The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 586: Battle of Jiangxia
On the ninth day of the twelfth month of the fourth year of Taichu, the Ministry of Rites proposed four reign titles, namely "Zhangwu", "Guangde", "Wuyun" and "Daye", on the grounds of clarifying the orthodox calendar, proving the imperial power, following the kingly way and commemorating the beginning of the year. The young emperor was asked to choose from them at his discretion.

Zhangwu belonged to Liu Bei of Shu Han, and Shu Han was located in a remote corner, which had an ominous meaning; Emperor Yang of Sui was the king who lost his country, and the lesson of the Shang Dynasty was not far away, so the era name Daye was also ruled out; now the people hated war and longed for rest and recuperation, so the ten-year-old Liu Kan finally chose Guangde as the new era name of the Great Qi.

On the first day of the first lunar month in the first year of Guangde, Emperor Guangde issued a general amnesty, which read:

The transformation of Guangde should start from now on. We should spread good deeds and everyone should join in the reform, so the name of the era was changed to Guangde.

The new era name has good meaning, however, the war continues.

On the ninth day of the first lunar month, the main force of the Southern Expedition Army, 15,000 men, gathered outside the city of Shenyang and swore an oath to go to war.

Chief Instructor Sen Ti held up his loudspeaker, stood on the battlements of Guangji Gate, and shouted to the Da Qi soldiers who were ready to go:
"The traitor Zuo Liangyu took advantage of the army's northern expedition to betray us and massacre the soldiers and civilians of Xuzhou, killing tens of thousands! Many of them were your brothers in arms!"

"The traitor Zheng Sen (Zheng Chenggong) repeatedly plundered merchant ships from the Great Qi Dynasty, resulting in grain from Huguang being unable to be transported to Shandong, and grain from Shandong being unable to be transported to southern Liaoning. Countless people starved to death! Last year's rebellion in Shenyang was instigated by spies sent by this traitor..."

Famines occurred frequently in the Great Qi Dynasty. Many farmers worked hard to farm the land, but after handing over their surplus grain, they still had nothing to eat!
It turned out that pirates had looted everyone's food. Upon hearing this, many soldiers were filled with indignation. What made them even more angry was that the civil unrest in Shenyang was also Zheng's evil scheme.

"Now!" Senti took a breath and shouted at the top of his voice:

"Zheng has arrived with his warships, threatening to sweep the land and kill every last one of the people of Daqi. He's also going to take your wives and take you south of the Yangtze River as slaves! He's also going to starve your children to death. Do you agree?"

A moment later, soldiers from all camps roared deafeningly:

"No!"

"No!"

"You are the last elite troops of the Great Qi! The Emperor has given you all his last grain and fodder. Your parents, wives, children, and grandparents are watching. The Emperor is watching! The living and the dead are watching as you sweep south of the Yangtze River and unify the country! Seize the grain, kill the bandits, and avenge yourself!"

"Seize food! Kill the Ming thieves! Take revenge!"

The instructor among the soldiers raised his arms and shouted loudly.

"Seize food! Kill the Ming thieves! Take revenge!"

The mountains roared and the tsunami roared.

Liu Zhaosun looked at Sen Ti and nodded slightly.

After so many years, Sen Ti is still the same as before, which makes him very pleased.

Zheng Zhilong's severed head was hung high on the top of the Guangji Gate city wall. After being exposed to wind and rain for several months, it had cracked and smelled bad.

Teams of soldiers armed with muskets and long swords, in neat military formations, followed the artillery and cavalry, marched past Zheng Zhilong's head, walked out of Shenyang City, and headed towards Shanhaiguan.

On the 13th day of the first lunar month, the retired emperor led the main force of the Qi army, and Qi Jin, Zhao Lujiao, and Wang Zengbin each led their own troops, set out from Shenyang, crossed the Liaoxi Corridor, and entered the pass through Shanhaiguan.

On the 16th, the Liao Sea thawed, and Wu Aheng led the eight battleships of the First Fleet of the Da Qi Navy to cruise towards the Shandong Peninsula to meet Zheng Chenggong who was heading north.

On the 18th, the vanguard of the Qi army led by Pu Gang arrived in Xiangyang first.

After a brief rest in Xiangyang, the Antelope Corps immediately set out on a southern expedition.

The area south of Xiangyang was controlled by refugee rebels at this time, and Xiangyang became the empire's bridgehead in Huguang.

At the end of the first month, Pu Gang commanded 5,000 soldiers and quickly defeated and incorporated refugees from Yicheng, Gucheng and other places, totaling 10,000 people.

After a brief reorganization, these refugees became the vanguard of the vanguard army, marching straight through Yunmeng and Huangpi.

On the fifth day of February, the Qi army arrived at the north bank of the Huangpi River, facing the Ming army in Jiangxia across the river.

Pu Gang ordered the army to set up camp at the ancient ferry crossing of Huangpi River, and ordered the engineers to lead the refugees to build pontoon bridges, shield carts and other equipment, making a posture of general attack on Jiangxia.

On the eighth day of the second month of the first year of Guangde, a peach blossom snow fell, the Jianghan Plain was covered in silver, and a cold wind was blowing in the three towns of Wuhan.

Pu Gang, the vanguard commander, reined in his horse and stood to the east of Mulan Village on the north bank of the Huangpi River. Across the river, flags of the Jiangxia camp were waving, with large banners with the word "left" swaying in the wind. The densely packed Ming army tents stretched from the Huangpi River to the Yangtze River, with no end in sight.

"Zuo Liangyu, how are you?"

The Fifth Corps’ central headquarters was located at Tiefu Temple on the north bank of the Huangpi River.

On the evening of the tenth day of the second lunar month, the chief officer Pu Gang, the training officer Xing Zhongyi, and four battalion officers held an emergency meeting in the temple.

It was already dark, and the temple was lit only by the light of a few lanterns.

It so happened that the whale oil in several lanterns had been burned out, and the lights were about to go out.

Pu Gang decided to keep his troops in place for the time being and sent a small group of scouts across the river to find out the strength of Zuo Liangyu's troops before making further plans.

This time, the Fifth Corps had only 5,000 people heading south, and the equipment for crossing the river was not prepared. If they attacked rashly, they would have run into Zuo Liangyu's army of more than 100,000. If they could win, it would be fine. If they lost, the Ming army would sweep across the north bank and force the refugees to move north, and the consequences would be unimaginable.

The instructor Xing Zhongyi advocated an immediate attack, believing that when two brave men meet in a narrow road, the braver one prevails, and there was no need to hesitate.

The two men argued endlessly, and finally Pu Gang, as the chief officer, made the final decision and announced that scouts would be sent across the river first.

The scouting mission was quickly passed down and finally fell on the two scouts of the first battalion.

~~~
Xu Jingwanshao climbed up from the riverbank and saw a temple on a high ground among the fields.

The two men avoided the main road and walked towards the temple, hoping to find something to eat. They also asked nearby fishermen about the situation of the Ming army.

It was already dusk, and there was not even a beggar in the deserted temple.

Xu Jing said, "Be patient and go to Jiangxia City to eat."

Wan Shao said, "It seems the Ming army is even trying to rob monks. Damn them!"

They continued walking on the mountain. Fortunately, they saw wisps of green smoke not far in front of the temple, which seemed to indicate that there were people living there. The two of them walked towards that place.

In a small village, children stood outside the village looking around, looking skinny like devils from hell.

Two night guards disguised themselves as traveling merchants, carrying a backpack full of weeds, and walked towards the child.

"Hey, the kids are giving you candy, where are the adults in your village?"

The runny-nosed child snatched the rock candy that Xu Jing had treasured and was reluctant to eat, stretched out his muddy hand, and pointed at the burning house behind him.

On a burnt-black gable, hung a naked villager, with only a pair of straw sandals still on his feet.

Judging from the technique, it should be the masterpiece of the left side.

"Damn it, that guy surnamed Zuo is such a piece of shit."

The child continued to play in the mud. Xu Jing clenched the dagger, winked at Wan Shao, and walked towards the corpse cautiously.

At the foot of the gable, there was an old man sitting, also in tattered clothes, without shoes, with his head lowered and a hemp rope in his hand, as if he was doing some farm work. Xu Jing was a native Beijinger and was not familiar with the farm work in Huguang.

"Hey, sir, the wall is about to fall down, let's go."

After shouting twice, the old man raised his head tremblingly.

"What's wrong?"

Xu Jing found that the pair of cloudy old eyes were staring at his hands.

He subconsciously retracted his calloused index finger. "You soldiers, you robbed food and killed people, why don't you just die!"

The old man pulled the rope, and the gable collapsed. The adobe bricks, along with dust and corpses, fell on Xu Jing.

~~~~
The two night guards fled the village in panic. At this time, a loud noise arose from the rice field on the back mountain:

"Catch him, you zebra! ... Beat the hell out of him! ... Hang him up! . . . "

Xu Jing, with his face covered in dust, was still frightened, but Wan Shao wanted to go over and see what was going on.

"We are here to rescue the people of Huguang, and next we will rescue the people of Jiangnan. What are you afraid of?!"

Sichuan soldier Wan Shao encouraged his companions.

"Save him! He almost killed me!"

"It would be nice to have a disciplinary officer here. He'll just explain the Qi Dynasty's land system once, and I guarantee they won't beat us. Lord Sen said that dividing the land would be the answer."

"Let's go and take a look first."

Before Xu Jing could continue to curse, he was already being led by the Sichuan soldiers' hands towards the rice field.

Dozens of villagers gathered under a row of willow trees beside the rice field, some were cursing and some were fighting.

When the two men walked forward to see what was happening, they saw that these old men and women had grabbed a Ming soldier who had just taken off his mandarin duck jacket and were beating him with sticks.

The Ming soldier lay on the ground and explained over and over again:
"I'm a jerk, don't hit me! (Don't hit me, I'm from the north) Fuck your mother!"

A Cantonese accent cannot change his identity as a Cantonese.

"You killed half the villagers, and luckily I got away early. You're still lying! You're a fool! You zebra! You're stupid! You stole my pig early yesterday morning. The clothes you're wearing are mine too. Beat him! Beat him to death!"

A group of villagers attacked with sticks, and the Guangdong soldier soon started bleeding from all seven orifices and died on the spot.

Xu Jing and Wan Shao looked at each other and took a breath of cold air. If they had been caught by this group of hiding villagers, they would have been in great danger.

Wan Shao winked, and Xu Jing said stiffly:
"My dear gentlemen, I am a soldier sent by the Emperor of Qi to rescue you."

A group of villagers turned around and looked at the two men with murderous intent.

"You zebra, beat up his brother-in-law! They are in the same gang! None of the soldiers are good guys!"

Sticks rained down on Xu Jing.

Wan Shao quickly took off his outer gown, revealing the black uniform of the Qi army underneath.

"Look, look! It's different from his."

Xu Jing waved his sword to block a few times, but was knocked to the ground by countless sticks. He was in so much pain that he fell to the ground and couldn't stand up.

"stop!"

The fanatical villagers were still fighting.

"Stop!"

The sticks finally stopped attacking.

Xu Jing held his head and fell to the ground, curled up. At this time, an old man who looked like a patriarch walked out of the crowd.

"Are you really the soldiers of Emperor Wuding?"

Wan Shao swore confidently, "Is this true? We are from the Sixth Corps. We just crossed the river and are going to scout for Zuo Liangyu."

The clan leader quickly stepped forward to help up Xu Jing, who was beaten black and blue, and apologized repeatedly.

"I'm originally from Xinyang, Henan. When we fought Xiangyang, I built shield carts by the Han River. Later, Xinyang was hit by a flood, and Emperor Wuding relocated us Xinyang people to Huguang. I brought my family to Huangpi, where we were given land and didn't have to pay rent for three years. Emperor Wuding was a great savior for us Xinyang people. But then a corrupt official named Uncle Jin came along and started collecting taxes again..."

When the old patriarch said this, he burst into tears:

"God damn Zuo Liangyu, God damn Ming army, they came and robbed and killed everyone in our village without asking any questions, not even sparing the children!"

Wan Shao gritted his teeth, Zuo Liangyu was still as cruel as before.

"Don't worry, the Emperor is leading tens of thousands of troops south this time to avenge you."

The old patriarch recalled the scene of participating in the Battle of Xiangyang and said indignantly:
"We want revenge, sir. What do you think we should do?"

Wan Shao hesitated.

The villagers returned to their houses, rummaged through their drawers and cabinets, and took out bowls of brown rice, dried chilies, steamed cornbread and other food. They held them above their heads and stood in front of the two Qi soldiers who had not yet finished their work.

There was sand in Wan Shao's eyes.

"General, I'm giving you the last bit of food from our village. Go and kill the Ming bandits."

~~~~~
On the morning of February 12, before the scouts who had crossed the river returned, the artillery on both sides of Qi and Ming could no longer hold back and began bombarding each other.

The red cannons deployed in Hongshan were in a commanding position, bombarding the north bank of the Huangpi River day and night.

The Qi army concentrated its large-caliber field artillery and fiercely bombarded the Zhonghe Gate and Baoan Gate in Jiangxia (the passage where Zuo Liangyu's army transported grain), while using the Divine Fire Flying Crow to fire back at the red cannons on Hongshan.

The 300 cavalrymen of the Fifth Corps' cavalry battalion formed a line by the river early on to provide cover for the artillery, hoping to lure Zuo Liangyu's troops across the river to engage in battle.

The Ming army had no accuracy, and the shells came from very high, pulling the wind far behind Pu Gang and others' heads.

White smoke rose from the Huangpi River. Although the Qi army had fewer artillery pieces than their opponents, their accuracy was significantly better. After half a day of exchange of fire, the Ming army's artillery fire on Hongshan was significantly reduced.

On February 13, the Ming army on the other side of the river could no longer bear the cost of the bombardment and finally sent troops across the river in an attempt to drive away or destroy the Qi army's artillery.

The First Battalion of the Fifth Corps immediately dispatched troops to engage in battle.

Five hundred musketeers marched in a skirmish line. The soldiers had serious expressions and moved quickly, while five captains supervised them at the top of their lungs.

The refugees driven from all over Xiangyang were still building shield carts and pontoon bridges in the distance.

The Qi army artillery turned its guns toward the Huangpi River and began to calmly fire at the Ming army ferry on the river.

The five hundred soldiers were divided into five thin formations. The captain Lu Yang was walking in the front. He shouted and ran forward with the musketeers. When the formation crossed the gentle slope, they saw the densely packed fishing boats on the river.

Amid the rumbling of artillery fire, one could see the Huangpi River shrouded in a dim white light, with several fishing boats that had been hit by shells floating in the river and slowly sinking.

More fishing boats were like ducks with their butts on fire, swimming desperately towards the north shore. Following behind the ducks were larger sand boats.

The outside of the sand boat was filled with bamboo nails, and some parts were covered with cowhide.

Ordinary infantry guns have limited damage to sand ships.

A group of Zuo Liangyu's servants were standing on the boat, shooting with bows at the Ming soldiers who were preparing to retreat.

(End of this chapter)