Chapter 398 The decisive battle is coming
Huben Town won a great victory in the south of the city, and Ma Jinzhong led his troops back to Changsha to provide support. The balance of power between the enemy and us changed fundamentally, and the battlefield situation changed.

Jiao Lian came to ask for battle, saying: “My Lord, our army has piled up earth into a mountain outside Xiangchun City and bombarded Changsha day and night, making the Tartars suffer terribly. The 11th and 12th armies have gathered in the north of the city. Our army is strong and powerful. If we attack the north gate now, we will surely break the city.”

Danchu said nothing and turned to look at the map. He knew this Changsha map by heart, and every time he looked at it, he always gained something new.

He pointed in the direction of East City and said, “Rui Weng, there must be a key point in playing chess. Do you know where the key point of the Changsha battle is?”

Jiao Lian said without hesitation, “Of course it’s at Xiangchun Gate in the north of the city.”

“No,” Danchu refuted, “Before the war, the Tartars stationed a large number of troops at Shimapu in the south of the city, and the chess eye was at Shimapu. Our army crossed the river at Sanchafan downstream and deployed troops outside Xiangchun Gate in the north of the city, and the chess eye followed to Xiangchun Gate. But now, the chess eye has changed.”

Jiao Lian was puzzled, and many of the staff in the tent also came to their senses and listened to Dan Chu’s brilliant ideas.

“Is the king preparing for a decisive battle with Tunqi in the south of the city?” asked the military assistant Mo Guangshu, vaguely feeling that the chess focus had returned to Shimapu in the south of the city.

Danchu did not answer his question and said: “The goal of the Qing army is to hold Changsha and wait for Aobai’s reinforcements. The scout reported that Aobai led his army across Jiujiang and did not go south to Nanchang, but continued to go west to Huguang, and the vanguard had passed Ruichang.

“Obai will most likely take the route of Yangxin, Tongshan, Chongyang, and Tongcheng, and it will take another ten days to reach Changsha. I have ordered Li Dingguo to lead the 10th Brigade to Xiangyin, Miluo, and Pingjiang in order to stop Oboi.

“Our army’s mission is no longer as simple as conquering Changsha. We must also annihilate the Tartars as much as possible. Otherwise, even if we conquer Changsha, it won’t be considered a victory if Tunqi’s troops escape.”

If Tunqi escapes, he will definitely join forces with Aobai. Both of them are great generals, each with 30,000 to 40,000 soldiers from the Eight Banners. If they join forces, there will be 70,000 to 80,000 soldiers from the Eight Banners alone, accounting for one-third of the total number of soldiers from the Eight Banners. You can imagine how strong they are.

Jiao Lian’s mood instantly hit the bottom, with a worried look on his face. For the Red Army, it would be difficult to wipe out this group of troops within ten days.
But Danchu said: “The key to the battle of Changsha is not Shimapu in the south of the city, nor Xiangchun Gate in the north of the city, but Liuyang Gate in the east of the city.”

There are three gates in Changsha East City, namely Liuyang Gate, Xinkai Gate and Xiaowu Gate. The largest one is Liuyang Gate, and you can clearly see the Liuyang River from the tower.

The Liuyang River is a larger tributary of the Xiangjiang River. It runs from southeast to northwest in Changsha, flows outside the east city of Changsha, and flows into the Xiangjiang River at Siliwai in the north of the city.

“Look, everyone. Our army has gathered heavy troops at Xiangchun Gate in the north of the city and Shimapu in the south of the city, and they are not closely connected. There is the Xiangjiang River to the west of Changsha, and the Red Army navy is on the Xiangjiang River. If we send more troops to station outside Liuyang Gate, we can connect the two major corps in the north and south of the city from the land.”

Danchu personally put a small flag on the map, which was exactly the location outside Liuyang Gate, which was very vivid and intuitive. The Red Army camped outside Liuyang Gate in the east of the city, which not only strengthened the connection between the troops in the north and south of the city, but also blocked Tunqi’s escape route to the east with the help of Liuyang River and Laodao River.

“The king has a brilliant plan. If we can set up a camp outside the Liuyang Gate, they will be unable to escape even if they have wings.”

“That’s right,” Jiao Lian said, “The day before yesterday, I led troops to Shimapu to reinforce Ma Bao and passed by the direction of East City. The Tartars’ defense here is not tight, and they probably moved their troops to the city or the south.”

“Don’t rush to break the city, let’s fight a decisive battle with Tunqi!” Danchu pondered and began to mobilize troops. Jiao Lian led the Fourth Town’s direct team and the artillery brigade to defend the position in the north of the city. Danchu personally led the First Brigade, the Twelfth Infantry Brigade, and the Thirteenth Infantry Brigade (local soldiers from western Hunan) to move to the outside of Liuyang Gate in the east of the city. He will join forces with Ma Bao from the Huben Town in the south of the city to attack the Eight Banners Army in Tunqi.

On the Qing army side, Hong Chengchou had run out of tricks, but was unwilling to abandon Changsha easily, so he went to Shimapu camp again to meet Tunqi.

“General, the news from the newspaper is accurate. General Aobai’s vanguard has reached Tongshan and will arrive in Changsha soon. I think the general has lost Chigangling and Baoziling, and the gates of Shimapu camp are wide open. It is better to retreat back to the city, join forces with Lord Xushun, and hold on until help arrives. Once Aobai’s army arrives, we will attack from both inside and outside, and the red bandits will surely be defeated.”

Hong Chengchou spoke slowly and carefully observed Tunqi’s expression.

Tunqi was unwilling to defend Changsha to the death, and said: “Jiu Weng, Changsha has become an isolated city. There is the Xiangjiang River to the west, and the Liuyang River and Laodao River to the east and north. It is like a dead end. The Red Army is now powerful, and our army should make a decisive move and quickly cross the Liuyang River to the east to avoid the Red Bandits’ pincer attack.”

“The army has been in a stalemate for a long time. If they suddenly retreat eastward, they will surely be defeated.” Hong Chengchou spoke slowly and said, “The banner soldiers are fine. They all have war horses. Even if they retreat, they can escape the pursuit of the Red Bandits. On the other hand, Xu Shungong’s subordinates and the Green Camp soldiers in various places are mainly infantry. If they retreat, they will surely be captured by the Red Bandits, just like the Hengzhou incident. By then, the power of heaven will be unpredictable, and neither you nor I can justify it.”

Tunqi’s old face flushed red. Although he was brave and good at fighting, he was not a talented general. Ever since Prince Jingjin Nikan died in battle, Tunqi took over the seal of the Dingyuan General and had been defeated more than he won.

Especially when fighting against the Red Army, Tunqi suffered continuous casualties, which angered the Qing court. Shunzhi had issued several edicts in succession, severely criticizing Tunqi. If he abandoned the Green Camp and fled, Tunqi would really “die in battle or die by law.”

“Is there any movement from Sun Kewang in the West Camp?” Tunqi avoided talking about the current war and asked about Sun Kewang instead, hoping that Hong Chengchou’s conspiracy would succeed.

It turned out that Hong Chengchou sent spies to Yunnan and Guizhou to spread rumors, claiming that Li Dingguo had surrendered to the Red Army and had been offering advice to Cen Danchu every day, asking him to send the Red Army to Yunnan and Guizhou. He also sent envoys to Guiyang to meet with Sun Kewang and persuade him to launch a surprise attack on western Guangdong to relieve the pressure on the Qing army.

“We are 80% sure. If everything goes well, Sun Kewang will send troops to the east this month. One route will start from Liping, Guizhou, and go straight to Guilin in western Guangdong. Another route will start from Guangnan, Yunnan, and go down the Youjiang River and go straight to Xining in western Guangdong.”

Hong Chengchou was not 80% sure, in fact, he was not even half sure. But in order to stabilize Tunqi, he had to tell a big lie.

Tunqi was delighted upon hearing the news, but soon turned his joy into worry, and sighed: “The Heavenly Army has suffered a series of defeats, and morale is low. Even the Manchurian soldiers are timid when they hear that the Red Bandits are coming to fight. The Eight Banners have few people and cannot withstand great losses. Looking at the current situation, only Aobai’s firearms battalion can fight the Red Bandits.

“Although I command the Manchu, Mongolian and Han Eight Banners, I am short of arrows and ammunition and am no match for the Red Bandits. If I stay in Changsha, I will end up in a desperate situation. If I fail, the consequences will be disastrous. For the long-term, I should retreat as soon as possible to keep the flames of the court. I hope that you will understand this injustice.”

Hong Chengchou smiled bitterly, knowing that Tunqi was right. He was a very smart man and was already planning his retreat. Once Tunqi withdrew, Shen Yongzhong would definitely not be able to defend Changsha. Whether to tell Shen Yongzhong to retreat and when to tell Shen Yongzhong to retreat were very important.

“I heard that Jiu Weng was suffering from illness and repeatedly asked the court to resign from the post of governor of four provinces. I wonder if the court has responded?” Tunqi asked with a look of sarcasm on his face.

Hong Chengchou blushed and said, “The court always asks me to do my best to maintain the country, but I am already old and decrepit. It is really difficult for me to take on this important task.”

(End of this chapter)