Chapter 409: Dan Chu’s Selection
The Qing army deployed light defenses in the front and heavy defenses in the back, and the contradiction between the Green Camp and the Eight Banners gradually became prominent. Oboi wanted to use the Green Camp as cannon fodder, but the Green Camp was not willing to fight to the death. Especially the navy, which was all Han Chinese, collapsed at the first touch. There was even a whole Qing navy surrendered and turned against the Qing army.

After the loss of the natural fortresses of Daorenji and Bailuoji, Linxiang and Puqi counties successively rebelled. The Red Army captured Linxiang and Puqi without a fight, and its momentum became even stronger.

The Qing troops on the front line were defeated, some surrendered, some fled, and the defense line almost collapsed. The defenders in Tongcheng and Chongyang were threatened on their flanks, and without reinforcements from the Eight Banners, they also voluntarily abandoned the Tianku Mountain and Mufu Mountain defense lines.

The Fourth Infantry Battalion successfully crossed Tianku Mountain and moved from Chongyang to Tongshan. The Huben Battalion made even better progress. By the end of February, the main force had crossed Lushui and the vanguard was approaching Jinshui.

The Qing army collapsed too quickly, and Huben Town gained a lot and made rapid progress. However, most of the Qing troops captured and killed by the Red Army were local militia and green camps, and the main force of the Eight Banners was not harmed.

The Red Army marched forward at a great speed, and the enemy avoided fighting, and the soldiers were quite arrogant. Cen Danchu was deeply worried and quickly issued strict orders to all the troops, prohibiting the Red Army from crossing the Jinshui River, and all the troops gathered their troops in Jiayu and Tongshan and waited for an opportunity to fight again.

On March 1, he personally came to the front line, convened a meeting of all the generals, and deployed the decisive battle against the enemy.

Before the generals arrived, Danchu took a few confidants to survey the terrain. Climbing up to a high place and looking far away, there was a large flat plain in front of them, with a market town in the middle. There were many houses and it looked quite prosperous. A river, not too big or too small, stretched in front of them, running from south to north through the market town and merging into the Xiliang Lake in the left front. Looking to the right front, there was an endless mountain in the distance, which was the Tianku Mountain Range.

This place is convenient for both land and water, and there is a road that crosses Lushui and the town, leading directly to Xianning and Wuchang. Therefore, the Red Army chose to break through the enemy’s defense line from here.

“What’s the name of this place?” Danchu raised his whip and pointed to the market town in the distance.

The director of the Operations Bureau, Ho Siu-kei, was confident and said, “This place is called Tingsi Bridge Town, named after the bridge. It is about four miles away from our current Hutou Mountain. According to legend, during the Song Dynasty, a civilian named Dingsi raised money to build a stone arch bridge to facilitate the people to travel between the two sides of the Tingsi River.

“From Wuchang to Changsha and Hengzhou, it is most convenient to go through Tingsi Bridge. There are Tingsi River and Shiliang Lake leading to the Yangtze River here, so it is a key water and land crossing, and business and travel are quite prosperous. Not long ago, the Tartars retreated from the front line and looted Tingsi Bridge Town. The local people hated the Tartars and passed on intelligence to our army from time to time.”

Tingsi Bridge, Tingsi Bridge, in the later Republic of China period, the revolutionary army fought a fierce battle in the Northern Expedition at Tingsi Bridge? Dan Chu’s heart surged, looking at the Xianning city tower faintly appearing in the distance, he couldn’t help but feel full of confidence.

“After crossing the Tingsi Bridge, go ahead another 20 miles to reach the Jinshui River. Xianning County is located on the east bank of the Jinshui River, the gateway to Wuchang. The Tartars are heavily guarded, so there will definitely be a fierce battle.” He Zhaoji said tentatively: “Tingsi Bridge is also the gateway to Xianning. The terrain is critical, and there are 2,000 Green Camp soldiers stationed there. The soldiers have no fighting spirit, and the generals have no fighting spirit. Our army only needs to send out a cavalry, and we can easily seize the Tingsi Bridge.”

“Okay,” Danchu said, “Send troops to capture Tingsi Bridge first, but don’t cross Jinshui, and don’t attack Xianning. The subsequent deployment of troops will be decided after today’s discussion.”

In the evening, Ma Bao, Jiao Lian, Ruan Tingfeng and He Guoju came to Hutou Mountain one after another to attend the front meeting. These four people were the most important generals of the Red Army in this battle. Ma Bao and Jiao Lian were the commanders of the towns, Ruan Tingfeng led the two naval divisions of Huben Town, and He Guoju led the three naval divisions of Huben Town.

“Everyone,” the deputy governor said in his opening remarks, “To make a long story short, the tactics of war are unpredictable. This battle does not emphasize speed, so there is no need to travel at full speed. The king has decided that the army should rest for three days, gather the troops and prepare for the decisive battle.”

The generals were mentally prepared, but they still felt unwilling to hear the news.

Danchu said: “The progress ahead is smooth, because Oboi has withdrawn the main force of the Tartars to the east of Jinshui and is waiting for them. Our army is advancing too fast, and the coordination between the various units is not tight. If we rush to cross the river, we will be taken advantage of by the Tartars.

“When an army of more than 100,000 is marching and fighting, we must be extremely careful and must not be selfish and rush in alone to grab credit. Let’s rest for three days and make preparations before crossing the river to fight the Tartars.”

Since it was the king’s decisive battle, the generals dared not say anything and expressed their obedience.

He Zhaoji, director of the Operations Bureau, introduced the enemy situation: “The Tartars are defending along the Jinshui River in Jinkou Town, Xianning County, and Tongshan County. The main force of the garrison is still the Green Camp, with the Eight Banners Supervisory Team attached.

“Aobai’s camp, including the main force of the Eight Banners, has been basically identified. It should be located at Hesheng Bridge, 20 miles north of Xianning. The total strength of the Eight Banners in the Hesheng Bridge area is about 50,000. Another 20,000 Eight Banners soldiers are deployed in Nanchang, fighting with the Second Town.”

Cen Danchu took over the conversation and said, “Abahai is very cunning. He concentrated the Eight Banners soldiers at Hesheng Bridge, trying to give full play to the advantage of cavalry and fight a decisive battle with me in the wild. But the Tartars on the front line are passively defensive, relying on Jinshui to block our army. Their navy is weak, and the Jinshui defense line is vulnerable. Everyone should take the time to rest for three days and concentrate the elite forces. Three days later, all units will launch an attack at the same time. Ruan Tingfeng!” “I am here!” Ruan Tingfeng stood up and responded.

“You are responsible for leading the two naval forces down the river to attack Jinkou Town.”

As the name suggests, Jinkou Town is located where the Jinshui River flows into the Yangtze River. This place is the western gateway of Wuchang. Jinkou has always been a must-fight place for attacking Wuchang from the upper reaches of the Yangtze River.

“The last general takes orders.”

“The Tartars have another navy in Jinkou. They have few warships, but they have built a wooden city with a garrison. You have assigned a battalion of infantry to your command. Pay attention to the coordination between land and sea, and make sure to defeat Jinkou in one battle. Afterwards, the Logistics Bureau will set up a grain station in Jinkou to supply food and supplies.”

“promise!”

“Ma Bao!”

“The general is here!”

“You are responsible for the main attack on Xianning!”

“The last general takes orders.”

“Xianning is located on the east bank of the Jinshui River, not far from the Tartar camp, and is also the gateway to Wuchang, so its defense must be strong! When you lead your troops to attack Xianning this time, Oboi will surely lead his troops to rescue it! At that time, you will still use the method of besieging the city and attacking the reinforcements, using a small force to besiege Xianning and the main force to fight the Eight Banners.”

“I obey your orders!” Ma Bao and He Guoju exchanged a glance and said, “I plan to ask He Guoju to lead a group of personal soldiers to besiege Xianning, and Guoju and I will fight for the reinforcements. Guoju will lead the front, and I will lead the battle.”

“Well,” heroes think alike, Danchu said, “You are responsible for attacking Xianning. You can decide how to deploy it. I won’t interfere too much. Aobai’s army is eyeing them covetously. I will assign Ma Jinzhong, the eleventh commander of the fourth town, to you to strengthen their momentum.”

“Jiao…” As soon as the words came out, Danchu realized that it was inappropriate, so he changed his words to call Jiao Lian by his courtesy name: “Rui Ting.”

“The general is here!”

“You lead the main force of the Fourth Town to attack Tongshan.”

“The last general takes command!”

“The Fourth Town has been established for less than a year. It is short of firearms and lacks the ability to attack. You don’t have to force yourself, nor do you have to be impatient. Tongshan is located in the southernmost part. As long as the Red Army breaks through Xianning, Tongshan will naturally surrender without a fight.”

After the selection of the generals, Danchu looked around at the generals, with a dignified look, and said: “This large-scale military operation is unprecedented in scale. You must strictly follow the military orders, and there must be no negligence or delay; you must strictly enforce military discipline, and those who violate the law can be severely punished.

“This vassal has already issued an order to move the palace to Hengzhou, and has also informed the emperor to move the imperial court to Hengshan. In this battle, the Red Army will advance and not retreat. We must defeat Oboi and capture Wuchang.”

(End of this chapter)