Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1812

Min Honggui, the magistrate of Xinchang County, has been quite disgraced recently.

Back then when the people on the east coast were strong, the king of Lu was rarely able to rise to prominence. Zhang Huangyan personally served as the supervisor, and made three northern expeditions, attacking the city and conquering territory all the way. He was so flustered that he had to dispatch troops from Hangzhou to the south to extinguish the flames of war that were swarming everywhere.

At that time, it was the most glorious moment for the tens of thousands of horses assembled under Zhang Huangyan's command. The gentry and scholars in the Jiangnan area who had long had no expectations for Nanming couldn't help but feel stagnant, thinking that the situation might change. As for communicating with each other in private, it's just around the corner.As a result, the reality slapped everyone in the face. The army of the Ming Dynasty still had the familiar formula, the familiar taste, and the unsupportable adou. In the end, they lost their troops and were pushed back by the Qing army. Great loss of morale, it can be said that the loss outweighs the gain.

Now that the Ming army is in place, all the pressure will naturally be on the side of the people on the east coast.Therefore, after pushing the front line to the middle and lower reaches of the Cao'e River and successfully maintaining it for a long time, the people on the east bank who were afraid of being flanked finally had to shrink the line of defense and increase the thickness of their troops.As a result, you can see that the resistance of the people on the east bank of Shengxian County was also very weak, and it could even be said that it was just a feint. In the end, the defense line was withdrawn to Xinchang, the final starting point, to deal with the siege of the Qing army.

When Min Honggui was advancing triumphantly in the east bank army, he used to be the chief administrator of both Shengxian County and Xinchang. He transported food, ammunition, and settled the wounded for the second division of the Zhejiang New Army, which was the main force of the east bank army. He was very busy. .By the way, I also accepted the filial piety of many former Qing officials and village elders who were retained, and made a small fortune.

As a result, the good times didn't last long.When the people on the east bank realized that it was a little overkill to spread a line of defense of hundreds of kilometers with a force of more than 1 troops, especially when there were tens of thousands of green camps of the Qing army who fought frequently and were equipped with a large number of firearms. The fault tolerance rate of the defensive measures is too low. Once there is a problem in any link, it may lose troops, and the people on the east bank just cannot afford to lose too much precious troops, so they retreated decisively and shrank to Xinchang The county area is waiting for change.

And the Second Division of the New Army is full of looting—ahem, retreating, so it is meaningless for him to stay in Sheng County.Although the Xinsheng Basin has good agricultural potential, what is the use?Easy to attack and difficult to defend is the most prominent portrayal of it, pack up and leave quickly!Ever since, before the army from the East Bank returned, Min Honggui began to organize relevant personnel in Shengxian County to convene the people to retreat. Even in order to let more people move to the area controlled by the East Bank people, he had to ask the army to take coercive measures. Even the rotten person whom thousands of people point out is also very depressed.

Now, it’s hard to tell the people in the rural areas of Sheng County, but most of the people in the county were forcibly relocated and resettled to Xikou Town, Fenghua. Shore native.Before them, most of the population of Xinchang County had already been sent to collective farms in Ningbo, Denglai, and even Heishui in advance in batches. It is likely that a huge part of them had immigrated to the east bank.

Suffering such great changes one after another, Min Honggui was really depressed, and even the only thirty or so policemen in Xinchang County sighed.When they go to the street now, few shops are still open for business, and some of them are specialized in military business, so they can't reach them.In addition, the dwindling population and the deserted atmosphere in the city made them feel even more uncomfortable—then what is there to see with the big soldiers coming and going?It took half a day to see a few people in a hurry, it was really boring, it looked like a military fortress.

In fact, it is almost the same. This Xinchang County is really a military fortress now, especially after the arrival of the famous No. 11 Mixed Battalion (No. The former commander-in-chief of the battle, Lieutenant Colonel Junio, was very dissatisfied with the location of this military fortress, thinking that it was too protruding, but considering that it was now the offensive stage, it would save trouble.

"County Min, this is an extraordinary period, and I won't say any polite words to you. For a long time to come, you will return to your old job, yes, that's right, to do a good job for the army. Logistics service. Fenghua County sent 3 masters today, and more people will come in a few days. In addition, there will be many masters from other counties. It is estimated that the total number may eventually reach as many as 3.1 , the management task is not insignificant. In addition, the dispatch of supplies and the use of draft animals also require a lot of manpower. The total of less than [-] cadres or policemen in Xinchang County and Sheng County that you have withdrawn from Shengxian County alone may be insufficient. In Xinchang County Yamen, Lieutenant Colonel Junio ​​found Min Honggui, who was restless, and said to him: "Well, I will call in staff from various ministries to help your people. At the same time, Dinghai County, Fenghua, Xiangshan, The four counties of Ninghai will each send [-] militiamen to supervise the daily work of these civilians. In short, your people must take care of the logistics in an orderly manner. It is not the first time you have done this kind of work. You have done it a few times before. They are all good, and I have heard about them, but this time the scale is so large, I don’t know if you can still do it. You know, the total number of soldiers under my command this time is close to [-].”

Hearing the figure of [-] troops, Min Honggui was also a little surprised.However, after careful consideration, he finally gritted his teeth, patted his chest and said, "Since the Shangguan has ordered, Min dare not obey orders! Marshal, don't worry, I will definitely take care of the logistics in an orderly manner, and will All kinds of materials will be sent to the front line in time, please rest assured."

Lieutenant Colonel Junio ​​nodded when he heard the words, and let go of his mind for a while.Of course he wouldn't just trust Min Honggui's guarantee. In fact, he also wrote to Yin County, asking them to dispatch a large number of cadres who are good at calculation and planning to go south to Xinchang County to help Min Honggui, the "transit envoy", do his job well.

On June 1680, 6, under the order of Lieutenant Colonel Junio, the East Coast people officially launched a major counterattack against the Qing army.At noon that day, Niu Gui and Dong Dalang's elite soldiers attacked Sheng County from the east and south respectively, and launched a fierce attack on the morning of the second day.

Outside the city of Shengxian County, more than [-] Denglai soldiers who successfully joined forces lined up more than [-] artillery pieces and launched an artillery battle with the Qing army.For a city like Shengxian County, which has undergone repeated wars and has not yet been renovated into a Jintang fortress, it is the best way to quickly blast the city wall with artillery and enter again, just like what the people on the east coast are doing at the moment.

On June 6, Junio ​​took the 11th Mixed Battalion, the 56th Division of the Servant Army, and the 2.5th Division of the Zhejiang New Army to the outside of Sheng County.The addition of new forces further strengthened the firepower of the army on the east bank outside the city, bringing the number of cannons bombarding the city wall to as many as 12, which is very frightening.At this time, the total number of troops on the east coast gathered here has exceeded 3000, except for the 3000 people from the Hu Xingbang Department of the No.[-] Division of the No. All but [-] members of the Ding Ji Department of the Tenth Division of the Army had arrived, and the Qing army was caught off guard.

On June 6, Chen Xuanli, the new general guarding Sheng County, found out sadly that the six artillery pieces sent all the way from Jinzhou at a great price had all misfired, either exploding or being destroyed.To be honest, the quality of cannons cast by the Qing Dynasty has been greatly improved in recent years. Not only are they lighter in weight, but the bombing rate is actually decreasing year by year. However, three cannons were bombed in Sheng County in just two days. It can be seen that the battle was fierce and the artillery was fired frequently.

In the afternoon, with the cries of hundreds of Qing soldiers inside and outside the east city wall, the city wall made of bricks and stones collapsed by more than 20 meters, which immediately established the defeat of the Qing army.Xie Zhen, who just arrived yesterday, asked Junio ​​to call his name, and sent two confidant generals to select elites and rush in along the gap in the city wall. The officers and soldiers in Weihai bullied the Qing army for having no artillery, so they directly broke through the desperate obstruction of the Qing army with their spearmen and rushed into the city.

Xie Zhen, who personally commanded from behind, was in high spirits, but he didn't forget to ask the officers under his command to record the details of the battle between the two sides, and focused on describing the will and fighting methods of the Qing soldiers.Because of the frequent foreign exchanges of the Qing Dynasty and the deepening of military reforms, the green battalion has now changed its previous combat method of stabbing with spears and hacking with knives and axes, and the proportion of musketeers has greatly increased. When the Sixth Division charged, the two rows of people in front were knocked down by the Qing army's musket volley. It can be seen that the enemy is also changing!

Of course, even though it has been equipped with a lot of firearms, in the small county of Sheng County, without reinforcements from the army—because a large number of ships (in fact, most of them are empty ships) on the east coast have been cruising around Hangzhou Bay for many days, it seems There was a selective landing, so many Qing troops in Shaoxing Prefecture were forced to transfer to the north—it is impossible for Shengxian County to withstand a blow from the [-] troops on the east bank. At present, it can defend for more than two days, according to the fashionable words of later generations To put it bluntly: with that little salary and a few shots, he is already worthy of the emperor.

On the night of the 12th, the county seat of Sheng County was destroyed, and more than [-] Qing soldiers were killed, wounded, and captured.Major Junio, who served as the commander-in-chief, crossed the city and did not enter. He continued to march with the [-]th Mixed Battalion overnight, marching northward along the Cao'e River, and attacked many flooded areas and castles of the Qing army along the way.And the commander is so desperate, the generals below naturally can't slack off, so the fifth division, sixth division, tenth division, and new army second division of the servant division marched alternately. It only took four days. Arrived outside the city of Shangyu County, which is known as the bustling city.

At this time, the people on the east bank were not in a hurry to attack the city.Because to them, Shangyu County, with its weak folk customs and few troops stationed there, is nothing more than fat meat on the lips, which can be eaten at any time, while the [-] to [-] green camp Qing troops stationed inside and outside Yuyao County in the east are the only ones. The biggest target of the East Coasters.

Therefore, as soon as he arrived at the outskirts of Shangyu County, Lieutenant Colonel Junio ​​ordered all the ministries to gather cavalry, gathered [-] cavalry, and began to search and intercept the Qing army that might retreat westward in the direction of Yuyao in the northern coastal plain. , The traffic line from Shangyu area to Yuyao.In addition, the infantry group, which was the main force, also began to build defensive fortifications on the spot, and seized some key fortresses. While cutting off the return route of the Yuyao Qing army, it also guarded against enemy troops coming to the west of Shaoxing Prefecture.

The actions of the army on the east bank can naturally be seen by the Qing army.And it was also at this time that the high-level Qing army in Shaoxing and even Hangzhou suddenly realized that the bandits in yellow did not make a large-scale landing from the sea (only some cobbled together police and militia teams were sent to land tentatively to confuse the Qing army) , but all the way north from the Xinsheng Basin, and its strong military strength, fierce firepower, and sharp breakthrough have not been seen in the south for many years-it is said that the last time the yellow-clothed thieves gathered tens of thousands of horses to quickly break through in Shaoxing Prefecture , what year is it?Many people can't remember.

In any case, the small 50 soldiers and horses are now cut between Yuyao County and Shangyu County by the people from the East Bank. The traffic is cut off and they are isolated. The troops were drawn out and launched an attack from the direction of Yin County—although there will be no shortage of food for a while, the loss of military resources and equipment must be supplemented a lot, which is difficult.You must know that the number of spears and artillery in the Qing army has gradually increased. Among other things, the consumption of lead, shells, and gunpowder is not a small amount (a few days ago, the people from the east bank besieged Shengxian County and sent them back from the city. Xinchang’s empty gunpowder barrels contained more than [-] carts), if this was attacked by the people from the east coast, I’m afraid they wouldn’t last long.And once the firearms are no longer effective, the situation of Yuyao Qing Army will only become more dangerous, and the collapse of the entire army is not impossible.

And once the Hangzhou camp loses these [-] troops who are still used to fighting, the impact on the situation is simply unimaginable.At that time, the Qing army, with its mobile forces greatly reduced, had no other choice but to call for reinforcements from other places.Moreover, the fall of Yuyao, Shangyu, Shengxian and other places is probably a high probability event. Even whether the prefectural city can be kept is in doubt. The overall corruption of Shaoxing prefecture is inevitable.And once the Shaoxing prefectural city is lost, can Xiaoshan County, which hangs alone to the east of the Qiantang River, survive?If Xiaoshan County cannot be protected, Hangzhou City will have no buffer zone, and will be directly exposed to the soldiers of the East Bank, and may be attacked at any time.

Therefore, no one can afford to lose Shaoxing, and no one is willing to bear it!Both Shangyu and Yuyao were to be rescued by the Qing army belonging to the Hangzhou camp, so a large-scale battle may be inevitable, and the people on the east coast are obviously already preparing for it!

(End of this chapter)