Chapter 2146 - Deploying Defenses
Gou Xunli smiled enigmatically. Rotten-Eye Hu recognized that expression—his sworn brother possessed additional "material" with which to enlighten him.
"Big Brother, you're surely aware of the gorge along the Gui River called Duanteng Gorge?"
"Of course—that's Yao territory."
"Precisely. During the Jiajing reign, the Yao people of Duanteng Gorge rose against the government. Their leader, Hou Dagou, captured Wuzhou with merely seven hundred men, seized several court officials, and killed the Administration Commissioner himself."
"Such a thing happened?!" Now Rotten-Eye Hu's turn for astonishment arrived.
"Absolutely true." Gou Xunli continued, "Moreover, from the Tianshun era through Chenghua, Yao forces captured Wuzhou seven times. Each victory came against superior numbers—are we inferior to mere Yao barbarians?"
These words stirred Rotten-Eye Hu's heart, yet Hou Dagou had commanded seven hundred men, while they mustered merely two hundred. Moreover, Great Ming soldiers and Bald Thief troops represented entirely different propositions.
"...So our objective isn't actually capturing Wuzhou..."
"If we don't capture it, what fortune can we make?" Rotten-Eye Hu deflated considerably. "We're not government troops who claim credit by rushing in and severing heads—besides, how much silver does one head fetch? Likely embezzled by officials anyway. Won't do it, absolutely won't."
"Hehe, Big Brother, you misunderstand entirely. In my assessment, we needn't sever heads at all." Gou Xunli declared, "You're aware Wuzhou contains a priceless treasure—securing this treasure alone guarantees promotion and wealth..."
Rotten-Eye Hu slapped his thigh explosively. "Brother, cease tormenting me with riddles! Speak plainly—how exactly do we proceed?!"
"Excellent!" Gou Xunli, recognizing his sworn brother's commitment was secured, abandoned circumlocution. "Wuzhou's greatest treasure is the Bald Thieves' 'Director'!"
"Director?"
"The True Bald Senator himself." Gou Xunli nodded emphatically. "Capture him and present him to Viceroy Xiong, and then..."
"But he's inside the city—how do we seize him?"
"Hence my proposal: sneak attack, a 'bed raid.'" Gou Xunli explained, "Our total forces limit our options. Don't fantasize about conquering Wuzhou and looting for three days. Infiltrating Wuzhou and kidnapping this True Bald, however—that presents genuine opportunity."
The audacity staggered comprehension. Rotten-Eye Hu stood momentarily stunned. Yet contemplating the prize's magnitude, temptation proved overwhelming—thus far in battles between Imperial Court and Bald Thieves, never mind capturing True Balds, not even a single Fake Bald leader had fallen in combat. Capturing and presenting a True Bald to the Court would constitute merit of extraordinary magnitude. Moreover, True Balds and Fake Balds differed dramatically in temperament and appearance, rendering impersonation impossible—no concern about Xiong Wencan's disbelief existed.
"Brother's scheme shows merit! Yet he resides within Wuzhou under heavy guard. How do we commence?"
"I entered the city days ago and thoroughly assessed conditions. This Bald Thief Director, upon arrival, busies himself with irrelevancies while neglecting military preparations. Instead he paints slogans on walls daily, dispatches people singing and speechifying through streets pursuing 'propaganda' to deceive common folk; commands merchants to open businesses 'prospering the market,' and frantically raises funds for 'bridge repairs and road maintenance'—determined to play Lord of a Hundred Li. Military preparations alone receive scant attention. This constitutes exploitable opportunity..."
"Which year did you enlist?" Qian Duo inquired of Zhu Si en route to command post.
The Senate's military, inevitably resembling all armies worldwide, privileged seniority. Enlistment year roughly determined one's status.
National Army recruitment naturally drew from diverse sources, yet the officer corps invariably originated from the Fubo Army. Zhu Si proved no exception. He answered crisply: "Report! Originally a camp soldier of Ming State's Denglai Town garrison. Enlisted in 1632 through Battalion Commander Huang Ande's introduction while serving the Shandong Detachment. Upon enlistment, assigned to the Shandong Detachment's Forward Column."
"Ah, a veteran then." Qian Duo nodded. "Where did you serve before transferring to National Army?"
"Served in the Lingao Garrison Battalion." Pride colored Zhu Si's resume: though the Lingao Garrison Battalion maintained limited strength, it constituted the unit defending both capital and Senate. All officers and soldiers within considered themselves the "Imperial Guards."
"What rank?"
"Corporal." Speaking of this, Zhu Si was a bit embarrassed. His service time in the Garrison Battalion wasn't short, but his performance couldn't be called good. He was just promoted to Private First Class step by step according to seniority. This "Corporal" rank was only promoted before the temporary transfer to the National Army—they couldn't let a Private First Class transfer to the National Army to be an officer.
Among the soldiers who joined the army in Shandong at the same time as him, many had already become officers. Sergeants were considered very common.
"No wonder you became a Battalion Commander as soon as you came out. You are a veteran!" Qian Duo said in an appreciative tone.
"Sir is joking," Zhu Si felt very comfortable hearing his words. He said respectfully, "It is all the Senate's cultivation!"
Although in rank Zhu Si was only one grade lower than Qian Duo, the rank of the Fubo Army was much more "valuable" than that of the National Army. After all, officers in the National Army were filled by NCOs from the Fubo Army. Transferring from the Fubo Army to the National Army was truly "three promotions in a row."
The Wuzhou City Defense Command was located in the Cangwu County Yamen. Next to it was the Wuzhou Prefecture Yamen acting as the Municipal Government. This place was close to the city wall and was one of the few large masonry buildings in Wuzhou city, making it convenient for troops to maneuver or garrison.
Qian Duo spread out the Wuzhou city defense map on the table and pointed at it.
"Originally, our strength was insufficient, and defending Wuzhou was very strenuous." Qian Duo, the actual supreme commander in Wuzhou city, indicated on the Wuzhou map, "You also saw, the perimeter of Wuzhou city is nearly three kilometers. Currently, one company is simply not enough."
Zhu Si was secretly alarmed seeing this deployment map. The defense of Wuzhou was too weak. No wonder he originally commanded only a company but was suddenly reorganized into a battalion before departure—it turned out that Senator Xie here was playing the Empty Fort Strategy!
"In addition, we have to guard the Sanhezui POW camp. The prisoners in this camp haven't been transferred completely yet. There are currently about a thousand people—although we used some retained bailiffs to guard them, without our troops anchoring the formation, the strong-arm bailiffs simply can't suppresses these old soldier rascals."
Zhu Quanxing's 2nd Battalion held quarters in the original Ming garrison camp near Ximatan, west of Wuzhou Prefecture. Before Wuzhou's fall, this site had hosted the government's Guangxi Guard Battalion plus two thousand surrendered Wolf-Zhuang troops and Yao braves.
The 2nd Battalion had endured considerable casualties during the assault on Wuzhou. Following battle, all companies had drawn Cantonese recruits as replacements. These reinforcements currently necessitated training. Consequently, the battalion hadn't marched to accept surrendered counties immediately, instead remaining stationed here for reorganization.
Personnel naturally exceeded camp capacity. Zhu Quanxing retained only the battalion headquarters, Guard Company, and quartermaster department. Other line companies dispersed throughout Gu County, Limeng County, and Fuyang County to receive surrendering magistrates while simultaneously conducting reorganization training.
Despite their dispersal, companies maintained rapid response capability. The main road traversing the drill field passed Cangwu County before following the West River into Guangxi via waterways. Wuzhou city lay merely six li distant—even carrying sixty-jin packs during emergency drill, the battalion could reach Wuzhou within half an hour's forced march at double-time pace,
though such grinding pace would leave men utterly exhausted. Combat effectiveness upon arrival would prove questionable.
Nevertheless, Zhu Quanxing trusted Wuzhou's security completely. The city had withstood prolonged attacks from tens of thousands of Ming troops. Though the 2nd Battalion had breached its gates, that triumph owed largely to the new "conical explosive" bombs—had the defenders' morale held firm, capturing Wuzhou would have proven far costlier, if achievable at all.
Presently, the Senate stationed a full Fubo Army company within Wuzhou (nearly one hundred forty men when at full establishment); another National Army battalion provided city defense (nominally three hundred thirty-two men, though actual numbers might fall short); plus over one hundred "militia" and labor teams numbering between eight hundred and a thousand. With such garrison strength, attempting an attack demanded at...
Wait—I should think through this properly. Zhu Quanxing paused in sudden uncertainty. If the enemy attacks Wuzhou, can Qian Duo and Xie Erren manage effective defense?
In his view, both the National Army battalion and the company led by Qian Duo could be relied upon tactically. Yet would that suffice? He possessed no clear answer.
If enemy forces surpass five thousand and display willingness to sustain casualties, Wuzhou won't hold. he concluded with some pessimism.
Fortunately, enemy main forces remained concentrated in Teng County. Attempting a Wuzhou offensive would require considerable coordination; they couldn't simply materialize at the gates. Intelligence networks would provide advance warning of any major movements.
Consequently, recent days had found Zhu Quanxing worrying less about Wuzhou's security than about training his newly absorbed Cantonese recruits properly.
The 2nd Battalion had suffered relatively minor casualties during the Wuzhou assault—approximately forty killed, significantly fewer than losses endured storming the Shi'ao Fort. However, the Senate couldn't dispatch naturalized replacement troops in time. Zhu Quanxing could only accept several hundred Cantonese recruits allocated by Zhaoqing's recruitment office into his ranks.
These recruits had undergone minimal physical conditioning and political education in Zhaoqing before being dispersed among companies. Each company also received four to five naturalized cadres as officers. Beyond that, Zhu Quanxing could expect nothing further.
Half the troops being newly conscripted Cantonese represented the 2nd Battalion's present reality. How to train these soldiers and integrate them with veteran naturalized troops posed Zhu Quanxing's primary headache.
He'd concluded that mixing green recruits with veterans within the same squad proved unworkable. Presently, the 2nd Battalion employed a formation of ten-man squads, with three squads comprising a platoon. Each veteran squad carried formidable combat power—designating a recruit as squad leader while assigning eight green troops under his command would merely waste the veteran's capabilities.
Yet concentrating new recruits into dedicated squads also presented problems. Lacking veteran backbone, such squads would require veteran officers. This created a cascading shortage—using veterans as officers for recruit squads deprived veteran squads of their own cadres.
Ultimately, Zhu Quanxing decided distributing Cantonese recruits at platoon level offered the best approach. Each company would establish one "recruit platoon" commanded by a veteran officer. Recruit platoons would then be subdivided into three squads, with veteran NCOs leading each squad.
This framework theoretically provided sufficient veteran personnel. However, it substantially diminished each company's combat effectiveness—essentially rendering one-third of every company uncommittable to battle.
Though disappointed, Zhu Quanxing recognized no superior alternatives existed. Moreover, Military Command had emphasized that following Wuzhou's capture, the Senate's primary Guangdong focus would shift toward consolidation. Large-scale combat operations seemed unlikely.
The greater concern involved the newly emergent Yao uprising.
This "Yao Rebellion" had erupted with startling rapidity. Initially, local Yao had merely "stirred uneasily"—a common enough pattern. When two counties along the West River reported Yao disturbances, Zhu Quanxing's initial response had been dismissing it as hyperbole. Han villages and gentry routinely exaggerated minor Yao activities. During the Ming Dynasty, whenever government demanded "Yao suppression funds and provisions," local Yao populations magically swelled to three or four times actual numbers, with fabricated accounts of Yao forces descending from mountains besieging county seats.
This systematic fraud persisted for one simple reason: exaggerating Yao threats enabled Han landlords and officials to embezzle resources while simultaneously oppressing Yao peoples, conscripting laborers, and confiscating property under "suppression" pretexts.
Yet within half a month, reports of Yao uprisings proliferated across counties and prefectures. "Military urgency" dispatches flooded in from multiple directions. The scope and intensity far exceeded what local Han gentry could fabricate for mere embezzlement purposes.
Only then did Zhu Quanxing recognize this uprising's authentic scale. He immediately dispatched reconnaissance teams for field investigation.
The intelligence they returned proved alarming: not merely Yao peoples, but ethnic minorities throughout the region—Zhuang, Yao, and others—appeared to be mobilizing in coordinated fashion.
Zhu Quanxing had confronted Yao forces before. During his deployment to Lianzhou, he'd led campaigns against rebelling Yao. He knew from experience that Yao fighters, though brave and fierce, typically operated through guerrilla tactics: sudden raids on villages, quick strikes, and immediate mountain retreats. They rarely assembled in concentrations exceeding several hundred.
This uprising exhibited different characteristics entirely. Yao forces were concentrating into formations of thousands. They'd begun constructing fortifications and establishing supply lines. This represented strategic sophistication far beyond traditional Yao tactics.
Someone's organizing them, Zhu Quanxing thought with growing unease. Prior Yao rebellions had been suppressed relatively easily because the Yao fought as isolated stockades and villages, unable to coordinate effectively. United Yao resistance, however, could transform into genuine strategic threat.
Worse, intelligence suggested participation might extend beyond Yao populations. Dispersed Ming army remnants, bandits, even disaffected Han gentry—all potentially joining this coalition against Australian authority.
If handled improperly, this could spiral beyond containment, Zhu Quanxing reflected grimly. Half his battalion consisted of barely trained recruits. Operating in unfamiliar mountainous terrain against guerrilla forces represented the worst possible scenario for his unit's capabilities.
Nevertheless, Zhu Quanxing recognized inaction was impossible. The West River constituted the Senate's strategic lifeline to Guangxi. Allowing Yao forces to control the riverbanks would sever communications and logistics between Lingao and Wuzhou, potentially collapsing the entire western campaign.
He'd need to act decisively—but intelligently. Rushing inadequately prepared forces into mountain warfare would accomplish nothing beyond wasting lives and emboldening rebel movements.
Zhu Quanxing extracted his operational map and studied the terrain intently. The forthcoming campaign would demand meticulous planning. "Good, come look." Qian Duo pointed on the map with a red and blue pencil:
"Our current position is the Cangwu County Yamen, and next to it is the Wuzhou Prefecture Yamen—that is, the new City Government. Chief Xie and the entire City Government team are here, so this area is our defense focus."
Zhu Si nodded.
"Which company in your battalion has the strongest combat power and is the most reliable?"
"Of course it's the 1st Company," Zhu Si said. "They are composed of old naturalized citizens, all equipped with Nanyang rifles, and the officers are retired veterans."
"Then your 1st Company will garrison here, and at the same time be responsible for guarding the Nanxun Gate and Dezheng Gate, which are the Great South Gate and Little South Gate. These two city gates were damaged severely in the siege battle; you have to watch this place well!"
"Yes! Chief, I will also set up the Battalion Headquarters here. I will be personally responsible!"
"Good." Zhu Si nodded, moving the pencil on the map. "Look, due south of the Wuzhou city wall is the Nanxun Gate (Great South Gate), extending west to the Dezheng Gate (Little South Gate), then extending northwest to the Xijiang Gate—that is the West Gate, then curving north to the Dayun Gate in the north, then extending east to the foot of Beishan Mountain, along Beishan Mountain southeast to the Yangming Gate in the east, and finally turning back to the Nanxun Gate. Your 2nd Company will garrison the West Gate and North Gate; the Supplementary Company will garrison the Yangming Gate." Qian Duo straightened up, "3rd Company, station at Sanhezui. Guard the POW camp."
"Yes! Sir."
"As for the 3rd Line Infantry Company, I will concentrate the entire deployment at the Three-General Headquarters. This is our core mobile force."
Zhu Si understood Qian Duo's intention. The Three-General Headquarters was the commanding height of the whole city. Deploying the strongest troops here could control the whole city on one hand, and could come out to reinforce anywhere at any time on the other hand. It was equivalent to the general reserve of the entire Wuzhou army.
"To be honest, I am more worried about the Supplementary Company. This company has only been established for a dozen days. Most are stragglers and local unemployed able-bodied men. Both combat power and discipline are very poor—I originally intended for the 3rd Platoon to return to its unit, but now it seems that to make them play a role, the 3rd Platoon can only continue to stay in this company as the backbone."
However, in this way, the 3rd Company lost one-third of its strength, which made Qian Duo really a bit uneasy.
Hearing this, Zhu Si hurriedly came to share the worry: "Report, I suggest transferring some personnel from the other three companies of the National Army to mix with the Supplementary Company."