Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 757 Guerrilla
Zheng Hongkui's words made everyone suddenly enlightened, especially Zhu Shenzui, who was overjoyed.

Zhu Shenzhui never expected that Zheng Hongkui was not only proficient in naval warfare, but also understood guerrilla tactics. Isn't his set of tactics the guerrilla warfare of later generations?
There is a sixteen-word formula for guerrilla warfare, which is "When the enemy advances, we retreat; when the enemy stays, we harass; when the enemy is tired, we attack; when the enemy retreats, we pursue!" Zheng Hongkui learned this by himself and mastered the essence of it. If we follow Zheng Hongkui's suggestions, although we cannot achieve a blitzkrieg on Shenyang or even a direct attack on Huanglong, as long as the tactics are used properly, coupled with the advantage at sea, there will be no problem in causing trouble for the Jiannu.

And this trouble is not a small trouble, it is a big trouble.

Huang Taiji has now become the emperor, and the previous Later Jin has become the current Qing Dynasty. Huang Taiji is a man of great talent and strategy. He intends to take over the entire Liaodong and use it as a base, and then enter the pass to compete with the Ming Dynasty for the world. His strategic vision is indeed far-sighted, and Huang Taiji has done a good job over the years.

But Huang Taiji's foundation was still weak. Not to mention that the number of the Eight Banners was originally small, even from the time of Nurhaci to the present, the Jiannu had been trying to increase the number of the Eight Banners by capturing wild Jurchens and annexing other tribes in Liaodong to enrich their own strength.

But even so, how many people can there be in the entire Eight Banners? Today, the total number of men, women, old and young in the Eight Banners is only over 600,000. Among them, the number of Eight Banners people who are incorporated into the army plus Mongolian and Han military flags is about 100,000. From this point of view, it is nothing compared to the huge population base of the Ming Dynasty.

Huang Taiji himself was aware of this problem. He also wanted to quickly increase the population of the Eight Banners, but increasing the population was not something that could be accomplished easily. Even if the young and old of the Eight Banners were as reproducible as they could be, it would still take a long time to increase the current base to over one million.

Besides, it takes at least ten to twenty years for a generation to grow up. How could Huang Taiji wait that long? Moreover, he had to fight the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, the population factor was one of the important factors restricting the development of the Jiannu. In the case of being unable to quickly increase the population of the Eight Banners, Huang Taiji could only supplement the population by establishing the Eight Banners of Mongolia and the Eight Banners of Han Army.

Even so, the number of people Huang Taiji could add was limited, and the total population of the entire Liaodong under Huang Taiji's rule did not exceed one million. This number seems to be a lot, but in fact it is not much. For example, it is barely enough in Liaodong, but if you want to enter the interior and compete with the Ming Dynasty for the world, this number of people is not enough.

Apart from population, there is productivity.

The Jiannu were originally a fishing and hunting nation, and their way of survival was different from that of an agricultural civilization. After Nurhaci established the Later Jin, he still maintained the characteristics of his original nation, and most of his materials were obtained through war and plunder. Although this method could quickly enhance his strength and enable him to develop rapidly, the disadvantages were also real.

Once they are unable to plunder enough supplies in this way, they will not be able to meet their needs by relying solely on fishing and hunting, which will cause great difficulties. At that time, let alone expansion, even their own survival will become a problem.

At that time, Sun Chengzong implemented a series of tactics in Liaodong, such as taking every step carefully, defending instead of attacking, and blocking the Later Jin, which made Nurhaci miserable. If Sun Chengzong had not left Liaodong because of Wei Zhongxian, and Yuan Chonghuan had not changed Sun Chengzong's tactics after taking over as the governor of Liaodong, the Jian Nu in Liaodong might have been pacified long ago.

Without the grain sold privately by Yuan Chonghuan, the Jian Nu would have starved to death, and how could they fight? It was Yuan Chonghuan's actions that directly destroyed Sun Chengzong's years of hard work, and finally let the Jian Nu catch his breath, which led to the Ji Si Incident after Huang Taiji succeeded to the throne.

Huang Taiji had a longer-term vision than Nurhaci and was very clear about his own disadvantages. After he succeeded to the throne, he not only established the Eight Banners of Mongolia and the Eight Banners of Han Army, but also directly adjusted the policy towards the Liaodong Liao people, implemented a series of measures such as treating the Liao people well, encouraging production, and cultivating and reclaiming wasteland, so that the Later Jin in his hands, now the Qing Dynasty, gradually shifted from fishing and hunting to farming.

Huang Taiji knew that he could not survive long-term by plundering alone. Only through farming could he ensure self-sufficiency, slowly accumulate strength, take over the entire Liaodong at the best time, and then find a way to conquer the world.

However, no matter how good Huang Taiji's policies were, it was impossible to generate immediate benefits. Grain is not something you can plant today and harvest tomorrow. Planting in spring and harvesting in autumn is a long-term and continuous task. In addition, it is now a small ice age, the weather is abnormal, the summer is dry, and the winter comes early. Even the provinces of the Ming Dynasty have suffered from frequent famines, not to mention Liaodong further north.

Judging from various circumstances, although Huang Taiji has a strong military force and is suppressing the Ming army in Liaodong, he is now besieging Jinzhou, forcing the Ming army not to dare to come to reinforce. As long as they wait patiently until the food in Jinzhou is eaten up and Zu Dashou is trapped in the isolated city with no ammunition or food, Jinzhou will surely be taken.

But in fact, Huang Taiji is not without weaknesses. His weakness is that his foundation is too poor and his background is insufficient.

Although the Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty were good at fighting, their overall foundation was not good, their material reserves were not much, and their productivity was seriously insufficient. This siege of Jinzhou cost Huang Taiji a lot of money. Zu Dashou had to eat food in the city. Did Huang Taiji and his Eight Banners not eat food?
With such little output in Liaodong, Huang Taiji could not support a long war. He adopted such a tactic just to gamble on who would collapse first. Relying on the supplies of most of Liaodong to meet the needs of the front line, he would first wait out Zu Dashou in Jinzhou. If the Ming army could not wait to send troops to rescue, it would be great. Huang Taiji could just besiege the city and defeat the Ming reinforcements with the elite Eight Banners in his hands.

To put it bluntly, if Zu Dashou's material reserves in Jinzhou were enough to support one or two years, Huang Taiji would not have besieged Jinzhou like he did now, because Huang Taiji's actions would not only be ineffective, but would eventually have to retreat due to the continuous consumption and shortage of his own materials over time. Zheng Hongkui proposed to use guerrilla warfare to harass Huang Taiji's rear, carry out raids and harassment, and continue to bleed the enemy. This tactic may seem like a small fight, but it is the best way after careful consideration.

The territory controlled by Huang Taiji had a poor foundation, low productivity, and an even weaker economy. Although these methods could not significantly eliminate the Eight Banners' manpower, this tactic could directly strike at the production and economy of the area controlled by Huang Taiji.

Once the reclaimed farmland was destroyed, the grain was looted, and the Eight Banners' garrisons were attacked or even occupied, the consequences would be extremely serious.

You must know that when the Japanese pirates were rampant in the southeast of the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty was already in a state of despair despite its national strength and size, not to mention the Qing Dynasty, whose strength and foundation were far inferior to that of the Ming Dynasty.

If this is done, Huang Taiji will definitely not be able to bear such a loss, and it will directly affect his deployment on the front line. The fire in the backyard, the destruction of supplies, and the killing of people will cause panic among the people. It is conceivable what Huang Taiji will choose at that time.

Thinking of this, Zhu Shenzui couldn't help but smile. He asked Zheng Hongkui some more questions, including some details of the landing operation, and how to deal with the possibility if Huang Taiji mobilized the navy on Pi Island or even the navy of Korea.

Zheng Hongkui expressed his opinion without hesitation. He said that these problems were not serious. Although Huang Taiji also had a navy, and this navy was brought over by Shang Kexi when he defected to Huang Taiji, the scale of this navy was not large and would not pose much threat.

Moreover, Zheng Hongkui patted his chest and said that if Shang Kexi wanted to fight a naval battle with him, it would be like an old man hanging himself because he thought his life was too long. The Zheng brothers had never been afraid of anyone in a naval battle. As for the Korean navy, it was even more unnecessary. The Korean navy was all just for show. It was fine to fight a favorable battle, but if a real battle came, Zheng Hongkui could beat the shit out of them with his eyes closed.

"I brought a few followers with me when I came to Beijing this time. They are all good at naval warfare. I can incorporate them into the army. I guarantee there will be no problem!"

"Okay!" Zhu Shenzhui's eyes sparkled. He felt relieved since Zheng Hongkui had expressed his opinion. Moreover, Zheng Hongkui's method was the most appropriate at the moment, and Zheng Hongkui was the most suitable person to command the navy.

As for Zheng Zhilong in Fujian, Zhu Shenzhui did not consider him. Zheng Zhilong was a man of many thoughts, and he might not be willing to go north. The court could not wait too long for the Liaodong war. Instead of letting Zheng Hongkui persuade Zheng Zhilong and delaying the time, it would be safer to send the Shandong navy to fight alone.

"Zheng Hongkui!"

"Wei Chen is here!"

"Zheng Hongkui is the deputy commander-in-chief of Leiden, holding the title of commander-in-chief, and commanding the Shandong Navy!"

Zheng Hongkui's body trembled slightly, and his face showed ecstasy. Although he was already the governor of Laizhou, the position of deputy general was much higher than that of a mere governor, which was equivalent to becoming a general in the army. In addition, Zhu Shenzhui also let him directly hold the title of general, which was equivalent to telling him directly that as long as this battle was fought well, the title of general would be his. How could Zheng Hongkui not be ecstatic with such a generous reward? You must know that his elder brother Zheng Zhilong was only a guerrilla in Fujian's coastal defense at the moment, and he was awarded the title of the Five Tigers Guerrilla General. This official position seemed to be good, but in fact, the title of the Five Tigers Guerrilla General was just a general of a miscellaneous brand, how could it be compared with a formal military position?

"Your humble servant thanks the Regent for your longevity! Long live a thousand thousand thousand years!" Zheng Hongkui knelt down in front of Zhu Shenzhui without hesitation and prostrated himself to express his gratitude.

Zhu Shenzhui helped him up with a smile, encouraged him a few words, and told him to go back and make preparations, and go to Shandong to take over the Shandong Navy after the court officially appointed him tomorrow. In addition, this battle is important, Zhu Shenzhui will send a general to be his deputy, Zheng Hongkui will command the navy, and the other party will command the army, and the two sides will cooperate to attack Liaodong. After the victory after the battle, the court will reward him handsomely. He hopes that Zheng Hongkui will not disappoint his expectations.

Zheng Hongkui's face flushed with excitement. He patted his chest and assured Zhu Shenzhui that he would do his best in this battle to defeat the Jiannu in Liaodong, and told Zhu Shenzhui not to worry, he would live up to his expectations.

(End of this chapter)