There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 78: Direct Attack on Jingzhou

Fifty thousand Qing troops marched north to suppress the bandits!

The news spread quickly, but the actual deployment of troops was slow.

Nonsense, there are not really 50,000 Qing troops. If there really were 50,000 Qing troops marching north, at least someone of Fu Kang'an's level would have to lead the troops, and all the military supplies would have to follow.

It is simply too late in such a short period of time. Don't even think about mobilizing 50,000 Qing troops within a few months. Fu Zhi's dispatch of troops is considered fast.

But no matter how fast he sent out his troops, he could not be faster than the Han army, because his military supplies and baggage were all collected by Changde Prefecture, and Changde Prefecture was also responsible for arranging the laborers and mule carts.

Why not forcibly requisition civilian boats to travel the waterways of Dongting Lake?
Because all the large ships have been forcibly requisitioned to the Miao Ping army. It is an army of seven provinces with more than 100,000 troops. If all the large ships are not forcibly requisitioned and transferred, they will not be able to sustain the consumption at all.

There were no large ships available in Fuzhina, and even mule carts for transporting grain were difficult to find, so the only way was to march slowly overland.

The Han army had it easy, as they had plenty of large ships and were close to the Yangtze River waterway. They could go directly upstream and reach Shishou County in just a few days.

Anxiang County, Lizhou, riverside military camp.

"General, once we cross the White Lotus River, we can march eastward for three days and reach the border of Yuezhou Prefecture."

Several Qing generals were gathered in a circle, looking at a scribbled map on the table and discussing how to march. There were few Manchu generals present, most of them were Han and Miao generals.

It’s not surprising that there are Manchu and Han generals, but why are there Miao generals?

It's very simple. It's true that the Miao people were rebelling against the Qing Dynasty, but that doesn't mean all Miao people were rebelling against the Qing Dynasty. A considerable number of Miao people had been dispersed and converted to Han Chinese by the Qing Dynasty. These Miao generals were all Miao military officers from Zhengui. They followed Fu Zhina and made great military exploits when suppressing the Miao people in Hunan. Their men were stained with the blood of many Miao people of the same ethnic group.

After the Qing general in front finished speaking, another Miao general, who was also Fu Zhina's deputy general, pointed to the map and said, "It's a pity that we don't have a large ship. If we had a large ship, we wouldn't have to take such a long detour, going through Lizhou to Yuezhou Prefecture, wasting so much time."

"No! No waste. This is the effect our town wants by taking a detour and driving slowly." Fu Zhina looked at the map and shook his head.

what?
The Qing army generals present looked at each other in bewilderment. Speed ​​is the essence of war and the correct way to employ troops. But it seemed that the general was deliberately taking a detour and moving slowly.

Fu Zhi didn't let his subordinates speculate and explained directly, "We can't move any faster anyway, so why not take a longer detour to give these rebels more time to prepare. The Yuezhou prefect reported that the rebels are at the gates of the city, but in my opinion, these Yuezhou rebels are at most a small group of Jingzhou rebels. If they really marched south in large numbers, they wouldn't make such a small noise. Moreover, there is only a narrow mountain road leading from Huarong County to Jingzhou, which is not enough for a large army to cross. The only way is to take the waterway where the Yangtze River flows into Dongting Lake."

The Miao deputy general asked tentatively, "What does the commander-in-chief mean?"

Fu Zhina pointed at Jingzhou on the map, an ugly grin forming on his face: "Let's go straight to Jingzhou!"

what!
Immediately, a Qing general from the Hunan Green Camp advised: "General, think twice! The General of Jingzhou wants us to take Yuezhou, recapture Huarong County, and drive out these White Lotus rebels..."

"Bullshit!" Fu Zhina cursed. "Huarong County has high and thick walls, not much inferior to the provincial capital. We only have so few soldiers capable of fighting, and we don't know how many rebels there are in the county. Even if we fill them all in, we may not be able to recapture Huarong County."

Fu Zhina pointed at the map and analyzed, "We're marching so slowly and sending out 50,000 troops to attack Huarong County. As long as the White Lotus rebels in Jingzhou are not stupid, they will definitely not defend Huarong County to the death. So there's no need to worry about Huarong County at all, and there's no need to worry about the safety of Yuezhou Prefecture either."

Hearing Fu Zhina's words, none of the officers present objected. Nie Yu had previously verbally agreed with Zhang Zhengmo to allow his father, Nie Jieren, to continue holding the title of White Lotus Sect Leader. This was considered a concession on both sides, and it was also a way for them to draw the Qing army's firepower from the east. This, coupled with their secret deal with Hui Ling, had led to the Qing Dynasty still believing that Nie Yu's Han army was a branch of the White Lotus Sect.

Since it is the White Lotus Sect, it is a rural cult. Any rural cult will never succeed because the basis of their rebellion comes from the instigation of the cult, and it is impossible for them to establish a stable regime.

Without a stable foundation and territory, at most they may be fearless under the influence of the cult, but not being afraid of death is both an advantage and a disadvantage. Cult uprisings often fight without rules and cannot be commanded and controlled, and their combat effectiveness is actually worse than that of ordinary rebels.

Although Fu Zhina was a brave general under Fu Kang'an and had rich battlefield experience, he was not immune to the information gap. He believed that the Han army was a group of ignorant men and women who were rioting under the influence of a cult. What kind of combat effectiveness could they have?

Therefore, there is no need to attack Huarong County. The rebels will definitely run away. Even if they don't run away, it doesn't matter. The rebels will definitely not dare to leave the city. You can't take it down by force, so you can ignore them for now.

The rebels who went south to Huarong County were at most a small group of bandits, and the real main force of the bandits must still be in Jingzhou Prefecture.

Fu Zhina couldn't help cursing again, "They allowed a mob of White Lotus bandits to easily capture the city. This Han Chinese prefect of Jingzhou deserves death, and that Governor Hui Ling is also a complete idiot."

The Manchu generals present didn't care. The Han and Miao generals all lowered their heads. Fu Zhi was a general of the Eight Banners of Manchu and Fu Kang'an. Naturally, he could mock Hui Ling of the Eight Banners of Mongolia and a mere dead Han prefect, but they were nothing, so they might as well pretend not to know.

"However, no matter how haphazard the White Lotus bandits in Jingzhou are, they must have many followers. This time, our town is deliberately bluffing to scare the bandits in Jingzhou. As long as the bandits become disorderly, this flaw will be exposed."

After hearing this, the Manchu generals were still a little suspicious and didn't know what was going on, but a few Han and Miao generals understood.

Fu Zhina's deputy general said, "The bandits were able to capture the city, so they must have a large number of followers. With so many people, there will be disunity in command, making it difficult to coordinate orders. Just like when the general followed the governor (Fu Kang'an) in Yongsui to suppress the rebellious army, the rebellious army also had multiple orders and was difficult to unify, so the governor defeated them one by one!"

"We don't have many troops, and we don't have enough food and fodder, so we can't just drag it out and fight slowly. We must use a surprise attack to win!"

Fu Zhina said, "If I were a bandit in Jingzhou and heard there were 50,000 troops, I would either retreat to Jingzhou or gather my troops for a decisive battle!"

"Retreating to Jingzhou is a major military taboo. An isolated city cannot be defended. If we gather our troops for a decisive battle, that would be even better!"

Fu Zhi's great military exploits in the Hunan Miao War were not entirely due to following Fu Kang'an to gain military merits. He was able to fight in a major battle and defeated many Miao rebel forces.

Historically, Hui Ling was able to confront the White Lotus Sect for so long because of Fu Zhina's fighting ability and his ability to clean up his mess.

Whenever a real fight broke out, Huiling was afraid to charge, so Fuzhina's Zhenxiang soldiers had to take the lead. Linye blocked the White Lotus Sect in Fenghuang Mountain and prevented them from leaving.

Now, leaving the most familiar mountains doesn’t mean that Fu Zhina won’t fight anymore.

The decision was made that the Qing army would no longer linger in Anxiang County and the entire army would cross the Bailian River.

Then he followed the Bailian River all the way north to Jingzhou Prefecture, preparing to catch the Han army off guard.

(End of this chapter)