Anti-Qing: Starting from the Jintian Uprising

Chapter 69: The Eastward Strategies
Even if Li Yi wanted to go east to Guangdong, it wouldn't be now.

When the Taiping Army leaves Guangxi, enters Hunan, attacks Wuchang, and rushes to the south of the Yangtze River, drawing all the attention of the Qing court to them, it will be the best time for Li Yidong to go to Guangdong and merge Guangdong and Guangxi.

So, Li Yi spoke.

"The strategy of going east to Guangdong is good, but going east to Guangdong is a long-term strategy that our army must implement, not a short-term war strategy."

"In the long run, going east to Guangdong is almost the most suitable development direction for our army, but in the short term, it is not feasible."

After a brief pause, Li Yi began to explain why going east to Guangdong was not feasible.

"Once we choose to go east to Guangdong, the Qing demons will definitely turn their attention from the main force of the Taiping Army to us."

"When the time comes, we will need to face the main force of the Qing demons in Guangdong and Guangxi."

“And this is something we cannot resist.”

To put it bluntly, Li Yi is still too weak now.

He has a total of 800 soldiers. Even if these 800 men are made of iron, how many nails can they twist?
If the Qing army launches a full-scale encirclement and suppression, they will not be able to withstand it!

Upon hearing this, everyone was surprised at Li Yi's sobriety.

Immediately, Wang An asked.

"So what do you mean, General?"

Li Yi hesitated for a moment, then spoke.

"Go east, but don't head straight to Guangdong."

"My suggestion is that we can go to Cenxi for development."

After he finished speaking, Li Yi ordered someone to bring up a map.

After the map was hung up, Li Yi pointed at the map and said.

"I chose Cenxi as the base for my army for many reasons."

"First of all, Cenxi is just a county, not a provincial capital. Even if we take it, it won't be very conspicuous."

"Secondly, Cenxi is backed by the Yunkai Mountains. If the main force of the Qing army attacks Cenxi, our army can retreat into the Yunkai Mountains and temporarily avoid the front line."

"Third, it is because Cenxi is very close to Guangdong. If the situation changes, our army can go north to Wuzhou, advance eastward along the Xijiang River, enter Guangdong, and even drive directly to the city of Guangzhou."

"Fourthly, it is because Ling Shiba's rebel army is currently active in the Yulin Prefecture area. If our army can reach Cenxi, we can coordinate with Ling Shiba's army and share the military pressure brought by the Qing army."

Ling Shiba, whose original name was Ling Caijin, was from Xinyi, Guangdong, and was also a member of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

He was once converted to Christianity by Feng Yunshan, and then returned to his hometown to organize an uprising.

After the Jintian Uprising, he also received an order from the regiment and led his troops from Xinyi, Guangdong to Guangxi to prepare to join the main force of the Taiping Army.

He should be currently active in Yulin Prefecture, preparing to head north to Xunzhou.

Historically, when the Taiping Army broke out from Wuxuan Dongxiang and headed north, Ling Shiba led his troops to attack Yulin Prefecture in order to attract the attention of the Qing army.

It relieved a lot of military pressure for the Taiping Army to break out to the north!

Unfortunately, the situation faced by the Taiping Army at that time was too critical, and they had neither the time nor the energy to support Ling Shiba's troops.

While he was breaking out to the north, he trapped Ling Shibasu's tribe in Yulin Prefecture, which indirectly led to the destruction of Ling Shibasu's tribe.

However, if Li Yi could coordinate with Ling Shiba, perhaps they could change the outcome of Ling Shiba's troops.

There is one point that Li Yi did not mention, that is, Cenxi is rich in mineral resources.

He could recruit miners from Cenxi to form an army, or he could use Cenxi's resources to develop preliminary industries and establish his own military-industrial system.

Apart from anything else, Li Yi felt that he had to at least build a bullet production line first.

Otherwise, relying entirely on panel malls for replenishment is definitely not a solution in the long run.

After listening to Li Yi's story, everyone responded in unison.

"The General Manager is wise!"

Li Yi nodded slightly, and then said, "Send a message to the entire army, each unit should rest and prepare, and tomorrow the army will march eastward."

Upon hearing this, all the generals responded in unison again.

The reason why he did not stay in Xunzhou for a longer period of time for recuperation was mainly because Li Yi was somewhat worried about the counterattack of the main force of the Qing army in the Wuxuan direction.

Otherwise, staying in Xunzhou for a while to reorganize the troops is actually a good choice.

Li Yi pondered for a moment, then continued to give instructions.

"All units must remember to maintain military discipline and not harass the people at will. Anyone who commits rape, looting, or disrupts military discipline will be punished by military law without mercy!"

"Let me be frank with you. When the time comes, it will be useless for anyone to come to me and beg for mercy!"

After giving these instructions, Li Yi waved his hand to signal the generals to retreat.

Immediately, he ordered someone to call Fan Xiyuan and gave him instructions.

"Thank you Mr. Fan for going around Xunzhou City to collect ships for the army, recruit sailors and soldiers, and form a naval camp."

"Now that the army is fighting in the south, it is absolutely necessary to have a water camp!"

Next, Li Yi planned to lead his troops eastward to Teng County, then turn from Teng County to take the Beiliu River, and then turn south along the Longdi River to Cenxi.

During this process, it would definitely be much more convenient if there could be a water camp accompanying the army to help transport food, fodder, weapons, etc.

To put it bluntly, the reason why Li Yi assigned the matter to Fan Xiyuan was because Fan Xiyuan used to be the legal advisor of Xunzhou prefect Cai Bingwen, and he was very familiar with the situation inside and outside Xunzhou.

If he were to do this kind of thing, he would definitely be familiar with it.

Upon hearing this, Fan Xiyuan immediately clasped his fists and accepted the order.

"Don't worry, the students will complete the task."

Li Yi nodded in satisfaction, then signaled Fan Xiyuan to leave.

However, Fan Xiyuan showed an expression as if he wanted to say something but hesitated, and stared at Li Yi with his eyes eagerly, as if waiting for Li Yi to ask questions.

If a counselor wants to offer advice, the lord must take the initiative to ask.

This is what is written in the opera!
Otherwise, if the counselors themselves rush to offer suggestions, what kind of talk would that be?

Li Yi found it funny when he saw this.

But he still asked.

"Does Mr. Fan have any other advice for me?"

Upon hearing this, Fan Xiyuan breathed a sigh of relief, but still spoke.

"I don't deserve your advice, but I do have a question for the governor."

Li Yi smiled and nodded.

"Mr. Fan, please speak!"

Upon hearing this, Fan Xiyuan took a deep breath and asked.

"What the students want to ask is, when will the General Administration prepare to break away from the Taiping Army and establish his own regime?"

Fan Xiyuan knew that Li Yi had a desire to be independent.

Apart from anything else, the fact that he privately changed the military system is very telling.

The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's high-ranking officials, who came from peasant backgrounds and had little political sensitivity, might not be aware of the deep meaning behind this.

But Fan Xiyuan had followed the prefect of Xunzhou for such a long time and had seen many tricks of the officialdom, so he could naturally taste some of the ins and outs of it.

When Li Yi privately changed the military system, Fan Xiyuan clearly felt his ambition to be unwilling to be in the hearts of the people.

However, although Fan Xiyuan had realized this before, he chose to ignore it and had no intention of caring about it.

The reason is very simple. To put it bluntly, the reason why he joined Li Yi was to save his life. Naturally, it was impossible for him to work wholeheartedly for Li Yi.

Just muddle through and get by as long as you can explain it away!
(End of this chapter)