Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 211 I figured out what you were thinking!
Tangled!

Hou Chengzu's cavalry of more than a hundred people came at a huge cost. Most of the proceeds from the sale of his property were spent on this group of people.

But he was in the south after all, and even if he paid such a price, the horse he bought could only be considered inferior among mounts.

Therefore, although Hou Shilu began to evacuate before the Qing cavalry approached, due to the difference in horsepower, they were eventually blocked in the center of the battlefield.

If you can't run, you can only fight.

Although he usually has a lot on his mind, in essence he has not deviated from the category of a general. Faced with this situation, the only solution he can think of is to fight hard.

"whole team!"

As the news spread, Hou Shilu and his cavalry formed a sharp arrow formation at an extremely fast speed.

After all, their goal was to try to break through the Qing army's blockade, not to really compete with them.

According to common sense, the mission of the Qing cavalry should be to block Hou Shilu's troops and prevent them from affecting the siege troops as much as possible.

Based on this, after seeing the Ming army deployed in this formation, they should rely on their horsepower to continue roaming around and harassing in order to tie down the Ming army.

But this battle started strangely. Although Hou Shilu was confused, he just thought that he had not figured out the reasons behind it. After fighting for such a while, he even forgot about all these.

When the Qing cavalry also formed a formation for a charge, he thought of these things again.

It doesn't make sense.

Looking at the enemy formation that was taking shape, he didn't have time to think too much. He just had some doubts in his mind and led his own sharp arrow formation to rush out.

Immediately, the cavalry of the Ming and Qing armies engaged in a fierce battle on this not-so-vast battlefield.

They held swords in hand, galloped freely, and their swords danced, showing their superb martial arts. The Ming soldiers were full of passion and rushed towards the Qing army without hesitation, showing their bravery and fearlessness. The Qing army fought back with ease, accurately using the battlefield terrain, with sufficient defense and powerful offense.

Faced with this situation, other people probably didn't feel anything, but for Tian Xiong, who had finally managed to pull together a cavalry team, it was like a blunt knife cutting his heart.

"Master Beizi! This!"

He turned his head and said something to Tunqi. Although on the surface he was just asking why there was such an unreasonable response, his bloodshot eyes showed that his heart was not so calm.

When he gave the order to attack the cavalry, he saw a Goshha following them.

Originally he thought it just meant to supervise the battle, but now that this situation occurred, he realized something.

"Why panic? The Southern Army has few horses. They will definitely not let this cavalry be eaten by us. As long as we can lure out their main force, with our military strength, are we afraid that we can't win?"

Although Tun Qi was explaining the reason, his condescending tone made Tian Xiong feel suffocated.

On the surface, it seemed that it was his cavalry that had entangled the enemy cavalry, but on second thought, if the situation really developed as Tunqi had expected, how would this cavalry have any chance of survival?
After losing the areas outside the Great Wall and the grasslands, it became increasingly difficult for the Ming Dynasty to obtain war horses. In order to form this cavalry, although Tian Xiong did not nearly bankrupt his family like Hou Chengzu, he also put in a lot of effort.

But when you live under someone's roof, you have to bow your head.

After all, Tian Xiong had no way to retreat. Even if Tu Lai clearly told him to abandon this cavalry unit, would he still dare to argue?

Under such circumstances, if Tunqi still wanted to pass him, wouldn't it mean that he was sure to be able to control him?

Thinking of this, Tian Xiong was not only annoyed with Tunqi's attitude, but also felt regret for the first time in the two months since he captured Hongguang.

Tun Qi knew exactly what Tian Xiong was feeling.

If it were any other time, he would not have done so. However, given the current situation, if he told everyone everything, not only would his and Tu Lai's methods of self-protection be in vain, but one could not tell what Tian Xiong would think.

His and Tulai's plan was not complicated. To put it bluntly, it was to discredit themselves in order to save the prince's face and to avoid being held accountable by the various leaders.

According to Tulai's logic, as long as they could fight a big battle with the Ming army, they would pay a heavy price after being defeated.

Then the various parties in the court would not be able to return with their entire divisions to attack Duoduo, and these two "little figures" naturally would not have to bear Duoduo's hatred.

As for why we went to so much trouble and instead of getting rid of the burden we returned directly to the north, it was to tell other forces in the court: We not only wanted to keep the pretext for attacking Duoduo, we even wanted to expand this pretext as much as possible, but our abilities were limited, and we ended up turning a good thing into a bad one, and ended up side with Duoduo.

Of course, such behavior would definitely be seen through by Duoduo, and it is very likely that it would not be hidden from anyone with a discerning eye.

But in this kind of situation, if they are not careful they will be sucked into a whirlpool that can crush them to pieces. What else can they do except to protect themselves as best they can?
Even Zhu Cilang, who was well aware of the various relationships in the Qing court, had never thought of their thoughts, let alone those who had only been in the Qing court for a few months.

However, no matter how unexpected it was, compared with Tian Xiong and others, Zhu Cilang was much calmer.

After assigning respective tasks to his generals, Yuan Jixian went to the front in person, while Zhu Cilang returned to the camp under his urging.

To be honest, Zhu Cilang was not really used to the feeling of waiting in the back.

Since he came here, he would go to the front line in person whenever there was a war. Even though this camp was only three or four miles away from the front, he was unable to obtain various information in the first place.

As a result, he was like an ant on a hot pan in the military tent, turning here and there, which made Xiang Rensheng, who was following closely, feel a little funny.

"Your Highness, if you are impatient to wait here, why don't we go to the front and take a look."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Cilang was immediately interested.

But as soon as the thought came into his mind, he extinguished it in an instant.

When Yuan Jixian suggested that he return to the camp first, he considered that there were tens of thousands of troops here and he was not very familiar with Yuan Jixian, so he agreed immediately.

If they were to go back on their word now, it would obviously be embarrassing for both of them.

"Wait a minute."

After saying this, he calmed his mind, and when his mind was stable, he sat back in his chair and thought about other things.

The war has progressed to this point. As long as the two armies can successfully capture Changzhou and Liyang, the stalemate with the Tartars in Jiangnan will be achieved.

But this does not mean anything, after all, the Qing army attacked the Ming Dynasty in three directions.

He didn't have to worry about Hauge for the time being. After all, most of Sichuan had fallen into the hands of Zhang Xianzhong. Before the two sides decided the outcome, the Ming army in that area could still survive for a while.

The only thing to worry about is Ajige's troops.

In the original history, the strength of Ajige's troops did not increase much before crossing the Yangtze River to the south. If he had not taken in Zuo Menggeng's troops, he would have only had 30,000 or 20,000 men. Now that the situation has changed dramatically, his strength has naturally weakened, but Yang Tinglin and others who were supposed to resist the Qing army in Jiangxi have brought many troops to Jiangsu and Zhejiang because of Zhu Cilang's appearance.

In this way, Ajige's troops might be able to fight much more smoothly in Jiangxi.

Do not underestimate the role of Jiangxi. This place is an important link between Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Huguang. If Ajige really occupied the province, Zhu Cilang's influence on Huguang and even the southwest would be reduced to the minimum due to mutual isolation.

By then, even if the governors and governors-general were still willing to obey the court, they would have no choice but to exercise self-determination under the pressure of reality.

Of course, Jiangxi is not the only province that can connect Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Huguang. Fujian can also achieve the same effect.

However, going through Fujian is not only far and difficult, but the Zheng family, who regard it as a forbidden delicacy, is also an obstacle. It seems that it would be better to find a way to secure a route in Jiangxi.

“Report~~~~~~!”

With a long shout, Zhu Cilang immediately came back to his thoughts. When he looked carefully, he saw a horseman running towards the tent.

The knight jumped off his horse when he was eight or nine steps away from the military tent. Then he took a few big steps forward and knelt in the tent due to inertia.

"Your Highness, the commander-in-chief has ordered all troops to regroup and rush to the front, and all troops on duty to guard the main camp."

This action was smooth and flowing, but every time Zhu Cilang saw it, it was accompanied by bad news, so when the voice was about to come, he stood up from the chair.

"Why is that?!"

"Your Highness, when the commander-in-chief arrives with his troops..."

Seeing the Crown Prince's reaction, the knight did not waste any time and explained the situation clearly in a few words.

As soon as Yuan Jixian arrived, he discovered that a cavalry unit of his own was fighting with the Qing army on the flank and rear of the siege force.

If he were in another position, Yuan Jixian, who had not yet figured out the enemy's purpose, would have made stabilizing his position his primary goal.

But by then, various siege weapons of the Qing army had been brought to the fortress one after another, and it would be impossible to turn the tide with ordinary means alone. The cavalry team was located just behind the Qing army's attacking troops. As long as they could help them repel the enemy, the Ming army could use the convenience of their position to form a two-pronged attack on the Qing army that was attacking the city.

Therefore, even though Yuan Jixian knew that the scale of the war would most likely be expanded as the Qing army wished, he had no choice but to send troops to support.

The subsequent battle situation was just as he expected. On the Ming and Qing sides, you sent a sentry and I sent a battalion.

Before the knight left, the battle group, which originally consisted of only two or three hundred people, had already covered most of the battlefield. Even though the Ming army had no intention of making a big deal out of this battle, they had no choice but to bite the bullet and turn it into a decisive battle despite all the involvement.

After listening to the knight's story, Zhu Cilang roughly understood the situation ahead, but even at this point, he still could not understand why the Qing army launched this battle.

After all, even if the Qing army won this battle and successfully repelled the Ming army, what could they do?
Would the Qing army, which only had civilian ships, dare to send troops deep into areas with dense water networks?
With this in mind, Zhu Cilang still had no idea, but the orders coming from outside the tent made him understand: now is not the time to worry about these things.

"Let's go too."

After saying this, Zhu Cilang walked out of the tent, obviously not intending to continue waiting in the camp.

Xiang Rensheng had anticipated such a reaction from His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. He did not even let the guards take off their armor after returning to the camp. He just waited for someone to give the order so that the army could march to the front.

Under such circumstances, the guards naturally set out much faster than the other camps. When they arrived at the fortress area, Yuan Jixian and a group of generals were naturally a little surprised.

"I bow to you."

Seeing that Yuan Jixian and other ministers were about to salute, Zhu Cilang simply raised his hand to stop them.

Afterwards, he nodded slightly to everyone, and without any unnecessary movements, he stood in front of the podium, focusing all his attention on the battlefield.

chaos.

Zhu Cilang looked at it carefully for a while, but this was the only thought that came to his mind.

This is the tactic of adding fuel to the fire. You send a team to attack the enemy's weak point. The enemy will either retaliate or send troops to intercept. The two sides will fight back and forth several times, and the battlefield will naturally become a situation of intertwined forces, with you in me and me in you.

With the battle going on like this, Zhu Cilang naturally couldn't see anything with his ability. In the end, he could only ask Yuan Jixian helplessly, "Is there any way to break the deadlock?"

Yuan Jixian smiled bitterly and shook his head. It was obvious that he had no idea how to deal with this situation.

According to what he originally thought, the commander of the Qing army should understand that constantly adding fuel to the fire in this small battle group will eventually turn this into a bad battle. Moreover, their siege equipment is already in place, so they will not focus their energy here.

With this understanding, after he sent people to support Hou Shilu's troops, he felt that the Qing army would definitely deploy troops on the flanks of the siege equipment for defense.

But who would have thought that every time he played a card, the opponent would follow suit.

At this point, the battle group, which originally had only 200 people, has become the key to determining the outcome of the battle, and the fortress has become unimportant.

He did not tell Zhu Cilang about this situation explicitly. After all, the large open space between the several fortresses was already filled with soldiers. No matter who came here, they would have to see the current situation.

Zhu Cilang could see this clearly. He even became more certain of his guess after hearing the Qing army's extremely unreasonable way of playing.

Political battle.

This is definitely a political battle.

Although the journey here did not take much time, he figured out a problem during that time.

Since there is not much benefit to be gained even from winning, the enemy commander's intention is definitely not in this small battlefield of Wuhu.

With this understanding, he naturally linked this battle to the situation in the Qing court.

Duoduo was completely defeated in Jiangnan, and when he returned to the court, he would definitely face an attack like a storm.

But if he could win one or two battles in Jiangnan, even if such victories did not have much impact on the war situation, his situation after returning would be much better than it is now.

Based on this, a battle that seemed meaningless to the Ming army was extremely necessary for Duoduo.

Then the problem arises.

Can Yuan Jixian's troops hold out?

If you can't stand it
(End of this chapter)