Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 198: Meeting again?

January 7

Xuancheng
With the arrival of Chang Guanlin's troops, the task of confronting the Tatars head-on fell on them.

Originally, he thought that even though his five or six thousand troops were the elite troops of Yingtian Guard, they would not be able to hold out for a few days.

But who would have thought that after several days of anxiety, although they failed to recapture the South Gate, the Qing army was also struggling, and the battle line was actually maintained near the city gate.

"when!"

Although Zhou Xiancai's sudden thrust of the spear was blocked due to its unstable momentum, his thrust forced the Tartar to let go of his hand that had just grasped the barricade.

In the first half of the Battle of Suzhou and Songjiang, thanks to the strategic planning of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, the Qing army was completely defeated within two days of the battle because of the defection of the surrendered troops. So the most work they did was actually to set up defensive fortifications along the river.

At that time, in the encirclement formed by tens of thousands of people, except for the three or two thousand real Tatars who defended the camp, there were only surrendered soldiers scattered everywhere. Anyone would have thought that the war would not have any twists and turns.

But who would have thought that as soon as His Royal Highness the Crown Prince left, the remaining Tartars launched waves of crazy attacks on the Ming army's defense lines.

The so-called fight to the death is a fight to the death.

The Tatars tried their best to find a way to survive. Unaware for a moment, the Ming army broke through two of their defense lines one after another. They were able to barely stop the Ming army when they reached the low wall built with ship planks.

In the following days, the Qing army's offensive was continuous like waves, until the last man died in front of the solid defense line. As the soldiers under Chang Guanlin who faced these attacks head-on, they naturally gained some experience in this kind of defensive battle on flat ground.

"Move back! Hold on tight!"

Taking advantage of the moment when the Tartars were temporarily repelled, Zhou Xian shouted loudly, and then several volunteers crouched forward and put the chevaux de frise back to their original positions, and the gaps between the various defensive equipment were filled.

It has to be said that the team that has fought against a strong army is different from ordinary teams.

Even though in the last few days of the Battle of Suzhou and Songjiang, the Ming army was able to wear down the helpless Qing army only by relying on its strong fortifications, Zhou Xiancai is now a world apart from the butcher he was more than a month ago.

The difference lies not only in the experience of facing the enemy, but also in the spirit.

You know, he was so nervous during the night attack on the Qing army camp in Yingtian that he didn't even notice that he had lost contact with the team. But now, facing the attack of the main force of the Qing army, not only was he not as flustered as before, he was able to command calmly, and he already had the flavor of a real officer.

"when!"

There was another crisp sound of metal clashing, and Zhou Xiancai suddenly pushed the spear in his hand, and the weapon that was stabbing at the rebels was deflected to another place.

Afterwards, the Tartars on the opposite side seemed to be ready to pursue, but then there was a sound of drums and golden sounds. The Tartars looked at the rebels who had already retreated back to the formation, and then followed the large group of people to retreat.

Zhou Xiancai was not too surprised about this. After all, the Tartars had only tried their hand at fighting over the past few days and had never really fought to the death. Although he didn't know why, he had gotten used to it over the past few days.

"Those who are injured should bandage their wounds quickly, and the rest of you should not rush to rest, but put the barricades in place first!"

For an experienced officer like Zhou Xiancai, the enemy's retreat did not mean the end of the battle. After calling on his soldiers and the militiamen who came to assist to carefully organize all the equipment on the defense line, he patrolled back and forth on his own defense line twice before walking towards his own soldiers.

"Flag Officer, if it weren't for you, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to come back."

Seeing their immediate superior coming back, the soldiers who had gathered together naturally split up to the left and right, and the rebels whose lives had been saved by Zhou Xiancai before also took this opportunity to express their gratitude to him.

"What's the value of this?" Zhou Xiancai waved his hand carelessly, then skipped the matter and said to his soldiers: "You all feel that it's not right to come here."

"Ah."

The question was illogical. Although the soldiers understood what their flag officer meant, the rebels were confused by the riddle. Then a brave one asked directly, "Flag officer, what's wrong?"

"Oh, I was negligent," Zhou Xian heard the voice, and then he realized that there were people around who didn't understand their riddle: "It's nothing, I just feel that these Tartar soldiers don't fight too hard, which is different from the ones I encountered before."

What he said was not a big deal, but then the soldiers started to vent their anger one after another.

"You don't know, those Tartars are very vicious! I chopped his neck with a knife, but the Tartar still..."

According to the soldiers' description, the Tatars they encountered in the Battle of Suzhou and Songjiang were powerful and fearless. Zhou Xiancai listened to their somewhat exaggerated narration but did not say anything to stop them.

After all, when he was in the militia camp in Yingtian, the old soldiers were like this too.

The rebels did not doubt the soldiers' boasting. After all, the "government troops" had blocked the Tartars here for the past few days, which had already demonstrated their powerful force.

Under such circumstances, how could these rebels, who were ordinary people before, doubt the words of their predecessors?
"Flag Officer, I heard that you have met His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?"

To be honest, there were quite a few people in the army who had spoken to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, but with such a person around, the rebels were still inevitably curious. However, Zhou Xiancai was about to show a reserved smile, and the soldier answered first: "That's right, the flag officer also spoke to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

"Flag officer, tell us about it."

"Tell me?"

"Tell me about it."

"Okay, let's talk about it."

After this, Zhou Xiancai reluctantly talked about the past of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. When he encountered something he didn't know, he filled it in with the "rumors" he had heard.

"., you say, the nobles of the whole court, with hundreds of thousands of troops, were unable to stop the Tartars, but His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, with only a prisoner, was able to force the Tartar leader to flee. Isn't this a difference?"

After a while, Zhou Xiancai concluded with these words, after which both the soldiers and the rebels around him could not help but sigh in admiration.

In general, although the Ming army lost a city gate, the atmosphere in the army was still relaxed during leisure time due to the stability of the front line.

To put it bluntly, they are fearless.

The battle had been going on for several days, and news had already arrived from Wuhu.

Now the Ming army knew that the Tartars in the north could not come over, and the Tartars outside Xuancheng were like grasshoppers in autumn. As long as they could hold them here, the final outcome would probably be one of just a few.

Under such circumstances, if the defenders of Xuancheng continued to be trembling with fear and panic all day long, they would be of little use.

However, propaganda will naturally vary depending on one's position.

The Ming army had one version of the story, while the Qing army had another version of the story.

"If we wait for two more days, Tulai and Tunqi will be able to come to support us, and then our army will be able to escape."

In the Qing army camp outside the city, Duoduo concluded with this and the other generals left the tent one after another. Yesterday he received a letter from Tulai and Tunqi, saying that they were attacking the Ming army's defense line with all their strength and would come south to join them after defeating the enemy.

Duoduo originally had some doubts about this.

After all, he had already memorized the mountains and rivers of Jiangnan in his mind, so he naturally knew that it would take a long time for the Ming army's navy to get from Suzhou and Songjiang to southern Anhui.

Without the help of the navy, how could the Ming army have stopped Tulai and Tunqi in the Wuhu area and prevented them from advancing southward?
However, the soldier who came to report the news was not only covered in wounds, but also said aggressively that the Ming army not only had the help of the navy, but also did not know where to get the artillery assistance from.

In this way, Duoduo could only suppress the doubts in his heart.

"Don't think too much. Even if they don't come, the Ming army can't do anything to us."

As a nominal partner, Duoduo expressed his doubts to Kong Youde as soon as he received the letter, and Kong Youde finally expressed his views to Duoduo after some thought.

He thought clearly that he and Duoduo still had more than 10,000 people in total. Even if they could not capture Xuancheng, they could abandon it and go directly north.

They are just worried about being attacked from both sides. As long as they take more detours and avoid areas with dense water networks, would they really be afraid of the Ming army?

Duoduo actually thought of this, but what he was really worried about was not whether he could escape, but the information hidden behind the current situation.

Bolo, Tunqi and Tulai, these three are not the direct descendants of Dorgon brothers. Dorgon did not pay attention to this point when the war was going smoothly earlier, but now it seems that the retreat of the army has fallen into their hands.

When the war was going smoothly, this naturally did not matter. After all, Tulai had already expressed his willingness to side with them. Although Bolo and Tunqi were Hauge's close friends, it was not impossible to make them waver if some means were used.

But now.
Tudor knew very well that human nature could not withstand temptation.

This thing is so fickle.

One moment he is dragging a good woman into trouble, and the next moment he is persuading an old prostitute to become a good woman. His thoughts, good or evil, can change too easily depending on the situation at hand.

Even if the three of them didn't have any other thoughts, now that the battle situation has become like this, who can guarantee that they won't
Therefore, in Duoduo's opinion, how to stop them before they put their ideas into practice is far more important than the gains and losses of a city or a place.

"If we abandon Xuancheng right now, what do you think is the chance that we can successfully join them?"

After hearing what Kong Youde said, Duoduo thought for a long time before asking.

This can't be considered as Duoduo being fickle. Although he chose this path earlier with the idea of ​​saving face for himself, in the final analysis, he still wanted to use victory to prevent some people from having other thoughts.

Although Kong Youde could not fully understand his thoughts, he could still guess about 60% of them.

But no matter what, he was just a Han minister. When faced with a situation involving internal strife among the Manchus, he had no intention of getting involved except to play dumb.

"The chances are quite high. I have figured it out in the past few days.
The Ming army relied heavily on its navy in many battles.

As long as we move quickly and keep moving between the various water systems, the Ming army will probably be unable to do anything to us with their combat power."

Hearing this, Duoduo nodded slowly, seeming to agree with his judgment.

Seeing this, Kong Youde finally put down the worry in his heart.

What he is most worried about now is that Duoduo will become so angry after losing that he wants to keep fighting.

If this is true, even if their more than 10,000 troops are really powerful, how long can they last in the absence of food and medicine?
Having such an idea does not mean that Kong Youde underestimates Duoduo.

As the saying goes, one wrong step leads to all wrong.

When he first entered Jiangnan, Duoduo misjudged the Ming army's determination to resist because the cities and generals surrendered one after another. He also ignored the power of the Ming army's navy in Jiangnan due to the limitations of his knowledge.

In this way, he made a wrong move right from the start.

By the time they finally realized what had happened after a series of setbacks, the situation was already out of control.

In this situation, whatever he does is wrong.

Even if they unexpectedly broke out from Tianmu Mountain and caught the Ming army off guard, they could at most capture a city successfully. By the time the Ming army reacted, they would be in a dilemma again.

"But if we abandon Xuancheng, it will be troublesome if we are attacked by the new Ming army."

Kong Youde naturally understood Duoduo's difficulties, but after all, he was not Duoduo.

So when Duoduo said these words hesitantly, he was immediately shocked, his eyes widened and his mouth opened, obviously unable to suppress the shock in his heart.

"What do you mean?"

"Oh my! What are you thinking about?"

Seeing Kong Youde's expression, Duoduo was stunned at first, and then he hurriedly explained.

"You are the prince of the Qing Dynasty. If I trap you here, how can I have the face to return to Beijing?"

"What do you mean?"

After hearing Duoduo's explanation, Kong Youde also felt that he was being a little too suspicious.

After all, he was the King Gongshun who was personally conferred by Huang Taiji, and his status was much more important than those newly conferred by Dorgon.

If he really trapped himself here, not to mention that Dodo would not be able to withstand it, even Dorgon might not be able to escape safely when surrounded by jackals.

But if it's not me, then it's...
"I mean to send one or two thousand of your troops as decoys, and then we can gather a few Tulai and try to rescue them."

As soon as he finished speaking, Kong Youde's heart suddenly skipped a beat.

Although he had guessed this, he still couldn't help being surprised when Duoduo actually said this.

Although his soldiers had been replenished over the years, their foundation was still the old soldiers he brought with him from Dongjiang.

Now Duoduo wants him to use the soldiers he has followed for more than ten years as cannon fodder.
"Although you don't say much, I know you can see the situation in the court clearly.

Now those three guys may have other ideas.
If we don't return north quickly, they might do something stupid.
Even if I don't care, the political situation that has finally been stabilized will be affected."

"Your Majesty! The Crown Prince of Ming wants to meet with you."

(End of this chapter)