The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 174: Fight, Fight

The 1769th year of Emperor Qianlong's reign in the Qing Dynasty, the third day of the sixth lunar month in AD, at the China-Myanmar border.

In view of the lesson learned from the last time when his nephew Mingrui advanced solely by land, which resulted in poor supply, the Burmese army could also focus on land defense, which led to the defeat of the army.

After Fuheng discussed with the Qing generals, they decided to go downstream and divide the army into three routes.

The main force of 12,000 people went through the Myitkyina area in the future and cleared out the chieftains who had defected to the Burmese army west of the Irrawaddy River.

Then, following the trend, they first captured the White Elephant King's hometown, Musuo, and then attacked Ava from the flank.

A detachment of 8,000 men built warships in the upper reaches of the Irrawaddy River. After the warships were completed, they sailed downstream and stored military supplies for protection.

A detachment of 6,000 men passed through the Gengma Tusi territory and first captured the Mubang Tusi, an ally of the Konbaung Dynasty in northern Myanmar.

Afterwards, these two detachments attacked Xinjie and Laoguantun from both sides, captured the most critical waterway in the upper reaches of the Irrawaddy River, and advanced directly to Ava by both land and sea.

Finally, the three armies met at the city of Ava and destroyed the Konbaung Dynasty.

It can be said that after three defeats, the Qing Dynasty finally began to take the Konbaung Dynasty seriously as its opponent.

Fu Heng's arrangement showed that as the commander-in-chief of the army, he had a relatively clear understanding of the enemy and our own situation, especially the comparison of the combat power of the two armies.

Fuheng did not overestimate the combat effectiveness of the Burmese army because of Mingrui's defeat.

Instead, they clearly realized that the Myanmar army's combat effectiveness was not strong, but transportation, climate and supply were the big problems.

This time, Qianlong drew elite troops from all over the country to Fuheng, which made it seem like he was attacking in three directions. However, no matter which of these three directions, they had the strength to defeat the Konbaung Dynasty alone, and would not be defeated one by one because of the division of troops.

Therefore, the strategy of attacking on three fronts was correct. As long as one of them was successful, the Konbaung Dynasty would collapse.

However, Fuheng's wisdom only stopped there, because he never expected that after three humiliations, a large number of chieftains in western and southern Yunnan would defect to the Konbaung Dynasty.

As a result, the Qing army's battle plan was exposed while they were still building ships and cannons in places like Yeniuba.

At the same time, Fuheng also lacked on-site research on the situation in Myanmar.

The road traffic along the route of his main Western Route Army was so terrible that even the locals would be terrified. It was impossible for the army to pass through.

Therefore, in mid-July, Fuheng personally led the main force of 12,000 people westward, and after capturing several chieftains who had defected to the Konbaung Dynasty, he was immediately dumbfounded.

Tens of thousands of people were wandering around in the dense forests of Jiangxinpo and Yerenshan. If it weren't for the helpful local guides, they would have almost failed to make it.

This resulted in the main force of the Western Route, which was originally planned to arrive in Mengyang (Myitkyina) at the end of June, being delayed by a full month.

During this month, tens of thousands of mules and horses used to transport military rations died from falls or illness.

Moreover, these mules were carrying food. Every time a mule died, it meant that a soldier had lost at least fifteen days of food.

After passing Myitkyina, the road becomes even more difficult.

So Fuheng had no choice but to give up this route. After discussing with the generals, he went directly eastward to Xinjie, joined up with the central army, and headed south from here.

At the same time, the Qing army's eastern detachment was making smooth progress, but this area, which later belonged to Wa State, was almost reduced to ruins in the three Qing-Myanmar wars.

The Qing army did not achieve much success and had to set up military stations along the way, which made the soldiers extremely exhausted.

Now, the troops were originally going to advance in three directions and meet at the foot of Ava city.

After more than a month of marching, they all gathered in Xinjie and Laoguantun areas, and like Mingrui, they had no choice but to head south.

Of course, Fu Heng was not the only one who acted foolishly. The White Elephant King also started to show off his skills.

For the White Elephant King, this war basically covered the entire map.

He had made sufficient preparations in Xinjie and Laoguantun, but the Qing army did not come, and the Qing army did not come.

Every day I watched the Qing army in the north of Xinjie, and saw cannons and warships being built.

King Baixiang and the Burmese generals couldn't help but wonder if the Qing army had suffered heavy losses in its elite troops last time, causing them to be unable to keep up with the march, or if it was difficult to defeat the chieftains on the east and west sides.

In this case, there are only 8,000 Qing troops on the opposite side. Can I use heavy troops to take the initiative to attack?

As long as we defeat the Qing army, burn their warships and melt their cannons, we will win the battle.

Therefore, at the beginning of August, King Baixiang ordered Maha Xihasuya, Tihabodi and Dengjia Minkang to lead an army of 17,000 troops to advance by land and sea and take the initiative to challenge the Qing army.

The Qing army generals, including the veteran Manchu general Aligun, saw this good news and quickly ordered the entire army to board the newly built warships and sail downstream.

The two sides met at the confluence of two rivers.

The Burmese army's 8,000 elite vanguard soldiers formed up first, with musketeers in the center, spearmen guarding the two wings, and cavalry and elephant soldiers hidden inside.

Agui, a fierce general of the Qing army, arrived with 4,000 men. Seeing that the Burmese army had completed its battle array, he was not afraid at all and immediately ordered the entire army to advance.

The Qing army, with two thousand Mongolian archers and one thousand musketeers from the internal and external firearms battalions as its central force, took the initiative to advance and seek battle.

The Burmese army suffered heavy losses in the last war, especially the loss of the most powerful European slave musketeers, which greatly reduced their combat effectiveness.

The remaining rubbish musketeers, with 4,000 flintlock rifles against 2,000 Manchu archers and 1,000 musketeers, were actually beaten by the Qing army and could not even raise their heads.

Ah Kuei personally led the cavalry to harass the flanks, constantly luring the Burmese musketeers and artillery covering the flanks to open fire. The Qing musketeers in the front, although suffering heavy casualties from the flintlock and artillery fire, still refused to retreat.

This forced the Burmese vanguard general, Theinja Minkang, to take the risk of ordering the cavalry to attack from the formation to suppress the Qing army's center.

As a result, as soon as he changed the formation and his troops became slightly confused, Agui raised the flag of charge and his 1,800 cavalrymen charged forward.

Dengjia Minkang originally wanted to use the pikemen and artillery on the flanks to hold off the Qing cavalry, but the Qing cavalry chose the right time.

Seeing the Eight Banners cavalry in colorful armor rushing towards them all over the mountains, the Burmese cavalry began to hesitate. Some of them did not want to go out. If they were caught by the Qing cavalry, they would be dead.

Because of this delay, the front line was not opened, the Burmese spearmen were not fully in place, and the Qing cavalry rushed in at lightning speed.

At this moment, the Qing cavalry, along with the Burmese spearmen and cavalry, were dispersed.

The Burmese cavalry's horses were frightened and became the vanguard of the Qing cavalry, beginning to trample on their own lines.

In the distance, the Qing infantry commanded by Aligun saw that the cavalry had broken through the formation, so they stopped drawing their bows and firing their guns, and immediately rushed forward with long spears and swords in hand.

The Burmese army had actually been frightened by the Qing army long ago. As soon as Theng Gyaltsen was in a state of confusion, the army lost its command and its organization completely failed.

Half an hour later, the Burmese army suffered six to seven hundred casualties and the entire army collapsed.

Upon seeing this, Maha Xihaxiua quickly ordered the navy to move forward, hoping to meet the retreating Dengjia Minkang at the riverside.

But at this time, Ha Guoxing and Ye Xiangde had already set up cannons at the corner of the river bend. As soon as the Burmese navy turned the bend, they were attacked by the Qing army and thirteen large warships were sunk.

Seeing the chaos in the Burmese fleet, Taiwan Town General Ye Xiangde immediately drew his sword and ordered 2,000 elite soldiers of the Fujian Navy under his command to attack.

The Burmese navy had just been bombarded with artillery fire and had no ability to resist.

Among them, a sailor from the Fujian Navy boarded a small Burmese boat alone, and the Burmese sailors were so frightened that they were unable to respond.

This Hokkien man hacked several people to death, and the remaining twenty or so people would rather jump into the river than turn back to fight.

Dengjia Minkang was a guerrilla fighter. Seeing that the navy was also defeated, he immediately led his confidants to run away.

Commander Maha Shihashuya still had 9,000 men under his command and could have fought, but after considering it, he chose to withdraw.

In this battle, the Qing army defeated the main force of the Burmese army with a small force. More than 2,000 Burmese soldiers were killed or drowned, thousands were wounded, and more than 50 large and small warships were lost. Several Burmese generals including Bin Yadeno were killed in the battle.

King Baixiang was so frightened that his chrysanthemums turned cold. He quickly ordered his younger brother to supervise the battle in Xinjie and Laoguantun, and strictly ordered that no one was allowed to go into battle and could only defend.

After this battle, the morale of the Qing army became even higher, while the performance of the Burmese army was actually far worse than when they fought against Mingrui.

This also indirectly proves that their elite troops suffered heavy losses in the Third Qing-Myanmar War.

Unfortunately, just over ten days after the Burmese army was defeated, Fuheng's vanguard troops also appeared on the west bank of the Irrawaddy River.

If he had arrived earlier, he would probably have been able to stop the 17,000 main forces of the Burmese army. If these people were really gone, the Konbaung Dynasty would have been completely destroyed.

. . . .

In Moulmein, Balamindin held the secret letter he received in his hand, his brows furrowed.

This secret letter was sent by the White Elephant King's spy planted in the city of Miaowu.

Only one thing was said, that King Puran of Myeik-U and Mozibu of Toungoo agreed to conspire to attack Yangon at the end of the month.

However, the reason why Balamindin frowned was not because he found it difficult to deal with this situation, but because he was a little skeptical about its truth.

In Balamindin's opinion, there was no need for King Purang of Arakan to get involved in all this mess.

The current Konbaung Dynasty still seems to be very glorious and prosperous. Does King Puran really have such courage, or is he so stupid?

But soon, Balamindin no longer had any doubts, because the patrol navy he arranged observed the large-scale mobilization of the Mergui Siamese navy, and estimated that the number of people would not be less than 6,000.

Balamindin immediately called over his deputy general Minha and said to him:

"The bandits number no more than nine thousand, a small but elite force, and are concentrated in Myeik and Towei, making them extremely difficult to conquer. Today is a good opportunity, and I intend for you to hold Rangoon firmly.

Yangon is a strong city. I will give you a thousand local soldiers and a thousand Mon people. You hold it for three months, and I will defeat the bandits and return. By then, Pegu will be safe.”

Balamindin's intention was to let Minha defend Yangon, which had a strong city and powerful artillery, while he would lead the main force to take the initiative to attack Toungoo.

Minha looked at Balamindin and asked hesitantly, "Given the current situation, the general is guarding the safety of all ethnic groups in Mawlamyine. The Siamese bandits have lost the support of the people after looting Mawlamyine. Why take the risk of launching an attack?

Besides, what if this is a trap?"

Balamindin thought about it again, then shook his head, “It’s unlikely, because the Siamese cannot command King Puran.

Besides, even if it's a trap, they've already left with 6,000 men, and it won't be easy to bring them back."

Of course, Balamindin did not tell the real reason, which was that the pressure on the White Elephant King in northern Myanmar was increasing, and he had already ordered Balamindin to prepare for the risky return to the north.

But Balamindin was reluctant to leave. Now Myanmar was stabilized because of him. This was the concrete manifestation of his contribution. If he withdrew, his hard work would be in vain.

Moreover, his people have occupied a large tract of fertile land near Mawlamyine in the past eight or nine months. If he withdraws, what will happen to these people?
Therefore, Balamindin very much hoped to eliminate the Siamese in Dawei before the White Elephant King's order was issued.

(End of this chapter)