Zhu Yuanzhang in the cellar

Chapter 275 Night Raid by the Chrysanthemum-like Beings

Wu Sangui finally understood why the defending army in Guizhou was so easily defeated, and why the city of Guiyang was quickly breached when Bian Sanyuan was defending it.

The Ming army's terrifying fighting power refreshed his understanding.

No one could be seen, only countless shells raining down from the sky, and the soldiers were blown to death one by one.

Limbs and severed arms were scattered all over the ground.

The frightened warhorses scattered and fled, and countless soldiers were killed by explosions, falls, or trampling. The thousands of Guan Ning cavalry that had been brought along had already suffered heavy casualties before they even met the enemy.

And this was only the fighting power of a small contingent of the Ming army. In comparison, Nanning City was much worse off, being bombarded and riddled with holes.

Wu Sangui was no longer able to calmly think of a solution; he now had only one thought in his mind—to escape.

Fortunately, he was located on a small hill in the distance.

Fortunately, the dense forests of the mountains concealed their position; otherwise, if the drones had detected the enemy's command post, a saturation attack would have been inevitable.

Driven by fear of death, Wu Sangui ran more than 30 kilometers in one go, causing his horse to foam at the mouth before finally collapsing to the ground.

"General! General!"

His attendants quickly reined in their horses and helped Wu Sangui, who had fallen to the ground, to his feet.

Wu Sangui asked in horror, "Has the enemy caught up with us?"

"Not yet."

"Have you seen the Prefect and the Governor?"

"After the enemy artillery came down, there was chaos, and they all scattered."

"They will probably come here. Let the soldiers go out and investigate to find their whereabouts."

"Yes."

"Where is this place?"

"It should be the area around Malongchuan."

The attendant replied.

"Hoo hoo hoo hoo."

Wu Sangui let out a long breath and said, "Go and gather the defeated soldiers and retreat back to Kunming."

"Yes."

The surrounding attendants hurriedly went to carry out the orders.

Wu Sangui then went to Malong Town.

Malong Town is the later Qujing Malong District, and at that time it was also known as Malongchuan.

Further west are two gateways to Kunming: the Ancient Castle and Yilong Castle.

Basically, after passing Malongchuan, you'll reach Songming Prefecture, from which you can travel directly to Kunming.

Wu Sangui knew very well that Nanning had already fallen and could not stop the powerful Ming army for long.

Given the enemy's marching speed, they might even continue marching on the same day the city falls, so their anxiety was practically written all over their faces.

Fortunately, Zhao Tingchen and Lin Tianqing were unharmed. Although historically, when Wu Sangui rebelled, the Governor-General of Yunnan and Guizhou and the Governor of Yunnan were both targets of his assassination, and their relationship was not very harmonious.

However, with a formidable enemy at hand, Zhao Tingchen and Lin Tianqing represented the Qing Dynasty court, and only their memorials would be believed by the Qing court.

Otherwise, given the current suspicious attitude of the entire court towards Wu Sangui, it's possible that the Qing court might suspect that Wu Sangui deliberately colluded with the Ming army to harm the Qing troops they had deployed in the southwest.

Therefore, if Wu Sangui wanted to gain the support of the Qing court, he would naturally need the help of Zhao Tingchen and Lin Tianqing.

soon.

About an hour later, Zhao Tingchen and Lin Tianqing, who had been found, were also transferred to Malongchuan.

Because Malongchuan is the only way between Kunming and Qujing and is also the gateway to Kunming, there was a Green Standard Army auxiliary defense battalion in the area, with 500 men. However, most of them were transferred out, leaving only a little over 100 men in the battalion.

Wu Sangui and his men entered the camp directly, and their personal guards took over the auxiliary defense battalion. Inside the camp, all three men looked extremely grim, and the situation was very unfavorable for them.

"In my opinion, we should go back to Kunming first."

Wu Sangui did not want to discuss important military matters with them here. His current situation was extremely dangerous, and he felt no sense of security.

Zhao Tingchen said, "General, we must return to Kunming immediately. If nothing unexpected happens, that Ming army will capture Nanning and soon continue marching towards Kunming. Therefore, even if we return, we still need to think about what to do next."

Lin Tianqing stared blankly and said, "It's terrifying. I heard from the fleeing soldiers who escaped from the city that the entire east gate of Nanning was bombed down, and they couldn't get close to the enemy at all. The city's defenders wanted to retreat into the city to fight in the streets, but it was as if there were eyes watching them from above. No matter where they hid to launch a sneak attack, they would be killed. There was no way to stop them."

"The top of your head?"

Wu Sangui recalled the black dots he had seen in the sky earlier and couldn't help but say, "Could it be that they really have some kind of sorcery?"

"What does the General mean? Does he also believe in these cult-like words?"

Zhao Tingchen frowned.

During the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, unrest was brewing not only on the official front but also among the common people.

Besides the righteous men who opposed the Qing dynasty and sought to restore the Ming dynasty, there were many other religions, such as the Luo religion, the Wenxiang religion, the Zhai religion, the White Lotus religion, the Mahayana religion, the Maitreya religion, and so on.

These sects are numerous, with hundreds of names that can be easily identified, spanning across the country and numbering in the millions of believers.

Their common explanation was that they possessed magical abilities.

In fact, many of them were probably just physical and chemical experiments, such as Buddha statues growing in the soil or scooping copper coins out of a pot of oil by hand. These were later exposed by some science and education programs.

However, people at that time had limited cognitive abilities, and they were easily convinced of the truth when they saw such extraordinary things, so they joined these sects one after another.

As far as the imperial court was concerned, these religions did seem to have some means, and their magic was also classified as sorcery.

Clearly, Wu Sangui also regarded drones as a top-notch form of sorcery.

"If it's not sorcery, then how did they know where we were? We sent out so many scouts and we almost couldn't figure out their movements."

Wu Sangui said in a deep voice, "You two should also know that even if we have an inside accomplice, we only arrived today, and our location was chosen on the spot. How could they find us so accurately? There are no scouts on the ground, which can only mean that the enemy's scouts are in the sky. I once saw many black dots hovering in the sky. I suspect that they are birds that they have tamed with sorcery to act as their eyes."

"Since it's a tamed bird, it's not necessarily sorcery."

Seeing that Wu Sangui seemed overly fearful, Zhao Tingchen said, "As long as they are still human, we can defeat them."

"Even if they only used tamed birds for eyes, what about their weapons?"

Wu Sangui sighed, "Their weapons are too powerful. We can't even see them or get close to them."

"Then launch a night raid, disguise yourself, there's always a way."

"Um"

"If they march tonight, they will certainly not reach Songming Prefecture. They will likely spend the night in Gucheng or Yilong. It will be a good opportunity to test whether they can fight at night."

Zhao Tingchen pondered for a moment and said, "If they are unable to defeat us even in a night battle, then we will have no choice but to leave Kunming with our army."

"Leave Kunming?"

Wu Sangui's eyes widened; this was the thing he feared most.

In fact, of the three, his emotions were the most unstable, his anger mixed with fear, his heart was pounding, and he was very nervous.

Besides the fear of being caught up by the enemy, the main concern was the uncertainty about the future and not knowing where to go or what to do.

Defend Kunming?
If the enemy could even capture Guiyang, could Kunming really hold out?

Should we leave Kunming and wait for the imperial court to mobilize a million-strong army?
Kunming was his stronghold, and he had been operating in the Yunnan-Guizhou region for many years. He had finally gained some influence, which made the Qing court wary of him.

If he were to leave, he would be like a rootless duckweed. When the Qing army besieged the Ming army, he would not only have to serve as the vanguard, but he might also lose Yunnan to the Qing.

Therefore, after realizing these problems, Wu Sangui was very uneasy and filled with uncertainty about his future fate.

Only Zhao Tingchen remained calm. Lin Tianqing was initially surprised, but then his expression changed to one of realization, and a malicious smile appeared in his eyes as he looked at Wu Sangui.

In order to appease Wu Sangui, the Qing court not only allowed him to station troops in the southwestern Yunnan and Guizhou regions, but also gave him the authority to raise funds and supplies locally and to conduct military operations in the west.

The former allowed Wu Sangui to collect taxes and support his army in Yunnan and Guizhou, while the latter allowed him to send high-ranking officials, except for those at the prefectural level and above, to various counties, thus firmly controlling the grassroots level below the county level, and even many prefectural levels were under his control.

This allowed Wu Sangui to strip away the power of high-ranking officials in the southwest, such as Zhao Tingchen, Lin Tianqing, and Bian Sanyuan, and he seized control of all military and political affairs in the southwest. If the Qing army had withdrawn from Kunming and Yunnan, it would have been obvious that it would not have been the Qing court that suffered the most severe blow, but Wu Sangui.

After all, the Qing court couldn't collect taxes from Yunnan and Guizhou, and it still had to allocate money and grain to Wu Sangui every year.

From a political perspective, the Qing court could have taken the opportunity to severely weaken Wu Sangui, a powerful local warlord, or even eliminate him altogether.

Therefore, the deeper meaning behind it is naturally interesting.

All three were cunning old foxes, and this was the most legitimate excuse. Zhao Tingchen said, "The General has seen the Ming army's fighting strength. If the General is willing to defend Kunming to the death, we will certainly agree. However, it will take at least a month for reinforcements from Sichuan or Huguang to arrive, while the enemy has already reached the outskirts of Kunming. If the General needs reinforcements, the Governor and I will set off immediately to request them. We only hope that the General can hold out for a month."

"Hold on for a month?"

Wu Sangui revealed a smile that was more like a grimace.

Even with nearly 200,000 troops, could he really hold out for so long against this terrifying Ming army?

"Of course, we can also see if they have night combat capabilities."

Zhao Tingchen added, "If they are not as formidable at night as they are during the day, then the General can mobilize the main force and launch an attack under cover of darkness."

"Ah."

Wu Sangui gradually calmed down and nodded, saying, "Let's leave it at that for now. We'll return to Kunming immediately to mobilize our troops."

"it is good."

All three agreed on the next course of action.

There is no time to lose; we must immediately return to Kunming to make arrangements.

Meanwhile, Zhu Di had already captured Nanning.

However, contrary to Wu Sangui's expectations, Zhu Di chose to rest on the spot for a day and continue his journey to Kunming the next day.

These past few days they have been traveling through deep mountains and forests, from Hunan to Guiyang, and then from Guiyang to Qujing, with continuous towering mountains and undulating peaks all along the way.

The soldiers had been traveling for days, not only by tricycle and bicycle, but also by dismounting and pushing their vehicles when they encountered steep slopes. Some of them even developed blisters on their feet.

Although they were all elite troops of the Hongwu Army, they never stopped training every day with various kinds of running, marching, and military exercises.

However, the intense marches over the past few days have left the soldiers feeling exhausted.

After arriving in Qujing, we finally found a plain. Although there were still rolling hills in the distance, the mountains were not as steep as those in Guizhou and were much lower.

Therefore, they should take a day off, especially since they have already sent people to Myanmar to rescue Emperor Yongli, so there is no need to rush.

The main force rested in Nanning.

Only Chen Gui and Yang Heng continued their journey after defeating Wu Sangui's cavalry, heading straight for Kunming in their tricycles.

The roads between Kunming and Qujing are much wider and flatter than those between other parts of Guizhou.

The two of them felt much more comfortable staring at the bicycle.

By evening, they had arrived at the ancient castle, which was less than 40 kilometers from Songming County.

Although it is called a castle, it is actually a mountain stronghold where the army was stationed.

It is located in the area of ​​Maguohe Town in Qujing City, Yunnan Province in later generations.

It guards a vital transportation route and is essentially the throat of Kunming. After passing through Songming County, Kunming has no further natural defenses.

When they arrived, there were still some guards inside the ancient castle, but they shot and killed them.

The rest scattered and ran away.

Seeing that it was getting dark, Chen Gui and Yang Heng decided to camp in the castle for the night and continue their march the next day.

Night fell quickly, and Chen Gui and Yang Heng chatted in the main hall of the military camp.

They had someone bring them some firewood, lit it with a lighter, then took out their metal mess kits, each opened a bag of marching rations and poured them into the mess kits, then added some water and put them on to cook.

"It smells so good! And the flavors are different too. There's beef, chicken, and pork. This pork one tastes really good and doesn't have any gamey smell."

"This is a wonderful thing from later generations. If we had this back when we followed His Majesty to fight the Mongol Tartars, we wouldn't have needed to carry guns and cannons. We could have wiped out those Mongol Tartars on the grasslands with just swords and spears."

"That's true. In war, logistics are what matter most. We've marched one or two thousand miles without plundering any local grain supplies along the way. We've relied entirely on the rations we brought with us."

"It would be nice if we had some more wine."

"Hehe, you know what, I actually had some hidden."

"Goodness, get it out quickly."

The two chatted excitedly.

As darkness fell, around 10 p.m., most of the soldiers were fast asleep.

After finishing their meal, Chen Gui and Yang Heng drank some wine and chatted while eating peanuts.

These days, everyone goes to bed early and gets up early.

Because they need drone pilots and sentry duty personnel, they plan that the people on duty in the second half of the night will go to sleep at 7 p.m., and the people on duty in the first half of the night will wait for the people on duty in the second half of the night to get up and take over before going to sleep.

To accommodate those on night shift and ensure they get at least six or seven hours of sleep, the team waits until 8 or 9 a.m. the next day before setting off.

This arrangement was made for the sake of prudence; Zhu Di had done the same thing before.

Therefore, it didn't matter for Chen Gui and Yang Heng to go to bed before midnight, since they would definitely be well-rested before setting off and sober up, so they wouldn't make mistakes due to drinking.

To their surprise, at 11:30 p.m., they each glanced at the watches they had bought from Hyundai and were about to finish their drinks and go to rest.

The walkie-talkie suddenly rang.

"Commander, the enemy has sneaked in."

In an instant, the two sobered up considerably.

Yang Heng immediately said, "Take over the footage."

"Yes."

The drone operator took over the footage.

Yang Heng picked up the tablet, and Chen Gui immediately came over to watch.

They had received similar IT training before, so they were quite proficient at operating it.

Soon the camera connected, and from the drone's perspective, a large number of dark figures were slowly approaching from the foot of the mountain, about seven or eight kilometers away from their base.

"They're still so far away, let's zoom in and take a look."

Chen Gui said something.

Yang Heng zoomed in and, through the night vision goggles, saw that all those people were hiding in the woods, slowly making their way forward.

However, the drone is equipped with a thermal imaging night vision device, which is a combination of a thermal imager and a night vision device. Although the image is green, it can display the scene very clearly.

The surrounding woodlands, trees, and bushes were clearly visible, and beneath those woodlands, trees, and bushes, groups of wispy shadows were slowly moving.

"Ha ha ha ha."

Yang Heng and Chen Gui suddenly burst out laughing.

They saw that after those people came out of the woods, they were covered in straw and moved forward like a group of scarecrows, looking like a swarm of maggots.

"They... Hahaha, they're hilarious! They don't think they can evade our detection like this, do they?"

"There are also experts in the Jurchen army. They probably guessed that something was watching them from above, but they didn't know that we could see them clearly even in the dark."

"Interesting. They're all scattered now, and judging by their appearance, there should only be a few thousand of them. What do you mean?"

Do you remember what the instructor said?

"What?"

"High-level players beat low-level players, and idiots are beaten."

Chen Gui's gaze turned cold as he said, "Let them get a little closer. We'll get our machine guns and rifles ready. When they come up the mountain, we'll wipe them out!"

(End of this chapter)