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Xianju County is under the jurisdiction of Taizhou Prefecture in eastern Zhejiang. To the west of the county seat is the Daben Mountain Range running from northeast to northwest. Here, the peaks are misty, the mountains and rivers are beautiful, and the clouds are lingering. It really looks like a place where immortals live.
But Li Yiqing and Hong Qi are not immortals, and the rugged mountain roads of Daben Mountain may cause them to die in the deep cliffs and canyons at any time.
The two men whipped their horses from time to time as they crossed forests and streams. Their clothes were torn by branches and thorns, and there were many scratches on their arms and thighs.
When crossing a stream, there was a loud splash and Hong Qi's mount was so tired that it sat in the water and no matter how he whipped it, it would not get up.
"Brother Li, I'm afraid my horse is no longer viable. You should go to Yiwu by yourself first."
"How can we do this?" Li Yiqing stopped and jumped into the water to help Hong Qi pull the horse. "This damn place is in the middle of nowhere and we don't have any bows and arrows. If we leave you here alone, you will starve to death."
"No, even if I slaughter this animal and eat its horse meat, I can still get out. We have been delayed in Tianshou for long enough. I am afraid that Zheng Zhilong's fleet has already passed Putuo Mountain. Brother Li, don't worry about me, just send the information back quickly."
Li Yiqing looked around. In order to save time, they chose the shortest route. Now they had already gone deep into Daben Mountain. There were towering mountains and dense ridges all around, with no human habitation. He was worried about leaving his companions behind in such a place.
"Brother Li, let's go, let's go..."
Hong Qi urged them repeatedly. Suddenly, a strange noise came from the other side of the mountain road. The two of them cautiously knelt down under the rocks by the stream.
"Who are you? Come out, or don't blame us for being rude." Several people appeared from the bushes opposite, with full-moon bows in their hands, and arrows pointing directly at the stone where Li Yiqing and Hong Qi were hiding.
Li Yiqing and Hong Qi looked at each other, both of them were in disbelief. Hong Qi even asked foolishly: "Brother Li, are we seeing things? It's our people..."
"come out!"
"Brother, don't misunderstand me. You look like you are from the Qin Army. Which general are you serving under?"
"Fuck you, who are you? I haven't even asked you yet, but you're asking me now. Tell me, who are you?"
"We are the people of Xianju County, and we want to join the Qin army. May I ask this brother, who is your general? Why is he here?"
"I am the Qin army. Our general is Li Changyi. It is not difficult for you to join us. First, tell me what the current situation in Xianju County is like. Be honest. If you dare to lie, I will kill you."
Out of caution, Li Yiqing asked again and again, and only then did he dare to confirm the other party's identity. He hurriedly said: "Brother, I am a member of the Yebushou in Xianju County. Take us to see your general quickly, quickly, we just received important intelligence and are about to rush to Yiwu..."
"You really don't accept night orders?"
Li Yiqing was in such a hurry that he did not bother to ask how this Qin army appeared in Daben Mountain. When he was taken to the commander Li Changyi, he found that Li Changyi was leading 3,000 men and taking a shortcut to attack Xianju and Linhai.
Li Yiqing told Li Changyi the news that Zheng Zhilong led the fleet northward to the Yangtze River, and Li Changyi was secretly surprised. Although he was only a lieutenant general, he was sent to Taizhou Prefecture to attack a region, so he must have some knowledge.
Now the main forces of the Qin army are scattered along the Yangtze River. The main corps rely on the Yangtze River waterway to communicate with each other. If the navy is defeated by Zheng Zhilong and loses control of the Yangtze River waterway, the corps will be separated, and the consequences will be disastrous.
Li Changyi immediately sent a team of scouts to deliver this important news back to Yiwu, which then relayed it to Quzhou, where there was a pigeon station that did not close at night.
After sending out the scouts, Li Changyi could only pray silently.
"What is the current situation in Xianju and Linhai counties?"
Although Xianju and Yiwu are only about two hundred miles apart, due to the mountain ranges and lack of information, Li Changyi only has a general idea of the situation in the Xianju area. It is naturally a great thing that he can meet Li Yiqing and Hong Qi.
"General, there aren't many Qing troops in Xianju, only about 200 people. But in Linhai to the east, 3,000 Qing troops have been sent back from Wenzhou. I heard that there are only 600 people left in Wenzhou."
"Really?" Li Changyi asked cautiously.
"General, I'm sure you're right. For some reason, the Qing army seems to be retreating north in large numbers."
Li Changyi's mind suddenly became active. After taking Yiwu, his assigned task was to lead 3,000 troops to cross Daben Mountain and capture Xianju and Linhai. But now it seems that he can do something bigger.
As for why the Qing army retreated northward, Li Changyi was very clear about this. Because Jiangnan was almost impossible to defend, the Qing army was now withdrawing its troops in order to defend the Jiangnan area north of Hangzhou and Shaoxing.
The Qing army might not be able to take care of the three prefectures of Ningbo, Taizhou and Wenzhou in the southeast which they had just occupied for the time being, and it was inevitable to withdraw its troops back to Hangzhou. This was why the newly appointed Grand Secretary of the Cabinet Lu Zhenfei dared to send his 3,000 troops to Taizhou Prefecture with light equipment.
Seeing Li Changyi pondering, Li Yiqing continued, "General Li, there are only 200 Qing troops left in Xiandu, and the people are in a panic, so it is not difficult to capture it. From Xianju County, there is a shortcut to Wenzhou via Bulu, Shangzhang, Yantou, Fenglin and other towns. If you want to capture Wenzhou, you can take this path."
Seeing that he was familiar with the situation here, Li Changyi told him everything: "The war in Jiangnan is tense, and the main force of the Qing army is retreating northward. Wenzhou, Taizhou, and Ningbo are very likely to be abandoned. Our army is coming here to seize these prefectures before Fujian while the Qing army is retreating."
After Li Changyi explained the purpose of the battle, Li Yiqing thought for a while and said, "Now the Qing army is indeed retreating north in large numbers. According to what the general said, the Qing army in Linhai will not stay for too long. However, what we have to defend now has become the Zheng family in Fujian, so naturally we should seize Wenzhou in the south first.
There are only two roads from Zhejiang to Fujian. One is the Xianxia Ancient Road from Quzhou to Pucheng, and the other is the official road from Wenzhou through Fenshuiguan to Fujian. Quzhou has long been controlled by our army. Now as long as the general captures Wenzhou, it will be equivalent to blocking the Zheng family in Fujian, and they will never be able to get involved in Zhejiang. General Li, if this is the case, then you have to hurry. I will lead the way for you and ensure that you can reach Wenzhou as quickly as possible. "
"Great, lead the way."
***
The situation in Zhejiang is currently in chaos. After Bolo defeated Prince Lu, he brought several prefectures in eastern Zhejiang into the sphere of influence of the Qing Dynasty. But then, the situation in Jiangnan became pressing, so Bolo withdrew northwards. Then, the Qing troops in Wenzhou, Ningbo, Taizhou and other places that had just been occupied also withdrew.
Now, as time went by, the Qing army's speed of retreating northwards further accelerated, because after Han Xiu and Tian Jianxiu occupied western Zhejiang, they had advanced to Fuyang and Zhuji, while in the northeast, Yuan Zongdi and Niu Wanchuan had already reached Haining, forming a two-sided attack on Hangzhou Prefecture;
In Hangzhou Prefecture, only Fei Yanggu was left with 8,000 troops to guard the city. Under such circumstances, the withdrawal of the Qing army in southeastern Zhejiang to Hangzhou was imminent.
The shrinking power of the Qing army not only allowed Prince Lu to escape death, but also allowed him, together with Zhang Guowei, Qian Mule, Zhang Huangyan and others, to persuade Zhang Mingzhen, the former guerrilla of Shipu in Taizhou Prefecture, to support him. He captured Ninghai in one fell swoop and later recruited troops in the Tiantai Mountain area.
The former Fengyang Governor and the Prime Minister of the Hongguang Dynasty, Ma Shiying, was also unwilling to be left out. He claimed that he had served the Empress Dowager (the mother of Emperor Hongguang) in Longshan, eastern Zhejiang. Taking advantage of the Qing army's retreat, he gathered 2,000 troops including Mo Xiangnan, a former commander of the Ming army, and captured Cixi County in one fell swoop, and sent troops to Ningbo Prefecture.
But there were rumors that Ma Shiying was not serving the Empress Dowager at all, but was using his mother to impersonate the Empress Dowager in order to win the support of the military and civilians. This matter had actually been a hot topic for a long time, but Ma Shiying insisted that the old woman was the Empress Dowager. Few people had ever seen the Empress Dowager, so it was difficult to tell whether it was true or not.
After Lu Zhenfei arrived in Zhuji, he felt that he could not let Ma Shiying and others continue to make trouble, so he immediately ordered Liu Fangliang to attack Shaoxing Prefecture, and at the same time sent Lieutenant General Yu Yongcheng to lead 1,500 cavalry to attack Ningbo. He also sent Wei Zhongliang, the military assistant, to go with Yu Yongcheng to persuade Ma Shiying to surrender.
In addition, he ordered Yuan Zongde and Niu Wanchuan to give up attacking all counties along the way except for the necessary supply needs, and to march into Hangzhou as soon as possible to complete the encirclement of Hangzhou together with Han Xiu.
*****************************(To be continued...)
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