Chapter 26 of Part One

  The Spring Festival was spent in a joyful atmosphere, and after the promotion of Xin Ming Daily over the past few days, the local people now read Xin Ming Daily every day. Many factories, shops, and hotels have set aside a special area for Xin Ming Daily and the newly launched Imperial Evening News.

  I met Song Mingfeng, who had just returned from Beijing, in my tent. After several months of work, his originally pale face had darkened and gained a bit of masculine charm, and his voice had also deepened when speaking.

  Song Mingfeng respectfully said beside him, "Chief, according to your instructions, the current Mingfeng troops have established strongholds in all bases and Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces. The Southern Ming occupied area as well as Beijing has also set up a stronghold. The total number of people has reached over 2,000. They are all some tested personnel. In peacetime, they are all personnel from various industries, hiding very well."

  I nodded and said, "Mingfeng, you've done a good job. Now your next task is to work with the comrades from the Supervisory Commission to supervise our local government officials."

  Song Mingfeng nodded and said "yes".

  I continued saying "Ming Feng, you send someone to investigate the detailed information of Yunnan Li Dingguo and Hong Chengchou for me tomorrow, I need it." Song Mingfeng nodded and walked out.

  During the Spring Festival, Hong Chengchou launched several attacks and sneak attacks on Jiujiang, all of which were repelled with the vigilance of the soldiers and the help of the navy. The Qing army is still quiet for now. I looked at the map and shouted to the guards outside, "Guards, go and call over Ding Desheng, the commander of the Second Division, and Lu Youde, the commander of the Fourth Division, and tell them that I have something to discuss with them." I looked at the puzzled faces of everyone and said, "Comrades, the main purpose of calling you here today is to allocate the battle plan. Come and take a look. The First Division's defense in Jiujiang is very strained. Shang Kexi has also come this way. I think if the First Division continues to resist like this, it will not be able to hold on. I have decided to send the Second Division over as well. So, Lu Youde, the task of attacking Yingtan, the last stronghold in Jiangxi, is assigned to you. As for the Third Division led by Zhang Lian, I think it's better to defend Ganzhou. After you take down Yingtan, you must prevent Zheng Chenggong's troops from launching a sneak attack on Jiangxi." What do you think? Do you have any opinions or good suggestions?

  Zhou Lun shook his head and said, "This is good. With the First and Second Divisions together, plus the support of the Shanghai Army, I think we can advance north to Anhui and Jiangsu. If we retreat, at least we can ensure the safety of our base and avoid any losses."

  I saw others nodding in agreement, and then said "So it's settled. You must make the most of your time. Also, if possible, I will arrange for Li Dingguo to visit the Jiujiang front line." Others looked at me. I smiled and said "According to the instructions above, can we try to win over Li Dingguo?"

  Zhou Lun explained with a smile, "Isn't our party's aim to unite all those who can be united?" The others also left after speaking, having attended that meeting.

  Ding Desheng led the Second Division towards the Jiujiang front line, this was another battle for the Second Division after taking down Nanchang. Ding Desheng waved his hand at the soldiers behind him and said "Comrades, let's speed up a bit, so that our brothers in the First Division can rest easily, let's hurry up." He urged his horse on. The soldiers also quickened their pace. Ding Desheng thought back to his past days. At that time, he had come to Hunan because of hunger and suffering from war, later joined the army, with only a sense of gratitude and a desire to save other civilians, so he fought hard on the battlefield. Now he had become a division commander and was about to become a general. Ding Desheng looked at the advancing troops and gritted his teeth, secretly vowing "I will see a unified China in my lifetime."

  The city gate of Jiujiang City is just ahead. Ding Desheng rode his horse up and saw Shi Lian and Zeng Qing, as well as Li Lei, all standing at the city gate to greet him. He dismounted his horse and saluted Zeng Qing and the others, saying "Master, Master Li, Commander Shi, hello."

  Zeng Qing looked and said, "Good job, you kid didn't let our old second team lose face after I left. This time the task of defending Jiujiang will be handed over to you first. I think Li Lei's division is also too tired."

  Li Lei nodded in agreement, "Yes, these days our troops have been taking turns sleeping. This Hong Chengchou is very cunning, coming to launch surprise attacks from time to time. If it weren't for the order not to attack them, I would have taken care of him long ago."

  Shi Leng still didn't say much, just nodded towards Ding De Sheng and said "General Ding had a hard journey."

  Ding Desheng also nodded and said, "Everyone, I brought a long letter of instruction." He took out a piece of paper from his pocket and read it aloud: "Shi Qi, Zeng Qing, Li Lei. After the first party representative conference discussion, order you to have the navy defend in place and rest well. The First Division will immediately cross the river with naval cooperation after resting to give Hong Chengchou a bit of trouble. How to fight specifically is up to you to arrange, note that it cannot be too excessive nor too light. At the same time, you must pay attention to their counterattack. Zhu Xiaozhi."

  Zeng Qing listened to this and said straightforwardly, "This is just right, not too light or heavy. We can't scare them off yet. Alas, General Hong will give us trouble again. Alright, alright, let's go back and discuss it. Let's see how we can make things difficult for Hong Chengchou."

  In the conference room of the First Division. Zeng Qing slapped the table and stood up, saying "No matter what, we'll go like this. If Hong Chengchou can't even withstand this little attack, he can go back to eat shit. Go home and hug his grandson, don't lose face here." Shi Lian looked at Zeng Qing and said "I think so too, Hong Chengchou is a slave of the Manchu dynasty and also a minister of war, we can consider doing it this way." Li Lei and Ding Desheng looked at each other and said "Then let's set it for the night after tomorrow to attack Hong Chengchou under the cover of the navy." Zeng Qing nodded in agreement, saying "Good, it's settled then."

  In the early morning, the drowsiness was swirling around the head of the Qing army. Inside the Jiangbei camp, only a few tents were lit up. The dim light reflected on the distant river water, causing ripples. The light also rippled. With the arrival of spring, the snow that had accumulated during winter began to melt, and people said that the day when the snow melted was the coldest. The soldiers in the camp had already gone to find warmth elsewhere, leaving only one or two soldiers on duty who were struggling to stay awake.

  In Hong Chengchou's large tent, the light was still on, and he was staring at the imperial edict that Shunzhi had sent over. This was already the third edict. It had been only a short time since the Spring Festival, and already three edicts had been issued. Since Dorgon's death, Shunzhi's temper had become increasingly violent. Although it could not be denied that Shunzhi was also a good emperor in some sense, this was only true for the Manchu people. For the Han people, Shunzhi's crimes were too numerous to count.

  Hong Chengchou thought back to when Wu Sangui had first been appointed, and his old friend from Zhejiang, Wang Renlong, had said to him, "Alas, we have already lost our integrity, why bother to harm others? I hope that Wu Sangui will not forget the Ming dynasty." He also remembered the imperial edict written by Emperor Chongzhen in mourning for himself. Now, Wu Sangui had already left him, and the Qing court's reaction was minimal. The beauty who had been the cause of his rebellion was now in someone else's arms.

  Alas, Hong Chengchou only wanted to think that the fate of the Ming dynasty had already been decided, but he did not expect that another army would emerge, one that was stronger than the Qing army in terms of morale and weaponry. Moreover, they were fighting in Jiangnan, where the Manchu people were least skilled. In terms of popular support, the Manchu people had already lost.

  As he thought this, the sound of clashing cymbals came from outside. This was the alarm signal for an enemy attack. Hong Chengchou quickly put on his armor and walked out, saying "What's going on? Why such panic?" His personal soldier came over and knelt down, saying "General, the Liberation Army has launched a surprise attack." The Qing army had already known for several months that these troops were called the Liberation Army, with the clear meaning of liberating the Han people. At least, this was what Hong Chengchou thought.

  Hong Chengchou said, "Follow me to the front to take a look."

  Our warriors have landed on the naval vessels in six places at the same time, connecting the Yangtze River. The warriors rushed over from six different landing ports, and the large cannons on the fleet also targeted Hong Chengchou's camp. The newly opened light artillery can now be carried by one warrior to run around. Although there were only a few, facing the sleeping Qing soldiers, each shell exploded in the camp, and many Qing soldiers who did not have time to put on their clothes were sacrificed in the warm quilt. At this time, the snipers also targeted the enemy's camp, and many Qing military officers were shot down silently by bullets. The Qing cavalry rushed out at this time. We had to admire Hong Chengchou for his unique strategic vision. Pitching a camp in a flat area is suitable for the use of cavalry. Our warriors' formation was quickly disrupted under the impact of the cavalry. Hong Chengchou also came out, and a bullet flew over silently before he could figure out the situation, and he fell to the ground. At this time, the soldiers next to him were shouting "The general has been shot!" The enemy accelerated their counterattack even more. Zeng Qing and Shi Lang watched the situation on the main ship with binoculars and said to Shi Lang, "Commander, I think the cavalry is a big blow to our warriors. We should retreat." The artillery fire from the fleet increased its intensity, and our warriors also retreated in an orderly manner. The cavalry stopped pursuing under the intense artillery bombardment.

  Zeng Qing and several other military officers were chatting in the conference room of the First Division when a guard walked in and said, "There are comrades from the Mingfeng troops here to report." Zeng Qing glanced at the guard and said, "Please come in quickly." At this time, an ordinary-looking woman walked in and said, "Reporting to the commanders, I am a member of the Mingfeng troops. Yesterday evening's attack... Hong Chengchou was shot and killed." Zeng Qing exclaimed in surprise, "Hong Chengchou is dead! A great hero has died like this. Ha ha, now it's interesting. So many Han officials have died, I wonder who will come to help the Manchu Qing dynasty fight this battle." (Note: According to historical records, Hong Chengchou indeed died in 1657.) Next, in the distance, white streamers could be seen hanging from the main camp of the Qing army.

  Lu Youde looked at the detailed information about Yingtan sent by Mingfeng's troops. The Yingtan area has five major tributaries of Jiangxi, including the Xinjiang River. There is also the famous Dragon Tiger Mountain, a sacred place for Taoism. Lu Youde glanced at this general information and asked the guard beside him, "How far is it to Yingtan?" The guard replied, "It's about 35 kilometers to Yingtan." Lu Youde looked up at the sky and said, "Pass down the order to set up camp 10 kilometers away from Yingtan. Choose a high place that is easy to defend and hard to attack. I want the people of Yingtan Patrol Office to be uneasy, thinking they can hold on to the last place in Jiangxi." The guard beside him said, "I heard that Shunzhi issued an imperial edict promoting him to Governor of Jiangxi." Lu Youde showed a cold face and said, "Let's see if he has the fate to become this governor."

  About a kilometer outside the Eagle Pool City, we found a small high ground to set up camp. Lu Youde stood on the high ground, looking at the movements inside the city with binoculars. He saw that the Qing soldiers were patrolling everywhere on the city gate, and outside the city wall, there were already piles of stone-filled sacks stacked up to the height of the city wall. It seemed they still wanted to use these things to prevent cannonball attacks. The drawbridge at the city gate was already suspended high in the air. Several large cannons had been placed on the city gate. There were more than 4,000 soldiers inside the Eagle Pool City, some of whom had escaped from Shangrao and arrived here. Lu Youde couldn't help but sneer when he saw the slightly hungry expressions of these soldiers. He said to several regimental commanders beside him, "Tonight, we'll start the first round of attack. We'll wake them up and then retreat."