Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 190 Something seems wrong

A win-win solution.

Where in the world can we find a solution that can satisfy both our needs and our ambitions?

Tunqi wanted to get out of the war in Jiangnan, but also didn't want to incur Duoduo's revenge. If he really had such ability, how could he fall into such a situation?
Of course, as Gushan'ezhen of the Bordered Blue Banner, he could seek help from Bolo, the powerful figure of the Plain Blue Banner.

But in terms of seniority, Bolo is just the grandson of Nurhaci; in terms of title, Bolo is just a Beile.

In addition, since going south, everyone has been gradually turning to Duoduo for various reasons. Even if Bolo really wanted to help, Tunqi did not dare to reveal his thoughts at all.

So, after some consideration, Tunqi was no longer willing to go, but he had to stay in Wuhu and wait for Tulai's arrival.

From a realistic perspective, whether it is Tun Qi or Yuan Jixian, their situation is not as difficult as they imagined.

As for the reasons, in fact, it was just that the generals misjudged the situation due to various factors.

just
"You don't have to be polite."

Seeing several civil officials and military generals enter the cabin, Zhu Cilang raised his hand to signal them to get to the point quickly.

After receiving the military report from Chang Guanlin, he led the guards to Anji by water.

On the one hand, this is because the time taken to travel by water and by land is almost the same, and on the other hand, they want to take advantage of this time to let the guards have a short rest.

This time when he went north, Zhu Cilang was eager to bring Fang Guoan's several thousand men with him.

Not only were they capable of fighting tough battles, they were also loyal. However, on the one hand, there were still tens of thousands of surrendered soldiers in Hangzhou that needed to be dealt with, and on the other hand, the casualties on this route were too great.

With such considerations, he could only bring his guards with him in the end.

"Your Highness, this is the military intelligence that this old minister has compiled over the past few days."

Zhang Guowei had just finished his great ceremony when he impatiently presented the stack of military intelligence in his hand to Zhu Cilang.

Earlier, because of the Battle of Suzhou and Songjiang, everyone's attention was focused on the east of Taihu Lake. But after the Ming army captured Anji, the situation west of Taihu Lake was summarized here through various channels.

After receiving the military intelligence, Zhu Cilang read it carefully. After a long time, he put it on the table and began to think about it.

At this time, the Qing army west of Taihu Lake was divided into four parts: Tunqi in Wuhu, Bolo in Yingtian, Tulai going to Wuhu, and Duoduo who was attacking Xuancheng.

Although he was not quite sure how many troops these four routes had in total, based on the number of Qing troops when they crossed the river and the subsequent calculations, he estimated that there should be about 100,000.

As for those odds and ends scattered across the cities, they are not important.

Firstly, their number is not too large. Even if all the Qing troops scattered in the cities south of the Yangtze River are counted, there are only about 40,000 to 50,000 troops. Secondly, they may not be able to join together smoothly under the control of the rebel forces in various places.

Therefore, in Zhu Cilang's view, his enemies this time were probably just the 100,000 troops from the four directions.

One hundred thousand troops.

This is an extremely large number. If they were gathered together, the Ming army would have no choice but to do whatever they wanted with its current strength.

However, Bolo was pinned down in Yingtian and showed no signs of moving south. Tunqi was pinned down in Wuhu and could not move even if he wanted to.

Although Duoduo might be able to break out of Xuancheng, Chang Guanlin has already led his troops to rescue him. As long as Xuancheng is not lost before he arrives, he will be trapped under the city along the way.

By this calculation, it seems that the Qing army's mobile force is only Tulai's
But this journey was too deadly.

If he were allowed to join the Qing army in Wuhu, the pressure on Zuo Yuan's troops would be doubled.

If Zuo Yuan is defeated, these tens of thousands of troops will surely go south to rescue Duoduo, and the war situation in Jiangnan will slide into an uncontrollable situation again.

Can you stop Tulai?

The answer is naturally no. Not to mention that it had been several days since the information was sent, it was unclear whether the Ming army could catch up with them. Even if they could, how could Zhu Cilang have so much strength to fight them in the field?

Under such circumstances, he was caught in a dilemma.

"Your Highness, it is said that the Zuo army had an internal conflict in Anqing, and most of them went south to join the Qing army. The number of people fighting the Qing army in Wuhu is far less than when Zuo Gong was here."

Seeing Zhu Cilang fall into deep thought, Zhang Guowei singled out the less noticeable piece of intelligence.

Although he did not make his words clear, his meaning was very obvious.

The reunion of Tulai and Tunqi is unstoppable.

If we send troops to rescue, we might encounter the Qing troops who have escaped in the wild, and now we do not have the strength to fight so many Qing troops in the field.

So now we should focus our main attention on Xuancheng and prepare for the upcoming Tartar attack, rather than holding out any hope for the battle in Wuhu.

This is by no means fear of the enemy.

The reality is that there is no room for luck.

Anji is four or five hundred miles away from Wuhu. Even if one marches at a hurried pace, it will take more than ten days. And Tulai had already set out several days ago. Who can guarantee that Zuo Yuan's troops can hold out for such a long time under such heavy pressure?

In comparison, defending Xuancheng is much safer.

Not to mention the advantage of Xuancheng as a city, there are many water networks around it, which makes it convenient to set up a long defense line, which is enough to make it difficult for the Tatars heading south to move forward.

Thinking in this way, giving up Wuhu and focusing one's main energy on Xuancheng is indeed an extremely safe choice.

just
After hearing what Zhang Guowei said, Zhu Cilang not only did not make up his mind, but became even more hesitant.

More than a month.

Zuo Yuan's troops fought hard in Wuhu for more than a month.

If they didn't want to rescue Yingtian, who would spend so much time setting up a complete defense line?
Reason told him that Zhang Guowei's choice was correct, but Zuo Yuan was fighting desperately to rescue Yingtian, so how could he abandon them?

tangled.

Dilemma.

This is not only a question of whether one can overcome the psychological hurdle, but also a question of military morale.

In the eyes of ordinary military generals, they may not be able to figure out the overall situation, but the fact that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince risked his life to rescue Yingtian’s troops is clearly in front of everyone.

If Your Highness can give up Zuo Yuan today, then he might give up himself tomorrow.

In this situation, wouldn't the prestige that Zhu Cilang had worked so hard to build up in the army be facing a huge blow?

Without his loyal army, how can he fight against those evil spirits?

A long time ago, Zhu Cilang knew that the reason why some people behaved irrationally was because they had reasons that others had not discovered.

But knowing it is one thing, and only after experiencing it personally did he truly understand the mixed feelings involved.

"Send the order!"

Seeing the Crown Prince's expression gradually change from hesitation to determination, Zhang Guowei naturally knew that His Highness had made the final decision, but when he heard the following words, his eyes widened. "Xiang Rensheng, Hou Chengzu, lead the troops and this palace to Wuhu!"

"Order!"

"Order!"

"Your Highness! No!"

As soon as Zhu Cilang issued the military order, the people in the cabin reacted differently.

Xiang Rensheng, who was used to seeing His Royal Highness the Crown Prince act in this way, naturally accepted the order without hesitation. Although Hou Chengzu had some doubts, he followed suit after seeing Xiang Rensheng's reaction.

The one who reacted most violently was Zhang Guowei. As soon as Zhu Cilang finished speaking, he froze in place, but after only a moment, he knelt on the ground again.

Zhu Cilang had seen this kind of scene countless times, so he was no longer as flustered as he was in the Yaofang Gate Tower in Yingtian.

"Zhang Butang, my Great Ming is rich and powerful, why has it ended up like this?"

"This"

Hearing what Zhu Cilang said, Zhang Guowei was stunned again.

As a person who had held such a high official position during the reign of Chongzhen, he naturally had some opinions on the various problems of the Ming Dynasty. However, these opinions were quite complicated to explain, and Zhu Cilang's question was too sudden.

So, he was a little overwhelmed.

"There is no need to say more about the rest. Generals often give up this or that due to various problems, which is the main reason why soldiers and generals are unwilling to fight to the death."

Is there a reason for this?
Zhang Guowei couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

If a superior often treats his subordinates as abandoned pawns, no one would be willing to follow such a superior, not to mention on the battlefield where lives are being fought for, even in the officialdom where swords are omnipresent.

Thinking about it this way, what His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said seemed to make sense, but Zhang Guowei still felt that something was wrong.

But what exactly is wrong?
Just as he was thinking about it, Zhu Cilang took the opportunity to wink at the two Hous. Before Hou Chengzu could figure out what the wink meant, Xiang Rensheng quietly pulled him out of the cabin.

"To the general?"

Hou Chengzu saw the Crown Prince's expression. Although he didn't quite understand what it meant, when Xiang Rensheng, the "Emperor's close minister", pulled him, he still followed him out quietly.

However, His Highness did not let them leave, but he had to ask them the reason. Otherwise, wouldn’t it be too disrespectful for them to leave without even saying goodbye?

"Your Highness wants us to organize the army."

Hearing this, Hou Chengzu also reacted. He bowed to Rensheng, indicating that he would remember the favor, and then turned around and went down the boat.

According to the earlier military order of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, he and Yang Tinglin needed to set up some obstacles for the Qing army north of Huzhou, but Duoduo did not take this route as His Royal Highness had imagined, so their mission was left in vain.

However, as one of the only few troops capable of field combat in Jiangnan, Zhu Cilang would naturally not forget Hou Chengzu when the military situation underwent such a major change.

After ordering Yang Tinglin's troops to cooperate with local rebels to intercept small groups of Qing troops coming from various cities, he summoned Hou Chengzu to Anji to wait for his arrival.

The base of Hou Chengzu's troops was not far from the Anji waterway. It only took him three or two incense sticks to return to his camp.

"Father, Your Highness, would you like us to go to Xuancheng?"

Seeing Hou Chengzu from a distance, Hou Shilu came forward. While taking the reins from his father's hand, he began to ask anxiously.

Although both are the sons and nephews of generals, Hou Shilu and Fang Yuanke are somewhat different.

Although Fang Guoan trusted his nephew very much, since Fang Guoan only brought him when he was almost an adult, the nephew was good at fighting in battle but rather slow in general strategies, so he was only appointed to the post of a battalion commander.

But Hou Shilu was different. Since he was born, everyone knew that he would be the future commander of this guard.

With the full support of all parties, he is not only extremely brave, but also has a vision that surpasses his peers in terms of strategy.

Therefore, when His Royal Highness the Crown Prince sent an order to summon him, he already had a general guess.

"No, His Highness ordered us to follow him to Wuhu."

"Wuhu?!"

Hearing this, Hou Shilu was suddenly shocked.

Although everything His Royal Highness the Crown Prince did seemed to be aboveboard on the surface, Hou Shilu did not believe that there could be so many coincidences in the world of the living.

Therefore, he was more inclined to believe that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was a master of scheming who was accustomed to combining yin and yang.

Therefore, he never thought that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince would risk the destruction of his entire army to save some damn Zuo Yuan, let alone that he would actually go there in person.

Therefore, after hearing what his father said, his first reaction was to wonder if he was hallucinating, and his second reaction was whether his father was wrong.

“Yes, Wuhu.”

"Your Highness said nothing else?"

"Well, the Ming Dynasty fell to this point because it gave up this and that."

Excuse! This is a clear excuse!
Throughout the history of China, which general has not treated one or two soldiers as discarded pawns?

If what Your Highness said is true, then every one of the famous generals in China is a disaster to the country and the people.

There must be other reasons!
Maybe Your Highness has a backup plan!
Thinking of this, Hou Shilu did not explain to his father, but led his horse straight to the camp.

It's not that he was wary of his own father, but mainly because he had been more thoughtful than others since he was young. As a pure warrior, Hou Chengzu was of course extremely disgusted with his son's many evil thoughts.

After countless beatings, Hou Shilu could only show his intelligence in front of his father, but he kept his other side deeply hidden.

To be specific, although Hou Shilu and Fang Yuanke have different foundations, they are definitely not as great as they appear now.

If we want to trace the root of the problem, we seem to be able to find some differences in the educational methods of their elders.

Because Hou Shilu had a lot on his mind, Hou Chengzu was extremely strict with him. As a result, he learned to hide his thoughts, which made his thoughts even more profound.

However, Fang Guoan's approach to Fang Yuanke was exactly the opposite, and the results he obtained were quite different from what he expected.

In the end, these two pairs of "father and son" became completely opposite situations.

Closer to home.

When setting up camp this time, Hou Chengzu knew that they would not be able to stay for more than a few days, so he did not let the soldiers take down some things that were more difficult to pack from the cart frames.

As a result, less than two hours after he returned to the camp, the thousands of soldiers under his command had already packed up and were waiting for instructions from their commander.

"This time! Our friendly forces are trapped in Wuhu. We are lucky enough to fight with His Highness again. We must strive to be the first in everything and must not be outdone by His Highness's guards!"

When I wrote about Yuan Jixian yesterday, what I was actually thinking about were the 1,500 glider warriors who were willing to die.

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(End of this chapter)