Han’s Son is Not a Slave

Zhou Shixiang was furious. The slaughtering of the city by the Nanhai soldiers was outrageous and he would never tolerate it. He can tolerate the bloodbath of the whole city, the Qing army, and the strong resistance of the stockades, but he can't tolerate the bloodbath of the defenseless people who have been breached - there are 20,000 fresh lives in Chaoyang City ! Those are Han Chinese, not Manchus, not aliens, not enemies!

Zhou Shixiang decided to take Zhao Ziqiang, the culprit of the massacre, to punish the Ming army, and warned those restructured soldiers not to do what the Qing army did in Chaozhou under the banner of Taiping. military!

Xu Yingyuan, who came back from Xiamen, dissuaded Zhou Shixiang. He said that Chaoyang had been slaughtered by Nanhai soldiers, and that Nanhai soldiers actually occupied Chaoyang City.

Chaoyang is behind the first town. If the Nanhai soldiers rebel against Chaozhou, they will inevitably pose a threat to the first town that is besieging Chaozhou. Now the Jidu army has reached Fuzhou and will reach Nanzhao in just a few days. The internal chaos of the Taiping Army may have a negative impact on the war situation. Even if this impact is not large, the consequences that can be generated are difficult to estimate.

With the Taiping Army's main force in the Eastern Expedition, there are several troops, including Zhao Ziqiang's Nanhai soldiers, Wang Zhaoxing's Foshan soldiers, Hu Mingyi's Xin'an soldiers, Huang Sicheng's Huaxian soldiers, Li Guoan's Conghua soldiers, etc. These original green battalion soldiers add up to five. There are as many as 6,000 people, nominally belonging to the Taiping Army, but they all go their separate ways and have not accepted the reorganization of the Taiping Army. They belong to the "Taiping Army" which is independent of the Taiping Army system.

The development of the snowball can certainly make the Taiping army grow rapidly, but what it brings is that it is impossible to digest and absorb those soldiers and horses that are looking down at the wind in a short period of time. The main force of the Taiping army has always been victorious. These descendants will immediately turn around and fight back.

The lips are dead and the teeth are cold. If Zhao Ziqiang is used for surgery, these guys will inevitably be alarmed. After all, their hands are not clean. It's just that he didn't do as much as Zhao Ziqiang. But no matter what, these guys naturally belonged to the Baotuan faction in the Taiping military system because of their backgrounds. No matter which one they moved, it would cause doubts to the others, unless it was wartime. The Taiping Army had enough time to deal with them, and killing them was like killing chickens, but at this juncture, it was better not to move them than to move them.

The Taiping Army cannot afford to fail, not even a small setback. Xu Yingyuan demonstrated to Zhou Shixiang the principle of dominoes in this era. He piled up the dominoes (mahjong) that he found out of nowhere to show Zhou Shixiang, but instead of connecting one piece to another, he pressed one piece on top of another.

On Xu Yingyuan, a pyramid stacked with mahjong tiles, all descendants are part of the tower. No matter which one is drawn, it will cause the tower to become unstable. The truth does not need Xu Yingyuan to say more, Zhou Shixiang also understands it. He sighed, and after listening to Xu Yingyuan's advice, he decided to put Zhao Ziqiang's head on his neck first. It's not too late to settle accounts with him later. At the same time, I also made up my mind that after facing the Jidu army, we must completely deal with the miscellaneous armies that are attached to the Taiping army, either to destroy them, or to completely eat them and integrate them into the Taiping army, so that the military discipline and command system can be improved. Clearly, there will no longer be such a lawless massacre.

Zhou Shixiang was a little disappointed that Zheng Chenggong refused to send troops to fight together, but he was not unprepared. After all, Li Dingguo had written several letters that asked Zheng Chenggong to join forces in Guangdong, but the other party ignored them. Now how can he pay attention to his newcomer Xing Pingbo.

Xu Yingyuan did not sit idle for a few days in Xiamen. After seeing it, adding flanking attacks and using some money, he finally got the Zheng's army to make a big move in June and July, but in which direction. What kind of scale, he didn't figure out, after all, this information belongs to Zheng Jun's top secret, even if he is a friendly envoy, Zheng Jun's people dare not tell him.

"I found out that King Yanping is strengthening the training of Lu divisions, and tens of thousands of people are practicing foot combat. And tens of thousands of people are learning horseback and archery. The soldiers around King Yanping are all armored, and every day the navy on both islands needs to Going out to sea to practice warfare, there is a lot of movement, I am afraid that there will be a big movement, but the specific movement is impossible to inquire about."

Xu Yingyuan was a little uneasy. Speaking of which, Zhou Shixiang gave him two errands, but he failed both of them. King Tang not only did not agree to come to Guangzhou, but also returned the painting and calligraphy with his brother Shaowu Emperor's inscription intact. Although King Tang never said a word to show his actual attitude from beginning to end, this action was not enough. It couldn't be clearer.

The things of King Tang and King Yanping were not done, which made Xu Yingyuan very uneasy, for fear that Zhou Shixiang would despise him because of this, making him unable to stand out in the Taiping Army system. Fortunately, Zhou Shixiang didn't blame him for anything, nor was he angry at King Tang's refusal to come to Guangzhou, nor did he anger Xu Yingyuan for his unfavorable work. Zheng Chenggong was mentally prepared, and he would not blame Xu Yingyuan.

Zhou Shixiang was surprised that if what Xu Yingyuan said was true, it would mean that Zheng Chenggong would go on a northern expedition this year, otherwise he would not disagree with joining forces to attack the Jidu army. The pressure can also reduce the pressure on his Jinsha, and he can even obtain Chaozhou territory from the Taiping Army, so that the hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians in Jinsha have a place to rest and recuperate, and it is not impossible to take advantage of the situation to seize Fujian. for it.

The only explanation for Zheng Chengguo's refusal to send troops is that he really made a big move this year, a move that attracted him more than the elimination of the Jidu army and the capture of Chaozhou. Zhou Shixiang couldn't think of any other move except the Northern Expedition to capture Nanjing.

The surnamed teacher led his division into the Yangtze River to fight Nanjing. Zhou Shixiang knew it, but the time seemed wrong. It seems that the surname of the country was only after the fall of Li Dingguo. , Zheng Chengguo should not go north this year, it should be next year. Could it be that his arrival caused a butterfly reaction and made the time for the Northern Expedition of the surnamed master a year earlier.

Zhou Shixiang felt a big headache. If Zheng Chenggong went on the Northern Expedition this year, it would mean that he would never go to Nanjing to pick up the leaks. Even if he could annihilate the Jidu army alone, it would be impossible for him to fly over Fujian and Zhejiang all the way without taking a rest after the war. Going to Nanjing City to pick up leaks, it is even more impossible to go north of Jiangxi without going to Fujian and Zhejiang.

That's all, if history really changes because of my arrival, then that's fine. No matter whether Zheng Chenggong wins Nanjing or not, I'll just do my own thing.

Under repeated thought. Zhou Shixiang cut off any possibility of going to Nanjing to pick up leaks, cast aside unrealistic distractions, and applied all his thoughts to fighting the Jidu army.

On the 28th, Zhou Shixiang ordered the various ministries to start the end of the grain harvesting operation. After preparation, they will be evacuated to Huizhou.

........

When the Chaoyang Massacre occurred, most of the Taiping Army, except the first town, were carrying out the task of harvesting grain and relocating the people of Chaozhou. In addition to the dozens of stockades and Qing army strongholds that had been breached, the four Zhaiding battalions were reorganized. Thousands of people. Several other stockades voluntarily surrendered after the arrival of the Taiping army. Accept Taiping Army adaptation.

The main official road from Chaozhou to Nanzhao in Fujian and to Huizhou was completely occupied by the Taiping army. The fortresses, villages and towns within dozens of miles on both sides of the official road were all destroyed by the sweep, forming a red land of three or four hundred miles. By the time of the Chaoyang bloodshed, Puning, Jieyang, Raoping and other counties were still under the control of the Qing army except Chaozhou Prefecture. In addition, Pingyuan, Huilai, Dapu, Chenghai and other counties are not within the attack range of the Taiping Army, and the territory has been preserved, but the road to Chaozhou Fucheng was damaged by the Taiping Army, and cannot be repaired in a short period of time, let alone passing this official road. To deliver grain and grass to Chaozhou.

The main tool used by the Taiping army to destroy the road was the thousands of shovels urgently made by the Guangzhou government. The way to destroy the roads is to dig trenches every few miles, and the other is to drive the captive Zhai Ding to carry stones to block them, so that all the communication roads between Chaozhou counties are cut off. However, the official roads from Chaozhou to Nanzhao and Huizhou in Fujian have been retained without interruption, which means that the Jidu army entered Chaozhou from Nanzhao, Fujian and went south along the official road. Because the grain and grass between the eleven counties under the jurisdiction of Chaozhou Prefecture cannot be transported to the Jidu army by road. The farther the Jidu army rushed south, the longer his food route would be, and everything could only rely on the Jiangnan food and grass transported from Zhejiang and Fujian and some of the food and grass that might be supplied in Chaozhou City.

Hahamu's fiasco was because the troops attacked Xiangshan in three ways, and was lured into the Jedi all the way by the Taiping Army, and it was impossible for Jidu to not learn Hahamu's lesson. Moreover, there is only one official road from Chaozhou to Guangzhou via Huizhou. This official road was built in the Southern Song Dynasty and expanded in the Yuan and Ming dynasties. It is the only transportation route between the north and Fujian and Guangdong. If Jidu did not take this official road, but took a small road, there would be no need for the Taiping army to fight, and they would collapse on their own due to the difficulty of transporting food and grass, so the only way for Jidu to march was to camp along this official road. , step by step. Do not give the Taiping army any opportunity to take advantage, and finally push it all the way to the bottom of the city of Guangzhou and fight the Taiping army decisively.

This way of marching is the most beneficial to the army. Not only the Manchu soldiers of the forward battalion, but also the Mongolian soldiers and the Han army, the Han army has the Wuzhenha super battalion, and the Wuzhenha super battalion is a The artillery unit is stronger than the artillery battalion of the Taiping Army. It is a unit of the Qing army that is specially responsible for artillery.

The Tianyou Cheering General Cannon is a heavy artillery imitation of the Hongyi Cannon in the Manchu Qing Dynasty. It belongs to the retractable front-loading smoothbore artillery. After each launch, it will deviate from the original firing position, and it needs to go through the steps of resetting, reloading, and setting the direction angle and elevation angle again. The Wuzhenha Super Battalion of the Han Eight Banners is equipped with this kind of cannons for the generals, and also equipped with various sizes of bronze and iron cannons. There are more than 100 artillery pieces, and the difference in the number of artillery pieces between the two sides is about three times.

The only thing that was beneficial to the Taiping Army was that these official roads were close to the sea, while the Qing Army had no navy, but the Taiping Army had navy. Any point on the long coastline is a place where the Taiping army can land and fight.

Letting Jidu come in to fight is the keynote set by Zhou Shixiang for this battle during the military meeting. How to put it in and how to fight depends on the cooperation of various ministries.

The Second Town Railway Yi Department has set up a transfer station in Yunluojing, Puning. More than 10,000 people have been moved to Guangzhou, 30,000 people have moved to Huizhou, and more than 20,000 people are waiting for Hou Nanqian in Yunluojing. . Thousands of stone are transported every day from Yunluojing to Huizhou. These grains are stockpiled in stockades that were broken by the Taiping Army. The raiding operation was extremely cruel. Except for a few stockades, most stockades suffered casualties. However, there were not many massacres in the whole village. The main force of the Taiping Army strictly enforced military discipline, and only bloodbathed the leaders and villagers in the fierce resistance village. The rest were not involved, as long as they did not resist Kennanqian Have the advantage of life. Those who suffered serious casualties and massacred villages were all done by those who were adapted. For example, the Chaoyang massacre was done by Nanhai soldiers. In addition, a cavalry battalion led by Suna also slaughtered two villages when they moved to Nanzhao, Fujian. The two villages attacked while they were setting up camp at night, causing Suna's subordinates to be killed and injured, and then they slaughtered the village in revenge.

The Qing army prisoners and Zhai Ding received by the various ministries not only selected some strong and strong supplements on the spot, the rest were also sent to Yunluojing, and sent to Guangzhou and Huizhou like those of the villagers, and then they were handed over to the third town for training as soldiers. After the actual combat, it can be used as a selection soldier.

Lu Feng's artillery battalion did not recruit soldiers, which made the artillery too technical, and it was useless to have more people. It only selected more than 100 battalions and villagers who could make artillery, and the rest were sent to the third town of Guangzhou Jiaotong. .

During the movement to Nanzhao, Fujian, Suna successively broke through five stockades, two Qing army strongholds, and a military post, and captured more than 3,000 people from the villages. Because the Taiping cavalry swarmed the Chaozhou territory, some leaders of the stockades were unable to meet the Taiping army, and they refused to hand over the grain to the south, so they migrated to Fujian in the north, and some saw that the Qing army in Chaozhou could not save them. They turned to the Qing army in Fujian for help. After learning of this situation, Zhou Shixiang ordered the cavalry brigade to pursue and kill the north-moved stockade indiscriminately, and never let one person escape, and never let a grain of food fall into the hands of the Qing army.

For a time, the scene of Taiping cavalry chasing and killing people who moved north was staged everywhere in Chaozhou. More often, a few cavalry led dozens of captive villagers to chase and kill those villages that moved north. There are a certain number of stockades and small groups of Qing soldiers who are stubbornly resisting, but in the face of absolute strength, their resistance is very small, and nothing can be changed. Even if they can kill one or two teams of Taiping troops, as more Taiping troops arrive. , they will inevitably be killed.

The main points of the official road all fell into the hands of the Taiping army. In addition to controlling the road level, the cavalry brigade was also led by the surrendered Zhai Ding and the battalion, and guarded every possible path, and made the surrendered Zhai Ding. Ding hid by the woods in the mountains, and rushed out to hunt down those who fled north.

The huge Chaozhou, whether it is plains or mountains, is full of people killing people, and corpses can be seen everywhere. The Taiping Army will find all the food that can be found, burn all the houses that can be burned, fill all the wells that can be filled, and transport all the materials that can be transported away. The prosperous Chaozhou was turned into ruins under Zhou Shixiang's bloodletting policy~www.wuxiaspot.com~ Jidu don't expect to get food and materials in Chaozhou that can support his Eight Banners army.

Chaonan was the first to be occupied by the Taiping Army, and it was also the first to start rationing and relocation operations. At the same time, the leaders of the traitors who had taken refuge in the Qing army were liquidated, and the heads continued to fall. During this process, the officers would rather kill the wrong ones. , Do not let go of the principle of cleaning, there are many people who did not do too many bad things for the Qing army, just provided some food and grass to the Qing army, and they fell.

The second town killed more than 1,000 people in the Huilai area. Many of them were ordinary people because they did not want to follow the orders of the Taiping army to move south. After receiving the report, Zhou Shixiang frowned and prepared to order to stop this indiscriminate killing.

Xu Yingyuan once again dissuaded him. He said that it was wartime, and the Taiping Army could not establish official offices in Chaozhou, nor could they screen them one by one. If we do that, we will not be able to keep up with the time. Second, there will not be so many officials who can read and write. Thirdly, it will be easy to take advantage of this opportunity. The so-called troubled times should be used heavily. Since the Taiping army marched eastward to Chaozhou to Let the blood of Chaozhou dry up and make Chaozhou become a red land, there is no need to follow the rules. If there is any kind of woman, kill it first and completely control the situation. In a word, no matter whether it is wrong or wrong, it is impossible to save people who have already been killed. What we can do now is to try to keep the living people intact and move them to Huizhou without starvation or freezing, and then send them to Guangzhou. . (To be continued.)