Autumn of the 17th year of Chongzhen

Chapter 820
Xinye County is located at the junction of Henan and Chu, in the center of the Nanxiang Basin, with Wan and Luo in the north and Jing and Xiang in the south.

For more than a thousand years, whenever the north and the south fought, this place must be the place to fight, and it was destroyed and repaired several times. Therefore, although it is a small county, the city is quite strong and can stand shoulder to shoulder with the capitals of lower state capitals.

Because the north-south passage between Chu and Henan is in the hands of the Qing army, the Qing army in Henan can go south from here at any time to raid Huguang, which makes the Ming army in Huguang very passive strategically, and must station heavy troops in Huguang. The Wanming army did not dare to act rashly, and was restrained here, unable to support other battlefields.

By capturing Xinye, and even the entire Nanyang Basin, the Ming army would be able to cut off the Qing army’s road to Huguang south, and then threaten Heluo. This would not only liberate the Ming army in Huguang, but also make the Ming army change from passive to active. The Qing army was worried about when the Ming army would raid Luoyang and Kaifeng.

This was a key step in the Northern Expedition of the Ming Dynasty, and it was equally as important as the recovery of the Huaihe River. Therefore, after the Ming army recovered Nanjing, it was put on the agenda by the Ministry of War. It was supposed to be tried next year, but the plan could not be changed. The Qing army invaded this time. Wang Yan strengthened his heart to seize Xinye and Nanyang, so he wrote to tell Dai Zhifan to seize this place.

According to the plan of the Ministry of War, when the main force of the Qing army was looting in Huguang, the Ming army would go from the north of the barren Han River to avoid the Qing army's eyes and ears, and intersperse in the direction of Xinye to quickly capture Xinye and Nanyang. The invading Qing army was locked in Huguang, and it was able to force the Henan Qing army to be threatened and dare not move lightly, so that the Ming army could attack the Huaihe River and Huaihe River later and shake the rule of the Qing Dynasty.

Although the Ming and Qing Dynasties have been fighting continuously in recent years, Henan has been stable for four years since the Qing army occupied Henan.

Compared with Shandong and other places where the rebels swarmed, Henan experienced several scourges from bandits, and the people suffered heavy losses. After Li Yan, who represented Henan's local tyrants, was killed, Henan's tyrants also withdrew from the stage of history, and the contradiction between Henan's more people and less land was resolved , but gradually stabilized.

After more than four years without fighting, the local government even recovered a little bit, and both the Qing army and the local government became a little slack.

Tan Tai and other soldiers from the Eight Banners had to pretend to be the Qing army. There was no pressure at all. The Ming army seized a lot of the Qing army’s armor, and Wang Yan did not ask the banner soldiers to cut their hair. They wanted to change back to the Qing army. It is a matter of changing the skin.

At this time, the soldiers of the Eight Banners began to change their armor, but Dai Zhifan called Zhang and Tan to his side, let them listen to him, and said in a low voice: "There are many censors in the court who are dissatisfied with the kindness your Highness treats you, but But you two can't be overwhelmed, Your Highness has an account in my letter, let me tell you two, the Ministry of War has already set a bugle number for Guiyi Battalion, just wait for the two of you to make meritorious deeds and stop those censors I will formally organize the soldiers of the Eight Banners into an army, and let the two of you lead them."

Zhang Cunren and Tan Tai were on the side of the Qing court, and they were both high-ranking and powerful people. At this time, they were like a little Luo Luo, bowing down and listening to Dai Zhifan's words. Show a burst of joy.

In this regard, Zhang Cunren did better, while Tan Tai's smile was a little stiff and unnatural.

Dai Zhifan paid attention to the faces of the two, but in fact he was not at ease, and added: "If you have made meritorious service this time, the imperial court will definitely not be stingy with rewards."

Zhang and Tan have very different identities, and they are also people who have seen the world. Naturally, they would not be grateful for a camp number, but Dai Zhifan's words revealed a lot of information. The first is that they want to live well in the Ming Dynasty. You have to make meritorious deeds, otherwise the censor will kill them, and secondly, as long as they make meritorious deeds, they will still have a chance to rise in the future.

Now it is impossible for the two of them to return to the Qing court, so they can only learn from Hong Chengchou and serve the Ming Dynasty well.

"Don't worry, Duke, I will wait for my life!" The two of them clasped their fists together and saluted. Not to mention, this is better than the Qing court. They don't have to kneel every time, they are more like individuals.

Seeing this, Dai Zhifan nodded, seeing that the surrendered soldiers had finished changing their armor, he said immediately: "You two also go to prepare, and when we win Xinye, this town will celebrate your victory!"

Not long after, a team of more than a thousand people, with nearly a hundred carts, left the brigade and headed for Xinye.

Dai Zhifan saw that they were going far away, so he ordered sentry cavalry to investigate the two ends, and then let Liu Fangliang lead thousands of horses, and after a short rest, he followed closely behind.

In late November, the Qing army began to plunder in Huguang. The Qing cavalry merged into an uninhabited land south of the Han River.

Almost all the cavalry of the Qing army were taken into Huguang by Azig to plunder, and the 3 green battalions left behind were led by King Pingnan Shang Kexi.He divided 1 troops into three divisions, 5000 people were placed at the mouth of the Baihe River near Xiangfan to monitor the Xiangfan Ming army, and guarded the main roads to ensure the safety of Xinye. The other 5000 people were placed in Nanyang, and he led [-] troops. People guard Xinye.

The Qing army marched south for a month, and the Ming army hid in the city and did not dare to fight. He appointed Xu Erxian as an outpost, guarding the main route of the Ming army's attack on Xinye, and Xinye was very safe in his opinion.

At first, Shang Kexi’s vigilance was still very strong, but as time passed, everything was peaceful and the supplies looted by the Qing army would be transported over every once in a while, which showed that Azig was also going well in the south, and If Azig is going well, then he will be safer here, and he will gradually slack off.

Xinye County is a small county where the army lives and has nothing to do all day long. If you are happy, you can't help but indulge in bedtime, and leave the general affairs to your subordinates.

This afternoon, in Nancheng, Xinye County, several soldiers leaned against the city gate, and the soldiers on the city wall also leaned against each other to take a nap in twos and threes. Well, they are just a green battalion, the treatment is relatively poor, and they are just eating a living, but they have to go to the war first, if they can't be lazy and slippery in normal times, then it's okay.

Mr. Qian came down from the city and came to the gate. He didn't care about the soldiers on the city, but he still had to take care of the city gate because it needed land.As soon as Mr. Qian came down, he kicked a dozing soldier, "Damn, what did you do last night?"

There were more than a dozen people standing inside the gate, and they barely cheered up when they heard the sound, but they didn't take it seriously in their hearts. Because the army moved in, and the green camp's military discipline was poor, merchants and common people dared not come, and the city gate was deserted from morning to night. There are no people in and out, so it is necessary to cheer up.

Outside the city gate, leaning against the city wall, a general who was basking in the sun squinted his eyes and dozed off. Hearing the reprimand from the chief inside the gate, he quickly opened his eyes and shook his head. He was instantly delighted.

It should be that the looted materials have been transported over from the front. When these materials arrive in Xinye, they can sneak a little bit of benefits from them.

There was oil and water, and the general manager immediately regained his spirits, hurriedly pressed the saber, walked into the doorway, and said to the general manager who reprimanded the soldiers: "Mr. "

(End of this chapter)