The Ming Dynasty: Starting with the border troops, it was overthrown and the Qing Dynasty was destro

Chapter 245 Baoning Prefecture is a good place
With the deaths of Qin Liangyu and her son Ma Xianglin, there was no longer any resistance on the battlefield along the river.

Nearly ten thousand Ming soldiers were either killed or surrendered, and even Hou Liangzhu, who deserted in the face of battle, could not escape the disaster.

After he fled for seven or eight miles, he was caught up by Hong Ming and his men, who hacked him to death on the path.

At present, the last Ming army in Sichuan is Zhang Ling, who is trapped in a city in distress.

As early as when Jiang Han personally led the main force to withdraw from Baoning Prefecture and head south to encircle and annihilate Hou Liangzhu, Zhang Ling keenly noticed that the enemy's offensive had slowed down.

He had repeatedly led his men in attempts to break out, but each time he was driven back.

The three lines of defense that Baoning Prefecture was once proud of have instead become a cage, trapping Zhang Ling's troops and rendering them unable to move.

He once tentatively organized a small team of several hundred people, planning to take rafts down the river and break through by water.

But before the raft had gone a hundred paces, a piercing whistle suddenly rang out from the once-silent river.

Immediately afterwards, dozens of fishing boats of varying sizes surrounded them from all directions, and all the Ming soldiers on the rafts were drowned and fed to the turtles.

If a large contingent of Ming troops were to leave the city, the rebels' cargo ships would arrive carrying cannons and indiscriminately bombard the Ming troops on the shore.

Seeing that the waterway was impassable, Zhang Ling pinned his hopes on Panlong Mountain to the north, attempting to lead his troops out by land.

But Dong Erzhu had been waiting there for a long time.

When the officers and soldiers finally managed to climb the steep ridge of Panlong Mountain, they were greeted by a barrage of rockets fired from both sides of the mountain forest.

It was deep winter, but there was no rain or snow in northern Sichuan, and the weather was dry.

The fire instantly engulfed the entire hilltop, and nearly a thousand soldiers perished in the flames.
Zhang Ling tried everything he could, but still couldn't break through the enemy's defenses.

Meanwhile, Jiang Han had finished cleaning up the battlefield in the south and returned to the city of Baoning.

He threw Hou Liangzhu's head and the general's seal into the city, attempting to undermine the Ming army's will to defend.

Dozens of soldiers with booming voices, carrying tin megaphones and wearing long shields, ran back and forth under the city wall, shouting:
"Listen up, Ming soldiers in the city!"

"General Hou Liangzhu has been executed, and Qin Liangyu from eastern Sichuan has died in battle. You have no more reinforcements!"

"My commander is a benevolent ruler. If you are willing to open the city gates and surrender, all past transgressions will be forgiven!"

"My 30,000 troops are at the city gates. Those who know what's good for them should surrender now! Otherwise, they'll fight like cornered beasts and lose their lives in vain."

Upon hearing the news of the annihilation of the reinforcements, morale in the city plummeted, and many lower-ranking officers and soldiers began to waver.

However, Zhang Ling in the city remained obstinate and vowed never to surrender.

Jiang Han waited for three days, but there was still no response from the city.

Seeing this, Jiang Han decisively ordered a general offensive.

In just half a day, the south gate of Baoning Prefecture was breached.

Covered in blood, Zhang Ling led his personal guards in a desperate retreat, fighting until the last man was left.

Seeing that the situation was hopeless, he immediately leaped off the city wall of Baoning Prefecture, sacrificing his life for his country.

Wu Bangjie, the prefect of Baoning Prefecture, led hundreds of students in a desperate battle, ultimately falling to the ground under a hail of arrows.

Thus, this battle in northern Sichuan, which lasted for nearly half a year, finally came to an end.

From the end of July in the sixth year of Chongzhen's reign until the end of January of the following year, Jiang Han led his troops to capture several cities and kill three Ming generals in battle.

In this battle, more than 10,000 Ming soldiers in Sichuan were annihilated and nearly 3,000 were captured.

His troops suffered fewer than two thousand casualties, most of whom were militiamen who were killed or wounded while attacking the fortified city.

Overall, the troops suffered few casualties in the field battles. Most of the casualties occurred during the final assault on the city, where Zhang Ling and his garrison fought their way through.

Inside the government office of Baoning Prefecture.

Jiang Han was buried in a mountain of official documents and files, his face full of worry.

Just then, a bodyguard rushed in, clasped his hands, and reported:
"General, Zhao Zanhua has arrived."

Upon hearing this news, Jiang Han breathed a sigh of relief.
"Quick! Bring him in!"

He put down his calligraphy brush, stretched, and felt his fatigue lessen somewhat.

Finally, the chief steward who could help him share the burden of government affairs arrived.

Since taking over Baoning Prefecture, Jiang Han has been working tirelessly to integrate this new territory.

Baoning Prefecture is not comparable to Long'an Prefecture.

Longan Prefecture, at most, has only five counties and a population of no more than 100,000.

As the political and economic center of northern Sichuan, Baoning Prefecture governed two prefectures and eight counties, with thousands of villages and hamlets within its borders.

The registered population alone is nearly 300,000!
Faced with such a vast and densely populated region, even if Jiang Han had three heads and six arms, he wouldn't be able to handle it all.

Therefore, as soon as he captured Baoning Prefecture, he immediately sent a message, ordering Zhao Sheng, who was in charge of the garrison, to bring the entire administrative team to Baoning Prefecture at full speed.

"Congratulations, Commander! Congratulations, Commander!"

Before he arrived, his voice preceded his entrance; Zhao Sheng strode into the hall, beaming with pride.

"In this battle, the main force of the Ming army in Sichuan was wiped out, and the general's foundation can be established!"

As soon as Zhao Sheng entered, he started flattering him.

Jiang Han simply smiled and waved his hand:

"It was all by chance, thanks to the bravery of my soldiers."

He pointed to the mountain of bamboo slips and scrolls piled up inside the room and sighed:

"There's so much work to do that it could kill you. If you don't come soon, my office will be overwhelmed by all these documents and files."

"I'd rather fight a few more battles than touch this stuff again."

"You've come at the right time; these tasks are all yours."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Sheng's expression turned solemn, and he immediately clasped his hands in a fist salute and said:
"Please give your orders, Commander."

Jiang Han pulled a piece of paper from the table and handed it to Zhao Sheng:

"Military victory is only the first step."

"Next, we need to digest Baoning Prefecture as soon as possible and turn it into our base."

"Take a look, this is a list I recently made." "Next, just follow these steps one by one."

Zhao Sheng nodded and took the letter from Jiang Han with both hands.

The document was covered with densely written work arrangements for the next few months.

Spring is just around the corner.

While Zhao Sheng was looking at it, Jiang Han explained,

"The most important thing now is to distribute the land."

"We were the royal army that invaded under the banner of 'equal land distribution and tax exemption'."

"Right now, the hundreds of thousands of people in Baoning Prefecture are all watching with bated breath."

"We must never break our promises."

"Your next task is to focus on the land redistribution. Make sure it's done perfectly, without any mistakes."

This is quite a lot of work.

Just as Zhao Sheng was about to speak, Jiang Han added,
"As for the manpower issue, I'll figure something out."

“Baoning Prefecture has a thriving literary culture, with many gentry and scholars in the city. I will find a way to identify and win over a group of them.”

“Let’s split up. I’ll lead the troops first and plow through all the disobedient stubborn ones and wicked parasites.”

"You can handle the rest; it will be much easier then."

But Zhao Sheng frowned upon hearing this:

"General, Baoning Prefecture is not like other places."

"As far as I know, there are quite a few people in the city who have achieved the academic degree of Juren or Jinshi."

"Now that we're a local government, shouldn't we adopt a more conciliatory approach and try to win these people over?"

“If we continue to use the same old, crude methods, I’m worried that these people will hold a grudge and stab us in the back in the back later.”

Upon hearing this, Jiang Han waved his hand dismissively:

"It's alright. I know these gentry better than you do."

"This group of people are the most bullying of the weak and the most cowardly. With a knife to their throats, it would be no problem to make them hand over the land, let alone shave their heads and change their clothes."

"Right now, there are no organized Ming troops left in the entire Sichuan region. The tough scholars have long since died on the battlefield."

"The rest are all cowards who are afraid of death."

"As long as we have a strong enough weapon and maintain military victories, these people will not dare to have any disloyal thoughts."

As he spoke, Jiang Han unfolded a map and beckoned Zhao Sheng closer:
"Look, we have now taken over Baoning Prefecture."

"I have control over the Jinniu, Micang, and Lizhi roads that lead south from Hanzhong into Sichuan."

"The Ming army in the Hanzhong area no longer has any possibility of entering Sichuan by land."

“And to the east of Baoning Prefecture is Kuizhou Prefecture.”

Jiang Han's finger traced the Jialing River eastward, finally landing on the Yangtze River.

"My plan is to first send troops to Kuizhou Prefecture."

"As long as we hold the three natural barriers of Qutang Gorge, Wu Gorge and Xiling Gorge on the Yangtze River, the Ming army in Huguang will no longer be able to advance into Sichuan in large numbers and will only be able to take the small paths of Bashan."

Zhao Sheng nodded after reading it. He couldn't get involved in military matters, but he could offer some suggestions on political affairs.

"General, I came all the way from Long'an Prefecture and found that Baoning Prefecture is covered with a dense network of waterways, and the Jialing River runs through the prefecture, connecting the north and south."

"Could we make something of this waterway?"

"For example, building a navy?"

"If we advance by both water and land, we can probably take Kuizhou Prefecture even faster."

But Jiang Han shook his head after hearing this and immediately rejected the idea:

"A true navy, from shipbuilding and training to forming combat capability, cannot be discussed without several years of effort."

"The navy is an absolute money-devouring beast, and with our current resources, we are probably still not up to the task."

"Besides, the main force of the Ming army in Sichuan has been completely annihilated by us."

"The rest are just some garrison troops holed up in the city."

"To deal with them, all we need are the Hongyi cannons; a navy would be far too extravagant."

Seeing that Zhao Sheng was somewhat discouraged, Jiang Han changed the subject and suggested a compromise:

"However, your thinking is correct; we must keep the waterways under our control."

"We can start by forming a few water transport fleets, which will be both commercial and military, using commerce to support the war effort."

"Firstly, it can earn money and food; secondly, it can also be used to train and reserve naval personnel."

Jiang Han pointed to the map and explained,

“Baoning Prefecture is not only the granary of northern Sichuan, but also the major tea-producing areas of Bazhou and Tongjiang in the east.”

"Locally produced border tea is a valuable commodity in the tribes of Songpanwei."

"In addition, farmers in Langzhong, Cangxi and other places generally raise silkworms, so the raw silk and silk fabrics here are of excellent quality."

"There are also many small dyeing workshops and troweling workshops inside and outside the city, and Shu brocade is the best in the world."

"besides,"

Jiang Han smiled and pointed to Langzhong, the prefectural city.

"I've heard that Baoning vinegar here is a famous product with a history of hundreds of years."

“Those merchant groups that frequently travel between Sichuan and Shaanxi really like this stuff.”

"As long as these resources are integrated, building a navy or raising elite troops will be a piece of cake."

　I got home a little late today, sorry.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)