Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1080

July has already entered midsummer, and everywhere in Jiangxi is shrouded in scorching heat, and Madang Town is no exception.

This water and land fortress has been "trapping thieves" for many days. The Qing army once organized a team of tens of thousands of people from Huangzhou Prefecture and Anqing Prefecture in the north of the Yangtze River to sneak across the river at night and raid the Madang Fortress.Fortunately, people from the east bank have long managed this place like an iron bucket. The left-behind Fifth Division Dong Xueli has more than [-] well-trained people and is known as the elite. The [-] bird gunners led by Pu Yan are also meticulous. With the help of the elite imperial battalion selected, more than a hundred artillerymen from the east bank and Jiancheng of Madang Township, how could the two groups of Qing troops who secretly crossed the river in Hukou County and rushed in at night under starry nights be able to attack them in such a hurry?

Ever since, after getting the news that the naval gunboats on the east bank returned to block the river, the "guest army" of the Qing army who came from the north of the river fell into an extremely difficult situation. Encircled by thieves), the two Qing armies, which had lost more than [-] men in the siege, could only slowly retreat to the southeast together, enter Raozhou Prefecture for food, and rectify their troops.

However, the Qing army retreated, and Dong Xueli and others who stayed behind were unable to pursue them. First, they were afraid that the Qing army would feign defeat and come back to seize Madang Town. More than 350 people have fallen down due to illness, and the acclimatization has become an enemy more vicious than the Qing army; There are even more people who fell, and the number is believed to have exceeded a thousand, and a considerable number of them have died.At present, a temporary field hospital has been set up in Madang Town, which has treated hundreds of wounded and sick. It is planned to send them to the rear area after the return of the boat carrying migrants to Chongmingsha.

Other than that, everything seemed to be peaceful. Dong Xueli, who was guarding the city, sent a large number of scouts to inquire about the news, but they still failed to find out anything new. He only vaguely heard that Chen Tai from the west of Zhejiang had led his troops into the In the area of ​​Huizhou Prefecture, for this reason, they even gave up the siege of Fuzhou City (Fuzhou is being besieged by Zheng's [-] troops), but they don't know how many people there are, what the composition of the army is, and what the combat power is, which is very frustrating— ——However, this also shows from the side that the Qing army attached great importance to the Jiangxi battlefield. For this reason, even at the expense of strategically abandoning Fujian, it was necessary to rescue the [-] Qing troops in Jiangxi.

Compared with Dong Xueli's own inquiries, the news sent by Ximian Shunjun seems to be more reliable. They said that Kong Youde, who was fighting with Gao Yigong in the area of ​​Wuchang Mansion, had withdrawn his troops and seemed to be planning to cross Mufu Mountain, Jiugong Mountain, and Taiping Mountain. They entered the western half of Nanchang Mansion under the control of the Shun Army to rescue the tens of thousands of hungry and exhausted troops of Geng Zhongming's troops, whose situation was getting worse and worse.It's just that because the people on the east bank controlled the river, it affected the efficiency of the Qing army's information transmission, so that the British Prince Azig (Dorgon is not dead, and this king is naturally alive and well) who was in charge of the Huguang battle was already six years old when he got the news. It was more than half a month before the various ministries were notified of the deployment of troops, the selection of generals, and the allocation of food and grass. Therefore, it was almost the end of June when the Qing army's reinforcements were dispatched, and it was already July [-] when the Shun army found out that they had arrived in Madang Town. mid month.

The [-]-odd army led by the traitor Kong Youde may still have to go to reach Nanchang Mansion. After all, the small troops on the mountain roads can walk well, but the large troops will be quite troublesome to walk. Estimated to be late July, early August.After Shunjun learned that the Huguang Qing army sent reinforcements to rescue the Jiangxi battlefield, Guo Sheng's pressure suddenly increased. He began to go to the front line in person, constantly mobilized troops from various places, concentrated and stormed the counties near Nanchang Prefecture, and constantly squeezed Kong Youde's troops. Space——If you don't take advantage of the critical moment when Kong Youde's food and grass are running low and morale is low, it will be difficult in the future.

For this reason, Liu Haiyang dispatched a large number of old artillery to the Shun army to strengthen their firepower. At the same time, he sent two-thirds of the 12 gunboats on hand to the area around Hukou County, using Madang Town as a logistics base, to continuously patrol the river and intercept the attack. The possible ships of the Qing army did everything they could to solve Guo Sheng’s worries—of course, they did not forget their most important task, which was to collect people. In the past half a month, they caught Guo Sheng again on the border of Fuzhou Prefecture. About [-] Ming people have been sent to Madang Town, and they are going to be transported back to the Chongmingsha area by boat soon.

On July 7, a group of about 20 Qing troops smuggled across the river from Huangzhou Prefecture at night, and went straight to the front line of Ruichang without stopping. The purpose of helping Geng Zhongming was very obvious; Three thousand Qing troops crossed the river from Huangmei and went straight to Dehua County. On the same day, the naval gunboats on the east bank intercepted another Qing army fleet on the river, sank and injured dozens of Qing army boats, and 22 Soldiers of the Duoqing army were buried in the river, and the rest ran back to the north of the river in embarrassment...

At the same time, Guo Sheng, who knew that the Qing army was madly coming to help, also went all out, and sent more than 20 elite soldiers under his command to the battle, and launched a desperate attack on Geng Zhongming, his old opponent, regardless of casualties. On the day when the army crossed the river from Huangzhoufu, more than [-] of Guo Sheng's main force defeated more than [-] soldiers of Geng Zhongming's troops in the battle of Shengmidu. Surrounded by a group, he committed suicide in despair.In this battle, Geng Zhongming's troops lost a total of more than [-] men if the defeated reinforcements were counted, and most of them were veterans who had fought for many years. Two lieutenants died in the battle, more than ten members of the thousand generals, and more than nine thousand soldiers were lost. It can be said that killing one thousand enemies will cause eight hundred losses.

On the 23rd, when the total number of Qing troops crossing the river reached more than 4, Guo Sheng also led the main force to cross Zhangshui. The people from the east bank sent [-] gunboats to help the battle. Geng Zhongming defeated nearly [-] people with low morale and insufficient food and wages, and incorporated thousands of green battalions from the Qing army. Retreating to Nanchang City, Liu Haiyang, who received the news, began to send people to take in the "war refugees" in Nanchang Prefecture who had no food and clothing, and transport them to Madang Town in batches.

On the 25th, the East Bank directly sent most of the artillery (including four siege artillery) to Nanchang City to help Guo Sheng's troops attack the city. Wang Deren, a Ming general who was born as a thief, finally got rid of the interference and obstruction of the Southern Ming court, and sent 27 soldiers who were still worthy of battle to the north, and entered the Raozhou Prefecture. It completely ruined Shen Yongzhong's attempt to open up the land transportation line and rescue Geng Zhongming.At this time, more than [-] troops on the east bank also began to gather and retreat in batches. The first group of more than [-] people from the second brigade landed in Xingzi County, Nankang Prefecture on the [-]th, and then quickly consolidated the beachhead to meet the follow-up The arrival of soldiers and horses - At this time, the total number of Qing troops who have recently smuggled across the river from the north of the Yangtze River has exceeded [-]. Advance quickly, and it is estimated that they will collide head-on with the army on the east coast soon.

On the 28th, Guo Sheng's Ministry broke through the Xinjian County attached to Guo, wiped out [-] remnants of Geng's troops and captured more than [-], then invited the artillery from the east bank into the commanding heights of the city, and bombarded Nanchang County, which was only separated by a wall, with cannons. The morale of Geng's officers and soldiers Even lower, casualties also increased sharply.

On the 29th, the east bank army, which had landed most of its main force, encountered the Qing army west of Xingzi County.The pity that the more than 1 Qing troops who smuggled across the country all traveled lightly, and abandoned a lot of luggage along the way. This is the stage of exhaustion; Three rounds, only four thousand people hit head-on in the first round...

Although the main force of the artillery has been transferred to Nanchang, the East Bank army, which is in full swing, waits for work. The Black Eight Banners, the Army Musketeers, and the Second Battalion of the Volunteer Squad all made their best efforts. The Qing army was destroyed in World War I, killing and wounding more than [-] prisoners. .The collapsed Qing army ran all over the mountains and plains, and the people on the east bank didn't bother to catch them. Instead, they took down Xingzi County, which had already opened the city and surrendered. Population) - Of course, if you encounter a Qing army brigade with tens of thousands of people, you can at most harass and contain it, and you will not fight a tough battle.

On the 31st, after defeating another Qing army of more than [-] people heading south, the army on the east coast had collected more than [-] people, and then started complicated transshipment work on the shore of the lake in Xingzi County.At this time, after nearly four days of fierce bombardment, the city walls and buildings in Nanchang County had collapsed in many places. Guo Sheng sent more than ten thousand elite soldiers into the city and took control of a considerable part of the city. Geng Zhongming suffered heavy casualties and his command was chaotic. With the core soldiers and horses, thousands of people retreated to the Fuya area to fight the trapped beasts.

On August 8, the army led by Kong Youde appeared in the area of ​​Wuning County, and Guo Sheng ordered the surrendered army to be the vanguard, and stormed the Nanchang government government regardless of casualties. At the critical moment, he even ordered to set fire to the houses. area.At the last moment, Geng Zhongming led more than a thousand soldiers trying to break out, but was shot and killed on the spot by random arrows. His subordinates were all executed when they failed to surrender.A generation of traitors led 3 remnant soldiers to besiege Nanchang City, and they only persisted for 12 days before the city was destroyed and died. It is pitiful to end up like this.

On August 8, Guo Sheng, who also suffered a lot of casualties in this battle (more than 5 casualties before and after), ordered the withdrawal of Nanchang City, where there were already signs of the epidemic, and then the nearly 5 people gathered first and later went north to Jianchang County. Having shown some viciousness, they planned to meet Kong Youde's [-] troops (collecting some of the scattered Qing troops who crossed the river).Kong Youde fought in Hubei for many years, knowing that the combat effectiveness of the Shun army was far inferior to that of the Ming army, so after learning that Geng Zhongming had been defeated, he immediately ordered to stop on the spot and report (report) (report) (mourn) to Prince Ying who was in Xiangyang. Wait for instructions on what to do next.

At this time, the people on the east bank, after collecting the population in Xingzi County, went south again in batches on August 8, and landed in the area south of Poyang County, Raozhou Prefecture. The taste of the flanks of more than ten thousand field clusters.However, Junior also told Liu Haiming that Shen Yongzhong is not a mediocre general, and his troops are still capable of fighting. On the other hand, Wang Deren's troops are expanding too fast and their combat power is weak. They cannot be expected to fight like Guo Sheng. Geng Zhongming has tens of thousands of people.

Ever since, the people on the east bank sent troops to attack the small group of troops outside Shen Yongzhong's department, and at the same time sent envoys to persuade Wang Deren to attack the 3.5 people in Shen Yongzhong's department with all his strength, but as expected, someone in the Wang camp The high-spirited "scholar" was rejected, so he had no choice but to give up and cover his head to collect the population.But this kind of thing actually offended the scholar (probably many gentry went to the Ming army camp to cry), which caused the army on the east bank to be at war with the Ming army for a while, and almost fought.Fortunately, Wang Deren is not an ignorant person, and the friction between the two sides failed to escalate into an armed conflict after all, but the matter of working together to inflict heavy damage on tens of thousands of Shen Yongzhong's troops is naturally out of the question.

However, Wang Deren also sent someone to reveal an important news to Liu Haiyang, that is, Chen Tai has led [-] elite troops (including more than [-] people from the Manchurian, Mongolian and Han Eight Banners) into the area of ​​Chizhou Prefecture, and has attracted thousands of people. The Qing army of Huangzhou Prefecture, which was defeated there, planned to join forces with Shen Yongzhong's troops and restore control of the northeastern Jiangxi region.The first step in controlling the area is naturally to knock down the extremely unsightly Madang Town Fortress, otherwise nothing will happen.

After Liu Haiyang heard the news, he held a military meeting to ask for advice. Everyone agreed that it was time to withdraw troops. This battle killed, wounded and captured more than 7 Qing soldiers in a piecemeal manner, and captured more than 2.5 Ming immigrants (during nearly four months. Almost [-] people have been transported within a short period of time. The total tonnage of Gein's motor sailboats moored in Madang Town exceeds [-] tons, and there are four to five hundred small boats with extremely strong transportation capacity), food, grass, livestock, gold, silver, books, and artwork It is impossible to count, and the casualties were only more than [-] people (most of which were caused by the epidemic, and the soldiers from the north seemed to have difficulty adapting to the hot and humid climate of Jiangxi), so it was still a profit.

It has always been a good tradition of the people on the east coast. On August 8, tens of thousands of horses were collected in the south of Poyang County, and then they boarded the ship one after another. Dangzhen base began to transfer people and supplies to the Yangtze River estuary with all its strength. During this period, the main force of the Qing army did not come to attack and harass them, and they were naturally happy to do so.

In late August, according to the agreement, more than 8 people from the Guo Shi'an Department of the Shun Army came to take over Madang Town, which had been reinforced on the east bank. under the control.I heard that Guo Sheng has recently recruited troops and bought horses in northern Jiangxi, and he has lived in peace with those landlords. It is the same as Li Guo's "revisionism" in Hunan a few years ago. It seems to indicate that the Dashun policy has begun to change completely. Can't open a course to obtain a doctor?

At the end of August, Chen Tai led his army to appear at the junction of Chizhou and Jiujiang, but he did not dare to continue westward, because his troops were less than 8, so it was useless to come. In Jiangxi, the Qing court now regards the [-] soldiers of this department (recently incorporated part of the Qing army, and also added some local regiment training, and its strength has recovered) as a strong enemy, and Liu Fangliang, Yuan Zongdi, Gao Yigong, Li Guo, Zhang Xianzhong and others treated them equally.

On September 9, the whole army from the east bank arrived at Chongmingsha and was warmly welcomed by the remaining troops.On the way back, they landed once in Hualengzi in the Jiangbei area, captured 16 people, and then quickly withdrew, making the Qing army miserable because the two battlefields in the north and the south were separated and unable to fight together.

After all the horses returned, the next thing was to praise the advanced and reward the meritorious deeds. Liu Guochang's Shun army, Hao Shangjiu's Ming army, and Zheng's and Lu Wang's troops who went out to the battle all had awards. Most of their weapons and equipment fell into their hands, and even a lot of gold, silver and jewelry were given, which made everyone very satisfied.

The Sixth and Eighth Divisions of the servant army who have been tempered will also return to Dengzhou by boat. I believe that in the next battle against the Qing army, they should perform better and better after building their self-confidence.Because of Dong Xueli's outstanding performance in the battle of defending Madang Town, Liu Haiyang planned to apply for an expansion of the number of troops for them, that is, to expand the number of troops in the Fifth Division from 4000 to 5000 to reward his department.

On September 9th, a large fleet of troops and immigrants went north to Shandong. They will spend less than a month maintaining and repairing the ships to prepare for the immigration transportation season starting at the end of October. Compared with this matter, Everything else in the Blackwater area stands aside.

(End of this chapter)