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Zhuge Min and others intended to replace Jin Shenghuan and let other generals guard Huai'an, but this proposal was immediately rejected by Qin Mu.
He did not think that changing the general in the middle of a battle was a good idea. First of all, it would make the soldiers feel that the original decision of the senior decision makers to appoint the generals was wrong. This was a decision that they made and then denied by themselves, and they were contradicting themselves, and their prestige was completely lost.
Furthermore, Jin Shenghuan was originally used to persuade the enemy troops in Huai'an to surrender because most of those people were subordinates of Zuo Liangyu. Replacing Jin Shenghuan now would make these people feel that Jinling did not trust them, which would be counterproductive. In serious cases, it might lead to Huai'an's collapse.
Of course, Zhuge Min’s worries are not groundless.
Of the 30,000 defenders in Huai'an, nearly half were Zuo Liangyu's subordinates.
This time, Zuo Menggeng followed Duoduo south, and Jin Shenghuan and others fought against their old master, so their momentum was weakened a bit. If the war was not going well, it would be normal for many more people to defect.
To this end, Qin Mu asked Zheng Sihai to lead most of the navy into Hongze Lake for support, and sent an additional 5,000 troops to Gaoyou, ready to reinforce Huai'an at any time.
Theoretically, the Qin army controlled the waterways of the Grand Canal and adopted a mainly defensive strategy. This battle was very advantageous for the Qin army. As long as the Qing army was dragged into a war of attrition, the Qin army would have at least a 60% chance of winning.
As for Guangdong and Guangxi, all we can do now is allow Zhu Youlang and Zhu Yulang to do whatever they want, as the Qin Dynasty no longer has the energy to send a large number of troops to Guangdong and Guangxi.
There has been no news sent back from Fujian so far, and it is still unknown how the Zheng family will react.
In fact, Qin Mu had already drawn the final bottom line for Gannan. If it really didn't work, he would first agree to Zheng Zhilong's conditions and make sure that Zheng Zhilong would not turn to the Qing Dynasty again.
The situation in Taizhou was relatively clearer. With Yuan Zongdi's army approaching, Zhu Yihai had agreed to surrender in principle, but some people in his group, such as Zhang Mingzhen and Zhang Huangyan, had not given up their illusions and were unwilling to give in.
Qin Mu believed that as Yuan Zongdi advanced step by step, they would recognize the situation.
In Sichuan, Ai Nengqi led a total of 5,000 troops northward from Hanzhong. Together with Ling Zhan in Yunyang, they contained He Luohui in Guanzhong. Qin Liangyu and Li Dingguo were also ordered to slow down their advance against Sun Kewang and Liu Wenxiu.
At present, the only troops were heading towards Guizhou, ready to fight with all their strength. Ma Liuliang, who was originally stationed in Hengyang, advanced to Yuanzhou (Zhijiang Dong Autonomous County, Hunan) first.
Among all the Qin army generals, Ma Liuliang was probably the most bandit-like. He wore Qin army armor, but he still looked like a bandit.
No matter how good the armor is, it can't hide the bandit look on his face. People can't help but sigh that he doesn't look like a prince even though he is wearing a dragon robe.
What kind of general you have, what kind of soldiers you will have;
The 3,000 men under his command also looked like "bandits", and when they were not fighting, they were all in a sloppy state.
But if you take these "bandits" lightly, you will surely die miserably;
These three thousand troops were the most special among the Qin army. The soldiers were mainly young and strong people from mountainous areas such as western Hunan, southern Jiangxi and Guangxi.
Before, the 200,000 or 300,000 Qin troops had been fighting the Qing troops in the north, but these 3,000 troops had been staying in Hengyang. The only task Qin Mu gave to Ma Liuliang was to practice mountain warfare.
These three thousand soldiers and horses could walk barefoot across mountains and hills in the southwestern mountainous area very quickly.
The distance from Hengyang to Yuanzhou is 500 to 600 miles. Most of the area is mountainous, but they only took seven days to reach the destination. They traveled 70 to 80 miles a day, which was an amazing speed.
When they arrived at Yuanzhou, Tang Yue, the deputy commander of the army, said, "General Ma, if we go west for another hundred miles, we will reach Pingxiwei, which is guarded by the Ming army. This place is easy to defend but difficult to attack. Should we wait for General Cui..."
"Wait?" Ma Liuliang interrupted him as if someone stepped on his tail before he could finish, "Damn it, I've been waiting since I came out of Ganzhou. If I hugged a woman and rolled into bed, I don't know how many babies I would have had. You still want me to wait? My men, do you still want to wait?"
“No wait!”
“No wait!”
"Wait for a pug..."
"That's right, wait for the hell of it!"
The 3,000 "bandits" under Ma Liuliang were immediately in a panic. Hunan and southern Jiangxi dialects were heard everywhere. They were waving swords and guns, howling and screaming, just like a group of bandits entering the village. The birds in the surrounding forests were startled and the beasts fled.
Tang Yue was from Wuchang, a typical "professional" graduate. He usually dressed neatly and spoke elegantly, which made him look very different in this "bandit den".
The soldiers in the army called him Tang Xiucai, and the word "xiucai" was full of mockery.
However, Tang Yue was clear about rewards and punishments and cared about his soldiers. Therefore, the soldiers actually respected him.
After seven consecutive days of forced march, Tang Yue was too tired to keep up with the team, so the soldiers carried him over on a sedan chair. No soldier said anything about this. On the contrary, everyone was quite understanding, after all, he was a "scholar".
"Stop yelling!" Tang Yue yelled at the soldiers, then turned to Ma Liuliang and said, "General Ma, I understand your feelings, and I also hope that everyone can get more credit, but you can't eat hot tofu in a hurry, and being too eager for credit will easily lead to bad things. General Ma, even if you don't want to wait for General Huo's army, you should wait for Lord He. The purpose of the King of Qin sending Lord He here this time is to appease them as much as possible and avoid using force..."
"Alright, alright, Mr. Tang, stop talking. He Tengjiao is still two days away. What's the point of waiting here? Let's kill him at Pingxiwei first. At least we should observe the enemy situation first."
Tang Yue knew very well that this guy said he was going to observe the enemy situation, but if he really arrived in Pingxi Wei, he would probably find a lot of reasons to start a war.
However, the commander-in-chief has the final say on marching and fighting, and his opinion can only be provided for reference. This is clearly stipulated in the Qin army.
For example, now, if Ma Liuliang of Pingxi Wei immediately starts a war, he can only submit an impeachment, but has no power to stop it.
Therefore, Ma Liuliang insisted on attacking Pingxi Wei first, and Tang Yue had no way to stop him.
The Huguang side was organizing manpower to transport grain and fodder to Yuanzhou. Ma Liuliang could not wait any longer, and forced Xin Bizhen, the governor of Yuanzhou, to allocate ten days of grain and fodder to him from the autumn tax, and then he led three thousand troops straight to Pingxi Wei.
Yuanzhou is a must-go place for Huguang to enter and exit Guizhou. This area is full of mountains and dense forests, and is often regarded as a place of miasma.
Fortunately, Ma Liuliang's 3,000 troops are well adapted to this climate. Not only are they not affected when marching in such an environment, they also feel like fish in water.
Three thousand troops marched westward along the Wushui River. In order to prevent the soldiers from getting too tired, he slowed down the march.
Along the way, Tang Yue could barely keep up due to the slow marching speed. Whenever he had a chance, he said to Ma Liuliang: "General Ma, a general must know history. This time we are going to fight in Guizhou and Yunnan. General Ma, do you know anything about the history, customs, and terrain of Guizhou and Yunnan?"
"Mr. Tang, if you have something to say, just say it directly. Don't keep us in suspense." Ma Liuliang led the horse as he walked, looking somewhat nonchalant.
"General Ma, let me tell you the history of Guizhou and Yunnan, and you will know that this war is not as easy to fight as you think."
"You say." It was rare for Ma Liuliang to use a respectful title. Although he looked nonchalant on the surface, he actually admired Mr. Tang's knowledge. Otherwise, with his personality, someone like Mr. Tang would have been driven away by him.
"General Ma, listen to me. The mountains in Guizhou and Yunnan are high and the roads are dangerous. Various ethnic groups live together and the situation is extremely complicated. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty conquered the southwest, but during the Han Dynasty, the southwestern tribes rebelled ten times.
During the Shu Han Dynasty, Zhuge Liang captured Meng Huo seven times before conquering the southwest, but they rebelled again after Zhuge Liang's death. During the Tang Dynasty, Yunnan defended itself and the court treated it well, but it regretted its slowness. The Tang Dynasty attacked it nine times, but failed to win.
Yuan Shizu personally went to Yunnan and ordered the prince to guard it, but during the 100 years of the Yuan Dynasty, there were seven rebellions. In the Ming Dynasty, Hongwu also sent the Duke of Qian to guard Yunnan, but rebellions still occurred from time to time;
This time, Wu Bikui and Sha Dingzhou rebelled one after another. This shows how complicated the people in the southwest are. The barbarians are unruly and difficult to tame. It is impossible to make them submit willingly by force alone. "
"Well, that's interesting," Mr. Tang continued.
Tang Yue didn't care how nonchalant Ma Liuliang's tone was, and continued to speak earnestly: "From Pingxi Guard to Guiyang Prefecture, in the early Ming Dynasty, there were Qinglang Guard, Zhenyuan Guard, Pianqiao Guard, Xinglong Guard, and Pingyue Guard. This was not enough. At most, the Ming court had 20 guards in Guizhou. According to the organization in the early Ming Dynasty, each guard had 5,600 people, and the total force was close to 150,000. General Ma, do you know why the Ming court stationed so many troops here?"
"Mr. Tang, don't ask so many questions. If you have something to say, just say it. If you have something to say, just fart. If I knew, why would I need you, a sour scholar?"
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ps: Starting to advance into the southwest, the road is difficult, please help me brothers and ask for monthly ticket support!
.(To be continued..)
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