Chapter 408: Use me in the first battle, you will win if you use me

At the beginning, the war went very smoothly. The Red Army’s navy left Dongting Lake and entered the Yangtze River at Chenglingji.

Chenglingji is surrounded by water on three sides and is located on the south bank of the Yangtze River. It controls the three Xiang provinces in the south and Jinghan in the north. It is the throat where Dongting Lake connects to the Yangtze River and has always been a battleground for military strategists.

This rock is known as the first rock in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. Nanjing Yanziji and Ma’anshan Caishiji are also known as the “Three Famous Rocks of the Yangtze River”. However, Chenglingji is close to Yuezhou, and the Qing army did not dare to garrison it, and easily gave up this natural barrier.

Chenglingji is a natural deep-water port that is never silted up or frozen all year round. The Red Army easily captured Chenglingji, set up camps, deployed artillery, and left soldiers to garrison there, then moved east along the river.

Less than 20 miles away, there are two other reefs, forming a natural barrier. The Bailuo Reef in the north of the river and the Daoren Reef in the south. The two reefs face each other across the river and together protect Linxiang County downstream.

The Qing army deployed two giant iron chains connecting Daorenji and Bailuoji, and built wooden forts at Daorenji and Bailuoji, stationing troops for defense.

“The enemy situation has been ascertained. The Tatars are light in front and heavy in the back. Their main forces are all east of the Jinshui River, close to the city of Wuchang. The water network to the west of the Jinshui River is crisscrossed, which is not conducive to the cavalry’s galloping. Linxiang and Jiayu counties are guarded by the Green Camp, Han Army, and local militia.”

Zhou Yiming, the commander of the Cavalry Brigade, had just returned from a meeting in Tumen Town. He called his subordinates together to discuss matters and said, “In addition to being the vanguard of the Central Army, our brigade must also support the navy’s eastward march. In the first battle, we will not attack Linxiang County, but will first attack Daorenji to open up a waterway for the navy. The Red Army attaches great importance to the first battle, and victory in the first battle can boost morale.

“At the front-line meeting, I specifically took on the task of attacking Daorenji and signed a military order with the king. Use me in the first battle and I will win. The Navy Association stole the limelight in the Battle of Changsha. This time, the Cavalry Association must win with one strike and overshadow the Navy Association.”

The generals were overjoyed upon hearing the news, and they kept repeating the words “Use me in the first battle, and I will surely win”, saying, “Don’t worry, Mr. Xie, the Cavalry Association will surely win today’s battle.”

Instructor Tian Yuan said: “The commander of Daorenji is named Cao Chunzhong, a direct general of Li Guoying, and has a wide following. He has killed many generals of the righteous army. Xie Guangzu, ‘Old Blacksmith’, and ‘Yellow Harrier’ all died at the hands of Cao Chunzhong. In this battle, our team must kill Cao Chunzhong so as to call for the righteous army.”

At 9:00 p.m. on the morning of the 26th, the cavalry approached Daorenji.

The Qing army built three camps at Daorenji, a wooden fort on the mountain and two small camps at the foot of the mountain, with a total of 5,000 garrisons. The Han army, the Green Camp and other regular troops were very small, with less than 2,000 people, and the remaining more than 3,000 were all local militia.

In order to fight against the Red Army, the Qing government encouraged the landlords in the south to organize militias and gave the militia leaders honorary titles, which received “active responses” from the landlords and gentry, and the effect was “very significant.” For a time, the land south of the Yangtze River was full of landlord militias, and every landlord and gentry had an official position.

Landlords organized militia for many reasons, some to protect their property, some to obtain official titles and make it easier to deal with government officials, some to increase their power and compete for the right to speak for the local landlord gentry, some to protect their clansmen in troubled times, or some combination of these…

In the feudal era, if a landlord had no official title or no relatives or friends were officials, he would have no say in the local area. This landlord would be bullied and his property would be seized. Within three or four generations, his property would be lost and he would become a pauper.

The landlords had impure motives for organizing militia training, so one can imagine the combat effectiveness of the militia.

Cao Chunzhong’s deployment was similar to that of Aobai. He deployed the local militia in two small camps at the foot of Daorenji Mountain, while the elite Han army, green camp, and local militia were all in the wooden city on Daorenji Mountain. The Qing army avoided fighting and all hid in the camps.

“The Manchurian Tartars pushed the Han army and the Green Camp to the front to die, and the Han army and the Green Camp pushed the local militia to the front to die. Wonderful, wonderful.”

Zhou Yiming laughed and was not in a hurry to attack. He first sent a battalion of cavalry to the east wing of Daorenji, cutting off the connection between Daorenji and Linxiang County.

The Linxiang County defenders did not react. It was obvious that Oboi intended to fight a decisive battle with the Red Army east of Jinshui and outside Wuchang. All the Qing troops west of Jinshui, including Cao Chunzhong in Daorenji, were here to get killed. Cao Chunzhong must have known his situation, and the local militia, as long as they were not stupid, knew that they were just cannon fodder for the Qing army. Expecting them to defend Daorenji to the death and expecting two iron chains to stop the Red Army’s navy, even Zhou Yiming thought it was ridiculous.

A lieutenant of the Red Army, holding a white flag and riding a white horse, galloped to the Qing army camp.

“Who’s in charge? Call him over to talk!” The lieutenant shouted at the guard at the camp gate with an arrogant attitude.

Soon, a Qing army general really climbed up to the watchtower.

“My Marshal has a few words of personal concern for me to convey to him. The Red Army is invincible and has attacked Wuchang with 300,000 troops. They are just a bunch of local soldiers, trying to stop a chariot with a mantis arm. It is really unwise. The Marshal is concerned that they are all Han people and cannot bear to kill them.

“If he surrenders sincerely, he can be spared and allowed to turn from darkness to light. If he is stubborn and refuses to change his ways, the Red Army will crush his army and kill them all. He can consider it for a quarter of an hour. If he wants to surrender, he can raise the white flag and open the camp gate. If he does not want to surrender, he should make preparations early and fight the Heavenly Army as soon as possible.”

Judging from the general’s attire, he was a military officer of the Green Camp, probably a mid-level official of the guerrilla or garrison type. He did not dare to refute the Red Army, lest he offend them, but said, “This is a serious matter, I need to consult my superiors, please give me more time.”

Before the cavalry arrived, the intelligence agency had already dropped leaflets, which had already infiltrated the Green Camp and the local militia. The Red Army openly declared that it would only kill the Eight Banners, not the Green Camp and the local militia, which planted the seeds of suspicion among the Qing army.

A quarter of an hour later, the defenders did not raise the white flag or open the camp gate. The cavalry immediately launched an attack, first bombarding the camp gate with light artillery, then shooting arrows, and then organizing a strong attack.

This low-intensity attack method was not acceptable. However, most of the soldiers guarding the two camps at the foot of the mountain were local militiamen who had never seen such a scene. When they heard the sound of the cannon, the local militiamen left the wooden wall and sought shelter. Who would resist desperately?

Cao Chunzhong saw the truth clearly from the mountain, so he had to open the wooden city and lead the Han army and the Green Camp down the mountain to fight.

Ji is a rock near the water. Daorenji is a small mountain. The defenders quickly came to the foot of the mountain, formed a stacked formation, and passed through the middle of the two small camps.

Zhou Yiming knew that the local militia was useless, so he dismounted one battalion of cavalry and faced the Qing army in the front, while he sent two battalions of cavalry to plunder the Qing army’s flanks. Although the local militia had a camp to rely on, they were frightened by the Red Army and dared not show their heads to shoot, allowing the Red Army cavalry to roam around.

This tactic of frontal combat and flanking on both wings can be regarded as the most classic and basic tactic of cavalry, and is most suitable for dealing with the Qing army today.

After only one round of fighting, the eastern wing of the Qing army was shaken and gradually collapsed. Cao Chunzhong saw that the situation was not right and wanted to break out.

The Red Army cavalry was very brave and formed a tight battle network, which made the Qing army breathless.

The Green Camp soldiers and militia knew that the Red Army treated prisoners well, so they were not afraid and many surrendered on the spot. The Qing army was defeated, and Cao Chunzhong took a few of his confidants and planned to go around Daorenji and escape by boat.

The Red Army cavalry had a large number of people and was fast, so they quickly caught up with Cao Chunzhong and killed him on the spot. The defenders were completely wiped out, with almost no one escaping.

The cavalry took over Daorenji and removed the iron chain on it, making the Yangtze River navigation open again. The navy and hundreds of warships immediately hoisted their sails and headed downstream.

(End of this chapter)