There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 248 Continuing South
Yang Fang, a valiant general of his generation, had hardly fought a decent battle since leading his troops into Jiangxi. Wherever he went, the enemy surrendered at the mere sight of him.

At Xiaochi Town, a strategically important crossroads of three rivers, the locals surrendered after a few words from Instructor Wen. Later, when they crossed the river to attack Jiujiang Prefecture, a vital transportation hub connecting seven provinces and the gateway to Poyang Lake and the entire Jiangxi province, the local gentry, the Shen family, emerged and offered to surrender the city.

Jiujiang was captured with ease; Yang Fang barely exerted any effort.

The three counties of Ruichang, De'an, and Jianchang that followed spanned dozens of miles. Ruichang County surrendered voluntarily, and the county magistrate personally opened the city gates. In De'an and Jianchang counties, either gentry surrendered the cities, or the yamen runners and soldiers killed officials and rebelled to surrender the cities.

In short, the Han army surrendered cities along the way and divided its forces to march south. In just half a month, they gained two counties for free. Only the Han army in Jianchang County could be considered to have fought a battle. Moreover, the results were shockingly outrageous. In one battle, they wiped out tens of thousands of local militia reinforcements from Nanchang Prefecture and almost killed the puppet Qing's Jiangxi Provincial Governor on the battlefield.

The Han army marched south and captured two counties in succession, and Yang Fang also easily took Nankang Prefecture again.

Like Jiujiang, Ruichang, Jianchang, and De'an, these were all places where gentry and officials voluntarily surrendered their cities. These Jiangxi gentry had really taken surrendering cities to a whole new level.

Because the territory was acquired so quickly, two prefectures and three counties were taken in one fell swoop, and the northwestern half of Poyang Lake was completely occupied by the Han army in a short period of time. This speed has made it difficult for the military instructors to keep up.

These civil instructors all belonged to the military system. Yang Fang asked them to temporarily take over the work of the land distribution officials and preside over the distribution of land to the tenant farmers of the recovered territories. It was necessary to distribute the land, as the Han army was fighting too fast. The logistics and supplies could keep up, but the laborers had to be recruited from the people of Jiangxi.

Therefore, the Han army had to fight while simultaneously distributing land to the people and having them cut their hair and braids to ensure that the occupied territories were basically under the control of the Han Dynasty and to prevent any sudden outbreak of fire in the rear.

This put a strain on the civilian instructors, who were already overwhelmed with work. They could only send a telegram to Jingzhou requesting reinforcements of proper land distribution officials. For the time being, they didn't need to send too many town heads; they should send the land distribution officials who were doing grassroots work first.

With enough officials distributing land to the people of Jiangxi, they would temporarily settle down and become obedient. Then, after a year or two, when they realized that the Han army was highly skilled and the Qing army was no longer able to resist or annihilate them, their hearts would be completely at peace.

There's no way around it. No matter how much trouble the Han army caused in Huguang before, it was still within the Huguang region. Although it was across provinces, Huguang and Hubei were one province for a long time, and even their dialect, "Huguang dialect," facilitated communication.

It's quite different from Jiangxi. The main dialect in Jiangxi is Gan, and only the dialect spoken in the Jiujiang area is the unique Jiujiang dialect, which can barely communicate with the Huguang dialect.

By the time they reached De'an County, the local dialect had become somewhat unfluent, and they still needed the instructor Wen to act as a translator, who then mixed in Mandarin to maintain normal communication.

The Han army conquered Jiujiang and Nankang easily, but it was destined to spend more time governing the region.

The division of land under the supervision of the instructor was the first step for the Han army to gain the trust of the people of Jiangxi.

Yang Fang took the telegram handed to her by staff officer Xia Yongqian and couldn't help but chuckle, "It seems that none of my men are willing to be idle."

This Staff Officer Xia, like the other civil instructors in the Han army, was a top student from the military academy, and was also an important step in the Han army's reform.

Although the civil officials of the Han Dynasty subconsciously believed that this was a brand-new military supervisor established by the King of Han to monitor and restrain the generals in the army, in reality, the staff officers did not directly participate in the generals' military decision-making.

The primary role of these staff officers was to identify and address any shortcomings in the generals' plans, prevent flaws in strategic planning, and, when generals were clearly overwhelmed by their own ideas, to dissuade them from making wrong decisions.

Of course, civil officials are not involved in military affairs; staff officers belong to the military, but they also abide by this rule.

If generals insist on going their own way, staff officers can only offer advice and dissuade them, but cannot bypass their ranks and issue orders to interfere.

Xia Yongqian frowned and said, "This is probably not a good idea. Commanders Fang Jie and Wang Yong want to go south to attack Nanchang Prefecture. This is too risky. They only have four thousand troops in total. After deducting the troops left behind, they can't spare more than half of their forces. They also don't have siege cannons. How are they going to fight?"

Upon hearing this, Yang Fang shook her head and corrected her, "Officer Xia, you're wrong. Fang Jie and Wang Yong were talking about a feigned attack on Nanchang Prefecture in the south to lure the Qing army to its aid, and then taking the opportunity to set up an ambush and surround the city to attack the reinforcements."

Xia Yongqian said, "General, did you not hear me clearly? The Han army heading south only has four thousand men and no cannons. It is too risky to besiege the city and attack the reinforcements. Moreover, why would the Qing army come to the rescue? Nanchang is a large city. Even if our entire army is mobilized, we may not be able to take Nanchang in a short time."

“You’re right.” Yang Fang nodded in agreement, saying, “The Han army’s forces heading south are indeed too small. It will be too difficult for them to take Nanchang Prefecture with such a small force…”

Xia Yongqian said, "Then we should order them to withdraw and defend as soon as possible..."

Yang Fang didn't even give Xia Yongqian a chance to finish speaking before continuing, "Send down the order for the entire army to rest for a day. Inform our naval colleagues that we will break camp and set up camp the day after tomorrow, and join forces with the southward army to attack Nanchang Prefecture."

"..."

Xia Yongqian almost thought he had misheard: "General, that's Nanchang! And if our army marches south like this, what will happen to Nankang and Jiujiang?"

Yang Fang smiled and said, "Don't worry, I will leave a thousand troops in Jiujiang and Nankang respectively. I will not let Jiujiang and Nankang fall into Qing territory after we move south. Even if they do fall, we will know immediately."

Good grief, are they going to split their forces again?

As expected of Yang Fang, a formidable figure who could charge through tens of thousands of White Lotus rebels with just a few cavalrymen. To him, dividing his forces or not made no difference; the Qing army in Jiangxi was already considered trash in his eyes.

It's just a bunch of trash. Even if I only bring half my troops, I can still win.

Yang Fang continued, "Nanchang is the capital of Jiangxi Province. Its high walls and thick fortifications make it difficult to attack. Even if we bring siege cannons south, it won't be easy to take it in a short time. But we know this, while the corrupt officials and Qing troops of the puppet Qing dynasty don't!"

At this point, Yang Fang couldn't help but laugh again: "The Qing army just suffered a major defeat in Jianchang County; even their provincial governor almost died there. Put yourself in their shoes, if you or I were a general on the Qing side, how would we feel?"

Xia Yongqian was not a stubborn person. After thinking for a moment, he said, "If I were a Qing general, or even a puppet Qing provincial governor, I would definitely be traumatized by the army of my Great Han and think that it would be difficult to win in open battle and that only by defending the city could I barely hold on."

Yang Fang nodded: "That's right. When Nanchang Prefecture saw us heading south, they had no choice but to defend the city. Not only have they already lost tens of thousands of troops, but the loss of tens of thousands of people cannot be replenished in a short time. Moreover, that pseudo-Qing governor is still alive. As long as he is alive, Nanchang Prefecture can only retreat. After all, even he, the governor, almost died at the hands of our Han Dynasty. Who would dare to attack?"

Hearing this, Xia Yongqian roughly understood Yang Fang's meaning: "Nanchang will only defend the city, so if our army marches south, we don't need to worry about being surrounded by the Qing army in Nanchang. Moreover, we can use Nanchang as bait to lure Qing troops from all directions to come to Nanchang's aid, because Nanchang is the capital of Jiangxi Province. Once it is captured, the consequences for the puppet Qing officials in Jiangxi will be unbearable."

In this way, the initiative would be completely in the hands of the Han army.

If the Han army marches south and besieges Nanchang Prefecture, and the Qing army comes to its rescue, the Han army can then surround the city and attack the reinforcements, thus eliminating the Qing army's manpower.

As for whether they could win, that goes without saying; the Han army had completely looked down on the Qing troops in Jiangxi.

"But what if the Qing army doesn't dare to come to the rescue, or can't come at all?" Xia Yongqian suddenly asked again.

He wasn't necessarily looking for trouble, because the Han army knew that the Qing army had amassed a large force and was besieging and killing Wang in Ji'an Prefecture, so it was very likely that they wouldn't be able to return for a while.

The Han army wasn't afraid of the Qing army, but if the Qing army didn't come, wouldn't the Han army be a fool, wasting their time in Nanchang? The logistical support for fighting across provinces was no joke. The Han Dynasty was very poor; every penny of the Ministry of Revenue's money and grain, even without any victories, had to be used for land redistribution, governing the people, and consolidating rule, and waste was not tolerated.

Yang Fang suddenly smiled: "If the Qing army doesn't dare to come to the rescue, that's perfect. We'll just launch a direct assault on Nanchang. We've been in Jiangxi for so long, and we haven't fought a decent hard battle yet. It's time to take on a big city, give the soldiers a break, and let the puppet Qing see what's what. War is no child's play!"

Xia Yongqian was initially invigorated, then laughed and said, "Then let's follow the general's plan. If the Qing army comes to rescue Nanchang, our army will surround and attack the reinforcements. If the Qing army is afraid to fight and dares not come, then we will directly launch a strong attack on Nanchang Prefecture."

After chatting for a while, the two quickly agreed on the next strategic plan. Then they sent telegrams to the navy and the two Han armies heading south, instructing them to follow and cooperate in the battle.

Of course, Yang Fang did not forget to send a cross-provincial telegram to Jingzhou, stating that attacking Nanchang Prefecture was already a major military decision and that it must be approved by the King.

Jingzhou received the telegram very quickly.

When Nie Yu first saw the telegram, he thought it was a pipe dream. But when he saw that the proposer was Yang Fang, and a younger version of Yang Fang at that, he was no longer surprised.

The civil servants all vehemently opposed the plan, deeming it utterly outrageous.

The Fifth Division was an incomplete and understaffed unit, with even the division commander not yet officially confirmed. Although Yang Fang had been internally selected, he had not been formally appointed.

For the civil officials, Yang Fang's ability to capture two prefectures in a short period of time was already a remarkable achievement, enough for the king to promote him to commander of the Fifth Division.

Conquering Jiangxi is not something that can be done overnight; it will definitely take time and effort, and there's still a chance it won't be finished. The initial strategic goal is simply to take over northern Jiangxi first; southern Jiangxi can be left for later.

There was absolutely no need to take such a risk; a few thousand people dared to attack Nanchang.

The civil officials argued endlessly about this.

Nie Yu said, "The battlefield is ever-changing. How can everything be guaranteed? If our Great Han rises up, we won't have to risk a single battle. Then we won't have to fight the Qing anymore. We can just wait for fate to automatically kill the Qing chieftain, and our Great Han can take over the country."

After he finished speaking, the civil officials fell silent.

Despite opposition, Nie Yu telegraphed Yang Fang: "Approved. I will redeploy the newly formed Sixth Division to support the battle in Jiangxi. Yang Qing, go ahead and fight."

Nie Yu's decision to let Yang Fang fight freely was not only out of trust in Yang Fang's abilities, but also to use the speed and mobility of the Han army to cover up the Han's logistical disadvantages.

In war, logistics are often the deciding factor. The Han Dynasty's current logistical capabilities are increasingly inferior to those of the Qing Dynasty as it fights further outwards. Therefore, it can only rely on speed to gain a strategic advantage.

To put it simply, as long as I attack fast enough, the pseudo-Qing won't be able to react in time.

Back in Jiangxi.

When Yang Fang received the telegram from Jingzhou, almost all the civil officials opposed him, feeling that he was too radical and too easily broken. On the contrary, the king was strongly supporting him.

This deeply moved him, and he immediately resolved that he must take Nanchang no matter what, otherwise he would be letting down the king's trust.

After resting for only three days in Nankang Prefecture, Yang Fang left behind two thousand Han soldiers to guard the three counties of Jiujiang, Nankang, and Ruichang, ensuring that his retreat would not be cut off or attacked by the Qing army.

Afterwards, Yang Fang personally led his 2,000 Han soldiers south along Poyang Lake, carrying all the siege cannons, ammunition, and supplies.

That afternoon, Yang Fang first arrived at Hebing in Jianchang County.

He wanted to stay on the boat the whole time, but when he arrived at the Gan River, he found that the authorities had made preparations early that morning and the Gan River had been cut off in advance. It was the local fishermen who told him this.

The Ganjiang River is riddled with iron chains and hidden claws; any boat that enters it will inevitably run aground and sink.

When they joined forces at Jianchang County, the Han army's strength in the south successfully increased to more than four thousand men.

Yang Fang acted swiftly, and the following morning, he continued south along the Fengshui River.

Anyi County, located along the Longjiang River, a tributary of the Fengshui River, was terrified.

Although the magistrate of Anyi County also ordered the recruitment of soldiers, he knew what kind of people these local militia were. In fact, he felt that rather than wasting money on useless work, he might as well make a small fortune for himself.

As a result, the Han army actually marched straight south towards him, leaving him with no way to resist.

The counties of De'an and Jianchang are both gone. The provincial governor personally led tens of thousands of local militia, but they were all routed by the Han traitors and almost didn't return. How could his few hundred local militia possibly win?
The magistrate of Anyi County was racking his brains, using his greedy mind, to come up with a solution, when he suddenly became completely baffled.

Where did your brain go?
Of course he was beheaded by his own men!
The magistrate was afraid of death, and so were they. The magistrate dared not surrender for fear of implicating his family, but their families were all in the local area, so what were they afraid of?

The Han army was very aggressive, and I heard that tens of thousands of them came. It goes without saying that we can't win. If we can't win, why would we think of putting up a fight to the death? That would be stupid.

Yang Fang's army marched south and had just reached the Fengshui River and Longjiang Estuary. They were about to cross the river, pass through the Western Hills, and head south to attack Nanchang Prefecture.

He never intended to attack Anyi County. Attacking Anyi County along the way would be a waste of time and might even expose his actual troop strength.

But if he doesn't fight, the other team can come and surrender on their own!

The Han army scouts went out to gather intelligence as usual, and returned in less than half an hour, bringing back several men.

Yang Fang asked in confusion, "Who are these people?"

The scout replied, "They say they've come to surrender the city."

"Dedicate the city?"

(End of this chapter)