Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 208 Confrontation
Chaozhou City, December 15th, the twelfth lunar month, the weather has begun to get colder, the cold sea breeze blows over the city wall, and the golden dragon flag on the top of the city is fluttering.
Inside the Chaozhou government office, the charcoal fire was rising, but there was no sense of cold at all.
Zhu Lang, wearing a bright yellow dragon robe, sat on the main seat above. Lu Daqi, Su Guansheng, Zhang Jiayu and others sat below, listening to Li Mingzhong's report on the situation in Fujian Province.
The Guangzhou victory, Zhang Jiayu's capture of Zengcheng was a great achievement, so Zhu Lang directly summoned Zhang Jiayu to the court and placed him in the Ministry of War.
Nowadays, the world is constantly at war. As Zhu Lang continues to use military officials such as Jiao Lian and Li Mingzhong, the ministers in the court have already realized that the court can no longer return to the era of the past when civil officials controlled military officials.
The ministers may still find it difficult to adapt to the sudden rise in the status of military officials, but for Zhu Lang, this is a matter of course.

In the future, the battlefield will be dominated by military officials, but civil officials who are familiar with military affairs are also indispensable.
Zhang Jiayu is determined to resist the Qing Dynasty. This raid on Zengcheng shows his military ability. After training Zhang Jiayu in the Ministry of War, he can be sent directly to the front line.
This is how Zhu Lang uses ministers like Zhang Jiayu who have firm positions but unknown abilities. As long as they are firm in their positions, they will be placed in the Ministry of War for training and learning basic military knowledge before being sent to the front lines.
With these people on the front line, Zhu Lang can at least sleep more peacefully at night.

In fact, Zhu Lang had originally arranged this for Chen Bangyan, but when defending the city, he had to force the Ideological and Political Hall to be established first. The Ideological and Political Hall also played an extremely important role for Zhu Lang, so Zhu Lang changed his plan to appoint Chen Bangyan.

Now Zhang Jiayu is a doctor in the Ministry of War. Zhu Lang also brought Zhang Jiayu with him on this expedition to Fujian.

In the lobby, Li Mingzhong reported the situation in Fujian Province to everyone.
"After I learned about the situation of Minister Zhang and others, I immediately ordered Yi Zhi and Guan Can to lead troops to raid Fenshui Pass. Li Shilian of Chaozhou saw that his retreat was cut off at Fenshui Pass and fled at night, but was defeated by Yang Yandi on the way. Chaozhou was thus recovered."

"After I led my army into Chaozhou, I immediately sent Yang Yandi and Yi Zhi to lead the army out of Fenshui Pass in an attempt to capture Zhao'an. However, when Yang Yandi and his men arrived at Zhao'an, they found that the Qing invaders had already entered the city."

"The number of Qing captives in Zhao'an is small, but they are extremely elite. Although there are only a thousand of them, almost all of them are armored cavalry. According to Yang Yandi's report, the Qing captives who entered Zhao'an first are all real Tartars."

"I once ordered Yang Yandi and others to try to attack the city, but the Qing invaders in the city were very fierce and resisted very tenaciously. We failed to capture Zhao'an after several attempts."

"Yesterday, the situation in Zhao'an changed again. A large group of Qing captives appeared outside Zhao'an City. This new group of Qing captives came from the east. There are no less than 10,000 people, and there are many real Tartars among them. Judging from the flags, the one who came to help this time should be the main general of the Qing captives entering Fujian this time, the Tartar Beile Bolo."

"That Tartar Beile Bolo was very vicious and stubborn. After arriving at Zhao'an, he immediately sent out cavalry to attack. However, our army had already built the camp in advance. Yang Yandi and others relied on the camp for defense, but the Qing invaders returned empty-handed."

"Now, the two sides are facing each other across the city outside Zhao'an. Yang Yandi, Yi Zhi and others are leading 10,000 Wuxiang troops to camp outside the city, while more than 10,000 Qing troops in the city are constantly coming out of the city to harass and invite battle."

Zhu Lang chuckled when he heard what Li Mingzhong said.

"He came out of the city to challenge me, it seems this Bolo is very arrogant."

Zhu Lang thought for a moment and then said

"This Bolo dared to come out of the city to challenge the enemy, simply because he saw that the two sides had equal numbers and he was confident of his military might."

"Li Mingzhong, you will lead the remaining 7,000 Wuxiang troops to Zhao'an. Liu Qijiao will lead 5,000 Longxiang troops, and Ma Bao will lead 6,000 Tengxiang troops. Set off together. I want to see if Bolo will come out of the city to challenge us after all three armies are assembled."

The Ming court had a total of 30,000 troops in total. Although it sounded like only three times the number of Qing troops in the city, compared to the Qing army's previous record of defeating ten with one and tens of thousands with thousands, it still seemed insignificant.

But the 30,000 men in Zhu Lang's hands were completely different from the previous Ming army. They were still the same people, but the armor rate of these three armies was now over 50%. There were more than 100 artillery pieces in the army, and all of them were over 300 jins. The rear of Guangdong Province was still purchasing artillery and muskets and sending them to the army.
In order to support these three armies, Zhu Lang and the imperial court spent money like water every month.

If Bolo still wanted to rely on the elite soldiers to break through and force a decisive battle like the Qing army did before, it would be exactly what Zhu Lang wanted.
You are invincible. Under sufficient firepower, no matter whether you are human or iron, you will be blown into pieces. This is the equality of all beings under firepower.
"This time, Li Mingzhong will personally command the siege. The three armies of Longxiong, Wuxiong and Tengxiong will be under the command of Marquis Li. Marquis Jiao had a hard time in the battle of Guangzhou. This time, just follow me in Chaozhou and watch Marquis Li show his skills."

Everyone was thinking about what Zhu Lang said, and all the generals responded.

Li Mingzhong stood up and understood what was meant, then he said

"Although I made some siege equipment when I besieged Chaozhou, there are tens of thousands of Qing invaders in Zhao'an. I am afraid that these equipment are far from enough."

"I ask Your Highness to immediately recruit craftsmen from Chaozhou to build siege equipment overnight. Once the ladders and battering rams are ready, I will lead the troops to attack the city."

Zhu Lang thought for a moment and then said

"There is no need to attack the city. Bolo is eager to fight with us, but we don't need to be too anxious."

"After you lead your men to Zhao'an, set up camp and prepare for defense."

"If the Qing army leads a large army to fight, you should use chariots and artillery to kill and injure the Qing army. No matter how many are killed or injured, do not be greedy for merit and do not pursue them. If the Qing army retreats back to the city, you should just dig trenches to surround Zhao'an."

"I have sent people to Haojing to buy red-haired heavy artillery. When these guns arrive, we will use them to blow down the city walls and then attack the city."

A fierce look flashed across Zhu Lang's face. Zhu Lang had experienced the Battle of Guangzhou and knew the cruelty of siege.
He would not use his soldiers to defend the city walls. The reason why he sent people to Hongyi to buy heavy artillery was to prepare for this moment.

The walls of a county town like Zhao'an are not very strong to begin with. Once the heavy artillery arrives, a dozen cannons firing simultaneously should be able to knock down a section of the wall in a day or two.

Once the city wall collapses, the morale of the Qing army in the city will surely drop sharply. Only then will the two sides enter a real decisive battle.
Everyone nodded in agreement, knowing that His Highness the Regent was indeed prudent. It would be difficult to achieve a big victory with His Highness's method. The Qing army might abandon the city and flee as they saw heavy artillery bombardment.
But this method would allow the Ming army to firmly capture Zhao'an and open up the way forward without suffering too many casualties.

All the ministers in the hall nodded, and Li Mingzhong, Ma Bao and other military officials would not object. If there was a choice, who would be willing to use their soldiers to forcibly attack the city?
Zhu Lang saw that his ministers had no objection, so he decided on the matter directly, and then he spoke again.

"What's going on with Zhang Tongchang and his men? Didn't they write earlier saying they were retreating to Zhangzhou? Why is it that Bolo is leading his men to Zhao'an? What's going on with Zheng Chenggong and his men now?"

Li Mingzhong frowned slightly when he heard this and reported

"I have not received any news from Fujian Province for several days. I have tried to send a messenger to contact Tong'an, but there has been no reply from the messenger. I do not know what the current situation in Fujian Province is."

"According to the last letter from Minister Zhang, the Qing invaders were approaching Tongan. They decided to split their troops into two groups. One group was led by Minister Zhang to block the Qing invaders in Tongan, and the other group was led by Governor Zhang Kentang to enter Zhangzhou via Changtai. They planned to let Minister Zhang abandon Tongan and withdraw to Zhangzhou after occupying Zhangzhou." "But when Governor Zhang and his men arrived in Changtai, they found that the Zhangzhou garrison had surrendered to the Qing. Minister Zhang said that they were preparing to attack Zhangzhou. After that, there was no news."

Lu Daqi and others also frowned when they heard this. Zhang Kentang and others said in the letter that they were preparing to attack Zhangzhou, but now Bolo led the Qing army to appear in Zhao'an City behind Zhangzhou.

The Ming army in Changtai City obviously did not capture Zhangzhou. If Zhangzhou was captured by Zhang Kentang and others, Bolo and others would never dare to go to Zhao'an to confront Zhu Lang and others.
This is not a question of arrogance. If Zhangzhou is still in the hands of Zhang Kentang and others, then Bolo's coming to Zhao'an at this time is a dead end. There is a large army in front of him, and the enemy is harassing the grain road behind him. Any normal general would not do such a thing.

The fact that Bolo and his men dared to lead their troops here meant that Zhang Kentang's troops had either been destroyed or surrounded. Only in this way would Bolo dare to lead his men to Zhao'an to confront the Ming army.

When everyone thought of this, their hearts sank, but at this moment Zhang Jiayu suddenly spoke up.

"I believe that Governor Zhang and his troops must still be here at this time. It is very likely that they are just surrounded by the Qing invaders. Otherwise, Bolo would never choose to settle here and confront the Ming Dynasty."

Everyone was stunned when they heard this, but then they quickly reacted and nodded slightly.
Zhao'an is just a county town with low walls, and it is definitely not a good place for a large army to fight.

If Bolo and his men had really wiped out Zhang Kentang and his men in Zhangzhou, then Bolo could have chosen to block the Ming army from entering Fujian from the prefectural capital of Zhangzhou. Once Fenshui Pass was lost, it would have been meaningless to defend Zhao'an City.
But Bolo knew that the Ming army was attacking Zhao'an, but he still led his army to Zhao'an to stop the Ming army. This means that Bolo had a compelling reason to stop the Ming army at the gate of Zhao'an.
Combined with the intelligence sent by Zhang Tongchang earlier, it is not difficult to guess the situation at this time. Zhang Kentang's Ming army must still be there. In order to prevent the Ming army from continuing to advance, Bolo contacted Zhang Kentang and others, so he had to confront the Ming army in the small city of Zhao'an.

Zhu Lang couldn't help but heaved a sigh of relief when he thought of this. According to Zhang Tongchang, Zhang Kentang's army had 20,000 men. If they were really destroyed, it would be a huge loss for the court.

But at this time Zhu Lang said

"What Mr. Zhang said makes sense. Zhang Kentang and his troops should still be there. But if that's the case, how many people did the Qing army send this time to trap the troops in Tong'an and Changtai?"

The ministers below frowned upon hearing this. According to the intelligence sent back from Fujian Province, the number of Zheng's surrendered troops was close to 50,000.
Li Chengdong, Tong Yangjia and others had already lost 20,000 men under the city of Guangzhou, but at this time the Qing army in Fujian Province still had so many troops to trap Zheng Chenggong and others. How many Qing troops were there in Fujian Province at this time?
Zhu Lang looked at the people below who were deep in thought, and he knew that such idle thoughts were useless, so he spoke

"The situation in Fujian Province is complicated at this time. The most urgent task is to first find out the current military strength of the Qing army."

"Although the land route is blocked by the Qing invaders, the sea route is open. Zhang Qing, you lead your men to Tong'an by boat and contact Zhang Tongchang. Be sure to find out the current situation of Zheng Chenggong and others, as well as the number of Qing troops in Fujian Province."

"Subordinate to the order"

Zhang Jiayu immediately responded to the order. Zhu Lang nodded slightly and was about to give a few more instructions when Li Chengzhi suddenly walked into the hall and handed a note to Zhu Lang above.

Zhu Lang glanced at the contents of the note, and suddenly his face became furious. He shouted angrily:
"These red barbarians really don't know what's good for them"

Seeing the look on His Royal Highness's face, the ministers knew that what Li Chengzhi reported might not be a good thing. Lu Daqi and Su Guansheng looked at each other and said:

"May I ask Your Highness, what did that Red Barbarian do to make Your Highness so angry?"

Zhu Lang looked at the note in his hand with an angry look on his face and said

"The ship from Haojing has arrived, but this time it only brought back three heavy guns"

"The Red Barbarians refused to sell the cannons. Instead, they sent a councillor to negotiate the purchase of cannons on behalf of the Red Barbarian Kingdom and our Ming Dynasty."

Zhu Lang's face became more and more angry when he said this.
"The Red Barbarians from a small island actually want to negotiate terms with the Ming Dynasty. How dare they do that!"

Lu Daqi and others frowned when they heard what Zhu Lang said. This red barbarian obviously saw that the court was eager to buy cannons, so he wanted to take the opportunity to threaten the court with the cannons.

But the problem is that they are now confronting the Qing army, and they need these artillery pieces at this time. Just now they said they wanted to besiege Zhao'an and wait for the heavy artillery of Haojing to break through the city.

Now the imperial court has tens of thousands of soldiers. Naturally, the ministers will not take those red barbarians in Haojing seriously.
But if these red barbarians refused to sell their cannons, they would most likely attack the city with their soldiers, which would cause damage that the ministers did not want to see.

Everyone was still thinking about how to force the Red Barbarians to surrender, but Zhu Lang above had regained his composure and spoke

"Master Lu and Master Su, you continue to help manage the army's food and supplies. The weather is getting colder, and the army must have enough cotton-padded clothes and quilts. Coal and other cold-resistant items must also be prepared. The soldiers on the front line must not be frozen."

"Lord Li, lead your troops to Zhao'an immediately and lock the Qing invaders in the city. Again, do not attack the city, dig trenches to surround Zhao'an, and I will find a way to solve the artillery issue."

"You all go and prepare. I will personally meet with the Red Barbarian envoy to see what terms the Red Barbarian wants to negotiate with our Ming Dynasty."

Zhu Lang waved his hand and spoke in a cold voice. Everyone looked at the cold-faced Regent and knew that the conditions proposed by the Red Barbarians were probably extremely harsh, which made the Regent so angry. So everyone stopped talking and left.

The ministers in the hall left. Zhu Lang glanced at the conditions proposed by Hong Yi, but suddenly sneered and tore the note in half and threw it on the ground.

This red barbarian is already in a difficult situation, yet he still wants to make exorbitant demands on him. He really doesn't know how to live or die.
Others don't know the details of this red barbarian, but Zhu Lang knows it very well. They are not qualified to negotiate terms with him!
Zhu Lang thought of this and no longer hesitated. He waved his hand at Li Chengzhi. Li Chengzhi hurriedly retreated and then took the red-haired envoy into the room.

(End of this chapter)