Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 138: The heat in Jiangnan makes the soldiers impatient

Since entering the Pass, Duoduo has been invincible. Not only did he join forces with the other two forces to defeat Li Zicheng, but he also occupied Jianghuai without any effort.

Afterwards, he led his army southwards, capturing cities and territories, and what was even more rare was that he also captured the false emperor Hongguang.

Regardless of other things, just talking about the vastness of the land they occupied and the large population they had, even if all the famous generals in Chinese history were pulled out for comparison, Duoduo would ask himself if he was not inferior.

But I don’t know if it’s because God can’t bear to see mortals living too smoothly.

Over the past month, the war that was originally under control had not only experienced many twists and turns, but the situation he was in had also become increasingly passive.

In the opinion of ordinary military generals, the most important reason for this situation was that the grain and grass stored in Zhenjiang were burned by the thieves from Yingtian.

But Duoduo is not only the commander of an army, but also the head of a country. Naturally, he thinks about this matter much more deeply than ordinary generals.

In his view, the burning of grain and grass in Zhenjiang was just the result of a series of problems, but what caused all this was the underestimation of the enemy and slackness that permeated the entire army.

If the enemy in front of them is the Ming border army or the elite rebels, then the military generals at all levels will not just spread out to gain benefits, and he will not condone such behavior.

If the Eight Banners soldiers today were still the "bandits" who had no extra money and could only afford to fill their stomachs, they would not be as greedy for pleasure as the wealthy Han people, and would not have thrown away even the most basic vigilance back to the Baishan Black Waters.

Originally, this was no big deal. After all, they didn't feel any pressure from the Ming army. Even if there were problems, they would not have much impact.

But during the past few months, the thieves in Yingtian have been committing crimes continuously, and the situation they are facing has changed greatly. Under this circumstance, the harm of the problem has immediately become apparent.

So what if it just shows up?

Underestimating the enemy can be suppressed by military discipline. Who of the soldiers who have seen the glamorous world and enjoyed the comfort of the world would want to live like that? Who would want to leave a lot of money unspent and do things that would put their heads on the belt every day?
Once this kind of laziness takes root in people's hearts, it can never be eliminated. Even if he can really suppress it with military discipline, this invincible and powerful army has already changed from the root.

It is conceivable that as time goes by, the impact of this slackness will become more and more profound, until the Eight Banners will be transformed into the same kind of nobles of the Ming Dynasty.

Duoduo's concerns are of course very reasonable.

According to original history, the Eight Banners soldiers became corrupt at a very fast rate after entering the Pass.

Afterwards, the Qing court officials who noticed this situation recalled all the Eight Banners of the Manchus on the grounds that they "could not tolerate the heat" when the war eased a little.

Of course, people outside the Great Wall were not used to the hot and humid climate of the south, but attempts to slow down the corruption of the Eight Banners soldiers must have played an important role in the decision-making process.

Speaking of this, we have to praise the ability of the Qing court’s top leaders to learn from experience.

After witnessing the horrors of corruption, the Qing government decisively encircled the most courageous Sauron soldiers between the White Mountains and the Black Waters, forcing these tribes to remain in a state of hunger and cold in order to maintain their strong fighting power.

The result is obvious. Over the next two hundred years, the Solon tribe acted like firefighters, repeatedly defeating powerful enemies and making military achievements for the Qing Dynasty. However, the life of the tribe did not improve at all. In fact, the Qing court's control over it became increasingly strict.

I really don't know how to describe this practice.

However, these are all matters of the future. For Duoduo now, there seems to be no other way except to resolve the war in Jiangnan as soon as possible.

just
"Uncle Fifteen, the Ming army is making such a big fuss, they must have some ulterior motive."

As soon as Nikan learned about the situation in Susong, he came to the central military tent to express his views to Duoduo. However, after hearing his words, Duoduo only raised his head slightly and then continued to stare at the map.

When marching and fighting, it is most important to find out the direction of local mountains and waterways. But under normal circumstances, it would be extremely difficult for the Qing army to do this after traveling thousands of miles.

Therefore, finding guides and collecting maps became the most important things for the army wherever they arrived.

But regardless of whether a guide is trustworthy or not, even if he wholeheartedly guides the army, he may make many mistakes due to personal cognitive biases.

In such a situation, if someone could find a reliable map for the army, it would definitely be a great achievement.

It's easier said than done.

Important items like maps are usually kept under extremely strict supervision. Once an enemy attack occurs and cannot be resisted, the local garrison and government officials will definitely destroy important documents including maps as soon as possible.

So under normal circumstances, an army that has reached the heart of an enemy country will basically not expect to obtain a map, but will focus on finding a trustworthy guide.

However, the Qing army seldom worried about such things after entering the pass. Duoduo, who relied on recruiting surrenders and rebellions to reach the city of Hangzhou, would not have any problems in this regard.

With the help of rebel generals and surrendered ministers from all over the country, Duoduo not only gained an intuitive understanding of the general appearance of Jiangnan, but also knew the general direction of the waterways by heart.

But in this case, why did he stare at the map for several hours?
"Stop talking nonsense and see what that kid is planning."

After casually greeting Nikan, Duoduo turned his attention back to the map.

Although the letter from Suzhou was very convincing, Duoduo did not believe at all that the Ming army's purpose was only to capture Suzhou.

This is actually not difficult to understand. If the Ming army really wanted to attack Suzhou, why didn't they start when Ordu left, but instead started attacking the city when he returned?
Of course, there is a reasonable explanation for this.

When Ordu just left Suzhou, his troops were quite strong, and the Ming army was not sure they could hold him back. But when he returned, he had already scattered many troops in various counties, so the Ming army had the confidence to keep him.

Although this explanation is self-consistent, Suzhou is a big city after all. Even if the Ming army has the help of the navy, it is not certain that they can capture it in a short period of time.

If they waited for the reinforcements from Hangzhou to arrive, not to mention whether the Ming army attacking Suzhou would gain nothing, the Ming army besieging Ordu would probably be unable to escape even if they had wings.

"Could it be that he just wanted to take over Erdu and was feinting because he was afraid Suzhou would come to help?"

Nikan seemed a little hesitant when he spoke, and it seemed that he was not particularly confident about this conclusion.

He was not a stupid man. When Duoduo asked him to help discuss the matter, he knew that his fifteenth uncle would definitely not believe that the Ming army's real intention was to attack Suzhou.

To be honest, he didn't believe it either. They were both generals who had led troops for many years, so his reasons were naturally the same as Duoduo's.

In this way, the problem becomes simple.

At this time, the Ming army was besieging Suzhou and Ordu all the way. Since their real target was unlikely to be Suzhou, the only option left was to take over Ordu.

But Yu Nikan thought that after spending so much effort just to eat more than 3,000 people, it felt like he wouldn't even get back what he had.

That's why he didn't seem very confident when he made this conclusion.

However, as Dorgon's right-hand man, Duoduo had long gone beyond the category of a simple military general. When he considered a problem, he would not only consider the war itself, but also think about it from other angles.

Therefore, after hearing what Nikan said, he immediately thought of an angle that had been overlooked before.

"Go and ask how many bannermen Erdu brought with him this time."

Before Duoduo finished speaking, Goshha took the order and left.

Seeing this, Nikan naturally didn't quite understand why Uncle Fifteen suddenly thought of asking this, so he asked with a puzzled look on his face: "Uncle Fifteen, this?" "You are right, the Ming army may want to eat up Erdu."

"So much trouble?"

"Ah."

Seeing that Nikan still didn't seem to understand the reason after getting his affirmative answer, Duoduo didn't explain anything anymore. He just looked outside the tent worriedly, as if he had encountered some difficulties.

After about an incense stick of time, the soldiers who had been sent away by Duoduo to rest reappeared in the tent.

Seeing him coming, Duoduo didn't wait for any politeness and asked directly: "How many bannermen did your Ezhen bring with him this time?"

"My Lord, my Ezhen brought a total of 1,200 bannermen with him. Excluding those scattered in various counties, there are still more than 800 left when we return."

The soldier answered in detail, but Duoduo seemed to have lost his soul after listening and kept muttering something.

Seeing this, Nikan realized something was wrong and tentatively took a few steps forward before he could hear clearly what Duoduo said.

"Three Niulu. Three Niulu"

Hearing this, he immediately understood why Duoduo was like this.

When Nurhaci made the rule, three hundred people formed a Niulu, five Niulu formed a Jiala, and five Jiala formed a Gushan. The Gushan is what the Han people often call a flag.

Although the number of people under each banner has changed since then due to internal struggles and the recruitment of Jurchens, in general, the entire Qing Dynasty's military strength was actually only about 300 Niulu when it entered the Pass last year.

If we look at the number of people, even if the Ming army really wiped out the Ordu branch in this battle, there would only be 900 people at most. But if we look at the proportion, the Ming army destroyed one percent of his Eight Banners in just this battle.

"hiss"

Thinking of this, Nikan took a deep breath.

During the year since entering the Pass, the Qing Dynasty has moved from one victory to another. By now, even a general like him has forgotten that the Manchus are a small force against a large one.

As long as the Ming army can implement this strategy, with half a Niulu today and one or two hundred people tomorrow, it is possible that after a year or so, there will be few real Manchu Eight Banners left in the Jiangnan area.

"Uncle Fifteen, give me ten thousand."

Although Nikan didn't say anything or what he was going to do, Duoduo understood his meaning without any difficulty after hearing this.

"Ten thousand is too little."

"What about the 20,000?"

"About 40,000."

Yu Nikan thought that 10,000 troops would be enough to rescue Ordu, and 20,000 troops might be able to directly destroy the Ming army.

But who would have thought that Duoduo actually planned to let him lead 40,000 troops. This was not only beyond his expectations, but also made him feel a little ashamed?
Previously, when he led his army to pursue Hongguang, he brought more than 90,000 people. Excluding those stationed in various prefectures and strategic points, there were still more than 70,000 people.

At this time, Duoduo asked him to lead 40,000 troops to fight against the more than 10,000 Ming troops in Suzhou and Songjiang. In Hangzhou, he would have to lead 30,000 troops to fight against 70,000 or 80,000 troops. Wouldn't such an arrangement underestimate him as a "veteran" who had fought for many years?
"Uncle Fifteen"

In this situation, Nikan wanted to say something, but just as he opened his mouth, he saw Duoduo waving his hand and motioning him to look at the map.

"This place is densely covered with waterways, which is extremely disadvantageous to our army. If you bring fewer troops, it will be too easy for the Ming army to delay you."

As he spoke, Duoduo pointed to the lines on the map marked as XX River and XX River. He didn't say anything else, but just stood there quietly waiting for Nikan to digest it all.

"But what about Hangzhou? What if that little thief..."

"It doesn't matter. He doesn't have the courage to attack."

Over the past few months, the originally good situation has taken a sharp turn for the worse due to Zhu Cilang's actions.

Although Nikan still did not take the Ming army seriously at this time, he already attached great importance to Zhu Cilang in his heart.

Based on this, he was somewhat worried that leaving only 30,000 people in Hangzhou would give the little thief a chance to find an opportunity.

But to his surprise, Duoduo, who seemed cautious when formulating tactics, now firmly believed that the Ming army did not have the courage to launch a frontal attack on the camp.

This made him a little confused about what his uncle was thinking for a moment.

"I asked you to bring more people, not because I was afraid of the Ming army, but because I was afraid of wasting time."

time?

Upon hearing this word, Nikan's first reaction was that Duoduo was afraid that something might happen to Ordu's troops whose way of return had been cut off.

But after just a moment, he completely overturned his idea.

Firstly, Ordo had enough food; secondly, the area south of the Yangtze River was densely covered with water networks, so they were not afraid of being cut off from water supplies.

Under such conditions, relying on the combat effectiveness of the Ming army in Jiangnan, it would take at least 10 to 20 days to wipe out the Ordu tribe with nearly a thousand Manchu Eight Banners.

So, why is Uncle Fifteen afraid of wasting time?

Nikan looked puzzled but did not ask directly. After seeing his expression, Duoduo hesitated for a moment before expressing his thoughts about the soldiers' laziness and corruption.

After a moment, Nikan was so shocked by this theory that he didn't know what to say, but at the same time, he felt that this theory made some sense.

This is not to say that he and Dodo generally have a systematic understanding of the situation.

But as far as he knew, since the various troops dispersed, both the soldiers and generals had made some money, more or less.

In such a situation, even if some people can still fight bravely due to years of habit, there will always be some people who want to save their lives and enjoy themselves.

In this way, it seems that the reputation of the Eight Banners as a powerful army may indeed be affected. But can the Jurchens, who have lost their reputation as invincible, still suppress the Han people?
Thinking of this, Nikan's heart skipped a beat, but Duoduo hadn't finished speaking yet, so he could only suppress the uneasiness in his heart.

"So I plan to wait for Wu Zhenchaoha to arrive and then ask for permission to return."

"What's the reason?"

"The heat in the south of the Yangtze River is too intense for the soldiers to bear."

(End of this chapter)