Southern Ming: A boy soldier at the beginning, supporting the world

Chapter 110: The Key to the Current Situation

Passing by Guilin, Danchu naturally went into the city to pay a visit to Qu Shisi. As soon as he entered the residence, Danchu saw the white couplets on the door, and he felt something was wrong.

Qu Gongmei hurried over and said carefully, "Madam has passed away. When Hao Yongzhong was in chaos, Madam took a car to seek refuge outside the city, and her condition worsened. When Kong Youde invaded, Madam was critically ill, and the elder was supervising the battle at the north gate, so she didn't get to see her for the last time..."

Life is unpredictable. Danchu felt sad. At the end of February, he went to the mansion and saw Mrs. Shao. He felt that she was not in good spirits. Unexpectedly, that meeting turned out to be a farewell forever.

Thinking of Madam Qu from his mother-in-law, Danchu's longing for her became even more intense. Born in troubled times and as an orphan, he cherished his family affection even more and longed for family happiness even more.

What a damned world! If the world is not peaceful, how can ordinary people be happy?
When they arrived at the main hall, Qu Shisi was handling official business. Danchu bowed to him and said, "Lord, I'm back."

Qu Shisi put down his pen, stood up and returned the greeting, saying with a smile: "I calculated the days and estimated that you should be back in the next two days."

After the greetings, Danchu said sadly: "The situation has just improved and Guilin has returned to peace. I didn't expect that my mother-in-law would leave us."

"Alas," Qu Shisi was relieved and said, "She was not in good health to begin with, and now she has ascended to heaven, she is completely relieved. You are leading troops in the front line, and I couldn't bear to tell you."

After the two were silent for a moment, Qu Shisi suddenly changed the subject and asked, "Zhuoru, I heard that God appeared in your dream and taught you to speak the foreign language?"

Danchu smiled and said, "Yes. But God gave me English, not Portuguese."

Qu Shisi was well-informed and believed in both Confucianism and Catholicism. The barbarians all believed that Danchu was a prophet of God, so how should he treat this son-in-law?
He was silent for a moment, then said, "It seems that Christianity will prevail over Catholicism in the future, and England will prevail over France."

The Ming people referred to Spain and Portugal as "Falangji". By the late Ming Dynasty, the Portuguese were the undisputed hegemons of Europe. Catholicism (Roman Catholicism) was the most powerful and sent many missionaries to China to preach.

Danchu was touched by Qu Shisi's wisdom and said, "Your Excellency is right. The Vatican recognizes that the God of our country and the God of Catholicism are one and the same. God gave me English, probably to bridge the gap between Christianity and Catholicism, and even to promote the unification of Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism and Christianity."

Qu Shisi suddenly understood, his eyes sparkling, and he said, "Yes. Chinese culture is broad and profound. Buddhism was introduced into China and immediately merged with Confucianism and Taoism. Catholicism and Christianity were introduced into China, and I think they are no different from Buddhism."

Danchu believed that Chinese culture had a strong vitality. Throughout history, even if foreign races invaded the Central Plains, they would soon be assimilated into Chinese culture. Catholicism was no exception. Missionaries and foreign soldiers were just right for him.

After mourning and offering sacrifices to Shao, Danchu followed Qu Shisi back to the main hall.

Qu Shisi sighed, "My wife left a will before she died, saying that she wanted to be buried in her hometown of Changshu. I found a grave on Qixing Mountain and buried it here temporarily. When the Central Plains is restored in the future, the coffin will be moved to Yushan."

Fallen leaves return to their roots. Although the Qu couple are Catholics, they still strictly abide by traditional etiquette. Mrs. Qu grew up in Changshu. Danchu also has several Changshu-born staff around him, and he often hears them talk about Yushan.

Danchu was very attracted to the scenery of Jiangnan. He said: "There are many righteous armies in Jiangnan, and the Taihu righteous armies are still active. The Duke of Yu rebelled in Jiangxi, and the Duke of Hui rebelled in Guangdong. The King of Lu is in Zhoushan, Ningbo has Siming Mountain Stronghold, and Fujian has the General Zhongxiaobo (Zheng Chenggong).

"Wang Guangtai and his brothers have been fighting against the Qing in Xiangyang and Yunyang for years, and have joined forces with the remaining Shun army to form the Thirteen Families of Kuidong. The Western Army has taken Yunnan and has already shown its willingness to surrender. As long as the emperor is determined to make progress and the court takes appropriate measures, there is still hope for the restoration of the Central Plains."

Qu Shisi was more optimistic and said, "Yes! Since last year, we have won three victories in Guilin. The Duge troops are brave in their duties, and Commander He has a great reputation. The Duke of Yu has 200,000 elite soldiers, and the Duke of Hui leads Guangdong with abundant financial resources. The situation is very good, and the Ming Dynasty can be expected to be revived."

This... Danchu cannot agree with it.

The three victories in Guilin seemed glorious, but in fact, the Qing army did not use its full strength. The first victory coincided with the attack of the Three Loyalists of Lingnan on Guangzhou, and Li Chengdong's main force was not in Guilin. The second victory coincided with the uprising of Wang Guangtai and his brothers in Xiangyang, which was an important city in the world. The Qing court was shocked, and Kong Youde's rear was threatened, so he had to retreat to Huguang. The third victory was when Jin Shenghuan rebelled in Jiangxi... Danchu followed He Tengjiao in the battle for four months, and he was very clear about the shortcomings of the Ming army on the front line, so he would never dare to be as optimistic as He Tengjiao.

In front of Qu Shisi, he said bluntly: "Sir, forgive me for being blunt, but Commander He is not talented in any area and has no skills in commanding his generals. The Yunnan, Guangxi and Chu armies are in name only and are making slow progress in Quanzhou and Yongzhou.

"Duke Yu has rebelled, and the Ming Dynasty has hope of revival. But he abandoned Nanjing and attacked Ganzhou, which was a bad move and also led to a dead end. I implore the elder to find a way to urge the commander-in-chief and Duke Hui to send troops to reinforce Ganzhou.

"Right now, the key to the current situation lies in Ganzhou. If Ganzhou is taken, Jiangxi will be safe. If Ganzhou is not taken, then everything will be lost and there will be no hope for rejuvenation!"

Ganzhou connects four provinces, "adjoins the areas of Ou, Fujian and Baiyue, and is blocked by streams, valleys and mountains. It is the key to mountains and seas, and the hub of rivers and lakes." It is a place that military strategists must fight for.

The city is surrounded by rivers on three sides, with high walls and thick walls. In the Northern Song Dynasty, the city wall foundation was cast with molten iron, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack. Since the Song Dynasty, Ganzhou has seen many fierce battles, but few have conquered Ganzhou from the front. Ganzhou has thus earned a nickname, "Zhongchengfu".

The mountains and rivers are in a beautiful shape, and the terrain is jagged and interlaced. The Manchus knew this well, and set up the Southern Jiangxi Governor and the Southern Jiangxi General in southern Jiangxi, with low positions and high qualifications, which had an unexpected effect.

When Jin Shenghuan rebelled, the defenders of Ganzhou surrendered repeatedly, but Liu Wuyuan, the governor of Nan Gan, and Hu Yousheng, the general of Nan Gan, refused to submit and stubbornly resisted in the city with only five or six thousand soldiers.

Liu Wuyuan was originally a general under Zu Dashou. He surrendered to the Qing Dynasty with Zu Dashou and was incorporated into the Red Banner of the Han Army. He was granted the hereditary title of the third-class light cavalry commander. Hu Yousheng was also a general from Liaodong who surrendered and was affiliated with the Yellow Banner of the Han Army. He was granted the hereditary title of the third-class Meilezhangjing.

The Qing Dynasty was good at controlling its generals, so Liu Wuyuan and Hu Yousheng did not dare to surrender and decided to defend Ganzhou to the death.

On March 16, Jin Shenghuan led an army of 100,000 and marched south to Ganzhou. They have been besieging the city for three months but have not been able to capture it.

Qu Shisi naturally knew that He Tengjiao was incompetent and understood the importance of Ganzhou. However, Danchu said that the battle of Ganzhou was related to the overall situation of the restoration, and he also asserted that Jin Shenghuan could not capture Ganzhou, which seemed alarmist.

"Ganzhou is a small place, and the defenders are scattered and surrender from time to time. Duke Yu led an army of 100,000 to attack Ganzhou, and he thought that the city would be captured."

"No. Lord, think about this. Since the Northern Song Dynasty, has there been any example of a war that took Ganzhou by force?"

It seems not.

At the end of the Song Dynasty, Wen Tianxiang raised an army in Jiangxi to fight against the Yuan Dynasty. He once captured Tingzhou and Xingguo and besieged Ganzhou. The Yuan army held on and Tianxiang was unable to defeat them. Later, he was defeated by the Yuan reinforcements.

At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, Chen Youliang sent General Xing Wencai to besiege Ganzhou. Xing Wencai besieged the city for four months and attacked it several times, but he was unable to capture it. Finally, the food in the city ran out, there was no help outside the city, and the defenders mutinied, so Xing Wencai was able to capture Ganzhou.

Zhu Yuanzhang and Chen Youliang were fighting for the throne, and he sent General Chang Yuchun to attack Ganzhou. Chang Yuchun was brave and always invincible, but he was helpless under the city of Ganzhou, and had no other choice but to besiege it. After half a year, the defenders ran out of food and had no choice but to surrender, and Chang Yuchun finally took Ganzhou.

It seems so.

In April of the second year of the Longwu reign, Jin Shenghuan was still the general commander of Jiangxi Province of the Qing Dynasty. He sent troops to besiege Ganzhou. The defenders stubbornly resisted and the Qing army failed to defeat them. When Emperor Longwu heard about it, he was very happy and gave Ganzhou the name "Zhongchengfu". In October, the defenders quarreled among themselves, and Jin Shenghuan finally conquered Ganzhou.

(End of this chapter)