Han’s Son is Not a Slave

The people who came to defect to the Taiping Army were a group of remnants of the Ming Army who had to be scattered near Xinhui because Li Dingguo's return was cut off by the Qing army. Their leader was called Qi Hao, and the people in the team also called him "" Fourth Brother". Speaking of which, this Qi Hao was not from the south, but from Fengyang Mansion. He was also a man of considerable background and had a lot to do with Zhang Xianzhong.

In the ninth year of Chongzhen, when Zhang Xianzhong led his army to conquer Fengyang, the central capital, Qi Hao, who was only 18 years old, could not survive because of starvation. Seeing that the peasant army was so powerful, even the ancestral grave of the Daming Emperor was dug up, and his brain became hot. He simply joined the peasant army, and then followed Zhang Xianzhong's army to fight everywhere, and started to tie his head to the waistband of his trousers just for the sake of food. Because he was young and learned a few boxing skills when he was young, not only did he not die in the past few years, but he gradually rose to prominence in the army.

In the 16th year of Chongzhen, after Zhang Xianzhong captured Hubei, he changed Wuchang to the capital city and called himself the King of Daxi. In charge of hundreds of people, it is not a small person. Later, when Zhang Xianzhong saw that Li Zicheng had occupied Beijing, he decided to enter Sichuan to establish his own foundation and ordered the Daxi Army to advance to Sichuan. As a member of the Daxi Army, Qi Hao naturally followed into Sichuan.

In August of the 17th year of Chongzhen, the Daxi Army attacked Chongqing. In this campaign, Qi Hao took the lead in killing the Ming governor Chen Shiqi and made great contributions. After the Daxi Army occupied Chengdu, Zhang Xianzhong changed Chengdu to Xijing, formally established the Daxi Kingdom, changed to Yuan Dashun, took the seventeenth year of Chongzhen as the first year of Dashun, set up a cabinet and six ministries, and appointed former Ming Toushun officials, with Wang Zhaoling as the Minister of Cabinet and Prime Minister of the Left. Yan Ximing was appointed a scholar and right prime minister.

After the establishment of the Daxi regime, Zhang Xianzhong began to operate Sichuan and recruit refugees. To resume production, he severely suppressed the former Ming officials and landlords who were violent in the locality. Within the Daxi Army, the soldiers were strictly restrained and looting was not allowed, and those who violated the discipline were punished from "bundling" to "showing off". At the same time, Zhang Xianzhong also ordered the release of the prisoners in the former Ming prison, and the treasury gold and silver of the prefectures and counties were given to the refugees. These measures by Zhang Xianzhong made the people of Sichuan stable in a short period of time. The slaves who had been oppressed by the former Ming officials and landlords in the past either rioted in response to the Daxi Army, or sued the local officials of the Daxi regime for the crime of the master, so that they were punished.

In the same year, Zhang Xianzhong reformed the Daxi military system. The ad hoc Daxi Army divisions are 12o battalions, and each battalion has a general soldier. Qi Hao was personally named and nominated by Zhang Xianzhong as one of the 120 chief military officers.

During the Daxi Army's operation in Sichuan, the Dashun Army led by Li Zicheng had been gradually defeated by the Qing army's attack. After the Qing army occupied the provinces in the Yellow River Basin, they divided their troops south. In the second year of Shunzhi in the pseudo-Qing Dynasty, the Qing court sent people into Sichuan to ask Zhang Xianzhong to surrender, but Zhang Xianzhong refused to accept that he would never surrender to the Han people, and called a civil and military plan to protest against the Qing and restore the Central Plains.

In August of the third year of Shunzhi, Prince Hauge of Qingsu commanded his troops to surpass Jiange and enter Langzhong. Hearing the news, Zhang Xianzhong personally led the main force of the Daxi Army to meet the attack and arrived at Phoenix Mountain in Xichong, where the Qing troops suddenly arrived. Due to negligence of defense, the Daxi Army did not have time to fight. As a result, Zhang Xianzhong, who was inspecting in front of the enemy, was shot to death by the Qing army's bow and arrow.

After Zhang Xianzhong's death in battle, in the face of the advance of Hauge's army, the Daxi Army had no choice but to retreat to the south. At this time, the Qing army was chasing after the Daxi army, and the Nanming army was defended by the Yangtze River. Almost to the point where the mountains and rivers are exhausted. At that time, the army was in chaos and morale was low. Many soldiers recruited by the Daxi Army in Sichuan have deserted one after another, and there are not a few officers who absconded with gold. face this crisis. Qi Hao firmly believed that the Daxi Army would not be defeated, and he tried his best to restrain his subordinates. It made his troops one of the few battalions that did not have any soldiers to escape, which was praised by Ainengqi.

In order to deal with the crisis, Zhang Xianzhong's adopted son Kewang, Li Dingguo, Liu Wenxiu, and Ai Nengqi unanimously decided to execute Queen Zhang Xianzhong and minister Wang Zhaoling who interfered with the command of the Daxi Army. system led by generals. The middle-grandson Kewang of the four had a higher status and prestige, he was a little older, and he could read and write, so he was promoted by Li Dingguo, Liu Wenxiu, and Ainengqi as the supreme commander of the rest of the Daxi Army.

After the internal troubles were resolved, the rest of the Daxi Army, under the leadership of Sun Kewang, Li Dingguo, Liu Wenxiu, and Ainengqi, concentrated on the Qijiang River in Sichuan, collected and disbanded, and reorganized the team. In this reorganization, the 12o battalion set up by Zhang Xianzhong was abolished, and Qi Hao's department was directly transferred to Ai Nengqi's command. Afterwards, under the command of Sun Kewang and others, the restructured Daxi Army defeated Zeng Ying, the commander of Nanming in Chongqing, in one fell swoop. Zeng Ying fell into the water and drowned. As the troops dispatched by Prince Hauge of Qingsu followed, the Daxi Army continued to retreat south, entered Guizhou, and successfully occupied Guiyang, the provincial capital.

In the Ming Dynasty, Zhang Yao, the inspector of Guizhou, Zeng Yi, the chief counselor, and Chen Ruizheng, the commander of the capital, fled to Dingpan Prefecture, and assembled a group of troops to resist the Daxi Army. Sun Kewang then sent Dingbei General Ai Nengqi to lead the army to attack the remnants of the Ming army. In this battle, Qi Hao was entrusted by Ai Nengqi as the forward. He took the lead in conquering Dingfan on February 12, and captured Zhang Yao, the governor of Guizhou Province. The area occupied by the Houqian was dilapidated and deserted, and the army could not get enough food. Ainengqi was forced to lead Qi Hao and others back to the division.

During the reorganization of the Daxi Army in Guiyang, the rebellion in Shadingzhou, a native chieftain of Yunnan, caused Mu Tianbo, the Duke of Ming and Guizhou, to flee Kunming. Sun Kewang sent troops to Yunnan in the name of Duke Qian's revenge. When the Daxi Army marched into Kunming, the four generals were jointly called the king, Sun Kewang was called the king of Pingdong, Li Dingguo was called the king of Anxi, Liu Wenxiu was called the king of Funan, and Ai Nengqi was called the king of Dingbei. The affiliation of the original kings is still directly promoted by the kings.

In the fourth year of Shunzhi, Sun Kewang sent Liu Wenxiu to expedition to southern Sichuan.

In May of the second year of Yongli (five years of pseudo-Shunzhi), Ai Nengqi led Qi Hao and other generals to go on an expedition to the Dongchuan Tusi rebellion. As a result, the soldiers and horses advanced to 30 miles away from Dongchuan Mansion, and suddenly encountered the Lu clan ambush on both sides of the road. The soldiers attacked, and the forward led Qi Hao and his troops to defend them desperately, covering the retreat of the Chinese army. Unexpectedly, the Lu clan soldiers carried a large number of poisoned arrow sticks. Ai Nengqi was shot by the poison arrow on the way back and carried back to Kunming overnight. , which resulted in death.

After Ai Nengqi died in battle, Sun Kewang, Li Dingguo, and Liu Wenxiu were furious and sent more troops to attack Dongchuan again. In this campaign, the generals under the King of the North were originally scheduled to commit crimes and meritorious deeds. Qi Hao personally led people to climb the cliff path in order to wash away the shame of the main general's death. In one fell swoop, he defeated the Sanlu soldiers and completely occupied Dongchuan and its surrounding counties.

Not long after the Battle of Dongchuan. The generals under Ai Nengqi are faced with a major choice in life. They must choose one of the three princes, Sun Kewang, Li Dingguo, and Liu Wenxiu, to be loyal. Because Sun Kewang is the king of Pingdong, with the greatest prestige and power, many Ai Nengqi subordinates All the generals chose to submit to Sun Kewang.

But Qi Hao had too many generals who defected to Sun Kewang, and Sun Kewang's troops were also the strongest. If he voted for Sun Kewang himself, he may not be as reused as he used to be under Ai Nengqi, but choosing to defect to Li Dingguo or Liu Wenxiu is beneficial to his future development. With this thought in mind, Qi Hao expressed his willingness to return to the command of King Anxi to the military officials sent by Sun Kewang. Sun Kewang did not stop him after learning of his decision, but Qi Hao was dissatisfied because of this.

After returning to Li Dingguo's command, Qi Hao was not as much used by Li Dingguo as he thought, but he was not excluded, but he was not as close as Li Dingguo's former trusted generals. Let Qi Hao feel a little relieved while disappointed.

the following years. Qi Hao participated in the Battle of Hengyang and the Battle of Guilin under Li Dingguo. In the Battle of Hengyang, Qi Hao's department did not fight the Qing army head-on, but took on the task of transporting logistics food and grass. After Li Dingguo killed Nikan and occupied Hengyang, Qi Hao was appointed by Li Dingguo to guard Hengyang. However, within a few months, because the main force of the Qing army in Hunan was not greatly damaged by the killing of Nikan, Sun Kewang did not provide sufficient support to Li Dingguo, but secretly dragged Li's hind legs, causing the Qing army to make a comeback after a breather.

Facing the superior strength of the Qing army, Qi Hao, who had only 2ooo more troops, had to abandon Hengyang and return to Wugang. Although this was not Qi Hao's fault, Li Dingguo was still severely punished for his crime of abandoning the land without a fight. Cut off the post of its chief soldier, and change it to serve in the rank of general. When Li Dingguo deployed the battle of Guilin. Qi Hao led his troops to the Chinese army to follow orders and participated in the battle to capture the whole prefecture. After that, he continued to engage in logistical grain transportation to ensure the supply of grain for the army that attacked Guilin.

Everyone else has done a great job of charging into battle, beheading the commander and capturing the flag, but his family always does the logistics of escorting food and grass. The credit belongs to others, but the guilt belongs to himself. As time goes by, Qi Hao will inevitably have no opinion in his heart. , In addition, although Li Dingguo is a rare general, he has the heart to reject military generals who are not his direct line, which makes Qi Hao somewhat regret his original choice. One day after drinking, he complained a few times, but unexpectedly, he was reported to Li Dingguo's place. Although Li Dingguo didn't do anything to him, he didn't use it any more.

In the seventh year of Yongli (the tenth year of Shunzhi), Li Dingguo was forced by Sun Kewang and moved to Guangdong, and led his army to attack Zhaoqing, an important town. In this battle, Qi Hao was ordered to participate in the attack on Wuzhou first, and then led the army to occupy and start construction. He did not directly participate in the battle of Zhaoqing. . The following year, Li Dingguo attacked Guangdong twice, bypassing the important town of Zhaoqing, and directed his troops to Xinhui. At first, Qi Hao was not ordered to go east, but stayed in Wuzhou. After several months of besieging the city to no avail, Li Dingguo ordered Qi Hao to lead his troops to assist the navy of Ling Hai General Chen Qice to enter the Xijiang River and capture Jiangmen. In this campaign, Qi Hao cooperated with Chen Qice's department to kill Gai Yipeng, the commander-in-chief of the Qingguang Navy, and controlled the Guangzhou estuary, cutting off the passage between Xinhui and Guangzhou. The Qing army authorities in Guangdong saw that the situation was critical, Pingnan Shang Kexi and Jingnan Geng Jimao personally led their troops to Jiangmen to strengthen the defenses in the south and west of Guangzhou, but they still did not dare to fight against Li Dingguo's main force.

On the third day of the lunar month, Li Dingguo's own army called 200,000 to attack Xinhui. The Ming army successively adopted tactics such as digging the ground, bombarding the city with large artillery, logging and filling trenches, etc., but they were repelled one by one by the stubborn defending Qing army. , the attack did not succeed. During this period, Qi Hao led his soldiers and horses to stay in Jiangmen all the time, and had small-scale contact with the Qing army in person, and each had its own victory and defeat.

In December, the Qing Jingnan general Zhu Mala led the Qing army of the Manchu and Han eight banners from Beijing to Guangzhou. With the courage of the Manchu soldiers, Shang Kexi and Geng Jimao then joined the main force of the Qing army in Guangzhou to cooperate with Zhu Mala to rise to Xinhui. attack. Due to the dyed service in the army, the Ming army and the Qing army fought fiercely for four days, and the whole line was defeated.

After the main force of Li Dingguo's army retreated~www.wuxiaspot.com~ The rest of the Ming army scattered in the prefectures and counties near Xinhui to cooperate with the army was suddenly caught in a dilemma. The Ming army near Xinhui was cut off by the Qing army, or the whole army was wiped out, or most of them were wiped out, and the rest were scattered. Among them, the heaviest losses were those who responded to Liancheng Wall, the governor of Ming and Guangxi. Almost half of them were wiped out by the Qing army.

Qi Hao knew that he was alone on the fourth day after Li Dingguo's army withdrew. At first, he also tried to lead his troops to break through the encirclement, but the Qing army had blocked all the roads to the west. Everywhere to attack, the news of the Ming army being wiped out is everywhere. After two failed forced breakthroughs and half of his subordinates lost, Qi Hao had no choice but to order his subordinates to break out of the encirclement. He led dozens of old brothers to sneak into the mountains and waited for the Qing army's blockade to end before retreating westward.

This wait is more than half a year. During this period, Qi Hao and others have been imagining that the Anxi King's army will move east again, but what they waited for was only the constant search of the mountain by the Qing army. The dozens of brothers who sneaked into the mountain together were also half dead.

Hiding in the mountains, without food or drink, or even a place to sleep, I don’t know what will happen tomorrow, and no one knows when they will die. Gradually, Qi Hao's heart also cooled down. Forced by his livelihood, he had to take his brothers to do some bandit acts, and took the lives of innocent people. If the Taiping Army hadn't suddenly occupied Xinhui, I'm afraid they would never have been there. In the future, it will really be a pirate. (To be continued)