Chapter 407: Devoting all national strength to a decisive battle with the enemy

When the army reached Yuezhou, Hu Yiqing came to see them off. He was the commander of the Fifth Infantry Regiment, responsible for leading his troops to guard Hunan and protect the western wing of the army.

“Yiqing, have the troops of the Fifth Town been deployed in place?” Danchu asked as he rode side by side with Yiqing.

Hu Yiqing is Cen Danchu’s sworn brother. He said frankly: “It’s not completely in place yet, but the important places have been well defended, enough to prevent the enemy’s sneak attack.”

The Fifth Regiment had been established for less than half a year and was still undergoing reorganization. Fortunately, the Fifth Regiment was mainly composed of local soldiers from western Hunan, the remnants of the Dashun Army, the surrendered soldiers from the Green Camp, and new soldiers from Guangdong and Guangdong, so it could be put into combat after a little training.

“You stay in Hunan to deal with two enemies. The first is the Tartars, that is, Aljin who is stationed in Jingzhou. The rebels in Kuidong and Yunyang are rising up, and Aljin is too busy to take care of Hunan. With the arrival of Li Guohan, the Tartars’ military strength will increase, and they will definitely invade Hunan. You must pay attention to this.”

Hu Yiqing was confident and said, “The most elite troops under Li Guohan are the Han troops, but they are not very strong in combat. Ma Weixing has been active in Changde and Xiangxi for many years and is familiar with the terrain. The 14th Brigade consists mostly of Xiangxi local soldiers who are brave and can protect the gates of Hunan.”

“We must also pay more attention to the western bandits in Chenzhou and Jingzhou areas. Now that Wu Sangui is leading his troops into Yunnan, the western bandits will definitely return to defend Yunnan. Chenzhou and Jingzhou border Guizhou, so we need to make plans early.” Danchu said, as if he had already seen how Sun Kewang was deserted by his friends and relatives.

Although the Yongli court had no troops and no power, it represented the orthodoxy of the Ming Dynasty. The Yongli Emperor issued an edict declaring Sun Kewang a traitor and called on all the troops in the country to fight against the Western bandits. Sun Kewang lost the support of the people, and the power he generated should not be underestimated.

“I have appointed Yuan Zongdi to guard Chenzhou and Jingzhou. Most of the 14th Brigade are former members of the Shun army, and they have long been at odds with the Western bandits. When Sun Kewang’s defeat becomes apparent, Yuan Zongdi can lead his troops into Guizhou and seize important areas of Guizhou.”

Cen Danchu agreed with this deployment. It was a little regrettable that he first instigated Li Dingguo to rebel, and then persuaded Wu Sangui to enter Yunnan, which led to a deep hatred between him and Sun Kewang.

“Sun Kewang and the imperial court had already fallen out because of the false title of King of Qin, and now he has suffered this humiliation. I’m worried that once Sun Kewang is defeated, he will most likely surrender to Wu Sangui.” Danchu said with a worried look on his face.

Hu Yiqing is from Yunnan and has been closely following the war in Yunnan. He said, “Wu Sangui is under great suspicion from the Tartars. His army and families are stationed in Sichuan, and he dreams of getting a piece of land. If he can defeat Sun Kewang and gain a foothold in Yunnan, he will definitely root him out and will not let Sun Kewang live.”

“Hmm,” Danchu nodded and fell into deep thought.

After the Qing Dynasty entered the pass, the war went very smoothly. Dorgon was very proud of himself and made great use of the Han army and the Green Camp, and sent Wu Sangui and the three kings and one duke of Dongjiang Town to live outside the pass.

Wu Sangui and his men were left out in the cold for more than a year. He was the most powerful and was the most suspicious of the Qing court.

It was not until Li Chengdong and Jin Shenghuan rebelled against the Qing Dynasty and a wave of anti-Qing resistance broke out in the south that the Qing court had to re-employ the three kings and one duke of Dongjiang Town. When Jiang Ge rebelled against the Qing Dynasty, the capital of the Qing Dynasty was threatened and the Eight Banners were unable to pacify it, so Dorgon re-employed Wu Sangui.

When Wu Sangui first arrived in the northwest, he relied on the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu, Meng Qiaofang, for food and grass. Meng Qiaofang was very capable, with the same qualifications as Zhang Cunren, and was highly trusted by the Qing court. Wu Sangui was already the King of Pingxi, and wanted to meet Meng Qiaofang, but Meng Qiaofang avoided him because he saw the person.

The humiliation was imaginable, and Wu Sangui was in desperate need of a stable territory. Sun Kewang had many old friends in Yunnan and Guizhou, and if he surrendered to Wu Sangui after his defeat, Wu Sangui would certainly be suspicious.

“My Lord, Sun Kewang has set up a farming system in Yunnan, which has offended countless landlords. When Wu Sangui marches into Yunnan, the landlords will surely respond. Sun Kewang’s rear is unstable, and he will surely fail.”

Danchu called Feng Jiali and said, “Old Feng, we need to make plans early for Yunnan. Send someone to Wu Sangui to persuade him that a tyrant like Sun Kewang cannot be kept.”

Feng Jiali chuckled and said, “I have the same idea. If Sun Kewang surrenders to Wu Sangui, and Wu Sangui drives Sun Kewang to attack our army, that would be bad.” “We can make a big deal out of this. It would be best if we could incite Wu Sangui to return to the Ming Dynasty and fight back against the Tartars.” Hu Yiqing said excitedly.

Cen Danchu never entertained unrealistic fantasies, and sneered, “It is necessary to incite Wu Sangui, but he is a descendant of a general, unlike us who have come from swords and fires and made their way step by step. This kind of rich man is the most cautious, cherishes wealth and will never change his ways easily.

“After Wu Sangui seizes Yunnan, he will definitely work hard to manage it, and his position will be unclear. Then he will observe the general situation of the world and choose the right time to act. Yiqing, you will guard Hunan for me. You should not expect too much from Wu Sangui as this is an important place in the world.”

A gust of river wind blew over, and Hu Yiqing seemed to be much more sober, and said, “Yes.”

Danchu changed his tone and his expression became serious. He said, “I will lead the Tiger Guards and the Fourth Town to fight the Tartars. The east and west wings must be kept safe. The east wing depends on Kuangshi’s Second Town. The west wing is in my hands, brother.”

Hu Yiqing was confident and said, “Don’t worry, my lord. Although I am not talented, I will have no problem guarding Hunan.”

“Just let it go.”

“I wish the king a successful start.”

On the 25th, the Central Army advanced to Tumen Town, where they gathered their troops, waited for the Eastern Army’s infantry, and held a front-line meeting.

Tumen Town is located in the east of Baling County, a county attached to Yuezhou Prefecture, with post roads leading to Puqi, Xianning, and Wuchang. To the east of Tumen Town, there is a northeast-southwest-oriented Longku Mountain Range. To the east of Longku Mountain, there is another northeast-southwest-oriented mountain, called the Mufu Mountain Range.

Between Longku Mountain and Mufu Mountain are a series of narrow valley basins. The county towns of Tongshan, Chongyang, Puqi, Tongcheng and others are located in these mountain basins, forming an important channel from Hubei to Hunan.

The famous Li Zicheng died in the Jiugong Mountain area of ​​Tongshan County. Jiugong Mountain is a big mountain in the Mufu Mountain Range.

The Eastern Army was composed of infantrymen and moved slowly. Jiao Lian, the commander of the Fourth Town, hurried to Tumen Town and said that the Fourth Town’s vanguard had approached Tongcheng. However, the Tartars took advantage of the terrain to build wooden forts and set up defenses. The Eastern Army faced great resistance.

“It’s okay,” Danchu said confidently, “The Tartars have an advantage in cavalry, while our army has an advantage in navy and firearms. The central army is surrounded by a network of waterways, including Lushui, Jinshui, Lushui Lake, Dayan Lake, Huanggai Lake, Xiliang Lake, etc., which are not conducive to the cavalry’s galloping.

“This time, when advancing to Wuchang, the Western Navy will enter the Yangtze River first, sweep away the Tartar warships, and clear the Yangtze River surface; the Central Navy will concentrate the soldiers of the Three Associations with sophisticated firearms to break through the Tartar defense line by land. If the Western and Central Navy are successful, the Tartars in Tongshan and Puqi will be threatened and will naturally retreat to Wuchang.”

“Good,” Jiao Lian said, “The king has made a perfect plan. We will surely defeat the enemy in this battle.”

“This time, our army mobilized four regiments to fight Wuchang. Together with the third regiment that resisted the Dashi Army, a total of five regiments participated in the battle. We exhausted our national strength to fight a decisive battle with the enemy.

“If we succeed, our army can go down the river, first take Nanjing, then take Jiangnan, and half of the country will belong to us. If we fail, not only will Huguang and Jiangxi be lost, but even western Guangdong may be lost.

“Gentlemen, please sacrifice your lives and fight hard to kill the enemy. We will not stop until Wuchang is conquered!”

(End of this chapter)