Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 419 Stand still
The importance of the Hanzhong Plain is unquestionable, but ordinary people only know the facts but not the reasons.

Not only is this place self-sufficient thanks to its vast fertile farmland, but it is also the intersection of several ancient roads leading to Sichuan and Shaanxi.

Once it is in hand, the enemy will be forced to abandon various passes like Yangping Pass due to logistical supply reasons. The holder will be able to take complete initiative and gain a nearly overwhelming strategic advantage over the enemy.

It is like during the Three Kingdoms period, the national strength of Shu Han was far inferior to that of Cao Wei, but because Hanzhong was in his hands, Prime Minister Zhuge could attack wherever he wanted, forcing Cao Wei to station heavy troops for a long time to deal with the attacks of Shu Han.

It was like the end of the Song Dynasty. After losing Hanzhong, the Bashu Plain became a leaky sieve. Even though the Southern Song Dynasty spared no expense to build a series of mountain city fortresses in Sichuan, it could only achieve the purpose of defending the city, but could not share the pressure of the Xiangyang defense line.

It is obvious that the gain or loss of Hanzhong is related to the survival of the southern regime. If it falls into the hands of the north, its defeat is only a matter of time.

Of course, the situation of both the Ming and Qing dynasties at this time was somewhat different from that of the past.

Firstly, due to population reasons, the Qing Dynasty's absorption rate of the north was much slower than that of the Mongols and Jin Dynasty in the past; secondly, the Ming army had the foundation laid by Shen Tingyang and had an absolute advantage in the navy.

Adding the two together, even if Xiangyang and Lianghuai were still in the hands of the Qing army, the offensive and defensive momentum on both sides of the Yangtze River was somewhat counter-intuitive, and the importance of Hanzhong seemed to be slightly lower than in history.

No matter how much we say, these factors will eventually shrink with the passage of time.

If the Ming army cannot recapture Hanzhong in a short period of time, by the time the Qing government has taken control of the area north of the Yangtze River, it will end up in the same situation as the Southern Song Dynasty.

Therefore, Zhu Cilang's ultimate goal of going north this time was to take back Hanzhong while the Qing army was exhausted, so that the Ming Dynasty could pay more attention to Xiangyang and Lianghuai, which were beneficial to it.

just
"Your Majesty, why not launch a night attack on Hauge before the two sides join forces? If we can defeat him, we won't have to worry about the Mongols making any waves."

Seeing that his Majesty's brow had been furrowed since receiving the news from Yangping Pass, Xiang Rensheng, who had fought many night battles since the formation of the army, gave his own suggestions.

According to common sense, his plan should be reasonable.

After all, they have extensive experience in night combat, and choosing a night attack in such a chaotic scene can be considered as playing to their strengths and avoiding their weaknesses.

But surprisingly, Zhu Cilang did not react much after hearing this. He just nodded and fell into his own thoughts again.

He understood clearly that although his army had an almost overwhelming advantage in the battle to capture Yangping Pass, it was also unusual that the Qing army withdrew decisively after the city was captured.

According to Li Guo's report, when they arrived, the Qing army directly recalled the siege troops, and then just stayed in the camp without taking any action.

Overall, it seems that the Qing army had been planning to lure the enemy deep into their territory from the very beginning, preparing to use Hanzhong to lure their own troops to the open plains and then act accordingly.

If this is true, the most suitable tactical option for Hauge is to use the cavalry advantage to cut off the Ming army's food supply and avoid a head-on battle before the Ming army is completely out of food.

Under such circumstances, Hauge, who had suffered two heavy losses in Guangyuan, should have been prepared and would not fall into the trap of a night attack again.

Seeing their Majesty's reaction, all the generals in the army fell silent. But to everyone's surprise, even when their Majesty did not comment on Xiang Rensheng's suggestion, Li Guo suddenly stood up.

"Your Majesty, in my opinion, the victory or defeat in Hanzhong is not important. As long as you are safe and sound, our Ming Dynasty will surely make a comeback!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhu Cilang looked up, and then he saw Li Guo kneeling on the ground.

"I am an incompetent minister. I have received your kindness in taking me in, but I have no chance to repay you. Now that I have suffered a setback, I am willing to lead my 5,000 cavalrymen to guard the rear of the army!"

Li Guo's voice was firm and resolute, and it was obvious that he had made up his mind to die in Hanzhong.

It has to be said that his performance indeed exceeded Zhu Cilang's expectations.

You must know that the information sent by Liu Wenxiu was very clear, that there were at least 20,000 Mongolian cavalrymen who had rushed out of the ancient road.

Although Li Guo's 5,000 cavalrymen had also experienced many battles, there was still a big gap between them and the Mongolian cavalrymen who had grown up on horseback.

Seeing this, Zhu Cilang wanted to say something, but before his voice could be heard, he saw Xiang Rensheng and Mei Chun kneeling on the ground at the same time.

"Your Majesty, the cavalry is quick and can escort Your Majesty back to Yangping Pass first. I request that my rear army take charge of the rearguard action!"

"Your Majesty, our central army is slow to act, so I am the only one who can take the responsibility of covering the rear!"

As the three generals present bowed, Zhu Cilang did not show any expression on his face, but he could not help feeling moved in his heart.

To be honest, the reactions of Generals Xiang and Mei were not beyond his expectations.

After all, one of them had been with him since the uprising in Yingtian, and the other had died in battle in Yingtian in the original history. However, Li Guo had only been in the Ming Dynasty for more than half a year, and during that time he had rarely had contact with him and had not received much favor from him.

Zhu Cilang was indeed quite surprised that he would be the first one to request to cover the retreat at such a time.

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"When did I escape?"

After hearing what His Majesty said, not only did the three people who were kneeling on the ground raise their heads in confusion, but even Hu Yiqing who was standing next to Zhu Cilang looked astonished.

At this time, Hauge's troops blocked the connection with Hanzhong in front, and Dayan Ochir cut off the arrival of military supplies from the rear. Although their 30,000 troops were still in good condition, the situation they were in could already be called a desperate one.

Under such circumstances, the safest way is to protect His Majesty and retreat to the rear before the fighting power of the various troops is reduced, but he never thought.
Yes, Your Majesty has never suffered a defeat since he started his army. It is natural that he is unable to cope with the current situation.

Thinking of this, Xiang Rensheng couldn't help feeling a little anxious, but no one knew what he was thinking afterwards. He kowtowed to the ground three times and then stood up and walked towards Zhu Cilang.

"To the general!"

"Lao Xiang!"

"bass!"

Seeing this, Mei Chun and Li Guo were so shocked that they shouted loudly, but Hu Yiqing took a few steps forward and drew out the sword from his waist.

But when this situation happened, Zhu Cilang seemed unaware of it. Apart from looking indifferently at Xiang Rensheng who was three or four steps away, there was no expression on his face.

"Your Majesty, if we can send you back to Yangping Pass, we will be able to fight the Tartars to the death. If I am lucky enough to survive, I will accept being cut into pieces." Having said this, Xiang Rensheng paused for a moment. Seeing that his Majesty still had no reaction, he turned to the other three and said, "Are you going to put His Majesty in danger by tolerating me?!"

As soon as he finished speaking, not only Mei Chun and Li Guo showed hesitation, but even Hu Yiqing, who was still holding the sword against Xiang Rensheng's heart, turned his head to take a look.

If he were an ordinary emperor, he would just go with the flow and let his generals take him away to escape. Whether he would be held accountable or get away with it would depend on the circumstances at the time.

But Zhu Cilang was not an ordinary person after all, and he was not helpless in the face of such a situation. When he saw that the three generals seemed to be persuaded by Xiang Rensheng, he immediately shouted.

"Are you guys going to use force to remonstrate with me?!"

"I am not, but..."

"I dare not!" As Zhu Cilang's not-so-majestic voice sounded, Li Guo and Mei Chun immediately lowered their heads deeply. At this time, Hu Yiqing pushed the blade in his hand forward again, and then even Xiang Rensheng knelt on the ground again.

"Your Majesty, if it weren't for you, Yingtian would be the same as Yangzhou. This time our army is attacked from all sides and our food supply is cut off. Your Majesty, please think twice!"

Things had come to this point, and Xiang Rensheng's plan had come to nothing. However, with the arrival of the Mongolian cavalry, the Ming army had already fallen into a desperate situation. He finally reluctantly tried to persuade them.

Zhu Cilang naturally knew what Xiang Rensheng was thinking, but regardless of the current situation, Xiang Rensheng's behavior had already touched his reverse scale, so he spoke in a deep voice.

"You must know that there can only be one voice in the army at any time. This time you disobeyed the order, so I will give you a lenient sentence. If you do it again, you will be executed without mercy!" Having said this, Zhu Cilang paused for a moment, and after glancing at the other three generals, he continued, "Go down and get twenty military sticks, and then we'll talk."

"I accept the order and thank you for your kindness."

Since the imperial decree had been issued, Xiang Rensheng could only thank the emperor for his grace.

After all, he only acted this way because he was concerned about the safety of his own emperor. Since there was no possibility of persuading Zhu Cilang to retreat, he would not do anything disobedient again.

After a while, Xiang Rensheng, who had been punished by military law, appeared outside the tent again. At this time, Zhu Cilang, who had been thinking for a long time with a sullen face, suddenly issued a military order.

"Meichun!"

"Chen is here!"

"I order you to lead your troops to attack the Qing army camp directly."

"Order!"

"Xiang Rensheng!"

"Chen is here!"

"After Mei Chun breaks through the siege camp, your troops must open up a passage to the granary."

"Order!"

"Li Guo!"

"Chen is here!"

"The flank of the army is now in your hands."

"Your Majesty, don't worry!"

As military orders were issued one after another, each general received his own mission.

To be honest, although the generals temporarily gave up the plan to escort Zhu Cilang away because of his toughness, if the situation really became uncontrollable, protecting the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty would still be their top priority.

In the end, these orders were obviously intended to rescue the troops trapped in the granary. If they could succeed, the hope of protecting Zhu Cilang would be much greater.

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Just when the atmosphere in the Ming army camp was a little bit determined, the Qing army camp several miles away was not much more cheerful because of the arrival of reinforcements.

The arrival of the Khoshut tribe was a bolt from the blue for the Ming army, but whether it was because of the countless flags on Yangping Pass or because of other intentions, after breaking into the plains and arriving, this huge cavalry army only stayed in places with abundant water and grass, and showed no signs of attacking Yangping Pass.

Faced with this situation, the Qing army generals including Luo Luohun naturally had complaints, but Hauge, who was not good at political struggles, saw through the other party's intentions contrary to his usual behavior.

"What's so strange about that? Aren't Mongolians always like this?"

At this time, there were only him and Luo Luohun left in the big tent, so Hauge did not hold back much when he spoke.

When Huang Taiji was alive, he had many dealings with the Mongols, during which there were inevitably military campaigns, but after winning the war, there was also a lot of manipulation.

With Huang Taiji's advice, he had a clear understanding of the characteristics of these nomadic peoples.

Perhaps it is because they have no fixed place to live, most of the ethnic groups living on the grasslands have no stable nature.

Today, the Ming Dynasty is strong, so they will do some small tricks while submitting to it. Tomorrow, when the Ming Dynasty is weak, they will be able to break off relations with it without any psychological burden.

At this time, Nadayan Ochir neither attacked Yangping Pass nor blocked the Ming army's retreat route. It was obvious that he was waiting and watching.

If the Qing Dynasty wins, they will naturally provide assistance, but if the Qing Dynasty loses, they will not offend the Ming Dynasty too much.

In a word, their calculation is to not release the eagle until they see the rabbit. Naturally, they can get less benefits, but they cannot face any losses at all.

This is not to say that Hauge thought too badly of the vassal who came from afar to reinforce.

When Huang Taiji broke into the interior of the country, all the tough battles were borne by the Eight Banners headquarters, but the job of eating meat had to be shared by the two families.

Hauge, who had been fighting on the front line for a long time, naturally had a very clear understanding of these things, and could even explain them to Luo Luohun calmly.

But after listening to Hauge's statement, although Luo Luohun understood the reason why Dayan Ozir stopped moving forward, he couldn't help but have other doubts in his heart.

"Your Majesty, Guanzhong should be able to gather some more troops. Since Dayan is unreliable, why not mobilize troops from Guanzhong?"

After the words fell, Haoge just smiled lightly, and after refilling the tea bowl in front of him, he continued calmly: "Haven't you figured it out yet? The number of troops in a battle with the Ming army is not important, the key is to choose the right people."

After saying this, Hauge glanced at Luo Luo's face. Although the other party seemed to have realized something at this time, he still continued speaking.

"Both Duoduo and Ajige were defeated by the Ming navy. If they had warships with cannons at that time, how could they have suffered the defeats in Jiangnan and Hubei?"

As for Hauge's conclusion, Luo Luohun could understand the logic behind it if he paid a little attention.

At this time, their battlefield was the flat and wide Hanzhong Plain, and the troops from Guanzhong were mainly infantry. Transferring them here was just to fill the numbers, but they could not completely lock down the Ming army.

On the other hand, the story of the Khoshut cavalry is quite different.

Regardless of whether they would take the initiative to attack the Ming army or not, as long as there was such a force standing in front of Yangping Pass, the Ming army would inevitably become demoralized and their morale would be greatly reduced.

If they could hold out here for a few more days, even if the Ming army would not be completely disintegrated due to the presence of the Ming Emperor, when food and grass were cut off, they would have no choice but to fight desperately to break out.

With such benefits in mind, it is not difficult to imagine Dayan’s choice.

(End of this chapter)