Nan Ming Sun Never Sets

Chapter 139 Southwest War
Bai Mingxiu pondered for a moment and said: "I have no objection to taking Zhao Butai and Li Guoying first and occupying Guichuan, but this is only in terms of strategic importance. The southwest region is far less important than the Jiangnan region. Now Sichuan is dilapidated and has a population of ten. It can no longer support our Ming Dynasty to further expand its strength. The south of the Yangtze River has been rich and prosperous since ancient times, and there are many talented people. It can not only alleviate the relative shortage of food for our Ming army, but also block water transportation and cut off the flow of money and food for the Tartars. , completely put the Tartars in a difficult situation. Not to mention that there are not many scholars in the south of the Yangtze River who are loyal to our Ming Dynasty, and if we liberate the south of the Yangtze River, our anti-Qing plan will be more than half successful."

Li Dingguo's strategic vision is also powerful, so he naturally knew that what Bai Mingxiu said was not bad at all.

He frowned slightly, and said solemnly: "Your Highness is not strong enough now, and it is difficult to defend Guangdong and Guangxi. How can we divide our troops to Jiangnan? If we want to fight Zhao Butai and Li Guoying in the southwest, then our army must have no spare power to send troops to Jiangnan. Your Highness may have to spend some more time to absorb the troops from Guangdong and Guangxi, and digest the strength of the Zheng family, so that there is no way to retake Jiangnan from the sea."

Bai Mingxiu said with a smile: "The training in Guangzhou is going well, and the training of the three army divisions is almost finished."

Li Dingguo was surprised: "Didn't it say that it will take at least three months? Can weapons and other supplies keep up?"

Bai Mingxiu said: "I have already made preparations in Guangzhou. If I call two army divisions to fight with my independent brigade, there should be no problem. Moreover, as long as the southwest is pacified, the troops left behind in the southwest can be reduced. If our army can control Hanzhong, One division stationed in the army can look north to Shaanxi and protect Sichuan. Replacing the Peasant Bureau of Kuidong Shisanjia and stationing one division in Kuizhou can guard against the invading enemies of Huguang. Another division is stationed in Guilin, and the entire southwestern Pingfan , the Qing army could not advance an inch. In this way, the Southwest can still deploy two infantry divisions and one cavalry division to participate in the battle on the eastern front. Our troops are very abundant."

Hearing Bai Mingxiu's plan, Li Dingguo was also very excited. He said: "Peace the Bashu in the southwest first, and then divide the troops to go east to the south of the Yangtze River. I am afraid that this strategy can only be achieved by my powerful and well-organized Fuguo Army." It's done. If it is finally successful, then the entire south will return to our banner of Ming Dynasty, the Qing army will be severely injured, and there will be a reversal of offensive between Ming and Qing."

Bai Mingxiu smiled and said: "When I left Myanmar, I told you, King Jin, that within three years I would drive out the Tartars and traitors. Now that this year has passed for more than eight months, I still dislike the progress. It’s slow.”

Unknowingly, Bai Mingxiu, who was driving Golden Finger, had expanded his strength to a level that surprised himself.

Li Dingguo had five infantry divisions and one cavalry division on his side, while Bai Mingxiu had three infantry divisions and one cavalry division on his side, plus his independent brigade.Not including Li Dingguo's growing Burmese army, Bai Mingxiu's Daming Restoration Army has reached 10 reorganized divisions and 1 independent brigade, with a total strength of 12 troops.

Bai Mingxiu pacified Guangxi, reformed the land and returned it to the local people. He will absorb the Cu people, Yao people and Han people, reform the Qing army and surrender troops, and then form three divisions. Although this may not be completed in a while, it will further strengthen Bai Ming. Xiu's strength.

Li Dingguo is also full of confidence now, and said: "We will fight side by side with His Highness again, and I hope that this decisive battle in the southwest will be successful."

Bai Mingxiu also said: "It must."

--split line--

The discussion between Bai Mingxiu and Li Dingguo has been decided, and Li Dingguo left the troops of Bai Mingxiu's fourth division of the army, which increased the number of troops led by Bai Mingxiu to more than 2.Bai Mingxiu's army took a short rest in Tianzhou, and then immediately moved along the river along the relatively flat valley to Guizhou.But Li Dingguo immediately returned to Qujing Mansion, and unified the 6 people he led to Ma Xiangdong.

As soon as Li Dingguo's army moved, Zhao Butai immediately felt great pressure. Zhao Butai had already led his troops into Yunnan to confront the Ming Fuguo Army led by Li Dingguo in Qujing Mansion, but when Li Dingguo moved, Zhao Butai couldn't help it. Dare to confront him directly, he led his troops to turn around and retreat to Guizhou, and contacted Li Guoying, who was still in Xuzhou Prefecture, to lead Sichuan troops for support.

The entire combat situation began to change to the Ming army attacking and the Qing army defending.

Bai Mingxiu didn't dare to say that he was good at commanding at the specific battle level. The real commander of this battle was Li Dingguo.This talented general who has integrated Chinese and Western art of war has already grasped the key to victory in the war.

Li Dingguo led the army to seize the Pingyi Guards abandoned by Zhao Butai and intimidated the Qing army.Bai Mingxiu entered Guizhou from Guangxi and easily captured Anlong Suo. He and Li Dingguo were in the west and the other in the south, forming a situation of flanking Zhao Butai on both sides.

No matter how stupid Zhao Butai was, he knew at this time that Shang Kexi and Geng Jimao, two Han generals whom the Qing army relied heavily on, had been wiped out by Nanming Prince Zhu Cixuan and Jin Wang Li Dingguo.Zhao Butai's troops were no longer as large as those of the Ming army, not to mention that the army's firecrackers and cannons were sharp, which made Zhao Butai a wary weapon.

Although Bai Mingxiu, who is aggressive in Anlong, has a relatively optimistic attitude, he is also fully aware of the difficulty of fighting in the nobles.

"Earlier, I heard that Guizhou has no three-mile flat land. I also learned about karst landforms when I was in school. Now it seems that it is really not bad at all." Standing on a green mountain, Bai Mingxiu sighed.

The soldiers and horses he captured in Anlong's office were only a small part. The big problem facing Bai Mingxiu now was that his troops needed more complete logistical support than the troops in the classical era.This is why he brought out tens of thousands of civilian husbands from Guangdong.It is really not an easy task for the peasants to carry all kinds of grain, weapons, ammunition and other supplies across the steep mountains of Guizhou.

Compared with Guangxi, he can still find some flat valleys and plains to drive on. In Guizhou, the river is wide and there are steep mountains on both sides. Even the infantry marching is a very big challenge. They have to climb over with their feet One after another, the physical exertion is very high.

If the terrain hadn't been so bad, Bai Mingxiu and Li Dingguo could have launched an attack on Zhao Butai who was guarding Pu'an within a few days, and Zhao Butai would definitely have no chance at all.But now Bai Mingxiu's main artillery force is still moving towards Anlong, and Li Dingguo's side needs to make full preparations before they can make the trip.Therefore, the Ming army suddenly declined from its original rapid action speed.

"It doesn't matter, just wait for Li Guoying to lead troops to support and make a big fight." Bai Mingxiu thought.

(End of this chapter)