Chapter 68 The Jiangnan Army and the Northern Expedition
In the first year of Dashun Guangzhong and the first year of Hongguang in the Southern Ming Dynasty, He Tengjiao first established Changsha as the governor of Huguang. He took advantage of the opportunity when the main force of Chu Chuang's army marched north to the Central Plains, and attempted to take advantage of the lack of troops in the Jingxiang and Wuchang areas to launch an army northward.
At the end of the first year of Yongchang and the sixteenth year of Chongzhen, He Tengjiao had already summoned Nanjing many times, intending to launch an army north to capture Wuchang. Therefore, after the Jiangnan small court was established, he immediately gained the trust of Hongguang monarchs and ministers, and was appointed governor of Huguang and other places.
Soon he was given the title of Superintendent.
He Tengjiao actually controlled the appointment of civil and military officials in Huguang in the Ming Dynasty and the money and food of various states and counties in Hunan. He took this opportunity to establish the so-called "Governor's Office" in Changsha, hired advisers privately, and established an independent government that was isolated from the small court of the Southern Ming Dynasty.
Shogunate.
He listened to the advice of his confidant Zhang Kuang: "Instead of using useful money to raise the soldiers who are waiting for the enemy to run away, it is better to raise the soldiers of the south who can stand on their heels; instead of using limited money to raise the soldiers who can move forward and stop the enemy, it is better to raise the soldiers who can stop and retreat.
You can seize it and send out your own soldiers who obey your orders. And if you have your own soldiers, you can strengthen yourself, and by strengthening yourself, you can suppress and control the outer towns. This is the art of winning with great power."
He Tengjiao appreciated his opinion very much, so he sent people to recruit soldiers from Guangxi, Guizhou and other places, and soon assembled a "Dubiao" and "Fubiao" personal army of more than 30,000 people, whose generals were Wu Chengzong
, Yao Youxing, Long Jianming, Qin Yuchun, Man Dazhuang, Hu Yuelong, Xiang Dengshi, etc.
In order to raise this army, which was quite large for this corner of Hunan, He Tengjiao sent additional volunteers and levied a year's land tax from the people in advance, which was more than six times the original quota per mu.
If the military expenditure is still insufficient, then the officials in the local prefectures and counties will be appointed and dismissed based on the amount of money and food donated. After that, if there are still insufficient funds, spies will be recruited to spy on central Hunan.
Once the gentry's contacts with the Dashun Army, the Western Ming Army, and the Eastern Lu were discovered, they would be fined and compensated by the Yin Fu family.
He Tengjiao's Zhongwuying, Zhongkaiying and other generals also took the opportunity to follow suit. In the name of the Northern Expedition, they seriously increased the burden on the people, leaving the people destitute and wealthy, and creating many factions, which made the country that was originally relatively stable.
In the Hunan area, the people were tossed and spread, and more than half of them died.
After January of the first year of Dashun Guangzhong, He Tengjiao heard that the elite troops of the Dashun Army had gathered at the Yellow River to prepare for the Qing army's large-scale southern expedition. He felt that the time was ripe for the northern expedition to Wuchang, so he ignored the wishes of the Hunan people.
Exhausted and distressed, he immediately sent his confidant Zhang Kuang to deploy his troops northward.
Zhang Kuang personally led the governor, and Fu Biao and his troops attacked Xiangyin and Yuezhou. At the same time, He Tengjiao moved to Yongshun Xuanwei Division and other places to train Xiangxi chieftain soldiers Zhi Fudu Yinxi and sent troops to fight together.
In addition to the troops mobilized by He Tengjiao and Zhang Kuang, they also had a navy trained by seizing civilian ships in Xiangtan. They marched by land and water in an attempt to capture Yuezhou in one fell swoop and then collect the troops.
Hubei.
At this time, the strength of the Dashun Army in Huguang was very limited. After Lin Chengcheng made the westward expedition, only Liu Xiyao's Yangtze River Navy was left to rely on as a mobile force.
Dashun Huguang Economic Envoy Chen Xin immediately moved to Jiujiang and ordered Liu Xiyao to lead the Yangtze River Navy to return to the Dongting Lake Basin from that day on. He also issued a proclamation ordering the prefectures and counties under the three towns of Huguang to recruit and train envoys and arrest stolen envoys.
Mobilize all the standing militiamen in this prefecture and county, first go to Wuchang to gather, and then go south to reinforce Yuezhou.
The militia system established by Li Laiheng in Huguang is very complete. Every state, county, town, village, market, and village has set up a bandit-catching envoy. In places where bandit-catching envoys have been set up, the bandit-catching envoys must take turns every winter during the slack season.
Inspect and test the militia in each village, and reduce or reduce the camp rent payable by the militia for the second year according to the quality of the militia's performance.
At the same time, brave men from the militia are selected to form a semi-full-time standing militia. The standing militia can receive the same ration allowance as the insurgent army.
In the event of trouble, the county magistrate, field envoys, and bandit-catching envoys can prepare standing militiamen as the backbone, and gather ordinary militiamen from several villages to jointly arrest thieves and defend against the enemy. However, when mobilizing ordinary militiamen, the rent payable by the militiamen for the second year must be reduced or reduced based on the number of people and days.
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Generally speaking, the Chuang Army has two types of militia in the local area: one is the ordinary militia with strong autonomy. They are poorly trained and equipped. Although it strengthens the local security force of the Chuang Army, it may also become a clan militia.
The restoration tool of the old squire; another standing militia, which is directly controlled by the county magistrate, recruiting and training envoys, camp field envoys, and bandit catching envoys. It is also connected with the conscription system of the invading army and will play the role of calming the sea.
Prevent grassroots political power from falling into the hands of clan elders.
After two full years of consolidation, there are already a large number of potential militiamen in various prefectures and counties in Huguang who have received qualified military training. Moreover, due to the widespread implementation of the camp system, the old restoration forces of the gentry clan have already suffered a devastating blow and have greater economic strength.
Most of the good gentry also entrusted the management rights of the land to the camp envoys of the Shun Army, and went to live in the city themselves. They then took advantage of Dashun's public-private partnership and low commercial tax rate policies to start operating industry and commerce.
Therefore, although the three towns in Huguang now have no large-scale and organized garrison force worth mentioning except Liu Xiyao's naval division in one town, the consolidation of local management and the large number of potential militiamen all make Huguang Manager
This gave Chen Xin the confidence to resist He Tengjiao's attack.
The hidden military mobilization energy in the three towns of Huguang is gradually erupting. Pang An, the bandit commander of Qianjiang County, Yangwu Prefecture, was the first to rush to Wuchang with 900 local militiamen to listen to his orders.
Pang An was from Zaoyang. When Li Laiheng defeated Zuo Liangyu, Zuo Liangyu fled to Zaoyang and raped his daughter. He himself almost died at the hands of local elders.
Thanks to Pang An's younger brother Pang Cun who had joined the Dashun Army early - this man had been fighting under Zhang Pixuan, and at this time had been promoted to Lieutenant of Yulin in the Imperial Army - after his life was saved by his younger brother Pang Cun,
With the support of the Dashun Army, the local elders who had hidden Zuozhen's defeated troops and committed evil crimes were executed, and he became the head of the local village.
Pang An's educational level was not high, but he was distinguished by his hard work and honesty. He gradually gained promotion within the Dashun Army system. After about two years, he was promoted to the robber envoy of Qianjiang County, Yangwu Prefecture.
Chen Peng had been in Jingxiang for a long time, and he was a Jinshi, so he had a high prestige in Huguang. Li Laiheng chose him to succeed Gao Yigong as Huguang's economic envoy, which was considered a very suitable choice.
Chen Xun was a scholar. Although He Tengjiao's southern troops were attacking Yuezhou with great force at this moment, the only available troops in Chu were less than 2,000 guardsmen from the pro-army standard camp under the jurisdiction of the Economic and Strategic Envoy. But Chen Xun
Still wearing an elegant green robe, a square scarf, and a long fur coat, he looked at things calmly and calmly.
After the Qianjiang bandit commander Pang An arrived in Wuchang with 900 militiamen, Chen Xin first sent people to arrange accommodation, meals and rest for the militiamen. Then he assigned several staff officers to help Pang An, who lacked military combat experience, command the troops.
Then Chen Xin led his entourage of civil and military officials, lightly chariots and horseback riders to climb Snake Mountain to observe the situation. Chen Xin immediately rode up to the heights of Snake Mountain and saw that there were already many flags in the Hongshan area, and one after another standing militiamen from various states and counties came to Wuchang to listen.
Chen Xin pointed to the hills and lakes in the distance and introduced their names and topography one by one to the accompanying Dashun officials. Chen Xin is from Henan, but he has lived in Huguang for a long time, and his familiarity with the local geography is better than that of ordinary aborigines:
"Looking to the west of Xiaxia and to the east of Wuchang, the mountains and rivers are tangled with each other, and the sky is green. Wuchang is dangerous and solid. Even if the Jiangnan soldiers attack the middle of Chu, they are often unable to disembark. After the mobilization of the militiamen of various prefectures and counties in Jingchu, they came to Wuchang one after another, and the upper class soldiers
Chrysostom, the lower reaches of Echeng, Huarong, Gedian and other places are all first-class dangerous places, which cannot be attacked by Jiangnan soldiers."
Since the Huolu War, the Dashun Army did not even call the remnants of the Ming Dynasty the Ming Army. For example, Li Laiheng called the troops nominally under the jurisdiction of the Tongzhi Emperor Zhu Cixiang the "Northern Puppet" in the document announcement.
As for the newly established Jiangnan Hongguang Small Court, it is exactly what Chen Xin calls it now. Dashun officials directly call it "Jiangnan Soldiers" instead of the Ming Army.
Because from the perspective of Dashun, the Ming court has been in a state of existence in name only since Huang Taiji entered the pass and kidnapped Chongzhen. After the death of Chongzhen was made public after the Huolu War, the Ming court was not only in name but also in name.
It is the name and reality that perish together.
Calling the Hongguang court "Jiangnan", "Wu people" and "Wu", and calling the Nanming army "Jiangnan soldiers" and "Wu soldiers" are manifestations of such a view.