Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 422 Help Me Protect the Food Road
With the successful breakout of Sun Shoufa's troops, Zhu Cilang finally learned the real situation in the Hanzhong granary.

At this time, the morale of the troops in the warehouse had been restored due to the arrival of reinforcements, and the stored food and grass had also been slightly more abundant due to the previous rebellion.

According to Sun Shoufa's original words, although the Hanzhong granary could not pose any threat to the Tatars, it was possible for them to hold the granary for months.

Knowing this, Zhu Cilang's tension finally relaxed a little, and his thoughts became more active.

According to the situation originally known, the three generals of Hanzhong had already lost control of the city, which meant that they were at the end of their rope.

If the reinforcements do not attack the Tatars with all their might, the Ming army in the warehouse might completely collapse in the next moment.

As a result, the reinforcements led by Zhu Cilang had to engage in brutal street fighting with the Qing army and were forced to enter a combat environment that the Tartars were good at.

This is not to say that Zhu Cilang has no confidence in the three generals of Hanzhong.

Among the three generals of Hanzhong, one was a remnant soldier who had fought guerrilla warfare behind enemy lines for three years, one was a Dashi soldier who had just lost his command, and the remaining one, He Zhen, seemed to have maintained a complete organization, but he surrendered so many times that the soldiers under his command had long lost the will to fight to the death.

If Zhu Cilang really thought that these three groups of people could hold out for a long time,
Ok.

The actual situation was different from what Zhu Cilang had imagined. Although the role of the reinforcements could not be ignored, the situation of the Ming army in the warehouse was much better than expected.

Under such circumstances, the reinforcements did not have to rush to break through the Tatar defense line, and Zhu Cilang had many more tactical options.

Morning of September 8
Hanzhong Rui Palace

Prince Rui was Zhu Cilang's uncle. He fled south due to the war and died at the hands of Zhang Xianzhong.

At this time, this palace, which took 26 years to build, had lost its former elegance due to the ravages of war. There were only a few palaces in the entire mansion that could still be used. In detail, it looked more like a military camp.

"Your Majesty, if this doesn't work, ask Guanzhong to send some artillery here."

Looking at Hauge who was full of worry, Luo Luohun thought for a while and then put forward his suggestion.

According to their original idea, as long as their 30,000 troops were stuck in Hanzhong City, there would be no possibility of communication between the Ming troops inside and outside.

After six or seven days' effort, the Ming army, whose food supply had been cut off, would be within easy reach.

This was easily foreseeable.

Although they did not have much food stored, they could still get some supplies from the Baoxiade Road leading to Guanzhong.

In contrast, the Ming army's logistics had been completely cut off by the Mongolian cavalry outside Yangping Pass. Even if the army still had some food reserves, it would not last for a few days.

If one thinks this way, the Ming army stuck in Hanzhong and unable to move will be completely passive, and Hauge can just wait patiently for the situation to turn around.

However, a small change on the battlefield could affect the entire body. Because of the battle in one corner of the battlefield, extremely subtle changes took place in Hanzhong.

By this time, Hauge had been thinking about a countermeasure for half the night but was unable to make up his mind for various reasons.

"Distant water cannot quench immediate thirst."

Seeing Luo Luohun make such a suggestion, Haoge just responded with one sentence and said nothing more.

He knew that if he could blow up the granary, he would be able to take the initiative, but Xi'an and Hanzhong were nearly a thousand miles apart, and he didn't know how much effort it would take to transport the artillery.

Furthermore, with the battle having reached this point, the food reserves of both sides will not last long. Instead of wasting time worrying about this, it would be better to concentrate on thinking of a solution in Hanzhong.

His idea was certainly appropriate, but Luo Luohun was no rookie after all, and he must have his reasons for coming up with such a seemingly unfeasible suggestion.

"Your Majesty, I am far inferior to you in terms of military strategy, but we still don't know the situation in the warehouse, such as the food stored inside."

Sure enough, just as Haoge finished speaking, Luo Luohun's voice came over. Then Haoge's face darkened, and he couldn't help but curse: "Damn Xing Ne!"

Haoge really wanted to eat Xingne's flesh and drink his blood, but Xingne was quite smart. After abandoning Hanzhong, he retreated directly to Baoxiade under the pretext of guarding against Guanzhong, leaving Haoge no chance to punish him.

"Okay, it's not wrong to make more preparations," Hauge said, and then he turned his eyes back to the map. After thinking for a while, he said, "Let Yue Le go to patrol the grain road."

Perhaps it was because the Ming troops inside and outside the city had already colluded with each other, or perhaps it was because of what Luo Luohun had not said.

Although Hauge still felt that the Ming army's food and grass would not last long at this time, he still made long-term plans.

All in all, the Ming troops he faced were extremely unusual.

Not only was the army well-prepared, but the soldiers were also well-trained and fearless.

Under such circumstances, deep down in his heart he naturally had some doubts about ending the Battle of Hanzhong in a short time.

That's all we have to say. There's actually nothing more to discuss.

The direction of this battle depends on whether the Ming army outside the city can get food and grass replenishment. At this time, even if Hauge is anxious, he can only focus more on setting up defenses in the city.

But when Luo Luohun was about to go to Yue Le in person to make some arrangements, a soldier ran in in a panic, and then another piece of terrible bad news came to their ears.

"Your Majesty, the grain convoy was attacked last night!"

Damn!
As soon as he finished speaking, Hauge's heart sank. He then took a few quick steps and lifted the soldier up from the ground. He waited for Luo Luohun to stop him before he asked in a hoarse voice.

"How is it possible?! How could the Ming army..."

Hauge's hand loosened weakly when he was halfway through his words. He then waved to the soldier and slumped down on the guest seat.

He was about to say, how could the Ming army find the way to Guanzhong when they first arrived, but in an instant he thought of the Ming army that broke through, and then he connected everything in his mind.

If the ones that broke out were Li Dingguo's troops, then even if the Ming army had made plans in advance, it would still take a day to find out where the road to Guanzhong was. However, the troops that broke out yesterday were all dressed like Ming soldiers, and both He Zhen and Sun Shoufa could be considered local tyrants.

With their guidance, how could it be surprising to attack the food supply route?

Great!
Thinking of this, Haoge felt more powerless.

He was not afraid of the food supply route being attacked. After all, the food stored in the army could last for a few days. If this batch was missing, there would always be the next batch.

The Ming army's food supply has been completely cut off. As long as he can get replenishment from the Baoxiade Road, he can eventually defeat the Ming army due to lack of food.

just
If the Ming army had not destroyed the food and fodder, but brought it back to the army
As his thoughts turned, a fire of ignorance and karma suddenly arose in Haoge's heart. But when he was about to vent his anger, he saw Luo Luohun returning to the room from outside.

"Did the barbarians transport the food away?" "Yes."

"how many?"

"More than a hundred stones."

After a simple conversation, both of them remained silent. After a few breaths, Luo Luohun said something tentatively.

"Or let Dayan send troops to protect the grain route."

According to Hauge's original idea, Dayan only needed to stay stationed around Yangping Pass to complete the mission, so he did not promise too many benefits to the Mongols.

But now the Ming army has found the road to Guanzhong. If he sends more troops to protect the grain route, the Ming army may completely open up the connections between the inside and the outside. If he sends too few people, he may be blocked outside the city by the Ming army.

Under such circumstances, the 20,000-strong cavalry became Hauge's only hope to escape from the unfavorable situation.
"The Khoshuts have a big appetite. When Gushri Khan came to Beijing, he asked for the Xining Guard. This time..."

Hauge's voice faded away halfway through his words.

At the beginning, Xining Guard was thousands of miles away from the Qing Dynasty's sphere of influence, so Huang Taiji could be generous to others without any psychological burden. But now the Qing Dynasty's tentacles have extended to the Tianshui area, and it is not far from Lanzhou Guard.

Under such circumstances, unless he can come up with another bargaining chip that can make Dayan interested, it will be difficult to convince the other party.

"Your Majesty, why don't you allow Heshuote to graze in Zhuanglangwei first, and then talk about other things after this incident?"

"Zhuanglangwei? Doesn't that mean we have to give up even the Pingfan position?"

After hearing what Luo Luohun said, Haoge's voice suddenly became louder.

Zhuanglang Wei is located in the northwest of Lanzhou Wei, and Napingfan is the seat of government. This Wei spans two mountains, blocking the only passage from Xining to Shaanxi and Gansu, and is also the southern gate of the Hexi Corridor.

If this place was lost, it would mean cutting off the Qing Dynasty's route to the west, and Hauge could not bear such a responsibility.

"Don't worry, Your Majesty. We will only allow Dayan to graze in the west of Zhuanglangwei. Once we defeat the Ming Dynasty, we will be able to find a reason to take it back."

To be honest, Hauge intended to use the west as the foundation for his competition with Dorgon, so he was unwilling to give up such an important place to others.

However, judging from the current situation, if there was no force to help him protect the food supply route, the battle of Hanzhong would add some variables. After thinking it over for a while, he sent Luo Luohun to Dayan's army in person.

Hanzhong and Yangping Pass are only a hundred miles apart, and Dayan's station is between the two. From the time Luo Luohun received the letter from Haoge, it only took him three or two hours to reach Dayan's tent.

Dayan was extremely cordial towards his arrival.

Before he entered the tent, the eldest prince of the Khoshut Khanate not only made every effort to welcome a distinguished guest, but even went out of the tent to greet him in person.

Faced with such a scene, Luo Luohun, the prince of the upper country, did not behave too arrogantly. After taking the Hada from Dayan, he hugged it tightly, as if he were a close friend who had not seen each other for many years.

"Prince Su is very happy that Taiji can come here at the invitation, but the Emperor Ming has been detained in Hanzhong, and the situation does not allow Prince Su to leave, so I am the one who comes to welcome the emperor. Taiji, please don't mind."

Emperor Ming?!
No wonder such a high stakes can be offered.

When Dayan heard the words, the smile on his face froze for a moment, but he had seen all kinds of ups and downs in his life, and in a moment his expression returned to its previous state.

"Your Highness, you are joking. My Hoshuote tribe is a vassal of the Qing Dynasty. If it weren't for the frequent scouts from Yangping Pass, I should have been the one to pay my respects to the two princes."

At this time, Dayan had thought everything through clearly. It had been several days since he came to this plain area, but Luo Luohun had just come to meet him under the pretext of welcoming him.

If you say this is just a superficial welcoming ceremony, he would never believe it even if you kill him.

However, he still didn't quite understand what the other party was planning, so he directly pointed out the difficulties as soon as he opened his mouth.

"It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter."

Seeing that Dayan did not respond, Luo Luohun raised the wine glass in his hand, and then both the host and the guest drank the wine in one gulp. The banquet began with laughter and joy.

After a while, the wine cabinet was empty and the food was tasteless.

After they flattered each other for a while, Luo Luohun gradually brought the topic to the point.

"It has only been more than ten years since the Khan migrated from the north to the south, but I didn't expect that he would have conquered such a vast empire in such a short period of time. He is truly a great leader on the grassland."

"Your Majesty, you are too kind. My father and I were able to gain a foothold in Qinghai-Tibet thanks to the majesty of our country, which was able to subdue those lamas. My father talks about this every day. If he was not worried about the inconvenience of traveling due to his old age, I am afraid he would have come to Beijing to pay homage to Your Majesty."

Dayan took over the conversation, but only said a lot of nonsense without mentioning anything else. However, it was this nonsense that allowed Luo Luohun to find a breakthrough. After he finished speaking, he began to speak quite generously.

"The Khan is indeed old, so there is no need for him to travel by boat. However, serving the court can also show the Khoshuts' loyalty to Your Majesty, and there is no need to make a special trip to Beijing."

After he finished speaking, Dayan's expression became a little unnatural, but when he was about to say something else, he heard Luo Luohun's voice again.

"I will not hide it from you, Taiji. Although your Highness has annihilated Zhang Xianzhong's army of 200,000 or 300,000 in one battle, the battle has lasted for several months and the soldiers are exhausted. If Taiji still wants to serve the court, I still have some small errands for you to handle."

A small errand?
What a shitty little job!
How can there be a small task when the Emperor Ming has already been imprisoned in Hanzhong? !

Although his thoughts were constantly turning, Dayan's expression did not change at all.

After all, he was a man who would not show his hand until he saw the rabbit. At this moment, his expression seemed to be waiting for the job that the prince of the upper kingdom would settle down, and also seemed to be waiting for the other party to give out chips.

Luo Luohun had dealt with many tribes on the grassland, so he was not surprised by Dayan's reaction. However, there were some things that he could not give directly. When the other party's smile seemed a little stiff, he slowly began to speak.

"Your Highness is now concentrating all his attention on the Emperor Ming, and has no spare energy to look after the grain route. It just so happens that Taiji has cavalry here, so why not send a few thousand captains to go around the Baoxiade Road?"

Look after the food supply?

Could it be that the Ming army had enough strength to attack the Qing army's food supply routes?
Thinking of this, Dayan's face showed some amusement, but he still didn't know the extent of the Ming army's remaining strength. After thinking for a moment, he smiled and said.

"Oh, since the prince trusts me so much, I can't hide it from the prince anymore. Neither Yarkand in the west nor Junggar in the north are easy to deal with. I'm actually..."

"Taiji!"

Just when Dayan was about to make another effort to solve the problem, a soldier rushed in. Before he could open his mouth to curse, he heard the soldier's panicked voice rang out in the tent.

"There are many Ming troops coming to Yangping Pass!"

(End of this chapter)