Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 315 Determination
Hengzhou, the weather has been getting colder since winter. In the early morning, the cold wind whistles over the city walls.
The Qing army had been attacking the city for more than a month, and the Hengzhou city wall had already become a pile of ruins.

The corridors on the city wall were full of broken bricks and stones, and several places near the city towers were broken into several huge gaps. The civilians in the city were setting up scaffolds and constantly piling up broken stones into the gaps.
After Kong Youde divided his troops, only Kong Youde's own troops of more than 30,000 were left to besiege Hengzhou, while the regular Ming army defending Hengzhou City had more than 15,000 people.

Geng Zhongming of Baoqing City was 15,000 to 5,000, while Hengzhou was 30,000 to 15,000. Logically, Hengzhou should have less pressure to defend the city, but in fact, the battle situation in Hengzhou was more tragic than that in Baoqing.

Although the difference in numbers between the Ming and Qing armies in Hengzhou was smaller, Kong Youde's army had a full twenty red-haired heavy artillery pieces, which had been bombarding the city walls since the day of the siege.
The people in the city had no way to deal with the heavy artillery of the Qing army. They could only watch the heavy artillery outside the city bombarding day and night, relying on the city walls to hold on.
The tower above the main gate of Hengzhou had already collapsed, and under the tower stood a black coffin.
On the first day of the Qing army's siege, He Tengjiao had the coffin carried to the top of the city wall to show his determination to coexist with the city.

At this time, the coffin was covered with dense arrow marks and knife cuts, which showed how fierce the battle had been in the past month.

At dawn in the winter morning, He Tengjiao stood by the city wall, with Ma Jinzhong, Hao Yongzhong and other soldiers guarding the city behind him.
He Tengjiao was wearing a scarlet official robe, but at this time, the official robe was full of holes and blood stains, and it no longer had the original majesty.

He Tengjiao's left arm was hanging by his side with a wooden board between his legs. His arm was wrapped in thick bandages. The white bandages had been stained dark red by the dust and blood mist. Behind He Tengjiao, Ma Jinzhong, Hao Yongzhong, Wang Jincai and other generals were also injured.

He Tengjiao stood by the city wall. Outside the city, countless Qing soldiers walked out of the camp in the cold wind, and then walked towards the city in silence as usual.

The cold wind whistled above the city walls, and the robes of He Tengjiao and others were rustling. At this moment, no one spoke, but just watched the Qing army lined up silently outside the city.

There was silence on the top of the city. After an unknown amount of time, Wang Jincai in the back suddenly spoke, breaking the silence.

Wang Jincai looked at the Qing army outside the city and said in a deep voice:
"Governor, we have been defending for almost two months. The soldiers have suffered heavy casualties, and the city wall has been nearly half destroyed. Can you give us a definite answer as to when the imperial reinforcements will arrive?"

"Or maybe you are planning to lead us to defend the city until it is captured, and then let all of us brothers die in the city."

He Tengjiao looked back at the silent generals, but his face was calm, and he said

“Five more days”

Wang Jincai was stunned when he heard this, and then he looked at Ma Jinzhong and others, and then a glimmer of light flashed in his eyes, and he couldn't help but speak

"The imperial court's reinforcements will arrive in five days?"

"The city will run out of food in five days, so we can only hold out for another five days."

Wang Jincai and others looked at He Tengjiao, who looked calm, but they were all shocked.

They had been defending the city almost every day these days, and the logistics and food supplies were all managed by He Tengjiao and the civil officials of the Huguang Governor's Office. They did not expect that the city was almost out of food at this time.
Wang Jincai heard this and his face turned ugly. He said directly

"Why didn't the Governor tell us earlier? Since the city is in urgent need of food and money, we should make plans earlier."

"If the imperial court doesn't send reinforcements, what's the point of us defending for another five days? Hengzhou can't be defended any longer. We must evacuate the city immediately."

Ma Jinzhong and the others were silent. They all looked at He Tengjiao. Although they did not speak, their attitude was very clear.
He Tengjiao heard Wang Jincai's words of evacuation, but his face remained calm. Wang Jincai looked at the indifferent expression on He Tengjiao's face and couldn't help but continue to speak.

"Governor, since we began defending the city, our soldiers and civilians have fought hard, with countless casualties, but the government has never sent a single soldier, and has just sat there and watched us fight hard."

"We have defended the city alone for two months, which is already enough for the court. Does the governor really want us to die in the city?"

He Tengjiao was silent after hearing this. After a while, he spoke

"The Eastern Tartar invaded the south, and Hunan Province fell. A number of government troops fled or surrendered, but in times of crisis, several generals stepped forward, fought bloody battles to kill the enemy, and protected the people of Hengzhou."

"You have all been loyal to me for following me to this place to defend the city. I would like to thank you all on behalf of the court for your loyalty."

After He Tengjiao finished speaking, he bowed to Ma Jinzhong and others in front of him. When Ma Jinzhong and others saw He Tengjiao bowing, they all moved away.
Ma Jinzhong and the others looked at each other, all frowning slightly, without any joy on their faces. He Tengjiao's behavior clearly meant that he wanted to drag them to continue defending.
He Tengjiao ignored them and stood up, took out a few documents from his sleeve and handed them to Ma Jinzhong and others.

"This is the petition I wrote last night in the name of the Huguang Governor's Office. It clearly states that you are trying your best to defend Hengzhou and the city."

He Tengjiao said this with a self-deprecating smile

"I don't know whether the court will accept this memorial, but this is the only thing I can do for you."

"You are right. Without reinforcements from outside and without food and money from inside, it really doesn't make much difference whether we defend for a few more days or a few less days. If you see an opportunity later, lead your people out of the city and escape."

Ma Jinzhong and the others looked at the documents in their hands, but they were all stunned. Ma Jinzhong looked at He Tengjiao who looked calm on the opposite side and said in a deep voice:

"What about the Governor?"

He Tengjiao chuckled but did not respond.
He Tengjiao turned around and looked at the faint green mountains outside the city. The cold wind whistled on the top of the city, blowing up the white hair on He Tengjiao's temples. He Tengjiao looked at it quietly for a while, but suddenly sighed softly.
"Beautiful mountain scenery, beautiful mountain scenery"

After He Tengjiao finished speaking, he no longer cared about the people behind him, and limped towards the top of the city wall, leaning on a pistol.
Ma Jinzhong and the others looked at the calm old man sitting beside the coffin. They all had silent expressions on their faces. They knew that He Tengjiao was probably determined to die.
Ma Jinzhong and his companions had already agreed to leave as soon as possible last night. Today, they heard that the city was running out of food, so they became more determined to evacuate.

Just as the generals had discussed before, even if they were to retreat, they had to take He Tengjiao with them.
Although these people were Ming generals, they had been entrenched in Huguang and were completely in the dark about the Guangdong court at that time. They did not recognize any of the ministers in the court at all.

Only if they return to the court with He Tengjiao, the frontier official, can they truly gain a foothold in the court.
Now is the best time to evacuate Hengzhou. They have been defending the city for nearly two months. The imperial court has not sent any troops. So far, four to five thousand of their soldiers have been killed or injured.

They evacuated now, no matter who came, they would not be able to say anything. Both they and He Tengjiao had to give an explanation to the court.

Whether He Tengjiao was reluctant or fiercely opposed today, Ma Jinzhong and others were ready to evacuate by force. However, with He Tengjiao's current statement, how could they evacuate?

The generals were silent for a long time, and then Hao Yongzhong spoke in a deep voice.

“What should we do now?”

Ma Jinzhong was silent for a moment, then suddenly said

"Since Lord He wants to guard for another five days, then I, Ma Jinzhong, will follow him and guard for another five days."

"I will lead the army to evacuate in five days. This will complete the debt between me and Lord He."

Ma Jinzhong turned around and left immediately after he finished speaking. Hao Yongzhong and the others were all shocked to see Ma Jinzhong leave. They looked at each other, stood there for a while, and then left in silence, preparing to defend the city.

Under the city of Hengzhou, cannons roared, and huge iron bullets hit the city, smashing the brick walls into pieces.

The Ming army guarding the city lay on the ground, not daring to show their heads. After several rounds of artillery fire, the sound of horns rang out from under the city, followed by a tide of soldiers carrying ladders and shields, rushing towards the city.
The Qing army put the flying ladder on the gap of the collapsed city wall and quickly climbed up the city wall. The soldiers on both sides of the city wall soon started fighting again.
According to the usual practice, the Qing army would usually attack the city until noon, at which time both sides would stop fighting for an hour to prepare for lunch, and then the Qing army would continue to attack the city in the afternoon until dusk.

But today the Qing army only attacked for half an hour, and suddenly there was a sound of a gong, and the soldiers who were attacking the city retreated from the top of the city wall, and then the Qing army withdrew directly back to the camp.

The Qing army tent, on the left are Kong Youde, Kong Tingxun, Xian Guoan and other Tianyou army soldiers, and on the right are Geng Zhongming, Geng Jimao and others who just escaped from Baoqing

Kong Youde looked at Geng Zhongming, who looked embarrassed, with a gloomy face, and said, "What's going on? You have 10,000 or 20,000 troops under your command, why did you suddenly fail like this?"

Geng Zhongming used 10,000 troops as bait in Baoqing to stop the Ming army, and then led 800 cavalry to escape directly

Although the Ming army gave priority to encircling and suppressing the 10,000 Qing troops under the city, it also sent out more than a thousand cavalry to try to pursue them. Geng Zhongming and his men fled in panic, and soldiers kept falling behind and getting separated along the way. When they fled back to Hengzhou, there were only less than 500 cavalry left.

"The Ming court's 20,000 imperial guards came to help, and I was trapped by 3,000 elite Ming cavalrymen and unable to escape. Later, the Ming army's 20,000 main forces arrived, and I was surrounded by the Ming army at the foot of Baoqing City. We fought hard but were defeated, so we had to flee back to the army."

Kong Youde heard this and became angry. He said in a cold voice:
"You were defeated like this with only 20,000 Ming troops. Brother Yuntai, what's wrong with you?"

Geng Zhongming also looked gloomy when he heard this, and said

"If it were the Ming troops from Huguang, even if there were 30,000 or 40,000 of them, I would be able to get away. But this time, they are the imperial guards of the Ming court. I only have 3,000 old troops under my command. How can I stop them?"

Kong Youde's expression changed slightly when he heard this, and he immediately said

"The Imperial Guards of the Ming Dynasty? But those Imperial Guards of the Ming Dynasty in Fujian and Zhejiang"

"It was the imperial army from Fujian and Zhejiang. I led the army to fight against the Ming army. The flags hoisted by the Ming army on the opposite side were exactly the same as the flags of the Longxiang and Tengxiang armies reported by the intelligence from Fujian and Zhejiang."

"And the three thousand cavalrymen who were arrested first, all of them were riding Liao horses and wearing iron armor, they were extremely elite. Apart from the imperial guards, which other army in the Ming court could have so many Liao horses and cavalrymen?"

Kong Youde frowned slightly when he heard this, but he still didn't believe it and said

"How is this possible? Didn't the court send a message earlier saying that the Ming imperial army had entered Sichuan in large numbers and was confronting Prince Su? How could they suddenly reach Huguang?"

"You must have seen it wrong. There are no outsiders here. What can we hide from each other? What is going on with Baoqing?"

Seeing that Kong Youde still didn't believe it, Geng Zhongming spoke directly

"There is absolutely no way I can be wrong. The two imperial guards of the Ming court are under Baoqing City. As for why they suddenly appeared in Huguang, it goes without saying that the Ming army must have defeated Prince Su in Sichuan Province, so the Ming court returned to Huguang to provide assistance."

"How is this possible? Sichuan Province has 20,000 Manchu bannermen. How could they be...?"

Before Kong Youde finished speaking, Geng Zhongming interrupted him and said

"Why is this impossible? During the Fujian and Zhejiang War, Tulaiboluo also led tens of thousands of troops, but he was still beheaded by the Ming army. If Fujian and Zhejiang were defeated, why can't Sichuan be defeated?"

"The Ming imperial army returned to Huguang at this time, which means that even if the Ming army did not wipe out Haoge, it must have won a great victory in Sichuan Province and stabilized the situation. Otherwise, how could the Ming imperial army dare to suddenly return to Huguang?"

"Everything I said is true, Brother Ruitu. The three of us are in the same boat. There is no point in me lying to you. If you don't believe me, you can immediately send someone to Baoqing to investigate."

"But now is not the time to talk about this, Brother Ruitu. We must withdraw our troops immediately. The Ming cavalry has more than 3,000 people. If we don't withdraw quickly now, once we are held back by the Ming cavalry again, we will be like we were in Baoqing City, unable to leave even if we want to."

Kong Youde looked at the serious expression on Geng Zhongming's face and no longer had any doubts in his heart. They had known each other for more than ten years. They had first rebelled against the Ming Dynasty together, and then surrendered to the Qing Dynasty together. It was not an exaggeration to say that the two families were of the same blood.
If this was said by Shang Kexi, Kong Youde might still have some doubts, but Kong Youde really couldn't think of any reason why Geng Zhongming would use this to deceive him.
Kong Youde confirmed that the Ming imperial army returned to Huguang for assistance, and his heart became heavy. Although Kong Youde had 30,000 soldiers at this time, they themselves knew best what was going on with these 30,000 troops.
Geng Zhongming's 10,000 men were defeated in just one day under the attack of the Ming imperial guards. I'm afraid the 30,000 men under his command would not fare much better.

Kong Youde heard Geng Zhongming urging him to withdraw his troops, but after thinking about it, he showed hesitation on his face.

"We have been besieging Hengzhou for two months and are about to break the city. How can we just leave now? Moreover, if we withdraw our troops directly when the Ming army arrives, how will we explain to the court?"

Geng Zhongming heard this and immediately spoke

"Brother Ruitu, can you capture Hengzhou within three days?"

Kong Youde's expression froze, and he shook his head. Although the Hengzhou city wall was already crumbling, it was still a city wall.

Moreover, the resistance of the Ming army in the city was quite strong. Even if a section of the city wall was destroyed, it would not be possible to attack the city in an instant.

Geng Zhongming saw Kong Youde's expression and continued to speak.

"If this is the case, then we must withdraw our troops immediately."

"The Ming cavalry will arrive at the city in three days at most. If we don't withdraw now, we will be attacked from all sides when the Ming army arrives."

"As for the court's accountability, we don't have time to worry about that at this point."

"So many Eight Banners Manchu soldiers in Fujian and Zhejiang have been defeated. What can the court say about our several thousand Han army flags temporarily retreating? The court can't really expect us to lead tens of thousands of Huguang defeated soldiers to defeat the Ming court's imperial guards."

Kong Youde was still hesitant when he heard this. He was the commander-in-chief of this expedition to Huguang. Geng Zhongming had already been defeated. If he just gave up attacking Hengzhou for several months and withdrew, someone in the court would definitely impeach him for being mediocre and cowardly.
Even though they all have the title of a prince, only Kong Youde and his men know that they, the Han people, have no status in the court. Any Manchu noble with a little status in the court can scold them at will.
Geng Zhongming was only the deputy general on this trip and was not clear about many things. A month ago, Dorgon, for some reason, suddenly urged him to take over Hunan Province as soon as possible.
He had already made a big promise to Dorgon. If he suddenly retreated at this time, Dorgon might be so angry that he would directly strip him of his title.
Seeing Kong Youde's silence, Geng Zhongming, although he did not know Kong Youde's promise to seize Hunan Province, immediately understood what Kong Youde was thinking and said in a deep voice:
"Brother Ruitu, now is not the time to think about merits and titles. The most important thing is to evacuate quickly and save the old soldiers under our command. If we lose these Liaodong old soldiers, what's the point of keeping the title above us?"

"We have been allied with the Qing Dynasty for many years. You don't know the habits of the Manchus. The Manchu nobles in the court have always been the law of the jungle. If we don't have any brave soldiers to use, who will look at us Han generals?"

"What about Zu Dashou? After losing his military power, he was also trapped in the capital and kept in a low position. Although we surrendered early, if we really lose our military power, I'm afraid we won't be much better than him."

After hearing this, Kong Youde finally made up his mind. After so many years in the Qing court, Kong Youde and others also saw clearly the habits of these Manchus in the court.

Don't be fooled by the nice words of the Qing court, such as the unity of Manchu and Han, but in fact, Manchus are Manchus and Han are Han. Han people are always inferior to others in the Qing court.

In the Qing Dynasty, only if you have soldiers will the Manchus treat you with respect. If you don't have soldiers, no matter how many dynasties you have served, it will be useless.
Kong Youde and his men decided to withdraw their troops, but the action was extremely quick. On the second day, the 5,000 Liaodong veterans under Kong Youde's command began to withdraw to Hengshan with all kinds of artillery in the camp. After the Liaodong veterans withdrew, the Green Camp soldiers began to withdraw in batches.

The Ming army in Hengzhou saw that the Qing army had not come to attack the city for two days, and tried to send soldiers out of the city to investigate. However, the Ming army's cavalry scouts were often defeated and strangled by the Qing army's cavalry as soon as they left the city, and they could not find out the specific situation of the Qing army at all.
Although He Tengjiao and his men also discovered the strange behavior of the Qing army outside the city, they did not dare to act rashly because they could not get any useful information. They just stayed in the city and ordered people to repair the city walls.
The Qing army's move made Ma Jinzhong and others in the city somewhat at a loss.

The Qing army suddenly stopped attacking the city. No one knew what conspiracy the Qing army had. At this time, the Qing army's movements were unclear. Ma Jinzhong and others could not even decide whether to continue to evacuate.

On the afternoon of the third day, three thousand red-armored cavalry suddenly appeared at the foot of Hengzhou City.

Although the Tengxiang Army scouts had discovered that the Ming Army flag was still erected on the top of the city wall, they still did not approach, but stopped three miles outside the city.
More than a dozen cavalrymen rushed to the city. After confirming the identities of the people in the city, Hao Shangjiu led the soldiers closer to the city wall.
At this time, the cavalry sentries who went to investigate the Qing army camp had also returned. The fire in the Qing army camp was still hot, but the camp was already empty.

Hao Shangjiu couldn't help but curse when he heard the scout's report.
"Damn it, no matter how fast I try, I'm still a step behind."

"Didn't they say that there were 30,000 Tartars under the Hengzhou city? Didn't they say that they were the Liaodong generals? Why would they flee when they have so many people under their command?"

Hao Shangjiu cursed angrily, and then shouted directly at He Tengjiao and others on the top of the city wall
"Listen up, everyone in the city. I am Hao Shangjiu, the general of the right battalion of the Tengxiang Army. I am here under the order of the court to pursue the Tartars. You should quickly take out the rice and grain in the city. We will continue to pursue the rebellious army."

He Tengjiao and others in the city hesitated for a while, but they did not dare to refuse. They sent most of the rice in the city out of the city. Hao Shangjiu and others took the rice and chased north without saying anything.
He Tengjiao, Ma Jinzhong and others stood on the top of the city wall, looking at the red-armored cavalry disappearing on the official road. They all looked at each other in bewilderment. It was not until then that they realized that the Qing army outside the city had already withdrawn.
(End of this chapter)