Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 309 March
To the south of Changsha is Xiangtan, to the south of Xiangtan is Hengshan, and to the west is Xiangxiang

Zhang Xianbi was originally stationed in Xiangxiang. After he fled back to Xiangxiang, he found traces of Qing cavalry and directly abandoned Xiangxiang and retreated to Hengshan with his baggage and elite troops.
But his retreat was a bit hasty. In fact, Kong Youde and others had temporarily stopped fighting after occupying Xiangtan and stopped pursuing.

Kong Youde and his men stopped fighting this time in order to digest the results of the Changsha battle and reorganize the large number of defeated soldiers captured under the city of Changsha.
The Qing army originally had more than 20,000 troops to conquer Hunan Province. However, when Kong Youde and his men were halfway there, they suddenly received news that the Qing army had been defeated in Fujian and Zhejiang.

In order to fill the gaps in the defense line of Nanzhili and Zhejiang Province, the Qing court had to transfer Xushun Gong Shen Zhixiang and Hanjun Qi Gushan Ezhen Jinli and others to fill the defense line of Zhejiang Province.
After this withdrawal, when the southern expedition army set out from Nanjing to Huguang, only Kong Youde and the other three kings were left.

Geng Zhongming had more than 3,000 soldiers, Shang Kexi had 3,000, and Kong Youde had 5,000. When the three kings' army entered Huguang, they actually had only more than 10,000 troops.
After Kong Youde and others entered Wuchang, they drew more than 10,000 Han soldiers from the Green Camp from various parts of Hubei Province, which restored the original quota of 20,000 southern conscription troops.

Although both of them had 20,000 men, the 20,000 men in Kong Youde's hands at this time were obviously not comparable to the 20,000 men who had set out from the capital to march south.
Kong Youde and his men defeated the Huguang Dubiao Camp led by Zhang Kuang in a battle in Xiangyin. In the name of expanding auxiliary troops and civilians, they accepted the surrender of the Dubiao Camp soldiers and expanded the army to 30,000.

After Kong Youde and his men won a great victory in Changsha, they not only reported the victory to the Qing court, but also falsely claimed that the rebels in Huguang were everywhere and that there were bandits everywhere, and requested the Qing court to send more troops to reinforce them.

However, the Qing court was already stretched to its limits at this time, and there were no more soldiers to be sent, so Kong Youde and the other two were officially granted the right to expand the army.

Kong Youde and others stopped at this time to digest and reorganize the tens of thousands of Ming army surrendered soldiers captured under Changsha City.
Another reason why the Qing army stopped fighting at this time was to avoid the heat. When the Qing army occupied Xiangtan, it was already July, which was the hottest time of the year in Hunan Province.

The main elite troops under Kong Youde and others were all Liaodong soldiers. These Liaodong soldiers lived in the north all year round and could withstand the severe cold, but they could not stand the heat in the south.
The northern soldiers needed to escape the summer heat, which was something that the Qing court would not refuse.
The Qing troops Zhang Xianbi discovered near Xiangxiang were actually just a small group of cavalry sent by the Qing army to investigate the movements of the Ming army. If Zhang Xianbi had the courage to lead his troops to attack, he might have won a great victory by beheading dozens of people.

But Zhang Xianbi had already become a frightened bird after the battle in Changsha. After discovering the Qing army's scouts, he directly abandoned the city and left. In fact, the Qing army had no intention of attacking Xiangxiang at all.
After Zhang Xianbi fled, the remaining soldiers lost their command and looted Xiangxiang City, then fled.
The Qing army scouts found that Xiangxiang was in chaos and there were no soldiers guarding it, so they sent a small team to take over Xiangxiang.

When Kong Youde and others wrote to the Qing court, they naturally also mentioned the Xiangxiang victory in which tens of thousands of enemies were annihilated. As for where the heads needed by the Qing court to count the military merits came from, that was up to people to guess.

Since mid-July, Kong Youde and the other three kings had been hiding in Changsha and Xiangtan City to escape the summer heat. After discovering that the Qing army really would not advance any further, the frightened Ming army in Hengzhou City began to relax.

After the Qing army's pressure disappeared, the Ming troops began to revert to their old ways, looting their respective garrisons to replenish their supplies and food. The situation was most intense in Hengzhou and other places.

Wang Jincai and his Ming army had lost most of their baggage and property while fleeing. Now that they had settled down, they naturally wanted to make up for it.

Hengzhou was just a prefecture, but suddenly three or four groups of troops flooded in. How could it withstand so many Ming troops looting?

In order to plunder food and money, the various troops frequently clashed. He Tengjiao had already consumed most of his energy just to mediate the various Ming troops in Hengzhou and other places.
He Tengjiao also tried many times to gather all parties to discuss gathering troops for defense again. Cao Zhijian and the other two who were at the front line were very cooperative and were even willing to provide a certain amount of rice and grain to the various troops coming to support.
However, Ma Jinzhong and other troops were not very active. Although they said they agreed, they actually just waited and watched without taking any real action.

The Ming army of Changsha City was outnumbered by 60,000 to 30,000, but was defeated in an instant, with almost no chance of fighting back. Although everyone could see that there were various reasons for this, it was a defeat anyway.

At this time, He Tengjiao asked everyone to go to the front line to fight against the Qing army. The Ming army was all worried.
The Ming army in Hunan Province was arguing about gathering troops for defense, while on the other hand, they were stepping up their efforts to find out the movements of the Qing army.

But since July, the Qing army has not made any moves. They even sent some Green Camp auxiliary troops to garrison Xiangtan, while the main force retreated to Changsha.

After the Ming troops in Hengzhou confirmed that the Qing troops in Changsha City had really stopped fighting and were taking a summer break, they gradually became lazy. They gathered together to discuss several times, but nothing came of it.

After the pressure of the Qing army's attack disappeared, the various Ming army units began to occupy their own areas, collect food and wages, and it seemed that the old days of peace and harmony had returned to the two sides.

From July to August, for a whole month, the Qing army had been hiding in Changsha to escape the summer heat, while the Ming army also went its own way, occupying prefectures and counties, looting and collecting supplies.

In August, the Qing army's cavalry scouts were dispatched again. The first to discover the Qing army's movements were Cao Zhijian's two divisions stationed in Hengshan.

Cao Zhijian and others were also frightened when they found that the Qing army cavalry scouts had reappeared. They immediately reported to He Tengjiao and others in Hengzhou.

After receiving the news, He Tengjiao immediately summoned Ma Jinzhong and other Ming troops in Hengzhou Prefecture, as well as Huang Chaoxuan from You County, to the city to discuss gathering troops for defense. Huang Chaoxuan claimed to have 100,000 troops. After losing 20,000 elite troops under Changsha City, he still had 80,000 troops, still the strongest among the various tribes in Huguang.

Although the situation was already tense, Huang Chaoxuan still made a huge request, demanding that the Huguang Governor's Office provide a large amount of rice, grain, silver and other supplies before he would send troops again.
He Tengjiao tried to persuade him, and even took Huang Chaoxuan to the treasury to check the situation of the governor's treasury. However, Huang Chaoxuan remained unmoved and insisted that without rice and grain, it would be difficult to drive the army to help.
Ma Jinzhong, Hao Yongzhong and others saw Huang Chaoxuan's attitude and began to wait and see. They were all fighting for the court to defend the land. The soldiers under Huang Chaoxuan were soldiers, and theirs were also soldiers. If Huang Chaoxuan had them, then they should have them too. The governor's office should treat them equally.

Everyone originally thought that Huang Chaoxuan was bargaining, but this time Huang Chaoxuan was very firm in his attitude for some reason.
He Tengjiao tried to persuade him for several days, but Huang Chaoxuan ignored him and just kept shirking his responsibilities.

A few days later, Huang Chaoxuan suddenly left without saying goodbye, leaving a letter to inform that if you have money, you will have soldiers, and if you don't have money, you will have no soldiers. Then he led his soldiers back to You County, leaving behind He Tengjiao and other Huguang officials who were shocked.

The Huguang Governor's Office was still wrangling, while the Qing army was moving quickly.

After the Mid-Autumn Festival, the hot summer in Huguang is about to pass as the autumn breeze brings coolness.

In early September, the Qing army in Changsha City gathered again and began to march towards Hengshan.
After two months of training, the Qing army, which originally numbered 30,000, had expanded to 50,000.
Since mid-August, Cao Zhijian and others have been reporting the whereabouts of the Qing army to Hengzhou and have been sending letters requesting assistance.
But for a whole half month, until the Qing army left Changsha City, Cao Zhijian and Zhang Xianbi did not see any reinforcements arrive. Instead, they received a letter from He Tengjiao saying that he was holding on to Hengshan and that reinforcements would arrive soon.
After seeing He Tengjiao's letter, Cao Zhijian and Zhang Xianbi were completely disappointed with the Huguang Governor's Office. After discovering that tens of thousands of Qing troops had left Xiangtan and were heading towards Hengshan, the two of them looted the city and then led their troops to abandon the city and flee.
At that time, the Ming army had 60,000 soldiers, but was still defeated by the Qing army and had no power to fight back. At this time, Cao Zhijian and Zhang Xianbi had only more than 10,000 soldiers in total. How could they stop the Qing army's attack?
Besides, even if they could stop it, Cao Zhijian and Zhang Xianbi would never stop it.
Hunan Province belongs to everyone. If the Qing army breaks through Hunan Province, Cao Zhijian and the others will certainly lose their base, but Huang Chaoxuan, Wang Jincai and other Huguang generals will also not have a good end.

At this time, the Qing army launched a massive attack. Huang Chaoxuan, Wang Jincai and others hid in the back, but they were asked to stand in front and fight for them. What good things did Huang Chaoxuan and others want?
The foundation of Cao Zhijian and others is the soldiers under their command. If Hengshan is gone, then they can find another place.

As long as the elite troops under their command are still there, they can occupy the land and become kings at any time, and ask the court for food and money. But if all the soldiers under their command are killed, then they can only be slaughtered.

Before the Qing army arrived at Hengshan, Cao Zhijian and his men led their troops to retreat to Hengzhou, and the last line of defense of the Huguang Ming army in front of Hengzhou was lost.

After He Tengjiao learned that Cao Zhijian and others had given up Hengshan, he was also shocked and angry. However, although He Tengjiao was angry, he had no way to deal with Cao Zhijian and Zhang Xianbi.

At this time, He Tengjiao had no soldiers around him. Apart from the hundreds of remnants of the Du Biao Camp brought back by Man Dazhuang, there was only a group of soldiers who had just been recruited to aid Jiangxi and Yunnan.
The combined forces of these two groups only numbered about 2,000 people, making them the weakest of all the Ming armies in Hengzhou Prefecture.

After Cao Zhijian and his men retreated to Hengzhou, they asked He Tengjiao for a place to stay and prepared to continue their retreat southward.

Previously, they were at the forefront and requested reinforcements from the rear almost every day, but Wang Jincai and others just ignored them. Now Cao Zhijian wanted to see if Wang Jincai and his men could still be as safe as before.

Cao Zhijian and Zhang Xianbi wanted to continue to retreat southwards and wait and see the situation, but Anren, Leiyang and other places south of Hengzhou had already been assigned to Ma Jinzhong, Wang Jincai and others. How could Ma Jinzhong and others allow them to retreat southwards and disrupt their own garrisons?
Moreover, the Qing army was attacking in large numbers at this time, and it was the time to use manpower. Hengzhou Prefecture had no time to gather troops, and Cao Zhijian and the other two came to the door on their own. How could the generals of Hengzhou Prefecture allow them to retreat to the rear?

Ma Jinzhong and others not only did not allow Cao Zhijian and his men to retreat to the south of Hengzhou, but also supported He Tengjiao in punishing the two armies on the charge of abandoning the city and losing the land. They were prepared to confiscate the rice and silver of the two armies and at the same time order the two armies to defend the city to atone for their sins.

Cao Zhijian and his companions saw He Tengjiao, Ma Jinzhong and others uniting together, but they felt that Ma Jinzhong and others had bad intentions and were planning to annex their troops.
Cao Zhijian and the other two were also frightened and did not even dare to enter Hengzhou City. They just stayed in the military camp all day.

Cao Zhijian and his men refused to follow the order to deploy their troops, so the Huguang Governor's Office could not provide them with food and money. In order to force Cao Zhijian and his men to submit, Ma Jinzhong, Wang Jincai and others also did not allow them to plunder near Hengzhou Prefecture.
Cao Zhijian and his companions could not get any supplies outside the city, and the food and grass they brought with them to the camp were constantly being consumed.

After some discussion, Cao Zhijian and Zhang Xianbi both agreed that they could no longer stay in Hengzhou, so they broke camp overnight and evacuated directly to the west of Hengzhou.
Halfway through the journey, the two men had different opinions. Zhang Xianbi believed that Hengzhou would definitely not be able to be defended, so he decided to continue to evacuate westward.
However, Cao Zhijian thought that since the Ming army was gathering in Hengzhou and other places, they could stay in the south of Hengzhou to wait and see the situation. If Hengzhou was really lost, it would not be too late to make plans.
Cao Zhijian and Zhang Xianbi were unable to convince each other, and the two armies could not support the needs of both sides with the food and grass they looted. So the two sides split up.
Zhang Xianbi led his troops westward, intending to occupy Baoqing to rest and recuperate. If the situation turned out not to be right, he would immediately retreat westward into the mountains of western Hunan.

However, Baoqing Prefecture had already been occupied by Chen Youlong at this time. After Chen Youlong captured Liu Chengyin and opened the city to surrender, the Ming court sent Chen Youlong to Baoqing as the general of Baoqing.
The court said that it was a reward for Chen Youlong's merit and promoted him to the position of general, but in fact it was to send Chen Youlong to Baoqing to receive and reorganize the thousands of soldiers left in Baoqing by Liu Chengyin.

The court did not give Chen Youlong any soldiers, but instead sent a group of missionaries to Chen Youlong's army.
Chen Youlong was indeed resourceful. With the help of the imperial court and his thousands of personal soldiers, he persuaded thousands of remnant soldiers in Baoqing City to surrender and trained the guards to be obedient.
After reorganizing the Baoqing soldiers, Chen Youlong remained submissive to the court.
Bai Gui, the former deputy general of the Longxiang Army and now the general of Hunan Province, did not send any more soldiers. He directly asked Chen Youlong to stay in Baoqing to take charge of transporting rice from Hunan Province to supply Du Yinxi in Hubei Province.
As soon as Zhang Xianbi led his troops into Baoqing Prefecture, Chen Youlong discovered their tracks. By the time Zhang Xianbi led his troops to the city of Baoqing, Chen Youlong had already closed the four gates and was ready to fight.

Zhang Xianbi brought more than 10,000 civilians with him and originally wanted to intimidate Chen Youlong into surrendering, but Chen Youlong simply ignored him.
Zhang Xianbi then tried to attack the city, but Baoqing was a prefectural city with a wall behind it and thousands of soldiers guarding the city. It was impossible for Zhang Xianbi's tired soldiers to break through.
Zhang Xianbi tried to attack for only half a day, but he had to give up when he found that the city was heavily guarded.

Zhang Xianbi originally intended to stay near Baoqing and siege the city to loot, but at night, Chen Youlong took the initiative to lead his troops out of the city to attack the camp, and led his men directly to kill Zhang Xianbi, almost completely defeating Zhang Xianbi's camp.
At dawn, Zhang Xianbi checked and found that the original 5,000-man camp had lost more than 2,000 people overnight, leaving less than 3,000 people, and most of the food and supplies in the camp had been burned.
Seeing Chen Youlong's bravery, Zhang Xianbi was also afraid and did not dare to besiege the city again.
Zhang Xianbi led his soldiers to flee westwards, all the way into the mountains of western Hunan, and only stopped after he forcibly captured Xupu City in the mountains of western Hunan.
Zhang Xianbi fled into the mountains of western Hunan, while Cao Zhijian retreated into Yongzhou Prefecture.

(End of this chapter)