There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 85: Soldiers are powerful and fast

Feng Xiuyong said without even thinking, "General, speed is of the essence in war!"

"Oh? How do you do it so quickly?" Nie Yu asked with a smile.

Feng Xiuyong said, "General, the Qing army has suffered a crushing defeat this time. It can no longer be described as a loss of soldiers and generals, but rather a complete annihilation. Although our commander, Fu Zhina, has fled, the Qing army's defeat is irreversible. This is a heaven-sent opportunity for our Han army to leap over the dragon gate!"

"I believe we should seize this golden opportunity and immediately march our army south to seize the neighboring Yuezhou and Lizhou!"

"In this way, the three states will be united, and our Han Dynasty can march directly to Changde!"

It would have been fine if he hadn't asked for advice, but when he did, he bombed right away!
While Nie Yu was still considering where to attack and how to fight, Feng Xiuyong was already thinking about forcing his troops into Changde.

Changde Prefecture is now the lifeline of the Qing army in Hunan. Once Changde Prefecture is lost, even if it is not captured by the Han army, but just has a little problem, the Miao battlefield in western Hunan will explode.

There was no other way. As mentioned before, the Miao battlefield was a place with poor mountains and bad waters. Because of the poor mountains and bad waters, and the deliberate exploitation by the government, the Miao people could not survive, so they rose up to rebel against the Qing Dynasty. Then, relying on the poor mountains and bad waters, they dragged the Qing army of seven provinces, more than 100,000 troops, to fight guerrilla warfare for two years.

In an army of 100,000, the actual number of combat soldiers may be less than 70,000 or 80,000, but the number of food and fodder for the soldiers and horses is definitely more than 100,000, and it is even possible that there are 150,000 or 200,000.

Don't ask, it's just normal losses on the battlefield. So much money, food and military supplies were previously transported from the two lakes, with Jingzhou, Changde and Chenzhou as the military supply transfer supply lines.

Now, Jingzhou has been captured by the Han army. If problems arise in Changde again, the Qing army in western Hunan will be out of food within two months.

Even if there is a shortage of food and the logistical supply is destroyed, if the battlefield of more than 100,000 troops on the front line can still go smoothly, then Fu Kang'an and He Lin are simply the reincarnation of Sun Wu and Han Xin.

Nie Yu didn't know whether the two of them were Sun Wu's reincarnation, but he knew that the two of them should be dying soon.

Calculating the time, Fu Kang'an in history led his troops into the Miao battlefield in western Hunan from the 60th year of Qianlong's reign to the first year of Jiaqing's reign, and then contracted malaria due to acclimatization.

Nie Yu couldn't tell what kind of disease this miasma was, but he guessed it was malaria or damp-heat disease.

Even with Nie Yu now, it is hard to say that this disease can be cured 100%, because he is not a professional doctor and cannot judge whether the patient has malaria, what type of malaria it is, and what kind of medicine should be used for treatment.

If the calculation is correct, Fukang'an may be bedridden now, and he will die in the army in two months at most.

Therefore, Fukangan was not actually a threat because he could not lead the army. The more than 100,000 Qing troops in Xiangxi looked intimidating, but they could only be tied up in Xiangxi and could not move.

It’s totally on the head!

Nie Yu thought it over carefully before continuing, "Putting aside the plan of forcing Changde, what about the previously agreed plan of marching north to Xiangfan and annexing Hanwu (Hanyang and Wuchang) in the east? Does that mean we don't have to fight now?"

"Haha." Feng Xiuyong smiled slightly. "General, you're worrying too much. Of course we have to fight Xiangfan and Hanwu, but there's no need to rush. Xiangfan is now the territory of the White Lotus Sect. Its leader, Wang Cong'er, is a heroine and the widow of Qi Lin, the leader of the Xiangfan White Lotus Sect. Nearly 100,000 White Lotus soldiers have gathered in Xiangfan. Even if we don't fight, the White Lotus Sect will cause unrest in the Xiangfan Qing army, and naturally they won't be able to care about Jingzhou of our great Han Dynasty."

After he said this, everyone nodded, and it was indeed true.

The Xiangfan White Lotus Sect is considered to be the most powerful sect among the Hubei White Lotus Sect, and there is even a tendency for it to merge with the Yunyang White Lotus Sect.

Once the two groups joined forces, the White Lotus Sect in Xiangfan would have more than 100,000 people following the riots. It would not be difficult to select 50,000 strong and capable men out of the 100,000.

Even though their fighting capacity is questionable and they cannot gather enough weapons and armor, An An's mob cannot withstand the large number of mobs!
A mob of 50,000 people fighting against the local Green Camp Qing army would require at least 20,000 to 30,000 people, not to mention a complete crush, which would be enough for the Green Camp garrison of an entire province, and there is no guarantee of victory!
Because the White Lotus Sect had no base, they could roam around directly. Once they started to roam around, the things that could be solved with 20,000 or 30,000 yuan could not be solved without 200,000 yuan.

Therefore, as long as Nie Yu does not cause trouble, the Qing court's attention in the north will definitely be focused on the White Lotus Sect.

It is true that Nie Yu's Han army has become a sitting enemy, but the hundreds of thousands of roaming White Lotus Sect members are a greater threat.

Feng Xiuyong continued, "Let's talk about Jingmen and Yichang. The two places are not much different. The White Lotus Sect in Jingmen is unlikely to become a force to be reckoned with, but the Qing army in Jingmen is even weaker. The Jingmen prefect can hardly protect himself, let alone march south to fight our Han army. As for Yichang Prefecture, the situation is even simpler. Zhang Zhengmo (Nie Yu has already mentioned this) had an agreement with the general in advance to divide Hubei equally, with Tiger Tooth Mountain and Jingmen Mountain as the boundary. Although this is a verbal agreement that can be torn up at any time, the general holds the White Lotus Sect's famous weapon in his hands. Zhang Zhengmo will not make any rash moves eastward until he is fully fledged!"

"What about Hanyang and Wuchang?" Nie Yu asked again.

Feng Xiuyong shook his head slightly and said, "Hanyang and Wuchang are precisely the two prefectures we least need to worry about, because Hubei Governor Hui Ling has already returned to Wuchang. From what I know about him, unless there is an order from the Qing court, this Mongolian governor will definitely delay sending troops. Even if the Qing court issued an order, he will definitely make excuses."

As he spoke, he suddenly laughed and said, "No, how can this be considered shirking responsibility?"

"After all, the prefectures of Wuchang, Hanyang, Anlu, De'an, and others are either plagued by internal unrest caused by the White Lotus Sect, or by excessive taxation and extortion, causing local wars to break out. The governor has been busy sending troops to quell the rebellions, without slacking off at all!"

Feng Xiuyong said calmly, having already thought of what Hui Ling would do in Wuchang, and even what excuses he would find to shirk responsibility for the court. After following him for so many years, Feng Xiuyong knew Hui Ling's personality, habits, and inner thoughts like the back of his hand.

Feng Xiuyong added, "Furthermore, this Mongolian governor has a prior deal with you, General. With this secret in hand, he certainly wouldn't dare to send troops at this moment. Even if he did receive an order, he would most likely shirk the responsibility."

It is very reasonable. He missed the opportunity to fight and shirked his responsibilities by not sending troops. At most, he would be dismissed from his official position. But if his relationship with the rebels was exposed, no matter how much Qianlong valued the relationship between Manchus and Mongols, he would have to confiscate his property and exterminate his clan, and use his head to appease the "public anger" of the Manchu Eight Banners.

Of course, this is not the whole reason. What Feng Xiuyong really wants to say is that it is no longer advisable to attack Hubei now. Xiangfan and Yunyang, two important cities in Hubei, have become places where the White Lotus Sect is rampant.

Xiangfan and Yunyang have become two hard bones. If the Han army bites hard, it is not impossible to bite them down, but if they do, both sides will suffer losses.

The White Lotus Sect and the Han army became mortal enemies, and Xiangfan and Yunyang would be defeated. Not only would the Han army gain nothing, but they would also have to spend money and food on disaster relief, and they would also have to guard against the Qing army taking the opportunity to attack their lair.

Isn't this fucking stupid?
The same is true for Yichang, Hanyang, and Wuchang. If you attack any of these three prefectures, something bad will happen. Either you fight with the White Lotus Sect and let the Qing army take advantage, or you will fall into the encirclement of the Qing army.

But it was different in Hunan. There were not many Qing troops stationed in Yuezhou and Lizhou. After Huarong County was lost, the Yuezhou prefect had to go to Changde Prefecture to ask the Jingzhou general for help.

As long as the Han army moves fast enough, while the news of the Qing army's defeat has not yet been known to the pseudo-Qing officials in Yuezhou and Lizhou, they can march directly south and seize the two states at lightning speed.

Although these two states are located on the border of northern Hunan, they occupy the most fertile Dongting Lake Plain in Hunan, and half of Dongting Lake is under the jurisdiction of Yuezhou Prefecture.

Taking over Yuezhou and Lizhou will definitely be a sure win.

Together with the Miao troops in western Hunan, they formed a pincer attack with the Han army in northern Hunan.

When the Qing army returned, the Miao people in western Hunan grew stronger and southern Hunan became corrupt.

If the Qing army does not return, Changde will not be able to be defended, Changsha will be in danger, and Hunan will be in ruins.

This was Feng Xiuyong's killer move. He would cooperate with Miaozi and the White Lotus Sect to make the Qing army run around in a panic.

After hearing Feng Xiuyong's deadly move, which could be considered an overt conspiracy, the other secretaries did not agree immediately. Instead, they frowned and fell into deep thought. In their opinion, this move could indeed make it impossible for the Qing army to take care of both ends, but at the same time, the tolerance rate was also very low. If they were not careful, they might lose everything.

A young secretary raised everyone's concerns, "Secretary Feng, what if the Qing army really ignores the growing power of the Miao people in western Hunan and marches north to attack our Han army first?"

Before Feng Xiuyong could answer, Nie Yu made the decision first.

"No need to say more. Pass on my military orders. First, send a telegram to Jingzhou Prefecture, informing them of the victory of the pseudo-Qing army's defeat. Then, have Jingzhou Prefecture prepare food and fodder."

The young secretary felt something was wrong when he heard this: "General..."

Nie Yu smiled and said nothing, but the secretary immediately shut up because he knew what he meant.

Nie Yu retracted his gaze and gave the order: "There's no need to rush to dismiss the militia we recruited earlier. Together with the captured Qing soldiers and local militiamen, they should all be incorporated into the main army."

"Follow the order!"

This was a military order, and Bai Nan, Chen Younian, and Xu Sanlang quickly bowed and accepted the order.

After receiving the order, they all felt excited.

The Han army had just almost wiped out the Qing army on the front battlefield, and their morale was high. Almost all the Han soldiers were looking forward to continuing the fight.

For them, fighting in the war meant earning merit and dividing the land, fighting in the war meant killing the Qing dogs and slaves. Even if they died in battle, it didn't matter. The Han army would receive high pensions, and even if they died, they could enjoy the land tax exemption policy, five years of tax exemption, and five and a half years of tax. Their descendants could still hold their heads high and live their lives with dignity.

When alive, you will be given land for your meritorious service and your family business will prosper. When you die, you will receive a high pension and your land will be tax-free.

No worries, it’s all pure profit!

The Han army was warlike, and Nie Yu was not really acting rashly. His secretariat and staff believed that going south was too risky and the margin for error was too low. However, Nie Yu had a God's perspective and knew that the Qing army would definitely not be able to go north.

Because Fukang'an has fallen ill and will die in two months. If the commander-in-chief of the three armies dies, the Qing troops in these seven provinces will immediately be leaderless. At that time, it will be difficult to defeat the Miao people in western Hunan, so what can they use to march north?
　The night shift is finally over, time to go to sleep!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)