The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 249 Advance and Retreat

Mo Zibu climbed up to the military camp that Ye Xianchun and his company were defending at all costs. He could imagine how desperate Nguyen Van Hue was.

The night attack by thousands of elite soldiers ended up being directly defeated at the first line of defense of the Xing Tang Army.

The bodies of soldiers in red clothes were carried out one by one, some of them still in stiff fighting postures.

This company belongs to the Hakka Second Regiment. More than 80% of its members are Hakkas. Although it has been established for less than a year, its combat effectiveness is very strong.

In particular, their fighting spirit was even greater than that of the Mo family's fellow villagers in western Guangdong from the Longqi, Baima, Wuding and other regiments.

Hexian was a country founded on commerce, and there were many career options for the children of the village. Once people had a choice, they rarely had the tenacity to fight to the death.

The Hakka people perfectly make up for this shortcoming, which is also the important reason why Mo Zibu wants to use the Hakka people as his confidants.

For example, the 27th Company of the 2nd Hakka Regiment had a total of 135 people including the sentries and guards, and 58 of them were killed in battle. Almost all of them were injured, but in the end, no one escaped.

This kind of tenacity would definitely be above the passing line if placed in a modern army of later generations.

Ye Xianchun walked over quickly, but his right hand was hanging down. He was stabbed in the right shoulder by a javelin from the Xishan Army during the fierce hand-to-hand combat. It was unknown whether he would be left disabled.

"General, we..." After seeing Mo Zibu, the strong officer's eyes turned red and he choked up.

Mo Zibu patted his shoulder gently and said, "You are all great. I, Mo Zibu, am proud of you.

Now, go down and recuperate, and watch us avenge our fallen comrades!"

Li Bao walked over and handed an iron nameplate (dog tag) to Mo Zibu.

This thing originally appeared during the American Civil War, but Mo Zibu has now applied it to elite troops.

"General, this is the only thing Ye A'an can find. He is a true warrior."

Mo Zibu touched the nameplate that had been deformed by the explosion and on which he could only barely make out the three words "Ye A'an" and the intermittent address of his ancestral home, and took a long breath.

"You should also take good care of your injuries. I will personally deliver this nameplate to his family."

After saying that, Mo Zibu drew the sword from his waist and slashed fiercely at the defense line of Anren City.

"Eliminate the last bandit stronghold in Xishan, charge into Anren City, and cut Ruan Wenyue into pieces!"

. . . .

"Brother, let's retreat. We can't defeat the southern bandits. While we still have some men, let's retreat to Shenghua Prefecture. Only by relying on the Beihe Kingdom can we have a chance to confront the southern bandits."

In Anren City, Ruan Wenhui, covered in dust and dirt, once again found Ruan Wenyue. His face no longer had the arrogance of the past, and was only filled with worry and well-hidden fear.

At this time, Nguyen Van Yue did not treat Nguyen Van Hue very harshly, because this brother, who he thought was unruly, had lost all his capital, and even Nguyen Van Yue had to take risks to save his life.

"Mei, you better leave quickly, or the others will be here soon, and they won't let you go."

Nguyen Van Hue was stunned. He knew that this was very likely to happen because the 2,500 people led by Nguyen Van Hue for the night attack were not entirely their own.

A large part of them were drawn from the other leaders of the Xishan Army.

The Xishan Army does not have the financial resources and willingness to spend like Mo Zibu to ensure that all soldiers have almost no night blindness, so they must draw troops from all over the place to gather them together.

After hearing what his brother Nguyen Van Yue said, he realized that he didn't want to protect himself anymore. So, this military god in Vietnamese history sighed, turned around and left.

He deserved to be unlucky. When he was still a child, he met the killer General Mo Da. Not only was his capable general intercepted, but he was also beaten up repeatedly in his childhood.

However, there is always a way out. As soon as Ruan Wenhui came out in a panic, the brothers Fan Wenxing and Fan Wencan followed him to the door.

"Third General, I've already told you that the Grand General will not listen to your advice. Please advise me on what to do next."

The Fan and Pei families were both prominent families in Qui Nhon, and the mother of Fan Wenxing and his brothers was a remarkable woman.

She is called a remarkable woman not because she is so great, but because she is very beautiful and married very well.

This beautiful lady from the Nguyen family first married into the Pei family and gave birth to brothers Pei Dexuan and Pei Deliang. Then, after her husband died of illness, she married into the Fan family and gave birth to brothers Fan Wenxing and sister Fan Thi Lian.

When the sons grew up, the brothers Pei Dexuan and Fan Wenxing were both talented, both civil and military, and later became the core descendants and even the helmsmen of the Pei and Fan families.

Her only daughter, Pham Thi Lien, inherited her beauty and historically married Nguyen Van Hue, becoming the queen of the Tây Sơn Dynasty.

I have to say, genes are really powerful.

At this time, Nguyen Van Hue, who was at the end of his rope, was deeply moved when he heard the Pham brothers say this. He bowed and asked, "At this point, are you still willing to support me?"

Nguyen Van Hue was indeed beaten to the point of doubting his life. He didn't even have the confidence to use the word "follow" but used "support" instead.

The Fan brothers exchanged a glance and, without much hesitation, bowed and replied, "Of course we will follow the three generals. The southern bandits are now so powerful, and only the three generals can unite with the Zheng army to reverse the defeat."

The Fan family actually had too high a sunk cost. They had supported Nguyen Van Hue from the beginning, even sacrificing their sister. Nguyen Van Yue had already promised the Fan family a large area of land in Quang Nam Camp. Many of the Fan family's sons had already taken over the new territory and were naturally hoping that the Tây Sơn Army could hold out.

Besides, even if they wanted to join the Southern Army, General Mo Da would not be willing to accept them unless they were willing to start over from the grassroots level.

Hearing that Pham Van Hung and his brothers supported him so much, Nguyen Van Hue was even more moved and immediately made a promise and painted a big picture.

"Zheng's army is all from the north, and it is impossible for them to stay in Hue for a long time. They can only rely on us to govern.

As long as we are willing to play along, we can use Bac Hoa's national strength to fight against the Mo clan's southern bandits. At worst, we can cede the land north of Hue to Bac Hoa.

Even if we can’t return to Qui Nhon by then, we should be able to keep Hue and Quang Nam.”

The Fan brothers nodded repeatedly, and they also felt that this was indeed a way.

Just like Chinese history, Annan was strong in the north and weak in the south, and its development and establishment of the national foundation were also gradual infiltration from the north to the south.

Even in terms of military strength, the north has cavalry while the south has almost none.

When the South was rising up, it could fight the North on a 40-60 basis, while the rest were suppressed.

This is so similar to China, no wonder it can shamelessly call itself Little China.

Therefore, in the eyes of Guangnan people, Beizheng was a powerful country like Northern Zhou and Northern Qi.

Guangnan has long passed the era of Liu Jienu's vigorous struggle. If it were not for the dangerous passes such as the Lingxi Long Wall, Guangnan Kingdom would not have been able to survive.

In history, no one has ever won a victory from south to north, not to mention the status of Jiading and other places in Guangnan, which is similar to Lingnan in the Han and Tang Dynasties, both of which are lands with many barbarians and uncivilized.

Therefore, in the eyes of the Fan brothers, although Mo Zibu was very powerful, he rose up in troubled times and was at most a Chen Baxian.

He was unwilling to retain the benefits that the Fan family deserved, so the Fan family could naturally go north to the "Central Plains" to become a cultured family.

"General Three, besides us, there is another person who is willing to go with you." Fan Wenxing said in a low voice.

"Oh?" Ruan Wenhui was even more surprised. Apart from the Fan family who were trapped by him, there were other people willing to support him.

"Please come and see him soon. No, I will go to see him in person."

However, when Ruan Wenhui really saw the person, he was a little stunned, because the person who had "discerning talent" and wanted to follow him was actually Li Guangcai.

Seeing Ruan Hui's hesitation, Li Guangcai took the initiative to bow and said, "General San, you don't really believe that I have any connection with Mo Xuande, right?

You have also seen that the military discipline in Mo Xuande's army is strict, and even the sentries are very diligent. This is the effect of military discipline.

Do I, Li Guangcai, look like someone who can be constrained like this? Since I've violated military law and left, how much importance can I expect from Mo Xuande if I go back and follow him?

Ruan Wenhui thought about it and it made sense. Li Guangcai looked greedy and couldn't control his lower body. He didn't look like a minister who had been trained by Mo Wu.

"But you can go back to the Qing Dynasty." Nguyen Van Hue thought for a moment and said in a low voice.

"Are you kidding, General Three? I, Li Guangcai, have been wandering the seas for twenty years. Am I going to return to my hometown penniless and become a farmer?"

Li Guangcai couldn't help but smile bitterly. It was really a bitter smile. Do you think he didn't want to go back to the Qing Dynasty?

He wanted it so badly, but his mission was not completed completely, and even if he returned to the Qing Dynasty, he could not keep his wealth.

Moreover, he had almost lost all his wealth in Hoi An, and he urgently needed a large reward from Mo Zibu.

If he really has to work hard all his life and then go home to continue farming, it would be better to kill him.

Ruan Wenhui was immediately relieved. Although he felt that Li Guangcai had no choice but to follow him in terms of motivation and actual situation, it was too much of a coincidence.

But on second thought, he was not like his brother Ruan Wenyue, a local tycoon who was reluctant to share the benefits with his subordinates.

Even if Li Guangcai is somewhat wavering, as long as enough benefits are given, there will be no people whose hearts cannot be won over.

Moreover, Li Guangcai now has three or four hundred brave pirates under his command who can be regarded as elite soldiers. Together with the five or six hundred core descendants of the Fan brothers, he has the capital.

"It seems that Brother Li and I are both people in distress!" Ruan Wenhui easily categorized Li Guangcai and him as the same kind of people.

"Let's work together and fight side by side from now on."

After accepting Li Guangcai, Nguyen Van Hue then said, "But we can't do it right now, because the three of us combined only have 1,200 to 1,300 people. Even if we go to join Huang Wufu, we won't be able to be used."

As he was speaking, there was a rumble of artillery fire outside the city, and a look of pain appeared on Nguyen Van Hue's face.

"In the battle of Anren, my defeat was inevitable. This is a good opportunity to recruit some troops and gather around 10,000 people so that we can negotiate a price with the Beihe people."

(End of this chapter)