Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 169: Please ask His Highness to cross the river to coordinate

“Report~~~~~!”

Following a long shout, a scout rode his horse into the Qing army camp. The Eight Banners guards, who had been extremely strict before, opened the camp gate as quickly as possible after hearing the shout, without even asking any questions.

Under normal circumstances, the scouts would have walked after entering the camp, but now the soldier not only had no intention of dismounting, but also jumped off the horse when he galloped to the left of the central army tent, obviously activating the privilege of the horse-riding camp.

"Your Majesty, our army has engaged the Ming army near the artillery position, but..."

The soldier's running speed was not much slower than the horses in the camp. It took him only three or four breaths to run from where he dismounted his horse to outside the tent, covering a distance of more than ten feet.

But he came in such a hurry that he paused at the end of reporting, obviously still having some doubts in his mind.

Seeing the scout's behavior, Duoduo, who was lying behind the screen, felt annoyed, but he also wanted to know what came after that "just", so he patiently uttered a word.

"explain."

"The Ming army came out from behind the ambush."

As soon as the words fell, the generals in the tent suddenly felt the atmosphere depressing.

The Ming army's attack from behind meant that the hunter and the prey had exchanged identities, but the place where they were lying in ambush was not far from the artillery position. Even if they were really defeated, they could retreat to the position and hold it.

Thinking about it this way, the atmosphere in the tent is indeed more than just this.

But this was only on the surface. Failing to anticipate the Ming army's actions meant that Duoduo had once again lost the upper hand in the battle of plans. Coupled with the teasing during the day, who could guarantee that the prince's anger would not be vented on himself?

"Is there any news from King Gongshun?"

"not yet."

"Explore again."

To everyone's surprise, although Duoduo's voice sounded weak, it did not seem to contain much anger.

After hearing the report, he only thought about it for a moment and then let the scout leave.

Although he showed some signs of anger during the day due to Zhu Cilang's teasing, he also discovered his own abnormality at the same time.

Since entering the Pass, he can almost be said to be invincible, and his actions have gradually changed from treading on thin ice at the beginning to walking on dangerous ground with ease later.

But after crossing the river, military affairs went increasingly unsuccessful. This was naturally due to the boy's insidiousness and cunningness, but his own carelessness, underestimation of the enemy and arrogance also played a significant role.

If not, even if that kid had extraordinary means, how much trouble could he make in the face of absolutely overwhelming strength?
Fortunately, he woke up in time after these repeated failures. Even though the situation is somewhat unfavorable now, he still has ways to turn things around.

What's more, the battle tonight is the most ordinary one among all the methods, and the artillery is just a formality.

Therefore, even if the news was unfavorable, Duoduo would no longer be as angry and hurt himself as before.

"This kid is really capable of fighting his way out of such turbid water."

Duoduo's voice was still weak, but his words stunned the generals in the tent.

If the person he was praising was a certain Qing army general, there would certainly be a response in the tent at this moment, and that person might even become a rare figure in the eyes of the generals.

If we take a step back, even if the praise is for a certain general of the Ming army, there will definitely be a few among so many people who would dare to agree.

But now the person Duoduo is praising is the Crown Prince of the Ming Dynasty, the biggest obstacle in the Qing Dynasty's fight for the world. Who else dares to join in praising him?
It is easy to imagine that the atmosphere is quieter than before.

"It seems that the brain is damaged."

Seeing that the generals were silent, Duoduo sneered inwardly and was about to say something else, but before he could think of what topic to lighten the atmosphere, he heard another round of horse hoof sounds, and then another scout knelt outside the tent.

"Prince Gongshun encountered the Ming army two miles outside Hangzhou!"

Two miles!

Before he finished speaking, the generals in the tent grasped the key point, and then not even the sound of breathing was heard in the tent.

Everyone can think of that the main target of the Ming army in tonight's battle is the artillery position, but if it were someone else, they would probably just do some work around the position and would inevitably be forced to fight back passively.

It was here that Duoduo's cleverness was revealed. Although he placed some troops at the artillery position, the main force was hidden aside. He waited for the battle over there to start and then suddenly attacked the city when the Hangzhou defenders were slack.

Overall, this strategy took advantage of the Ming army's eagerness to destroy the artillery positions and also targeted the Ming army's insufficient numbers.

If we succeed, not only can we turn the passive situation into the active one in tonight's battle, but it is also likely to bring about a fundamental change in the war situation in Jiangnan.

If we put these aside and just talk from a personal perspective, every general present knew very well that this was the prince's revenge after he suffered several losses at the hands of the Crown Prince of Ming.

But now.
Erli, let alone whether King Gongshun can successfully break through the Ming army's blockade, what's the point even if he can really reach the city of Hangzhou?
Are they really going to just give up and continue with the surprise attack as a strong attack?

Duoduo could naturally think of the problems that the generals could think of, but now that the two armies had already engaged in battle, what could he do?
If it were daytime, maybe we could send reinforcements, but now it's pitch dark, and rashly sending troops would not only be useless, but would make the situation worse.

As for retreating, that was not even within Duoduo's consideration. Although he did not send out his entire army tonight, he still sent a lot of troops to Kong Youde.

In such a situation, not to mention the risk of the entire army being defeated if he retreated, why would he retreat even if he could return safely?
We can only defeat the enemy and try to attack again.

Now that the thought came to his mind, Duoduo stopped hesitating about it. After all, there were only so many people in Hangzhou. Even if he really had foresight, how many people could he send to stop them?

"As expected, this is the person who can force me to this extent."

Duoduo sighed, not hiding the fact that he was at a disadvantage in the battle against Zhu Cilang. However, the atmosphere in the military tent was completely different from before because of this sentence.

"Your Highness, don't underestimate yourself. You led your army from outside the Great Wall to Jiangnan, and you have defeated dozens of generals. This time, you were just careless and that guy took advantage of the navy and took advantage of you. When you are better, Hangzhou will be easy to capture."

Realizing that Duoduo's mood was not as bad as they had imagined, the generals in the tent began to come to Duoduo's defense.

The atmosphere, which was somewhat quiet a moment ago, suddenly became lively.

"Your Majesty, even tigers take naps sometimes. You have led us through all the battles and captured the generals, and you must be quite tired. When Tulai and his men return, our army will surely be able to capture Hangzhou in one battle."

"That's right, my lord."

Seeing that his generals were talking to each other and had not lost confidence due to repeated failures, Duoduo felt relieved.

In his eyes, Zhu Cilang could indeed be considered an opponent, but that was all he was.

After all, the general trend of the world has gradually become apparent. As long as the Manchus do not become corrupt quickly and do not lose their confidence, even if the situation in Jiangnan becomes completely corrupt, the Qing Dynasty has the ability to push this floating ladle down again.

However, the flag affairs need to be rectified earlier, otherwise if these guys really get used to the comfortable life, I don’t know how much combat effectiveness they can maintain. Although Duoduo did a lot of ridiculous things when he was young, and even had an in-depth communication with Hanchen’s wife for three months, this did not prevent him from becoming a commander with a political vision.

In his opinion, what hindered the Qing Dynasty from seizing the wealthy land of Jiangnan was not only Zhu Cilang and the sultry weather, but also the corruption of the bannermen by merchants and wealthy families.

To a certain extent, he even regarded this corruption as more serious than Zhu Cilang, his obvious enemy.

Therefore, on the one hand, he allowed his generals to exploit the aristocratic families in the south of the Yangtze River in order to weaken their power. On the other hand, he prepared to rectify the flag affairs in order to ensure the combat effectiveness of the flag soldiers.

It must be said that great minds think alike.

At least on this issue, Zhu Cilang's views are exactly the same as Duoduo's, but when it comes to specific measures, the two are worlds apart due to their different identities and bases.

In Yu Duoduo's view, local forces such as aristocratic families are enemies on the surface, but they are forces that can be won over secretly.

Therefore, he was able to allow his military officers to exploit and suppress him, and the aristocratic families also had a high tolerance for these behaviors.

But the situation on Zhu Cilang's side was just the opposite.

These people who should have been his staunch supporters turned out to be one of the main culprits that led to the collapse of the Ming Dynasty. However, since the two sides still maintained a monarch-subject relationship on the surface, Zhu Cilang could not suppress them without proper reasons.

Therefore, sometimes some of his methods cannot be brought to the table.

For example, the action in Suzhou and Songjiang could obviously have been carried out earlier, but due to these considerations, it was delayed for more than half a month. During this period, the aristocratic families in the south of the Yangtze River suffered a great weakening at the hands of the Qing army, and some people were even exterminated for resisting enclosure and exploitation.

But I wonder if they had thought of such a day when they submitted their surrender to the Qing Dynasty.

Closer to home.

Duoduo, who had already adjusted his mood, did not get angry when he learned that the situation was different from what he expected. He even behaved very calmly.

After all, he thought that a large number of troops scattered all over the place were gathering, so even if the plan tonight failed, there was still a chance.

But Zhu Cilang, who was in Hangzhou City, could not be as calm as him.

After Fang Yuanke led his troops away, he had been observing the movements a few miles away from the city wall.

Ok.

It was pitch dark, and he could not see anything except a little bit of fire from the artillery positions. However, the battle tonight was of great significance, and even though he did not show any concern on his face, he could not help feeling nervous in his heart.

At this time, the news that Fang Yuanke's troops were making smooth progress had already arrived, and some shouts and screams seemed to be faintly heard from the city wall. However, Xiang Rensheng, who was supposed to be the killer tonight, had not made any move yet. How could he not be nervous?
"Your Highness, don't worry. As long as Fang Yuanke can destroy the cannon, even if there are any accidents, it won't be a big deal."

According to common sense, Fang Guoan should not say such things.

After all, his nephew's side was making good progress, and it was possible for him to take down the Tartar position with his own troops, while the friendly forces had not yet broken out as planned.

Even if his words did not have any other meaning, to others it would inevitably sound like he was flattering one and criticizing the other.

However, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had been frowning and looking outside the city for a long time. It was obvious that he was extremely anxious. After hesitating for a long time, he finally gave up his tactful approach and said words of comfort.

“Report~~~~!”

Following a shout, hurried footsteps were heard from the steps of the city wall. When they looked in the direction of the sound, they saw a burly soldier running towards them, breathing heavily.

"Your Highness, the enemy is trying to attack the city at night, and General Xiang Er is leading his troops to intercept them. I hope Your Highness can make a decision as soon as possible."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhu Cilang couldn't help but snort in his heart: I really underestimated Duoduo.

He knew that Duoduo could predict that he would destroy the artillery position, so he made his plans based on the fact that the other side was fully prepared.

But who knew that Duoduo was an "old" general after all. When Zhu Cilang's mind was still on the artillery positions, he had already picked out this circle and set his sights on the city of Hangzhou.

"How many troops does the Qing army have?"

"It's not very clear, but the front army should have more than a thousand people, and the rear army should be much larger than the front army."

Hearing Fang Guoan's question, the soldier answered without hesitation.

When he left, Xiang Rensheng had already charged into the middle of the enemy's army. Although he didn't know the number of troops in the rear, he could make a judgment from the distance of the noise coming from the front and back.

Of course, this judgment is only a rough estimate, and some fluctuations are reasonable.

"Your Highness, I heard that the soldiers recruited by Zhu Butang are not far away. Why don't you cross the river first to coordinate with them?"

"Um?"

After hearing Fang Guoan's words, Zhu Cilang was stunned for a moment before he reacted.

Although the war had just begun, Duoduo's plan was obviously more advanced than his own. If the guards failed to stop the Qing army, then the few troops left in the city would naturally not be able to stop the Qing army outside the city.

But there are only a thousand guards in total. Even if they are very powerful, how confident are they that they can stop the Qing army?

If Xiang Rensheng really had a plan, he would not have asked the soldier who reported back to him to say "make a decision early".

just
"Can't we send reinforcements?"

Zhu Cilang asked unwillingly, but saw Fang Guoan shook his head slightly.

An army fights by relying on the power of its battle formations. If troops are sent to join the battle at this time, not to mention that it is impossible for the various armies to coordinate with each other, the battle formations will probably be completely messed up in a moment.

For thousands of years, the biggest task of generals has been to try to destroy the enemy's formation while ensuring that their own formation is intact. The victory of the battle basically depends on which side's formation is broken first.

Therefore, under this kind of thinking inertia, neither Duoduo nor Fang Guoan ever thought of sending troops to support.

just
"Fang Guoan."

"The general is here!"

After a detailed explanation, Fang Guoan saw that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince fell into silence. But after a moment of silence, His Royal Highness seemed to have figured something out and called out to him.

"Follow me out of the city to stop the enemy!"

"Your Highness! No!"

According to the "Records of the Qing Dynasty", "Yu County Prince Duoduo plotted to seize the wife of Grand Secretary Fan Wencheng. When the incident was discovered, the princes, beile and ministers were ordered to investigate and the case was discovered. Duoduo was fined 1,000 taels of silver and 15 Niulu were confiscated. Prince Su Haoge was fined 3,000 taels of silver for not reporting the incident."

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(End of this chapter)