeled vehicle isn't big, it's still quite troublesome to travel on.

Fortunately, the soldiers who came were all elite and had plenty of energy. Even though the roads were difficult, they could push the troops along.

They remained vigilant around the group at all times.

Drones hover around them at all times to ensure their safety.

The weather in Guizhou was not good today, with dark clouds covering the sky. Zhu Yunfeng looked up at the sky and said to Zhu Di through the walkie-talkie, "Fourth brother, it looks like it's going to rain."

"It's tough. We've only traveled a little over 400 kilometers in ten days. We probably won't get to Kunming until almost July."

"No problem. The flood disaster won't happen until July 18th. Li Dingguo and Bai Wenxuan's troops are very close to the Yongli Emperor's side. We'll send a small force over first and take Kunming first."

"Alright, let's set up camp first and talk about it after the rain stops."

Zhu Di also knew that marching in the rain was not a good idea.

It's not that they're afraid of rain, because they can't fight in the rain; it's that the roads are already so difficult to travel on, and they would become extremely muddy if it rained.

It's already mid-June, and we were originally planning to travel another 400 kilometers to reach Kunming in late June.

However, based on the current situation, it is estimated that it will not arrive until July.

It was midday. The soldiers found an open space nearby, cleared away the surrounding vegetation, and secured several nearby hills before setting up camp.

By the afternoon, rows of green military tents had sprung up, and heavy rain followed.

They all choose relatively high locations, and each tent has a moisture-proof mat and groundsheet inside, plus the canvas mat that comes with the tent itself, so it is very safe unless there is a flood.

Zhu Yunfeng, Zhu Di, Xu Da, Mao Xiang, and several others gathered inside the tent, checking their locations using an offline map.

"This is Yuezhou, which is now Fuquan City in Guizhou. It's less than 100 kilometers from Guizhou. If the rain stops today and we can continue our journey tomorrow, we can reach Guiyang the day after tomorrow."

Listening to the pounding rain outside, Zhu Di looked at the map and said, "Should we take Guizhou as well?"

"let's hit."

Zhu Yunfeng thought for a moment and said, "It's just something I did."

What if we take it down?

Xu Da shook his head and said, "Now there are Manchu lackeys everywhere, and most of the officials below are Ming officials who have surrendered. If we kill them all, who will manage things?"

"Oh dear, this is giving me a headache. Everyone has surrendered by now, and it's not easy to find a few loyal subjects."

Zhu Yunfeng scratched his head.

"There must be quite a few gentry who are loyal to the Ming Dynasty but have gone into seclusion."

"There are quite a few people like that. We'll see how it goes. But to be honest, even if there are, given the uncertain situation, I doubt many would be willing to come out."

"I'll just call since I'm passing through Guiyang anyway. If they accept the call, great; if not, I'll just give up."

"also."

Several people were talking.

A guard came in and said, "Reporting, Commander Zhou was ordered to scout ahead and has discovered that the enemy has set up an ambush about five miles ahead."

"Oh?"

Zhu Yunfeng said in surprise, "This is interesting. The Guizhou garrison actually dared to ambush us. I thought they would only dare to hide in the city."

“We’ve only passed through county towns and prefectural cities before, and their small number of troops would definitely only dare to stay in the city. Now we’re about to arrive in Guiyang, one of the most important places in the southwest, so there must be a large army there.”

Zhu Di then asked, "Has Zhou An ascertained how many people the other side has?"

"I don't know the exact number, but it's around twenty or thirty thousand."

"Only twenty or thirty thousand? Go tell Zhou An to annihilate them all."

"His men are probably not enough; send more."

Xu Da also said.

Zhou An was only a centurion during the Chongzhen reign, but he has now been promoted to a thousand-household commander due to his merits.

However, due to the limited number of available slots, many commanders of thousands competed to sign up, and some senior generals of the Hongwu Emperor all expressed their willingness to come, so their ranks had to be reduced.

Of the 5,000 people this time, there are more than 20 commanders, each with only 200-300 men under their command.

Although two or three hundred people are more than enough to fight tens of thousands.

However, since this was an advance force that had to march a long distance, they did not bring rapid-fire cannons, only some mortars and rocket launchers.

It would be difficult to completely annihilate them based on these alone.

Zhu Di thought about it and agreed, saying, "Then let Chen Gui and Yang Heng go together too, and don't let either of them escape."

"Yes!"

The messenger immediately went out.

Although they said they were going out, they were really just going outside to get a walkie-talkie to issue military orders.

Upon receiving the news, the three commanders hurriedly set off, braving the heavy rain, and quickly approached the enemy's ambush point not far away.

Their drones were state-of-the-art military drones, capable of withstanding wind and rain, and they quickly located their position.

At this moment, the Qing soldiers were also in a state of panic due to the sudden downpour.

Li Benshen and Gao Qilong disagreed. Li Benshen wanted to withdraw his troops and retreat to their camp on the main road. Gao Qilong believed that the enemy was already close and that they must continue the ambush.

Because Zhu Yunfeng and his men acted so openly and without any attempt to conceal their movements, the Qing army had already figured out their whereabouts and thus knew their location.

Although they brought artillery, it was a problem for the artillery to be able to fire in the heavy rain.

Therefore, Li Benshen was determined not to continue fighting.

"It's raining heavily now, so they definitely won't continue marching. The scouts just reported that they've already set up camp. What good would an ambush do? We might as well go back and wait for the rain to stop. You don't actually want to fight in the rain, do you?"

"It will get dark soon. Those people have really powerful weapons, and they have a lot of men. We might not be able to defeat them in a head-on fight. What if they continue marching after the rain stops and discover our camp and launch a surprise attack? We should stay here and wait for a suitable opportunity. Even if the rain doesn't stop, we can still take the chance to launch a surprise attack on their camp."

The two sides disagreed and could not reach an agreement.

Just then, a continuous "whoosh whoosh whoosh" sound was heard.

Then came "Bang bang bang!"

Li Benshen and Gao Qilong's command tent was hit by more than ten shells, and they were all killed instantly.

With their deaths, the Qing army was thrown into chaos, and Zhou An and his men immediately launched a surprise attack.

"Put-put-put-put-put-put-put!"

Guns spat flames, and hordes of Qing soldiers fell. By nightfall, their ambush site was awash in blood.

(End of this chapter)