There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 77: Fifty Thousand Qing Troops? (Photos)

Huarong County was captured by the Han army, and Yuezhou City was in danger. The second half of the sentence is of course nonsense, but the first half is true.

After receiving the news, Xing Zhao had no choice but to send troops in advance.

Originally, he planned to recruit Fu Zhi first, and then wait until summer to mobilize troops. This way it would not be too urgent and he could also cooperate with Hui Ling in Hubei.

But he couldn't care less now. The rebels had already invaded Yuezhou Prefecture. This was no longer a problem for Hubei Province alone. If the White Lotus rebels were allowed to wreak havoc in the two provinces, he, the general of Jingzhou, would be to blame.

Xing Zhao quickly appointed Fu Zhina, the general of Zhenxiang, as the main general to suppress the bandits. The 1500 Zhenxiang soldiers he brought with him were all incorporated into the main force of the army to suppress the bandits. He also transferred 2000 people from the 1000 Manchu soldiers under his command in Jingzhou and incorporated them into Fu Zhina's army. Then there were more than 1000 anti-Miao garrison troops in Changde Prefecture, plus more than 1000 militiamen organized by gentry, and more than 2000 young and strong civilians who transported grain. In addition, 20 cannons were transferred from the treasury for equipment.

This military deployment is even more magnificent than the one used by the Qing army against the White Lotus Sect in history.

It's not the conclusion of any world line. It's simply that the White Lotus Rebellion started too late and the Qing army couldn't spare any manpower. Moreover, the White Lotus Rebellion was making trouble in Hubei after all, while the Han army had fought its way out of Hubei. This was a big mistake and a heavy blow had to be taken.

Jingzhou, the general's residence.

A secretary in charge of reporting urgent military intelligence to foreign countries came running into the hall, holding an urgent military report in his hand: "General! General, this is bad! An urgent military report has arrived from Huarong County. The Qing army is attacking, and they have dispatched a full 50,000 troops!"

After hearing the secretary's urgent report, all the officials in the General's Mansion were shocked. Even the military generals including Chen Younian and Xu Sanlang were a little confused.

Nie Yu saw it all and practically yelled, "What a rush! What nonsense! There are only 100,000 Qing troops in the entire Hunan province, no more. They also have to suppress the Miao people in Yongsui. How can they spare 50,000 troops to fight us? Even if they could, without Hubei's granaries, those Hunanese officials wouldn't be able to raise enough food and fodder for 50,000 troops even if they sold all their ditches!"

"Hahahaha!"

Chen Younian laughed almost subconsciously.

After laughing, he realized that everyone was looking at him, so he quickly stopped laughing.

This time, none of the civil servants present thought that Chen Younian was rude. Instead, his smile instantly dispelled their fear and panic.

If you think about it carefully, what the general said makes sense!

There are only 100,000 Qing troops in Hunan, no more. They haven't even got the seedlings, so where can they draw 50,000 troops to fight them? Even if they can, they definitely can't get the food.

Huguang is the granary of the world, but Hubei is the main focus. Most of Hunan is mountainous and barbaric, and the food supply is at best self-sufficient. Let alone an army of 100,000, it is difficult to feed an army of 10,000.

Feng Xiuyong, the Han army's undisputed top strategist, was the first to speak. "General," he said, "the Hunan Qing army has gathered heavy troops from seven provinces, but combined they only have a hundred thousand men. If you also count the young and strong civilians transporting food, the combat strength is only about seventy to eighty thousand at most. These seventy to eighty thousand are now gathered in Yongsui and Qianzhou, facing off against the Miao people."

"If they were to mobilize 50,000 troops to attack our Jingzhou, without an imperial decree and a veteran of the Eight Banners like Fu Kang'an to command, the imperial court... the pseudo-Qing chieftains wouldn't be reassured. And the pseudo-Qing only has one Fu Kang'an, who is too busy to handle everything. Furthermore, we've already made an agreement with Hubei Governor Hui Ling, so he won't cause trouble for us."

"So, let alone whether the Qing army has 50,000 soldiers, it's hard to say even 10,000!"

After this analysis, everyone actually felt that it made sense.

This is not some ancient costume drama. Hundreds of thousands or even millions of troops are involved in battles. It is almost impossible to provide food and labor for so many troops. A war will at least set back the country's strength by decades or even hundreds of years. It is impossible to fight a war unless the country is about to be destroyed.

Therefore, any conventional war that can mobilize tens of thousands of troops is considered a large-scale battle.

The Qing army mobilized heavy troops from seven provinces to encircle and suppress the Miao uprising, and also dispatched generals like Fu Kang'an. However, in the end, there were only less than 100,000 regular troops participating in the war. This shows the scale of the war.

One hundred thousand troops were close to one-fifth of the Qing army's regular army, and could be considered a particularly large-scale battle.

The White Lotus Rebellion that followed was able to paralyze the Qing Dynasty because the number of troops involved in the war reached over a million. If it were not for the compromise between the Manchu nobles and the Han landlords, and the fact that Emperor Jiaqing was easy to control (needless to say about Emperor Renzong), the Qing Dynasty might have been doomed.

Jiangling County Magistrate Wei Yao interjected, "So, the 50,000 troops must be a Qing feint. But if not 50,000, there must be at least 10,000. Our forces are now scattered. Even if we mobilize the troops left behind in the prefectural capital, we can only muster 6,000 to 7,000 men. We should not engage the Qing army in a field battle. We should abandon Huarong County and withdraw our forces to lure the Qing army into an attack!"

Regent Chen Xinghuai immediately retorted, "The Qing army is advancing with such force, boasting a force of 50,000, that our morale will inevitably be affected. If we abandon the city now, we will only weaken the enemy and our army will undoubtedly be defeated!"

"But if we don't avoid the enemy's sharp edge, how can we fight with six thousand against ten thousand?"

"Our army is well-trained and well-fed, while the Qing army has traveled a long way. The best strategy is to avoid battle first and then find an opportunity to defeat the enemy."

"How can there be so many best strategies? If we retreat now, who can guarantee what will happen in the future?"

"..."

For a moment, the civil officials quarreled fiercely, and even the military generals who came to the meeting joined in.

Most civil officials advocated avoiding war and protecting themselves, which was safer, while military generals believed that they should take the initiative to fight. After all, there were only 10,000 Qing troops, and it was not impossible to fight.

"enough!"

Nie Yu shouted angrily, and the civil and military officials who were still arguing immediately shut up and apologized in unison.

"General, please forgive me!"

"..."

Nie Yu had a headache. His foundation was still too shallow. It would be great if he could strengthen his wings in less than a year.

A makeshift team is still a makeshift team after all. The territory is too small, and the time is too short. Loyalty cannot be cultivated so quickly. The slightest unfavorable situation may lead to a fire in the backyard. Fortunately, the Secretariat is relatively calm. Few people support retreating. Instead, they stand on the same front as the generals, believing that the Han army should take the initiative to fight, or at least fight first.

The scene was silent for a while.

"Cough cough!"

Nie Yu coughed twice to break the silence.

Feng Xiuyong immediately said, "General, I have something to say, but I'm not sure if I should say it or not."

"If you have to fart, do it quickly." Nie Yu said unhappily.

Feng Xiuyong asked solemnly, "General, do you want to conquer the world, or do you just want to establish your own territory and become the Yelang Kingdom?"

"Mr. Feng, don't beat around the bush. What exactly do you want to say? Nie Yu asked.

Feng Xiuyong replied, "General, you have no way out."

"Why?" Nie Yu continued to ask. He wanted to hear what Feng Xiuyong could come up with.

Feng Xiuyong said in a deep voice, "General, do you still remember the name our army was originally given—the Great Han Army? This represents the righteous cause of overthrowing the Qing Dynasty and restoring the Han people, and restoring China. In fact, our army could also be called not "Anti-Qing and Restoring the Han", but the most general "Anti-Qing and Restoring the Ming Dynasty", or even the "Vacuum Homeland" of the White Lotus Sect. In fact, any of these can be true, as they all represent the banner of anti-Qing!"

"Whether it's anti-Qing and restoration of the Han, anti-Qing and restoration of the Ming, or simply the White Lotus Sect, none of them can be tolerated by the pseudo-Qing. We want to overthrow their Manchu Eight Banners rule, so that they can no longer use the Han people as slaves and enjoy the Han people's iron crops..."

There is no need to say more about what happened next. The officials present are not really stupid, and they can naturally hear what Feng Xiuyong wants to say.

The Qing Dynasty would not sit idly by and watch the Han army and the White Lotus Sect grow stronger in Hubei. If they retreat now, it would only allow the Qing Dynasty's reinforcements to continue to invade Jingzhou Prefecture.

By then, the morale of the Han army will be low, the manpower and food supplies will be limited, and Jingzhou Prefecture will have become a battlefield. The Han army will have no chance to fight out, let alone fight for the world.

After Feng Xiuyong's explanation and analysis, he finally made the civil and military officials present understand that they must not voluntarily withdraw their troops. If they withdraw now, they will never have the chance to leave Jingzhou again.

Wei Yao twirled his beard and said hesitantly, "If we don't withdraw, do we really have to mobilize all our troops for a decisive battle with the Qing army in Yuezhou? What if..."

Before Feng Xiuyong could speak, Chen Xinghuai bowed and said, "General, Secretary Feng is right. This battle is related to the life and death of our Han army. We should take the initiative to attack instead of defend!"

Nie Yu was not a timid person and made a decision immediately.

"Chen Younian, Xu Sanlang!"

"The general is here!"

The two of them responded quickly.

Nie Yu issued a military order: "Pass on my order, assemble the army, and follow me south. Since the Qing dogs can mobilize 50,000 troops in Hunan, it would be too disrespectful to the Qing dogs if we don't eat them all!"

"Order!"

Chen Younian and Xu Sanlang's faces were immediately filled with excitement.

Chen Xinghuai also couldn't help but step forward and said: "General, I am willing to serve as an advisor to the army!"

"You stay. I need you to assist my father in handling the affairs in Jingzhou City."

Nie Yu shook his head and said, "Mr. Feng, you and the Secretariat will select a few people to accompany me south for advisory services."

"Yes."

Feng Xiuyong understood and bowed.

In this way, the decision to march south to fight was finalized, and General Nie Yu would lead the army in person.

There is no other way. If he doesn’t go in person this time, will he ask other generals to do it for him?

Are you really not afraid of being sidelined?
Moreover, only if he personally leads the army to war can he control the generals and officers under him, achieve unified command, and calm the morale of the army so that the army will not be in chaos before the battle even starts.

The 50,000-strong army was said to be fake, but Nie Yu actually had no idea. History had really changed beyond recognition, and he could no longer use it as a reference.

What I said before was so certain, it was also to reassure the people below. If I am not calm, how can I expect my subordinates to be calm as well? If both the superiors and the subordinates are afraid, then there is no need to fight the war. Just clean your necks and prepare to chop off your heads!
Nie Yu spent several days handing over all the affairs of the provincial capital to his father Nie Jieren, and only brought a few secretaries with him to serve as military advisers.

The Han army that marched south included the two groups of Chen Younian and Xu Sanlang who stayed behind in Jingzhou, with a total of more than 4000 soldiers, as well as 1000 personal soldiers from his own group. Another 1000 personal soldiers were stationed in Jingzhou, and for the time being they were all under the command of his father Nie Jieren, just in case.

Two artillery battalions and a grenadier battalion were also taken away by Nie Yu. They had already started to use real cannons and sugar grenades.

This is also the big gift that Nie Yu wants to prepare for the Qing army. With these two secret weapons, even if the Qing army really sends out 50,000 troops, he can ensure that the main force can retreat safely.

This time going south, the advantage lies with Han!
(End of this chapter)