The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 238 All of this will be worth it
Facts have proved that as long as you are willing to spend money and have the money to spend, you can hit the key areas.

Even at the end of the dynasty, it was still possible to mobilize an army with good combat effectiveness.

This is the case with the Qingshe soldiers under Zhang Fuluan. The families of these Qingshe soldiers are all in the private farms of Zhang Fuluan and others. Once they are selected to serve as soldiers, they can not only be exempted from land taxes, but also receive rewards.

Although Zhang Fuluan is far from being as "generous" as my General Mo Da who gives him one tael and five cents of silver a month, it is still pretty good in a poor place like Annan.

Therefore, when 3,000 Qingshe soldiers and 5,000 regular camp soldiers arrived at the north of Hoi An City, Nguyen Van Yue's Tây Sơn Army began to lose momentum again.

Although the morale of the Tây Sơn army was higher, the soldiers and generals were eager to enter Hue, so their combat effectiveness was much higher.

However, the Qingshe soldiers and Hoi An City were both defending in dangerous places, blocking the main water and land routes and refusing to engage in open-field battles with the Tây Sơn army, so the battle quickly became stalemate.

"He's really crazy." Li Guangcai looked at Ruan Wenyue's tent in the distance and walked in again helplessly.

When Ruan Wenyue saw Li Guangcai's ugly face, he burst into laughter and apologized repeatedly.

"General Li, it's my fault, it's my fault. I regret not listening to the general's advice. Now I can still persuade Master Luo to stop working for the Hue court."

This is why Li Guangcai thinks Ruan Yue is stupid.

At the beginning of the expedition, Li Guangcai told Nguyen Hue not to attack Hoi An, but to use elite troops to seize the upper reaches of the Thu Bon River, which is where the Qingshe soldiers are camped now.

But Nguyen Van Yue didn't listen. He had been dazzled by the legendary wealth of Hoi An. The Tây Sơn army, a bunch of stinky people who had never eaten any good cabbage, also kept making noise.

The entire army wanted to capture Hoi An City and then plunder it. Nguyen Van Yue pretended for a few times and immediately decided to obey the soldiers' wishes.

As a result, not only did they fail to capture Hoi An, but the Qingshe soldiers took the opportunity to occupy the hills upstream of the Thu Bon River, blocking the road to the north.

In the past few days, when the Tây Sơn army attacked Hoi An, they would be attacked from the flank by the Qingshe army.

When fighting against the Qingshe soldiers, they simply couldn't eat in a short period of time, so they were stuck again.

"The last time we fought, we suffered losses on both sides and are now at loggerheads. If we go again this time, I'm afraid we won't be able to accomplish anything."

Li Guangcai held back his anger, thinking that he had not yet completed Mo Zibu's task, so he could only continue to listen to Ruan Wenyue.

Ruan Wenyue knew that Li Guangcai was telling the truth, and seeing Zhang Wenxian winking at him, he gritted his teeth and said:

"Please also ask General Li to tell Master Luo that if they are willing to join me in sending troops to defend the prince and eliminate the traitors, I will give them the position of garrison in Hoi An in the future."

At this time, although Hoi An was mostly autonomous, the Hue court still retained the power to send officials to Hue, and the nominal garrison of Hoi An was still appointed by the court.

Li Guangcai nodded and said, "Then I'll try again."

. . . .

Hoi An, if it were five years ago, when Grandpa Luo heard this news, he would definitely jump for joy.

Because if he could get the post of Hoi An garrison commander, his descendants would be able to break away from the "autonomous parliament" and become the actual controllers of Hoi An.

But now, Grandpa Luo is not interested in defending a mere Hoi-an town. Compared with the raging fire of nationalism in his heart, this little benefit is not enough.

What's even more interesting is that Ruan Wenyue's sending of Li Guangcai was simply a godsend, because he and Li Guangcai could communicate without any scruples.

Initially, Li Guangcai committed a crime and fled south. He had sought refuge with Master Luo from the very beginning, so Master Luo knew Li Guangcai's identity, which made it easier for him to cooperate with him.

Seeing that the time had come, Grandpa Luo called his eldest son Luo Zhongda and second son Luo Zhongan over.

As for the third son, Luo Zhongping, he had already arrived in Pattani and quietly took Grandpa Luo's grandchildren over.

"The situation is urgent. I think we can agree to Ruan Wenyue's conditions." Grandpa Luo said in a deep voice:

“I don’t care who wins between Tây Sơn and Huế. They are no match for General Mo. The future belongs to us, the Minh Hương people.

But the people of the Hue court must not let them escape. We will be the traitors and follow Nguyen Van Yue to capture Hue."

The second son Luo Zhongan nodded, but the eldest son Luo Zhongda disagreed.

"Father, there are also large ships that can go south in the harbor at the mouth of Shun'an River. Although there are not many, it is still no problem to transport Prince Ding, Zhang Fuluan, and several hundred royal family ministers.

If we join forces with the Western Mountain bandits, we won't be able to grasp the imperial court's movements. If we fail to intercept them, it will be a disaster.

So why not let me stay in Hoi An while I become a rebel and join the Tây Sơn army? Dad, you and An will sail to the mouth of the Thuan An River and pretend to be loyal subjects.

This way, if Hue is captured, the imperial court will be able to escort them south."

Grandpa Luo nodded, but looked at the second son, Luo Zhongan, and said, "If there's going to be a rebellion, it should be you, because I don't have much time left, so there's no need for your eldest brother to rebel.

Besides, if I go alone, I might make mistakes, so I'll ask your eldest brother to follow me.

We will take the two colorful boats from Hoi An and staff them with singing girls and actors. Prince Ding enjoys extravagance and will definitely board these two boats."

The colorful boat that Grandpa Luo mentioned is not a pleasure boat, but a large black boat with relatively complete living facilities and a gorgeous appearance.

At that time, sea voyages were very difficult, so this kind of black-boat, which was equivalent to a luxury hotel, was very popular among dignitaries.

Given Prince Dinh's penchant for extravagance, ostentation, and song and dance, he would have chosen a large, colorful ship like this one, certainly not one of his own dingy warships. Luo Zhongan took a deep breath, knowing that his own danger was relatively minor. The danger to his father and brother was greater, or perhaps it could be said that they were already prepared to sacrifice their lives for the cause.

He couldn't help but look at his father and asked bitterly, "Dad, is it worth it for our Luo family to make such a big sacrifice?
Even if we were to rescue the dragon from the general, our Luo family saved his life and sent hundreds of men to help. This is already a great contribution."

Grandpa Luo stood up and patted his second son Luo Zhongan on the shoulder affectionately, "My son, this is worth it.

When your descendants return to their hometown with their heads held high and burn a stick of incense in honor of our ancestors Duke Dingwen, Duke Zhang Wenlie, and the fellow villagers who died in the battles of Daojiao and Zengcheng, you will know how worthwhile it was!

. . . .

February 1772, 2. The second day of the first lunar month in the 5th year of Emperor Qianlong's reign in the Qing Dynasty.

Just when things had been peaceful for a few days and the people were looking forward to the peace of the new year, the city of Hoi An was suddenly filled with the sound of killing.

Luo Zhongan, the second son of Luo Xingmu, the eldest grandfather of Hoi An, suddenly occupied the west of the city and rebelled.

The Ming Xiang people of Hoi An, Qing Dynasty merchants, Western Fan and Japanese Christian ronin were about to respond to the rebellion.

The Xishan Army outside the city suddenly began to act. With internal support, dangerous places such as Anping Bridge were no problem for the Xishan Army.

Seeing that the situation was irreversible, Grandpa Luo could only cry bitterly and denounce his son's greed in the Mazu Temple, and then blamed himself in front of everyone for not educating his son well.

Subsequently, a split occurred in Hoi An.

Some Mingxiang people and Chaozhou people among the Qing merchants chose to retreat with Luo Aye. They sailed on large ships with Yangfan on their backs and went to the mouth of the Thuan An River to inform the court in Hue.

Most of the remaining people chose to follow Luo Zhongan and stay in Hoi An, joining the Tây Sơn Army.

After all, they have lived here for many years, and this war is not their fight, but just an internal fight among the Annan people.

Immediately, the overjoyed Nguyen Van Yue ordered the Tây Sơn army to enter the city. Luo Zhongan presented 20,000 dan of grain, cattle, sheep, chickens, ducks and fine wine to reward the army.

Nguyen Van Yue conferred the title of Marquis of Fei Phuoc on Luo Zhong An and appointed him as the garrison commander of Hoi An.

With this, the Tây Sơn Army captured half of Hue's last line of defense.

Two days later, the Tây Sơn army, which had basically controlled Hoi An, launched a fierce attack on the upper reaches of the Thu Bon River where the Thanh She soldiers were stationed, aiming to quickly defeat the Thanh She soldiers and advance towards Hue.

Almost at the same time, the remaining forces of Hoi An, led by Lord Luo, fled to the mouth of the Thuan An River in a less embarrassed manner and reported the bad news to the Hue court.

Prince Ding Ruan Fuchun and the right assistant Zhang Fuluan were suddenly struck by lightning. Originally, with the support of Hoi An City and Qingshe soldiers, they could definitely stop the Tây Sơn army.

Now, there is only one horn left. If no rescue is provided immediately, Zhang Fuluan’s last hope, the Qingshe soldiers, will be doomed.

So Zhang Fuluan, who was anxious and mad, began to recruit soldiers on a large scale around Hue, and even went directly to the fields to recruit people.

Under his earnest persuasion and intimidation, Prince Ding Ruan Fuchun finally agreed to take out 20,000 strings (two taels) of the treasury, and Zhang Fuluan also contributed 20,000 taels.

After spending a lot of money, the people were all there, but there was a shortage of weapons and mules and horses for transportation.

At this time, Ruan Fu, who voluntarily handed over the command of Hu Shebing, made a suggestion to Zhang Fuluan.

The border troops from Lingxi Long Wall, which was confronting Beizheng, were transferred to provide support, and Ruan Jiufa of Changde Fort was strongly advocated for his loyalty, bravery and reliability, and could be reused.

Zhang Fuluan didn't think much about it and thought that Nguyen Phuc just wanted to recommend someone to come to Hue to be a high-ranking official.

Moreover, his current situation does not allow him to think too much. The top priority is to rescue the Qingshe soldiers as soon as possible.

Therefore, Zhang Fuluan, who had basically made no mistakes in the political struggle, agreed to this fatal request and transferred General Delei Gaiqi Nguyen Jiufa to lead a thousand Lingxi border troops back to Hue.

Four days later, on the eighth day of the first lunar month, just as Gaiqi Ruan Jiufa of Changde Fort set off, rumors spread throughout the Guangnan army stationed on the Lingxi Long Wall.

Some say that Wang Sun's army (Tai Sơn army) has captured Hue and now Wang Sun (Nguyen Phuoc Duong) is in charge.

Some say that Zhang Fuluan killed the 17-year-old Prince Dinh Nguyen Phuoc Tuan in order to support a younger prince Nguyen Phuoc Chong (Nguyen Phuoc Anh) to succeed him in order to facilitate control.

There were also reports that the Xishan bandits had been defeated, and that Zhang Fuluan was planning to mobilize a large force to attack the loyal and righteous son-in-law Mo Wugong, who was said to have returned to Jiading.

Anyway, seeing that Zhang Fuluan had made the country miserable and the people living there had suffered a lot of deductions in their salaries, no one among the Lingxi border troops said anything good about Zhang Fuluan, and they all cursed Zhang Qin Hui as a traitor.

On the 13th day of the first lunar month, Huang Tingbao, Duke of Beizhenghui, sent his younger brother Huang Tingti to disguise himself and come to the Nguyen army camp at the Lingxi long wall.

They promised that as long as these officers could open the fortress of the Linh Khe Long Wall and allow them to march into Hue, the Zheng army would definitely help the Nguyen Lord to purge his court.

Then let these Lingxi border troops go to Hue to serve as regular soldiers, and kill Zhang Fuluan to thank the world.

The Guangnan border troops, who had been guarding the Lingxi Wall for a hundred years for the Nguyen family, agreed to Huang Tingti's request after only a slight hesitation after witnessing Prince Ding's incompetence and Zhang Fuluan's brutality and greed.

On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the Lantern Festival, the Guangnan army stationed at Changyulei and Zhenninglei, key fortresses of the Lingxi Great Wall, opened their gates one after another, allowing the Zheng army to easily pass through the Lingxi Great Wall, which they had not been able to break through for two hundred years.

Huang Wufu personally led 30,000 infantry and cavalry of the Zheng army, with Huang Tingbao as the vanguard, Huang Fengji and Nguyen Youzheng as the left and right commanders, and rushed directly towards Hue.

(End of this chapter)