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

Chapter 99 Crisis in Guangxi
Of course, not all of these ten thousand people are Green Camp soldiers.

The number of soldiers in the green camp is only half of that at most, and the majority are militiamen and civilians.

It has been 140 years since the Qing Dynasty entered the customs. In the eyes of many people, it has long become the orthodox place in the world.

The Qing government wanted to mobilize militiamen to help suppress bandits, but the local gentry did not dare and would not refuse.

Therefore, the current enemies of the Ming Dynasty are not only the Qing court, but also the gentry and landlords who are highly colluded with the Qing court.

Before the Ming Dynasty made a certain momentum, the gentry and landlords would only stand firmly on the side of the Qing court.

And it will not become the help of Daming!
Zhang Hu nodded slightly, his expression a little solemn.

"How many troops does our army have now? Has the military report for reinforcements been sent out?"

Zhang Hu asked.

The military officer nodded.

"Returning to the commander, our army now has a total of more than [-] defenders on the front line of Dawei Mountain."

"The request for reinforcements has also been sent out. I believe Wuxuan County will be able to send troops for reinforcements soon."

The Ming army now has a total strength of more than [-] troops, and including the navy, it only has more than [-] troops.

The main force followed Zhu Jing'an to Guangdong to take charge of the war in Guangdong.

Those who stayed in Guangxi only had one battalion of 3000 troops.

Even if the army continues to expand in the future, Ming's military strength in Guangxi is now less than 5000.

After eliminating the need to stay in Jintian Town, guard the other three lines of defense, and garrison the troops.

Dawei Mountain can allocate [-] garrison troops, which is already quite good.

Hearing this, Zhang Hu let out a heavy breath, with a solemn look on his face, and opened his mouth to give instructions.

"Pass down the order, the whole army is ready for war!"

"Be prepared to meet the Qing captives in Dawei Mountain."

"People are in the city, but the city is broken and people are dead!"

"All our small fields are behind us. We have no other choice but to fight to the death to retreat from the enemy!"

When the military officials heard this, they clasped their fists and sent orders.

……

Soon, as the main force of the Qing army in Guangxi moved south from Yong'an Prefecture, fighting broke out again in the Dawei Mountain area.

Gao Sheng led his troops towards the defense line deployed by the Ming army on the front line of Dawei Mountain.

Riding on horseback, Gao Sheng looked at the fortress in front of him from a distance and subconsciously took a breath of air.

What appeared in front of him now was a Western-style bastion building.

The whole fortress is in the shape of a five-pointed star, and the walls are inclined at a seventy-degree angle. The tilted angle can be used to unload the force of the cannonballs.

The entire building of the fortress is made of masonry and cement!

Ordinary cannons are absolutely incapable of blasting!
On the periphery of the fortress, the Ming army also started to build a fort, which formed an angle with the entire bastion.

Behind the bastion and the fort, there are communication trenches connecting the fort and the fort, which can ensure that the fort and the fort can reinforce each other at any time.

Absolutely easy to defend but difficult to attack!
It was not easy for the Qing army to conquer such a fortress.

Gao Sheng put down the telescope in his hand, frowned and asked the deputy general next to him.

"I, the admiral, have noticed that the city built by the Ming thieves looks a bit like the fort built by the Rakshasa people in Yaksa back then."

During the years when Gao Sheng became the admiral, he spent a lot of time studying the art of war. Naturally, he had some understanding of the events leading up to the Battle of Yaksa.

In the battle of Yaksa between Qing and Russia, even if the Qing Dynasty mobilized Sauron's elite troops from outside the customs to fight, they could not defeat the city of Yaksa repeatedly.

In the end, through the clumsy method of siege, the city was deprived of food, and this forced the Rakshasa people to surrender.

The fortified city that even Sauron's soldiers couldn't knock down back then, there is a high probability that they, like the green camp soldiers, can't knock it down now either.

The deputy general on the side heard this and spoke.

"Returning to the admiral, it's not just the fortress of the Rakshasa people. The Ningyuan gun city built at the Shanhaiguan line by Sun Chengzong, the governor of the former Ming Dynasty, actually has the same shape."

"Such a fortified city is difficult to defeat!"

Hearing this, Gao Sheng took a breath of air, but gritted his teeth and said.

"If it's not easy to fight, you have to fight!"

"The Guangzhou general gave us no other choice."

"Send the order and send troops to launch a probing attack!"

After saying this, as the military order flag of the Qing army was waving, the green battalion soldiers launched an attack on the Daweishan fortress of the Ming army.

The dark green soldiers pushed towards Dawei Mountain in a mighty manner.

Seeing this, Zhang Hu waved his hand expressionlessly.

"Send the order to the artillery to prepare for artillery fire to block the Qing invaders' advance."

Boom!Boom!
The next moment, the deafening sound of shelling echoed throughout the battlefield.

The artillery deployed at the Daban Mountain Bastion and Fortress Hill began to fire in unison, forming a crossfire.

Smoke filled the air, flames spewed out, and black projectiles drew an arc in mid-air, flying towards the Qing army's array.

The artillery shells landed, bounced up, soil flew, sand and gravel flew in all directions, and jumped towards the Qing army's array.

In an instant, stumps and broken arms were everywhere where the shells passed, blood was sprayed, and a gap was opened in the Qing army's offensive array.

The screams and howls kept ringing!
Artillery shells shuttled wantonly among the Qing army's array.

Chen Si followed Daliu, forced by the swords and guns behind him, and kept moving forward.

Every time there was artillery fire from the Ming army, his legs and feet couldn't help but tremble.

With a whoosh, Chen Si felt the wind whistling in his ears.

But out of the corner of his eye, he saw that the man on his right, Pao Ze, was hit by a projectile, and a large transparent hole was made in his chest by the cannonball.

The white bone stubble and wriggling internal organs are clearly visible.

After the cannonball penetrated his body, its kinetic energy was not exhausted, but continued to move forward in a straight line.

After killing several Qing soldiers in the same straight line one after another, the shells ran out of kinetic energy and fell to the ground, spinning.

Almost all of these Qing soldiers who were killed by artillery shells could not even put their bodies together...

Chen Si's whole body was shaking more and more violently.

He was the one who almost, almost died!

The towering Dawei Mountain Fortress in the distance now seemed to him no different from a man-eating devil.

The large Qing army advanced to the foot of the Dawei Mountain Fortress.

The Ming army's shelling on the city began to become more intense.

A city defense gun aimed at the dense array of Qing troops under the city and began to fire continuously, spitting tongues of fire.

Thick swarms of shotgun pellets flew in all directions, and there was a wailing sound wherever they passed.

The Qing army tried to use ladders to attack the city, but as soon as they gathered under the city wall and prepared to climb the city, several ignited grenades fell from the top of the city.

Rumble!
Rumble!
After the explosion sounded, broken flesh and blood flew everywhere, and the Qing army gathered under the city suddenly collapsed.

A large number of Green Camp soldiers began to drop their weapons and turn around to run away!

Gao Sheng commanded the troops and launched several attacks on the Daweishan Fortress, but failed to achieve any results.

The battle situation has reached a stalemate!
Looking at the towering fortress in front of him, Gao Sheng felt worried.

The Ming army's artillery bombardment was so fierce that if they were piled up by manpower alone, they would definitely not be able to fill the city.

But we have to fight!

The war in Zhaoqing is now urgent. If he cannot make a breakthrough in Dawei Mountain and share the pressure on Zhaoqing, he will definitely not be able to afford it if General Guangzhou pursues him in the future.

"Admiral, maybe we can try it with the shield car."

The deputy general suggested from the side.

"When the Qing Dynasty was outside the customs, didn't they also use shield carts to defeat the firearms of Ming thieves?"

"Maybe it can be done?"

Hearing this, Gao Sheng asked with a slightly hesitant expression.

"Can this work?"

"The firearms that the Qing Dynasty dealt with during the Ming dynasty were mostly tiger cannons, Fran machine guns, and even antiques like bowl-mouth blunderbuss. Their range was only one to two hundred meters, and their projectiles were no more than three to five dozen in weight."

"That's why the shield car can bear it!"

"But the artillery used by the Ming thieves now has several times the range and projectiles compared to those old antiques. Is the shield truck unable to withstand it?"

Gao Sheng is the admiral of Guangxi, so he naturally understands military affairs.

He didn't think that the shield car could withstand the shells fired by the Ming army's field artillery.

You know, the artillery currently equipped by the Ming army, even the smallest caliber Type 65 field gun, has a range of 300 meters.

The weight of the cannonball is even three kilograms!

This can't be considered a light cannon!
Such artillery is not something that a shield vehicle can handle.

When the deputy general heard this, he spread his hands and spoke very frankly.

"The last general doesn't know either!"

"But you might as well give it a try!"

The deputy general's meaning was obvious. It was okay if he couldn't bear it. Anyway, they were not the ones pushing the shield cart to die.

But the big-headed soldier below!

As we all know, the lives of Green Camp soldiers are worthless.

It doesn’t matter if some die!

Besides, although the shield car may not have actual effects, it definitely has psychological effects.

With a shield car as a cover, the soldiers can have more psychological comfort when they charge.

The battlefield performance should be more brave!
Maybe we can use this to knock down the Daweishan Fortress?
Gao Sheng understood and nodded immediately.

"You can try it!"

"Now order people to prepare the shield car!"

……

Changsha!

The residence of the governor of Hunan.

Imperial Envoy Fulong'an sat on the main seat, and in front of him sat Sanbao, the governor of Huguang, and Yan Xishen, the governor of Hunan.

Among them, the surname of Sanbao is Ergenjueluo, a native of Zhenghong Banner in Manchuria.

Yan Xishen was a Han member from Lianping, Guangdong. The Yan family in Lianping was one of the largest families in the Qing Dynasty.

In addition, Hunan Admiral Weng Zhaolin, Hengzhou Commander-in-Chief Zhao Deshun, Chenzhou Commander-in-Chief Xu Tai and other officials were also present.

Fulongan picked up the tea and took a sip, then put down the teacup and spoke.

"Today, I have summoned you here to prepare for the task of pacifying the thieves."

After hearing this, everyone stood up and said.

"Please give me the imperial envoy's orders!" Fulongan cleared his throat and then said.

"In my opinion, the key to the imperial court's suppression of the thieves this time lies not in Guangxi, but in Guangdong."

"According to reliable information, the Ming thieves are now gathering forces in Zhaoqing in an attempt to open a passage to Guangzhou."

"In this way, my opportunity to Qing Dynasty will come!"

"As long as we, the Qing Dynasty, can get rid of the main force of Ming thieves who are now scurrying into Guangdong, the chaos that has caused disaster to the Ming thieves in Guangdong and Guangdong can be put down quickly."

The Governor of Huguang, Ergenjuoluo Sanbao, heard this and spoke in agreement.

"What the Imperial Envoy said is true!"

"Guangdong is indeed the top priority in this battle against thieves. Zhaoqing is constantly in emergency. Our army must send troops to rescue as soon as possible. Guangzhou will never allow any mistakes!"

"As for Guangxi, as long as the situation is maintained for the time being, Guilin will not be lost!"

For the Qing court, it is obvious that Guangdong is more important than Guangxi.

The reason for this is not only because Guangdong is richer than Guangxi, nor is it because there are thirteen industries in Guangzhou that bear the important task of communicating with foreign countries.

The real reason is actually because of the Guangzhou Eight Banners!

If Guangzhou really fell and the Eight Banners of Guangzhou were wiped out by the Ming army, the world would really be shocked.

Therefore, when the main force of the Ming army invaded Guangdong and Zhaoqing was in emergency, even though the Qing army knew that the Ming army's rear was empty, their first choice was still to ensure that the war in Guangdong was safe.

Instead of marching to Guangxi!

Because, including the imperial envoy Fulongan, no one could bear the consequences of the Eight Banners in Guangzhou being defeated by the Ming army.

Upon hearing this, Yan Xishen, the governor of Hunan, also stood up and echoed.

"The imperial envoy is wise. The subordinates and other officials must look up to the imperial envoy and help the imperial court to quell the rebellion in Guangdong and Guangxi as soon as possible."

The generals also expressed their agreement one after another.

Seeing this, Fulong'an no longer pretended, but gave direct instructions.

"So best!"

"Send the order and prepare to mobilize Hunan troops to move towards Yongzhou."

"Modify the Guizhou troops again and quickly head east from Guizhou to join the Hunan troops in Yongzhou."

"The Guangxi troops were mobilized and led by Guangxi Admiral Gao Sheng, and they also headed towards Yongzhou."

"After the troops from Hunan, Guizhou, and Guangxi provinces merged with Yongzhou, the army went straight into Guangdong to reinforce the Zhaoqing war."

When the Guangdong soldiers faced the Ming army, they had already suffered a big loss in Deqing Prefecture, losing most of their troops.

It can be seen that Ming thief's fighting ability is extraordinary!
Therefore, Fulong'an will never give the Ming thieves another chance to defeat our Qing thieves' army.

He planned to complete the gathering of troops in Yongzhou first, and then go south to Guangdong after the troops from the three provinces of Hunan, Guizhou and Guangxi were assembled.

Before that, he actually couldn't give Zhaoqing any support.

The situation in Zhaoqing can only be maintained by the Guangzhou general himself.

At present, the biggest military problem of the Qing court is actually not the decline in the combat effectiveness of the Green Camp and Eight Banners soldiers.

But the military garrison is too scattered.

And it is not allowed to move troops across provinces at will!
To put it bluntly, the current method of garrisoning the Qing army can only serve to prevent Han people from rebelling.

Once you encounter a strong enemy, you will have no time to react from top to bottom.

Just like now, facing the main force of the Ming army with strong combat effectiveness, the Qing court is very passive.

When the Ming army was weak, the Qing government was unable to mobilize troops to encircle and suppress it.

When the imperial edict to mobilize troops was issued, local officials implemented it and gathered the troops. The Ming army had already grown stronger and the day lilies were cold.

For example, at the beginning, the governor-general of Guangdong and Guangxi had the authority to mobilize troops across provinces.

It is estimated that the Ming Dynasty had just emerged in Xunzhou Prefecture, and was directly suppressed by Yang Jingsu, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, who sent troops to Guangxi for encirclement and suppression.

Unlike now, after the main force of the Qing army in Guangxi was defeated in the Battle of Hualiang Village, the Guangdong soldiers were unable to cross provinces to pursue thieves.

The Ming army was given valuable development time.

Then, the Ming army took this opportunity to develop and grow until it was strong enough. Zhu Jing'an led his army eastward and defeated the main force of the Qing army in Guangdong and Deqing Prefecture.

Nowadays, the situation is actually similar to before!
Now the imperial envoy Fulong'an can mobilize only the troops from the four provinces of Guangdong, Hunan, Guizhou, and Guangxi.

Here, the Guangxi Green Camp was crippled, and they could not even break through the defense line set up by the Ming Dynasty in Dawei Mountain.

The Guangdong soldiers were also defeated in Deqing Prefecture and suffered heavy losses. Zhaoqing was in danger.

The war against bandits had not officially begun yet, but two of the armies from the four provinces that Imperial Envoy Fulongan could mobilize had been disabled.

Among the remaining two provinces, the total number of troops stationed in Guizhou and Hunan is about the same as the number of troops stationed in Guangdong Province.

The number of troops stationed by the Qing court in the southwestern provinces is roughly this.

There are 6.9 Green Camp troops stationed in Guangdong, 2.3 Green Camp troops in Hunan, 3.8 Green Camp troops in Guizhou, and 2.3 Green Camp troops in Guangxi.

The total military strength of the four provinces is only 6.

After excluding the vacancies occupied by the generals and the necessary garrisons left behind, Fulongan could only mobilize a total of 8 troops from the four provinces to suppress the bandits.

However, in the battles of Hualiang Village and Deqing Prefecture, the Ming army annihilated 4 to [-] Qing troops.

In other words, the number of troops Fulongan can mobilize now is actually only 4 or [-] at most.

Gritting one's teeth, 6 to [-] people are standing up to the sky!
How is this fight going?
As for dispatching troops and reinforcements from other provinces?
Sorry, Fulongan does not have this authority now.

It was too late to write a letter to the court, not to mention whether Qianlong would further delegate power to Fulongan.

According to the accurate information Fulongan can get, Zhaoqing has been in emergency several times.

Zhaoqing City was almost captured by the Ming army.

Once Zhaoqing was defeated, the Ming army opened the west gate to Guangzhou!

By then, Guangzhou will be in danger!

To put it bluntly, the current problem of the Qing army is actually a structural problem.

But for Zhu Jing'an, this is actually a good thing.

If there were no problems with the military system of the Qing court, how could the Qing army be like Calabash Boy saving his grandfather, killing him one after another to gain experience for him?

As Fulong'an's order was issued, the Qing troops in the southwestern provinces also began to mobilize troops to coordinate and march towards Yongzhou.

We are going to gather in Yongzhou and then head south to Guangdong!
……

As the horses galloped, news came that the imperial minister was going to dispatch Guangxi troops to Yongzhou.

Gao Sheng, who was originally worried about the Daweishan Fortress, breathed a sigh of relief.

Facts have proved that the shield car cannot withstand the field artillery bombardment of the Ming army!
The so-called shield vehicle tactics of the Qing army achieved nothing except leaving hundreds of corpses outside the Daweishan Fortress.

"The imperial envoy's order is to mobilize our troops to Yongzhou, gather forces with Guizhou, Hunan and other provinces, and then go south to reinforce Guangdong."

"The war here in Dawei Mountain can only be put aside for now!"

Gao Sheng took Fulong'an's military order and said to his deputy general, Yang Zhong and others.

Yang Zhong heard this and spoke.

"What about Zhaoqing? Zhaoqing is in urgent need. If the army in Guangxi cannot make a breakthrough and share the pressure for Zhaoqing, then Zhaoqing may be in danger."

"I'm afraid the admiral cannot bear the responsibility for this crime!"

Yang Zhong always remembered his mission. He was sent to Guangxi by Yong Wei this time to supervise Guangxi Admiral Gao Sheng's use of troops against the Ming thief's empty rear.

If Gao Sheng's side fails to achieve actual results, the Ming army will be forced to withdraw its troops and relieve the siege of Zhaoqing.

I'm afraid Yongwei won't be able to spare him!

However, Gao Sheng now had the military order from the imperial envoy as a source of confidence, and he was not afraid of envoys sent by General Yang Zhong from Guangzhou.

A very firm refusal.

"Don't blame me, envoy. This admiral is only acting in accordance with the military orders of the imperial envoy."

"Your Majesty, the imperial envoy, has the emperor's mandate. We, the ministers, must not be disobedient."

Gao Sheng no longer wanted to watch his soldiers die in vain in front of the Ming army's Daweishan Fortress.

Seeing this, Yang Zhong couldn't say anything else.

Because, in terms of authority, the imperial envoys who represented the imperial power were indeed superior to the Guangzhou generals.

For the Guangxi admiral, it is normal for the military orders of the imperial envoy to take precedence over those of the Guangzhou general.

When Yang Zhong saw this, he could only express his respect.

"What the Admiral said today, the students will tell the General exactly what he said!"

Gao Sheng nodded, not afraid, and just spoke.

"random!"

"This admiral is going to act on the orders of the imperial envoy!"

……

Zhang Hu stood at the top of Daweishan Fortress, looking at the Qing army camp in the distance.

Watching the Qing army gradually withdrawing from the battlefield, the expression on his face was obviously deep in thought.

Originally, Zhang Hu was very nervous when the Qing army mobilized heavy troops to go south this time.

Even, in order to ensure that the Daweishan Fortress was safe, he even asked Wuxuan County for emergency help.

Request Wuxuan County to dispatch reinforcements to reinforce Daweishan Fortress.

But unexpectedly, when the Qing troops from Guangxi went south this time, there was loud thunder and light rain.

It looked like the main force was rushing towards Da Wei Mountain in a mighty manner, but the offensive was not intense.

Now they are withdrawing their troops directly!
The scene in front of him made Zhang Hu fall into deep thought involuntarily.

He was a little curious about what kind of medicine the Qing army was selling in their gourds, and what exactly the Qing army wanted to do!

Zhang Hu turned around and ordered.

"Go and send a message to Wuxuan County, saying that the Qing army has retreated and reinforcements are temporarily unavailable."

……

Guangxi, Xunzhou Prefecture!

Thirty miles outside Guixian City, there is Lijiazhai.

The owner of Lijiazhai was named Wang, and he was the son-in-law of the Li family.

After the old man of the Li family died of illness, Wang Kang, the son-in-law, used all kinds of means to seize control of the Li family village.

Became the patriarch of Lijiazhai!
Li family courtyard, flower hall!
Wang Kang wore a long robe and a mandarin jacket, a melon skin hat on his head, and a slender pig tail trailing behind his head.

The Ming Dynasty did not force people in the controlled areas to cut their braids, but instead imposed a high braid tax.

Flexible means were used to force people to cut their braids. Therefore, there are still many people wearing long robes and mandarin jackets with gold-tailed braids in the areas controlled by the Ming Dynasty.

As Wang Kang is now the talker of the Li family, he can naturally afford to pay the pigtail tax.

It is worth mentioning that in the huge Li family, he only has one pigtail named Wang. The pigtails of other people have been cut off in order to save money and not pay the pigtail tax...

In Wang Kang's own words, money should be spent wisely, and save money when you can.

……

PS: I recommend a friend's book "Owls of the Sea in the Late Ming Dynasty". Friends who are interested can read it.

(End of this chapter)