On the fifth day of July, the Red Army vowed to fight in Guangxi.
The army is divided into two routes.
Shen Chixin led a total of 4000 soldiers and horses in the near guard standard and cavalry standard, which were the West Route Army. He declared that 20000 elite soldiers had entered Nanning via Qinzhou to rescue the loyalty camp.
Fang Shizhen led the First Infantry Pact with about 15000 men and horses, which was the East Route Army. He announced that there were 50000 elite soldiers passing Lingshan and Bobai, entering Hengzhou and Yulinzhou, and preparing to circle to Nanning.
In this battle, the Red Army plans to rescue the Loyalty Camp in Nanning first, then go north to Liuzhou, and then directly attack Guilin after passing Liuzhou. The main route of the army was land, so it was not easy to transport supplies. For this reason, two thousand militiamen and five thousand men were recruited.
The entry of the Red Army into Guangxi was quite an accident for the Qing army, which also surprised the world. People all believe that the Red Army should take advantage of its defeat of the Qing Army in Guangdong and march eastward. Even if it does not occupy Guangzhou, it should also occupy Zhaoqing Prefecture and Luodingzhou in western Guangdong.
Only a few people who are familiar with the military situation in Guangdong and Guangxi will secretly admire the decision of the Red Army. There are many mountains in western Guangdong, and only plains are distributed along the coast. The Red Army stopped in Yangjiang County and Yangchun County, Zhaoqing Prefecture, and has taken most of the coastal plains as their own.
In addition, Guangdong is adjacent to Jiangxi and Fujian, facilitating the rescue of the Qing army. Guangxi is adjacent to Guizhou, Hunan and western Guangdong, and Guizhou, Hunan and western Guangdong have become the world of anti Qing forces.
The most deadly thing was Kong Youde's mishandling. His troops were too scattered and could easily be defeated by the enemy. This provided convenience for the Red Army to conquer Guangxi.
Fang Shizhen led the First Infantry Association. The troops were magnificent and the war was quite smooth. The left wing goes to Lingshan, Hengzhou, and the right wing goes to Bobai, Yulin.
Yulin Prefecture is adjacent to Bobai. The officials of the Manchu Dynasty were frightened. The defenders abandoned the city and fled without fighting. The Zhizhou opened the door and surrendered. Xingye County, Hengzhou County and Guixian County are all small counties. They are powerless to defend the army or fight or surrender. The war is very smooth.
Shen Chixin led his cavalry to Nanning. Before the army left Qinzhou, Dang Shousu, the envoy of the Loyalty Camp, was rushing to Lianzhou for help.
Dang Shousu saw Shen Chixin, fell to his knees with a plop, and said, "Sir, if you lead the army to help, the Loyalty Camp will be saved. The Qing captives mustered heavy troops to conquer the Bachi Stronghold, and Nanning has become an isolated city, which is in danger!"
This is the eighth time since this year that the Loyalty Camp has asked the Red Army for help. A few times ago, the offensive of the Qing army was not fierce, and the Red Army helped with weapons, and the Loyalty Camp was still able to support it.
Before his death, Zhumala deployed the "Three Kings" campaign to make Kong Youde copy the Red Army's lair. Kong Youde delayed and refused to obey on the pretext that he wanted to leave Nanning and enter Lianzhou. He first concentrated his troops to encircle the loyalty camp.
Kong Youde was also deeply touched by the defeat of the Qing army in Guangdong and the death of Zhumala. However, he was arrogant and did not shrink the defense line. Instead, he continued to attack the Loyalty Camp, hoping to capture Nanning.
Nanning is an important town in the south of Guangxi. If Kong Youde can take possession of Nanning, he will be able to attack and defend, and his situation will be greatly improved.
Shen Zixin picked up Dang Shousu and comforted him, "I'm not afraid. I've led four thousand elite cavalries and I'm going to Nanning to rescue. At present, our army is only 160 miles away from Nanning. At the latest, the morning after tomorrow, our army will be able to reach Nanning."
Qinzhou is very close to Nanning. There are only two hundred li of post roads, but many mountain roads. The cavalry walked fast, and the rapid march could reach Nanning in a day and night.
Dang Shousu thought that Shen Chixin was not paying much attention when he saw Shen Chixin's words, so he said in a hurry, "Sir, Nanning is extremely urgent, and the situation is like the battle of Shanhaiguan in those years. The Bachi Stronghold is the barrier of Nanning, like a stone outside Shanhaiguan.
"In those days, the late emperor and Wu Sangui fought outside the Shanhai Pass for many days in a stone battle. The late emperor sent reinforcements to rescue a stone at night. Wu Sangui also had no choice but to admit the thief as his father and beg for teachers from the Qing Dynasty.
"In that situation, whoever comes first will win the battle of Shanhaiguan. If our army comes first, the first emperor will defeat Wu Sangui, occupy Shanhaiguan, block the Qing Dynasty, and hold the throne in Beijing.
"Unexpectedly, the cavalry of Qinglu was fast and reached a piece of stone before our army. As a result, Chuang Wang's army was defeated, so he had to retreat from Beijing and Xi'an, and finally lost the world. Sir, don't forget the past, the future army!"
Shen Zhixin looked at Dang Shousu and said jokingly:
"Dang Shousu, you don't know. The reason why Qinglu helped Wu Sangui was that Wu Sangui was willing to surrender. The Red Army has repeatedly reinforced the Loyalty Camp, asking for no return and no loss. When will you return to the Red Army?"
Loyalty camp has no basis and always lacks a strong leadership core. Li Guo was accepted by the minister of Nanming, Duyinxi, and found a place in Nanning.
The territory of the Loyalty Camp in Nanning is not stable. It is not only hostile to the small court of the Southern Ming Dynasty, but also excluded by the Western Army and the Guangxi Ming Army.
Last year, Li Guo died of illness and Gao Yigong led the Loyalty Camp. His talent is not as good as Li Guo's. Thanks to the support of the Red Army, he saved Nanning.
Gao Yigong has no ambition. He just wants to keep the loyalty camp. As long as he does not surrender to the Manchu, he is willing to bear the humiliation and rely on the Red Army, Nanming and other anti Qing forces.
Now, the loyalty camp has reached the critical point of life and death. If the Red Army did not send troops to rescue, the Qing army would certainly break the city. At that time, even if the loyalty camp wanted to break through, the old and weak women and children could not escape the pursuit of the Qing army.
Before Dang Shousu left, Gao Yigong told him that as long as the Red Army sent troops to rescue him, the Loyalty Camp was willing to surrender to the Red Army. He said with awe:
"Marshal En De, our Loyalty Camp will never forget. You are the reborn parents of Loyalty Camp if you are willing to send troops to defeat Qinglu. Our Loyalty Camp is willing to join the Red Army, and has no second thoughts."
Shen Chi'an on the other side was very clever. He interjected, "But 'listen to the seal, don't listen to the tone'?"
Loyalty camp and Ming Dynasty have enmity and mutual suspicion. Both the Longwu and Yongli dynasties of the Southern Ming Dynasty tried to drive the Loyalty Camp to kill Qinglu, but the army of the Southern Ming Dynasty pushed out the Loyalty Camp everywhere.
The Loyalty Camp had to "listen to the seal but not the tone". It ostensibly accepted the officials of the Southern Ming Dynasty, but did not obey the dispatch.
Before Dang Shousu could speak, Shen Chixin said, "To be honest, this time I sent troops to Nanning, not just to reinforce the Loyalty Camp. On the other side of the road, the Red Army, with a total of 50000 elite soldiers, is rushing towards Guilin at night.
"If the Red Army can kill Zhumala, it can kill Kong Youde. I have no difficulty in conquering Guangxi with tens of thousands of elite troops. At that time, the Red Army will occupy the whole Guangxi. It is still early to decide whether the Loyalty Camp will return to the Red Army."
Loyalty Camp was overwhelmed by Kong Youde's Qing army. The Red Army's massive Northern Expedition can avenge Loyalty Camp.
Dang Shousu was overjoyed and said, "Sir, you are so wise that loyalty camp should be loyal to you. You should listen to both the seal and the tone."
So Shen Chixin first sent cavalry Biao to Nanning at night. Another day, the guard post arrived in Nanning. Four thousand elite Red Army soldiers fought inside and outside the Loyalty Camp and defeated the Qing army.
Gao Yigong goes out of the city to meet Shen Chixin. His sister Gao Guiying, Li Zicheng's widow, accompanied him and thanked Shen for his sincere help.
Gao's brothers and sisters vowed to lead the loyalty camp to join the Red Army, and Gao Yigong abolished the title of "Duke of Yun" in the Southern Ming Dynasty. There are still 6000 troops and horses in the Loyalty Camp, and 3000 or 4000 elites.
Shen Chixin ordered that the Loyalty Camp be divided into two parts, designated as the sixth and seventh targets of infantry, leaving two thousand weak soldiers to guard Zhou Ning, and the other four thousand elites to follow the Red Army in the Northern Expedition to Guilin.
The Loyalty Camp follows the formation of the Dashun Army, with the team as the basic unit. The infantry team has about 100 people, similar to the Red Army, so it is more convenient to be incorporated.
The sixth bid and the seventh bid are respectively Gao Yigong and Li Laixiang, one is Li Zicheng's brother-in-law, the other is Li Guo's son.
Loyalty camp has a stable heart and sincerely belongs to the Red Army.