There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 265: Surprised
Before the battle even began, the commander-in-chief fainted.

Ye Hekan finally managed to revive Zhang Chengji, but the first thing this puppet Qing governor did upon waking was to ask him to quickly find Liu Ding so they could discuss how to defend the city.

Ye Hekan was somewhat bewildered. The Han traitors hadn't even attacked yet, and they were already preparing for a siege.

Ye Hekan could only remind him: "General, Linjiang Prefecture still has 20,000 troops, and Ruizhou, Yuanzhou, and Fuzhou are also recruiting soldiers according to orders. As long as you can give the order, the four prefectures can gather at least 50,000 troops. The Han rebels have gone on a long expedition, and the rebel army they brought will not be too large. We can take the initiative to attack and catch the Han rebels off guard!"

After saying this, Zhang Chengji looked at Ye Hekan as if he were a fool.

Zhang Chengji had thought the same way before, believing that with his tens of thousands of troops marching north, he could at least drive away the Han traitors, if not defeat them.

As a result, the three thousand Han rebels routed his thirty thousand troops, leaving them in utter disarray and nearly preventing his own return.

Zhang Chengji was utterly terrified. This Han traitor was too capable and too fierce to be suppressed by ordinary local militias, and even the local Green Standard Army would have a hard time. It was necessary to mobilize the real elite troops.

Seeing that Zhang Chengji remained silent, Ye Hekan assumed he was cowardly and afraid to fight. He then earnestly advised, "General, you must understand that the Han rebels are different from the Ji'an rebels. The Ji'an rebels are weak, and even if Ji'an Prefecture falls temporarily, it won't be a big deal. But the Han rebels are powerful. If Ji'an Prefecture falls into their hands, then southern Jiangxi will be connected with the Han rebels' two lakes region. At that time, I'm afraid the entire province of Jiangxi will be unable to protect itself. I urge you, General, to make a decision as soon as possible!"

Having said all that, Liu Ding could only explain, "Prefect Ye, you may not know this, but these Han bandits are indeed exceptionally fierce. Although Linjiang Prefecture still has 20,000 troops, these 20,000 are all local militia. They haven't been trained long enough to even understand commands, let alone fight on the battlefield. If we were to force a war against the Han bandits, we would only suffer a crushing defeat. The only correct course of action is to defend the city as proposed by the governor, resist step by step, and wear down the Han bandits' strength and morale."

Ye Hekan was speechless. They were the government troops, and the Han traitors were the rebels, but now they were the ones defending the city and resisting the Han traitors' attacks step by step.

Who the hell are these government soldiers and who are the rebels?

Ye Hekan frowned, still unwilling to give up: "General Liu, we have a full 50,000 troops at our disposal. If we spare no effort, we can recruit tens of thousands more local militia to make up a 100,000-strong army. Even if the local militia are weak, surely a 100,000-strong army can defeat the Han traitors?"

Is this about the size of the army?
This is clearly a problem of morale and fighting spirit. The local militia can no longer be described as having low combat strength; they are completely devoid of any fighting ability.

Even if they could actually muster 100,000 local militia to fight the Han traitors, the slightest mistake on the battlefield could lead to the terrifying rout of such a massive army.

Moreover, while a local militia of 100,000 men might not be able to fight, they certainly have an excellent appetite.

With so many local militia troops, the sheer consumption of food and supplies alone would be enough to wear them down.

Liu Ding was at a loss for words, because Ye Hekan on the other side was clearly ignorant of military affairs, just like Zhang Chengji in front of him. Both of them were armchair strategists, and even less knowledgeable than armchair strategists.

"Alright, my mind is made up!" Zhang Chengji didn't give Ye Hekan a chance to say anything more, and immediately made the decision, "Prefect Ye, you will immediately lead all the officials of Linjiang Prefecture to prepare the supplies for defending the city. Commander Liu, I hereby order you to be fully responsible for the defense of Linjiang Prefecture, and there must be no mistakes!"

This guy was completely terrified of the Han army, and no matter how eloquently Ye Hekan spoke, he had no intention of listening to his opinions.

"The general will obey the order!"

"...Your subordinate obeys!"

……

Xiajiang County.

The county is located on the west bank of the Gan River, and it is also the border county between Linjiang and Ji'an prefectures. If the Han army of Ji'an Prefecture wants to advance north along the Gan River, the first battle they must take is to open up Xiajiang County.

"My lord, a traitor to the Han, a traitor to the Han!" The registrar of Xiajiang was filled with terror as he lay on the city wall, looking at the tens of thousands of Han soldiers outside the city.

The magistrate of Xiajiang County was equally pale. He had only heard a few days ago about the upheaval in Ji'an Prefecture. The bandit leader, Sha Jinwang, had been driven away, and now a Han bandit, even more feared in Jiangxi, had arrived. Good heavens, he couldn't even stop Sha Jinwang, the bandit leader of Ji'an, and could only request the prefect and governor to send troops to rescue him.

Before the reinforcements arrived, the Han traitors' army came first.

The Han army that marched north had a total strength of about 10,000, of which only 4,000 were regular soldiers and the remaining 6,000 were militia.

However, the fighting strength of the Han army militia far surpassed that of the Qing army's local militia, and they were even able to overpower the previous Jiangxi Green Standard Army.

Looking at the tens of thousands of Han soldiers outside the city, which were already equal to the population of Xiajiang County, what was the point of fighting?

While the magistrate of Xiajiang County was still in a daze, the registrar next to him couldn't help but urge him, "Sir, sir, what should we do? This is a Han traitor, a Han traitor that even the governor couldn't defeat."

The magistrate of Xiajiang County was annoyed by the commotion, but he had no choice but to offer some reassurance: "Don't worry, I sent a messenger to the prefectural city a few days ago to request reinforcements. I estimate that the reinforcements from the prefectural city are already on their way. You all should immediately make arrangements to have your subordinates prepare supplies for the defense of the city. Although Xiajiang is just a county town, we can hold out for a few days if we hold on to our lives. Once the reinforcements arrive, the Han rebel army can be wiped out in the blink of an eye!"

"I see. Your wisdom and foresight are truly admirable!"

The clerk believed him and, while praising the lord's insightful opinion, hurriedly withdrew to arrange for his subordinates to prepare for the defense of the city.

After the registrar left, the magistrate of Xiajiang County continued to pretend to inspect the city wall for half an hour, and then immediately jogged down the city wall and returned to the back residence of the county government.

The magistrate packed up his silver notes and valuables accumulated through years of embezzlement, neglecting even his concubine and son born locally. He disguised himself and sneaked out of the city under cover of night.

The next day at dawn, Chen Younian was methodically organizing laborers to fill in the moat when suddenly the city gates opened wide, and the registrar and clerk, along with two groups of yamen runners and their subordinates, surrendered the city.

"I haven't even laid a hand on you yet, and you've already surrendered. At least let's have a real fight first!"

Chen Younian was speechless. He had done nothing in his first battle on the northward journey along the river, but had gained a county town for nothing.

Including the entire territory of Ji'an Prefecture that was taken earlier, it's practically like getting eleven cities for free, plus one prefectural city.

He was credited with all his military achievements, but he didn't fight a single battle.

Xiajiang County was taken over by the Han army, and the officials were not replaced for the time being, remaining in their original positions.

Chen Younian only sent one civil instructor to stay behind to guard the city, and left five hundred militiamen to assist in the defense.

The remaining 10,000 Han troops continued northward along the river, covering more than 30 li in half a day.

The magistrate of Xingan County was stunned when he received the news. This guy was even more decisive than the magistrate of Xiajiang County. While the magistrate ran away with the silver notes, he personally led his officials to open the city gates and surrender.

The magistrate of Xingan County was quite assertive and even tried to reprimand the county magistrate for guarding the city. Before he could say more than a few words, the county magistrate sent men to arrest him.

Thus, the two counties along the Gan River in the southern part of Linjiang Prefecture fell within three days, leaving only Xinyu County in western Yuanjiang and the city of Linjiang Prefecture still standing.

The speed at which they seized territory was so fast that Zhang Chengji and Liu Ding in Linjiang Prefecture hadn't even had time to react before the Han army was already at the city gates.

(End of this chapter)