The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 324: Even at this time, I still want to wear the yellow robe (two in one)

November 1774, 11, the first day of October, the 4th year of Emperor Qianlong’s reign in the Qing Dynasty.

Mo Zibu arrived in Quang Binh in the north from Hoi An, and with him came 2,300 officers and soldiers from the Yuancong Guards Regiment of the Imperial Guard, the Longxiang Guards Hussar Battalion, and the Fifth Guards Artillery Battalion.

Before this, the four regiments of Jiading Town and the three regiments of Tangshan Town of the Zhenjun Army had all gathered here.

These regiments were expanded after the large-scale conscription, from the original thousand people to basically more than three thousand people.

This is all the main force that Mo Zibu can currently muster, totaling 3,300 guards and 22,000 garrison troops.

It can be said that all of Mo Zibu's elite troops, except for one regiment stationed in Gia Dinh, three guards of Hue plus half a regiment stationed in Hoi An and Hue, and one regiment stationed in Qui Nhon, have gathered here.

At the same time, in accordance with custom, Mo Zi Bu recruited 15,000 auxiliary troops from the Champa people in Qui Nhon and the remnants of the Tây Sơn army.

Just like in the first war with Northern Zheng, these people served as civilian laborers in peacetime and cannon fodder in wartime. If they made meritorious service, they would be treated as quasi-Han people.

In addition, after the large-scale land distribution in Hue, Mo Zi Bu selected 6,000 auxiliary troops and 35,000 civilian laborers to transport food and supplies from the more than one million people.

Therefore, Mo Zibu sent a large number of troops this time. If the civilians were included, there were a total of 80,000 people.

Therefore, Mo Zibu was even more ruthless than Huang Tingbao. When he swore an oath to his troops in Guangping City, he claimed that he had an army of 250,000 to march north.

When the news reached Nghe An, Huang Tingbao was so frightened that his legs were trembling. As a result, he began to distribute official hats even more frantically in the territory of the former Han Jiuzhen County.

On October 11, Mo Zibu sent Wu Wenyong as the vanguard, leading 3,000 garrison troops and 15,000 auxiliary soldiers and civilians to the north.

Previously, after the Battle of Shunzhou, due to insufficient troops, Mo Zibu did not go north to recover the Bu Zhengying, which originally belonged to Guangnan territory, and some checkpoints such as Changyu Lei and Changde Lei of the Lingxi Long Wall were not recovered.

Therefore, Wu Wenyong's first goal when he went north this time was to recapture these two places.

However, Wu Wenyong thought that there would be a big battle, but the Beizheng Army of Buzhengying fled without much resistance, and burned the Buzhengying city, which had already lost many residents, to a wasteland.

On October 17, Wu Wenyong's vanguard arrived a few miles outside Changyu Fort.

The two long walls built along Lingxi River were originally used by the Southern Nguyen to resist the Northern Zheng army. The walls were basically built with rammed stones, ranging from five to eight meters in height. Two horses can run side by side on them, and beacon towers, enemy towers and other facilities are set up every few miles.

Changyu Lei is one of the most important passes in the entire Lingxi Wall. It is located between two mountains, with the wide Lingxi River in front of it as a moat.

Although its original purpose was to defend the north, after being transformed by the Northern Zheng Army, it was used to defend the south from the north, and the effect was quite good.

Wu Wenyong is different now than before. He used to feel inferior because of his background.

But ever since he got Mo Zibu's permission to marry the elder sister of Mo's cousin and commander of the Bianhe Group, Mo Gong, he considered himself a member of the Mo royal family. He finally put aside his slight inferiority complex and began to show more and more the demeanor of a great general.

"Uncle, the water in Lingxi seems a little unusual. We asked some of the local survivors, and they said they've never seen the water so shallow."

The regimental staff officer Wu Ren, accompanied by several local farmers, pointed to Lingxi River in the distance and said.

"Pick a group of elite soldiers. Hmm, let Li Bao and the others go. The Zheng army might be building a dam upstream to block the water. They have a lot of tricks up their sleeves, huh!"

Wu Wenyong snorted coldly. Using the power of water and fire has always been a common tactic used in the military.

"Send a messenger to contact the king. I see that the Beihe Army has invested heavily in Changyu Fort. Why not surround it here and attack the reinforcements?"

. . . .

Li Bao gently wiped the flintlock pistol in his hand, and then tightly wrapped his calves with fine white cotton bandages.

The leg wrap was also invented by Mo Zibu. It greatly reduced the leg problems caused by soldiers during long-distance marches, and could also prevent mosquito bites in the mosquito-ridden Nanyang. In an emergency, the leg wrap strips could also be used as ropes, killing two birds with one stone and being very convenient.

The sound of crossbows shooting was heard in the distance, followed by the sound of muskets. Li Bao quickly rushed over, and there were shadowy figures in the jungle along the way.

The soldiers in the company have been training together almost all year round and have already developed a very good tacit understanding with each other. Therefore, even if they are blocked by branches and leaves, they can still distinguish friend from foe by shouting, body shapes and even the sound of weapons.

At least seventy or eighty people were fighting in this low dense forest, but soon Li Bao's company gained the upper hand.

They have fine steel crossbows that can be loaded quickly and are as powerful as muskets, as well as hand cannons that can be used in emergencies.

The Beizheng Mang hunters on the opposite side only had some hunting bows and bamboo crossbows coated with poison. The other short knives, chest armor plates and other things they carried with them were much better than those on the opposite side.

"General Bai, Ming has been stabbed and is dying. Come and take a look." Someone shouted in a tearful Haiyang accent. Li Bao was shocked and hurried over.

Ruan Ming was half lying in his teammate's arms beside a muddy stream. Although his abdomen was wrapped with a sanitary napkin, it still couldn't stop the blood from flowing.

Li Bao's heart sank. With his many years of experience in killing people, he knew from the amount of bleeding that the intestines and stomach inside had been crushed and even a god could not save him.

When Ruan Ming saw Li Bao, he struggled to point his hand towards the northwest hillside, said "water" weakly, then tilted his head and fell silent.

Low sobs were heard all around, and Li Bao couldn't help but shed tears.

Eight years ago, more than 600 people from Beihe followed Wu Wenyong and took refuge with Mo Zibu outside Chengrong City in Nghe'an Town.

In the past eight years, more than one hundred people died in battle and nearly two hundred were injured and retreated. They have always been at the forefront of King Mo's teaching various natives a lesson. Now, there are less than three hundred people still in the army.

Even the captain who tried to stop them from dividing the golden Buddha privately during the battle of Luokun was killed in the battle.

"Ming must have discovered the Beihe people. Leave three of you to take Ming's body back to the barracks. The rest of you, follow me. We must find the place where the Beihe soldiers built a dam to block the water."

The closer he got to Beihe River, the more Li Bao felt like he had endless energy. It had been eight years, and he didn't know whether his parents were still safe, whether his eldest sister was married, or whether his two younger brothers were still single.

He had eight years of military merit accumulated. As long as he fought back to Beihe, he could at least become an inspector in charge of one or two counties or towns, or work as a county lieutenant in the county government.

For other people under King Mo, the Northern Expedition to Beihe may be a very important battle, but for Beihe people like Li Bao, it is the last battle to return home in glory.

. . . .

The commander of Changyu Lei was named Fan Wuqiu, who came from a prominent family in Beihe. Although he was knowledgeable about military affairs, he was corrupt and liked to engage in supernatural things like physiognomy and divination.

It just so happened that Zheng Sen, the Lord of Zheng, also liked this thing, so he gained his trust.

Deputy General Nguyen You Zheng could only watch this bastard messing around in despair. Ever since Huang Wufu died in battle in Hue, Zheng Lord did not recognize Nguyen You Zheng's talents. Huang Tingbao felt that he did not assist Huang Wufu well, which led to the death of his adoptive father in battle, so he directly alienated him.

Ruan Youzheng's status in the Zheng army plummeted as a result, and he was sent to Changyu Lei to serve as a small deputy general.

"Sir, the Southern Army has found the place where we built the dam to block the water. They have seized the high ground. The garrison sent three groups of elite soldiers to attack, but they were all driven back."

Ruan Youzheng's face darkened when he heard the report from the only few low-ranking officers he could still command.

"Lingxi River originally had little water, and after the dam was built to block the water, the riverbed was exposed. Wu Wenyong is a veteran warrior and not a fool, so how could he not see it?

Now, the dam that took a year and a half and tens of thousands of laborers to build has been directly occupied by someone else. What a waste of manpower!"

Finally, the Beihe general, who had a close friendship with the Xing Tang army, lowered his voice and said, "Changyu Fort can no longer be defended. Choose your trusted followers and follow me tonight. I will take you to the governor. The southern army is coming with such force that you can forget about holding the border."

On October 22, Wu Wenyong continued to send reinforcements, completely consolidating his control over the Beihe Dam. Fan Wuqiu had no choice but to hold on in Changyu Fort.

However, Wu Wenyong also made a mistake at this time. He reported to Mo Zibu the strategy of surrounding Changyu Lei and attracting the Northern Zheng army to come south to rescue. Mo Zibu also thought there was no problem, so he replied in agreement.

But after Wu Wenyong continued the siege for half a month, he still saw no sign of the Zheng army coming south to relieve the siege. Only then did he realize that his strategy of besieging the city and attacking the reinforcements was not working at all.

Wu Wenyong was so angry that he continued to write letters to admit the failure of the plan, while at the same time he began to attack Changyu Fort fiercely.

Nghe An Town, Rong City.

Ruan Youzheng ran back here. Under normal circumstances, for a town general like him who deserted the battlefield and came back, his head would definitely be chopped off.

However, although Huang Tingbao was somewhat disappointed with Ruan Youzheng, after all, three generations of Ruan Youzheng's family had been associated with the Huang family, and Ruan Youzheng's father was Huang Wufu's white glove, so there was still some ties of kinship.

So when Huang Tingbao saw Ruan Youzheng running back like this, he still gave him a chance to explain.

"Brother, the Southern Army's firearms are so powerful that they are unprecedented. I think it's even more powerful than the Shenjiying of the Ming Dynasty and the current internal and external firearms battalions of the Qing Dynasty.

Wu Wenyong's vanguard alone carries over twenty cannons, and the Southern Army also has large sea vessels and even more heavy artillery. Changyu Fort is undefendable."

Huang Tingbao was silent for a moment before answering with some difficulty, "From Changyu Fort to the north, we have been preparing for two years and have expended countless manpower. If Changyu Fort is not to be defended, then where should we defend? Hehua Prefecture? Or Lin'an Prefecture?"

"None of them will be defended!" Ruan Youzheng said decisively, "Hehua Prefecture is small and located on a main road, it's not as good as Changyu Fort. Lin'an Prefecture is located in a narrow area, the Southern Army can completely surround it without attacking."

"Brother, let's station our army in Rongshi City. We'll take advantage of the strategic location of Lanjiang River, and the people around Nghe'an will support us.

Firstly, we can stretch the Southern Army's supply lines, and secondly, we can send our local militia to attack their rear and cut off their food supplies. Meanwhile, we can station our troops in the fortified city and wait for Mo Wu to arrive."

Huang Tingbao gritted his teeth, his heart already somewhat tempted, for he doubted Fan Wuqu could hold Changyu Fort. More importantly, Fan Wuqu, relying on his position as Zheng Sen's confidant, rarely obeyed his orders as the commander-in-chief. Therefore, Huang Tingbao had no reason to risk marching south just to protect Fan Wuqu.

"If that's the case, we might as well not even defend Nghe An, retreat another 400 miles, and go directly to defend Qinghua Inner Town!"

Huang Tingbao was about to express his opinion when Ruan Wenhui, who had been silent beside him, suddenly spoke in a deep voice.

As soon as these words were spoken, all the Zheng army generals in the room were shocked. Even Nguyen Youzheng, who had quietly run back from Changyu Fort, looked at Nguyen Van Hue in shock.

My goodness, there is someone like you hiding here who is more radical than me, right?

Nguyen Van Hue had already begun explaining on the map, "The food and supplies of the Mohist army are all in Quang Binh. It's only a hundred miles to Changyu Lei, and another two hundred miles to Nghe An, a total of more than three hundred miles. What's the point of getting there?

And you may remember that Mo Wu's first battle as a rookie was in Nghe An. With only a few thousand men, he defeated Nguyen Dinh Thach's army of less than 20,000 who were besieging the cunning bandits, and they came from the sea.

This means that the Mo thief's navy has already figured out the depth of the Lan River. If we stay here, we might end up following Ruan Dinh Shi's fate."

As he spoke, Nguyen Van Hue pointed to the point of Thanh Hoa Town on the map, “But if we push to Thanh Hoa Town, it will add another 400 miles, and the supply line of the Mo bandits will be stretched to more than 700 miles.

Moreover, we have to pass through the entire Nghe An Town, so we can organize the local militia to attack their food supply route more easily.

In addition, the Majiang River that Thanh Hoa Nei Town relies on has a much larger volume of water than the Lanjiang River in Nghe An Rong City and is more difficult to cross. The Mo bandit navy did not know the depth of the Majiang River and did not dare to enter easily.

Moreover, Qinghuanei Town is only more than 200 miles away from Tokyo, so our supply of food and supplies will be more convenient, and the recruitment of civilians will be much faster than it is now.

Finally, the terrain around Thanh Hoa is open, and I have thousands of cavalry, which makes it easier for me to maneuver and intercept. In this way, I might be able to fight."

Huang Tingbao broke out in a cold sweat after hearing this. Although Huang Duling, the most outstanding second-generation military commander in Beihe and nicknamed Little Mengchang, had good command and combat skills and was considered knowledgeable about military affairs, he had a big flaw: he liked to make plans without making decisions, and he could never make quick decisions at critical moments.

He felt terrified just by listening to Nguyen Van Hue's description. It sounded nice to say that they were luring the enemy deep into their territory, but if they were not careful, Thanh Hoa was only more than 200 miles away from Tokyo City. Once they were defeated, they would not even be able to save the capital.

"Too risky, too risky," Huang Tingbao muttered. "If we retreat to Qinghua Inner Town, Prince Jingdu will be able to see the beacon fires from the top of Tokyo City. He will definitely not allow it."

"A general on the battlefield is not subject to military orders!" Nguyen Van Huy said firmly, "Brother, you know how fierce the Mo Wunan bandit army is!

With my adoptive father's ability, even the King of Jingdu was defeated in person. Can people like you and me compare to the King of Jingdu and my adoptive father?

If we don't retreat, we will die. If we retreat to Qinghua Town, we might still have a fighting chance. At this critical moment, how can we care whether King Jingdu agrees or not? "

In fact, what Nguyen Van Hue really wanted to say was that the prestige of King Jingdu Zheng Sen had been almost destroyed in the last battle of Shunzhou.

The reason why Prince Jingdu can now stabilize Beihe is only because of the two hundred years of prestige of the Zheng family that has been suppressed. Recently, he has begun to respect Prince Jingxing, and thus gained the support of all the high-ranking families in Jinghan.

Now, more than 70% of Zheng's army is concentrated in Huang Tingbao's hands. With such military power in his hands, he should do something.

If they lose, everything will be over. If they win, shouldn't they lead their army back north, depose the Zheng family and establish themselves as the leader?

What’s the point of considering King Jingdu now!

As the saying goes, a loud drum does not need a heavy hammer. Although Nguyen Van Hue did not express it clearly, the generals around him suddenly showed a look of understanding.

The generals under Huang Tingbao are either remnants of the Three Prefectures Army who regard killing rebels and their followers as a normal thing to reward them, or they are from the military families of Thanh Hoa Inner and Outer Towns and Nghe An who hold the sword.

Annan still retains a lot of the legacy of the late Tang Dynasty. It was common for the Jinghai Army's guards and generals to cause trouble and kill a few military governors. Now, after hearing what Nguyen Van Hue said, they immediately became full of energy.

Yes, this Mo thief is so difficult to deal with. If we can really kill him, is the credit only worth a few battalion commanders?

How can it compare to returning to Beihe, putting the yellow robe on Huang Tingbao, and gaining the merit of following the dragon?

"Commander, Commander Hui's words make sense. We should let the Mo bandits in to fight. Qinghua Inner Town is easy to defend but difficult to attack. It's the perfect place to defeat the bandits!"

"Commander, it's time to make a decision. Our 100,000 brothers are all waiting to live a prosperous life with you."

This statement was too explicit, and Huang Tingbao naturally understood it. Even if he didn't understand it, Nguyen Van Hue had mentioned the topic of holding troops and being independent to him many times, so he could also make the connection.

Ruan Youzheng looked at Ruan Wenhui in astonishment again. It turned out that during the year that I was marginalized, you, a kid from the south, had already made plans for the future of the Huang family. And it seemed that the generals below also had this idea.

Immediately, Ruan Youzheng also raised his hand and began to persuade them that he had been marginalized and if he didn't quickly fit in with everyone, there would be no place for him in the future.

"Brother, what Third Brother said makes the most sense. This is our only chance. I am willing to follow you, even through fire and water.

I can also go and persuade my second brother in Xijing, but I just need his consent."

Ruan Youzheng was equivalent to an outer member of the Huang family and was Huang Wufu's adopted son, while the brothers Huang Tingbao and Huang Tingti were Huang Wufu's nephews and adopted sons.

As for Nguyen Van Hue, Huang Wufu had adopted him as his son before he was defeated and killed in battle, so he should now be called Huang Dinh Hue.

Therefore, the second brother mentioned by Ruan Youzheng is Huang Tingti, who is currently guarding Xijing, and the third brother refers to Ruan Wenhui.

After hearing this, Huang Tingbao felt his heart pounding. He wanted to tell the generals in the room to discuss it the next day, but he saw their strange expressions. Huang Tingbao suddenly realized something.

King Jingdu suffered a terrible defeat in Shunzhou last time and has been looked down upon by these warriors. At the same time, the army of the southern bandit Mo Wu is quite powerful.

If they want to fight Mo Wu, the mere military officer positions of battalion commander and Gaiqi will not satisfy them at all.

Only if I agree to take them back to Tokyo after the war, wear the imperial robe, and distribute all the benefits around Tokyo to them, will they fight Mo Wu to the death.

Well, if I don't agree, these people will probably go to my second brother Huang Tingti. If my second brother also disagrees, it would not be surprising if they choose to join Mo Wu.

"So..." Huang Tingbao was sweating profusely on his back. "Let's do as Third Brother said. We won't go south, but wait for Mo Wu in Qinghua Town."

. . . .

On November 13, Huang Tingbao had already followed Nguyen Van Hue's advice. No matter how much Fan Wuqiu begged or Zheng Sen urged him, he just hesitated and refused to go south. He even reported the battle plan of retreating to Thanh Hoa's inner town.

Therefore, under the bombardment of dozens of artillery pieces by Wu Wenyong and the occupation of the upstream dam, Fan Wuqu held out for twenty days and finally broke through Changyu Lei.

Fan Wuqu and dozens of his close associates fled on horseback in advance, and the Zheng army of more than 2,000 people was almost wiped out. The Changyu Lei Pass, which they spent more than two years to build, was easily broken through by the Xing Tang army.

Afterwards, Mo Zibu dispatched Generals Chen Lian and Louis Kulun to the north to continue the attack. On November 28, they captured the important town of Hehua Prefecture and officially entered Beihe.

On the fifteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, the army marched straight in and easily captured the town of Rongshi in Nghe An, which had been abandoned by Zheng's army.

On the 27th day of the twelfth lunar month, near the Spring Festival, Mo Zibu personally led the main force of 40,000 troops and arrived in Rong City by land and sea.

However, the Zheng army had completely destroyed the city of Rong before retreating. The city was almost burned to ashes and the people had fled.

Mo Zibu had no choice but to build a large camp outside Rong City, relying on the few sections of the city wall that had not collapsed.

"He is indeed a hero, a true leader. With such magnanimity and broad-mindedness, his insights are profound and thought-provoking. He is exactly the wise leader that I, Deng Chenchang, should follow. Hahahaha!"

Outside the dilapidated city of Rong, Deng Chenchang, dressed in a coarse linen blue robe, laughed heartily while holding the two articles just written by Mo Zibu, and could not help praising them as he read them.

In Deng Chenchang's opinion, although the two articles by King Mo are mostly empty and exaggerated, they directly point to two core points.

He used the introduction of Western learning to the East as a gimmick, intending to integrate the hearts of the noble families in the southern capital of Beijing. He portrayed his attempt to bring an outsider into control of the Northern River as saving Eastern civilization, which was quite misleading.

The next one directly targets Confucianism. Although most of it is nonsense, its core is very solid.

Reviving the orthodox teachings, or reforming the orthodox teachings, is definitely the best weapon to break the current silence of Confucianism. As long as there is a person who truly understands Confucianism to help King Mo improve the theory, this will be a huge sword.

Deng Chenchang was very satisfied. He was not a reckless man. He would not rush to join Mo Zibu before seeing his strength.

Well, Deng Chen and other ordinary people are very smart, but they come from too humble a background and don’t have access to much high-level information.

Therefore, he did not know exactly how badly Jingdu King Zheng Sen was defeated in Shunzhou last time, which led to him not going south to place his bet immediately after leaving the Wu family.

Instead, he waited until now, until he saw that Huang Tingbao didn't even want Yi'an, and saw with his own eyes that the Xing Tang army was all over the mountains and plains, with bright armor and countless guns and cannons coming. King Mo also knew that he had the highest theoretical point, so he made up his mind to surrender.

"Please tell your lord that the people who will help him take Beihe are here!"

After making the decision, Deng Chenchang suddenly appeared in a very charming manner. He also hired a brave fisherman to row the boat, so that he could suddenly appear from the upper reaches of the Lanjiang River with a fairy-like look.

Unexpectedly, the patrolling soldiers were all rough guys and did not understand Deng Chenchang's heavily accented Jiaozhi-Chinese dialect at all.

They rushed forward and even Deng, Chen Chang and the brave fisherman were tied up as spies and thrown into the prisoner-of-war camp.

　Tiger is still having some health issues. The doctor said that if the lung inflammation doesn't subside tomorrow, he'll need to be transferred from the health center to the cardiopulmonary department of the county hospital. So I guess I'll have to take another day off tomorrow. Please forgive me.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)