Li Zicheng's trip south to Huguang this time was divided into two routes. One route was led by his eldest nephew Li Guo. He took the Lexian Bridge and went south, first taking Jingmen and then going to Jingzhou. This road was a partial division. Even the rear camp army commanded by Li Guo did not dispatch the entire army. It only dispatched 8,000 combat troops and 8,000 auxiliary troops, a total of 16,000 people.
Relying on this small number of troops is certainly not enough to break through the tightly defended Jingmen Prefecture City, and Li Guo does not have to take Jingmen Prefecture City - although Jingmen Prefecture is known as the north gate of the Jianghan Plain, the Pagoda Mountain to the east of the prefecture city is To the east is the plain, and the army can completely bypass it.
So after discovering that Jingmen Prefecture City was relatively tightly guarded, Li Guo chose to encircle it rather than attack. They first sent troops to capture the Pagoda Mountain east of Jingmen Prefecture City, and then used six thousand people (half combat soldiers and half auxiliary soldiers) to dig trenches and surround the city. He himself and Li Laiheng divided their forces to attack Zhanghekou, Xianjukou, Yiyangsuo, Neifangshan, Jianyang Town, Jingmensuo, Xincheng Town and Dangyang County around Jingmen Prefecture City.
Different from the previous strategy of only taking large cities and ignoring small counties and towns, after determining the mobilization strategy of "equalizing land based on population and exempting debts without repaying them", the Dashun Army began to follow the route of "surrounding cities from rural areas".
The city of Jingmen can be kept first, but the surrounding villages must be taken first.
Moreover, wherever the army went, they posted notices announcing "equal land and debt relief", and began to count the population and distribute the land equally. Now Chuangwang has 70,000 to 80,000 veteran soldiers who have enclosed and divided the land. Their execution ability is no longer what it used to be, and they can truly implement the policy of "equalizing land and exempting debts"!
Although this method of advancing while balancing the land is stable and can establish a base while advancing, the movement is still too slow. Therefore, the line Li Guo was responsible for was not the main force of the Dashun Army, but just a partial division used to seize territory.
The real main force was the 80,000-strong army led by Li Zicheng himself, which marched eastward along the Han River by land and water (also divided equally between war and auxiliary forces). The main force of 80,000 arrived at Zhongxiang, Chengtianfu City, on the second day of November. There was no one like Jing Muqing in Zhongxiang City, so the gentry and wealthy businessmen who could escape from the city left for Hankou before the Shuntian soldiers arrived. The remaining people could only open the door to welcome the surrender and welcome Li Chuang's soldiers into Chengtianfu City.
After entering the city, Li Zicheng was not burdened by the mundane duties of "equalizing land and exempting debts". He only rested for a day. Early on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, he led the main force of 75,000 people (leaving 5,000 in the Chengtian Fucheng area) along the Continue eastward along the Han River.
Two days later, on the evening of the sixth day of November, the vanguard led by Liu Fangliang occupied Qianjiang County, an important town on the west bank of the Han River. Li Zichen himself arrived in Qianjiang on the seventh day of November, and was welcomed by the poor people around Qianjiang County before entering Qianjiang County.
Li Zicheng, who was in a good mood because he sensed the will of the people, summoned the generals in the Qianjiang County Yamen that night to start a military meeting.
The generals who participated in the military meeting were all beaming with joy. Pioneer officer Liu Fangliang was the first to speak, saying: "This time we marched into the army, we have won more support from the people than ever before! Along the way, we saw people supporting the old and the young. When they came to greet them, the Zhu family's thieves, soldiers, and officials all fled away, completely vulnerable. They thought that there were some evil gentry who overestimated their capabilities and picked up some regiments to fight with them, but they disappeared this time. It seems that it won't take long for Huguang to be destroyed. This is all the emperor’s territory.”
Prime Minister Niu Jinxing also followed Li Zicheng. After listening to Liu Fangliang's words, he smiled and said: "We have really won the hearts of the people this time. We have equalized land according to population, and we have waived debts and interest... Huguang's Poor men have received real benefits, how can they not support us?
In addition, our operations in the four prefectures of Xiangjing, Nanyang, Yuanyang, and Hanzhong have also achieved results. This time, more than 100,000 troops were dispatched in the southern expedition. All the required food and fodder were prepared by ourselves. We no longer followed the battle and did not care about the people along the way. The nuisance is also much less. "
Tian Jianxiu sighed: "We should have been like this a long time ago... We should not have marched eastward at the beginning of last year. Instead, we should have spent more energy on governing the territories in Shaanxi, Huguang and Henan. After the territories have been governed, we can then attack Beijing will not suffer so many setbacks."
Liu Zongmin smiled and said: "This is all hindsight. Who knew at the beginning of last year?"
Li Zicheng nodded and said with a wry smile: "It's not too late after all... It may not be easy to dominate the world, but a three-pointer is still possible."
Yuan Zongdi said: "Why are there only three points? Now the hearts of the people are on our side, and we have taken advantage of the upper reaches. I hope that if we manage it well for a few years, we can keep the emperor Fuhan from entering the river and pacify the southeast. Return to the southeast. How long can the Tatars survive without your Majesty?"
Everyone nodded after hearing this. Li Zicheng also smiled and said: "The three points are of course temporary. We will conquer Huguang first, and then unite Bashu. Going eastward will break the bamboo. We have worked hard for ten or eight years, but are we still afraid that we will not be able to conquer the world?"
Most of what he said was to encourage people. If everyone follows him, the best thing is to dominate the world. The situation of Jingxiang, Bashu and Jingxiang, and Bashu in three parts will never last long.
Li Zicheng asked again: "What's the news from Wuchang Mansion and Hanyang Mansion?"
"Your Majesty, we have some news." The person who took over the topic was Second Military Advisor Gu Junen. This time, Li Zicheng did not take Song Xiance with him during the southern expedition. Instead, he ordered him and Chen Yongfu to stay in Xiangjing, while waiting for the opportunity to bring Zhu Cihuan, Gao Yushun and Yuan The imperial concubine was sent to Huaibei together. So the person who followed Li Zicheng to make suggestions and was also responsible for intelligence work was Gu Junen.
Gu Junen paused and then said: "Your Majesty, I just got the news this evening that Zuo Liangyu's soldiers have left Wuchang Prefecture and Hanyang Prefecture by water and gone to Jingzhou Prefecture along the Yangtze River."
"What? The thief left?"
"This is great!"
"Your Majesty, don't delay, hurry up and march in to seize Hanyang and Wuchang!"
When the generals heard that Zuo Liangyu's army had left, they all became more energetic and clamored to advance quickly.
Li Zicheng turned to look at Gu Junen, "Are Hanyang and Wuchang both empty cities?"
"Hanyang Fucheng is almost empty," Gu Jun'en said, "but Wuchang Fucheng and Hankou Town are still crowded with many people, all gentry and profiteers from Hubei. These gentry and profiteers carry treasures with them because the ships were taken away by the left army , so he couldn't escape.
If we move faster, we might be able to defeat Hankou Town and Wuchang City easily. If Hankou and Wuchang are all in my hands... it will be much easier to go down the river in the future! "
"Only Hankou and Hanyang?" Li Zicheng asked.
Gu Junen replied: "I suggest that we take Hankou and Hanyang first, leaving Wuchang for the young prince of the Zhu family. Because Wuchang is south of the Yangtze River, our navy is not as good as the Zhu Thief after all. If we are defeated on the river, the army that enters Wuchang will be alone. . Now the Zhu thieves have many Western cannons, and Wuchang City is simply not enough to defend. If Wang Shi is frustrated in Wuchang, it will be greatly detrimental to the morale of the people in Huguang."
Li Zicheng squinted one eye and furrowed his brows, as if he was weighing the odds again and again. After a while, he asked, "How many Hongyi cannons do we have available? Can we control the Yangtze River?"
The general who made the artillery camp was Li Zicheng's confidant Wu Ruyi. He was taciturn but very reliable in his work. Hearing Li Zicheng's question, he opened his mouth and answered: "Your Majesty, Hongyi cannons are difficult to make. We have tried several times without success, so there are only four of them." The captured old cannons can be used. Well, I heard that many warships on the Zhuthi side are also equipped with Hongyi cannons. The four cannons in the artillery camp may not be able to control the Yangtze River.
In addition, the Hongyi cannon weighs several kilograms and is inconvenient to transport and place. To use it properly, you must build a fort, mount the cannon at a high place, and then protect it from all sides. "
The artillery utilization level of the Dashun Army was not as good as that of the Qing Army. The Hongyi artillery they owned did not have gun mounts that could be moved in the field. They were shipped on carts and built artillery carts or forts or forts at local locations. .
"If you can't lock the Yangtze River, you can't occupy Wuchang!" Li Zicheng thought for a while, "It's better to be safer. Take Hankou and Hanyang first, then find a high place outside Hankou to build a fort, and use Hongyi cannon to block the Yangtze River. .....Haha, first become invincible, and then slowly waste time with him! Well, now he is what the people want, he is the master of the king, and he has plenty of time."
