Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 189 Whose situation is not difficult?
January 7

Wuhu
After the Anqing Incident, Zuo Menggeng brought his remaining troops to join forces with Yuan Jixian. Although the two still had differences in some aspects, they were still in sync in the general direction.

This is naturally related to the fact that both sides are equally powerful. It is also undeniable that after most of his subordinates went south to surrender to the Qing Dynasty, Zuo Menggeng's chance of surrendering to the Qing Dynasty was basically cut off.

Well, at least you can’t go to Ajige’s place.

Originally, Zuo and Yuan both thought that they could successfully reach Yingtian with their own military strength. However, after arriving in Wuhu, they found that the Qing army did not leave after defeating Huang Degong. Instead, they left a team of troops and cooperated with his surrendered generals to manage this pass.

In this situation, what else can they do?

Yuan Jixian was determined to go to Yingtian to rescue the prince, so he naturally had no distractions. Zuo Menggeng also had no choice but to go all the way.

The end result was that the two armies, totaling 50,000 to 60,000 troops, spent more than a month in this area without making any progress.

At that time, all the counties and cities near Wuhu had fallen into the hands of the Qing army. To put it bluntly, this group of troops had actually penetrated deep into enemy territory.

However, when Nikan went to Hangzhou, he only left some necessary troops in each city, and Zuo Liangyu had already prepared enough food and fodder on the boats when he first left the station.

They finally managed to persevere under such circumstances.

However, an unfavorable war situation would ultimately deal a huge blow to the morale of the army, and they were isolated and could not get any news from other Ming troops.

By the end of June, there were almost no government troops left in this force.

If another ten days or half a month passes, even if their military supplies are complete, their military morale may drop to the freezing point and they may completely collapse.

Fortunately, there is always a way out. Just when Zuo Yuan's troops were deserting one after another, they heard the news that Jin Sheng had captured several cities south of Wuhu.

As a result, the military morale, which was close to collapse, gradually recovered.

just
"Uncle, the rebels are not strong enough to hold on. We should send troops to rescue them."

Early this morning, Yuan Jixian received an urgent report from Jin Sheng, which not only stated the situation in Ningguo but also stated that he would lead his troops to Xuancheng.

As a military inspector, Jin Sheng naturally could not say much about Yuan Jixian and Zuo Menggeng's subsequent actions, but according to the meaning of his letter, he probably hoped that the two could send some soldiers to support them.

This was understandable. When conquering the counties south of Wuhu Lake, even though Jin Sheng's troops did not encounter many Ming troops and had help from within, they still suffered considerable casualties in the process.

Now the Qing army captured Ningguo overnight, and it was obvious that the combat power of this force was considerable.

Under such circumstances, it is not difficult to understand why Jin Sheng's words imply that if one loses the other, the other will be in danger.

Yuan Jixian was not a jealous person, nor was he one of those civil servants in Jiangbei who made many stupid decisions. Even if Jin Sheng had not revealed such an intention in the letter, he would naturally understand what the consequence would be if he lost this unexpected rear base.

But then again, as a military commander, if he wants to deploy his troops, he must first understand the enemy's situation before formulating a countermeasure. Just like the current situation where he is completely in the dark, how can he dare to make a decision easily even if he has a large army in his hands?

"General Zuo, the enemy situation is unclear right now, so the army should not move rashly."

When facing Zuo Liangyu in the past, Yuan Jixian called him "General Zuo". Although his son Zuo Menggeng now has far less military strength than his father, Yuan Jixian, who is now old, still calls him this.

"Uncle, if Xuancheng is lost, how can we defend the small cities behind it? No matter what the military situation is, Xuancheng must be saved."

Zuo Menggeng could probably guess some of Yuan Jixian's concerns.

However, Xuancheng is only 140 miles away from Wuhu, and there is no other shelter except for a few dilapidated forts.

If we sit back and watch the Qing army attack Xuancheng, which is only guarded by the rebels, it would be tantamount to exposing our own rear to the enemy.

Based on this, Zuo Menggeng knew that he was far inferior to Yuan Jixian in military strategy, but he couldn't help but become anxious.

"Don't worry, Commander Zuo. Let me think about it."

It is said that one must remain calm when faced with major events.

After being scolded by Zuo Menggeng, Yuan Jixian, who was distracted, couldn't help but say something.

He was naturally prepared to send troops for support, but how could he easily decide how many troops to send and which route to take before thinking it through?

To be honest, in Yuan Jixian's opinion, the arrival of this Qing army was extremely strange.

He thought about it over and over again but couldn't figure out why the Qing army would attack from this direction at this time.

If the Qing army valued its tens of thousands of troops, it should not send troops to attack now. If the Qing army did not value its troops, it should not send troops to attack at this time.

The reason is actually quite simple.

Even though Yuan Jixian and Zuo Menggeng could only gather 50,000 to 60,000 men in total, as long as the Qing army could hold Wuhu, these troops would be useless.

Unless the Qing army wants to send Tunqi's troops elsewhere, they only need to maintain the current situation and wait until the war in other places is completely over before turning around to eat this cooked duck.

So the question is, has the war in other areas of Jiangnan ended?

Yuan Jixian did not dare to make a rash conclusion on this point. Given the current situation, he could only assume that Jiangnan had not been completely pacified, and that the Qing army wanted to transfer Tunqi's troops to other places, so they thought of eating up their troops.

The problem is coming again.

Where did the Qing army plan to send Tunqi?

As far as Yuan Jixian knew, the Qing army in the east led by Duoduo had about 200,000 troops, and the imperial court did not have any force in Jiangsu and Zhejiang that was strong enough to contend with them.

What's more, Your Majesty has been captured. Even if the cities do not surrender, they will not be able to stop the Qing army for too long. Except for Yingtian, which is still held out under the leadership of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, where else would the Qing army be able to mobilize the troops of Tunqi?
Well, the two different forks finally converged into one place. The Qing army had no other possibility to attack at this time except to prepare to capture Yingtian after pacifying the Jiangnan area.

Under such circumstances, what would be the use even if we defend Xuancheng?
Rather.
"General Zuo, according to my opinion, our army should attack the enemy in front of us."

As soon as the words fell, Zuo Menggeng, who had been anxious a moment ago, suddenly became dazed.

He had a relatively good understanding of this uncle who was tricked onto the ship by his father.

He had been leading troops to fight against various rebels since the tenth year of Chongzhen. Although he was defeated several times during this period, he was not ignorant of military affairs.

If he had told him other plans, Zuo Menggeng would have agreed after realizing his own existence. But now he was planning to attack Wuhu immediately, which made Zuo Menggeng unable to understand.

"Uncle, Xuancheng doesn't care anymore?"

"Of course we have to take charge, but taking charge of Xuancheng is secondary. The most important thing for our army is to capture Wuhu." After all, Zuo Menggeng had fought for many years with his father. Even though he had never led troops alone, he could understand the importance of Wuhu.

But then again, they had been blocked by Wuhu for quite some time. How could they capture it before the Tartars could encircle it?

"Uncle, this is Wuhu."

"gun."

"what?"

"gun!"

The troops of Zuo and Yuan came along the river, and naturally they had warships. However, there were several islands in the middle of the Yangtze River in the Wuhu section, and in order to guard against Zuo Liangyu, they set up artillery batteries on these islands, so their navy was useless.

Although Yuan Jixian only said the word "cannon", Zuo Menggeng still understood that he wanted to use warships and artillery to attack Wuhu.

However, Wuhu is a fortress-like city, and the artillery on the city walls is far superior to their small cannons in terms of power and range.

Under such circumstances, if we want to use them to bombard the Wuhu city wall, won’t we suffer huge losses?
"Uncle! Think twice! Those of us..."

As soon as Zuo Menggeng started to speak, he saw Yuan Jixian waving his hand, and then he saw him bowing towards him, and then he said in a deep voice: "General Zuo, your father raised the army under the banner of saving the prince. If I can capture Wuhu and open up a way forward for you, are you willing to do your best to assist His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?"

"Uncle, what are you doing? Please stand up first. Please stand up first."

Seeing this, Zuo Menggeng stepped aside with a look of panic on his face, but no matter how he persuaded Yuan Jixian, he just bent his body and refused to get up.

"Uncle, we are here to assist Your Highness and support the Ming Dynasty. If there is a way forward, I will do my best."

After hearing these words, Yuan Jixian breathed a sigh of relief. Without waiting for Zuo Menggeng to ask any more questions, he told Zuo Jixian all his plans.

There was actually nothing special about his idea. To put it bluntly, it was just to fill the gap with human lives. If there was any difference, it was probably that he also included his own life in it.

After a while, there was no more sound in the room, but Zuo Menggeng was so shocked by Yuan Jixian's determination that he stood there in a daze, not knowing what to say.

Yuan Jixian was naturally a little worried about Zuo Menggeng, but according to his calculations, if they continued to stay here, the final outcome of these tens of thousands of troops would be nothing but annihilation of the entire army.

Under such circumstances, it would be better to give it a try and risk his life to clear the obstacles ahead for Zuo Menggeng. With the help of his men, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince might be able to break out of Yingtian and go along the river to other places to plan a counterattack.

"My dear nephew, if you can assist the crown prince in supporting the Ming Dynasty, not only will you be promoted to an official, but you will also be able to clear the grievances of Zuo Gong. Even if you die before you can accomplish your great cause, you and your son can still go down in history as a good story. You should keep this in mind."

After he finished speaking, Yuan Jixian said no more. He had done everything he could, and the rest was up to fate.

In desperate situation, one last fight.

This was probably the most fundamental motivation for Yuan Jixian to make such a decision, but he lost a lot of key information and finally made such a judgment based on the worst case scenario.

But it can be found in Tunqi in Wuhu City.
"Beizi, Tulai said he would come to join our army, but I don't know."

Tian Xiong only said half of his words, but his unfinished meaning was not that obscure.

He was a man who had made great contributions, but was left far away when Nikan went to Hangzhou.

Originally, both he and Ma Degong were very satisfied with this arrangement, but after hearing that many of the surrendered soldiers were Manchu nobles who had lived a life of luxury in the wealthy areas of Jiangnan, he became restless.

However, at that time, everyone was competing for such a lucrative position with all their might, and he and Ma Degong did not have many opportunities to interact with noble people because they stayed in Wuhu.

As a result, the two of them could only stay here and watch others accumulate wealth.

If you want to ask why they didn't instigate Tunqi to attack the cities in the south of the Yangtze River,
In fact, they had also instigated it, but after being beaten up a few times, they spent some money and inquired about it in detail.

Tunqi originally belonged to the Zhenglan Banner, which meant he was a direct descendant of Hauge. So when Nikan went south to pursue Hongguang, he was assigned the task of covering the rear.

God have mercy on him. He was given such an assignment when pursuing the king of an enemy country. Wouldn't that be telling everyone openly that the credit had nothing to do with him?
Afterwards, the Qing army spread the news of Hongguang's capture everywhere. While Nikan took over the cities in the south of the Yangtze River as if strolling in a garden, Tunqi was assigned the task of garrisoning Wuhu.

After figuring this out, they finally gave up on the idea.

But who would have thought that within just ten days, Wuhu would be attacked by the Ming army. It was thanks to Huang Degong's prior preparations that he would have been involved in an unforeseen and difficult battle.

At that time, no matter whether it is Tian Xiong or Ma Degong, they can only focus all their energy on defending the city. After all, they followed an unpopular master. Even if they had made great contributions, who could guarantee that their integrity would not be affected.

As the saying goes, things change over time.

It is also said: Good fortune follows misfortune, and misfortune follows good fortune.

Just when they thought they had suffered a great loss, battle reports from the front reached Wuhu.

First, Zhenjiang was defeated, then Suzhou and Songjiang were defeated. Later, small groups of troops scattered in various cities were attacked by unknown sources.

Today, they learned from Tulai's letter that Duoduo planned to gather his troops.

Rejoice!

Although they had been entangled with the Ming army, to put it bluntly, the Ming army did not have the ability to pose a substantial threat to them. If they really followed that group of Manchu nobles south, who knew whether their lives could be saved?
You have to know that Hu Maozhen can strike back, and they can never use this method to save their lives.

So when they received the order from Tunqi to come for a meeting, they naturally took the right stance.

"Beizi, Natulai didn't think of us when he was enjoying himself, and now he's coming to join our army, he must have no good intentions."

"Nonsense! How could Tulai be that kind of person? If you continue to instigate me, don't blame me for being merciless in my military law!"

Before Ma Degong finished speaking, he heard Tun Qi's harsh rebuke, but after that, Tun Qi just frowned and thought, but did not take any further action.

In his heart, he actually agreed with what Ma Degong said. In the final analysis, this scolding was just to maintain the unity of the Manchus in front of these surrendered troops.

Earlier, people from Dorgon's faction did such a thing in order to prevent him from achieving merit. Now the situation is obviously unfavorable. Who knows if they will take the blame themselves?
You have to know that group of people are either princes or beile. Even though Tulai is the commander of the guards and Gushan Ezhen who holds real power, he, a beile, has no strength and no position to confront them.

"But we have to think of a way to have the best of both worlds."

Well, there is something wrong in the main text. Tunqi was from the Bordered Blue Banner, but it doesn’t affect the reading.

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(End of this chapter)