It was the tenth day of October in the tenth year of Emperor Kangxi's reign in the Qing Dynasty.
Outskirts of Ruian County, Wenzhou Prefecture, Zhejiang Province.
One by one, the artillery pieces were carried onto the seven newly completed earthen forts. The muzzles of the cannons were all pointed at the city wall of Ruian County. The shirtless artillerymen were all in place. There were baskets of solid cannon shells and boxes of gunpowder. They were neatly stacked behind the gun emplacement, and the ammunition hand stood there, nervously waiting for the order to load and fire.
Along the northeastern sides of Ruian County, 20,000 Qing soldiers mobilized from various parts of Fujian and Zhejiang have built dozens of forts arranged in an arc. Each fort is equipped with multiple cannons, and there are probably hundreds of them. The doors and guns have been installed in place, pointing towards the city. The gunners had already prepared the fire bombs and stood beside the cannons, waiting with bated breath.
Geng Jingzhong, the crown prince of Jingnan, together with Fan Chengmo, the governor of Zhejiang, Sai Baili, the admiral of Zhejiang land and water, and Turboshen, the general of Hangzhou, boarded the "Dianbing platform" built on Longshan in the north of Ruian County. Longshan is only more than two miles away from Ruian County, and there is no obstruction in the middle. You can have a panoramic view of this large battlefield to the north of Ruian County without a telescope.
There were already many officers waiting on the troops-ordering platform, and they were all gathered together. Seeing Geng Jingzhong, Fan Chengmo, Se Baili, Turboshen and others coming in, they all performed the court ceremony together. Chen Yonghua, the helmsman of Tiandihui Jiangnan branch, was also among them. He came to Zhejiang in the name of the general manager of Fujian Xiangyong under Geng Jingzhong to help fight "Obai" and Wu Sanwei.
As for Chen Yonghua's boss Geng Jingzhong, after "Obai" and Wu Sanwei raised their troops in Ruian, he immediately volunteered to ask Kangxi to lead troops to suppress thieves for the imperial court. After receiving the permission, the prince immediately ordered 2,000 elite soldiers of the vassal vassal, plus 2,000 warriors from the coastal areas of Fujian recruited by Chen Yonghua, and came to Zhejiang by land and water to help out.
However, even with the support of 4,000 Fujian soldiers, the siege of Ruian by the Zhejiang soldiers commanded by Fan Chengmo, Se Baili, and Turboshen did not go smoothly!
That "Obai" is awesome after all!
After all, he had commanded all the troops of the Qing Dynasty, and he was very familiar with the tactics and weaknesses of the Qing soldiers. Therefore, the little knowledge Fan Chengmo, Se Baili, and Turboshen had in using troops were all ignored by "Obai". "It's accurate!"
It is no exaggeration to say that before the three soldiers Fan, Sai, and Tu came out, "Obai" on the opposite side was already using their combat strategies with Wu Sanwei, and the general Liu Guoxuan sent by Dayuan Island. We studied together.
Therefore, although there are few soldiers on "Obai"'s side, they can always predict the enemy's opportunities! Either set up an ambush on the Qing army's advance, or attack the Qing army's grain warehouse, or concentrate their forces to attack the Qing army along the way.
After a few months of fighting, Fan Chengmo, Se Baili, and Mr. Turshen were all gone!
Fortunately, Emperor Kangxi still supported the three of them. Although the three of them kept pleading guilty, Kangxi did not convict them. At first, he wrote excerpts to criticize them, but later he changed it to writing "chicken soup articles" to encourage them to repeat their mistakes. War - because news of the defeat in southern Sichuan had reached Beijing at that time, in Kangxi's view, the war in Zhejiang was still a bright spot.
No matter how many battles and defeats Fan Chengmo, Se Baili, and Turshen Bo suffered, they would only lose some soldiers from the green camp. They didn't lose much territory. None of the Eight Banners soldiers were on the battlefield, so they naturally didn't lose much either.
Such a record is not bad!
As for the Green Camp, there are no more to recruit! As long as the Eight Banners garrisoned in Zhejiang do not let Obai take over, and Obai's territory does not expand, then Kangxi will feel that the three of them have made contributions. After all, there are a group of scammers like Yue Le, Leerjin, and Moro for comparison. The war situation in Zhejiang That's just blinding.
In early August, when the news that Wu Sangui defeated the imperial army in Sichuan, and quickly swept Sichuan and invaded Hanzhong, Shaanxi Province, spread to Zhejiang, Fan Chengmo, Se Baili, and Turshenbo also felt that they were not as good as those here in Zhejiang. The situation is getting worse and worse!
Because the powerful gentry and green forest heroes in Zhejiang heard that Wu Sangui had beaten the Qing soldiers to a pulp in Sichuan, and they all started to get ready to take action!
Originally, most of the heroes in Zhejiang looked down upon Wu Sangui's younger brother Wu Sanwei. After all, Wu Sangui was far away in Yunnan and Guizhou. Even if he wanted to rebel, he didn't know when he would be able to reach Zhejiang.
But when Wu Sangui performed a "Blitzkrieg of Heavenly Soldiers and Sichuan Attack", the heroes and heroes in Zhejiang became excited!
According to the strategy of the Battle of Southern Sichuan, Wu Sangui will soon "reach the land of Youyan". If he doesn't act now, he may miss this opportunity to found the country from the dragon.
So starting from mid-August, the Qing troops deployed around Ruian would occasionally fight with the heroes who went to Ruian to defect to Wu. And the arrogance of "Wenzhou Obai" became visible to the naked eye!
In late August, they even sent troops to cross the Yunyang River and capture Feiyun Pass, which was heavily defended by the Qing army!
At that time, the situation in Zhejiang as a whole could be said to be precarious. But at this critical moment, Chen Yonghua, the leader of "Min Yong" under Geng Jingzhong, suddenly proposed a "wonderful way to break Ao"!
This "wonderful method of breaking Ao" is actually not complicated. It can be summed up in six words: "Strengthen the stronghold and fight stupidly."
Specifically, it is to fight as little as possible in wild and ground battles, and to slowly approach Ruian through step-by-step and fortress advancement methods.
That "Obai" is smarter than a monkey and more ferocious than a tiger. He can even pinch him. How can he still fight like this in the wilderness?
Since we can't fight, we might as well change our strategy. First build fortresses and camps in the north, east, and west directions of Ruian County to block the expansion channels of "Obai" and Wu Sanwei, and then continue step by step. Tighten the encirclement, build fortresses and camps forward, and finally approach Ruian City.
As long as it can be pushed to Ruian City, it will be a war of attrition!
The Qing Dynasty had a lot of artillery, gunpowder, and green camp warriors. If it didn't work, they could capture Ruian City even if they were surrounded and hungry!
After Geng Jingzhong, Fan Chengmo, Se Baili, Tur Shenbo and others took this approach, the Battle of Ruian turned around. Although "Obai" and Wu Sanwei sent troops to attack the Qing army's fortress several times, Because of insufficient firepower, it was impossible to capture it, so it quickly fell into trouble.
The encirclement of the Qing army also tightened, and in early October, they finally advanced to Ruian City!
Geng Jingzhong, Fan Chengmo, Se Baili, and Turshenbo stood side by side on the military point platform, looking at the opposite Ruian City, which was filled with various flags. There were many rebels on the city head. Behind each crenel, there seemed to be There is one for everyone!
Their order was very good, most of them were motionless, and only a few were walking back and forth on the walls.
"Chen Dusi!"
Geng Jingzhong withdrew his gaze and looked back at Chen Yonghua who was standing beside him. Because the method of "fighting stupidly and forming a camp" worked, Chen Yonghua had been promoted! Green Camp Dusi who was promoted to the fourth rank.
"The general is here!"
Chen Yonghua immediately stepped out of the queue, looking eager to try. He stood in front of Geng Jingzhong carelessly. At first glance, he looked like he had a powerful background and didn't know the rules.
Geng Jingzhong smiled and asked, "What do you think?"
"Reporting to the Crown Prince," Chen Yonghua said, "I feel that Ao Bai and Wu Sanwei may be planning an empty city. Their large forces have already evacuated by water, so the city is so quiet when the imperial army is pressing down on the border."
In fact, what Chen Yonghua said was also seen by Fan Chengmo, Se Baili and Uncle Tour. Especially Uncle Tour, he has an old army with the Baturu Yong. How could he not know this?
Now that the army's forts and fortresses were built outside Ruian City, Obai and Wu Sanwei had Zheng Jing's support. They could escape by water at any time. How could they not run away?
However, the three of them saw through it but refused to tell it. After all, they had fought too hard in the past few months and many people had died. If there was no great military merit, how could one claim credit or reward?
But now it has been exposed by Chen Yonghua, a "newcomer in officialdom".
Geng Jingzhong nodded, looked at Fan Chengmo, Se Baili, and Uncle Tur, and said with a wry smile: "This method of fighting step by step is not good at all. It is easy to win but difficult to destroy the thieves. Moreover, the fight is too hard. , the people below don’t have much credit, but they do a lot of hard work.”
"Winning is a great victory!" Fan Chengmo said, "Although there is no great achievement, Southeast Asia can finally be safe!"
Se Baili also nodded and echoed: "Being in the southeast is better than anything else!"
Uncle Tuer stroked his white beard and said with a smile: "The people below fought hard, and they finally defeated us as officials. Naturally, we have to give more credit to the people below, or else this will happen to us again in the future. That would be a loss of motivation.”
Geng Jingzhong smiled and said: "What you always said, Tujunmen, is very true. You are a senior in the army and you know the military spirit well. I am waiting in front of you, and I am a junior!
However, the younger generation is still worried that Obai and Wu Sanwei will definitely give up Ruian, but they may not go too far. They may just retreat to the islands off the coast of Zhejiang and Fujian. When we withdraw our troops and return to the camp, they will kill again. return. At that time, how should we explain to the emperor? "
"This" Mr. Tur didn't know what to say at all.
Wu Sanwei and Ao Bai live on the island and invade the bandits from time to time. Don't you, the crown prince of Jingnan, just want to raise the bandits to respect themselves?
Fan Chengmo asked Geng Jingzhong: "Master, what do you think we should do?"
Geng Jingzhong said: "My lord, I see, we still need to organize more naval forces. How about we petition the court together to set up a naval town to assist in the suppression of sea routes and specialize in sea-based Obai?"
The so-called "assist and suppression town" is actually a mobile force. In the early days of the Qing Dynasty, there were still some "rescue and suppression" troops within the Green Camp system that could be mobilized for mobile operations at any time.
Of course, the sea route to assist and suppress the naval town is a "mobile fleet"!
"This is a good idea!" Zhejiang Water and Land Admiral Se Baili said with a frown, "But Obai and Wu Sanwei have obviously colluded with the pirates on Dayuan Island and our Green Camp Navy cannot defeat them!"
"Saijunmen," Chen Yonghua was waiting for him to say this, "I have a way to deal with the pirates on Dayuan Island."
"What's the solution? Let me tell you." Sebeli asked.
Chen Yonghua said: "The humble post is actually from a maritime business background. He knows best the abilities of the Taiyuan Island pirates. Their ability is not actually in fighting naval battles, but in being able to travel freely and erratically along the southeast coast. The navy of the government and army are all like Like the land divisions, they rowed across the sea and defended, each in charge of their own stall. This method of protecting the city was okay, but on the vast and boundless sea, it would be difficult to resist the pirates.
To resist the big pirates, it is necessary to train a navy that does not guard the restrictions of the defense zone and has no responsibility for guarding the sea. It can come and go freely along the southeast coast. Wherever the big pirates go, this navy can follow them. Even if they don't fight, as long as they keep chasing and following, they can defeat the big pirates. "
"Don't fight. Just follow?"
"Yes!" Chen Yonghua nodded, "Just follow! Because the big pirates are said to be thieves, but in fact they are mainly merchants. They maintain the navy fleet through trade with Japan, Nanyang, and Western Yi. If our The suppression navy has been following them all the time, so how can they do business? If they don’t have any business to do, how can they support the navy?”
Se Baili shook his head: "But where can we find a navy who can follow the great pirates all the time?"
Chen Yonghua said with a smile: "Saijunmen, there are ready-made troops at sea. As long as the emperor is willing to recruit troops, thousands of naval forces can gather at any time!"
"You mean to recruit pirates?" Sebai Li frowned. "Most of the pirates on the southeast coast have nothing to do with the imperial court. Are they willing to help the imperial court deal with the Zheng family pirates?"
"Sejunmen," Chen Yonghua said, "as long as the imperial court allows these merchants to enter the port to purchase and trade with Japan, Korea, Annan and Luzon in the name of imperial official ships, they will surrender to the imperial court. Even if they are unwilling to deal with Zheng But as long as they take away the Zheng family's business, the Zheng family will become poorer and poorer. If they become poor, won't they have no money to run a navy?"
"Yes, yes," Geng Jingzhong said, "This is just a small amount of money, and if we make it away, won't the Zheng family be gone?"
"Let us all make money?" Se Baili's eyes lit up, as if he had heard the truest truth in the world.
The Zheng family has been able to be arrogant for so many years, isn't it just because they have money? If all this money went to a few of them, wouldn't Zheng Jing be gone?
In this way, we not only make money, but also suppress thieves. This is really "loyalty and corruption". People who have been officials since ancient times have probably dreamed of such a good thing, right?
"That's great, let's do whatever you want!" Sai Baili said with a smile, stroking his hands.
Fan Chengmo also stroked his beard and laughed: "This is a solution!"
Uncle Tuer clapped his hands and said, "Chen Dusi, your method is good. Why didn't we think of it in the past? I think this naval aid and suppression town can be done. As for the waterway aid and suppression commander, Chen Dusi, it's you. bring it on!"
Fan Chengmo also said: "Count me as one! I will also protect you as a general soldier!"
Se Baili also smiled and said: "Chen Dusi, the stability of our coastal areas in Zhejiang and Fujian depends on your ability to make money. Make all the money and leave nothing to Zheng Jing!"
Geng Jingzhong immediately said to Chen Yonghua: "Fufu, do your best and wait until you capture Ruian. I, Fan Zhijun, Tujunmen, and Saijunmen will recommend you to be the commander-in-chief!"
"嗻!"
Chen Yonghua responded loudly and gave another salute. Then he turned around and took a red flag from a soldier and waved it hard!
Arranged outside Ruian City, all the cannons and small cannons suddenly started shaking at the same time. The fire was spitting out first, followed by the thunderous sound of cannons. The smoke filled the air. In the blink of an eye, smoke columns rose from the top of the small Ruian City Earth and rocks!
Although Geng Jingzhong, Fan Chengmo, Se Baili, and Uncle Tur knew that there were no longer Obai and Wu Sanwei in Ruian City, they still had to act. This was the time when Emperor Kangxi was looking forward to the stars and the moon. What a long-awaited victory!
"Great victory, great victory"
"Your Majesty, great victory in Zhejiang!"
Forbidden City, Qianqing Palace, South Study.
Kangxi, who was reading the apology papers sent by Yue Le, Leer Jin, Moruo, Varka (Xi'an General), and Jia Hanfu one by one, suddenly heard Suo'etu and Mingzhu crying a little. Sound, but at the same time full of joyful shouts.
Those apology papers were due to the loss of Hanzhong Prefecture and Xing'an Prefecture. Although it is frustrating, it is also expected.
The Sichuan side was defeated thousands of miles away. How could Hanzhong and Xing'an, two prefectures that belonged to Shaanxi but were located south of the Qinling Mountains, be able to hold on?
These two prefectures can persist until October. Yue Le, Leerjin, Moro, Varka and the newly appointed Shaanxi governor Jia Hanfu have really tried their best.
Of course, Wu Sangui's action was slower than Kangxi expected - this may be because Sichuan's territory is too large and its roads and bridges are too poor. It is not easy to raise military rations, supplies, and civil servants. At the same time, Wu Sangui also wants to capture Guizhou. They had to march into Huguang territory, so they wasted time.
However, those officials who guarded Shaanxi still had to apologize. After all, they had lost two mansions!
For Kangxi and his Qing Dynasty, the real test should be in the spring of next year. It is already October, and the weather is getting cold in an instant. Wu Sangui's army should be resting and preparing for next year's Northern Expedition.
Wait until next spring or summer at the latest after next autumn harvest (if Wu Sangui cannot raise enough military rations from Sichuan, he will have to farm in Hanzhong), Wu Sangui may have to personally lead the army and go north to Qishan.
If Guanzhong was not defended at that time, the Qing Dynasty would really be in danger!
And now this great victory in Zhejiang came at the right time for Kangxi, who was eager to stabilize people's hearts, reverse the decline, and speed up preparations for war!
He quickly raised his head and looked at the door of the south study room, and saw Suo'etu and Mingzhu walking in quickly with tears in their eyes. Then they both knelt down and reported loudly.
"Your Majesty, Geng Jingzhong and Fan Chengmo have finally made a contribution!"
"Your Majesty, I am so happy. Ruian has been recaptured. Aobai and Wu Sanwei have led their remaining troops to escape from Da'an in the southeast by sea. The imperial court can finally concentrate its efforts on dealing with Wu Sangui!"
Kangxi let out a long sigh, and finally showed a rare smile on his pockmarked face: "Thank God. Geng Jingzhong and Fan Chengmo have done a good job. I want to reward them!"
(End of chapter)
