Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 145 Entering the Camp in Person
The chaos of the Qing army was quelled by Hetuo's death, and then Nikan decisively ordered the entire army to retreat westward.

Although Zhu Cilang did not know what means Nikan had used to calm the morale of his troops, he knew that he had missed the opportunity to defeat the enemy in one fell swoop.

As the saying goes, success and failure are both due to Xiao He.

The small river, which was only three or four feet wide, was like a natural moat for the Qing army, but who would say that the Ming army could treat it as a smooth road?

Zhu Cilang stopped the soldiers who were boarding the ship and couldn't help but exclaim what a pity it was.

Seeing that he seemed to have suffered a great defeat, Chang Guanlin thought about it and finally felt that he should give him some advice.

"Your Highness, these Tartars are doomed. As long as our army holds on steadily, they will be defeated without a fight in a few days. You must not be impatient."

Chang Guanlin had heard Master Lu say this before.

When Sun Chengzong was the governor of Liaodong, he took it as his responsibility to train troops and repair cities. He advanced step by step and gradually sent generals to occupy Jinzhou, Songshan, Xingshan, Shitun and the cities of Xiaolinghe and Xiaolinghe. He cooperated with Mao Wenlong, who was supported by Yuan Keli, the governor of Denglai, and almost deprived the Jurchens of food. They almost degenerated from a bandit group into savages who ate raw meat and drank blood.

If the Ming Dynasty can continue with this strategy, regardless of victory or defeat, the Jurchen forces will definitely suffer a serious setback.

However, a subsequent defeat at Liuhe, which resulted in only three or four hundred casualties and had little impact on the overall situation, caused Sun Chengzong to lose his position as Governor-General of Ji and Liao.

Subsequently, the strategy of trapping the Later Jin was abandoned, and the situation of Mao Wenlong's troops became increasingly difficult due to the loss of support from civil officials. Until Yuan Chonghuan killed him, the Later Jin was like a dragon entering the sea and a tiger returning to the mountains, until it took advantage of various opportunities to grow from a tribe between the White Mountains and Black Waters to the Qing Dynasty that swept across the world.

Although this happened many years ago, if you think about it carefully, you will find that the situation of the Later Jin Dynasty at that time is very similar to that of Nikan today.

As long as Zhu Cilang does not give up the strategy of encirclement and suppression like the Ming Dynasty did in the past, the destruction of Nikan's troops is a foregone conclusion.

So when Chang Guanlin noticed Zhu Cilang's impatience, he couldn't help but give him a few words of advice because he was worried that the Crown Prince would repeat the same mistake.

Zhu Cilang probably had no idea what was in his mind, but he knew that his impatience would not disappear with a few words of persuasion.

During the time when he was on patrol elsewhere, several letters of military intelligence came to him one after another.

The least important thing was that Liu Liangzuo led several thousand troops to flee north, but what worried him most was that a large number of Qing troops with artillery were heading south, only a few hundred miles away from Hangzhou.

He had no idea how many people there were in this group of people, nor did he know where they came from. He also didn't understand why they didn't go to join up with the Qing army in Yingtian, but instead took the long route and headed straight south.

But he knew that the target of this army was Hangzhou, which was defended by only ten thousand newly recruited soldiers and thousands of remnant troops.

If he could not return to defend before the Qing army arrived, once the key node of Hangzhou was lost, the Jiangnan area would become a prison for the Ming army.

At that time, he would either give up Yingtian and retreat to Huguang, or stay in Jiangnan and fight like a trapped beast until his defeat.

In such a situation, how could he not become impatient because he missed the opportunity to end the battle immediately?

It was fate that Nikan's situation at this time was similar to that of the Later Jin Dynasty, while the difficulties faced by Zhu Cilang were similar to those faced by Tianqi and Chongzhen.

According to the situation at that time, locking down the Later Jin seemed to be the best strategy, but if we consider the problem from the perspective of the entire Ming Dynasty, we will find something different.

At the end of every dynasty, the finances would collapse completely, and the court would be faced with a situation where it needed money everywhere but had no money.

The situation was slightly better during the reign of Emperor Tianqi. Although trade with overseas countries had been greatly affected by the interference of certain forces, the imperial court was still able to get some benefits from the fingers of the aristocratic families.

In addition, Wei Zhongxian plundered everywhere, and the Ningjin Defense Line, which cost a huge amount of money, was finally completed.

But it was precisely because of this that the huge maintenance costs placed a huge burden on the already bleak finances of the Ming Dynasty.

After Chongzhen was fooled by the civil servants and lost the last bit of ability to compete with the aristocratic families and the civil service groups, the huge military expenditures put the Ming Dynasty into accelerated sinking mode.

In such a situation, no matter who sits in that position, no one would choose the method that seems to be the safest way to be trapped.

Just like Zhu Cilang now, he knew that he could easily wipe out the 40,000 Qing troops by waiting for another ten days or half a month, but he still couldn't help wanting to end the war quickly.

"Do you think it's possible to persuade those surrendered soldiers to revolt?"

He knew very well that he had used tricks to force the Qing army into such a situation. If it came to real combat power, with the guys under his command, let alone fighting against the Eight Banners soldiers, he was afraid that he might not even be able to put up a fight against the surrendered troops.

But the reality forced him to find a way to end the battle as soon as possible.

In this case, he had no choice but to go against his original intention again and set his sights on the surrendered troops.

Before coming here, Zhu Cilang set himself the strategy of uniting the lower classes, winning over the middle classes, and undermining the upper classes.

But as the situation developed, he had to recruit some of the upper echelons in Yingtian, and had to cooperate with the old system in Hangzhou.

At this point, he even had to consider recruiting rebels.

Wouldn't this be equivalent to incorporating all the old systems, contradictions, and ills into one's own small court?

Then why does he think that he is better than his peers?
Thinking of this, Zhu Cilang couldn't help feeling annoyed, and even Chang Guanlin was a little cautious when answering his questions.

"Your Highness, most of the Nikan army are surrendered soldiers from Jiangbei. They surrendered without a fight before, and I'm afraid they won't dare to fight back if they are forced into a desperate situation."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Cilang did not think about it.

This is indeed a problem. Although according to Chinese tradition, surrendering to the enemy for any reason is unforgivable, it is much easier to gain forgiveness if one fights to the last moment than in Jiangbei's case.

last moment!
Thinking of the important point, Zhu Cilang's thoughts suddenly became active.

When playing Go, it is not necessary to be eaten up before the final moment.

After a while, Chang Guanlin returned to the formation. At the same time, several soldiers went to various generals to deliver orders.

At this point, Xiang Rensheng, who had been invisible for a long time, asked hesitantly.

"Your Highness, will this lead to criticism?"

"Criticism?"

"After all, they have surrendered to the enemy."

"Let's get through this first."

There will inevitably be so-called criticisms, no matter how many reasons there are, they cannot escape the accusation of treason.

But if Zhu Cilang's plan could really attract the soldiers to surrender, could he really kill them all just because they had rebelled once?
Let's take a step by step.

After saying this in his mind, Zhu Cilang turned his gaze towards the direction where the Qing army left.

At this time, his military orders were passed on through layers and reached the ears of every soldier. Uniform shouts suddenly rang out, and then echoed above the Qing army for a long time without dissipating.

"All the towns in Jiangbei have the Ming in their hearts. Kill the enemy and return the favor. Forgiveness will be paid for past mistakes."

differentiation.

Differentiation of red fruits.

Both Nikan and the surrendered generals knew the real purpose of these words very well. But what good could they do?

This was an open conspiracy. Even if neither party had any other intentions, when this voice came, it meant that the trust between the two parties had been completely broken, and the rest was just to ferment quietly.

"Marshal, we can't just sit there and wait for death."

Just as the Qing army was confused by the shouting, a general beside Hu Maozhen whispered something to him.

Hu Maozhen was the general under Gao Jie. After Duoduo went south, he joined the Qing army together with Li Chengdong and others.

The subsequent experiences of the surrendered soldiers were similar and there was nothing much to say, but if you look closely you can find the difference between this group of surrendered soldiers and Liu Liangzuo's group.

He was previously a soldier in the Polo Fort Camp in Yulin, Shaanxi. After Li Zicheng launched his rebellion, he fought under Gao Jie in many battles.

Later, Gao Jie surrendered to the Ming Dynasty because he had an affair with Li Zicheng's wife, and he followed him all the way without any complaints.

Later, Gao Jie was killed. Under the manipulation of Zuo Liangyu, his son recognized a eunuch as his adoptive father. After the Qing army marched south, this town of soldiers protected Gao Jie's son and surrendered.

To be honest, this group of people had never received any benefits from the Ming court. After Gao Jie's death, the Ming court treated his son poorly. Although this cannot erase the fact that they surrendered to the foreign enemy, it is not easy to blame them from the Ming court's standpoint.

It is precisely for this reason that these people who came from the peasant army surrendered to the Qing Dynasty without any pressure and performed extremely hard when fighting for the Qing Dynasty.

However, the Ming court did not show much hostility towards them. At least it was much friendlier than it was towards surrendered generals such as Liu Liangzuo and Wu Sangui who were from military families.

If we look at it separately, the Ming court did not regard these generals who came from rebellious backgrounds as their own people, and they never had any real loyalty to any court.

So it is not difficult to guess what choice they will make when they hear the words “let bygones be bygones”.

just
It's impossible that the Ming army could just shout a few words and expect Hu Maozhen to lead his troops to surrender, right?
Seeing Hu Maozhen's expression, the general immediately understood what his superior was thinking, and volunteered to go to the Ming army to investigate the situation.

"You can not."

After hesitating for a while, Hu Maozhen said something with a conflicted look on his face. He did not explain much afterwards. He just said a few words to comfort the general and took him to the Manchu camp.

That night, a man crossed the river lightly. After being discovered by the patrolling soldiers of the Ming army, he prostrated himself on the ground and allowed himself to be beaten.

There were no soldiers from the Four Towns of Jiangbei in Zhu Cilang's army, otherwise someone would have recognized him as the famous General Hu Maozhen under Gao Jie.

Why would he go into danger alone?
This behavior may seem irrational to others, but if you put yourself in their shoes, you can find some reasons.

At this time, he and his subordinates were in a desperate situation, and how to survive was the first priority before them.

How to survive?
Are we just stupid enough to surrender back as the Ming army said?

Having served in the Ming army for so many years, how could he easily believe such nonsense?

However, there are only two ways to survive. If they don't want to bear huge casualties and attack the Ming army's defense line, they can only hope that the Ming army's words can be trusted.

So, he came in person to see what the legendary Crown Prince was like.

If he sensed the slightest bit of unreliability, he would rather lead his brothers to fight to the death. Even if the whole army was wiped out, at least the Qing Dynasty's pension would not be reduced by a single cent.

After a while, Hu Maozhen was taken into a simple military tent.

In this situation, he naturally thought that he was going to be interrogated, but when he entered the tent, he saw a young man sitting in it, and two military generals standing beside him.

"What official position do you hold in the Qing army?"

"Your Excellency, I am a captain under General Hu."

Hu Maozhen had already guessed the identity of the young man, but when answering, he still pretended not to know and only addressed him as "sir".

"Oh? Why send such a high-ranking official here just to pass on a message?"

"My lord is joking."

After a meaningless conversation, both of them fell silent.

Hu Maozhen felt that he had already taken the initiative to come to the door, and if he brought up the matter first, it would be like being too aggressive.

And Zhu Cilang here
He really has never practiced it.

Time passed little by little, but the tent remained quiet.

At this time, Hu Maozhen already felt a little regretful. Why did he rely on this bunch of people in the Ming Dynasty?

According to common sense, if one has an advantage in the war situation, he should naturally take the initiative in the negotiations, so it is reasonable for the prince to make some moves.

But Hu Maozhen's purpose in this trip was to find out from the details whether the prince could be trusted, so the other party's silence became a form of coercion in his eyes.

In his opinion, this behavior was no different from Shi Kefa's asking Gao Jie's son to recognize the eunuch as his adoptive father.

"Sir, my commander is willing to do whatever it takes."

His mood changed and he no longer worried about who spoke first.

At this point he had determined that the prince and those civil servants were of the same kind, so his goal became to get out of here as quickly as possible.

"You know Master Yue Qijie, right?"

Hmm? Why are you talking about this?
Upon hearing this, Hu Maozhen suddenly became confused.

At the beginning, Yue Qijie got along well with Gao Jie, so he was one of the few civil servants that Hu Maozhen and his group of generals looked up to.

"Central Chancellor Yue often walks in the army, so I have naturally seen him, but..."

As he spoke, Hu Maozhen showed some shyness at the right moment. Combined with his wording, anyone who saw it would know what he was trying to say.

"When Gao Taibao was in trouble, Lord Yue blamed himself very much. Earlier in Yingtian, he often regretted not being able to stop Gao Taibao from attending the banquet."

As soon as Zhu Cilang finished speaking, Hu Maozhen's mood instantly became depressed.

He did not recognize the emperor of the Ming Dynasty or the emperor of the Qing Dynasty, but he was extremely loyal to Gao Jie, who helped them to fight for a future.

Otherwise, after Gao Jie's death, why would he and Li Chengdong and others regard his young son as their leader instead of looking for other powerful people? And why would they regard the treatment of the young son as the primary condition when surrendering?

But Hu Maozhen was, after all, a powerful figure who had been struggling in troubled times for many years, and this feeling lingered for a moment before he forcibly suppressed it.

"We are also extremely grateful to Master Yue."

After responding, Hu Maozhen stopped talking. Although they got along well with Yue Qijie in the past, let alone the fact that he was not present now, even if he was really there, how much weight would his words carry?

So in his eyes, what the prince said was just nonsense. It would be better to get the matter over with and return to the camp as soon as possible.

(End of this chapter)