Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 300 What are you doing? !

Zhang Pengyi is definitely the one who has the most say on whether Le Cordehun is too confident.

According to the original plan, after Chang Guanlin captured Raozhou, they should advance westward along the river with the cooperation of Wuhu troops until they broke through the Qing army's heavy defenses and reached Jiujiang, and then joined Chang Guanlin's troops along the Poyang Lake water system.

If this method succeeds, not to mention the small Fuzhou, even the Tartars on the Poyang Lake Plain will probably have no choice but to repeat Nikan's mistake.

However, after retreating to Jiangbei, Duoduo ordered the repair of various obstacles on the river. When Hong Chengchou and Le Kodehun took over, guarding against the Ming navy became their focus.

Therefore, whenever the Ming army encountered a narrow waterway, they not only had to face one or two iron chains across the river, but also had to guard against the artillery batteries on the shore.

Under such circumstances, even though the navy led by Zhang Pengyi was no longer the soft persimmon it used to be, after sending troops for several days, they were still blocked to the east of Anqing and could not advance an inch.

"Marshal, we have to think of a way. If we keep burning them one by one, I'm afraid we will miss the opportunity."

At this time, six or seven generals had gathered on the warship that Zhang Pengyi was riding on. When he told them the purpose of calling everyone over, one person immediately stood up.

"Of course I know!"

Zhang Pengyi was not a hot-tempered person, and he even often joked with his generals and soldiers. But today, for some reason, he got angry after hearing this sentence, as if what the general said had hit a sore spot.

He naturally knew the story of "Iron Chains Across the River", and he also knew that the Western Jin Dynasty was burned down one by one in this way.

But things are different now. When the power protecting the iron chains is converted from arrows to artillery, not only does his progress in burning the iron chains become extremely slow, but he also has to sacrifice the lives of many soldiers.

So after figuring out that it was impossible to rush into Poyang Lake as originally planned at this speed, he summoned all the generals to brainstorm and see if they could find a better way.

"Everyone wants to, but no one can think of a solution. No one can go back to their ship today."

After he finished speaking, all the generals present looked at each other, obviously thinking that their commander was being unreasonable.

The method of tying iron chains across the river was decided a thousand years ago, and the method of breaking them by burning the chains was also decided a thousand years ago.

Over the past thousand years, there have been countless talented people, but none of them have been able to change this method. What's the point of forcing this group of people to do so?
"General, I think we should advance by land and sea. If the land camp can capture the Qing army camp, then the iron chain will be much easier to deal with."

After the words were spoken, everyone in the warehouse was speechless.

At first glance, there seems to be nothing wrong with this statement. No matter what, the iron chains have to be driven into the shore. If all the Qing army camps on the shore can be removed, then it will not take much effort to deal with the iron chains.

But the reality does not allow them to do so.

If only the passage of the navy is considered, then the only trouble they face is the iron chain in the river. But if the land is also taken into account, the cities and military camps along the way will become issues that need to be considered.

In this way, dealing with the iron chains was simple, but the speed of the navy's advance was restricted by the land camp's siege of cities.

Under such circumstances, it would be better to just let it burn.

"Bullshit! Why don't you lead your men back to Beijing?"

After hearing Zhang Pengju's scolding, the general sneered and sat back in his seat. After that, all the generals present were silent. It was obvious that there was no good way to deal with such a situation.

"Commander."

Just when the silence in the warehouse was a bit depressing, a soldier tiptoed to the door and called out softly. When Zhang Pengyi looked up, he continued, "Marshal, the ship behind us said there is a decree from His Majesty."

"Your Majesty's order?"

After hearing the voice, although Zhang Pengyi was confused, he immediately went out of the cabin.

Needless to say, the subsequent regulations were followed. When he received the imperial edict from the palace eunuch, the doubts in his heart not only did not decrease, but increased a lot.

"May I ask the angel, does His Majesty have any other instructions?"

"this."

Zhang Pengyi was not unfamiliar with the market. Seeing the hesitation on the eunuch's face, he immediately took out a silver note from his waist and stuffed it into his hand.

"It's a rare opportunity for us to see His Majesty, so I hope the angel can give us some advice."

"Hey, what's this for? That's not what we meant."

"This is a small gift from me. I hope the angel will not despise it."

"Marshal Zhang, the palace has strict rules, eh"

After some refusal, Zhang Pengyi finally stuffed the banknote into the other person's sleeve.

At this point, the eunuch seemed to have made up his mind. After pulling Zhang Pengyi to a place with few people around, he quietly said, "Last night, we received news that Ganzhou was surrounded by Ajige's troops. This imperial decree was issued by your majesty afterwards."

"Your Majesty, didn't you consult with the ministers?"

"No."

Common sense would suggest that this question was an attempt to spy on the emperor, but according to the imperial edict, Zhang Pengju had to bring back all the ships that could transport troops except the warships. By then, he would know the whole story, so the eunuch answered after a slight hesitation.

"Thank you for the reminder, angel. I will be grateful."

"It doesn't matter. We are all serving His Majesty. If you can see things more clearly, you will be able to do your job more properly."

At this point, there was probably nothing more to say between the two strangers, and the eunuch took his leave. However, Zhang Pengyi couldn't help but think about it in his heart.

Of course, his thoughts were not hesitation.

For these military generals, it made no difference whether the eunuch brought an imperial decree or an imperial edict. After all, they were listening to His Majesty, so it didn't matter much whether the cabinet signed it or not.

However, the information contained in this decree really frightened him.

A ship that can transport troops is naturally for transporting troops, but which troops are these troops? Where are they being transported to?

Thinking of this, although Zhang Pengyi couldn't guess it, the situation in Ganzhou was a matter of great importance.

Now that such a big change has happened there, His Majesty must be doing something big. And the imperial edict orders him to bring the ship back. How could there be any other possibility except to do this big thing?

Thinking of this, Zhang Pengyi couldn't help but get a little excited.

Since Chongming Island was returned to Your Majesty, several officials and generals on the island have found opportunities to make considerable military achievements, but he, the legitimate general of Huai'an, has only made a few minor contributions because he only has the navy under his command.

If it had been half a year ago, he probably would not have been jealous of others' achievements. After all, there was no opponent in the Ming army at that time that could match the Qing army. Occasionally, someone made military achievements, but they suffered heavy casualties and lost all their capital. There was nothing to be jealous of.

But now it is different. Your Majesty can be called the best in the dynasty in terms of military strategy. Even if the battle in Jiangnan was able to suppress the Tartar's military power with the help of the navy, that was also because our soldiers were hastily mobilized and were truly unable to confront the Tartar head-on.

If we take the military strategies of both sides separately, it would appear that Duoduo, who has been fighting for more than ten years, has always been led by His Majesty.

"You lead the warships and continue to advance towards Poyang Lake. I will act according to the emperor's orders." "Yes, sir!"

After the military order was given, no one dared to delay, and when it got dark, the huge fleet split into two and went their separate ways.
-
Guangzhou fell, Ganzhou was besieged, the fleet was blocked, and the offensive was slow.

In just five or six days, the Qing army, which seemed to have been stunned by the battle in Jiangnan, showed its sharp claws everywhere.

Generals like Zhang Pengyi who have great confidence in Your Majesty's military strategy naturally feel that now is a good opportunity to make achievements, but for others, the situation in which the Ming Dynasty is in is similar to the situation when the Qing army launched a large-scale attack last year.

This is not surprising. Guangzhou is an important node for supply to the southwest and central south. Its loss means that the two places will once again be cut off from food and grass.

If it were just that, it would be fine. After all, although these places are unable to maintain a large army due to various reasons, if there is no major war, they can barely ensure that they will not starve to death.

But once Ganzhou is lost, it means that the Tartars can attack Hunan without any scruples. In the case of insufficient food and grass, even if there are more troops here, how can they have the confidence to fight against the Tartars?
It is easy to imagine what will happen next. If Hunan is lost, Central South, Southwest China and Southeast China will be in ruins. Even if Jiangsu and Zhejiang are still in the hands of the Ming army, the situation in the world will no longer be able to turn around.

By then, Zhu Cilang would probably have only one option left: to be trapped and die in Yingtian.

"Damu~! Damu~!"

At this time, Zheng Sen was preparing his navy at the Fuzhou dock, waiting for everything to be ready before heading south along the coast to fight a decisive battle with the Dutch. But just as he was looking at the fleet docked on the shore with great confidence, a shout drew his attention.

"Fifth Uncle, why are you here?"

Naturally, the only people in Fujian who were qualified to call Zheng Sen "Da Mu" were his uncles. Zheng Hongkui, the leader, was pleased to see that his nephew had turned his attention to him. He hurriedly took two steps forward and took out a letter from his arms.

"Damu, Ganzhou is under siege."

"Ganzhou?"

After hearing what his fifth uncle said, Zheng Sen immediately felt confused. After reading the letter carefully, he roughly understood why his uncles were in such a hurry.

"Uncle Wu, what do you mean?"

"Wait."

"wait?"

"Well, if Yingtian has a way to resolve the crisis, then we will fight the Dutch again. But if Yingtian has no solution to the situation, then we have to think of a way to retreat."

Zheng Hongkui did not hide anything from his nephew. In just a few words, he poured out all his thoughts.

He understood clearly that, judging from the current situation, the Tartars' move was simply to take advantage of the enemy's own strategy.

If you want to recover the entire territory of Jiangxi, then Ganzhou will have to send troops to cooperate. Before that, the Tartars should use the Dutch to divert some of the Ming troops in Ganzhou, and then when the Ming army really takes action, they can take advantage of Ganzhou's emptiness and capture it in one fell swoop.

The so-called attack must be rescued.

As long as this situation is achieved, no matter what the Ming army plans, they will have to rush to lift the siege of Ganzhou.

By then, it would be convenient for the Tartars to prepare for a decisive battle in this area or make other arrangements, but the Ming army, without the assistance of the navy, would be stuck in a situation where they could not advance or retreat.

Under such circumstances, the Zheng family naturally had to make some further calculations. Otherwise, if they really waited until the overall situation was settled, it would be difficult to sell themselves at a good price.

"Fifth Uncle, you have read the letter from my father. He wanted us to..."

"Oh! Da Mu! Why are you so pedantic? When my brother wrote the letter, Ganzhou had not yet been besieged. If he had known this would happen, he would have asked us to make plans earlier."

Zheng Hongkui interrupted Zheng Sen without waiting for him to finish speaking, feeling somewhat disappointed.

Not only did he know what was written in Zheng Zhilong's letter, he had also figured out how to completely annihilate the Dutch fleet.

Things are different now. At that time, the Yingtian court had almost stabilized everything south of the Yangtze River. No matter how you look at it, his Zheng family could only be loyal subjects of His Majesty.

But now?

The originally prosperous situation was exposed by the Qing army's trick. If the crisis in southern Jiangxi cannot be resolved, it will be no different from last year.

Under such circumstances, Zheng Sen actually regarded Zheng Zhilong's outdated letter as an imperial edict. How could Zheng Hongkui not be anxious?

"But my father is still in Yingtian. If we don't take any action, then my father's safety will be in danger..."

"Oh! Silly boy, as long as we can hold on to Fujian, who would dare to touch my brother? Besides, I only said to make plans early, but I didn't mean to do nothing."

"Uncle Wu means"

"We have to go to Guangzhou, and it would be best if we can take it. When they fight in the north, we can take the opportunity to take Guangdong as well."

Having said that, Zheng Hongkui glanced at his nephew's expression. Seeing that he seemed to be moved, he decided to strike while the iron was hot and give him some more advice.

But who would have thought that Zheng Sen at this moment seemed to be so excited by these words that he asked excitedly without waiting for him to say anything else.

"Uncle Wu has a way to take Guangzhou?"

"Naturally there is."

"Uncle Fifth has fought for many years. I have been thinking about how to defeat the enemy since I received the imperial edict, but I have no idea even if I rack my brains."

Having said this, Zheng Sen paused for a moment, and then he seemed to have thought of something and asked hesitantly, "I wonder what Uncle Fifth's method is? Can I gain some experience first?"

Although Zheng Hongkui's ability to climb to such an official position was not entirely due to personal factors, it can be seen that he naturally became the one who thought the most among the brothers.

And when he saw all the reactions of his nephew, he immediately knew that Zheng Sen was a little unconvinced.

It's no wonder, fighting in the water is different from fighting on land, not to mention that my nephew usually hangs out with literati.

Under such circumstances, even if he was appointed to an official position by the emperor, how could he know the ins and outs of it?
"Hey~~, when my elder brother asked you to write a special article earlier, I didn't quite agree. Now that it has come to such a critical moment, you don't know anything about the core skills of my Zheng family."

Zheng Hongkui paused as he spoke, obviously not agreeing with some of Zheng Zhilong's arrangements. However, he was able to control his emotions effectively, and after just a moment he continued, "Well, you will be the one in charge of the Zheng family in the future, so it's a good thing to know how to deal with the enemy earlier. Listen to me."

As Zheng Hongkui's voice continued to be heard, the excitement on Zheng Sen's face became more and more intense. By the time Zheng Hongkui told him all the methods he had thought of to defeat the enemy, he could no longer suppress the joy on his face, and it was obvious that he quite approved of his uncle's method.

"Uncle Wu is really good at water battles."

After a moment, Zheng Sen, who had already fully understood the method of meeting the enemy, couldn't help but praise him. But when Zheng Hongkui was about to say a few words of modesty, he heard him continue.

"Come on, please invite the uncles and generals to go into the cabin and rest."

"Nothing, nothing, we are not that old, what are you doing?!"

(End of this chapter)