Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 225 Offense and Defense
In the lobby of Fuzhou government office, Lu Daqi, Zhang Kentang and other civil and military officials gathered

Yesterday, His Royal Highness the Regent and his ministers accepted the people's cheers and entered the city, officially announcing the court's recovery of the old capital of Longwu.
After Zhu Lang entered the city, he only met with the representatives of the righteous people and gentry in Fuzhou City, comforted them briefly, and then let them go.

Before they dispersed, Zhu Lang had already informed all the officials that they would discuss the matter the next day. Everyone also knew that today's discussion was probably the main point of His Royal Highness the Regent's visit, so everyone gathered in the hall early this morning.
Below Zhu Lang, on the left are a group of civil officials headed by Lü Daqi. The first one on the left is Lü Daqi, and below Lü Daqi is Su Guansheng. After Su Guansheng are Zhang Kentang and Zhang Tongchang, and below Zhang Tongchang is Zheng Chenggong. Below them are Zhang Jiayu, and Xu Fuyuan, the governor of Zhangzhou and Quanzhou appointed by Zhang Kentang, and other court officials below the fourth rank.

The first person on the right is Jiao Lian, the next person is Li Mingzhong, after Li Mingzhong is Shi Fu, and after Shi Fu is Zheng Hongkui. The four dukes are at the top, and the seating order is clear. After Zheng Hongkui are Huang Ting, Ma Bao, Zhou Hezhi, Shi Lang and other marquis generals.

After the great victory in Zhao'an, Jiao Lian and Li Mingzhong were promoted to Dukes. Jiao Lian was given the title of Duke Xuan, Li Mingzhong was given the title of Duke Jing, and Ma Bao was finally ranked fifth this time and was promoted to Earl of Anding.
Zhu Lang was originally planning to return to the court to confer titles on Jiao Lian and his men, but on the way to Fuzhou, Zhu Lang, Lu Daqi and others discovered something was wrong.
In order to win over the generals of Fujian Province, the court conferred titles on them. At this time, Shi Fu and Zheng Hongkui had already been conferred titles. If they were to go to Fuzhou City like this, Jiao Lian and Li Mingzhong, the two direct descendants of the imperial guards, would be ranked below Shi Fu and the others. How could this be feasible?
Not to mention that the Imperial Army was strong enough to crush the Fujian Army, just considering the achievements of both sides, there was absolutely no reason for Shi Fu and others to be in the first place.

Jiao Lian and Li Mingzhong were the first to follow the emperor. After that, they fought several bloody battles and defeated the main force of the Qing army several times. What achievements did Shi Fu and other newly surrendered Fujian generals have to be ranked above the two imperial guards?
Therefore, on the way to Fuzhou, Jiao Lian and other three commanders of the imperial guards were promoted one after another. When they arrived at the hall, Shi Fu and others did not dare to raise any objections. Not to mention the Longxiang and Wuxiang armies, just Ma Bao, who had been supplemented with horses and armor, could suppress Shi Fu's army, the strongest among the Fujian generals. How could Shi Fu and Zheng Hongkui dare to raise any objections?

At this time, all the ministers gathered together. Zhu Lang looked at the Fujian ministers gathered in the hall and breathed a sigh of relief. Zhu Lang had been preparing for today's meeting for several days. Even the day before arriving in Fuzhou, Zhu Lang was still discussing and adjusting with Lu Daqi and others. Compared with the matters to be discussed today, the so-called entry into the city to accept the surrender yesterday was not worth mentioning at all.

Zhu Lang made a slight gesture to the people below, and Lu Daqi nodded slightly. He stood up and reported the current situation in Fujian Province to everyone according to the plan.
"After the great victory at Zhao'an, the imperial army advanced in three directions. Each of the armies was unstoppable, and all the prefectures in Fujian Province surrendered..."

After the main forces of the Qing army including Bolo were defeated, the Ming army made smooth progress. The armies just marched along the way, and the prefectures and counties of Fujian Province surrendered one after another, and the entire Fujian Province was recovered.
Li Mingzhong's Western Route Army successfully took over three prefectures and two passes. After Li Mingzhong recaptured Xianxia Pass, he saw that there was no soldier in Quzhou Prefecture, Zhejiang Province, so he ordered Yang Yandi to lead the cavalry to attack and capture Quzhou.
Fujian Province had been occupied by the Qing court before, and Quzhou had never expected that the Ming army would come from Xianxia Pass. When Yang Yandi's cavalry arrived at Quzhou, the city of Quzhou was in chaos. The people in the city only put up a little resistance, then opened the gates and surrendered, and were successfully occupied by Yang Yandi and others.
After occupying Quzhou City, the Ming army extended its influence to Zhejiang Province, thus gaining a springboard for attacking Zhejiang Province.
Although Zheng Chenggong's army in the middle line stopped after capturing Yanping Prefecture, Liu Zhongzao and others in Jianning Prefecture in the north were stationed in Tongpan Mountain and were well aware of the situation on the Fujian-Zhejiang border.
After capturing Funing, Liu Zhongzao continued to mobilize the rebels in Tongpan Mountain to march northwards, successfully capturing Qingyuan, Longquan, and Yunhe counties in Chuzhou Prefecture, Zhejiang Province, and marched straight to the prefectural capital of Chuzhou.

Shi Fu, Huang Ting and others on the eastern front also made good progress. After capturing Fuzhou, Huang Ting and others concluded that Zhang Cunren's remnants would escape from the north of Funing Prefecture to Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province.
Although this route was difficult, it was the fastest way to return to Zhejiang Province. Therefore, Huang Ting used ships to transport troops and directly attacked Wenzhou from the sea, intending to cut off Zhang Cunren's return route.
However, when Huang Ting and his men arrived at Wenzhou, they found that Wenzhou also had no soldiers. The 3,000 naval forces had just arrived in Wenzhou and pretended to attack the city. Then the gates of Wenzhou were opened and the soldiers went out of the city to surrender.

Huang Ting and his men saw the real situation of Zhejiang Province, so they informed the rear and ordered them to send troops to take over Wenzhou, while they continued to lead the army to pursue the fleeing remnants of Zhang Cunren.

Huang Erhui led his men all the way into Taizhou Prefecture. There was no organized Qing army in Taizhou Prefecture either. Seeing that the Ming army was chasing the Qing army, the counties in Taizhou opened their cities and surrendered. Huang Erhui and his men took over the entire Taizhou Prefecture without firing a single arrow.

Huang Erhui and his men pursued Zhang Cunren all the way to Ningbo Prefecture, where they discovered thousands of Qing troops coming from Hangzhou to reinforce him.

Huang Erhui and others also followed their heart. After discovering the reinforcements of the Qing army, they directly retreated to Taizhou. They did not even defend Tiantai and Ninghai in the north of Taizhou, and retreated directly into the city of Taizhou.

The 3,000 men under Huang Erhui were all sailors, not used to land warfare, and their pursuit to the north was just a bluff.

The two prefectures of Wenzhou and Taizhou were pleasantly surprised by Huang Erhui and his men. Seeing the organized Qing army, they dared not engage in battle with them. Naturally, they retreated to the prefecture city early to defend it, and at the same time urgently ordered reinforcements from the rear.
The Ming army retreated, and it seemed that the Qing army should launch a large-scale attack to recover the lost territory. However, after learning that the main force of the Qing army in Fujian Province had been destroyed, the Qing army from Hangzhou was also frightened and did not dare to pursue.

Bolo led 30,000 to 40,000 Qing troops and they were all killed. If they, with only a few thousand soldiers, were to chase the Ming army now, wouldn't that be courting death? Who knows where the Ming army might have set up an ambush?
Under such circumstances, although the Qing troops from Hangzhou discovered that the Ming army was retreating, they did not dare to take any action. They just stayed in Ningbo City and quickly reported to Nanjing City that the Ming army had entered Zhejiang Province.

After receiving the news, Nanjing City was in chaos again. The Qing army in Ningbo Prefecture was ordered to hold the city firmly and not to leave the city to fight.
The Ming and Qing defenders in Taizhou and Ningbo were terrified and held the city tightly while seeking help from the rear. For a time, the hundreds of miles between the northern part of Taizhou and the southern part of Ningbo became a blank area with no one occupying it.
The destruction of the main force of the Qing army in Fujian Province had a great impact on the situation in Zhejiang and Fujian Provinces. Bolo led his troops to the south. The fundamental reason for conquering Zhejiang Province and conquering Fujian Province was the same group of people. The destruction of the Qing army in Fujian Province also meant that Zhejiang Province would have no troops to defend.
After Bolo led his troops into Fujian, Hangzhou was the only city in Zhejiang Province that still had a full-fledged army. Other prefectures and counties in Zhejiang Province were guarded by only a small number of Green Camp militiamen. Once the Qing army in Fujian was defeated, Zhejiang Province also collapsed completely.

After listening to Lu Daqi's introduction, everyone in the hall was surprised. They basically only knew the situation of their own attack, but after summarizing the situation of various routes, they found that the situation of the Ming army was very good.

The Ming army had already occupied four prefectures in southern Zhejiang. If they continued to work hard, they might be able to conquer the entire Zhejiang province.
Zhu Lang looked at the ministers below and said

"This is the current situation in Zhejiang and Fujian. What do you think the court should do next?"

In the hall, Zhang Kentang, Shi Fu and other officials from Fujian Province looked at each other, and then looked at Lü Daqi and Su Guansheng who were standing on the left.
These two people are the cabinet ministers who came with the army. If His Majesty the Regent has any opinions, they must raise them through these two people. Although they have their own ideas about this matter, they also need to pay attention to His Majesty the Regent's attitude.
When Zhu Lang saw Zhang Kentang and the others looking at Lu Daqi, he chuckled and said

"It all depends on what Elder Lu does. Everyone in the meeting hall can speak out and discuss today. This is the original intention of the meeting. Besides, the affairs of Fujian Province in the future will still be handled by you. You can speak up if you have any opinions."

Zhang Kentang, Shi Fu, Zheng Chenggong and others looked at each other, and then nodded slightly.
Zhang Kentang looked at Xu Fuyuan below, and Xu Fuyuan saw the hint and stood up and said
"I, Xu Fuyuan, the military governor of Zhangzhou and Quanzhou, come to see Your Highness."

"According to what Elder Lu said, the imperial army is not only making good progress in Fujian Province, but is also making great progress in Zhejiang Province. Now that our Ming Dynasty has occupied four prefectures in Zhejiang Province, it can be seen that after the main force of the Qing invaders in Fujian Province was destroyed, the Qing invaders between Fujian and Zhejiang no longer have any troops available."

"I think the court should immediately march its troops and take back Zhejiang Province in one fell swoop before the Qing invaders can deploy their defenses. If the court can recover two provinces at this time, it will surely boost the morale of the people and frighten the Qing invaders."

"What Xu Qing said makes sense"

Zhu Lang nodded slightly to Xu Fuyuan, and then motioned him to sit down. When the people of Fujian Province saw that His Royal Highness the Regent did not stop them, they also felt a little bolder. After Xu Fuyuan sat down, Huang Ting suddenly stood up and spoke.

"My army pursued the Qing invaders into Zhejiang Province and found that there were only local soldiers and vagrants left in the prefectures along the way. It was not until we entered Ningbo Prefecture that we saw thousands of Qing invaders coming from the direction of Hangzhou and Shaoxing."

"After my army retreated to Taizhou, we did not see the Qing army chasing us. This shows that the Qing army and Fujian Province do not have many troops."

"The imperial court has now occupied four prefectures in Zhejiang Province, and Duke Li has occupied an important thoroughfare like Quzhou. If the imperial court's army marches out together, attacking Jinhua from Quzhou and Ningbo from Taizhou, the Qing invaders will definitely have a hard time defending themselves."

"Once the imperial court takes these two prefectures, the imperial court's two armies will be able to meet at the foot of Shaoxing. After taking Shaoxing, the imperial court can continue to join forces to attack Hangzhou. If Hangzhou is recovered, Zhejiang Province can be restored." After Huang Ting finished speaking, he also bowed and sat down.

The officials of Fujian Province obviously supported the invasion to retake Zhejiang Province. The successive retake of Wenzhou and Taizhou also made the people of Fujian Province realize the strengths and weaknesses of the Qing court. Now that the Qing troops in Zhejiang Province were weak, and the court happened to have a large army gathered, they should take the opportunity to strike hard at the fallen dog.
Fujian and Zhejiang are both coastal provinces. If Zhejiang is taken, the court's reliance on Fujian's army will also increase greatly.

Zhejiang Province is not Fujian Province. Although Fujian Province is known as a place that is not contested by military strategists, in fact, the terrain of Fujian Province is extremely dangerous. As long as a few passes and the sea are guarded, basically no one can invade Fujian Province.
But Zhejiang Province is different. Although the southern part of Zhejiang Province is also densely covered with mountains, the northern part is a large area of ​​flat land. To defend these places, a large number of troops are needed. It is impossible for the imperial guards to be deployed on the front line. At that time, won't they have to rely on the Fujian Army?
At this time, Xu Fuyuan started from the situation, and Huang Ting started from the military strategy. In fact, the officials of Fujian Province proposed to the court the strategy of advancing into Zhejiang Province.

This was actually the opinion reached by Zhang Kentang and Shi Fu and other Fujian generals after consultation. Seeing that the imperial guards were nearby and the Qing army in Zhejiang was weak, the officials of Fujian Province had already grown their appetite and were ready to swallow Zhejiang Province in one gulp.
After Xu Fuyuan and the others finished speaking, Zhang Kentang and other officials from Fujian Province all looked at His Royal Highness the Regent above.

Zhu Lang nodded slightly to Huang Ting, as if to show approval. Zhang Kentang and others were all excited when they saw this.

However, before they could speak again, Zhu Lang's eyes had already turned to the left. Su Guansheng below saw the hint and cleared his throat, then suddenly spoke

"Xu Daoyuan, what General Huang said makes sense, but you don't know how expensive firewood and rice are. The court has been confronting the Qing invaders in Fujian for more than a month, and has consumed countless food and grass."

"Now that the troops are stationed in Fujian Province, they can barely supply food and grass. If they were to move out and go on an expedition, the loss of food and grass would have to increase several times, and the court would be unable to support it at this time."

When the officials of Fujian Province saw Su Guansheng's speech, their expressions froze and they immediately began to hesitate. Su Guansheng mentioned the shortage of food and grass, which clearly meant that he did not agree with the plan to send troops to Fujian Province.

Su Guansheng was a minister who had followed His Highness to Fujian. His sudden opposition could not be guaranteed to be the intention of His Highness the Regent. They had no choice but to be cautious.
Zhang Kentang glanced at Su Guansheng, then looked up at the calm Regent. For a moment, he was confused as to whether this was what the Regent meant.

Zhang Kentang was silent for a moment, but he made up his mind and suddenly stood up and walked out.

Su Guansheng was a cabinet minister. If Su Guansheng had asked a question about military strategy, Shi Fu and the others could have argued with him. But since this question involved logistical matters, he was the only one who could answer it.

If he remained silent at this time, the attack on Zhejiang Province might be stopped, but he was unwilling to give up this opportunity.

"If there is insufficient food and grass, we also seized more than 10,000 shi of food and grass from the Qing enemy when we captured Zhangzhou, which can be used as an emergency measure now."

"Besides, if the court is worried about food and grass, I think it should immediately send troops to capture Hangzhou."

"Hangzhou, Jiaxing and Huzhou in Zhejiang Province are important grain-producing areas. If the imperial court can capture Hangzhou, even if it cannot obtain food and salaries from these three areas in the future, it can still cut off a major source of food for the Qing invaders in Jiangnan!"

Susongtai in Nanzhili and Hangzhou, Jiaxing and Huzhou in Zhejiang Province are now well-known grain-producing areas. Zhang Kentang's intention is very clear. After occupying Hangzhou, even if the court cannot occupy this plain to obtain food and wages, it can also send troops to destroy this area and make the Qing army lose this grain-producing area.
Zhang Kentang was from Songjiang Prefecture, which was right next to Zhejiang Province. Naturally, the imperial court could send troops to Zhejiang Province to fight back to his hometown.
Moreover, Zhang Kentang did not have any selfish motives. He really thought that this was a good time to recover Zhejiang Province. If he did not attack now, and the Qing invaders transferred troops from Jiangnan to Zhejiang, it would not be so easy to recover Hangzhou.

When Zhu Lang heard what Zhang Kentang said, he was also moved. He had never thought of destroying the Qing Dynasty's grain tax.
Zhu Lang thought about it for a while, and soon calmed down. He had already planned what to do next. The destruction and advantage of Hangzhou City and some grain taxes were far from enough to make him give up his plan.

Zhang Kentang looked nervous, staring at the Regent above him. However, before the Regent could speak, Jiao Lian on the right suddenly stood up.

Everyone's eyes immediately focused on Jiao Lian. As Jiao Lian was able to sit at the head of the military officials, he was obviously the most trusted general of His Royal Highness the Regent.

Su Guansheng has already expressed his opinion. Now we only need to look at what Jiao Lian said to determine the true intentions of His Highness the Regent.
"The matter of food and money is handled by the court and the ministers, so I don't need to say much. However, since Minister Zhang mentioned Hangzhou, I will also talk about the military situation."

"Hangzhou is the capital of Zhejiang Province. Beyond Hangzhou is a large plain, which is convenient for the Qing cavalry to move. If we want to fight with the Qing here, our cavalry is scarce and we may be at a disadvantage."

"Besides, Hangzhou is close to Suzhou and Songjiang, important grain-tax centers in the south of the Yangtze River. Half of the world's tax revenue comes from the south of the Yangtze River, and half of the tax revenue from the south of the Yangtze River comes from here. The Qing invaders will certainly not take advantage of our occupation of Hangzhou to disrupt the tax revenue here."

"I am worried that if we occupy Hangzhou, we may attract a strong attack from the Qing army, and a decisive battle may occur in Jiangnan in advance."

Shi Fu, Huang Ting and others below also looked solemn when they heard this.

Although what Jiao Lian said was just speculation, it was extremely reasonable. Once Hangzhou was occupied, the Ming court would directly threaten the core area of ​​Jiangnan.

During the reign of Chongzhen, the capital city relied on the rice and grain supply from Jiangnan. Now that the Qing court occupied the capital city, it also relied on the rice and grain supply from Jiangnan. If the grain tax from Jiangnan was lost, the capital city would collapse.

If they occupied Hangzhou at this time, no one knew whether the Qing would launch a large-scale attack and trigger a decisive battle.

Fighting the Qing army in a plain like Hangzhou is no joke. Although they have won a great victory over the Qing army in Fujian Province, Shi Fu and others are not ready for a decisive battle with the Qing court at this time.
(End of this chapter)