Zhang Gui, the commander-in-chief of Guangxi, stood at the top of the Guilin city, looking out at hundreds of thousands of yellow-clad thieves besieging the city.
He only trembled in his heart. He went to Guizhou by himself and was beaten by the thieves in yellow clothes.
Unexpectedly, while he was hiding in Guangxi, the army of thieves in yellow came again.
Why is Guangxi, a barren land, ushered in by thieves in yellow?
Under normal circumstances, the thieves in yellow should give priority to attacking the wealthy Huguang.
When Zhang Gui heard the news that Huaiyuan County had been captured, he immediately sent his trusted aide to inform Xiong Wencan, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, about the yellow-clothed thieves' attack on Guangxi.
This is the only thing he can do now.
With their military strength in Guilin Mansion, there is no way to stop the yellow-robed thieves' attack.
Zhang Gui has come into contact with the thieves in yellow and understands the strength of the thieves in yellow. These thieves are really strong.
The cronies saw Zhang Gui's depressed mood.
"Sir, this is God's blessing for our army. Look, it's raining heavily now.
It has been raining continuously for more than half a month.
Now the yellow-robed thieves are besieging the city, and the heavy rain continues.
The thieves in yellow are famous for their firearms. They are powerful with firearms, but I have never heard that they are also powerful with swords.
The thieves in yellow only carry firearms, and no one knows how to use a bow and arrow.
Sir, you know that firearms cannot be used on rainy days.
We also have various defensive equipment and bows and arrows in our hands.
With the defenders in Guilin City, we should be able to hold on until Governor Xiong Wencan sends reinforcements."
Zhang Gui became confident again after hearing the advice from his confidants.
Mobilize the troops under your command and carefully arrange the work of defending the city.
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Outside Guilin City, Su Xiong, Zhang Yuliang and other officers were discussing how to attack Guilin City.
Zhang Yuliang said worriedly: "Since our army entered Guizhou, it has been raining in Guizhou and Guangxi.
The weather is very abnormal now. It has passed the rainy season and heavy rains are still continuing.
There have been severe droughts in the northern provinces for many years, but here in the south it rains endlessly.
I'm worried that there will be flooding here, and we need to attack Guilin City as soon as possible.
Otherwise, there will be a strong city in front and a flood behind.
Our army has suffered natural disasters and is attacked by the Ming army, so we will be in big trouble."
Su Xiong said confidently: "Breech-loading guns and breech-loading cannons exchanged fire with the Ming army on the battlefield for the first time.
They were not familiar with our firearms and thought that our firearms were unable to launch attacks in rainy weather.
It is still raining heavily, making it difficult for us to attack the city, and it is also difficult for the Ming army to defend the city.
We must overcome the difficulties and win the city of Guilin in one battle.
Lu Chenyang's department was responsible for the main attack, and the Eighth Army Artillery Regiment was responsible for artillery support.
Your artillery is more elite, and the artillery is more accurate in rainy weather."
Su Xiong made offensive arrangements, and the Qin army began to attack Guilin City.
Lu Chenyang at the east gate is responsible for the main attack, and the troops at other gates are responsible for the feint attack. Once the city head can be captured, the feign attack troops can become the main attack at any time.
Zhang Yuliang commanded the artillery and launched wild bombings on Guilin City from four directions.
Lu Chenyang commanded his troops and launched an attack on Guilin City carrying ladders.
Zhang Gui stood on the wall and heard the roar of cannon.
He was so frightened that he immediately jumped down from the top of the city. His reaction speed was very fast.
None of Zhang Gui's personal soldiers reacted as quickly as he did.
I was a little dazed, thinking about why the cannons of the thieves in yellow were able to fire in the heavy rain.
A cannonball exploded nearby, and the soldiers on top of the city were blown to bits of flesh and blood.
Zhang Gui covered his broken leg and kept wailing.
His legs hurt, but his heart felt even colder.
He listened to the continuous sound of musketry outside Guilin City.
The soldiers of the thieves in yellow were using muskets that could be fired in rainy weather to kill the defenders who were not killed by the cannons.
"Surrender, quickly open the city and surrender.
We can no longer defend Guilin City. If the thieves in yellow come, we can allocate the land and divide all the land of the locals."
The surrounding Ming troops, who were preparing to scale the city wall to support them, heard what Zhang Gui, the commander-in-chief of Guangxi, said.
Du Dayong, a member of the Qianhu Army of the Ming Dynasty, was the first to react and control the local generals first.
Then he led his men and directly moved away the big stone blocking the north city gate.
He tore off his clothes and tied a piece of white cloth to the head of the spear.
This is something that the Qin Army has spread. As long as the white flag is raised on the battlefield, the Qin Army will not attack.
Du Dayong opened the north city gate and asked his cronies to wave makeshift white flags while shouting outside the city.
"We surrendered."
Lu Xiaoqiu, commander of the Second Division of the Eighth Army, was preparing to command his men to climb the city wall.
He acts as a feint attack force, but if he can scale the city wall, he can become the main attacking force.
He saw the north gate of Guilin City wide open and people waving white flags.
"The surrender was too fast. These people surrendered before we even used any force."
Lu Xiaoqiu felt a little strange that the city of Guilin fell too fast.
He was afraid that Guilin City was pretending to surrender.
Immediately arrange troops to go to test, and other troops are ready to support at any time.
"They entered the city. They entered the city so easily. They are not pretending to surrender."
Lu Xiaoqiu immediately commanded the soldiers and rushed into Guilin City.
After he took control of the North City Gate and the northern section of Guilin City Wall, he immediately sent people to notify Commander Zhang Yuliang and Governor Su Xiong.
Su Xiong and Zhang Yuliang saw the troops entering Guilin easily.
Zhang Yuliang felt incredible.
"Captain Su, is the resistance of the Ming army here in the south so weak?
We only fired a few cannons, and the city of Guilin surrendered."
Zhang Yuliang was very surprised. It was very difficult for him to defeat Sichuan at that time.
After that, he was mainly active in the northern battlefield and did not come to fight in the south for a long time.
It was the first large-scale battle, and he didn't expect it to be such a big surprise.
It is too easy for these armies in the South to make meritorious deeds.
Su Xiong waved his hand and said: "How is this possible? This is the first time I have seen a city with such weak resistance.
I attacked Yunnan and Guizhou very quickly, but cities like Kunming and Guiyang were also besieged for many days.
After sacrificing many soldiers and completely blowing up the city walls, these two cities were taken down.
It's not as easy as Guilin City. Just fired a few cannons and the defenders just opened the city and surrendered."
Su Xiong immediately arranged for Zhu Shi Li Zhengfeng to screen the prisoners and send troops to maintain order in Guilin City.
He informed the rear that those civil servants could enter Guilin City.
This time the civilian officials followed the army, and the army did not need military control, which saved a lot of trouble.
Su Xiong is in the luxurious mansion of the Guilin gentry.
He held a military combat meeting. After investigation, Su Xiong found out why Guangxi was so weak.
"We easily captured Guilin City this time, so we will officially divide our forces.
Guangxi's military strength was already weaker than that of Guangdong. Zhang Gui, the commander-in-chief of Guangxi, lost tens of thousands of troops in Guizhou.
Xiong Wencan, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, did not provide additional troops to Guangxi for some unknown reason.
Wuzhou, the most important military town in Guangxi, had 50,000 Ming troops there.
But the other cities in Guangxi together have less than 100,000 people.
Nowadays, except for a few major cities in Guangxi, there are very few Ming troops guarding the cities, and the majority are local guardsmen.
When Xiong Wencan, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, knew that we were attacking Guangxi, he would definitely send troops to support Wuzhou.
I took command of the First Army, marched south to Pingyuefu, and went straight to Wuzhou Prefecture.
Commander Zhang led the Eighth Army to attack Liuzhou Prefecture in the southwest first, and then Xunzhou Prefecture in the southeast.
Divide the troops in Xunzhou Prefecture, march westward to Nanning Prefecture, and follow Bobai County to attack Lianzhou Prefecture and Qinzhou area in Guangdong.
The main target of the Eighth Army is the coast of Guangdong."
Zhang Yuliang was very satisfied with Su Xiong's arrangement.
Su Xiong personally led the First Army to gnaw hard bones.
He led the Eighth Army in several large circles to attack southern Guangxi.
There is no way to go around so many times. He has a lot of artillery under his command, and he must use the main rivers in Guangxi to transport artillery and supplies.
"Captain Su, our Eighth Army has no problem, so we will act according to this plan."
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Su Xiong left five thousand guardsmen in Guilin to maintain order.
He took five thousand garrison troops and the first army and marched south to Pingyuefu.
Zhang Yuliang led the Eighth Army and 30,000 garrison troops to attack Liuzhou Prefecture, southwest of Guilin Prefecture.
In order to speed up the attack, Zhang Yuliang and his Eighth Army were responsible for attacking the main cities.
Some small county towns were all handed over to the garrison for attack.
The garrison commanded cannon and muzzle-loading rifles.
The garrison has also undergone long-term training and is stronger than the average Ming army.
They have no problem attacking some county towns guarded by local guards.
Su Xiong went south along the river, and Zhang Gui, the commander-in-chief of Guangxi, surrendered quickly.
Everything in the Ming army was not damaged in time, especially the ships.
Guangxi has a dense network of rivers and many boats.
Su Xiong led the army to go south by boat, which was much faster than traveling by land.
Before they arrived at Pingle Mansion, Su Xiong saw a pair of Ming troops approaching them with white flags.
"Master Qin Jun, we are people sent by Pingle Mansion.
We have decided to surrender to the Qin army and ask you to take over Pingle Mansion."
Su Xiong ordered the garrison to take over Pinglefu. The Su Shi Division of the Second Division held down the garrison to prevent Pinglefu from falsely surrendering.
The probability of this is low, but it cannot be left to the Ming army to implement a false surrender strategy.
Su Xiong saw that the Qin army entered Pingle Mansion easily. This battle was too easy.
But he is not arrogant. Wuzhou still has a tough battle to fight.
Su Xiong quickly led his troops to the gates of Wuzhou City.
He looked at the tall city walls of Wuzhou and the densely packed red cannons on the walls.
Looking through the telescope, the Ming army above is neat and tidy, and at first glance they are the elite of the Ming army.
He also saw a bear-character flag erected on top of Wuzhou City.
Xiong Wencan, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, has brought reinforcements from Guangdong's Ming army to Wuzhou. His speed is really fast.
Xiong Wencan, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, saw an army of yellow-clad thieves outside the city.
He was so angry that he cursed loudly and said: "Zhang Gui is such a useless snack, I should have removed him from his position long ago.
My governor's office is located in Wuzhou City.
It has only been a few days since I received the news, and I have not yet organized my troops to support Guilin City.
The army of thieves in yellow has arrived at the gates of Wuzhou City.
Even if Zhang Gui led a group of pigs and ran all over the mountains and plains, he still couldn't let the thieves in yellow arrive at the gate of Wuzhou City in such a short period of time.
If you don't ask him to resist the thief in yellow, he won't be able to do it for a while.
You generals, please guard Wuzhou City carefully.
Whoever does not guard the city seriously will not be recognized by the Shangfang sword in my hand."
The generals were all kneeling, listening to the reprimand of Xiong Wencan, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi.
Some generals muttered silently in their hearts.
"Pigs will not surrender, but humans will."
Su Xiong led the First Army and launched a tentative attack on Wuzhou City.
…………………………
Lu Xiaoqiu muttered: "The commander of the Ninth Army has flown, completely flown.
I rushed to Xiangzhou as quickly as possible, and Xiangzhou surrendered.
Zhao Xin went to attack Liuzhou, and Liuzhou surrendered.
When we arrived at Xunzhou City, we didn't expect that Xunzhou City had also surrendered.
What is going on with the Ming army in Guangxi? How come they surrounded the city with heavy troops, but the Ming army in the city just surrendered."
Lu Xiaoqiu stayed in Xunzhou City, waiting for the arrival of Zhang Yuliang and other large forces.
It is planned that the army will arrive at Xunzhou City at about the same time, and the time will be calculated based on the strength of the Ming army.
Unexpectedly, when the Ming army saw the Qin army coming, they immediately opened the city and surrendered. They only had time to walk.
Lu Xiaoqiu was not idle in Xunzhou City either.
He sent troops everywhere to collect ships. The Xunjiang River is one of the main rivers in Guangxi.
There are many boats on both sides of the river. To the west is Nanning Prefecture, and to the east are Wuzhou and Guangdong.
Zhang Yuliang quickly arrived at Xunzhou City with his follow-up troops.
He held a military meeting.
"Everyone is very fast."
Zhao Xin, commander of the First Division, said with a smile: "Commander, I don't know why? In the city here in Guangxi, most of the defenders surrendered directly when they saw us coming.
A small number of defenders fired a few cannons to attack the city, but soon surrendered.
The speed of our attack is the speed of our march, how can it not be faster?"
Hu Hai, commander of the Third Division, said: "Commander, not only are we fast, I also saw military reports following the arrival of supplies.
The Second Army's attack speed is faster than ours, and we still have a large army to fight together.
The Second Army was divided into regiments and spread out directly in western Guangxi like spreading salt.
Targeting the county seat and the chieftain's village, the big cities in western Guangxi were unable to stop even a regiment of the Second Army and surrendered directly to the city.
Some Guangxi Tusi villages were the main force resisting the Second Army, but their strength was small and scattered.
Armed with iron knives and wooden spears, they were completely unable to stop the Second Army armed with muskets and cannons.
The Second Army occupied Guangxi faster than we occupied large cities."
Lu Xiaoqiu said with a serious expression: "Our army transformed the prisoner Du Dayong, as well as the surrendered soldiers.
Master Zhu Miyu and I asked these surrendered soldiers carefully.
I learned something about the situation here in Guangxi.
There is a conflict between natives and guests in Guangxi. The natives here do not refer to uncivilized chieftains.
They are locals here in Guangdong and Guangxi, including Han Chinese and other people who have long been Chineseized.
Except for some customs and habits, he is the same person as us.
The Hakkas are the Han people who migrated south during the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the Five Husties Rebellion period, and the Southern Song Dynasty.
The conflict between the native and foreign families has lasted for hundreds of years.
In order to govern Guangxi in the Ming Dynasty, they constantly instigated conflicts between the locals and the locals, using the locals to control the locals and the locals to control the locals.
After we captured Yunnan and Guizhou, Ming Dynasty was afraid that the native and Hakka families would surrender in the city, so they adopted more drastic checks and balances.
In areas where there are many local gentry in Guangxi, the local city forces are mainly Hakka.
In places where there are many Hakkas, the local city's military force is dominated by locals.
The Ming Dynasty used civil servants and military generals to check and balance the native guests, and from time to time provoked conflicts between the native guests.
As arbiters, they controlled the native and foreign families.
They have a good idea, but this method is simply not practical.
Our attack on Ming Dynasty, with its strong strength, directly broke this fragile balance.
The city was mainly composed of Hakka troops, knowing that the city could no longer be defended.
Just capture the local generals, open the city gates and surrender to us.
The gentry in the city are mainly locals, and these Hakkas have no psychological burden in selling the city.
We can also pass our policies to allocate land to Hakka soldiers here. Most of these soldiers do not have land.
If the natives guard a city dominated by Hakkas, they will do the same."
Zhang Yuliang and others heard Lu Xiaoqiu's narration.
Only then did they realize that the surrender of these cities in Guangxi was not only due to their strong military strength, but also to this underlying reason.
"Great, when we attack other cities, we can also use the conflict between natives and guests, which can help us attack the city as soon as possible.
Next I announce the battle plans of each division.
Zhao Xin led the first division and followed the waterway to the west to attack Nanning Prefecture.
The Second Division and the Third Division followed the waterway south to Bobai County and attacked Lianzhou Prefecture in Guangdong.
After capturing Lianzhou Prefecture, the Lu Xiaoqiu Division of the Second Division attacked Qinzhou to the west, and the Hu Hai Division of the Third Division attacked Gaozhou Prefecture and Leizhou Prefecture to the east."
Zhang Yuliang made a military plan and handed over all defenses of the occupied city to the garrison, and the Eighth Army immediately began to take action.