There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 116 Offensive and defensive changes
Chenzhou Prefecture.

The news that Changde had been lost could not be concealed from the Qing army in Chenzhou Prefecture.

Because Chenzhou Prefecture was originally a logistics transit station between "Changde-Xiangxi", and Changde Prefecture was cut off by the Han army, it was impossible for the Qing army in Chenzhou not to become suspicious.

Moreover, after capturing Changde, the Han soldiers immediately sent a large number of scouts towards Chenzhou, trying to find out the Qing army's deployment of passes on the Hunan-Guizhou Post Road.

Unlike what was shown on the map, the Han army captured Changde Prefecture, which seemed to be connected to Chenzhou Prefecture, and could move south to attack Chenzhou at any time.

But if you really want to take Chenzhou, you have to break through the four major passes in the middle: Chenlong, Ma'an, Furong, and Wusheng. Among them, Chenlong Pass is the most dangerous. It is the first dangerous pass from the Dongting Lake Plain to the Xiangxi Mountain Area. There is a saying that "if you get Chenlong Pass, you get the Southwest."

"Changde has indeed been lost. The Green Camp stationed at Chenlong Pass discovered that there were rebel scouts patrolling from the direction of Changde Official Post Road." Hunan Governor Jiang Sheng said, slamming the table.

On the table was a slightly sloppy map of Hubei, with Changde, Lizhou and Yuezhou all circled, indicating that these places had been taken over by the rebels.

Huguang Admiral Liu Junfu nodded and said, "No wonder we haven't received any supplies from Changde for so long, and no letters have been delivered from Changde..."

After the words were spoken, the atmosphere became a little cold.

With the loss of Changsha, southeastern Hunan fell into chaos.

With the loss of Changde, the situation in Chenzhou instantly fell into a very embarrassing situation.

Putting aside other things, Chenzhou Prefecture has transformed from the rear of the Qing army and the most important gateway to the southwest region into a frontline town facing the rebel army.

This is not good news for Jiang Sheng and Liu Junfu, because there is no one in Chenzhou Prefecture now. It is not that there are no troops stationed there, but that all the generals who can fight have left.

After Fukang'an died, Helin temporarily took charge of the military affairs. Eldengbao, Mingliang, Delentang, the few generals in command, had to be under his command first and could not leave Xiangxi for a while.

Fu Ning, the Governor-General of Liangjiang who stayed in Chenzhou, had led his troops out of Hunan a month ago and went to Sichuan to replace Sun Shiyi, who died unexpectedly in the army, to continue the encirclement and suppression of the roaming White Lotus rebels.

Today, Chenzhou Prefecture is neither too big nor too small, but it happens to be a strategically important Qing army town. The only people who can really take charge of things are Jiang Sheng and Liu Junfu.

According to the parallel timeline in history, He Lin should have also "died of illness" after Fu Kang'an in another month. By then, the Qing army in Xiangxi would be truly leaderless, and the vast Xiangxi and Chenzhou would not even have a leader to carry the brunt of the burden.

"What should we do now? Should we send troops?" Liu Junfu asked.

Jiang Sheng sighed, "Changde has already been lost, and the rebel scouts are still openly patrolling outside Chenlong Pass. I'm afraid they are already investigating the deployment of the pass and preparing to march south. Chenlong Pass is Changde's only passage into the southwest, and it is also the first pass in the world (designated by Emperor Qianlong). If we sit back and do nothing, the imperial court will not let us off."

Chenlongguan is located at the junction of Changde and Chenzhou, covering a large area. It is not only an important channel for the Central Plains to enter the southwest, but also the largest Jietan tea producing area south of the Yuanjiang River.

In addition to being a major tea producing area, this place is also rich in gold mines. If it were lost, not only would a fortress be lost, but also the tea-producing area and the gold-producing area, which together amount to a lot of silver.

"But the rebels were able to capture Changde. Can we really defeat them if we send troops?" Liu Junfu was a little unconfident.

It's no wonder he thought so. The rebels occupied Jingzhou City and drove Hui Ling away. This can be explained by the fact that Hui Ling was a fool.

But afterwards, the rebels successively occupied Lizhou and Yuezhou, and now they have taken Changde. The problem is more serious. Even if the rebels' combat effectiveness was not strong in the early stage, they have now occupied several prefectures and their territory spans Huguang. They can no longer be regarded as ordinary rebels.

At least, with the current military strength of Chenzhou, it is estimated that it is difficult to deal with the rebels.

Jiang Sheng had clearly taken Liu Junfu's concerns into consideration. He unfolded the map, pondered for a moment, and then said, "First, we will march to Chenlong Pass. Securing Chenlong Pass is our top priority. Once we've determined the strength of the Changde rebels, we'll consider how to proceed. Chenlong Pass is the most important pass in the world. It's dozens of meters long, with narrow roads and high terrain, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack. Even if the rebels are strong, as long as we defend it tightly and don't fight them without leaving the pass, we can send an envoy to request General He to send troops to rescue them as soon as possible."

Liu Junfu nodded helplessly: "It has no other choice."

The Qing army in Chenzhou decided to defend Chenlong Pass to the death. This scene was somewhat similar to the Three Feudatories Rebellion.

After Wu Sangui's death, Wu's army retreated to Chenlong Pass and held out here. Relying on the steepness of the pass, they managed to hold out against the Qing army for three years. Finally, they were led by local mountain people and the Qing army took a detour through a small path to break through Chenlong Pass.

Now, the offensive and defensive positions have changed. The Qing army is here to guard the pass, and the Han army has become the one attacking.

However, the Han army is not the Wu army, and the Qing army is no longer the Qing army that still retains its combat effectiveness.

It’s hard to say what the outcome will be.

……

Civil unrest has broken out in southeastern Hunan.

Baoqing, Yongzhou and Guiyang were all in chaos. Not only the Yao people were rebelling, but also many Han people.

Chen Hong, the great general of Guiyang who had written to Nie Yu, inviting him to divide Huguang equally and become emperor, was not the only rebel. A similar rebel group, calling itself the "King of Killing," had also emerged in Chenzhou, Guiyang's neighbor, as well as in Hengzhou, and in Chaling Prefecture and Ling County, a remote area east of Changsha.

Kill all the kings. From the nickname, you can tell that it is full of murderous intent. It is obvious that they are aiming to kill all the officials and landlords.

In the eyes of educated people, this nickname is useless except for being murderous, and it is as stupid as it can be. But in the eyes of ordinary people who are generally illiterate and have an illiteracy rate as high as 99%.

Kill all the kings, wow, that’s awesome!
Once this killer king raised his army, he annexed Ling County and Chaling Prefecture at lightning speed, and his territory expanded rapidly. He recruited the strong laborers of the people in the two places as his army, and killed all the landlords and officials, obtaining a large amount of money, food and supplies. His military strength quickly increased by tens of thousands of people.

Currently, Sha Jin Wang was personally leading an army of tens of thousands, preparing to attack Anren County. The Anren County Magistrate was quite remarkable. Upon hearing that Sha Jin Wang's army of tens of thousands was approaching, he was so frightened that he abandoned the city and fled overnight. However, the county's second-in-command, the Dianshi, along with the county officials, gentry, and common people, united as one to defend the county. The gentry contributed money and food, and the common people also enthusiastically joined the army.

"Damn it, are the people in Anren County all stupid? The county magistrate has already fled, so why are they still holding on?"

King Shajin was very angry. His army was at the gates of the city, even the county magistrate was scared away, but the people and wealthy families inside refused to surrender.

Nonsense, whoever surrenders is an idiot!
This guy successively occupied Chaling Prefecture and Ling County. He first sent people to sneak into the city of Chaling Prefecture and Ling County, and then took them down by cooperating with the outside forces. After taking them down, he looted the city walls and killed all the officials and wealthy people who surrendered in the two cities. Even many civilians suffered the same fate.

Either all their food and property were robbed, or their houses were killed and burned by the king's rebellious army, and the women of decent families were insulted by the rebellious soldiers.

If we surrender, wouldn't that be seeking death?

King Shajin attacked the city for three consecutive days but failed to break through the county town. Most of his troops were composed of rioters, and there were few elite core troops. Moreover, he had never attacked a city seriously. This was the first time, and he had no idea how to fight at all. He didn't even understand such a simple tactic as "surround three and leave one".

"Kill all the kings! It seems that there are soldiers coming outside!" A personal soldier wearing a straw hat came running to report.

Upon hearing this, Sha Jin Wang immediately spat out a mouthful of spit: "Are you stupid too? The officers and soldiers of Hengzhou were all defeated by the Han soldiers. How could the officers and soldiers come to us? Let me go and see for myself."

Looking closer, it seemed that the King of Killing could read a few words and recognized the flags of the army coming from afar.

Kill King Yixiao said: "See, there is a word 'Han' written on that big flag. Those in front are Han soldiers. Just like us, they are also against the damn government and the court."

I don't know what's going on in this Killing King's mind. He thinks that since they are all rebels, they should all be his brothers, but he actually came alone... No, he came to the front of the army alone with a sword and riding a bull.

"I am the Killing King of Chaling, and the ones in front of me are my brothers from the Han army?"

The familiar self-introduction of Sha Jin Wang made Wu Jun, the commander of the Han army, a little confused. The guy opposite him was so arrogant that he actually dared to call himself Sha Jin Wang.

Their general hasn't even become king yet, so how can this country bumpkin who came out of nowhere become king?
Wu Jun was too lazy to say more. The general sent him here this time to eliminate the bandits in Anren County and take over Anren County as well.

Now, this bandit was obviously the Killing King on the opposite side. He was dressed in fancy clothes, silk and satin, had a big knife on his waist, and rode a cow under his buttocks. He looked like a monster no matter how you looked at him.

Wu Jun refused to be rejected and said, "Since you are the rebel army from Chaling, then retreat immediately. The general will make other arrangements for you later. Now I want to take over Anren County."

Damn, that’s the tone you use right from the start.

Even though Sha Jin Wang felt that he had already lowered his posture very low, he could not help but feel a little bit depressed. After all, he was still Sha Jin Wang, in charge of tens of thousands of brothers. Even if he was a latecomer to the rebellion and could not compare with the old predecessor of Han Jun, they were almost on equal terms.

Now, Wu Jun's words directly treated him as a subordinate, and he immediately retreated and would be given arrangements later.

What arrangement?
Incorporate his army and swallow up his territory?
Killing King Qiang suppressed his anger and said, "We chose Anren County first, and now the Han army brothers are asking us to retreat as soon as they arrive. Isn't that too unreasonable?"

After hearing this, Wu Jun simply raised his hand and said, "Blow the horn and prepare to attack!"

They start fighting as soon as they disagree!

Sha Jin Wang immediately ran back to the army. Although the army he brought this time had tens of thousands of people, the morale of each unit was not united, and he was not the only one who had the final say.

The army brought by Wu Jun was different. Although there were only more than a thousand people, and they were newly recruited troops, they were well-disciplined and obeyed orders.

More than a thousand against ten thousand, the advantage is on my side!
The rebel army that killed Wang Jin was in great chaos. Most of the soldiers were young and strong civilians. When they heard the order to assemble, they all looked for their commander in confusion. Some of them were still chewing on leftover steamed buns with a look of bewilderment on their faces.

The Han army marched all the way here, without even having to form up their battle array.

It was a very common variation of the Mandarin Duck Formation, with wolf-whip soldiers in the front, spear soldiers in the back, rattan shield soldiers covering both wings, and the central army consisting of crossbowmen and musket soldiers ready to seize the opportunity to shoot arrows and fire muskets at any time.

When the army had advanced halfway and before hand-to-hand combat, the army that had killed all the kings suddenly collapsed.

It is not quite right to say that they collapsed, because they were not assembled well in the first place. Some newly assembled troops accidentally bumped into friendly troops nearby, and the Han army's wolf-whip weapons were about to come over.

"Run! The Han army's heavenly soldiers are coming!"

The leader of this rebel army didn't care about whether to assemble or not. The weapons and formations of the Han army were much more orderly than theirs. They looked more like officers and soldiers than officers and soldiers. What a joke.

Killing all the kings was dumbfounded and cursed angrily: "You bunch of bastards, don't run away! At least fight them first before running away!"

After shouting for a long time, he also started to run away, riding on the cow under his butt.

He ran at such a speed that the Han soldiers chasing him were unable to catch up.

"Oh my god, can cows run so fast?"

The Han soldier was panting and looked a little unbelievable.

(End of this chapter)