In July 1869, the canonization envoys from the Hue court arrived in Cam Phu, the capital of the newly merged Quang Ninh Province, and officially announced the canonization of Sun Bin and his Chinese troops.
After a tedious canonization ceremony, the canonization envoy and Huang Jiyan's representative said with a smile: "The Holy Emperor and His Majesty the Prince Consort do not select talents based on their birthplace. Lord Sun has conferred official positions in the country, but we must assemble troops as soon as possible to help the army of the country to suppress the rebellion."
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"The Holy Lord and Master Huang are deeply benevolent, and the people will definitely fight for the country with all their strength. The two thousand grains for the expedition have been prepared. As long as we receive the departure order from the consort Huang, the troops can set off to quell the rebellion."
After occupying someone else's territory and becoming an official under the Hue court, Sun Bin's speech naturally had to adapt to the rules of Annam's officialdom.
"Haha, your consort has a keen eye. Sure enough, he saw Lord Sun correctly." The canonization envoy was very satisfied with Sun Bin's performance and said: "The remnants of Xie Fengwen's rebel army that ravaged the northern part of the country four years ago have resurrected. Five days ago, they fought with
The remnants of the Li Dynasty joined forces to attack Shanxi Province. The governor of Shanxi Province had a small number of troops and suffered heavy losses since the battle with the rebels. Therefore, Mr. Huang ordered his subordinates to convey the order. Tomorrow morning, the governor will choose a general to command the troops in Quang Ninh.
Rush to the aid of Shanxi Province."
After speaking, the envoy took out Huang Jiyan's handwritten letter and handed it to Sun Bin, saying: "The country is in a troubled time. The general has thousands of tigers and wolves. You should pay attention to the affairs of the country and don't let Mr. Huang down."
"Young people understand." Sun Bin replied lightly, a little distracted by the messenger's repeated tapping.
After a cursory glance at the contents of the letter, Sun Bin arranged for the envoy to rest elsewhere and summoned the main generals in the army to discuss important matters.
Halong was too small in area and close to Haiphong Province, so it was not suitable to be the command center of the area occupied by the Chinese troops. Therefore, after Quang An and Ninh Hai, the main force of the troops quickly moved to Cam Phuc.
The Chinese troops only had a temporary camp left in Ha Long, which was easy to relocate. It took seven or eight days to move the main personnel and troops to the new capital.
A solemn government office was filled with more than thirty officers of all sizes. Except for generals such as Ye Chenglin and Chen Shangfa, most of them were armed leaders of the peasant army who had recently defected.
After the Chinese troops swept through several coastal provinces in northern Annan, more than forty armed groups of various sizes came to defect. Among the peasant army armed forces who defected, there were as many as three to five hundred people. For example, Huang Shouzhong, who belonged to the same camp as Huang Chongying, after learning that the Chinese
After the leader of the army was also a member of the Tiandihui, he decisively left Huang Chongying's army and led 800 of his men, young and old, to surrender.
The small number is often only dozens or hundreds of people. These people are usually from refugee backgrounds. In order to protect themselves, they train dozens of young men and use the name of the peasant army to deter other forces.
There are more than 3,000 armed young men who have newly joined the Chinese army.
It is impossible for so many people to join the regular army. The Hue court has assigned 3,000 troops to Quang Ninh Province. Sun Bin has no intention of training the troops in full accordance with the indicators given by the Hue court. At the same time, he does not plan to train too many troops.
Multiple troops.
The combined area of the newly merged Quang Ninh and Lang Son provinces is only 14,000 square kilometers. The 14,000 square kilometers of land cannot support a large-scale force armed with modern weapons. Therefore, after careful consideration, Sun Bin decided to occupy
The troops in the area were reorganized to 4,000 people, of which 1,000 main troops continued to use Dresser rifles, and the remaining 3,000 troops were temporarily equipped with captured old-fashioned muskets and cold weapons, and would be armed after the arrival of the transport fleet.
In the official hall, Sun Bin took off his Annan official uniform, put on a Ming-style retro long dress, and sat on the main seat.
"You are all trustworthy heroes. I am very happy to join the National Defense Forces!"
"Master Sun, may I ask if the National Defense Force refers to the Guang'an Army?"
"The National Defense Forces include the Chinese troops in Quang An Province, and the Chinese troops in Quang An Province are just a unit of the National Defense Forces."
Sun Bin said something a bit chatty, and then said: "All brothers are heroes who fought against the Qing Dynasty. Many Sens also know Sun's past identity. I have gathered everyone together today. First of all, I want to tell you something. Guang'an Chinese Army
It is a subordinate unit of the Taiping Army. His Royal Highness Li Mingyuan, the Crown Prince of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, seized the foundation land in South America last year and reestablished the country on December 1 last year. Sun and the six hundred brothers who first arrived in Nanyang were His Highness the Crown Prince.
Send them back to Nanyang to recruit you to fight against the Qing Dynasty and build a powerful Han country together!"
"No wonder the troops under Lord Sun's command are so powerful, but I didn't expect them to be the Taiping Army of the Kingdom of Heaven! Lord Sun is very meticulous in his actions. If he hadn't said it out today, I'm afraid we wouldn't have known about it!" A tall man in his twenties said in surprise.
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"For the sake of the overall situation, I didn't tell you the truth before. Brothers, please don't take it personally." Sun Bin said with a smile and cupped his hands.
"The Tatars are raging in the Central Plains, and the corrupt Confucian gentry and scum are working as an aide to suppress the anti-Qing righteous people. The situation in the Central Plains, Annan and other places is dangerous. Lord Sun should be cautious. All brothers understand Lord Sun's painstaking efforts."...
After hearing Sun Bin's explanation, the former peasant army leaders sitting in the government office expressed their understanding.
"Even if all brothers know the true identity of the Guang'an troops, Mr. Sun will announce the next thing.
Before going to Nanyang as an envoy, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince authorized me to handle Nanyang affairs with full authority and organize the Nanyang National Defense Force according to the actual situation.
At present, our army has nearly 300,000 Chinese civilians in Annan alone, more than 100,000 young Chinese, 3,000 defecting to the peasant armed forces, and 1,800 regular troops.
We have more than 10,000 square kilometers of land in Quang Ninh and Lang Son under our control. The Hue court ordered us to send troops to encircle and suppress the rebels. The 1,800 regular troops are no longer enough, so all the young peasant troops in the occupied areas must be reorganized.
, weed out the weak and select the strong, and form a regular army of four thousand people."
"Master Sun must have had a plan in mind when he summoned us, so just announce it directly."
"Okay! Don't say too many polite words. Huang Shouzhong, Xiao Zhangsan, and Li Tianxi will follow your orders!"
"My Majesty is here!"
"Appoint Huang Shouzhong as the commander of the 4th Independent Battalion of the Nanyang National Defense Force, Xiao Zhangsan as the commander of the 5th Independent Battalion, and Li Tianxi as the commander of the 6th Independent Battalion. Each battalion has 400 troops. After the meeting, Liang Xing will uniformly allocate the troops to each department.
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"I accept your orders!"
"The positions of Ye Chenglin, Chen Zongbai and Wu Fengdian will remain unchanged, and each battalion will be expanded to 700 people."
"Take orders!"
The three of them stood up and said with joy on their faces.
Although the positions of Ye Chenglin and the others have not changed, the number of commanders under them has nearly doubled, and their status among the Chinese troops under Quang Ninh Province is still higher than that of Huang Shouzhong and other subsequent defectors.
"Huang Hong, Zhang Shiliu, Zhu Zhi, Huang Wan..." Sun Bin read out a personal name and announced their new positions.
After a while, the appointments of everyone in the hall were announced. Sun Bin glanced at the officers in the official hall: "The responsibilities of officers above the regiment level are urgent, and the appointment requires the consent of His Royal Highness, so no new regiment-level troops will be established for the time being. The Nanyang Force of the National Defense Forces
For the time being, we will maintain the troop organization of one regiment, three independent battalions, and one mountain battalion. All brothers will take over their new positions and be responsible for them. After I contact the Crown Prince, I will re-adjust the positions based on the performance and merits of each training unit!"
"I understand," the thirty or so officers below replied in unison.
"That's all about the reorganization of the troops. Ye Chenglin, Huang Shouzhong, and Chen Shangfa will stay here. The other brothers will go back to select soldiers first."
Sun Bin left the three of them behind, and after everyone else left, he opened a map of the southwest of the mainland, pointed at the junction of Yunnan and Guizhou provinces, and said: "In mid-June, General Li Wencai, who had fought with His Royal Highness Yiwang Shi, led his army
The Taiping Army, together with Liu Tiancheng, Jin Qianqian and other Miao troops, launched a fierce battle with Guizhou Admiral Zhang Wende in Yang'an, annihilating more than 10,000 Qing troops in one fell swoop, and successively occupied more than ten surrounding cities.
Affected by the defeat of Yang'an, the Tartar court ordered the main force of the Gui army Feng Zicai to be deployed to reinforce the Qing army in southern Yunnan. Therefore, the Gui army was temporarily unable to intervene in the Annan rebellion. Our army must seize the opportunity when the Qing army's troops are empty to eliminate the unrest in Annan.
Stabilize the forces and unify all Chinese forces in Annan!"
Ye Chenglin and Huang Shouzhong glanced at each other and saw surprised expressions in each other's eyes.
"Master Sun, our army has just swallowed up the two provinces of Guang Ninh and Lang Son. If we launch a large-scale force to unify and control other Chinese forces, I am afraid that our foundation will be unstable. Master Sun, please be careful!" Huang Shouzhong advised.
"Unifying the Chinese forces does not necessarily require the use of force. As long as we support the leaders of the peasant army who understand the overall situation to come to power, we can achieve our goal."
"Master Sun wants to provoke Wu Yazhong's subordinates to take his place?" Ye Chenglin said with some understanding.
"Yes, after the leaders of Wu Yazhong's peasant armies occupied Gaoping Province, they obtained a stable base area. Wu Yazhong's insistence on attacking Taiping Mansion and rebuilding Dacheng Kingdom has caused dissatisfaction among many of his subordinates. As long as there is a suitable opportunity, a few
The main peasant army generals took the lead in opposing it, and Wu Ya will eventually be driven out of power in despair!"
"Wu Yazhong is different from our anti-Qing brothers. Their father and son are Zhuang chieftains in Taiping Prefecture. They took advantage of the Heavenly Kingdom Uprising to occupy Taiping Prefecture and dominate. They are not from the same group as us. Driving him out will allow the rebels to
Qing brothers will not make unnecessary sacrifices." Ye Chenglin said.
"The Chinese armed forces in Annan are scattered, and Wu Yazhong's Wan Qingzhuang is an important force, which cannot be ruined in vain because of Wu Yazhong's ambition.
Brother Ye, you went to the Wuya Zhong Armed Forces Station last time, this time I plan to send you to contact his generals, are you willing?"
"I will follow your instructions!"
"Very good. Brother Ye's troops are temporarily under the command of Chen Zongbai. They will follow Brother Chen to conquer the Annan rebels. Brother Ye does not have to worry about the situation of his troops. Brother Chen will carefully take care of the brothers in the first battalion."
"Brother Zongbai directs operations decisively and steadily, so his subordinates don't have to worry." Ye Chenglin said with a smile.
Arranging Ye Chenglin's task, Sun Bin looked at Huang Shouzhong, "Brother Huang is familiar with the environment in the southwest region. Is there any problem in leaving the matter of contacting General Li to Brother Huang?"
"Being able to meet with my own eyes the famous general who defeated the Qing army is a dream come true for me!"
"The two of you are going out on a mission this time, which is very important. You must be careful along the way to avoid being discovered by the enemy."
"Thank you sir for reminding me, I will pay more attention to it later."...
