Late Ming Dynasty: Special Forces in 1645

The Jiujiang garrison was not strong, or rather, the troops under Jin Shenghuan and Wang Tizhong were far weaker than the Ming army's four garrisons north of the Yangtze River. The Jiujiang garrison was a second-line force left behind by Jin Shenghuan and Wang Tizhong.

Although the Jiujiang garrison was not strong, it should be noted that there were more than 10,000 troops on the north bank of the Yangtze River, which was nearly ten times the strength of the Xingfu Army.

If the defenders of Jiujiang were all fearless and valiant, they could overwhelm the Xingfu Army with sheer numbers.

Unfortunately, that was impossible. In this era, even the Eight Banners army couldn't have every soldier who was fearless of death, let alone other armies.

Only with the command of a small number of elite officers were the Jiujiang garrison able to effectively organize an attack on the Xingfu Army.

However, after Li Chengming sniped and killed several generals with a sniper rifle, the Jiujiang garrison completely lost its ability to attack!

"kill!"

Seeing that the enemy was about to be routed, the Restoration Army accelerated its offensive. With the rear pacified, two more companies joined the counterattack.

Finally, the defenders of Jiujiang could not hold on any longer. They suffered a small defeat at the front, which then turned into a major defeat, and the major defeat turned into a complete rout!

In the end, several thousand Jiujiang defenders were slaughtered by a thousand Xingfu soldiers!

Li Chengming led the Restoration Army, shouting that they would not be killed if they knelt down, and chased the surrendering Jiujiang garrison for three or four miles before stopping!

In this battle, the Restoration Army achieved an unprecedented victory.

At the same time, the price paid for the injury was also heavy!

Post-war statistics show that 158 ​​members of the Restoration Army were killed, nearly 200 were seriously wounded, and countless others were slightly wounded.

The Restoration Army's achievements were also quite remarkable.

More than 700 enemy soldiers were killed, nearly 2,000 were killed or wounded, and more than 3,000 were captured.

The other enemy troops were moving too fast; the Restoration Army was no longer able to catch up.

For example, an army under Jin Shenghuan in the rear, before even reaching the battlefield, fled in advance when they sensed the unfavorable situation, thus avoiding being completely annihilated.

However, this army has more than 3,000 men, and if they were all committed to the battlefield, the outcome would be uncertain.

This could force the assault team to use firearms!

But since these three thousand people didn't make a move, they won't have the ability to make a move again!

The Restoration Army captured over 380 sets of armor, over 230 fine bows, over 80 warhorses, and over 300 head of various livestock including cattle, donkeys, and mules.

The grain was so plentiful that it could feed more than 10,000 people for more than six months!

More than 28,000 taels of silver. This was the first time Li Chengming had ever seen so much silver. This time, the silver was three times more than the seizure in Jingmen. Seeing so much silver suddenly gave him a feeling of sudden wealth!

But then he thought that the original garrison here numbered in the tens of thousands, and they had only managed to capture less than 30,000 taels of silver, which was far too little.

What Li Chengming didn't know was that when Jin Shenghuan's more than 3,000 men fled, they took a lot of silver with them, and what was left here were the spoils that the defeated soldiers hadn't had time to carry away.

However, this sum of money was quite substantial for the Restoration Army, making them rich overnight.

Finally, after cleaning up the battlefield, the slain enemy soldiers were gathered together and set on fire.

The soldiers who sacrificed their lives in the Restoration Army were buried in a prime location purchased from a local landlord, and stonemasons were hired to carve tombstones for each soldier.

In the following days, the Restoration Army did not cross the river, but rested on the north bank to take stock of the spoils of victory.

Of the more than 3,000 prisoners, more than 600 were selected from five and incorporated into the army, forming six companies.

For the next five or six days, these newly recruited surrendered troops underwent basic military training!

"What a pity!" Li Chengming lamented. "Those soldiers who deserted were the ones with the better quality!"

"Hahahaha," Liang Zicheng laughed loudly, "You mean they have better physical fitness, right? After all, those with poor physical fitness can't escape. But this time, the one-in-five conscription is quite good. Although they are second-line troops, they are soldiers properly recruited by Jin Shenghuan and Wang Tizhong. As long as their training level keeps up, their combat effectiveness won't be bad!"

Li Chengming nodded: "Actually, we got lucky this time. No one expected the Jiujiang garrison to be attacked at this time. The other forces have been quite busy lately!"

Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong's forces were besieged west of Huguang and had no time to come over. The four Ming garrisons north of the Yangtze River were either dead or surrendered and no longer existed.

The remaining Ming army forces were confined to the Zhejiang and Fujian areas, and were barely able to protect themselves.

The Ming army in Jiangxi had already been pacified by proclamation and had all sided with the Manchus.

No one would have thought that an army would attack the Jiujiang garrison at this time, defeating more than 10,000 troops with a force of just over 1,000!

Li Chengming looked towards the south bank of the Yangtze River, lost in thought, and said, "According to the observers' reconnaissance, there are also tens of thousands of troops defending the south bank, but in this battle, not a single person from the south bank has been sent to provide support. What could be the reason for this?"

Observer Yan Huidong said, "The north bank is mostly occupied by Wang Tizhong's troops, while the south bank is mostly occupied by Jin Shenghuan's troops. Although these two surrendered to the Qing at the same time, everyone knows that they are outwardly friendly but inwardly hostile, so..."

Liang Zicheng said, "Therefore, Jin Shenghuan's tribe on the south bank is intentionally watching the central part of the royal family be destroyed!"

"Captain!" Communications officer Zhou Lei approached with an envelope, saying, "A messenger has arrived from the South Bank with a letter. Please take a look!"

Li Chengming took the letter, opened it, and read it for a while. After finishing reading it, he handed it to Liang Zicheng, who then read it and passed it on to the next person.

After everyone had finished reading, Li Chengming said, "This is interesting. This Zhao Xinguan, Jin Shenghuan's subordinate, saw that we wanted to cross the Yangtze River and actually agreed to let us pass through the east side of Poyang Lake, and guaranteed that he wouldn't stop us!"

Liang Zicheng sneered: "If we really want to cross the Yangtze River from here, can he stop us?"

"That's not fair," observer Yan Huidong said. "The fortifications on the south bank are much stronger than those on the north bank. If we force our way across the Yangtze, we'll inevitably clash with that Zhao Xinguan. And if another major war breaks out..."

Yan Huidong didn't finish his sentence, but everyone knew that if another major battle broke out, there would inevitably be another heavy casualty incident!

Correspondent Zhou Lei said, "We don't lack food and supplies. Even if we defeat Zhao Xinguan after crossing the river, it will be a losing proposition!"

Li Chengming nodded and finally made the decision: "After all, we are in control this time. If the south bank gives us three hundred bows and three hundred sets of armor, we will agree to let them cross the river from the east side of Poyang Lake!"

After sending the letter back by the messenger, Zhao Xinguan, the general of the garrison on the south bank, readily agreed. This made Li Chengming reflect on whether he had been too stingy, as he had only asked for three hundred bows and three hundred sets of armor.

However, in this battle on the north bank, they only captured more than 380 suits of armor and more than 230 bows. They thought that as a second-line force, the south bank should not be much richer either.

Why did Zhao Xinguan agree so readily?

Later, Li Chengming learned that the warehouses on the north bank were mostly filled with grain, while the warehouses on the south bank had less grain but a lot of weapons and equipment!

In any case, it's a good thing that he agreed. Li Chengming is going to the southeast, so it doesn't matter which side of the river he crosses. Moreover, it would be best if he could avoid conflict with the garrison on the south bank.

On the north bank, the two main tasks were to train the newly formed soldiers and treat the wounded, so they continued to rest and recuperate for a period of time.

Not only did they incorporate the surrendered troops, but they also recruited many soldiers from the local people to replenish the losses of the original companies.

The original fourteen companies, plus the six companies incorporated from the surrendered army, had enough horses to equip a company, so a new cavalry company was formed.

The Restoration Army now has more than 2,400 soldiers, nearly twice the size of its pre-war force!