Zhu Yuanzhang in the cellar

Chapter 273 Wu Sangui Attacks Zhu Di

After capturing Guiyang, they only rested for one day before setting off again the following day.

All the Manchu Tartars inside the city were killed.

In addition to the more than 10,000 Green Standard Army soldiers, there were also several hundred Manchu Banner soldiers in the city.

These people were not actually soldiers, but rather the attendants of the Guizhou governor. They rarely went out to fight and served more as supervisors.

Later, major cities across the country would settle some Manchu, Mongol, and Han people from the Eight Banners. This system was known as the Eight Banners Garrison System, hence these places had "Manchu cities".

For example, during the Qing Dynasty, the Forbidden City in Nanjing was designated as a Manchu city, inhabited by the Eight Banners soldiers stationed in Nanjing.

In the early Qing Dynasty, there were relatively few Manchu cities like this, but Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan were the front lines for suppressing the Southern Ming forces, so many Eight Banner soldiers were still dispatched from Guiyang, Chengdu and Kunming.

However, Yunnan was Wu Sangui's territory, and he also infiltrated Guizhou and Sichuan quite a bit. In order to exacerbate the conflict with Wu Sangui, the Qing Dynasty did not directly send a large army to garrison the area. Some of the Eight Banner soldiers were also the accompanying troops of the governors of various places.

For example, Zhu Guozhi, the governor of Yunnan, brought some Manchu Eight Banners followers with him, but was eliminated by Wu Sangui.

At present, the governor of Yunnan and Guizhou, Zhao Tingchen, had the most Eight Banners troops, numbering around several thousand. However, he was later transferred away after the Southern Ming was destroyed.

As a result, when the fourth Governor-General of Yunnan and Guizhou, Gan Wenkun, was rebelled against by Wu Sangui, all the garrison troops in Guiyang surrendered to Wu Sangui. He was left with only a few Eight Banner followers and was eventually surrounded and committed suicide.

As for these Jurchens from beyond the Great Wall, Zhu Di ordered their heads to be cut off, their bodies dissected, and their corpses to be displayed outside the East Gate.

He then planned to have all the people in the city grow their hair long and change their clothes to restore the Han Chinese attire.

However, firstly, restoring clothing is easy, but hair is difficult to grow back quickly. Secondly, the people of Guiyang are all trembling with fear, keeping their doors tightly shut and daring not to come out.

Given their tight schedule and heavy workload, they did not immediately implement the regulations. Instead, they left two thousand households, totaling about five hundred people, to guard Guiyang and continued their journey to Kunming.

Three days later, Yuan Kuoyu, the governor of Pianyuan, finally arrived in Guiyang after a hurried journey. But upon hearing the devastating news that Guiyang had fallen and that the governor of Guizhou, Bian Sanyuan, had been killed in battle, he was greatly alarmed.

Although it wasn't his primary responsibility, the enemy had appeared in Hunan and then headed towards Guizhou. If he couldn't immediately redeem himself through meritorious service and the court pursued him, Yuan Kuoyu, despite his Eight Banners background, would likely face difficulties.

He immediately sent men to secretly infiltrate the city to investigate the situation.

There are only a little over 500 people in Guiyang City at present, and they have ordered the craftsmen in the city to repair the east gate.

Upon learning that the city was not populated and that the city gates were not even closed, with people still coming and going as usual, Yuan Kuoyu had an idea.

He planned to send people into the city in batches, and after two days he would launch a surprise attack on Guiyang. While the enemy was defending the city, the people inside would then launch a surprise attack on the city gates and open them, allowing him to easily retake Guiyang.

However, to his surprise, the drone had already detected his whereabouts dozens of kilometers away from Guiyang.

The Ming army brought a large number of drone batteries and solar panels.

Although the rain a few days ago prevented the solar panels from charging, the weather in June and July is like rain that comes and goes quickly, and soon the weather will be sunny again. The drones patrol around Guiyang almost 24 hours a day.

Upon discovering that more Qing troops were approaching, the city's defenders launched a counter-attack. On the very night that Yuan Kuoyu was preparing to implement his plan, the soldiers donned night vision goggles, carried mortars, and left the city.

The tactics remained unchanged. First, mortars bombarded Yuan Kuoyu's camp, and then, taking advantage of the chaos in the camp, the Ming soldiers launched a fierce attack with assault rifles.

Amidst the sounds of gunfire, the more than 30,000 Green Standard Army troops led by Yuan Kuoyu were routed, suffering heavy casualties along the way, and fled for hundreds of miles.

Yuan Kuoyu himself was killed in the first round of artillery fire.

no way.

The Ming army's weapons were too overpowered. The combination of drones and night vision devices left his commander's tent exposed, and mortars bombarded it directly. Even a miracle couldn't save him.

Meanwhile, Zhu Di continued his journey in silence, setting off on June 19th and arriving in Anshun on the morning of June 21st.

Anshun is now empty.

Because Bian Sanyuan had transferred all the surrounding garrison troops, more than 30,000 men in Yuezhou had been captured by Zhu Di, and more than 10,000 men in Guiyang had also been lost. As a result, the surrounding cities were left unguarded and were powerless to stop the Ming army from advancing.

However, news of this formidable Ming army, which had captured cities one after another, including Guiyang, one of the important towns in the southwest, had already been spread.

The Qing court is too far away, so they haven't received any news yet.

However, by June 22nd, Wu Sangui and Zhao Tingchen, the Governor-General of Yunnan and Guizhou, learned of this matter from Kunming through the relatively efficient postal system established by the Qing government.

"boom!"

"what?"

On the afternoon of the 23rd, in the residence of the General of Pingxi, Wu Sangui, who was drinking tea, suddenly dropped his teacup on the ground.

He disregarded his teacup and looked at the messenger soldier with a horrified expression, saying, "Say it again."

The soldier knelt on one knee and replied, "Reporting to the General, the Ming forces have captured Guiyang."

"How could this be? How could this be!"

Wu Sangui muttered to himself in disbelief, "How could the Ming rebels still have the strength to attack Guiyang? This is impossible."

He stood up from his chair and said, "Tell me all the information about this Ming traitor."

The soldiers recounted how this army suddenly appeared in Hunan, then traveled through counties and prefectures, entered Guizhou from Hunan, nearly annihilated 30,000 Green Standard Army soldiers in a field battle in Yuezhou, and subsequently captured Guiyang.

Hearing that this mysterious force was extremely powerful and possessed weapons that seemed even more formidable than firearms and artillery, especially after the easy capture of Guiyang, Wu Sangui felt somewhat uneasy.

Based on the enemy's current marching route, this force is very likely heading straight for Kunming.

They either went to rescue Emperor Yongli or to kill Wu Sangui.

The total strength of the defense forces in Guiyang was about 50,000, while the total strength in Kunming was no less. Wu Sangui himself had about 50,000 core followers, and with the surrounding troops, the total number was over 100,000.

However, given the enemy's ability to easily defeat over 30,000 men in open battle and quickly capture Guiyang, a key town defended by over 10,000 men, my 100,000-strong army is probably not safe.

Thinking of this, he quickly summoned his trusted advisors Fang Guangchen, Liu Maoxia, Xia Guoxiang, and his son-in-law Hu Guozhu.

After discussing with them, they also believed that the enemy was coming on strong and their fighting power should not be underestimated. The best way was to drag the Qing government into the conflict and immediately get the Qing government to send reinforcements.

Just as they were racking their brains for a solution, Zhao Tingchen, the Governor-General of Yunnan and Guizhou, also came to see them.

At this time, Wu Sangui had not yet used a bowstring to kill the Yongli Emperor and was appointed Prince of Pingxi, so he did not yet have the ability to control the Governor-General and Governor of Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan. However, the main military forces in the southwest were controlled by Wu Sangui. The Governor-General of Yunnan and Guizhou, Zhao Tingchen, and the Governor of Yunnan, Lin Tianqing, had very few troops under their command. Therefore, their authority and military power were restricted by Wu Sangui, and they were even rendered powerless.

In this situation, when faced with an enemy attack, they had no choice but to seek help from Wu Sangui.

After the two entered the mansion, Wu Sangui, having already considered the matter, asked Fang Guangchen and the others to leave first, while he sat alone in the main hall, waiting for the two of them to arrive.

After a while, two officials dressed in Qing Dynasty official robes and wearing red hats with coral tops entered.

Zhao Tingchen and Lin Tianqing were both from the Northeast and came from the Han Banner Army, while Wu Sangui was just a surrendered general. They had always looked down on each other, but they were forced to rely on each other because the other held a large army and had the power to select troops in the southwest.

After the two men entered, Wu Sangui maintained a facade, stood up to greet them, and then sat down and said, "I already know why you two have come, and I am also troubled by this matter."

Lin Tianqing immediately said, "General, the court will surely be furious at the loss of Guiyang. We should eliminate this Ming rebel group immediately to prevent anyone in the court from attacking us."

Wu Sangui shook his head and said, "You two understand warfare, how can you think of things so simply? Guiyang has a large army, while the Ming rebels only have a few thousand. They almost completely annihilated more than 30,000 Green Standard Army soldiers in the field and easily broke through Guiyang. The weapons they used were far more powerful than firearms. They could blast down the east gate of Guiyang from more than ten miles away. With such combat power, we would have no chance of survival if we went there."

Zhao Tingchen and Lin Tianqing both fell silent.

Wu Sangui was right.

As they were originally from the Han Banner Army, they naturally possessed combat skills; otherwise, they wouldn't have been sent to the southwest to monitor Wu Sangui.

In fact, they even considered having Wu Sangui fight those Ming rebels, preferably to the point of mutual destruction, so that the imperial court could reap the benefits and easily resolve the increasingly powerful Wu Sangui problem.

However, the fighting power of the Ming army had exceeded their expectations. If Wu Sangui were to send troops, and he ended up like Bian Sanyuan, the southwest would fall into their hands.

After all, compared to Wu Sangui, the remnants of the Southern Ming were the real threat.

Since the Manchus entered the pass, they not only carried out massacres, but also continued to maintain the harsh tax system of the late Ming Dynasty. For example, the collection of three taxes was still ongoing, which caused widespread resentment among the people and a change in their attitude towards the Ming Dynasty.

Previously, they believed that the Ming Dynasty was doomed to perish, so they supported the rebel army. But now the Manchu Qing Dynasty has angered both heaven and the people, and the common people have gradually begun to secretly refer to the Southern Ming army as the "royal army."

The Southern Ming dynasty was able to hold out for so long thanks to the help of the people in the south, so they must not allow the Southern Ming's power to grow again.

"You should also understand that once I am defeated, the southwest will be taken by the Ming rebels in an instant. There are still remnants of the Ming rebels in Sichuan. If they go north to take Sichuan and east to invade Guangdong, Guangxi and Hunan, then half of the country will be occupied by the Ming rebels. This is a critical moment of life and death."

Seeing that the two remained silent, Wu Sangui pressed on, saying, "Therefore, at this time we must advance and retreat together, and mobilize all the troops in the southwest, as well as the surrounding forces, such as the troops of Li Guoying, Zhang Changgeng, and Wang Yizheng."

Lin Tianqing couldn't help but say, "Isn't it a bit of an overreaction to mobilize so many troops just to deal with a mere few thousand Ming traitors? Besides, there are still Ming traitors in Sichuan. If we mobilize them here..."

"Does the governor think this is making a mountain out of a molehill?"

Wu Sangui interrupted him, saying, "I would like to ask the governor, what kind of mere few thousand men could easily annihilate 30,000 soldiers in open battle and capture the heavily fortified city of Guiyang in half an hour? If we do not go all out, but my southwestern army is wiped out, I am afraid it will be too late to regret it."

"This"

Lin Tianqing was speechless for a moment.

Zhu Di's achievements were indeed too exaggerated.

It should be noted that the Qing army was still very powerful at that time.

We might be able to defeat them, but to be able to annihilate tens of thousands of them in open field battles is something I can't even imagine.

Moreover, they easily breached the high walls and thick ramparts of Guiyang.

This means that the enemy has the combat power to annihilate tens of thousands of people, and naturally also possesses the formidable ability to defeat hundreds of thousands of people.

Therefore, Wu Sangui's concerns were indeed not wrong in the eyes of those who understood military affairs.

Even Guiyang couldn't withstand it. Even if Yunnan's military strength was much greater than Guiyang's, was Kunming's city wall higher and thicker than Guiyang's?
"In my opinion, this Ming dynasty is no ordinary force. If we don't go all out, the Qing dynasty will be in grave danger."

Wu Sangui sighed and said.

Lin Tianqing hesitated and said, "To mobilize so many troops, shouldn't we ask the imperial court for permission?"

"Should we request permission from the imperial court?"

Wu Sangui sneered, "They have already taken Guiyang and are rushing to Kunming. They will probably be at the gates of Kunming within ten days at most. You won't even have time to send a message by carrier pigeon."

"Since there's no time to spare, how can they possibly catch up by temporarily drawing troops from the surrounding areas?"

"We can either take a gamble and bet that they're in a hurry to go to Burma to rescue Yongli. If their target is Kunming, we can only try to defend the city and wait for reinforcements to come to our rescue."

"Is the General overestimating the strength of the enemy?"

"Considering defeat before victory, given the enemy's demonstrated fighting strength, this is the best course of action for me. Otherwise, should we just wait for the southwest to fall and for the imperial court to be enraged?"

"Forehead"

Lin Tianqing then looked at Zhao Tingchen. Wu Sangui's intention was to transfer all the troops from Sichuan, Hubei, Hunan, and Guangdong to besiege this Ming army.

In reality, it was mainly troops from Sichuan.

By this time, the south had been largely pacified. Apart from stationing heavy troops in Sichuan, Fujian, and Yunnan to defend against the Thirteen Families of Kuidong, the Southern Ming, and Zheng Chenggong's forces, the Manchus had significantly reduced their garrison strength in other areas.

Most of the army in the southwest was controlled by Wu Sangui. Lin Tianqing and Zhao Tingchen were only nominal governors and viceroys, and had no power to command other local armies.

However, as the Governor-General of Yunnan and Guizhou, Zhao Tingchen could naturally discuss with the Governor-General of Sichuan, hoping that he would send troops to help relieve the siege.

Seeing this, Zhao Tingchen finally said, "Then let's do as the general says. We will submit a memorial to the court to report this matter to the imperial court, and at the same time ask Li Guoying, the governor of Sichuan, to help send troops."

"So good."

Wu Sangui nodded and said, "I heard that the enemy has reached Anshun, but that was three days ago. I suppose they are already close to Qujing by now. I will go there personally to see their fighting strength. If things go wrong, we will block them in sections to slow down their advance on Kunming and wait for reinforcements. How about you two come with me?"

"it is good."

Both of them agreed.

Seeing is believing, so they naturally wanted to see the fighting strength of that Ming army for themselves.

Wu Sangui immediately dispatched troops to the east to meet Zhu Di in battle.

(End of this chapter)