Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 163 Night Attack
In the lobby of Guangzhou government office, Zhu Lang sat at the top, and on the left below were three cabinet ministers, Lü Daqi, Chen Zizhuang, and Su Guansheng, and on the right were Jiao Lian and Li Mingzhong.

Apart from this, there is no one else in the hall. It can be said that all the people who can take charge in Guangzhou are now in the hall.
Zhu Lang put down the letter in his hand, looked at the people below, and said

"What do you think of the proposal of a night attack outside the city?"

The people below had naturally read the secret letter in advance. At this time, Lu Daqi and others exchanged glances, and Chen Zizhuang bowed and said

"I think there is no need to take risks. Although there are spies from the imperial court in the Qing camp, there are too many variables in attacking the camp at night. If the Qing army breaks through, it will damage the morale of the army."

"The Qing invaders have now been trapped in the imperial camp, with no reinforcements from outside and no food or money from inside. According to intelligence, the Tartar general has even become selfish and wants to escape from the battlefield."

"In this case, why don't we prepare troops tomorrow? Once the Tartar commander escapes, we will immediately attack with our entire army and completely defeat this group of Qing invaders with our dignified army!"

Chen Zizhuang's intention was very clear, that is, to seek stability. Now that the court had already grasped the victory, the civil officials were unwilling to take any risks at all, and just wanted to win this great victory steadily.
Since Jiashen, the imperial court has been defeated as soon as it encounters the enemy, and has almost no victory. The imperial court is in great need of a big victory.
Although the nearly 10,000 Qing troops were now unable to escape, for the sake of this great victory, for cabinet ministers like Chen Zizhuang, even if the court lost another 10,000 troops, they could accept it.
As long as we can win this great victory, I don't know how many things the court can do with this victory.
Apart from anything else, as long as this victory is achieved, the new Zhaoqing Dynasty will no longer be a small court established by the scholars of Guangdong and Guangxi, but a national orthodoxy that has both name and reality and defeated the Qing invaders in a dignified manner!

At that time, the Zhaoqing Dynasty will be the only legal system in the Ming Dynasty, and it will be the orthodoxy that people all over the world want.
Those local governors and ambitious people, whether they are willing or not, will have to obey the Zhaoqing Central Government at that time, and no one will dare to question it.

After the imperial court established its own authority, it was able to suppress the rebellious armies of local governors and gradually regain authority.

Instead of the current situation, where local governors look up to the imperial court, and military officials command their own troops, outside Guangdong and Guangxi, all foreign officials act on their own, and the imperial court cannot control them at all, and cannot even collect money and grain. Yes, they are talking about He Tengjiao, the governor of Huguang, and Pi Xiong, the general of Guizhou.
As long as this victory is achieved, it will not only inspire the people of the world and establish the central authority of the court, but also deter the Qing army in all directions and buy enough time for the court to deploy gongs and soldiers.

If the imperial court can gradually recover the power and finances of Huguang, Guizhou, and Yunnan through this war, then the imperial court will be able to completely establish its foothold, at least in the pattern of the Southern Song Dynasty.
Compared with the precarious state of the Ming Dynasty, this was already an excellent situation that Lu Daqi and others had never dared to think of when they fled from Fujian to Guangdong. Therefore, in order to facilitate this situation, Lu Daqi and the other three ministers had already reached a consensus, that is, not to take any risk at all, and to win this great victory steadily.

After listening to what Chen Zizhuang said, Zhu Lang did not express his opinion. He went to ask Lu Daqi and Su Guansheng. Sure enough, the two of them agreed with what Chen Zizhuang said.
Jiao Lian and Li Mingzhong, who were sitting opposite them, were about to speak, but seeing that the three ministers had the same opinion, they looked at each other, then remained silent and sat on their seats.

Jiao Lian and the others originally thought that the matter would be settled, but they did not expect that after His Highness the Regent had asked the three ministers, he immediately looked over here and said

"Generals, what do you think?"

As Zhu Lang spoke, Lü Daqi, Chen Zizhuang and the other two on the opposite side all looked towards Jiao Lian and the other two on the right. Seeing this, Jiao Lian and the other two looked even more hesitant.
Although they had different opinions in their hearts, several ministers in the court had spoken. What else could they do? Could they, the military men, refute the opinions of the three ministers?
The Ming Dynasty had long controlled the military with civil officials. How to fight a war had always been decided by the civil officials. They were also used to following the imperial court's orders.

The key point is that although they have different opinions, they do not think that what the three ministers said is wrong, so the atmosphere in the field was deadlocked for a while.
Seeing the two people who were hesitant to speak, Zhu Lang also understood their concerns, so he also spoke

"This is a military meeting. Since I have summoned you here, I want you to speak freely."

"You don't have to worry about the opinions of Chen Ge Lao and others. The elders have their own ideas, but after all, you are military officials. In military matters, your opinions should be more important."

When Lu Daqi and other cabinet ministers heard this, they looked at each other and their expressions changed slightly. Although it sounded like His Highness was just saying this casually, no one dared to take it lightly.

If His Highness's intention is followed, wouldn't the civil officials' say in future military affairs be greatly reduced?

Jiao Lian and the other man below were slightly moved when they heard what His Highness said. As military officials, they could accept the civil officials deciding whether to fight or not, and they could accept the civil officials deciding in which direction to fight.

But it is impossible that when encountering the enemy, even how to raid, how to pursue, and which route to pursue are all decided by civil officials. If so, what is the difference between this and the machine gun position moving forward one meter in later generations?

Those civil officials can really do something like running 200 miles a day and then immediately attacking the enemy.
These issues have actually been raised before, but it has become a tradition for the court to control the military with civil officials, and the court is determined to prevent military officials from becoming powerful, so this tradition of controlling the military with civil officials has been maintained.
Zhu Lang didn't care what the two men were thinking and said directly:

"What do you two think? Just tell me directly. Don't worry. I will make the decision myself."

Jiao Lian and the others looked at each other after hearing this, and then without hesitation, Jiao Lian spoke directly

"It is just as several of the elders said. The Qing invaders are surrounded by our army and are in a desperate situation. The court has already secured victory."

Jiao Lian bowed to Chen Zizhuang and the others, then changed the subject and said

"The imperial court will definitely win this time. The method proposed by the elders is a stable one. The Qing invaders have different ideas among themselves. Our imperial court army is fighting in an upright battle array. The Qing invaders have no chance of turning the tables."

"If we use a night attack, then the key is to be complete."

"Although the Qing invaders have been surrounded by the imperial army, they still have more than 10,000 people. They are trapped in a desperate situation. Tomorrow, the Qing invaders will counterattack fiercely in order to survive. If they fight in battle array, I am afraid the imperial army will suffer losses."

Lu Daqi and Chen Zizhuang looked at each other and immediately said

"What Lord Jiao said is inappropriate. Since it is a battle, there will be losses. As long as we can win safely, the court can accept some losses."

Hearing this, Jiao Lian glanced at Lu Daqi, but his expression remained unchanged. He continued
"What Elder Lu said is very true. Although the Qing invaders have launched a desperate counterattack, we have more soldiers after all. Even if the enemy can be killed or injured, they will still be defeated in the end."

"But during today's battle, Lord Li and I discovered that the Qing army still had nearly 3,000 cavalrymen, while our army only had more than 2,500 cavalrymen."

"The Qing cavalry has always been sharp. During the battle tomorrow, our cavalry may not be able to stop the Qing cavalry. Once this cavalry desperately charges into the battle formation, I am afraid that changes will occur and our infantry formation will suffer great damage."

Lu Daqi and his men on the opposite side also changed their expressions when they heard this. At this time, the cabinet ministers were all veterans, and no one used the idea that the two cavalry armies were equal. How could the Ming cavalry be inferior to the Qing barbarians in terms of righteousness?
At this time, everyone was discussing practical matters. Since it was practical matters, they had to face the real situation. The current situation was that the Qing cavalry was stronger than the Ming army. The Qing cavalry had better horses, and the soldiers' horsemanship and archery were also better than the Ming army.

Seeing that Lu Daqi and the others were silent, Jiao Lian continued to speak.

"But the most worrying thing is not this. If the Qing invaders charge with cavalry tomorrow, our army will suffer losses, but we will still be able to defeat these troops in the end."

"But if the Qing invaders abandon their infantry and lead their cavalry to break out tomorrow, this will be a serious threat to the court."

"If the Qing invaders use their cavalry to break out and leave, although the Qing invaders' cavalry are short of food, our cavalry can follow and pursue them, but in this way our numbers will no longer be superior, and I am not sure whether we can keep these thousands of cavalry in the end."

When Zhu Lang heard this, his face turned serious. If the Qing army was allowed to escape with those thousands of people, then this victory would be greatly reduced.

The cavalry has always been the elite of the army. If these two or three thousand people are withdrawn, I am afraid that the Qing army will soon come back again.

Li Mingzhong, who was below, saw that everyone was silent and spoke up.

"My opinion is the same as Lord Jiao's. If the Qing cavalry breaks out, we can follow them and kill them, but we may not be able to claim victory."

"And if we can succeed in tonight's attack, the Qing invaders will be defeated immediately. Not only will the thousands of Qing invaders' cavalry no longer be a threat, but they can also be used by the court."

"I agree with Lord Jiao. I still think we should try to attack the camp tonight and defeat the Qing invaders directly."

Li Mingzhong looked at His Royal Highness the Regent above him, his face became serious, and he continued to speak.

"The only thing we are worried about now is whether the man in the Qing camp can be trusted. If he is really as he said, we can seize the camp gate tonight, and then our army will attack the camp at night!"

"May I ask Your Highness whether Ma Bao is trustworthy?"

"About 80%"

Zhu Lang thought for a moment before replying:

In fact, the information sent by Ma Bao at this time could not be false. If there had been no news from Ma Bao, Guangzhou would have been captured by the Qing army long ago.

He did not rebel before, but now the Qing army is surrounded by the Ming army. If there is a choice now, I am afraid that even Li Chengdong would want to surrender to the Ming Dynasty. What reason does Ma Bao have to betray the city now?

After hearing what Zhu Lang said, Li Mingzhong's face was also determined, and he stopped talking. Lu Daqi and others also looked at His Royal Highness the Regent, waiting for His Royal Highness the Regent's decision.
Zhu Lang sat in his chair, his eyes thoughtful. Although the opinions of the civil and military officials on both sides were different, the victory of the court was certain. The only difference was how much they would gain.

If we follow what Lu Daqi and others said, we can wait until tomorrow to line up and fight. This approach will have the least variables, but we may have to continue to pursue the Qing cavalry. If we are not careful, we may let the Qing cavalry escape.

However, if the attack on the camp is carried out according to Jiao Lian and others' suggestion, the gains and losses are obvious. If the attack on the camp is successful, it will naturally win everything. However, if the attacking army is defeated by the Qing army, the morale of the Qing army will certainly be greatly boosted.

Li Chengdong and others might also give up the idea of ​​escaping alone and choose to fight a decisive battle with the Ming army. Tomorrow, the two sides will line up to fight, and the other side might break through, which adds another variable.
Zhu Lang was somewhat hesitant at this moment. He looked down at Jiao Lian and said:

"Both of you think it's better to attack the camp?"

Jiao Lian and Li Mingzhong looked at each other, and then Jiao Lian spoke in a deep voice

"Yes, right now, the terrain and people are all on the side of the court, which is a rare opportunity."

"If the attack on the camp is successful, we can achieve complete success in one battle and annihilate all these tens of thousands of Qing invaders under the city."

"Then attack the camp!"

Zhu Lang finally stopped hesitating after hearing this. Since Jiao Lian and the others both thought that attacking the camp was better, what was there to hesitate about? His military judgment could not be more accurate than Jiao Lian and the others.
Moreover, Zhu Lang actually had a preference in his heart. There were more than 3,000 cavalrymen in the Qing army camp, and these were rare Liao horses.
If the Qing army could be defeated in one fell swoop, the imperial court could immediately form 3,000 cavalry. If the Qing army was allowed to escape, the Ming Dynasty might spend hundreds of thousands of taels of silver and still not be able to buy 3,000 Liao horses.
Zhu Lang made a decision at this time, and he did not hesitate any longer, and said

"Although we have decided to attack the camp, what Elder Lu and the others said is also correct. We should be cautious at this time. Let Liu Qijiao and Deng Yao lead the troops to attack the camp tonight. You don't have to go."

"Also, tell Liu Qijiao and Deng Yao to act accordingly."

"Although the imperial court has decided to attack the camp, it does not mean that it is a must. If they feel that it is inappropriate, they can give up the attack. In short, safety is the most important thing."

"I understand."

Seeing Zhu Lang's decision, the ministers no longer objected and all bowed their hands in agreement.

After the discussion, everyone dispersed, and Jiao Lian and Li Mingzhong hurried out of the city and began to make arrangements for the attack on the camp.
(End of this chapter)