Yongxinnu soon changed.
That evening, Shen Zhixin was having dinner with the crowd. A scout rode back to Liu Family Castle and ran to Shen Chixin's house breathlessly, saying he had something important to report.
The scouts are scouts. According to the Red Army system, they belong to the staff. The head Zhou Lianru was eating in the room and summoned the scout on the spot. The scout was out of breath and said:
"Mr. Shen, it's not a good thing. Five hundred horse infantrymen were sent to Yongxin from the Ji'an Mansion to suppress slave and tenant changes. Qinglu has occupied Yongxin County, and the county government has posted a notice that they will soon send troops to suppress tenant changes everywhere."
The public will be greatly disappointed when this remark is made. It was thought that the Red Army could win Yongxin without fighting because of the slave revolt in Yongxin County. Now it seems that the greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment.
Shen Chixin was always optimistic, and said, "It's no big deal that the Qinglu sent troops to occupy Yongxin. When did they occupy Yongxin?"
The scout replied, "Two days ago, these five hundred soldiers and horses were stationed in Jiangxi Province, headed by Tang Guozhu, who was very arrogant and threatened to wipe out the Red Army. Dozens of servants had been killed in Yongxin City. Everyone in Yongxin City was in danger, and many servants were imprisoned. Nobody dared to respond to the Red Army any more."
"Ha ha," Shen Chixin said with a smile, "It seems that the reputation of the Red Army has spread."
Zhou Lianru said to the scout, "You have worked hard. Go back to have a rest first and have a bowl of hot food."
All the generals finished their meals and discussed the current situation.
Shen Chixin has set the rules. Before the Red Army makes a major decision, it usually has to discuss collectively to reach an agreement. Once a decision is made, all levels should obey unconditionally and implement without discount.
Dong Shizhen has rich experience and is familiar with the situation in Jiangxi. He said, "Tang Guozhu was a lieutenant under the Yuzhang King. The Yuzhang King's uprising was defeated, and he retreated to the isolated city of Nanchang, making the senior general Tang Zhizhong guard the Jinxian Gate.
"Tang Guozhu was a lieutenant of Tang Zhizhong. He secretly surrendered to the Qing Dynasty and Nanchang City was destroyed. The King of Yuzhang, Jianguo Duke and Jinxian Uncle all died in this battle. Mr. Shen, if we can kill Tang Guozhu, Jiangxi people will be boosted."
The King of Yuzhang is Jin Shenghuan, the Duke of Jianguo is Wang Deren, and Jinxian is Jiang Yueguang. Last year, Jiangxi fought against the Qing Dynasty anyway, led by Jin Shenghuan, Wang Deren and Jiang Yueguang. After the death of these three people, they were posthumously awarded titles by the Yongli Imperial Court of the Southern Ming Dynasty.
Shen Chixin agreed with Dong Shizhen's opinion and said: "Tang Guozhu is a big traitor, and it's not worth killing him with a thousand cuts. The Red Army is sure to eat his 500 men. Yuchen, what about Geng Jimao and Shang Kexi, the two bandits in Ji'an?"
Zhou Lianru, the chief of staff, is responsible for scouting the enemy's situation and collecting information. Now he has a clear idea and says, "Geng and Shang have left their camp to the south, and they should have arrived in Ganzhou by now."
Further south of Ganzhou is Nan'an Mansion, and passing Nan'an Mansion is Nanxiong Mansion of Guangdong. The territory of Nan'an Prefecture is very small, with only four counties under its jurisdiction, which is not commensurate with the administrative level of the prefecture.
The reason for this is that there is an important military town in the south of Nan'an Prefecture - Dayu Ridge, also known as Meiguan, which is the first dangerous pass among the five mountains and the most important channel for Jiangxi to communicate with Lingnan.
It can be said that with Dayu Ridge in Nan'an Prefecture, Guangdong cannot be independent. This is the main basis for the division of provincial boundaries among Chinese provinces: "mountains and rivers are beautiful and intertwined".
At this time, Dayu Ridge was still in the hands of Nanming, and Nan'an Mansion was the forefront of the confrontation between the Ming and Qing armies.
Shen Chixin said, "Now, the New Year is less than half a month away. Geng Jimao and Shang Kexi are eager to make contributions and will probably break through Dayu Ridge before the New Year."
Li Sheng, the second battalion commander, could not help wondering: "Dayu Ridge has a tendency of one man in charge of the pass and ten thousand people can't get away from it. Nanming was defeated in Jiangxi last year. How could it be easy for the Qing Dynasty to break through Dayu Ridge when it was strictly guarded?"
As soon as he uttered his words, Li Sheng felt that he was speechless. Shen is totally unpredicted. I should not question his judgment to his face.
Shen Chixin doesn't think that we should be disobedient. Everyone is willing to speak actively, which is very helpful for decision-making. He said:
"The army of the Southern Ming Dynasty was poorly organized, and all the ministries were pushed against each other. Morale was low, and the war spirit was completely lacking. I guess this time the Qing Dynasty will take the Spring Festival to launch a surprise attack. If they are not well prepared, they will be overwhelmed."
"Alas," Li Sheng could not help sighing and said, "Nanming is like a dou who can't stand it. The situation has gone. Anyway, we should send someone to inform the defenders to strengthen their defense."
Shen Chixin said without thinking, "It should be so. Yuchen, you should send two more capable scouts to pass the news to the guards of Dayu Ridge, and go to Dayu Ridge to explore the enemy."
There was a silence in the room. Finally, Dong Shizhen opened his mouth and said, "We have just expanded our army, and the new soldiers are short of weapons. Although Yongxin has been occupied by the Qing Dynasty, we should still decide to kill Tang Guozhu, capture Yongxin, and obtain weapons supplies."
Zhou Lianru was cautious and said, "The Red Army has just become an army, so we should avoid fighting hard battles. Although Tang Guozhu is a traitor, he has been in battle for a long time, and it seems that we should not confront him hard."
Li Sheng is straightforward and impatient. He said, "Don't make any noise. You can't make a conclusion until tomorrow! Mr. Shen, let's make a decision. We'll all listen to you. You said to fight Yongxin, and we'll fight Yongxin. You said to go to Dayu Ridge to help the Ming Army, and we'll go to Dayu Ridge."
Shen Zixin raised his eyebrows, looked at Li Sheng first, looked around the generals, and said, "OK! Let me decide that the Red Army will fight Ji'an instead of Yongxin or Dayu Ridge! I have four considerations.
"First, the troops are dangerous and can be taken by surprise. Geng Jimao and Shang Kexi, two former soldiers stationed in Ji'an, have gone south to Guangdong. The Qing prisoners who were stationed in Ji'an Prefecture have gone to Yongxin, leaving the city empty.
"Two years of war in Jiangxi, the Rebels were completely destroyed by the Qing prisoners. The Qing prisoners were very arrogant, and the Geng and Shang armies were in southern Jiangxi again. They never expected that we would dare to use force under their eyes.
"Second, we 300 fugitives stayed in Ji'an for more than a month to get familiar with the situation of Ji'an's urban defense. When the fugitives rioted, we wiped out thirty of Geng Jimao's cavalry. So far, we still have the battle of armor and waist tags of Geng's army."
"Third, Ji'an is located at the junction of Ganjiang River and Heshui River. It is also a military station of Qing Dynasty. The city is rich in weapons, money and food, which is enough to arm the whole army.
"Fourth, Tang Guozhu's 500 soldiers have been in battle for a long time, and their combat effectiveness should not be underestimated. We are determined to eliminate Tang Guozhu. It is not convenient to attack hard, but we can only win with wisdom. If we capture Ji'an, we can encircle Wei and save Zhao.
"Fourth, three hundred fugitives were jailed in Ji'an and sent to the capital. Now, the fugitives have become the Red Army. If we can capture Ji'an, it will be enough to lift the morale of the whole army, strengthen the confidence of victory, and boost the popularity of Jiangxi."
Li Sheng clapped his hands and said, "Wonderful! Wonderful! I listen to you, Marshal. We will attack Ji'an and catch the enemy off guard!"