Chapter 420 Xiangyang? Nanjing?
After Danchu entered the city, he stayed at the Governor’s Office. The Governor’s Office was not the most magnificent building in Wuchang City, but fortunately it was less damaged by the war and was relatively well preserved. Danchu requisitioned it as the Marshal’s Headquarters.

As soon as he arrived at Xiamafang, hundreds of gentry lined the streets to greet him and knelt on the ground. There were also dozens of calligraphy and paintings and antiques displayed on both sides of the street.

In ancient times, whenever the army conquered a city, the gentry and common people would welcome them with food and drink. Of course, in most cases, the common people welcomed the conquerors out of compulsion and fear. Wuchang had been short of food for a long time, and the remaining gentry could not afford food, wine and meat, so they had to offer their collections of calligraphy, paintings and antiques.

The first one was a gentleman, who was said to be a Jinshi in the Tianqi period and served as the Minister of Works in the Ming Dynasty. He was elected by everyone and said to Danchu: “The Tartars are tyrannical and bring disaster to all directions. The king has received the mandate of heaven and comforted the people. If you drive out the Tartars and save the people, there is hope for the recovery of China and the peace of the world!”

Danchu smiled and said, “Fellow villagers, please stand up. The Red Army conquered the city too late, and everyone suffered a lot. Wuchang is a famous pearl in the Yangtze and Han rivers. In the future, we will have to rely on your help to rebuild our homeland and restore order.”

“Students have an obligation to do their best.”

After the greetings, Danchu was escorted by the generals to the prefectural government office. The government office was located in the western corner of Wuchang City, built on the Huanghu Mountain, and had been renovated and cleaned.

“The group of gentry just now spoke quite sincerely and really welcomed the king to enter the city,” Qian Bingdeng said.

“That’s right. Our army is avenging the people and punishing the criminals to restore their homes. From the nobles to the little children in the city, who doesn’t speak well of the king? Who doesn’t welcome the king into the city?” Ma Bao echoed.

Danchu smiled and said, “As long as the people’s will is with me, nothing is impossible. Let’s go in and discuss matters first.”

They climbed up Huanghu Mountain and sat down on the top of Wangjiang Tower. The entry ceremony was simple and successful, showing the military might and boosting morale. The people in the city lined the streets to welcome the Red Army, and the situation was quite favorable for the Red Army.

The future is promising. Cen Danchu was in a good mood. He asked everyone to sit down and said, “The battle of Wuchang was fought beautifully. Oboi tried to defend the isolated city but was surrounded by our army and his main force was annihilated. Looking at the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, there are not many Tartars left.”

“The king’s plan is perfect and he is invincible. The Red Army is brave and good at fighting, so they can achieve this great success.”

“After a short rest, we can go down the river and take Nanjing!”

Everyone echoed the sentiment, and hearty laughter broke out from time to time at the table.

Looking to the west, one can see the great river flowing eastward, the sails of ships as white as snow, and the red army flags dotting the sky, which is deeply moving.

Right Assistant Army Officer Yang Yuqi pointed to a simple map and introduced the current situation: after the fall of Wuchang City, the Qing Dingnan General Aljin withdrew from Yuezhou with the intention of defending Jingzhou; Jiangning Governor Zhakana led troops to defend Jiujiang and Hukou to prevent the Red Army from moving eastward; there was also a fresh force of about 30,000 people, led by Ebilun, who moved south to Huguang.

Due to the lack of defense in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, Ebilun divided his troops midway, with the main force heading south towards Wuchang and the detachment heading east towards Nanjing.

“In recent years, the Green Camp has surrendered repeatedly, and the Tartars are very worried about the Green Camp. Ebilun’s 30,000-man army is mainly composed of Eight Banners soldiers, and almost no Green Camp soldiers are included.”

Intelligence chief Feng Jiali said: “The Tartars ordered the Green Camp to garrison in different places and are unwilling to mobilize them easily. However, we have spies in the Green Camp in northern Zhili and Henan. I heard that they have received the military order from Ebilun and will rush to Xiangyang to wait for the call.”

“The Tartars are suspicious of the Green Camp and are unwilling to trust it. But the Eight Banners are short of manpower, so they have to rely on the Green Camp.”

“Once Wuchang was captured, Ebilun stopped his march and began to turn westward, apparently intending to hold on to Xiangyang.”

“Ancient people said that if we talk about the whole world, Xiangyang is the most important; if we talk about the southeast, Wuchang is the most important; if we talk about Huguang, Jingzhou is the most important. Xiangyang is the backbone of the whole world, and it is the place that can be looked at from all directions. If the Central Plains has it, we can conquer the southeast, and if we have it in the southeast, we can also plan for the northwest. Ebilun went to Xiangyang instead of Nanjing, which is worth our reflection.” Qian Bingdeng’s words aroused everyone’s interest. The Red Army successively captured Wuchang and Nanchang, and the situation in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River changed, and they seized the strategic initiative. Next, the Red Army could develop in two directions.

One is to cross the river from Wuchang to the Han River, and then go up the Han River to Xiangyang. From Xiangyang, continue to go up the Han River to the northwest, and you can enter Shaanxi and break the arm of the capital. From Xiangyang, turn northeast, go up the Baihe River and Gunhe River, and you can enter Henan and directly attack the heart of the Qing Dynasty.

The second is to go down the river from Wuchang and attack Nanjing directly. As long as Nanjing is captured, South Zhili and Zhejiang are expected to surrender. The whole area south of the Yangtze River belongs to the Red Army, and the confrontation between the north and the south is set.

“Attacking Xiangyang is a way to attack the enemy’s heart; attacking Nanjing is a way to hurt the enemy’s vitality. However, Nanzhili is rich, and if Nanjing is conquered, the problem of food and supplies will be solved.”

“Xiangyang is the center of the country. If we take Xiangyang, we can further threaten the capital. The Red Army has won every battle and has annihilated many bandits. We are ready to defeat them. If we march into Xiangyang and the north responds, the Tartars will lose their power.”

“Not right, not right. The Ci surname has been coveting Nanjing for a long time. If our entire army attacks Xiangyang, the Tartars will mobilize all the troops in the world to fight for it. At that time, it is very likely to evolve into a final battle between the Reds and the Qings. At that time, the best troops in the world will be concentrated in Xiangyang, which will benefit Wu Sangui and Zhu Chenggong.”

“Yes! Wu Sangui is wavering, and Zhu Chenggong is also unclear. How can we be confident in the Northern Expedition if we don’t get rid of these two people?”

“Since ancient times, when a country was founded in the south, its capital was either Nanjing or Hangzhou. There is no other more suitable capital. Now that Nanjing and Hangzhou are not in our hands, how can we talk about advancing to Xiangyang?”

……

Whenever there is a major decision, Cen Danchu is always used to listening to everyone’s opinions, allowing everyone to express their opinions freely, and finally brainstorming to determine the final strategy. Before the decision is made, everyone can express their opinions, and after the decision is made, they must resolutely obey and never be allowed to obey in name only.

Danchu listened to everyone’s opinions and had an idea in mind. He smiled and said, “Everyone is overthinking the problem! In fact, if you understand a simple problem, it’s easy to make the right decision.”

“Right Assistant General, how many soldiers does the Red Army have now?”

Yang Yuqi answered without hesitation: “The combat troops include one regiment of Tiger Guards, five regiments of infantry, and a Nanyang fleet, totaling about 355,000 people. The garrison troops include four garrisons in Guangxi, Guangdong, Hunan, and Jiangxi, totaling about 80,000 people. The total number of troops is 435,000.”

“How much is the army owed?”

This was a sensitive question, and even the generals in charge were very secretive about it, and they didn’t know exactly how much military pay their subordinates owed. Danchu nodded to Yang Yuqi, signaling him to answer truthfully.

“There is no accurate statistics on the military’s wage arrears. According to the estimate of the Logistics Bureau, the military’s accumulated wage arrears amount to at least three million taels of silver.”

“This is just the army’s unpaid wages. Factories, craftsmen, and officials are all owed wages, totaling no less than 6 million taels. If the Red Army hadn’t won one victory after another, if the Zhenxing Bank hadn’t issued an IOU, I really don’t know how I would have dealt with so much unpaid wages.”

Everyone was pleased, and Danchu continued, “The Tartars want to defend Xiangyang, but I want to attack Nanjing. The army should take a rest and march eastward in ten days. There is no need to recapture Jiujiang, we can just go past Jiujiang and Hukou and attack Nanzhili.”

Dan Chu had soldiers from the Huben Town, the Second Town, and the Fourth Town, so he was more than capable of fighting and was determined to capture Nanjing.

(End of this chapter)