Troops sent to collect grain and grass came back one after another.
Huguang was indeed a land of plenty.
Even though Zuo Liangyu was wreaking havoc in Wuchang, collecting grain and grass was still much easier than in the north.
A few days later, Bai Wang led the troops from Jingzhou to Wuchang.
Hundreds of ships of all kinds followed the army, which was enough for the Eastern Expedition.
However, most of the troops in Jingzhou were led out by Bai Wang, leaving only a few troops to defend the city.
If the Qing troops attacked Jingzhou, they would definitely not be able to withstand it.
To follow the army in this way is equivalent to giving up all the base areas and gathering all the people and horses that can be gathered for the eastern expedition.
It can be described as a desperate move.
From Wuchang to Nanjing, water is the most convenient way.
The south bank of the Yangtze River is rugged and there are no paths at all in many places.
The Huguang side is easier to walk.
When it comes to Jiujiang, Jiangxi, there are many hills and mountains, and it is impossible to march on the river bank.
In addition, the Shun Army included not only troops but also old battalions composed of tens of thousands of family members.
Without enough ships, it would be impossible to go to Nanjing smoothly.
Now that the food has been collected, it is enough for the army for half a month, and the ships are also ready.
The road to the Eastern Expedition will no longer be stopped.
No, it can't be so absolute.
The only thing that can stop the Shun army is God.
On the day after Bai Wang and his fleet arrived in Wuchang, the sky above Wuchang was covered with dark clouds and it suddenly started raining.
It started as a steady drizzle, falling on the ground like thin lines.
Li Zicheng wanted to order to set off in the rain, but military advisor Song Xiance told him that the drizzle was just the beginning, and there would be heavier rain soon.
It is impossible for the army of more than 200,000 people to all take boats.
Many people must walk along the coast.
If it rains heavily, they will not be able to march at all.
Heavy rain is accompanied by strong winds, and when the river water surges, the ship may be in danger of capsizing.
Sure enough, the rain became heavier and heavier, gradually turning from a gentle drizzle to a downpour.
It continued for more than ten days without a break.
Li Zicheng could only lament that the weather in the south of the Yangtze River was different from that in the north, so he could only stay in Wuchang and wait for the rain to clear up before marching.
Gu Junen once again found Li Zicheng and admonished him that he could not let Huguang go just like this, otherwise if the Shun army failed to attack smoothly, they would not even have a place to retreat.
"Although He Tengjiao, the puppet governor of Huguang in the south of Huguang, is stationed in Changsha, although He Tengjiao has many troops, they are all local troops with extremely poor combat effectiveness.
As long as your majesty sends a partial army, there will be no problem in conquering Yuezhou, Changde, and Changsha.
In this way, we can become one with Jingzhou and serve as the rear of our army."
Gu Junen remonstrated with earnest words.
Li Zicheng thought about it carefully and felt that since Gu Junen was so insistent, he might as well leave a partial force to run Huguang.
He nodded and agreed to Gu Junen's request.
When the generals were asked who wanted to stay, the generals looked at each other, but no one spoke.
Just when Li Zicheng was about to assign him, Hao Yaoqi suddenly stood up and expressed his willingness to stay in Wuchang and attack Huguang for Dashun.
Li Zicheng thought about it and felt that Hao Yaoqi's subordinates were all composed of defeated troops, and their combat effectiveness was limited.
He could not play a big role if he followed him.
There was no harm in staying.
Since other generals were not willing to stay, then let him Just stay.
So Li Zicheng ordered Hao Yaoqi to be the military governor of Wuchang, responsible for the attack on Huguang.
Gu Junen also wanted to stay, but he was not optimistic about this expedition, but Li Zicheng vetoed it.
Gu Junen is good at strategy, and Li Zicheng still needs him to make suggestions for him.
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The misty rain fell on both sides of the Yangtze River.
When it fell on the river, countless water splashes were splashed, which were washed away by the current and disappeared.
On the north bank of the river, there was a cavalry group marching in the rain.
The mountain road along the river was extremely slippery due to rain.
The knights led their horses and walked on the river bank.
Everyone was wearing a raincoat, and the team stretched for more than ten miles.
This cavalry was the Eight Banners Cavalry under Prince Azige of the Qing Dynasty.
Wu Sangui was accompanied by Guan Ning Cavalry.
Although they defeated the rear troops led by Liu Zongmin in Hanchuan, they failed to complete their strategic intention of annihilating the Shun army.
Now that the Shun army has crossed the Yangtze River and reached the south bank, Azig can only look at the river and sigh.
Although the Qing army also had a lot of ships, they were collected all the way from Xiangyang through the Han River.
However, Azig had more than 40,000 Mongolian and Han Eight Banners troops, most of whom were landlubbers and were unwilling to take risks by crossing the river in boats to attack Wuchang.
There are as many as 200,000 loyal troops on the other side of the Yangtze River, with thousands of ships.
If they are to fight on boats in the Yangtze River, although the Eight Banners soldiers are brave, they are not good at it.
Azige stayed in Hanyang in the north of the Yangtze River for several days, and sent people to quietly cross the river in the rain to watch the movements of the Shun army.
Wu Sangui's Guan Ning Army was originally stationed in Ningyuan City on the Bohai Sea, and there were many people in the army who were good at water and could row.
According to the reports of the spies sent out, the Shun army first sent people around to collect food and grass, and then hid in the city to take shelter from the rain, and there was no movement again.
After thinking carefully, Azig believed that the next move of the Shun army must be to go eastward along the river, otherwise it would be impossible to explain the behavior of his entire army staying in Wuchang.
If Li Zicheng wanted to pass through Huguang, he would have definitely left Wuchang with his army and headed south.
There is no reason for the entire army to stay in Wuchang.
Moreover, the Shun Army mobilized so many ships.
The southern side of the Yangtze River was densely packed with warships.
What's the point of mobilizing so many ships instead of moving down the river?
Now that he had judged the Shun Army's strategic intentions, Azige decided to set off first.
Attack eastward along the land route from the north bank of the Yangtze River.
Taking advantage of the time when the Shun army was hiding from the heavy rain, they went around to the lower reaches, captured Jiujiang, and blocked the Shun army in the west of Jiujiang.
Then wait for an opportunity to annihilate the Shun army.
So, while 200,000 Shun troops were sheltering from the rain in Wuchang City, the Qing army in Jiangbei was setting off in the rain.
The heavy rain fell on the ground and on the mighty river, and the rain curtain also cut off the sight of the north and south of the river.
As a result, the Shun army knew nothing about the actions of the Qing army and had no idea that the Qing army had left Hanyang.
The rain continued for more than twenty years before it gradually stopped.
After the rain passed and the sky cleared, the soldiers of the Shun Army packed up and prepared to set off.
Nearly a thousand ships carried old and weak soldiers and heavy supplies, and some soldiers walked along the south bank.
Two hundred thousand soldiers marched by land and water, and the fleet was 20 miles away in the river, heading downstream.
Outside Wuchang City in the north of the Yangtze River, Hao Yaoqi and his soldiers saw off the army.
Looking at the mighty fleet heading east, Hao Yaoqi was shaken and didn't know whether he was right or wrong in choosing to stay.
"He Tengjiao, the Ming Governor of Changsha, still has tens of thousands of troops under his command.
They are not Yi Yi's people.
Most of your soldiers are untrained, so you must be careful.
Although Wuchang is dilapidated enough to support your thirty thousand troops, you can accumulate strength and slow down your development."
Gu Junen told Hao Yaoqi, and in the end he could only sigh and leave.
At first, he thought he could stay and run Huguang.
With his own strategy, Gu Junen was sure to defeat He Tengjiao and completely occupy Huguang.
But who would have thought that Li Zicheng would not allow him to stay, which was really useless: