Anti-Qing: Starting from the Reincarnation of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 85: Going East (12)

Zhu Jianzhuo, who was sitting in the first place, nodded slightly and then gave instructions.

"Chief Assistant Wang, you immediately lead the cabinet and start preparing the money, food and weapons needed for the army to go on an expedition."

"No matter what, we must ensure that there is no problem with the supply of food, grass and weapons required by the army."

After saying this, he looked at Liu Huo again and said.

"Liu Huo, we must continue to pay close attention to the work of the Recruitment Office."

"Compared with the Qing Dynasty, the number of our army is still the biggest shortcoming."

"Especially after the main force of the army moves eastward to Guangdong, this shortcoming will become more and more obvious."

"Therefore, we must take advantage of the current strategic window to continue to expand the scale of military recruitment."

Zhu Jing'an also nodded and said.

"The main force of our army is heading east to Guangdong. After fighting the Battle of Zhaoqing, we will take advantage of the Qing government's empty troops in Guangdong and march towards Guangzhou. By then, Guangxi will be extremely empty."

"The sooner we expand our military, the better!"

If Zhaoqing fought, the Ming army could defeat the main force of the Qing army in Guangdong in one battle.

At that time, Zhu Jing'an will take advantage of this great opportunity and march directly to Guangzhou in order to quickly open up the situation in Guangdong against the Qing Dynasty.

In order to avoid being surrounded and killed in Guangxi by the Qing army, which mobilized troops from several provinces.

By then, he will definitely have no time to take care of the rear.

In order to ensure safety, the more troops in Guangxi, the better.

After all, only when the rear area is stabilized can the Ming army fight on the front line with confidence.

It goes without saying if the Ming army was defeated in the first battle of Zhaoqing.

In this case, Zhu Jing'an will need a large number of new troops to supplement the army's battle losses and stabilize the front.

The need for troops will only become more urgent!
As orders were issued one after another, the Ming army was making full preparations for war.

The main force of the Ming army, which was constantly advancing in the west and south, attacking cities and fortresses, and expanding its sphere of influence, was also ordered to be recalled to Jintian Town.

While repairing Jintian Town, we will replenish battle damage and ordnance, and be ready to go to war at any time.

Teams of new recruits are also making final preparations before setting off.

A large amount of grain, grass and ordnance were transported out of the warehouse and transported to the ships of the Ming Navy, where they were loaded and prepared for shipment.

……

It was the 42nd year of Qianlong in the Manchu Dynasty, the 140th year of Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty, and 1777 in the Western calendar.

On the fifth day of May, on the bank of Qianjiang River.

On the wide water surface of the Qianjiang River, boats of various sizes are lined up in front and back.

On the ship's mast, a large flag with black characters on a red background floats in the wind.

The main force of the navy of the Ming army gathered here, and the ships were connected from front to back and could not be seen to the side.

Although most of the Ming army's navy now consists of sampans and small boats, the number of boats is quite considerable.

There are two to three hundred ships of various sizes!
In addition to these warships, there are also a large number of civilian ships specially used to transport grain, grass and baggage and ensure the logistical supply of the army.

Zhu Jing'an stood on the pier on the shore, faced his father, knelt down on one knee and said.

"My son, I will go now. Father, please wait for my good news!"

Daming received the news that the main force of the Qing army in Guangdong had gathered in Zhaoqing in mid-April.

After receiving the news, we immediately began to prepare for the war with all our strength.

It only took about twenty days for Ming Dynasty to make preparations for the expedition. This efficiency is amazing.

The current Ming army has a total of more than [-] army soldiers, which is almost four full battalions.

In addition, there is a water camp with a total strength of about 2000 people.

Zhu Jing'an led his army eastward this time and mobilized three battalions of soldiers and the entire water camp.

There are only 3000 people left in total on the three defense lines of Jintian Town, Daweishan, Laibin, and Guixian.

This time in the eastward march, the Ming army tried their best and gave everything they had! !
This battle can only be won, not lost!
Zhu Jianzhuo stretched out his hand to help his son up, then nodded vigorously.

"Don't worry, my son, go and lead Master Wang to create a bright and bright world for our Ming Dynasty, and create a bright future for our country!"

"My father is here in Guangxi, so there won't be any problems!"

Zhu Jing'an nodded vigorously and then issued a military order.

"My son, I promise, my Ming Dynasty will never win this battle!"

After saying this, he kowtowed to Zhu Jianzhuo again.

Then, surrounded by a group of personal guards, he boarded his ship.

Accompanied by a trumpet blast, the flag was fluttered.

The main force of the Ming army began to move eastward along the Qianjiang River, heading towards Guangdong.

A large number of Ming soldiers lined up on the banks of the Qianjiang River, and the sound of military songs echoed throughout the countryside.

"The cloud follows the dragon, the wind follows the tiger, fame and fortune, dust and soil!"

"Looking at China, the people are suffering, and the fertile land for thousands of miles is barren..."

The army went all the way eastward along the river and soon passed Anping.

After passing Anping, it was all the territory of the Qing army.

The Ming army couldn't help but become vigilant...

……

Pan Dazhu led the horse and moved forward with the team.

Compared with before, his face is now a little less honest and a lot more perseverant.

The long and narrow scar on his cheek added to his evil aura.

In the battle in Hualiang Village, Pan Dazhu led his troops to break into the Qing army's formation from the flank, ran rampant and disrupted the Qing army's array.

Although he narrowly escaped death, he still made great achievements.

After the war, Pan Dazhu was promoted from General Manager Bai to General Manager, which was regarded as a step into the ranks of mid-level officers.

And the price he paid for this was that he suffered several wounds on the battlefield, bleeding profusely, and even his intestines flowed out from the wounds in his abdomen...

The most dangerous thing was that he was stabbed in the face by the Qing army. If the helmet hadn't carried it, this stab would have almost killed him.

If he hadn't been lucky and the Ming Dynasty's military doctors were more capable, Pan Dazhu might have died on the battlefield.

But in Pan Dazhu's view, all this is worth it.

Today, he has transformed from a small soldier into a general, with three hundred soldiers in charge.

Everyone must respect him wherever he goes.

When he has a son in the future, his son will also be called a young master!
"General Pan, the General has an order for you to lead the team first and serve as the vanguard of the army."

"After arriving at Chishui Ruins, explore the surrounding environment and set up camp in advance for the army to repair."

A messenger galloped over on horseback and delivered an order to Pan Dazhu.

When Pan Dazhu heard this, he cupped his fists and said.

"The subordinate takes orders!"

After saying this, he began to greet his subordinates.

"Hurry up!"

"Speed ​​up the march and reach Chishui Ruins as soon as possible."

"Build a camp for the army."

...The weather in May is already very hot. If you move even a little bit, you will break out in oily sweat.

Li Hongyu saw the creek not far away, placed the medicine basket filled with herbs next to a large bluestone, and then trotted all the way to the creek to drink water.

The image from the back is that of a cheerful lark.

It didn't match the loose men's clothes she was wearing.

Li Hongyu held up a pool of cool stream water with both hands, but instead of drinking it directly, he poured it on his face first, trying to clean up the sticky sweat on his face.

She scooped up water with both hands and splashed it on her face. While the cool stream water took away the sweat on her face, it also washed away part of the ash from the pot bottom on her face.

He revealed a pretty face with slightly dark skin but fairly straight facial features.

However, when Li Hongyu shook off the water stains on her hands and opened her eyes, she saw a scene that she would never forget.

A headless corpse slowly floated in front of her along the stream. The blood in the cavity dyed the stream red, and the wounds, blood vessels, trachea, and white bone stubble were clearly visible...

Li Hongyu's face was full of fear, and he opened his mouth to scream.

But at this moment, her throat seemed to be blocked by something, and she couldn't make a sound at all.

Trying his best, he could only let out a hoarse scream at the top of his lungs.

"Ah...dead...dead~!"

However, just as she screamed, she felt her body suddenly lose balance and someone kicked her from behind.

Then she was pressed to the ground.

Her entire face was stuck in the mud by the creek, and she could feel muddy water pouring into her nasal cavity every time she breathed.

Li Hongyu was filled with fear, thinking that he had encountered a mountain bandit.

She didn't dare to think about what would happen to a young girl like herself if she fell into the hands of bandits.

Soon, she could notice a pair of hands groping her body. After groping for a while, she heard a slightly green voice.

"Hey~ This looks like a girl!"

"Boss, she has no weapons."

Immediately, Li Hongyu's head was pulled up from the mud.

However, before Li Hongyu could say anything, he felt a cold feeling on his neck.

A long, sharp knife was held to her neck.

The slightly childish voice just now sounded again.

"Name, age, where you live, what you do, tell me honestly!"

"If there is any deception, don't blame me for being ruthless."

Li Hongyu opened his eyes and saw several soldiers with red headscarves on their heads.

He also saw the appearance of the man who had just pushed him to the ground and searched him.

This is a young man of sixteen or seventeen years old, his skin is tanned by the sun, his body is thin, but he is extremely powerful.

With just one hand, he controlled her.

She probably knew who they were.

It should be the rebel thieves from Xunzhou Prefecture under the banner of the previous dynasty. As far as she knows, the thieves in Xunzhou Prefecture have been making a lot of trouble recently.

Unexpectedly, these people have now spread to Wuzhou Prefecture...

Li Hongyu felt the sharp blade on his neck, feeling anxious in his heart, and spoke with a trembling voice.

"I...my name is Li Hongyu. I am 17 years old. I live in Chishui Village. This time I went into the mountains to collect medicine."

"My father is Dr. Li Qiaoli from Chishui Ruins. My father suffered from heat stroke when he went out for medical treatment yesterday. He is in urgent need of medicinal materials to save his life."

Li Hongyu's family runs a medicine shop, so her life is pretty decent. Her father used to save lives and heal the wounded and was quite respected in the village.

Unfortunately, her father caught heat yesterday when he went into the mountains to collect herbs, and he was lying in bed unable to move.

And the medicine to treat summer fever happened to be out of stock in the drug store.

With no other choice, Li Hongyu had no choice but to change into loose men's clothes, paint her face black, and venture into the mountains to collect herbs.

Unexpectedly, she was really unlucky this time when she entered the mountains.

First, I saw a dead man in the stream, and then he was captured by a group of thieves...

Li Hongyu felt that after they finished asking questions, he would probably be ruined by these thieves.

Thinking about this, she couldn't help but shed tears.

She has never been married. If her innocent body is ruined by the bandit army, how will she see anyone in the future?
Although Chishui Ruins was not far from the Ming army's control area, she could often hear all kinds of messy news coming from the Xunzhou Mansion.

Although there are rumors that these thieves wrapped in red turbans have good military discipline and can do no harm to the common people. They are strictly prohibited from burning, killing, looting, and raping women.

But Li Hongyu said he didn't quite believe it.

To put it bluntly, the thief army is an army. As long as it is an army, how can it be without blood?
If the general really strictly controls military discipline and does not allow the army to burn, kill, loot, and rob civilian women, isn't he afraid that the army will mutiny and show him?
Hearing that the woman in front of them was from Chishui Ruins, several Ming soldiers looked at each other and saw the strange color in each other's eyes.

The young soldier who restrained Li Hongyu also subconsciously weakened some of his strength.

Another Ming soldier ran to the medicine basket next to the big bluestone to check. After confirming that it was all medicinal herbs, he nodded and said.

"It's herbs!"

Seeing this, the leading team nodded and said.

"Take the people and report back!"

"go!"

The young soldier who restrained Li Hongyu pulled Li Hongyu up from the ground, quickly tied her hands behind her back, and spoke in a low voice.

"Be honest and don't struggle. I'll loosen the rope for you!"

"The harder you struggle, the tighter the rope becomes."

There was a hint of pity in the eyes of such a young soldier when he looked at Li Hongyu.

A group of Ming soldiers pressed Li Hongyu and rushed towards Chishui Ruins.

A group of people went down the mountain and soon came to the official road. As they continued to approach Chishui Ruins, they could faintly see the smoke rising into the sky in the direction of Chishui Ruins...

……

Zhu Jing'an rode all the way to Chishui Ruins. After arriving outside the market, he got off his horse and strode towards the village.

Within his sight, the entire Chishui Ruins was in ruins.

There are ruined walls everywhere, charred houses still emitting black smoke, corpses in various forms of death, and dried and blackened blood.

The buzzing sound of flies sounded in his ears, and green-headed flies were probing up and down next to the corpses that had just died...

The stench of burning corpses filled the air.

You must know that before this, Chishui Market was a market that was larger than an average town.

It’s also quite prosperous!

Now it has become like this.

Zhu Jing'an subconsciously picked up the handkerchief and covered his mouth and nose.

"Grand Governor, when our vanguard arrived at Chishui Ruins, the Qing army's rebels were looting the village."

"Most of the village has been reduced to a sea of ​​flames. If our soldiers hadn't taken action in time and frightened off the Qing soldiers, the entire Chishui Market would have been slaughtered..."

Zhong Haishan followed Zhu Jing'an closely and reported to Zhu Jing'an.

Zhu Jing'an's face was visibly gloomy, and he gritted his teeth and said.

"It seems that I, the Ming Dynasty, still haven't been able to kill these dog Tatars!"

"Ten draws and three kills, it turns out there are still too few kills!"

(End of this chapter)