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

Chapter 290 Close the door and beat the dog
After the meeting, Tian Yuan was a little disappointed. Qi Liangxun was about forty years old, with only fifty or sixty riders behind him. The soldiers were haggard and the horses were weak. It was not difficult to guess that after Qi Liangxun was defeated in Guanyang, he had lost many soldiers and generals along the way, and there were not many soldiers left.

Meeting for the first time, Qi Liangxun was a little wary. He bowed from a distance on his horse and said, "I am Qi Liangxun, the general of Guanyang. May I ask your name?"

As a general, Qi Liangxun only had fifty or sixty cavalrymen behind him. He spoke without confidence, but he still looked stern and upright.

"I am Tian Yuan, deputy commander of the Red Army's personal cavalry regiment. I have long heard of Qi Zhen's great name." Tian Yuan dismounted and answered in his rank as a Red Army officer.

The Red Army's eighty cavalrymen had distinctive armor and rode strong horses, making Qi's army look pale in comparison.

Qi Liangxun had a long career. He followed Lu Zhenfei during the Chongzhen period and became Lu Zhenfei's confidant. Lu Zhenfei was a Jinshi in the fifth year of the Tianqi reign. He was capable, wise, loyal and upright. Qi Liangxun relied on Lu Zhenfei as his backer and rose to prominence. However, Lu Zhenfei died in the first year of the Yongli reign. Qi Liangxun lost his backer and had to guard the small town of Guanyang.

Looking back on the past, Qi Liangxun could only sigh at the chaotic situation and the misfortunes of fate. However, this young man in front of him was doing very well in the Red Army and had already become a deputy commander.

He knew he was being rude, so he quickly dismounted and sighed, "Qi was ordered to guard Guanyang, but was defeated by the Tartars and lost his garrison. I deserve death. Today, I see the Red Army camps lined up and the soldiers in bright armor, so I know there is hope for the recovery of Guilin. Although I am not talented and have few soldiers, I am willing to serve the Red Army and die on the battlefield."

"Since the Tartar invaded western Guangdong, all the towns have been defeated and retreated. The Imperial Yunnan Camp was known for its bravery, but Wang Yongzuo surrendered to the Qing, while Zhao Yinxuan and Hu Yiqing retreated to Qingyuan. Qi Zhen was unyielding and although he had fewer troops, he still joined the army to attack Guilin, which shows his loyalty and bravery."

Seeing that Tian Yuan was being polite, Qi Liangxun relaxed a lot and said, "Although the towns have been defeated, there are many loyal and brave men among them. The general will lead the troops to counterattack Guilin, and a hundred people will respond to his call. In a few days, the towns from all over the country will lead their troops to join us and attack Guilin."

Tian Yuan was thinking the same thing, so he asked, "Where did you come from, Governor? What did you see along the way?"

"After Guanyang fell, I led my troops to Guilin. I wanted to rely on Lord Qu, but before I could enter the city, Guilin had already fallen, so I stationed troops in Yaoshan to collect the defeated soldiers. There have been many news in the past few days. Some people said that your army's land division attacked Zhenxia Pass by surprise, and the navy has already approached **Le. I originally wanted to lead the army to Zhenxia Pass, but last night I heard that the Red Army was attacking Guilin, so I ordered the cavalry early in the morning to come and investigate, and then met with Biaotai."

Tian Yuan rushed all the way from Liuzhou, and had not yet established a firm foothold in Guilin, and his intelligence was not accurate. He did not know that Yaoshan was located northeast of Guilin. Since Qi Liangxun arrived in Guilin so quickly, he thought Yaoshan was not far away.

"Zhenxia Pass is far away, while Guilin is near." Tian Yuan was short of soldiers, so he could rely on Qi Liangxun for help. He said, "Our army will soon attack Guilin, so why don't you lead the troops to accompany us?"

Qi Liangxun was at a loss and was thinking of joining the Red Army. He readily accepted the suggestion and immediately sent a command arrow to be taken back to Yaoshan, ordering the infantry to go to Guilin to join the battle.

Tian Yuan was also quite inspired. Qi Liangxun's garrison had few soldiers, only seven or eight hundred in total. But a small number can add up to a large number. There were many defeated soldiers like Qi Liangxun around Guilin. They were ashamed to surrender, but had no wise leader. Although their fighting power was not strong, they could fill the number at the gates of Guilin.

So he sent people to the suburbs of Guilin to post notices, inviting the volunteer army to Guilin to join the great cause and further deter the Qing army in the city.

Cen Danchu led 3,500 main forces and rushed to Yanguan. It was a 120-li land route from Guilin to Yanguan, and they had to pass through the Darong River, Gantang Ferry and other dangerous passes. It was not easy to reach Yanguan in one day.

The soldiers had been on the march for days, eating only dry food and cold water to fill their stomachs, and they suffered terribly. During the march, some people complained from time to time:
"This year, our personal army has not had an easy time. Before the New Year, the personal army left Nanning and attacked Xunzhou. In March, we set out from Xunzhou and went east to aid Guangzhou, traveling more than a thousand miles to the city of Guangzhou. In July, we moved our camp from Guangzhou to the west, captured Gao, Lei, and Lian, and returned to Nanning. In November, we moved our camp from Nanning again, passed Kunlun Pass, went north to Liuzhou, passed the Luoqing River Valley Road, entered Guilin, and headed for Yanguan. I calculated that we have marched at least 5,000 miles this year. If everyone in the personal army did not have a war horse, how could we have traveled these 5,000 miles?"

"What are you complaining about? Aren't we going to reach Yanguan soon? If we seize Yanguan and then beat the enemy with our weapons, the Tartars will not be able to escape even if they have wings."

"I guess we should go to Yanguan first, take Yanguan, then return to occupy Guilin, then go down the Li River, pass Wuzhou and enter the Xijiang River, and go down the river to Guangzhou."

"We have reached Wuzhou, right? And we need to go to Guangzhou? If we really want to take Guangzhou, the general would have taken it long ago. Why do we have to go back?" "You know shit! If we don't run back and forth, how can we expand the naval division in eastern Guangdong, how can we unite Dongxun, and how can we lure Kong Youde to go south without any worries?"

……

Cen Danchu rode through the crowd on horseback, accompanied by his cavalry commander He Guozuo and personal guard commander Yuan Ping.

"Silence throughout the army! No noise allowed!" The ban was passed down from top to bottom, person by person, and quickly spread to the entire army.

He Guozuo was a little anxious and asked, "General, do you want to increase the frequency of the quick steps?"

Cavalry marches can be divided into slow steps, fast steps, running steps, and attack steps, with speeds ranging from low to high. In normal marches, cavalry can only march slowly or fast steps to save horsepower. Guangxi only has local horses in Si'en and Sicheng, and the Red Army's war horses are not good, so it is stipulated that the frequency of fast steps cannot exceed one-fourth of the total number of fast and slow steps.

It was almost noon and the vanguard had reached Gantang Ferry, so there was no need to move quickly.

"No need, let's go to Gantang Ferry first."

To reach Yanguan, the Red Army had to cross the Gantang River, and the nearest ferry was Gantang Ferry. This place was adjacent to Lingchuan County on the left and the mouth of the Gantang River into the Li River on the right. The river was wide and deep in summer, so one had to take a boat. In winter, the water was shallow and one could wade.

Gantang Ferry was a strategic point for both land and water transport, and the Qing army had set up defenses there. If the Red Army wanted to wade upstream, they would have to take a long detour.

Intelligence Bureau Chief Feng Jiali came to greet him and whispered, "General, the Tartar commander of Lingchuan is Wang Yongzuo, and he has already withdrawn from Gantang Ferry."

"Wang Yongzuo still refuses to surrender?"

Wang Yongzuo was a general of the Yunnan Division, as famous as Zhao Yinxuan and Hu Yiqing. Because Yu Yuanye broke off the engagement, Wang Yongzuo and Zhao Yinxuan turned against each other and surrendered to Kong Youde in August of the fourth year of the Yongli reign.

"Wang Yongzuo is still waiting and has sent someone to tell me that he will hand over the Gantang Ferry to our army and will not stop us. I guess that once our army captures Yanguan and the main force besieges Guilin, Wang Yongzuo will definitely surrender."

"Well," Danchu understood what was going on, and said, "The Intelligence Bureau should also keep an eye on Wang Yuncheng."

Wang Yuncheng and Wang Yongzuo were both brave generals in the Ming army, and they surrendered to the Qing army one after another. The Qing army was short of manpower, so Kong Youde ordered Wang Yongzuo to guard Lingchuan and ordered Wang Yuncheng to enter Guilin City to assist Li Yangxing in defending the city.

Soon, scouts came to report that the Gan Tang River could be crossed by wading, and there were no Qing army ambushes around the ferry.

The Red Army successfully crossed the Gantang River and led its troops northward.

(End of this chapter)