Chapter 32 of Part One
As the troops marched towards Longyan under the guidance of local villagers, kind-hearted Bao Dage was still there talking to Zhang Lian Sheng. Zhang Lian Sheng looked at the departing troops and said to Bao Dage, "Uncle, our troops have rules, we can't bring women onto the battlefield." Just then, Bao Xiu Er spoke up softly from beside them, "I saw many women in your propaganda team a few days ago." For some reason, Zhang Lian Sheng had been left speechless by Bao Xiu Er these past few days. He rubbed his head and said, "Well, why don't you just follow the propaganda team then?" Bao Xiu Er looked up at Zhang Lian Sheng with her bright eyes and said, "Okay, I'll go prepare right away." She took off running like a puff of smoke. Zhang Lian Sheng stared blankly at her receding back, shook his head, and said to Bao Dage, "Uncle, we're leaving. The local government and troops will definitely protect you all from now on." Without waiting for Bao Dage to respond, he urged on his horse and caught up with the troops ahead.
As they moved forward, they got closer to the Wuyi Mountains. The mountain road also became increasingly difficult to walk on. Up ahead, several soldiers and guides were clearing a path through the dense thorny bushes with their axes. Zhang Lian Sheng looked back at the troops behind him and asked the guide, "Old fellow, how much further is it to Longyan?" The guide took a glance at the terrain ahead and mentally calculated for a moment before responding, "There's still over 60 miles to go before we reach Longyan." Zhang Lian Sheng thought for a moment and then turned to the troops behind him, saying, "Everyone take a break where you are and rest for a bit before moving on." He then turned to the guard beside him and said, "Call over the commanders of each battalion for a meeting." Once Bu Chi Yuan and several other commanders had sat down, Zhang Lian Sheng cleared his throat and began, "Comrades, this time we're going to Fujian to reorganize the defenses, it's not like when we were in Guangdong. The Heavenly Gate Society still has a lot of influence in Fujian, you could say they're everywhere. And according to information from the military department, the people of Fujian still have some hopes for Zheng Chenggong. Right now, the hearts and minds of the people are not with us."
Bo Yuandu was the first to stand up and said, "Master, I think we can win over these ordinary people by taking advantage of Zheng Chenggong's repeated abandonment of them and fleeing to Taiwan."
The captain of the second team, Liu Kecheng, also stood up and said: "I think we can work hard on the propaganda team. We need to compile some plays suitable for Fujian Province to inspire the people's true patriotic spirit, not loyalty to Zheng Chenggong."
The head of the third battalion, Li Wang, also nodded in agreement and said: "I think it's worth considering this way. If the Heaven and Earth Society people cause any trouble, we can take them as an example and say that they are obstructing our army's march north to attack the Qing army for their own small gain before the great cause of national unity. This will make their prestige among the common people plummet. And we should start from actual actions to actually improve the lives of the common people, so I think the problem of winning over the hearts and minds of the people can be easily solved."
Zhang Lian Sheng looked at several team leaders, then looked up at the weather and said: "Alright, these plans are all good. I think we should implement them simultaneously. The sky is getting dark, I think we should continue on our way and try to reach a place 10 kilometers outside Longyan City by tonight."
Zhang Lian Sheng looked at the campsite where a bonfire had already been lit, and the soldiers were sitting around drinking soup. He took out his binoculars and gazed in the direction of Longyan, saying: "We'll go to receive them tomorrow." As he spoke, he shook his head again, muttering to himself: "What's wrong with me today? In the past, I've faced thousands of soldiers and never been afraid, but now I'm being intimidated by ordinary people like this."
The sun's rays had just lit up the earth. The warriors were already up, packing up yesterday's campsite. Breathing in the fresh morning air, Zhang Lian's mood improved a lot. He said to the guard beside him: "Departure in 20 minutes."
The city of Longyan was filled with the scars of war, it seemed that Zheng Chenggong had not spared this place before he left. There was basically no resistance, and the ordinary people were numbly watching the soldiers enter the city, without any resistance or obstruction, nor was there anything welcoming. Zhang Lian's eyebrows furrowed again. He said to the soldier beside him: "Tell the whole army to leave one battalion as a security force, and the rest will go to clean up everything in the city. The propaganda team should also start working now, don't just stand here watching, we need to fully mobilize the enthusiasm and initiative of the masses." All the work in the city was carried out in an orderly manner, at first there were still some numb people watching the soldiers do things. There were also a few who started to move, and finally all the ordinary people got moving, the image of the soldiers gave the ordinary people a very deep impression. They also actively chatted with the soldiers. On the stage set up by the propaganda team, the members had already entered their roles, performing the hardships of the ordinary people in a vivid and colorful way. Some old men and children were standing there watching the performance of the propaganda team. Zhang Lian looked at Longyan, which was now full of vitality, and let out a long sigh of relief.
In the following days, our warriors and the local people have established a good relationship. The warriors helped the people with their work, which made the locals have a big change in their views of our warriors. They even greeted our warriors proactively on the road. The goods transported from Hunan and some new graduates began to prepare for the establishment of the local government, and some influential locals also participated. Schools, medical care, commerce, industry, local police, and the military started operating. Land surveying and allocation work also began, Fujian was originally a place with poor land, there wasn't much land to begin with, now it can only be divided according to population. Zhang Liansheng looked at the overall situation of Longyan and said: "Tomorrow we will march towards Zhangzhou and Xiamen. That place is directly opposite Taiwan, so the remaining forces should be strong, you all must be cautious."
Li Lei is now sitting in the First Army Command in Anqing, Anhui. The new army commander, Li Dingguo, has gradually accepted our ideology and methods after more than a month of transformation. Li Dingguo rushed in, saying: "This Lü Jun, I don't know what he wants to do. Now, the entire Anhui region has been taken over, except for Wuhu. He pushed the task onto you and took his troops to Dabie Mountain to practice something, saying 'Recall bitterness and think sweetness, strengthen military physical fitness to adapt to future war needs.' He continued to complain: "Look, the Eighth Army's portable rocket launcher they came up with earlier? This thing has been experimented on countless times at the General Equipment Department. He's still acting strangely."
Li Lei looked at Li Dingguo and said, "Commander, it's not that simple. This Commander Lv likes to play with this kind of stimulating thing, don't mention that the soldiers of their 8th Army are all tempered in hardship. Each one is spirited, our division is also considered an elite division within the entire army group, compared to their 8th Army, we're just a little worse."
Li Dingguo looked at Li Lei with a bad temper: "Forget it, don't mention this. Let us take the credit, we deserve it too. Take it with a clear conscience. Haha." After finishing speaking, he asked again: "Has the Ninth Army come out of Guizhou?"
Li Lei looked at the map and said, "It's out, but the plan direction has changed again. We will go directly from Sichuan to Shaanxi through Jianmen Pass. The Second Army is currently fighting in Fujian. The Third Army has gone north to Hubei and inserted into Henan. Now the task of attacking Jiangsu and Zhejiang is left to our First Army and Eighth Army. The commander sent a telegram two days ago, preparing to send the first batch of 12 aircraft from the air force to cooperate with our First Army in combat. As for the specific combat plan, it's up to you to arrange. The purpose of the Eighth Army going out for training is to prepare to insert into Jiangsu through Hefei and enter directly. We only have two divisions of troops to fight against Geng Jingzhong."
Li Dingguo walked to a large sandbox and looked at the flags inserted on it, which seemed to be placed randomly. He then walked to a map hanging next to the camp and said, "Li Lei, come take a look." Pointing to the Zhejiang area on the map, he said, "Currently, there are only about 50,000 troops gathered in Zhejiang under Geng Jingzhong's command, conducting defensive operations. Their main forces are concentrated in this region, so if we enter Zhejiang, we only need to capture these three cities: Hangzhou, Yangzhou, and Ningbo." He continued, "Due to the strong advance of our western and central routes, the Qing army has suffered consecutive defeats in Shaanxi Province. The central route is also on the verge of collapse. Emperor Shunzhi has ordered the Mongolian and Manchu Eight Banners troops to garrison in Hebei and Shanxi provinces, while naval forces are stationed at Tianjin's Wei Hai Port. This means that the Qing dynasty's regional defense policy has given us a large area of land with only a small number of defenders, making it very convenient for us."
Li Lei looked at the map and listened to Li Dingguo's words, saying: "Commander, but now that the Qing court has voluntarily given up some places, there are also some new problems. Large and small anti-Qing organizations have emerged. It will be difficult for us to garrison in the future."
Li Dingguo gave Li Lei a glance and said: "Rebel against the Qing! Where were they when I was rebelling against the Qing back then? Now that the Qing dogs are almost gone, they're coming out again to get a share of the spoils. They think they can occupy a mountain and become a local emperor. Hmph. No way, I'm the first one who won't agree. I can even give up being the King of Jin. These small fries think that just because they've got a few knives, they can come and get a share of the soup. I'd like to see who's eaten leopard gall."
Li Lei looked at the furious Li Dingguo and said, "General, you can calm down now. I think these people are just a bunch of thugs and hoodlums trying to cause trouble. If they have any real skills, we can recruit them into the army. If not, we can simply suppress them on the spot. I think headquarters will soon issue orders on how to handle this matter."
Li Dingguo hummed and said, "Little Li, my age can be your uncle. You don't know, when I followed Li Kui in the past, there were Zhang Xianzhong and others, plus our team was mixed with fish and dragons, so we didn't succeed. Instead, we ruined the good Great Ming dynasty. Now we must always be vigilant to prevent such things from happening again. As the saying goes, 'One grain of rat dung can spoil a pot of soup.' I didn't know before, but after learning new military theories and ideas, I found that ideological construction is crucial for our team. I was once bitten by a snake and feared the rope for ten years."
Li Lei said with a hint of embarrassment: "Commander, you're right. I was indeed a bit too careless in this regard."
Li Dingguo patted Li Lei's shoulder with satisfaction and said, "Alright, let's talk about the specific plan for sending troops. Go call Ding Desheng over too."
Li Dingguo put down the flag in his hand and said, "Old Ding, come take a look." He pointed to Wuhu and said, "There are only 5,000 troops stationed in Wuhu now. I think either our first or second division can eliminate them. So I've thought about it. At that time, you two divisions will have the second division attack Wuhu to tie up the defending army here, and the first division will pass through from the side. In addition, we'll ask Commander Shi Lang to assist us in taking down this place. Then the navy will go along with the first division directly down the Yangtze River. The first division will occupy the Yangtze River coast. Other places can be taken care of by the second division." He paused and said, "This time there are two goals: first, to occupy Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces; second, to open up the mouth of the Yangtze River so that the navy can attack Taiwan. This is a confidential letter from headquarters." He took out a piece of paper and showed it to Li Lei and Ding Desheng, then said, "Alright, let's arrange it like this. You two go make arrangements now. There are only twenty-odd days until the emperor ascends to the throne. Let's try to take down Jiangsu and Zhejiang within these twenty-odd days and give the emperor some good news."
