Chapter 399: The Collapse of the Qing Army
The Red Army ultimately failed to completely wipe out the Eight Banners soldiers in Tunqi. In fact, as soon as the Red Army in the north of the city moved toward the Liuyang Gate in the east of the city, Tunqi immediately panicked and quickly sent more troops to guard the bridge across the Liuyang River.

The Eight Banners of the Han army knew that Tunqi was going to retreat, so they took the lead in breaking camp from Shimapu and preparing to cross the floating bridge. When the Han army moved, the Eight Banners of Mongolia also moved. The Eight Banners army gradually began to disintegrate.

Tunqi knew that the situation was hopeless and dared not fight the Red Army anymore. He led the Manchurian Eight Banners Light Cavalry to advance quickly and rush across the Liuyang River pontoon bridge.

The arrogant Eight Banners Cavalry also had their moment of defeat. In such an urgent situation, the Banner soldiers no longer cared about hierarchy. The Manchu, Mongolian, and Han Eight Banners refused to give in and fought fiercely for the pontoon bridge.

When Cen Danchu heard the news, he knew that the Eight Banners had been defeated, so he ordered the entire army to pursue them, leaving only a few elite soldiers to monitor the Changsha defenders.

The situation was so sudden and the war was so urgent that the Red Army simply opened the floating bridge on the Liuyang River in the north of the city. More than a dozen three-panel speedboats went up the Liuyang River and headed straight for the floating bridge set up by the Qing army in the east of the city.

The three warships used oars and sails to get on the first pontoon bridge. The first guns fired one after another, trying to destroy the pontoon bridge.

The Qing army was rushing to cross the Liuyang River, and seeing this, they panicked even more. Soldiers rushed to cross the pontoon bridge, and countless soldiers and horses fell into the Liuyang River.

Tunqi remained calm despite the busy situation. He ordered the eight banners of the Han army to take the north wing pontoon bridge, the eight banners of the Mongolian army to take the middle wing pontoon bridge, and the eight banners of the Manchuria to take the south wing pontoon bridge.

The situation was extremely chaotic, and this military order was not effectively implemented. Tunqi led his troops to the East Wing Floating Bridge and issued a strict order to rebuke the Han and Mongolian soldiers, but no one paid attention.

“Shoot!” Tunqi’s face was gloomy. The Manchu soldiers used large bows and heavy arrows to kill countless comrades.

This trick really worked. When the rebel soldiers saw the Manchurian flag, dozens of them were shot to death by arrows. Then they realized that the Manchurian soldiers had arrived and wisely made way for them.

They didn’t dare to say it out loud, and were full of complaints in their hearts. They secretly cursed Tunqi’s ancestors for eighteen generations.

Tunqi was already at a loss, and at this moment he only wanted to evacuate the Manchu soldiers from Changsha so that he could join forces with Oboi. In order to save the Manchu soldiers, he even ignored the Eight Banners of Mongolia and the Eight Banners of Han Army.

“Crack!” A sharp whip sound resounded through the sky, followed by the unique swan trumpet sound of the Red Army’s charge.

The Qing army looked back and was immediately horrified. They told each other: “Ma Sanbao is coming! Ma Sanbao is coming!”

“Damn it! The situation is hopeless, Tunqi doesn’t want us anymore. We have nowhere to go. If we resist the Red Army, we will surely die. I’ve heard that the Red Army is good at comforting surrendered soldiers, and Ma Bao is famous. We might as well surrender to Ma Bao!”

A Han army general knew that he could not cross the pontoon bridge and shouted loudly.

“Ma Bao surrendered! Ma Bao surrendered!” The soldiers responded one after another.

They tore down the flag, found a piece of white cloth and wrapped it around their lances, reorganized their team, and then turned their horses around and galloped towards the Red Army.

In order to avoid accidental injuries, the surrendered Han soldiers jumped off their horses in advance and knelt on the ground to welcome the arrival of the Red Army.

The Red Army in the vanguard was skeptical, thinking it was a trick, and slowed down their horses.

“We all sincerely wish to surrender to the Red Army, and beg the Marshal to take us in!”

Zhou Yiming, the commander of the Red Army Cavalry Brigade, rode up on horseback and shouted without hesitation, “If you really want to surrender, you can cut off your braids.”

“I obey your command!” Without saying a word, the surrendered soldier took out his sword and cut off his braid. Zhou Yiming saw that they were few in number and said, “Good, you can follow our army. If you can instruct the chieftain and persuade your comrades to surrender, you will be rewarded handsomely after the battle.”

It was chaos, total chaos! Tunqi led the escape, the Qing army had already collapsed, soldiers and horses scrambled to seize the floating bridge on the Liuyang River, trampled on each other, and countless people fell into the water and drowned.

The Red Army pursued and slaughtered people wantonly on the west bank of the Liuyang River, capturing and killing countless people.

Cen Danchu, wearing a golden helmet and golden armor, looked at the Qing army that had thrown away their weapons and armor, with a hint of pride on his face.

Recalling the past, he could not help but sigh: “Back then, the King of Ningxia led an expedition to Jiangxi and was defeated at the gates of Ganzhou. Dongxun’s army of more than 100,000 fought for the floating bridge, and the King of Ningxia himself fell into the water, with no trace left.

“This clan has always been puzzled. How could Dongxun’s army of more than 100,000 be defeated so easily? After seeing the tragic state of the Tartars today, this clan finally understands that the war situation changes suddenly. Even a powerful army like the Eight Banners, which is experienced in battle, will fall apart once it collapses.”

Mo Guangshu stood by and said, “Oranges grown in the south of the Huai River are oranges, while yu grown in the north of the Huai River are tangerines. Ma Bao was a minor general in Dongxun, but he was already able to take charge of the Red Army and intimidate the enemy. Although the Red Army is a latecomer, it is already better than the old one and is capable of competing with the Tartars.”

He Zhaoji, the director of the Operations Bureau, reminded: “Tunqi has no intention of defending, but only the intention of preserving its strength. After our army has swept the Tartars on the west bank of the Liuyang River, we should immediately attack the city, and then use Changsha as a base to prepare for a decisive battle with Oboi.”

“If Tunqi escapes, it will be easy to capture Changsha.” Danchu said, “Pass the order down, the Tartars will not be killed if they surrender, but if they dare to resist, they will be killed without mercy. Especially Hong Chengchou and Shen Yongzhong in the city, they must surrender before 9:00 tomorrow. If they don’t open the gates to surrender before 9:00 tomorrow, the Red Army will enter Changsha and behead every Tartar without mercy.”

The Red Army lacked cavalry and was separated from the enemy by the Liuyang River, so it was inconvenient to pursue them further. Today’s main task was to hunt down the Eight Banners soldiers on the west bank of the Liuyang River, and to deal with the prisoners and collect the spoils. It would take until midnight anyway.

In Changsha City, Shen Yongzhong was already at a loss and ran to the headquarters of the governor to discuss countermeasures with Hong Chengchou.

“Old Man Jiu, the Red Bandits forced our army to surrender. Right now, the general has already withdrawn, and the people in the city are in a panic. Can you give me some advice?”

Hong Chengchou also lost his former calmness and composure, and was directing his men to burn documents and pack up their belongings. He gave way a little and said, “The five principles of military strategy are to fight, defend, die, surrender, and flee. Once the general leaves, neither fighting nor defending is feasible, leaving only three options: die, surrender, and flee. The commander-in-chief is leading the troops, and whether to die, surrender, or flee is entirely up to the commander-in-chief.”

This is all nonsense!
Seeing that Hong Chengchou was still hiding his intentions, Shen Yongzhong said, “Old Man Jiu, it’s too unkind of us to join the camp! You were an important official of the Ming Dynasty, and my adoptive father was also a general of the Dongjiang River. We might as well surrender to the Red Army and not have to worry about having no future.”

Hong Chengchou’s face turned red, and he said, “If we surrender when we are poor and helpless, we will not be taken seriously by the Red Army, and we will inevitably be humiliated by the Cen family’s children. Instead of doing that, it is better to break out at night. The Red Bandits are chasing the Bannermen today, and their troops are scattered everywhere. Our army will take the enemy by surprise, go out of the south gate, head southeast to Meiziyuan, and then turn to the northeast, where we can meet up with Tunqi and Aobai.”

Shen Yongzhong and his family were still in the north, and they did not want to surrender. However, if they followed Hong Chengchou’s route, the troops would have to take a long detour, and the infantry would inevitably fall behind and be caught up by the Red Army.

By then, even if Shen Yongzhong broke out with his servants, battalion, and cavalry, he would suffer heavy casualties and would be executed by the Qing court.

He stared with his eyes wide open, thinking for a long time, and finally said cruelly: “Nineth Master, if the troops break through, I don’t know how many will be killed or injured.”

“No!” A deep, sinister voice rang out. It was Wang Dayuan, Hong Chengchou’s guard. “Marshal, what Jiu Weng said is absolutely right. Even if we lose many soldiers and generals, we must break out. Even if we perish together, we can still preserve our reputation and leave our names in history.”

Shen Yongzhong also had Xia guards, who were composed of the sons of Manchu and Mongolian nobles, and controlled Shen Yongzhong’s guards.

Kong Youde and Geng Jimao served as a warning. Kong Youde set himself on fire in Guilin, and his dead soldiers were posthumously awarded the title of Prince Dingnan, with great honors. Geng Jimao surrendered to the Red Army in Ganzhou, and his family members who stayed in the capital were all arrested and killed.

Shen Yongzhong slumped down in his chair and said, “Yes, listen to Jiu Weng, we will break out overnight.”

(End of this chapter)