The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 481 Battle of Xiangyang
On the New Year's Eve of the first year of Taichu, the retired emperor, the Empress Dowager Cisi and a group of entourage celebrated the Spring Festival with the people in Junzhou.

On New Year's Eve, the emperor held a grand "祫祭" ceremony in Jingle Palace.

The so-called "祫祭" is to enshrine the tablets of the ancestors of the Qi Dynasty in the Taimiao and hold a joint sacrifice.

The life stories of Emperor Wuding's ancestors are unknown, and even the burial place of his parents is unknown.

Therefore, the sacrifice in the first year of Taichu was quite simple. After the ceremony, civil and military officials as well as envoys from the four barbarians congratulated Emperor Wuding.

At noon that day, the retired emperor gave a banquet in the main hall of Jingle Palace and announced to the world that the royal Taoist temple would be owned by the Daqi Agricultural Society, and the land and forests within the Taoist temple would all belong to Daqi. People from Junzhou, Gucheng and other places who joined the agricultural society could enter the forests to farm and cut down trees; all shops of all sizes in Junzhou City were taken over by the Daqi Commercial Society, all privileges of the Taoists were abolished, and more than 3,600 Taoists were punished by being sent to the army to perform hard labor.

After the winter offensive, the White Lotus sect bandits in the Jingxiang area were frightened and fled to the deep mountains and dense forests.

After the fall of Junzhou, Xiangyang Prefecture remained under the control of the Southern Ming.

On the eighth day of the first lunar month, Zhang Dong, the leader of the Suoyi Guard, issued an ultimatum to Mi Qianchun, the lieutenant general of Xiangyang, through merchants in Fancheng, demanding that they open the gates and surrender within a certain period of time, otherwise "on the day the city is captured, no one will be left alive."

On the tenth day, the city of Xiangyang not only refused to surrender, but also strengthened the fortifications around Fancheng. Despite losing external support, the Ming army in Xiangyang was ready for a decisive battle with the Qi army.

Xiangyang and Fancheng are located at the southern end of the Nanyang Basin, nestled against Xianshou Mountain (south of present-day Xiangyang) and flanked by the Han River. They straddled Jing and Yu, controlling both north and south, and possessed a crucial geographical location. Their strong fortifications, deep moats, and ample storage facilities made them crucial military strongholds of the Southern Ming Dynasty.

The Qi army, aware of the difficulty of a direct assault on Xiangyang and Fanyang, adopted a strategy of building fortifications on all sides, laying a long siege, blocking reinforcements by land and water, and waiting for an opportunity to capture the city. They built forts at Lumen Mountain (southeast of Xiangyang today) and Baihekou (northeast of Xiangyang today), cutting off the Ming army's north-south communication and encircling Xiangyang and Fanyang.

Seeing that the Qi army was too powerful to resist, the defenders of Xiangyang Prefecture asked for help from the Jiangbei camp stationed in Hefei, and begged Zuo Liangyu to send troops to rescue and save the "people of Jingxiang from danger."

Ningnanbo refused to send troops to Xiangyang on the grounds that "the Huaihe River is of vital importance and cannot be moved lightly." Not only that, the Ming army in Hefei also intercepted the imperial court's reinforcements of troops, horses, money and food from Jingxiang on the Huaihe River line and looted the food and grass on the spot.

On the twelfth day of the first lunar month, to strengthen their naval capabilities, the Qi army trained 500 naval forces west of Wanshan, built warships, and constructed a solid platform (present-day Dongditai) in the Han River. Mounted on top were red-coated cannons and divine fire flying crows, aiming to cut off the Ming army's waterways and threaten Xiang and Fan. To escape the crisis, the defenders launched a surprise attack on Wanshan Fort with infantry and cavalry and over a hundred warships. Qi General Deng Changxiong initially held his ground, waiting for the Ming army to advance deeper before beating drums and attacking fiercely, achieving a decisive victory.

In early March, Qi Jin led his troops to fight against the Ming army at Guanzi Beach, captured and killed more than a thousand people, seized 30 warships, chased them to Yunshengzhou, and defeated the Ming army. Lieutenant General Mi Qianchun escaped in a light boat.

In April, the Qi army launched a general attack on Fancheng from five directions, northeast and southwest. In the southwest, Wu Aheng and Qi Jin ordered soldiers familiar with water to dive into the water, cut wood and sink ropes, and burn the floating bridge between Xiang and Fan, cutting off the connection between the two cities.

Then, the Qi army divided into several groups and equipped them with powerful and long-range new field artillery to attack Fancheng by land and sea.

Shrapnel bombs blew up the corner tower of Fancheng, opened a gap, and the Qi army entered the city; in the northeast, Deng Changxiong, Qi Jin and other generals launched a strong attack, fighting day and night, and finally broke into the city.

After the fall of Fancheng, Zhang Kejian, deputy military supervisor of Xiangyang, Kuang Yueguang, the prosecutor, Li Dajue, the county magistrate, Li Anmin, the guerrilla, and others were as anxious as ants on a hot pan. They hurriedly organized the government troops and the garrison troops to guard Xiangcheng, and at the same time sent elite cavalry to Nanjing for help.

On April 12, the Imperial Guard generals Lin Yu and Wu Xiao intercepted the messenger sent by Zhang Kejian and obtained Zhang Kejian's token.

Pei Dahu selected 36 imperial guards, led by Wu Xiao and Lin Yu, disguised themselves as Ming soldiers, and took advantage of the chaos to sneak into Xiangyang City.

The soldiers set fire to the grain factory and gunpowder depot in Xiangyang, causing chaos among the Ming army. Deng Changxiong took advantage of the situation and led his troops to attack Xiangyang City. King Xiang Zhu Yiming and his family were captured by Lin Yu and eventually executed.

On April 15th, Emperor Wu Ding entered Xiangyang, beheaded Lieutenant General Mi Qianchun and captured more than 3,000 people. The defeated Ming army abandoned the city and fled south. The major corps of the Qi army swept through Jingxiang like a whirlwind.

The army continued to march towards Suizhou, and its momentum was unstoppable.

Officials sent by the Hongguang court to Suizhou and other places had opened the gates to welcome the surrender long before the arrival of the Qi army, and painted the red plaques in front of the county government offices black overnight (the Great Qi respected black). Since they needed ink-black pigments for coloring, which were not produced locally in Huguang, they could not show their neglect for the new dynasty. In desperation, these officials had to send their servants on horseback to purchase it from other places at a high price. As a result, the price of 1 jin of blue (pigment) reached 16000 guan, which people at the time called "the expensive lacquer in Jingxiang."

(End of this chapter)