There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 307 Anqing's Dilemma
While the Han dynasty was enjoying great success in Jingzhou, neighboring Anqing was facing an impending storm.

Since February, the Han army has officially mobilized its troops. Although Bai Nan's Second Division only has 6,000 men, its advance has been remarkably rapid.

In less than a month, they successively captured Taihu, Qianshan, and Wangjiang counties, basically all for free.

The magistrate of Taihu County surrendered voluntarily, the magistrate of Wangjiang County simply fled, and the remaining civil officials had no choice but to surrender. The magistrate of Qianshan County, who had a little backbone, still had the Qianshan Battalion under his command, but he did not resist at all. As soon as the Han army arrived, he committed suicide to inform the Qing Dynasty.

Fortunately, Anqing was the capital of Anhui Province, and the Anhui governor, Zhu Gui, despite his advanced age, personally sat on the city tower to boost morale.

Meanwhile, in the previous Battle of Hukou, the Jiangnan Admiral Wang Bing and Langshan General Chen Anbang, who had broken through and escaped, had led their remaining personal guards to retreat to Chizhou Prefecture.

Zhu Gui learned that the Qing army had suffered a major defeat in the Battle of Hukou, the Governor-General of Liangjiang had been killed in battle, and the entire army of 100,000 had been wiped out.

Although he was furious and cursed Li Fenghan as an idiot three times, for the sake of the overall situation and to prevent the situation in Jiangnan from deteriorating further, he could only tacitly allow the two to atone for their crimes through meritorious service.

First, defend Chizhou City and resist the Han bandits in Jiujiang who will pursue their victory and then march north along Chizhou to attack Anqing from both sides.

Because Zhu Gui defended the city fiercely, Bai Nan attacked twice but failed to capture it, so he stopped his offensive and instead besieged the city.

The siege has now lasted for nearly half a month.

"Well, has the Han traitor made any move today?" Zhu Gui, dressed in the official robes of a governor, asked the soldiers on guard duty as he routinely inspected the city walls.

"Reporting to your Excellency, the Han traitors have not made any moves for the time being," the soldier hurriedly knelt down and replied.

Zhu Gui nodded slightly, looking out of the city. The Han army camp stretched out in a dense, dark mass, though it wasn't very long. Judging from the size of the camp, the Han army numbered no more than ten thousand.

Meanwhile, the garrison in Anqing has already raised at least 20,000 troops.

Even if we don't say we have the advantage, we can still defend the city without worry, with 20,000 troops fighting against 10,000.

Zhu Gui was still deeply worried about this. Although he was not good at fighting, he was well-read and had some knowledge of military strategy. He knew the principle that prolonged defense would inevitably lead to defeat.

Even though Anqing City still had plenty of money and grain, it couldn't withstand the decline in morale.

Zhu Gui observed for a moment, then returned to the city tower and summoned several officers guarding the city.

Of the more than 20,000 troops garrisoning Anqing Prefecture, 99% were local militia, and their combat strength was so weak as to be negligible.

Zhu Gui's only truly combat-ready troops were his own left and right battalions of the Fu Biao, the left and right auxiliary battalions of Anqing, and the Liu'an battalion that had marched south.

The total number of people was less than two thousand, and they still had to be sent out to command more than 20,000 local militia, so the pressure was immense.

"Commander-in-Chief!" Several officers guarding the city bowed in unison.

Zhu Gui said, "The Han rebel army has been besieging the city for nearly half a month. Although Anqing is temporarily safe, it will surely fall if it is held for too long. You are all commanders, and you certainly know more than I, a mere scholar. Do you have any strategies to harass and encourage the enemy?"

Zhu Gui had already put it very tactfully. He didn't expect these few people to have any strategies to repel the enemy. He only hoped that they could harass the Han army a little and boost the morale of his own troops. He couldn't just hold out indefinitely.

Upon hearing Zhu Gui's question, the Qing army officers exchanged bewildered glances. They were already struggling to defend the city, let alone be tasked with harassing the enemy and boosting morale.
Zhao Dashan, the commander of the Liuan Battalion, couldn't help but say, "General, although our army has 20,000 troops defending the city, far exceeding the Han rebel army outside the city, this is not how we fight. Although the Han rebels are few in number, their past record shows they are extremely fierce. Even our troops cannot guarantee a victory. Moreover, these 20,000-plus soldiers are mostly brave, but they have only been trained for a few months, and their combat effectiveness is even more worrying. They can barely defend the city, let alone launch any raids outside the city. Once they go out into the field to fight, these local militia will surely collapse!"

It may sound blunt, but it's all the truth.

These officers had figured out Zhu Gui's temperament and knew that as long as they told the truth, he wouldn't blame or punish them arbitrarily.

Zhu Gui sighed helplessly: "I know that these 20,000 local militia are not of much use, but there are less than 2,000 men in Anqing who are capable of fighting. If we do not use the local militia, Anqing will probably have fallen on the very first day the Han rebels' army arrived."

He paused, then suddenly said with a solemn expression, "The imperial court cannot afford to lose this battle, nor can the Qing Dynasty. Governor Li has already died on the battlefield, and the situation in Jiangxi is beyond saving. If Anqing is lost, half of Jiangnan will be plunged into utter ruin."

"I hereby assure you all that I will not leave the city tower even a single step before the city falls!"

Upon hearing this, the Qing generals were all shaken.

Commander Zhao of the Liuan Battalion immediately bowed and clasped his hands in greeting: "We have no choice but to fight to the death!"

"The only way is to fight to the death!"

The others quickly reacted and bowed in greeting. Satisfied by this encouraging gesture, Zhu then continued his discussion with the officers.

After much discussion, no good solution was found.

Even a skilled cook can't cook without rice; the Qing army simply lacked sufficient manpower and combat skills.

Although the army appeared to be 20,000 strong, in reality, less than 2,000 were regular soldiers capable of fighting. Even among these 2,000 Qing soldiers, the fighting strength was uneven, mainly due to the serious problem of soldiers receiving salaries without working.

The situation in the southwestern part of Hubei is somewhat better, as there are frequent Miao uprisings there, but even so, it is only slightly better.

If no one was actually receiving salaries without working, the White Lotus Rebellion in history wouldn't have lasted ten years, with countless local generals, captains, and lieutenants dying in battle, and even several admirals losing their lives.

In places where wars are frequent, the problem of embezzlement of salaries without working is so serious, let alone in the Jiangnan region, which is a peaceful and prosperous place where wars are almost non-existent.

After much discussion, the Qing generals unanimously agreed that defending the city should be the priority. Going out to fight would be suicide, and they could not defeat the Han traitors. The best course of action was to hold the city and wait for reinforcements.

Although Zhu Gui was deeply worried, he had no choice but to send another messenger out of the city to ask for help.

At this very moment, the army of Li Changgui, the general of Shouchun, had just arrived in Luzhou Prefecture.

This guy was also confused. Just a month ago, the Han army in Susong County numbered only two thousand, which could only be considered a detachment of the Han army, and at most it was there to contain the Qing army in Anhui.

How come in less than a month, the Han army suddenly marched all the way from Susong County to Anqing Prefecture and even besieged the city of Anqing?

To be on the safe side, Zhu Gui sent a messenger to Shouzhou seeking reinforcements without revealing the news of the Governor-General of Liangjiang's major defeat at Jiujiang. Instead, he kept urging Li Changgui's Shouchun garrison to rush south to provide assistance.

Li Changgui, unaware of the situation, still believed that the Governor-General of Liangjiang's 100,000-strong army was still there. So, although he led the main force of Shouchun Town south, the march was very slow. It took him more than half a month to travel a distance of less than 200 li, and he had only just arrived at Luzhou Prefecture.

Li Changgui's thinking was simple. He knew that after several years of receiving salaries without working, his troops were far from being fully staffed, and their combat effectiveness was questionable. He had no confidence in fighting the fierce Han bandits. Even when there was only a 2,000-strong Han bandit detachment in Susong County, he dared not attack, instead using the excuse of guarding against the White Lotus Rebellion in Henan to shirk his duty.

Now that the Governor-General of Liangjiang is in the south, we can wait for his army to return north to provide reinforcements.

With Anqing Prefecture besieged, the governor-general certainly wouldn't sit idly by, so he marched his troops at a snail's pace, trying to avoid fighting if possible.

Zhu Gui never expected that the reinforcements he had placed such high hopes on were still slowly making their way south from Luzhou Prefecture, and wouldn't reach Anqing Prefecture in less than half a month.

Anqing Prefecture might be able to hold out for half a month, but the merchants in the city would soon be overwhelmed.

In Anqing, several businessmen are secretly making arrangements.

The businessman who led the effort was named Wang Yu. He was the first to speak, saying, "When two armies clash, the people suffer!"

A middle-aged businessman also said, "We can't wait any longer. If we keep waiting, who knows when we'll be able to finish this fight."

Another merchant quickly shook his head: "But the government also said that the Han rebels' besieging army is only 10,000 men, while the city's garrison exceeds 20,000. In addition, Anqing has ample money and food supplies, so the Han rebels will probably have a hard time taking Anqing."

The middle-aged merchant scoffed, "You believe that? If they really can't take the city, why don't the government troops, who have the advantage, just go out of the city and engage the rebels? Instead, they can only defend to the death. In the end, they just can't win."

Another portly merchant seized the opportunity to interject: "Gentlemen, it doesn't really matter who wins. The key is that this war is bound to be protracted, and if it turns into a tug-of-war, our losses will be enormous. After all, the government has already begun confiscating our grain and salt. If the fighting drags on for too long, the consequences will be unimaginable!"

The fat merchant's words hit the nail on the head: they didn't care who won; the key was that no matter who won, the battle would definitely drag on for a long time.

As merchants, they are not afraid of war, but they are afraid of war lasting too long, which would prevent them from doing business, and even cause the government to rob them of their money and goods.

In the current situation, between the Han traitors and the government, the Han traitors clearly have a greater chance of winning.

Moreover, I've heard that the Han traitors treat merchants very well and have even introduced new laws and policies to encourage commerce.

After a brief deliberation, these merchants decided to support the Han traitors—no, they should say the mighty Han army.

The world has descended into chaos, with rebels everywhere. Battle reports can deceive the people, but the prices of grain cannot deceive the merchants.

It seems the Qing Dynasty is about to collapse; they should hurry and find a rebel to board the ship first.

(End of this chapter)