Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 472 What went wrong?

Huai'an's structure is actually somewhat distorted.

On the surface, this is the temporary residence of the Hongguang small court, and all power is in the hands of Hong Chengchou.

But in reality, this small court was just a puppet of the Qing Dynasty, and military matters still had to wait for Lekedehun to make the final decision.

Of course, Hong Chengchou was not completely without a say in military affairs.

After all, the four towns in northern Jiangnan had a total of four to five hundred thousand people. In addition to the tens of thousands of people who were buried in the south of the Yangtze River by Duoduo, there were also a large number of surrendered troops stationed in Lianghuai.

If all these troops were handed over to someone from the Aisin-Gioro family, I'm afraid the princes in Beijing would be unable to sleep or eat in peace.

Therefore, it was the most appropriate choice for Hong Chengchou and Lekedehun to carry out dual-line management of these troops. Tong Yangjia, who wanted to mobilize the troops in Jiangbei, came here after being rejected.

But for Hong Chengchou, his visit was really a bit abrupt.

After all, no matter whether the Tong family were real Manchus or had changed their ancestors, Hong Chengchou had to keep his distance from them. Moreover, in terms of official position, he was only the commander of an army. If something really happened, it should be Lekedehun who should come forward.

According to this situation, Hong Chengchou should have directly rejected Tong Yangjia's words. However, as a Han minister who held great power, he still had many concerns. After hearing the other party's intention, he could only pretend to be submissive.

"General Tong, the matters in Huai'an were decided by Prince Rui, and we are only responsible for the execution. If you have any additions, it is best to submit a memorial to Beijing to avoid different armies acting in different ways."

Hong Chengchou's words were euphemistic, but his inner meaning was quite straightforward. However, Tong Yangjia didn't know whether he had other ideas or was blinded by his great military achievements, but he still refused to give in after hearing these words.

"Master Hong, I won't hide it from you. The people in Beijing have been frightened by the Southern Army. They may even retreat back to the interior of the country," Tong Yangjia said, pausing for a moment. He sorted out the cause and effect in his mind before continuing, "Prince Rui's plan to catch the turtle in the jar is to boost the morale of those people so that they can gather all their strength for the subsequent battles."

Hong Chengchou knew more about Dorgon's thoughts than Tong Yangjia, but he didn't quite understand why Tong Yangjia said that.

After all, it's no secret that some people are discouraged.

If the Qing Dynasty had not been worried that easily abandoning Lianghuai would cause these people to do something unwise, it could have retreated further north and organized a major war after avoiding the Ming army's advantage.

As his mind turned, there was a hint of inquiry in his eyes, and Tong Yangjia's voice followed.

"If we want to fight, we should go all out. How can we let the army retreat behind?"

Hearing this, Hong Chengchou finally understood the other party's thoughts, and couldn't help but look down on him a little.

The current situation is very clear. Under the influence of internal pressure and other factors, the Qing Dynasty cannot easily give up Lianghuai. If it wants to stabilize people's hearts, it must find an opportunity to win a victory.

The victory does not need to be big, and even a small loss is not a big deal. As long as the propaganda emphasizes that the Qing Dynasty inflicted a huge blow to the Ming army when the Ming army had the advantage of geographical location, the haze caused by the previous defeats should be largely dispelled.

Obviously, Tong Yangjia, as the main force in this battle, understood this, but he seemed to have some unrealistic expectations for the ultimate goal of this battle.

When it comes to war, it's all about making the best use of everything, not just the more people the better.

It seems that there are rivers here and there and lakes of various sizes around Huai'an. After searching everywhere, only the area of ​​20 to 30 miles in radius in the southwest does not need to worry about the Ming army's navy.

If we really stuff a large army into such a terrain, then victory will be good for both of us, but if there is any mistake, all the capital we have invested will be lost.

Thinking of this, Hong Chengchou hesitated for a moment and then explained in detail to Tong Yangjia. However, who would have thought that the other party not only failed to understand the inner meaning, but also showed signs of continuing to pester him.

Seeing this, he knew that it was useless to say more, so he found an excuse to leave him at the gate of the "temporary palace", and then he got on the carriage and went directly to the palace.

But on the way back, he still couldn't help but have some doubts in his mind.

Tong Yangjia was not completely ignorant of military affairs. He was aware of the fact that the army could not be deployed. However, under such circumstances, he still wanted to transfer the army north of the Yellow River. This seemed unreasonable no matter how you looked at it.

Oh~~~, let’s talk about it after this battle is over.

Thinking of this, Hong Chengchou, who was sitting in the car, closed his eyes, as if he was planning the details of the battle in Huai'an. After the other party left, Tong Yangjia turned around and left Huai'an, as if he had given up his thoughts.

Due to the refusal of the Manchu and Han leaders, this setback did not have any impact on the Qing army's deployment.

After a few days, this matter was forgotten by everyone, and the Qing army near Huai'an also waited quietly for the arrival of the Ming army according to the original plan.

What was beyond their expectations was that the Ming army, which was supposed to enter Hongze directly after conquering Yangzhou, surrounded Gaoyou instead, and did not advance at all due to its superior military strength.

Seeing this situation, the Qing army was naturally a little anxious. They had already set the battlefield in the Huai'an area, and the previous arrangements were only to dispel the Ming army's doubts.

Under such circumstances, even though they were getting more and more anxious day by day for fear of exposing their tracks, they could only wait patiently in the face of the Ming army's orderly operations.

Speaking of this, we have to talk about the terrain around Gaoyou.

Before the Yellow River changed its course, there were only the Grand Canal and a few unknown waterways to the west of this city.

Later, the Huai River was forced by the Yellow River to have nowhere to go, so it flowed back along the old river channels and canals. There is no need to say much about low-lying areas like Hongze, and even a large lake gradually appeared west of Gaoyou.

By this time, the lake named Gaoyou had a radius of more than 100 miles, and Gaoyou City, located near its southern exit, could still be considered a checkpoint.

It’s just that each level is always different.

For example, Yangping Pass controls a narrow road of two or three miles wide, and is an extremely important pass. However, the south entrance of Gaoyou Lake is unusually wide. In addition to the canal, there are several waterways that can reach the vicinity of Yangzhou.

Under such circumstances, if the defenders here do not have the advantage of the navy, they will not be able to control the north-south waterway, and their strategic value will be like chicken ribs.

The so-called military is expensive and quick.

Normally, after conquering Yangzhou, the Ming army should have marched straight into Hongze from Gaoyou Lake, found a suitable place to stay, and then carefully planned the next step.

just
"boom!"

"Boom!" "Boom!"

As waves of roars came one after another, Gaoyou's thin city walls began to shake visibly under the impact of the shells.

If it had been any other time, the civil and military officials in the city would have been somewhat panicked after encountering such a fierce attack from the enemy. However, at this time, not only was there no tension in Gaoyou City about the enemy attacking the city, but there were even lights and decorations near the main gate, as if to celebrate something.

"Master! We don't have enough silk!"

"Ah? It's finished so soon?"

Listening to the report from the foreman of the mansion, Qin Siyuan couldn't help but suck his teeth.

He was originally the prefect of Gaoyou in the Ming Dynasty. After Liu Zeqing abandoned his army and fled, he led the local garrison to surrender to the Qing Dynasty.

It was because the Qing court lacked officials, so people like him who were knowledgeable and interesting would naturally stay in office. However, he had not even found his superior in the Qing court yet, and the Ming Dynasty sent troops to the Northern Expedition again, and he was helpless.

No matter what, no matter who occupies the world, they will need officials to collect taxes for the court, right?
If the city had not been bombarded before he could react, he might have welcomed the royal army long ago.

But then again, it was said that the prince had enforced military discipline very strictly after ascending the throne, and that no household had been robbed or village massacred in the long time the government troops had been crossing the river. As long as the people he sent out could see the generals leading the troops before the invasion, it would not be difficult for him in Gaoyou to gain the reputation of being a rebel under the attack of silver and money.

"Oh, Lord Fu! We have to set up one or two on both sides of this street, otherwise we will run out of space."

"I don't know what kind of people you are. It's ok to take advantage of others normally, but how dare you do it in such a situation today? Are you really that bold?"

"Your Excellency! It's unfair! Even though you allocated 25 rolls of silk, it can't stand such a decoration. Otherwise, why don't you come with me and take a look. I will definitely be able to figure out the whole story for you!"

Seeing the squad leader crying out that it was a great injustice, Lin Siyuan's face immediately darkened, and the squad leader also tactfully shut his mouth after seeing his own expression, obviously he was also a discerning person.

To be honest, no matter how much silk was used, it had nothing to do with Lin Siyuan.

After all, these things were all from the wealthy families in the city, and he didn't pay for them out of his own pocket.

But then again, he had to sell more than fifty pieces of silk before, and any leftovers would go into his pocket. Now, if the team leader used an inch of silk, it would be equivalent to fleecing Lin Siyuan. Under such circumstances, he had to supervise the team closely.

"I'll give you two more horses. If that's still not enough, expect to lose your head!"

"That's enough! That's enough!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the foreman, who had a sad face a moment ago, immediately became smiling. He then bowed to his master before turning away. Lin Siyuan, after thinking for a moment, turned to the clerk beside him.

"Go and tell Master Wang and the others that the royal army is in great need of military supplies for the Northern Expedition, and that we should do more to be on the safe side."

"Your Excellency, two hundred thousand is a lot. When the enemy chieftain came here earlier, we also offered him two hundred thousand."

There was nothing wrong with what the clerk said. Although there had been constant wars in recent years, a family of four in Gaoyou only needed 17 or 18 taels of silver a year to survive. Two hundred thousand was indeed not a small number.

Of course, for an army that has spent a lot of money, this amount of money may not last long, but this money is called a tribute to the royal army, but in fact it is delivered to the hands of the generals leading the troops. In this way, this amount of money must be enough.

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"You said enough, so that's enough," Lin Siyuan didn't seem to have much negative emotion because of the clerk's questioning. He just said it lightly and looked at the shaking city wall. But when the clerk thought that the matter had come to an end, he said sinisterly: "But Yangzhou is empty, I wonder if those soldiers haven't gotten any benefits yet."

Damn!
The clerk's heart sank when he heard the words. He then apologized and ran straight into the city without waiting for his master to do anything.

"Humph!"

Seeing the other party leave, Lin Siyuan just sneered and turned his attention back.

He knew that this person had numerous connections with the wealthy families in the city, and he also knew that the other party was afraid that he would gain too much benefit from it.

But then again, Yangzhou, the most prosperous city in Lianghuai, had been massacred by the Tartars, leaving no one alive, and the only thing left was Gaoyou City.

Under such circumstances, if they could not come up with enough money to feed the government army generals, even if the Emperor Ming had strict military discipline, there was no guarantee that the generals would not find ways to make things difficult for the local people.

By then, not only would he, the prefect of Gaoyou, have a hard time, but even the wealthy families in the city would suffer.

As his thoughts turned, time gradually passed, and at this moment a gap nearly ten feet wide suddenly appeared in the upper part of the city wall, but he could not help but walk towards the other side of the city wall.

The people who went to negotiate with the Ming army had left for a long time, but there was no sign of the artillery fire stopping. He was worried that something might have happened.

Could it be that the general leading the troops is not satisfied?

Or maybe I failed to meet the person in charge?
As he walked towards the city, thoughts kept coming to Lin Siyuan's mind, but after all, he had surrendered once and was more or less familiar with such things. As soon as these thoughts came into his mind, he suppressed them one by one based on his experience and could not think of any possibility.

After all, he has shown great sincerity, so even if the other party is not satisfied, he should bargain.

What's more, the people sent out are capable and they know the principle of using money to pave the way.

If we think about it this way, the generals of the government army should have agreed to the conditions, and the artillery should have stopped firing, but now.
Before he knew it, Lin Siyuan had already climbed to the top of the city wall. However, when he saw the scene outside the city clearly, any doubts in his heart were immediately dispelled.

At this time, a large group of soldiers were marching towards Gaoyou in formation, apparently preparing to attack the city after seeing that the city wall was in danger.

But he really couldn't understand why the Ming army still did this when he had already shown enough sincerity.

"Run! The Ming army is attacking the city!"

When Lin Siyuan was in a daze, bursts of shouting brought him back to reality. He then glanced around blankly, and then he saw teams of soldiers running towards the city.

Seeing this, this civil servant, who had always been quick-witted, stood there in a daze, not knowing whether he was frightened by the scene before him or did not understand why the Ming army did such a thing.

"What went wrong?"

(End of this chapter)