Great Qing Dynasty talker

Chapter 409: Unstoppable, Rushing to Jiangxi

Miao Youlin looked at the gap in the Ruizhou city wall where the smoke had cleared.

Glancing at Gan Changsheng:

"It's your turn, the 1st Expeditionary Force."

"I will obey my orders."

……

The heavily armored expeditionary force led the charge, followed closely by the soldiers of the 5th Legion armed with flintlock rifles, stepping on the rubble and rushing into Ruizhou City.

The resistance lasted for a quarter of an hour, and then it became one-sided.
The Qing troops dropped their weapons and knelt in surrender, and the militia fled in all directions, most of them returning to their homes.

The gate of the prefectural government office was closed.

As Ha Tong listened to the cheers outside, which were getting louder and louder, tears flowed from the corners of his eyes.

"Although I am not good at riding or shooting, and have lived a life of idleness, I cannot kneel down and surrender to the enemy, right? I will be sorry for my ancestors and the emperor. You all should run for your lives~"

The guards, servants, and maids left immediately through the back door as if they had been pardoned.

Only Ha Tong was left holding a torch, staring blankly at the pile of firewood as high as a person next to him.
……

"Tian Bing, this way, I will lead the way to the prefectural government office."

A rather clever yamen runner squatted on the street corner for a long time, risking being accidentally injured by bullets and stray arrows, and finally found an opportunity to pledge his loyalty.

Zhang Laosan took off his mask and looked ferocious.

"hurry up."

"Whoo."

The yamen runners ran ahead at a rapid speed, followed closely by the cannon fodder of the expeditionary army wearing heavy armor. The clanging of their armor plates when they trotted was quite shocking.

Zhang Laosan's lungs are about to explode.

I jogged for a mile and a half with the weight and my vision went dark.

"We have arrived at the prefectural government office. The Tartar, Ha Tong, must be inside."

"Get out of the way."

Four soldiers armed with hammers smashed the copper-nailed door hard.

thump~
The door collapsed with a loud bang, stirring up dust.

……

Ha Tong trembled all over and quickly threw the torch in his hand into the firewood pile.
Looking at the flames rising.

He shouted with all his might:
"Since ancient times, no one has ever died, leaving a loyal heart to illuminate history."

Dive into the fire.

The yamen runners jumped up and down:
"He is Hardoon. Oh, I am a step late. What a pity."

Zhang Laosan looked at Ha Tong struggling in the flames, probably unable to bear the pain, and staggered out of the fire scene.

He laughed and turned the spear in his hand, using the shaft to hold back Ha Tong.

With a little effort, he pushed the person back into the fire.

The bailiff was horrified when he suddenly heard:
"Let me ask you, are there any women in the government office?"

"what?"

Bang! The bailiff was slapped in the face.

He suddenly realized:

"Yes, yes, I'll lead the way."

Ha Tong's concubine trembled all over, looking at a group of blood-stained soldiers rushing in and looking at her with ill intentions.

"You guys~"

At this moment, she regretted very much not swallowing the poison that her colleague Ha gave her first.

……

The yamen runner covered his red and swollen face:

"General, what do you think?"

"Tied him up and took him away."

The 1st Expeditionary Army acted quickly and first scooped up all the women in the backyard of the prefectural government office, regardless of age or appearance.

Then they began to plunder gold, silver and documents.

Gold and silver can be used as military pay, and documents have high intelligence value.

The Wu army took control of the city's granary, arsenal, and silver vaults one by one, then broke into the houses and arrested local officials and their families.

A slightly plump gentleman came trotting over.

Smiling:

"The gentry of Ruizhou Prefecture have come to the four cities to pay homage to the great general of the Wu Kingdom. Long live the Wu Kingdom, and long live your Majesty."

"Well, a man who knows the current situation is a hero. It's always good for you to recognize the situation. Come on, send two soldiers to protect Zhou's mansion to prevent accidental injuries."

"Thank you, General."

……

Miao Youlin suddenly stopped and looked at him with a smile.

Zhou Sicheng suddenly came to his senses and said loudly:

"I am willing to assist the army in taking over Shanggao and Xinchang counties in this prefecture."

"Ok?"

"My uncle is the prefect of Shanggao County, and my son-in-law is a businessman in Xinchang. They are both smart people. After seeing my letter, they will surely wake up and cooperate with the army."

Miao Youlin patted his shoulder:

"Why don't you seek refuge in Guangdong? I heard that many Jiangxi gentry have already gone to Guangzhou with their families."

Zhou Sicheng sneered:
"They are accompanying their nephews to Guangzhou to participate in the autumn examination. My Zhou family is not well-off, with only three daughters."

Miao Youlin seemed to understand something.

On the same day,

Two battalions of the 5th Corps left Ruizhou City and were ordered to move westward to quickly capture the above-mentioned two county towns.

After that, only 50 people were left stationed there, and the rest had to catch up with the main force's southern expedition.

……

In the evening, Ruizhou City.

The former prefectural government office was brightly lit.

"Report to the commander-in-chief, scouts have reported that no organized field corps of the Qing army has been found in Pingxiang County, Yuanzhou Prefecture."

"Reporting to the commander-in-chief, the alternate civil servants have carefully read the official documents seized from Ruizhou Prefecture. The reinforcements from the four provinces of Yunnan, Guizhou, Hunan and Guangxi had all left Jiangxi several months ago due to disputes over food and wages."

Miao Youlin's eyes flickered as he looked at the lieutenants in the room.

"I have a bold idea and I need your cooperation."

"We will advance with light troops, and no longer capture cities one by one. Instead, we will capture the five prefectures of Linjiang, Yuanzhou, Fuzhou, Ji'an, and Jianchang at lightning speed."

"Commander-in-chief, what should we do if we encounter a county town controlled by the Qing army?"

"Go around, and after you control the prefectural city, send people to spread the message to all the county towns. Tell the people in the city that if they surrender, they will be spared, but if they don't surrender, all the officials and gentry in the city, as well as their families, will be beheaded."

Everyone's eyes flickered, and they were shocked by this plan.

To be honest, it's quite adventurous.
……

Miao Youlin also smiled and expressed his thoughts:

"The entire province of Jiangxi only has tens of thousands of Green Camp soldiers, plus some archers to guard the city. There is no mobile force capable of field combat."

"In addition, since the summer floods receded, there have been endless incidents of grain-grabbing and rebellion. Ma Zhongyi, the governor of Jiangxi and the general of Gannan, was busy leading his troops to put out fires everywhere."

"My lords, our army has always been cautious and advanced step by step without taking any risks. But today, if I march lightly, can the Qing government guess it? Can they prevent it?"

"I have made up my mind. Light troops will charge forward!"

All the officers stood up in unison:

"As ordered."

Miao Youlin also stood up and uttered seven words:

"I bear all responsibility."

After all,

He glanced at the military judge sent by the War Department.

"Captain, you may put this on record."

"As ordered."

……

The stern captain military judge recorded the contents of today's military meeting truthfully.

Wu Ting stipulated that

Personnel stationed in the army by the Office of Examination and the Office of Military Law have no right to interfere with the orders of any chief officer, and those who disobey orders will be executed.

And one person is assigned to two departments to reduce redundant staff.

Those who both enforce military law and record military merits are collectively called military judges.

Military judges are originally civilian officials, but they can hold military ranks while stationed in a military corps.

Military judges are qualified to attend military meetings, but they can only bring their ears, not their mouths.

"Everyone, get busy after the meeting. Deliver the order to the soldiers, prepare the dry food, and go get the necessary ammunition. The three vanguards will set out immediately tomorrow morning."

After the officers left, the room became deserted.

Miao Youlin stared at the map for two quarters of an hour.

He thinks the success rate of this move is at least 7%.

……

Jiangxi is surrounded by mountains on the east, west and south sides, and is relatively flat in the middle.

In addition, Wu's army controlled the important town of Jiujiang, blocking the land route that the Qing army from Hubei had to take to advance eastward.

The Manchu and Mongolian cavalry stationed in Hubei had a risky move: a long-distance raid from Jingxiang to Changsha to Liling to Pingxiang.

There is an obvious gap between the Luoxiao Mountains and the Mulianjiu Mountains.

That is Liling-Pingxiang.

However, I guess no one in Hubei has the courage to do this.

Agui was at the border and Hailancha died.

Hubei Governor Wang Jie was a cautious and honest civil servant who was busy building cities and storing food every day.

Wu's scouts also investigated the enemy situation in Pingxiang.

……

Ruizhou City was bustling all night.

Most of the people did not sleep well and hid behind their doors, shivering.

Three vanguards, each with 3 men, carried a small amount of light artillery and baggage and set out from the city.

Miao Youlin once again instructed the three commanders:

"We must march quickly and decisively. We must catch the Qing army off guard. If all else fails, we can use our old tricks and blow up the city walls."

to this end,

He allocated all the mules and donkeys in and around Ruizhou City to the vanguard.

in case,

It would be best if the Wu army had more cavalry and let them carry out long-range raids.

Now the Light Horse Regiment is like His Majesty's treasure.

If the casualties are too great, I will not be able to explain myself.

……

The distance from Ruizhou Prefecture to Linjiang Prefecture is 180 miles.

It took the infantry only three days, which was amazingly fast.

The miners were hardworking and never complained, just walking with their heads down.

As evening approaches,
Four scouts reached the outskirts of Linjiang Prefecture.

"Sergeant, the gates are still open."

"It's too late. The main force is still 10 miles away. Once the convoy at the gate enters the city, they will close the city gate."

"If our whereabouts are exposed, the Qing army will not open the city gates tomorrow morning."

"Probably."

The march could not be kept secret.

There were too many civilians witnessing the incident along the way, so it was hard to guarantee that no one would take advantage of the night to report the incident. All it took was a shout from under the city wall to alert the Qing army.

The miners all came from poor backgrounds and knew the cruelty of the baojia system.

The Qing court never showed leniency to the inactive headmen and chiefs of the police station, and would kill them and replace them with others.

……

The four scouts lying a mile away hesitated for a long time.

Finally made up my mind.

The sergeant whispered:

"Damn it, let's take a gamble. If I win, I'll be a warrant officer and you'll be a non-commissioned officer. If we lose, we'll be together and we'll be brothers in the next life."

A donkey cart happened to pass by on the official road.

The four of them quickly ran over and used the donkey cart for cover, pretending to be in the same group.

The driver was horrified:

"You guys~"

"Drive the cart honestly, or I'll kill your donkey."

It takes the poor to understand the poor.

The driver immediately panicked and begged:

"Sir, don't kill the donkey. The whole family depends on it for food."

"Then shut up and drive your car."

……

There's a traffic jam at the city gate.

Because the situation was tense, the city defenses were strengthened.

A full shift of Green Camp soldiers stood at the city gate checking each caravan entering the city.

"Damn, how many cars are behind this?"

"More than a dozen cars? More than twenty cars? Who knows."

The soldiers complained while checking the vehicles for stolen goods.
The team owner was quite dissatisfied.

The car was full of medicinal materials. Hiring dozens of cars to transport them from Ji'an to Linjiang was completely the wrong direction.

In fact, he didn't want to make it so complicated, but the Guangdong merchants who bought the goods were stubborn and believed that "medicine will not work if it is not sold in Zhangshu Town."

Zhangshu Town is not far from the provincial capital. It was captured by Wu’s army once and is now much more desolate.

It may take two or three days for the Guangdong merchants who come to buy goods to arrive.

For safety reasons, it is better to ship the goods into the provincial capital.

……

The sky gradually darkened, and the patrolling soldiers on the city wall looked lazily at a lonely donkey cart at the end of the team.

The four scouts looked at each other.

He took off the coarse cloth robe on the outside, revealing the red and black military uniform underneath.

He rudely pushed aside the drivers and waiters who were queuing up and walked towards the city gate.

A green camp soldier holding a spear looked up and down suspiciously.

"Hey, hey, hey, who are you?"

He was answered with a bayonet.
The Qing army commander, who was 2 feet away, was shot and fell to the ground.

The scout shouted:
"The Wu army has entered the city, kill them."

The city gate was in chaos, everyone was crying and running around, and those who ran too slow were stabbed in the back by bayonets.
……

"You two, hurry up! Go up to the city wall and cut off the drawbridge."

The sergeant gave orders calmly.

He grabbed a shop banner from the roadside, stuffed it into the wonton stove, set it on fire, and then threw it onto the roof.

The thatched roof soon caught fire.

He pulled out another burning wooden beam and set it on fire along the street.

A few frightened donkey carts were still standing at the city gate, motionless.

He sighed and lit the herbs in the car.

The donkey suddenly stopped being stubborn and ran away very fast.

In the firelight,
I saw some Green Camp soldiers peeking around the street corner, but they didn't have the courage to come over.

Above, sporadic gunshots and sounds of fighting were heard from the city walls.

obviously,
The three encountered stubborn resistance from the Qing army.

The sounds of musket fire became louder and louder.

He secretly cried out that something was wrong and found a steel knife from a blacksmith shop and rushed to cut the ropes of the suspension bridge.

I had just cut off one root when a gunshot came from somewhere.

Iron sand flying around
The man staggered and fell into the moat.

……

on the city wall,
The control device of the suspension bridge was completely destroyed by a knife.

Two Wu army soldiers fell in a pool of blood.

Ten feet away, the Qing army's matchlock guns kept roaring, like fireworks.

The only remaining person hid behind a mountain-splitting cannon and dared not move.

The artillery carriage was hit with sparks flying and clanging sounds.

A captain loudly ordered:
"Brothers, rush over and catch him alive. The reward is 5 taels of silver."

Looking at the Qing army surrounding them,

The only remaining Wu army scout gritted his teeth, emptied his gun, stood on the parapet and leaped forward.

Wow,
There was a huge splash in the moat.

"Hit, kill him."

Dozens of Qing soldiers stuck their heads out to see where the people were.

The prefect who rushed over after hearing the news stamped his feet anxiously:
"Quickly pull up the drawbridge and close the city gate."

"Put out the fire. Put out the fire."

……

on the city wall,
A soldier from the Green Camp also looked as if he had seen a ghost and his face turned pale.

"The Wu thief is really here, quickly pull up the drawbridge."

at this time,

The Linjiang City with its gate on fire was like a torch in the night, very eye-catching.

The Lieutenant Commander yelled:
"Brothers, abandon the baggage and charge in."

One horse takes the lead and a thousand horses gallop.

Everyone ran towards the light.

The Qing troops on the Linjiang city wall were sweating profusely, and the suspension bridge device was destroyed.

"Your Excellency, the suspension bridge cannot be lowered."

"Close the gates and fire."

The sound of cannons rang out, piercing the night sky.

People on the city walls were busy firing cannons and shooting, people below the city were busy putting out fires, and the city was full of people running around like headless flies.

……

dark,

It is a stage for the brave and hell for the timid.

The Linjiang City defenders were in great disarray.
Many people took off their uniforms and sneaked into private homes during the chaos, pretending to be ordinary people.

Part of the Wu army that rushed to the city exchanged fire with the Qing army, while part of them rushed into the city gate along the suspension bridge and blew it up.

With a dull explosion, the city gate burst open.

"Come in."

The 5th Legion, with high morale, rushed into the city gate shouting and then took control of the four walls.

The lieutenant did not order his troops to control the key points in the city, but instead ordered his men to shout loudly:
"The Wu army entered the city without harming anyone."

"Throw away your weapons and you will be a submissive citizen."

"Officials and wealthy families in the city should immediately report to the city walls. If they fail to arrive at dawn, they will be regarded as bad gentry and their entire clan will be killed."

……

(End of this chapter)