Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 148 Wu Zhen Chao Ha
Due to the sudden appearance of Liu Liangzuo, the originally relatively stable Ordu tribe was eventually wiped out. Liu Liangzuo himself only figured out the situation after hearing the abuse from the remnant soldier.

In this situation, he only has two choices: either wait for things to develop or give it his all.

As one of the people who had done well in the turbulent times, it was natural for him to choose a more proactive path.

Liu Liangzuo certainly cannot be called a good person for all his actions, but in this era and in this position, if he had not thought more and acted more ruthlessly, the grass on his grave would probably be several feet high.

After finishing all the affairs, it was already very dark.

He sat in the tent for a long time, and finally gave up his plan to go to Suzhou to take Li Chengdong and Wu Shengzhao hostage.

Why?

The reason why he thought so before was because Ordu was there. As long as he heard the news that Nikan was surrounded, he would certainly rush to support him at all costs. How dare those two people disobey the orders of the Manchus?
But the situation is completely different now. Without Ordu's suppression, Liu Liangzuo has no confidence that he can trick those two guys out of Suzhou.

What's more, he had attacked other subordinates several times after Gao Jie's death. It is possible that Li Chengdong would not even let him enter the gate of Suzhou.

Under such circumstances, he naturally had to abandon his original plan and find another way.

Liu Liangzuo sighed inwardly. Unable to think of any other solution, he finally lay down on the couch with his clothes on.

This is the way the world is. If one cannot eat or sleep after encountering some setbacks, how could Liu Liangzuo still be alive today?
Although being able to eat and sleep well is not a magical skill, it is one of the essential qualities for people who want to achieve great things.

This is not difficult to understand. Eating and sleeping represent replenishment and recovery. If you can't do this, under extreme pressure and high-load operation, no matter how strong your ability is, you won't be able to hold on for long, let alone accomplish great things?
Of course, this is not absolute.

For example, Duoduo, although he was a bit serious and would often stay up all night to think of solutions when he encountered troubles, as Nurhaci's favorite son, he was qualified to participate in many major events.

So some conditions are nothing but a joke to him.

However, over the past month or so, the situation in Jiangnan had become worse day by day, and his body had become somewhat exhausted due to the series of setbacks.

In addition, the climate and soil in the south of the Yangtze River are very different from those in the north. When he heard the news that Nikan was besieged, he fell ill.

"Beile Nikan brought 40,000 troops with him, so it shouldn't be a problem."

It was almost late at night, but in Duoduo's tent, a middle-aged man in a blue robe with a python pattern was sitting beside his couch.

This man's name was Kong Youde, and he was the King Gongshun who was personally conferred upon him by Huang Taiji.

He was born as a miner in Tieling, "good at archery and horse riding, but illiterate". After the Later Jin occupied Liaoning and Shenyang in the first year of Tianqi, he defected to Mao Wenlong and participated in several major battles.

From the Tianqi period to the early years of the Chongzhen period, he followed Mao Wenlong and used Jinzhou on the coast of Liaodong and Pi Island in Korea as their bases. They repeatedly harassed the rear of the Later Jin Dynasty, posing a huge threat to the Later Jin Dynasty.

It is precisely for this reason that the power of the Later Jin Dynasty has always been restricted to the Liaoyang area. Not only did it have no time to take care of Korea in the east and Mongolia in the west, let alone enter the interior to burn, kill and loot.

After Mao Wenlong died, Kong Youde felt very disheartened because he thought he was "brutally slaughtered without any guilt". He was depressed all day long, so he went to Denglai with a minister.

What happened next was quite complicated, so I will not go into details. In short, Kong Youde felt that there was no way out for him in the Ming Dynasty, so he led more than 10,000 soldiers and craftsmen across the sea to join the Later Jin.

Huang Taiji was truly a great leader, and his sharp vision was one of the best in the world. When he saw Kong Youde coming to surrender, he not only did not despise this group of stray dogs, but he personally led the beiles to go out of Shengjing ten miles to greet him, and treated him with the most solemn "hug meeting ceremony" of the Jurchens.

After accepting the surrender, he did not exercise extra caution against Kong Youde because he was a Han Chinese. Instead, he still appointed Kong Youde as the commander-in-chief, settled him in Liaoyang, and formed his own army, called the "Tianyou Army."

From then on, the Jurchens, who had never had a good way to capture Han cities, obtained a firearms unit called Wuzhen Chaoha, and the strategic dilemma of the Later Jin was broken.

Having said that, we have to mention again that Mao Wenlong’s death had a profound impact on the situation in Northeast China.

From a strategic point of view, without the restraint of Dongjiang Town, the Jurchens were able to deal with Korea and Mongolia with great ease and had a stable rear. The Ming Dynasty's defense line, which seemed to be heavily armed, became a leaky one in Huang Taiji's eyes.

If we narrow the perspective a little, we can find that in the wars after entering the Pass, the soldiers and generals from Dongjiang Town made great contributions to the Qing Dynasty. The most representative of them are the Three Shun Kings, Kong Youde, Shang Kexi, and Geng Zhongming.

Some people may say that it was Li Zicheng who captured Beijing, and the Qing Dynasty just reaped the benefits.

But it is undeniable that the huge military expenditure was one of the main reasons for the war in the Ming Dynasty, and the surge in military expenditure was due to the out-of-control situation in the Northeast.

From this, we can also see the seriousness of the loss of Dongjiang Town.

However, the person who forged the imperial edict and killed the imperial general without authorization really deserved to be cut into pieces.

Closer to home.

Kong Youde's persuasion did not make Duoduo feel better. After coughing several times, the general who swept across half of China said weakly: "Don't worry about Nikan for now. When Wuzhen Chaohada arrives, you will focus on attacking Hangzhou."

Nikan was surrounded by a network of water, and due to supply reasons, he did not bring much food and fodder on this trip.

Duoduo was well aware of this matter and could imagine how difficult his situation was. But after knowing that the Suzhou and Songjiang areas were conducive to the operations of the Ming army's navy, how could he send troops to jump into the same pit again?

Therefore, Duoduo finally chose to capture Hangzhou first between sending troops to rescue and attacking Hangzhou.

Such a decision seemed to go against his principle of reducing casualties among the Eight Banners.

But the art of deploying troops lies in one's heart. In the current situation, it is impossible for the Ming army to defeat those 40,000 troops in a short time. As long as the opening of Hangzhou is sealed and the power of Wuzhen Chaoha's artillery is relied on, even if Zhu Cilang has the advantage of terrain, he will not be as passive as before.

"Well, it's not a difficult task. I asked before, and the wall of Hangzhou is only about ten feet long," Kong Youde said as he stood up and picked up a bowl of thick medicine from the table. After testing its temperature with the back of his hand, he handed the medicine to Duoduo: "It will be enough to bombard it with red cannons for two days."

"How much cannon-balls and powder have you brought?"

After he finished speaking, Duoduo took the bowl of medicine and drank it in one gulp. He did not even rinse his mouth, but just waited for Kong Youde's answer.

"Originally, there were still two batches that hadn't arrived yet. Since you urged me to do so, I came here directly." Kong Youde waited for Duoduo to finish drinking the medicine before putting the bowl back on the table. Seeing that he seemed a little disappointed, he added, "But the existing shells and gunpowder are definitely enough to bombard Hangzhou City."

"After we take Hangzhou, we still need Wu Zhenchaoha to rescue Nikan. You must not be careless."

"It's okay, they are just some navy soldiers. While I was sailing around with my boats, they were still struggling."

Duoduo's words were very serious, but Kong Youde didn't take them seriously at all. Later on, he even brought up his glorious achievements in the past, which made Duoduo feel a little embarrassed. However, he didn't have any other thoughts about it. After all, Kong Youde's "honesty" had a great reputation in the Qing court. In addition, he had already proved his loyalty by repeatedly winning battles in the south and the north. The young Manchus like Duoduo didn't regard him as an outsider, so they didn't care about the slight clash of words.

"Don't be careless. How can the current Ming navy be compared to those broken ships you had back then?"

Duoduo had fought with Dongjiang Town before, so he naturally knew what Kong Youde meant by "relying on boats to run rampant".

To put it bluntly, the Manchus are really not good at this, otherwise how could they have made the Jurchens dare not leave their nest when there was an isolated island outside Dongjiang Town?

"What? Can Ming country's ships fly?"

"The Ming navy is equipped with artillery."

"The red-haired kind?"

"Well, the range is not as good, but they look about the same."

Kong Youde was not quite convinced after hearing Duoduo's words, but when he heard the subsequent explanation he just frowned and thought, completely losing his previous carefree attitude.

Leiden and Liaodong often had trade exchanges with other ethnic groups, and Huang Taiji bought Wuzhen Chaoha's red cannon from them.

From this, Kong Youde naturally knew how powerful those warships with cannons mounted on the sides were.

In fact, he also wanted to build such a batch of warships a few years ago, but for some reasons, he never mentioned it at all.

Don't be fooled by his carefree and seemingly harmless appearance. However, since he was able to become a respectful and obedient prince of the Qing Dynasty and maintained a good personal relationship with the Aisin-Gioro princes, how could he really know nothing?

He knew very well that these guys were all lenient on the outside but jealous on the inside.

Not to mention anything else, just talking about the warships, the Manchus are not good at this. If they get a large number of warships, they will naturally have to control them.

In this case, the Han army has powerful firearms and warships that can roam the oceans. How can the people of the Aisin-Gioro family still sleep well?

Given this understanding, why would Kong Youde bring up this matter? Wasn't he afraid of arousing suspicion among the Manchus?

He actually understood this point very well. In fact, influenced by his own experience, he even felt that the Manchus were being quite generous by handing over all the firearms to the Han army.

This idea not only existed in the hearts of the Qing troops coming from Dongjiang Town, but was also deeply rooted in the hearts of the Qing troops coming from Liaodong and the Nine Frontiers.

Why?

There is no harm without comparison!
There are too many generals who died directly or indirectly at the hands of someone's cheap boss.

Take Chang Guanlin for example. Why did he use connections to transfer himself to Jiangnan after Lu Xiangsheng was dismissed from his post?
To put it bluntly, isn't it just a silent resistance to the injustice of the court?
Closer to home.

After realizing that the Ming navy was completely different from what he had imagined, Kong Youde thought for a moment before saying, "When I came here, I saw that there seemed to be quite a few warships on the river. When all the troops arrive, I will send someone to weigh them."

Duoduo had no objection to this.

Then the two of them talked for a few more words, and Kong Youde said goodbye and left.

His arrival was indeed a timely help to Duoduo, but to the officials in Hangzhou,
When meeting with the generals on Chongming Island earlier, Zhu Cilang emphasized the need to strengthen ties with areas with less water networks west of Taihu Lake.

This task naturally fell on Wu Yi, who was in the center of Taihu Lake and had little combat power.

Afterwards, he sent many people to this area one after another and gained a lot of important information.

For example, the "nose-cutting squad" composed of slaves was still active in Jintan and Liyang, and some people in Taiping Prefecture also rose up to resist the Qing Dynasty.

The information was complex, but the most valuable one was that it warned Hangzhou and Zhu Cilang in advance of the approach of the Qing army's firearms units.

In the current situation, everyone knows that if His Royal Highness the Crown Prince comes to help, he may be attacked from both sides.

Doing so would not only fail to relieve Hangzhou, but would also most likely result in the loss of the city and defeat of the army.

However, given the strength of Hangzhou’s defenses, it would be impossible for it to withstand the attack of large-scale artillery fire for too long.

If this city is lost, the Qing army will be able to free up its hands to attack Zhu Cilang's army from the front and back. Not only will the entire Jiangnan region fall into the hands of the Qing army, but even Zhu Cilang's tens of thousands of troops will also be surrounded and killed by the Qing army in Suzhou and Songjiang. The result will probably be no different from that of the Hui army.

At this time of dilemma, it was surprising that the people in the city, who were originally divided into distinct factions and incompatible with each other, did not fall into an argument over how to deal with the situation.

"Defend, we must defend!"

Ma Shiying, who had been fleeing without fighting since the Tartars crossed the river, expressed his determination to hold on firmly after all the ministers arrived.

After hearing what he said, everyone present looked towards him in disbelief. If most of them were not dismissive of supernatural things, they would have even come closer to see if this person had been replaced by some monster.

"This is strange. You, Ma Shiying, ran from Fengyang to Yingtian, and then from Yingtian to Hangzhou. Why don't you run away now?"

"Indecent."

Due to years of accumulated resentment, some officials from Zhejiang Province made sarcastic remarks regardless of the occasion, and Huang Daozhou just scolded them in a deep voice after they finished speaking and said nothing more.

"I advocated retreating earlier, firstly because Emperor Hongguang insisted, and secondly because it was impossible to defend. Now, although His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is leading the troops outside, he has anticipated the enemy's advance and has ordered the surrounding righteous armies to come to our aid. In this situation, how can I choose to retreat?!"

Others might get angry because of the man's ridicule, but Ma Shiying was secretly happy in his heart.

After escaping without a fight several times, his reputation had been ruined to the point where it couldn't get any worse. The ridicule at this time naturally gave him a chance to defend himself. How could he not be "grateful"?
Since the two largest hostile forces have reached an agreement on how to deal with the situation in the future, other people will not cause any trouble.

However, Huang and Ma still argued fiercely over the strategy for defending the city, which made the ministers feel that "it should be this way."

After a long time, the strategy was basically decided, but at this time someone said, "Why don't you let the princes retreat first?"

(End of this chapter)