Chapter 1 The Beginning
Ten thousand from the central army plus thirty thousand from the rear guard made a total of a hundred thousand, and adding another twenty thousand routed soldiers brought the total to a hundred and twenty thousand. This was a simple arithmetic problem that even a kindergarten child could solve, let alone Agui, the Chief Grand Scholar of the Hall of Military Valor.
With a hundred and twenty thousand troops in hand, including eighteen thousand Manchu cavalry, Agui finally felt a bit more confident.
After all, they were a hundred and twenty thousand troops, not a hundred and twenty thousand pigs. Even if they stood there and let the rebels of Menglianggu chop them, they would still exhaust those rebels.
Of course, despite feeling confident, Agui was also realistic. Even though Fu Huan was eager to advance and rescue Fuk'anggan, Agui still advanced at the pace of twenty li per day.
Then Agui encountered a wooden sign that read "Agui is buried here." The capitalization and handwriting on the wooden signs were largely the same. The difference was that the signs encountered by Fuk'anggan had words on the back that poked at his heart, while the signs Agui encountered had words that prompted Agui to guess whether Jinan Prefecture was now ruled by Zhu or Man.
As the Chief Grand Scholar of the Hall of Military Valor of my Great Qing, Agui immediately recognized this as a tactic similar to "Pang Juan died under a tree." He scoffed at the small characters on the back of the sign that asked him to guess whether Jinan Prefecture was ruled by Zhu or Man.
What was there to guess? The rebels of Menglianggu were now gathered in Zichuan, so how could Jinan Prefecture possibly be ruled by Zhu?
Therefore, Agui continued to lead his hundred and twenty thousand troops, maintaining the marching speed of twenty li per day.
However, this made Zhu Jinsong, who had received the news, feel troubled.
Damn it, because the enemy was too timid and too useless, they had once again perfectly ruined our operational plan?
What the hell was this!
A hundred and twenty thousand troops huddled together. Damn it, even if the combat effectiveness of these hundred and twenty thousand Manchu officers and soldiers was lackluster, they were still a hundred and twenty thousand troops, especially with ten thousand Manchu cavalry among them. If they sent the Menglianggu army to deal with these hundred and twenty thousand Manchu officers and soldiers...
If we don't count the troops in Zhu Erdan's hands, the Menglianggu currently had no more than twenty thousand, less than thirty thousand men in total. The troops of Liu Ergou stationed at Qingshiguan and the troops of Geng Er who went to Tai'an Prefecture were both understrength. Zhu Jinsong only had the First Division, with over ten thousand fully equipped troops. Even with the more than three thousand men from the First Army's headquarters, Zhu Jinsong could only mobilize about thirteen thousand troops at this moment.
With a force of about thirteen thousand men to deal with a hundred and twenty thousand Manchu officers and soldiers, even if those hundred and twenty thousand Manchu officers and soldiers were truly useless, Zhu Jinsong still felt a little uneasy.
After all, it was a hundred and twenty thousand troops. Even a hundred and twenty thousand pigs would be enough to cause a headache.
Helplessly, Zhu Jinsong had to change his original plan and called back the First Division, which was already prepared for an ambush.
Since an ambush was not possible, they would change tactics.
The artillery regiment directly under the First Army and the artillery battalion directly under the First Division were all arranged on the east bank of the Xiaofu River, commanded by Liu Heming, the commander of the First Division. The infantry of the First Division, along with the two newly formed cavalry battalions, followed Zhu Jinsong, the ringleader of the Menglianggu rebels, around Zichuan towards the official road to Pujiyan, preparing to intercept Agui's rear.
Speaking of cavalry battalions, Zhu Jinsong was very grateful to Fuk'anggan, the Commander of the Nine Gates. After all, these two thousand cavalrymen were brought by Fuk'anggan. Although they scattered directly after the battle, and only a few hundred cavalry remained out of the two thousand, these few hundred were a great blessing from heaven for Zhu Jinsong, who was in dire need of warhorses.
...
Just as Zhu Jinsong was leading his men on a detour, preparing to intercept Agui's rear, Agui, the Imperial Commissioner, and Fu Huan were in the central army tent, staring at each other.
On the first day after receiving the routed Green Standard Army soldiers, Agui and Fu Huan marched twenty li. The next morning, their twelve thousand strong army had become eleven thousand eight hundred.
On the second day, they marched twenty li, and their twelve thousand strong army had become eleven thousand.
On the third day, they still marched twenty li, and their eleven thousand strong army had become less than ten thousand.
Damn it, if they continued at this rate, by the time they reached the city of Zichuan, their twelve thousand strong army would have dwindled to twenty thousand.
That's right, only the eighteen thousand Manchu cavalry and eighteen thousand Manchu infantry would remain. The cowardly Green Standard soldiers would likely not have a single one left.
Faced with this situation, Agui, the Imperial Commissioner, was extremely worried, pulling his hair out in clumps.
Based on the principle that even three cobblers could outsmart Zhuge Liang, Agui found Fu Huan and planned to discuss with him how to solve the problem of desertion.
After staring at each other and pondering for a long time, Fu Huan actually came up with a solution.
Fu Huan believed that the main reason for the continuous desertions in the Green Standard Army was the disruption of morale caused by the twenty thousand routed Green Standard Army soldiers they had previously received. As long as these twenty thousand routed Green Standard Army soldiers were gone, the remaining troops would naturally stop deserting.
Even if, in the worst-case scenario, the problem was not solved after driving away these twenty thousand routed soldiers, they could still use collective punishment. From the commanding officers at the top to the petty officers at the bottom, they could be punished in turn, and the Green Standard soldiers could be clearly informed of the consequences of desertion. Those Green Standard soldiers would think twice before fleeing, and the Green Standard officers and leaders at all levels would also guard against their soldiers deserting.
Unfortunately, as soon as Fu Huan proposed these two suggestions, Agui slapped him down: "Last time I personally led troops to suppress bandits in Anjiazhuang, and there were also deserters on the way. I chose collective punishment at that time."
"Unfortunately, although it initially stopped the desertions, later on, the deserters were no longer just a few individuals escaping, but organized units. The Green Standard officers leading their troops fled together with them."
"Also, you only thought of having local officials capture those deserters and severely punish their families, but have you ever considered that they are Green Standard soldiers, and they deserted in organized units? They can't be relied upon during bandit suppression, but when facing local officials, can the yamen runners of the local government deal with them?"
"As far as I know, among those who deserted in Anjiazhuang last time, more than a dozen groups returned and killed officials, becoming bandits, and the government could do nothing about them."
"Otherwise, why do you think the rebel Zhu's influence is growing larger and larger? The damned Muddy Kahn Green Standard Army has also played a significant role in this!"
"As for sending away those twenty thousand routed Green Standard Army soldiers..."
Agui lowered his head and considered for a moment, but in the end, he could only say helplessly, "If we hadn't received those twenty thousand routed soldiers in the first place, the situation might not have been so bad. But now, the morale of the Green Standard Army is in disarray. Even if we send away those twenty thousand routed soldiers, I'm afraid it will be of no avail."
With Agui's words, Fu Huan also became flustered.
After lowering his head and considering for a moment, Fu Huan tentatively proposed a new suggestion: "Since military discipline cannot restrain these Green Standard soldiers, why not promise them benefits? No one dislikes high positions and generous salaries, nor gold and silver, right?"
Just as Fu Huan thought his idea was quite reliable, Agui burst into laughter: "High positions and generous salaries? Brother Fu Huan, no matter how good high positions and generous salaries are, one must be alive to enjoy them. Gold and silver, though good, must also be alive to spend."
"The time before last, Ming Xing personally led troops to suppress the bandits of Menglianggu, but suffered a crushing defeat. You spoke of high positions and generous salaries, and gold and silver, which Ming Xing had also promised, but what was the result?"
"The result was that Chen Tailai, the Governor of the River Affairs, led the river defense soldiers to rebel, and the remaining Qingzhou Manchu Banner troops and Green Standard Army completely scattered. The prefect who went with them to suppress the bandits fled even faster than Ming Xing, the Governor of Shandong. Ming Xing eventually had to hide in a haystack to escape alive."
"How similar is the current situation to Ming Xing's situation at that time? It's all because our Manchu Banner soldiers are useless, and the Green Standard soldiers are terrified. If we now promise them high positions, generous salaries, and gold and silver, it might make them follow us to Zichuan, but if the battle is not favorable, they will be the first to sell us out."
After having two consecutive proposals rejected by this subordinate from the lower banners, Agui, the scholar Fu Huan of the Fu Cha clan, felt his face burn with shame: "If this doesn't work and that doesn't work, then what good idea do you have?"
"Don't forget, Fuk'anggan is still in the hands of the rebel Zhu. For us, the most important thing now is to rescue Fuk'anggan. Otherwise, it would be easy for me, this Grand Scholar, but it would be very difficult for you, Zhang Jia Agui."
Agui also sensed Fu Huan's anger and immediately apologized with a wry smile. Then, he sighed and said, "Brother Fu Huan, don't blame me. It's not as if there's anything we can do."
"Both of us know clearly that we cannot count on the Green Standard Army, and even less can we count on the Manchu Banner troops. Other times might be easier to handle, but what time is it now?"
With Agui's words, Fu Huan was immediately silenced.
Yes, others might not know, but how could the high-ranking officials like Fu Huan and Agui not know?
The so-called Manchu Banner soldiers who could charge under artillery fire were simply a fabrication of the court to save face. My Great Qing's Manchu Banner troops were already degenerate before entering the pass, and even more so after entering the pass. Warfare relied mainly on the Green Standard Army.
Otherwise, why did the Revolt of the Three Feudatories stirred up by Wu Sangui last for so long? After Wu Sangui's death, Wu Shifan continued to stir up trouble for three years, and the troops led were by Zhou Peigong, a Muddy Kahn minister, and the heavily relied upon were the Green Standard Army.
If the Revolt of the Three Feudatories was too long ago, then the Burmese War occurred during the Qianlong reign. Although the final result was Burma's submission, the truth was that my Great Qing suffered repeated defeats, and King Mindon of Burma, in order to cope with pressure from neighboring Siam and other countries, voluntarily sought peace.
If the repeated defeats in the Burmese War were due to the Burmese army being equipped with flintlock guns, while my Great Qing court used matchlock guns, then what about the Wang Lun rebellion in Linqing before that?
The only general of the Yanzhou Garrison was defeated, and even the elite Solon troops, the most skilled in archery and horsemanship among the Manchu Banner troops, failed to achieve anything. It was only with numerical superiority and firepower advantage that Wang Lun was surrounded in the old city of Linqing.
Even so, the result was five days and five nights of street fighting. Wang Lun's troops, due to their smaller numbers, dwindled as the battle progressed, and Wang Lun then set himself on fire.
As for the combat effectiveness of my Great Qing's Manchu Banner and Green Standard armies, it was truly heartbreaking.
It was precisely because they were aware of the true combat effectiveness of my Great Qing's army that Fu Huan and Agui were in such a predicament.
After a long silence, Agui said to Fu Huan with a troubled expression, "There's one more thing that Ming Xing told me privately. Brother Fu Huan, just listen, and please don't spread it around."
Fu Huan immediately assured him, "Don't worry, I'll keep this matter buried."
Agui grunted, then pondered for a moment before speaking, "Didn't Ming Xing lead troops to suppress Menglianggu before, and end up being defeated? And then Chen Tailai rebelled?"
Fu Huan grunted and asked, "And then?"
Agui said, "According to Ming Xing, the river defense soldiers under Chen Tailai performed the same as the Green Standard Army and the Manchu Banner Army when they joined him to suppress Menglianggu, but after Chen Tailai chose to rebel, those river defense soldiers seemed to have been reborn. They fought against Ming Xing's Green Standard Army and Manchu Banner Army as if they were fighting dogs."
"Tell me, what the hell is going on? Does that rebel surnamed Zhu really possess some kind of magic?"
ps: Fifth update! Over 17,000 words today! Seeking votes!