Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 412: Will It Be Alright If I Stay in the City?

Morning of September 7
The flag is in sight at the foot of the mountain,

The drums and horns on the top of the mountain hear each other.

The enemy is besieged thousands of times,
I stood still.

This is probably what Luo Luohun is thinking now.

After receiving the news of Du Lei's death last night, he sent people to gather the defeated soldiers. After most of the defeated soldiers crossed the Han River, he decisively ordered his men to destroy the pontoon bridge.

Although Ming army scouts could be seen cruising on the opposite bank from the city wall at this time, they could not cross the river without a pontoon bridge. Even if a large group of troops arrived, they could only sigh at the sight of the river.

Unless the Ming army dared to risk entering the Hanzhong Plain and look for other ferry crossings, Luo Luohun would be able to hide in Yangping Pass and wait until Hauge took Hanzhong.

It has to be said that this response is extremely cowardly compared to more than a year ago, but no one can deny that it is the lowest-cost method in the current situation.

In the final analysis, Hauge's troops had maintained high-intensity combat in this sultry climate for more than three months. Even though the individual quality of the bannermen was stronger than that of the Ming army, without the will to fight, everything became a mirage.

This was not Luo Luohun's attempt to boost the enemy's morale and destroy his own prestige.

When Nikan surrendered, the remaining Eight Banners troops were able to hold on for three to five days. If Zhu Cilang had not made arrangements in advance, they might have been rushed out from the river mouth.

In contrast, in the battle last night, the Qing troops stationed on the mountain showed signs of collapse at the beginning of the surprise attack, and when they were all killed, even the reinforcements only put up a little resistance before fleeing.

By comparing the two, we can also see to what extent the Qing army's fighting spirit has fallen.

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"Your Majesty, let me make it clear. Including the troops stationed on Dingjun Mountain, a total of 1,776 people have escaped."

"Why is it only this much?!"

Following the report from his general, Luo Luohun's voice couldn't help but rise several notches.

Although he was not as good as Hauge and Dulei in military strategy, the Qing Dynasty at that time still focused on military merit. As a prince like him, he could be regarded as an experienced general.

After all, the battle last night was not an encirclement and annihilation battle. Even if Du Lei led a thousand troops into the ambush circle of the Ming army, in his opinion, the loss of more than 800 people was still too much.

You know, the total number of Qing troops participating in the battle last night was only more than 3,500. Even though Luo Luohun suffered more casualties, the loss of more than 800 people is more than 20%, which is an extremely high casualty ratio for a battle that only lasted half an hour.

“I think some of them got hurt when they fell down the mountain.”

When Luo Luo heard the words, he couldn't help feeling suffocated, but after thinking about it for a few times, he finally swallowed the curse words.

They naturally knew that the Ming army did not pursue after their victory last night, but the soldiers who were in the process of collapse might not know that.

It is natural to fall down something on the dark mountain road.

As his thoughts turned, Luo Luohun finally calmed down his emotions. He no longer worried about how the battle went last night. He then considered whether he should set up a separate camp for these defeated soldiers.

Normally, whenever there were defeated soldiers returning, the generals would let them stay in separate camps.

On the one hand, this is due to considerations such as hierarchy, and on the other hand, it is also to prevent panic from spreading in the military.

But the situation in Yangping Pass was a bit complicated at this time. The commander who was ordered to guard the pass had been killed in battle. Except for the 1,500 men who were still in the pass, the rest had either died last night or had already become defeated soldiers.

If he left the troops left by his predecessor stationed there alone after taking over the post of guarding the pass, it would be quite demoralizing news for the 1,500 men who were still intact.

Honestly speaking, if Luo Luohun had eight or nine thousand men under his command, he wouldn't have to worry about such things. But when he returned to Yangping Pass, he only had three or four thousand men left, so there was still a time when he would need those fifteen hundred men.

Once they develop a resistance because of such things, it will eventually become a big hidden danger.

Under such circumstances, his worries were not unnecessary.

"Your Majesty, look."

Just when Luo Luohun was still thinking about how to settle the defeated soldiers, Goshaha beside him suddenly said something. When he looked to the other side, he saw teams of Ming troops had appeared on the south bank of the Han River.

Are you going to cross the river?
As soon as the thought came to his mind, Luo Luohun planned to issue a military order, but in a moment he calmed down.

The southern wall of Yangping Pass was built along the Han River. No matter what method the Ming army planned to use to cross the river, they would have to face the suppression of arrows from the city.

If it were him, even if he wanted to cross the river and attack the city, he would not do it under the noses of the defenders.

From this he felt that the Ming army must have other intentions.

But there is no Ming army navy here, so what trouble can a bunch of infantrymen cause?

As his mind turned, Luo Luohun became more and more confused. It was not until the Ming soldiers carrying wood appeared on the south bank of the Han River that he was sure of the other party's plan.

I'm afraid we'll have to set up camp here.

This is something that is understandable.

At any important pass, in addition to the city wall standing in the middle, there are also many defensive fortifications on the side.

Take Yangping Pass for example. There is Dingjun Mountain to the south and Tiandang Mountain to the north. Only the defense system composed of these two mountains and one pass can guard this important intersection of Jinniu Road tightly.

The same logic applied to the Ming army at this time. If they occupied Dingjun Mountain alone, they would feel that they were alone and unable to hold on. Once troops came from Hanzhong to rescue them, they would be surrounded and killed on Dingjun Mountain.

At this time, the Ming army generals set up a separate camp by the river. On the one hand, they could keep an eye on the movements of the Qing army in Yangping Guanzhong, and on the other hand, they could form a pincer attack with the troops on Dingjun Mountain.

Such actions are in line with the art of war.

After figuring this out, Luo Luohun put his mind at ease. He then gave a few instructions to the general beside him and planned to personally appease the defeated soldiers under Du Lei.

This is the downside of having a complicated relationship.

Every step they take has to be considered over and over again, for fear that a certain action might be unwise and bring disaster upon themselves in an instant.

This situation existed in the Qing Dynasty, in the Ming Dynasty, and it can even be said that it exists in every organization that has become a system.

It’s just that when this organization is prosperous, the harm it brings is always covered up due to sufficient benefits, and it is not until a certain moment that these organizations suddenly show their decline.

Just like the Qing Dynasty, Huang Taiji single-handedly transformed a tribal alliance into a structure similar to the Central Plains dynasty. Old forces like Lao Daishan were willing to remain dormant only because those in power could move from one victory to another.

But if he really encountered an opportunity to "set things right", he would not be content to be a lackey of his clan members, and would inevitably resort to some means at critical moments. Of course, in the original history, Dorgon's victory was more glorious than Huang Taiji's, and Daishan's turmoil did not allow the Qing Dynasty to return to the structure of the kings' deliberation.

It was only at this juncture that the Qing Dynasty's trend of sweeping the world was completely interrupted, and Dorgon did not have enough prestige to support a structure where one person gave orders.

As a result, the struggle at the upper level inevitably spread to the middle level of the Qing court, and various causes and effects naturally became a constraint on the generals.

It was also because his position was not at the core. For Luo Luohun, he could only watch the decisions of the frontline generals become difficult due to the complexity of the situation in the court.

Even though he was considered adept at court struggles among the fourth generation of the Aisin-Gioro family, he could not figure out the reasons why his family had embarked on the same path as the Great Jin Dynasty.

However, the difficulties faced by the Qing court were ultimately just the difficulties faced by the Qing court. Since Zhu Cilang had won one victory after another from the enemies, all the disputes within the Ming Dynasty were finally suppressed within a controllable range.

The most concrete manifestation of this change is naturally that the central government officials are still united and working together, but the smoothness of their command in the face of the enemy can also be seen.

He and Liu Bei both captured Dingjun Mountain, but their fundamental purposes for capturing the mountain were very different.

Liu Bei's purpose at that time was to turn the passive situation into the active one and force the Wei army to come out of its turtle shell, but Zhu Cilang's real purpose was something else.

Therefore, as soon as the battle ended last night, Xiang Rensheng sent several teams of soldiers from the valley on the west side of Dingjun Mountain to the Ming army camp at the river bend. When they saw the newcomers, Li Guo and Mei Chun moved in accordance with His Majesty's military orders.

"Be steady! His Majesty said, don't rush!"

While Luo Luohun was hiding in Yangping Pass, looking around, more than 20 cannons were struggling to move forward in the valley that Liu Bei had passed through that year.

Zhu Cilang's purpose in capturing Dingjun Mountain had nothing to do with the food supply. In essence, it was just to find a better artillery position.

According to common sense, the open space in front of Yangping Pass is the best choice for setting up artillery positions, but Luo Luohun had the experience in front of Qipan Pass and had already firmly controlled it in his hands at the beginning of the joint forces with Du Lei.

It was for this reason that Zhu Cilang thought of the valley he had walked through in the past.

But then again, although the valley could accommodate a large army, it was not friendly to the vehicle frame because there were two small hills blocking the two valleys.

Therefore, another purpose of occupying Dingjun Mountain was to find another passage for artillery.

As for how much threat the shells could pose to the city walls after flying over the Han River, which is more than a hundred steps wide,
Zhu Cilang was not worried about this at all.

Firstly, the Ming army had previously tested the Xuan-level artillery at Qipan Pass, and secondly, due to the delay during these days, the Di-level artillery had also been transported over.

Even though both types of artillery weigh only more than 200 kilograms, they are enough to break down the city wall of Yangping Pass.

Having said that, I have to say a few words about this artillery.

Ever since Ye Mengxiong designed the "Ye Gong Shen Cannon", the firearms equipped by the Ming army have all chosen the bamboo shoot shell structure.

Compared with the red-coated cannon with a wooden barrel structure, this type of artillery has the advantages of being lighter and more airtight, and is widely used by land camps to kill enemies and fight in the field.

But then again, every advantage has its disadvantages. Due to its structure, the caliber of this artillery is not as good as the Red Cannon. Therefore, when selecting warships, Zhu Cilang gave up the "Ye Gong Shen Cannon" and turned to large-scale use of the Red Cannon introduced from the West.

As the saying goes, if you want to do your job well, you must first sharpen your tools.

Zhu Cilang's order to Li Yongmao to gather craftsmen from all over the country was not in vain. After Zhu Cilang concentrated all the craftsmen of the Ming Dynasty in Yingtian, the factories in Yingtian not only produced enough red cannons for the fleet, but also found time to make some "Ye Gong's Magic Cannon" used by the rear guards.

These cannons are basically divided into three types. The Tian-level magic cannon weighs about three hundred kilograms, the Di-level magic cannon weighs about two hundred kilograms, and the Xuan-level magic cannon is the lightest, weighing only about one hundred and fifty kilograms.

Compared with those red-coated cannons that weigh more than a thousand pounds, the power and range of these magic guns are naturally much smaller, but for land battles that most of the time can only rely on animal power for transportation, this weight is the most suitable.

Of course, although these artillery pieces were not heavy, they were still difficult to move along the mountain roads. When Mei Chun saw that his soldiers were getting anxious, his shouting was understandable.

"It will take a while for the central army to set up camp! We must not damage the artillery in our hurry!"

After that shout, Mei Chun was still a little worried. After hearing another shout, he turned his gaze to the people who were in charge.

To be honest, the rear army arrived at Hewan Camp only yesterday afternoon.

Originally, he thought that His Majesty would not be able to attack the mountain so quickly when taking a detour, but who would have thought that in the second half of the night, the military order ordering him to lead the artillery to set off had already been passed down.

Because there were enough people, after a rotation, he entered the valley early this morning.

Although this road is much smoother than ordinary off-road roads, the speed of the vehicle is still slower than that of the official road.

Therefore, the soldiers, knowing that His Majesty was waiting ahead, were quite anxious in driving the livestock. There was even a ground-level cannon that almost overturned onto the road due to the soldiers' urging.

But then again, according to the scouts, this road is only about twenty miles long in total. As long as we can maintain a steady pace, we will be able to reach Dingjun Mountain today.

As time went by, the team transporting the artillery slowly moved forward. When the sun was already hanging low in the sky, the team led by Mei Chun walked out of the valley.

"I will go and see His Majesty first to see whether we should stop at the foot of the mountain or go directly to the river."

After giving an order to his generals, Mei Chun urged his horse to go straight to Dingjun Mountain. However, to his surprise, after running for only ten breaths, he saw Zhu Cilang and several knights waiting outside the valley.

Seeing this, he urged his horse to move forward. When he was about ten steps in front of Zhu Cilang, he jumped off the horse's back, then quickly took a few steps and bowed in front of Zhu Cilang.

"Mei Chun, the humble general, pays respect to Your Majesty."

"Get up."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

According to common sense, he should have reported the situation, but at this time they were still in the enemy's hinterland, and His Majesty was only wandering outside with a few cavalrymen, so he wanted to give some advice.

"Your Majesty"

"Be safe on the road."

"Steady, the artillery has already left the valley."

"Well, that's good. Let's start with Li Guo as well."

"here we go."

I had planned to explain the artillery in detail after returning to Yingtian, but since someone asked about it in the past two days, I will just give a general introduction here.

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(End of this chapter)