There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 244 Encirclement and reinforcements
De'an County is still some distance from Nanchang, but further south is Jianchang County, which is very close to Nanchang.

Not only is it very close, but it also connects to Xiushui and Ganjiang Rivers, making it accessible by land and water within a few days.

Although the Han army coincidentally intercepted the messenger sent south by Chen Xu, the magistrate of De'an County, to seek help, they immediately released him after the interception. At the same time, they also provided him with some drinking water and dry food, fearing that he might not be able to reach Nanchang.

What exactly does the Han army want to do?
It's very simple, of course it's to besiege the enemy stronghold and attack their reinforcements.

Two Han armies were besieging De'an and Jianchang counties respectively. The one besieging Jianchang County was Fang Jie's troops, who had proposed to move south. This guy never gave up the idea of ​​besieging the point and attacking the reinforcements.

If the Qing army dares to come to the rescue of Jianchang County, then he will besiege the city and attack the reinforcements, annihilating them. Once the reinforcements are destroyed, Jianchang County will not even need to fight; the defending troops will surely be demoralized and collapse without a battle.

He could even use his victories to launch a counterattack against Nankang Prefecture, causing chaos among the Qing officials, soldiers, and officers in the prefecture.

Will reinforcements arrive?

They will definitely come. Not only are the messengers seeking help deliberately let go by Fang Jie, but Jianchang County is also too close to Nanchang Prefecture, practically blocking the northern gateway to Nanchang Prefecture.

If the Qing army had truly not come to Jianchang's aid and had allowed it to fall, it would have essentially tacitly agreed to hand over the entire territory of Nankang and Jiujiang to the Han army, and the northern part of Nanchang Prefecture would have been left without any natural defenses.

The Han army could march south at any time and could bring its troops to Nanchang within a few days.

Nanchang Prefecture City.

"What did you just say about the situation in the north?" Wan Ning, who was stationed in the prefectural city, asked.

The messenger replied, "Several thousand Han rebel soldiers have besieged De'an County. Judging by the time, they should have been besieging the city for several days. My magistrate requests that the city of Nanchang send troops to its aid immediately!"

"What about Nankang Prefecture and Jianchang County?" Wan Ning asked again.

The messenger shook his head: "I don't know. We only saw that the Han rebel army came from the northeast, and after setting up camp outside my De'an County, they sent several thousand troops south in the evening. Judging from the direction, they should have gone to Jianchang County. I was ordered to deliver the message and dared not get too close to Jianchang County, so I don't know very clearly."

This left Wanning speechless. They had just issued an order allowing local prefectures to freely recruit soldiers in order to deal with the Han rebels' southward offensive.

As a result, Nankang Prefecture was the first to be besieged by the Han rebels who marched south. The last message the messenger brought back was that the Han rebels had sent tens of thousands of troops to surround the city of Nankang.

And now, only a few days later, De'an County and Jianchang County have become the territory of the Han traitors.

No, it's not entirely the territory of the Han traitors. De'an County is only besieged by them, and it shouldn't fall for the next few days. But Jianchang County is a different story, because there haven't been any messengers from Jianchang County yet. Nanchang Prefecture knows absolutely nothing about the situation in Jianchang County, not even whether it still exists.

While Wan Ning was still deep in thought, Yan Jian couldn't help but say, "Your Excellency, the Han bandits are now so arrogant that the situation in the north is deteriorating. They are no longer ordinary bandits and we must send a large force to suppress them."

Upon hearing this, Wan Ning glared at Yan Jian, seemingly blaming him for being so talkative.

Is he unwilling to deploy a large force?
This is entirely due to their poor combat strength and too many new recruits. They are likely to suffer a crushing defeat as soon as they go into battle. Otherwise, he would have already led his troops north to rescue Nankang Prefecture. Li Huang suddenly interjected, "Prefect, Nanchang Prefecture currently lacks elite troops, and the Governor is not here. If we go north with all our might, it certainly won't work. But I just heard from this messenger that the Han traitors seem to have divided their forces in De'an County?"

These words were also directed at the messenger kneeling on the ground, who quickly nodded: "The Han traitors have indeed split their forces. There are at most a little over a thousand Han traitors outside De'an County now. If the Han traitors who split their forces went to Jianchang County, then the number should be about the same."

Li Huang nodded: "If that's the case, then my prediction is correct. This Han traitor probably hasn't even taken Nankang Prefecture. Without taking the prefecture in the rear and without securing the supply lines, to divide his troops into several routes and attack in all directions is a major taboo in military strategy."

Upon hearing this, Wan Ning seemed to take a liking to it and waited for Li Huang to continue.

Li Huang did not disappoint him, saying, "The Han rebels have divided their forces into several routes and are attacking everywhere. This arrogant army has completely disregarded the Jiangxi government. The Han rebels' contempt for us is precisely our opportunity. If the Han rebels really send tens of thousands of troops south, even if our Jiangxi troops are still intact and the main force is not lost, we will probably have to temporarily withdraw our forces and avoid open battle. But now, the Han rebels only have a few thousand troops, and they have divided their forces into three groups, each with only a little over a thousand men. The provincial governor can easily lead his troops north and attack them by surprise!"

Wan Ning nodded slightly: "To strike unexpectedly and catch the enemy off guard. That's a good strategy!"

After saying that, he frowned again: "But our army has too many new recruits and their combat strength is not refined. Even if we launch a surprise attack, we may only be able to achieve a small victory, not a great one."

Li Huang said, "A small victory is enough. In a battle between two armies, small victories accumulate into a great one. First, we should secure the gateways to Jianchang and De'an counties, and then wait for an opportunity to see if we can rescue Nankang Prefecture. If we can hold these places, even if the Han rebels are powerful, they will be unable to hold out in Jiangxi alone. At that time, we only need to wait for the governor to lead the local militias from various prefectures and counties to join forces with the Green Standard Army in southern Jiangxi and march north. We will surely be able to defeat the Han rebels and recover Jiujiang!"

This unexpected and unprepared attack was indeed a brilliant strategy.

Taking advantage of the Han army's division into three routes, launch a surprise attack on one route, achieve a small victory to boost morale, and then secure the gateway to Nanchang to prevent the situation in northern Jiangxi from deteriorating further.

Unfortunately, even the best strategies need to be implemented. Li Huang learned those strategies from military books, but the premise of those strategies was that the Qing army had to have some fighting strength, and the Han army's fighting strength dropped significantly after the division of troops.

The key point is whether the Qing army's surprise attack on one route can actually defeat the Han army on that route!

The problem is that if the Han army was really afraid of the Qing army, why did they besiege the point and attack the reinforcements? Why did they boldly divide their troops? Wasn't it just to lure the Qing army north?

It can be said that both the Qing army and the Han army underestimated each other in this wave. The Han army had been fighting too smoothly in Huguang and had regarded the Qing army as weaklings, believing that they could win even if they split their forces.

The Qing troops in Jiangxi also lacked a clear understanding of the Han army's combat capabilities, even believing that the rumors circulating in Huguang were exaggerated. The claims of being outnumbered several times over were merely attempts by local officials in Huguang to shirk responsibility; the actual Han army might have been very strong, but not to such an absurd degree.

In Nanchang Prefecture, a decision was finalized, and within just three days, a force of over ten thousand local militia and able-bodied men was assembled to march north and attack the Han army in Jianchang County.

Wan Ning personally led his troops into battle, fearing that if he didn't personally command them, his subordinates would be unable to control the army and it would desert.

"After waiting for so many days, the Qing reinforcements have finally arrived," Fang Jie said with a smile, looking at the scout's report.

He had been besieging the city for many days. If the Qing army didn't send reinforcements soon, he felt he was about to give up Jianchang County and head south to attack Nanchang Prefecture.

(End of this chapter)