With 100,000 elite soldiers at the start, what should you call me?

……

Ningyang City, Zhangzhou Prefecture.

Li Chengdong led his army slowly towards Jianning Prefecture. The journey was unimpeded, and many righteous troops joined them, making the army stronger.

However, this also made the composition of the troops complex, chaotic and difficult to control. The soldiers were unrestrained, and several cases of rape and looting had already occurred.

However, Li Chengdong only verbally reprimanded them and did not pursue the matter further, which made his subordinates even more unscrupulous.

The people who had originally welcomed the royal army with food and drink were all too afraid to go out and hid when they heard that Li Chengdong's troops were coming.

But Li Chengdong didn't care about any of that; he paid every penny of the grain due.

Compared to these trivial matters, Li Chengdong is now more concerned with how to defeat Zheng's army.

"What do you mean by 'attempting to capture them, but encountering resistance, resulting in a fight, and allowing Shi Lang and the others to escape'?"

Upon seeing Zheng Chenggong's reply, Li Chengdong was instantly enraged. He slammed his fist on the table, causing the ink and brush to jump up.

"Duke Huiguo, since that brat Zheng Sen is so ungrateful, let's make him the vanguard and also find out what kind of person the thief Li Tian is."

Huang Shijun glanced at the letter and then revealed a sinister smile as he offered his advice.

Upon hearing this, Li Chengdong instantly understood, and the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.

"Good, this plan is excellent."

"Zheng Sen, you dare to play tricks on me? You're still too green."

"Order Zheng Sen to lead the vanguard to attack Yanping Prefecture, Liu Zhongzao and Zheng Cai to lead troops to Fuzhou Prefecture to attack Jianning Prefecture, and Hao Shangjiu to depart from Tingzhou Prefecture to attack Shaowu Prefecture."

The order was given, and the Ming army of over 100,000 men set off in three routes.

Li Chengdong's army was the central force, positioned in the middle to facilitate support for all sides.

Yanping Prefecture, Shaxian County.

Faced with Li Chengdong's transfer order, Zheng Chenggong made no excuses or prevarications this time.

He could only lead Zheng's army as the vanguard.

Shaxian County is not far from Yanping Prefecture; it can be reached within a day by following the Shaxi River.

Zheng Chenggong was hesitant at this moment.

He was very worried because there was no news of Shi Lang and others after they surrendered to the New Army.

Although he had not yet come into contact with them, Zheng Chenggong felt that this army was terrifying just from hearing some rumors about it. It was a kind of fear that humans have of the unknown.

"General, our army excels in naval warfare. We will launch an attack along the Shaxi River by water, and the enemy will certainly be unable to defend against it," said General Hong Xu.

"That's right. I've dealt with merchants from Jianning Prefecture before. The rebel navy isn't strong. Our army can try a strong attack from the water," said General Weng Wenxian.

"Alright, let's do as you all say and attack by water first."

"Hong Xu, you will lead 600 men as the Left Vanguard, charging at the forefront. Yang Cai, you will lead 400 men to reinforce the Left Town, ready to support Hong Xu at any time. Ruan Yin, you will lead 300 men as the Vanguard. Gan Hui, you will lead 500 men as the Main Battalion, stationed in the center. Shi Chaogang, you will lead 600 men as the Right Vanguard. Yang Cai, you will lead 400 men to reinforce the Right Town. Zhou Rui, you will lead 300 men as the Rear Vanguard..."

Zheng Chenggong, referring to the map of Yanping Prefecture, assigned tasks to the generals in the camp.

Zheng Chenggong had only about 8,000 soldiers under his command, plus some laborers and local militia, making a total of about 20,000.

But it was his own soldiers who were truly charging ahead.

After the tasks were assigned, the generals of each town made their preparations.

Early the next morning.

Banners covered the sun over the small Shaxi River.

The boats stretched as far as the eye could see.

At this time, outside Yanping Prefecture, on a small island in the river in Shaxi.

This island in the middle of the river has been transformed into a sturdy defensive fortification.

Soldiers from the Second Company of the Rear Guard Battalion of the First Army of Longxiang lived on the island.

Meanwhile, soldiers from the First Company of the Rear Guard Battalion were lying in ambush on both sides of the river.

Two companies were assigned to guard this section of Shaxi.

All ships coming from upstream will be stopped and inspected.

The Shaxi River, which flows through Yanping Prefecture, is not wide, only about 70 or 80 meters wide. This section of the Shaxi River also has a central island that diverts the river water, making the two sides even narrower. At its narrowest point, it is only a dozen meters wide, making it difficult for large ships to pass.

"Erzhu, I heard you were originally from Henan, how did you end up in Fujian?"

Inside the central island, during a break, a soldier found Wang Erzhu and chatted with him.

Wang Erzhu was a villager from Lijiazhai. After Lijiazhai was liberated, Wang Erzhu's family was small, consisting only of him and his weak son Wang Yu.

After the son recovered, he was able to work in the fields, and the family was not short of food. With the help of Erdan and Zhutou's families, they were able to make ends meet.

So Wang Erzhu thought that he was still young and his child couldn't be without a mother, so he wanted to save up some money and get married again.

Originally, he wanted to sell the land, but under the rule of the new army, land was not allowed to be bought and sold privately. He didn't know what procedures were required, so he inquired about where he could make money. Finally, he found out that he could make money by joining the army, so he decisively joined the army.

After rounds of selection and training, he was transferred to the First Army of Longxiang.

"Sigh, it was all due to natural disasters and man-made calamities. Back then, we were suffering from famine. The heavens wouldn't send rain, so we couldn't harvest any grain. The officials who came to collect the grain came in round after round, and almost everyone who stayed behind died. I'm a bit shrewd, so I took my wife and children and ran away first."

"Brother Long, where are you from? Your accent doesn't sound like you're from Fujian."

As Brother Long held the gleaming Jian'an model, he couldn't help but think of his hometown.

"I'm from Zhejiang, and I also fled to Fujian. You're doing alright, you still have a wife and children."

"I am all alone. The Tartars invaded Zhejiang and killed my whole family. I am the only one left."

Brother Long spoke of his past in a calm tone, as if he were telling a story.

Wang Erzhu gave a bitter smile; "I'm not much better off. My family came to Fujian but had no food to eat. My wife starved to death, and my two daughters were killed by the landlord's beast. I only have one son left. Now I want to work hard and find another wife."

Upon hearing this, Brother Long looked at Wang Erzhu. The two had similar experiences, but Wang Erzhu was slightly better off, as he had a son who was still alive.

Just as the two were chatting, a sharp whistle rang out, an alarm signaling an enemy attack.

The two immediately shouldered their guns and returned to their squad.

At this moment, Wang Yong, the company commander of the 2nd Company of the rear guard battalion, was holding binoculars and lying behind a bunker, looking out at the river. In his line of sight, more than a dozen warships were rushing towards them, showing no sign of stopping.

Several flags were also on the warship, bearing the large characters "Ming", "Zheng", and "Hong".

"It seems the Ming army has arrived."

"Notify the First Company to blockade the river. When enemy ships stop, open fire immediately."

"yes!"

Once the order was given, defensive lines were immediately erected along the rivers on both sides of the central island.

Iron chains, fishing nets, and boats completely blocked the narrow waterways on both sides.

Hong Xu, who was at the forefront, narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Follow me to the central island, slaughter all the defenders, and unblock the waterway."

The warships changed direction and rushed towards the central island. As the warships docked, soldiers skillfully jumped off.

In front of the position was a spacious open area that could accommodate hundreds of people.

Hong Xu saw that the enemy soldiers were hiding behind cover, with only their heads wearing steel helmets showing, and their eyes staring intently at them, but they did not stop them from going ashore. He couldn't help but sneer.

"Do they think the bandits can wipe us out with firearms? Do they think the Zheng family doesn't have firearms?"

"Quickly form ranks, firing squares, ready!"

"Proceed!"

As Hong Xu gave the order, the Zheng family soldiers took out their brand-new matchlock guns one by one, forming a line of ten men, with three ranks in each line. This was the three-stage firing technique that the Zheng family had learned from the Portuguese.

With the help of advanced matchlock guns, they could even engage in open field battles against Qing cavalry.

Seeing this, Wang Yong, who was hiding behind the cover, couldn't help but laugh; "Are we lining up to be shot?"

"Pass on my order: fire! Be careful, save me some bullets!"

Bang! With the first gunshot, the Ming soldiers who had just lined up and were preparing to advance were instantly killed row by row.

Hong Xu, who was hiding in the back, was instantly dumbfounded, and boundless fear arose in his heart.

Oh no! Something's fishy!