Zhu Yuanzhang in the cellar

Chapter 301 As long as we return to the North, everything will be alright.

In mid-December, Zhu De's army marched in a grand procession straight towards Wenzhou.

At this time, the world situation changed too quickly.

In just a few months, the Manchu Qing dynasty went from possessing the entire land of China to losing most of its territory.

It's not just in the southern regions.

Apart from Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou, Hunan, Hubei, Guangdong, Guangxi, Jiangxi, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang, which were already occupied by the Ming army.

Problems have also arisen in many places in the north.

Zhu Di went north to pursue Wu Sangui, chasing him all the way to Shaanxi. Wu Sangui also rushed to Shanxi without stopping, and Shaanxi was lost just like that.

Following the annihilation of Ao Bai's army, Anhui, Henan, Shandong and other regions began to experience chaos, with many Qing troops stationed in the areas fleeing and government operations coming to a standstill.

The main purpose was for the Manchu Qing dynasty to control local areas. They would send Green Standard Army troops to various prefectures and counties across the country, and station Eight Banners troops in major cities or strategic locations.

As a strategically important location, Beijing was heavily guarded by Green Standard Army and Eight Banner troops, with approximately 100,000 Eight Banner soldiers alone, making it a formidable military force.

As a result, in the Battle of Chongqing, the 60,000 Eight Banner soldiers and more than 100,000 Green Standard Army troops led by Ao Bai were all wiped out, as were the more than 200,000 local troops who were besieging Emperor Yongli and the Thirteen Families of Kuidong.

This is a huge blow to Beijing.

Therefore, the Qing government had no choice but to recall a large number of troops from the north to safeguard the capital.

For example, they had many Eight Banner soldiers stationed in places such as Jining and Linqing in Shandong, Xuzhou in Jiangsu, Xi'an in Shaanxi, and Taiyuan in Shanxi.

In fact, they also exist in Jiangning, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Fuzhou, and places outside the Great Wall such as Shengjing, Ningyuan, and Liaojin.

These armies serve three purposes.

First, to resist Zheng Chenggong's Southern Ming army; second, to ensure the transport of taxes and grain from Jiangnan to Beijing along the Grand Canal; and third, to form a northern defense network to prevent foreign invasion.

However, the Qing troops in Suzhou, Hangzhou, and Fuzhou were also wiped out by the Ming Dynasty. Only the three thousand men in Jiangning managed to escape and were not surrounded.

The Qing government managed to gather a few tens of thousands of Eight Banner troops stationed in the north and escape back.

Adding to the remaining Green Standard Army troops in Henan, Shandong, Hebei, Shanxi, and Beijing, by piecing together various forces, Beijing could still muster about 70,000 to 80,000 Eight Banner soldiers and over 100,000 Green Standard Army soldiers.

If the Tartars continue to conscript large numbers of laborers and able-bodied men in the north, using the strategy of exchanging taxes for heads, it shouldn't be too difficult for them to raise another army of five or six hundred thousand.

But the consequences of doing so are obvious.

That is, the Tartars recalled all their troops to Beijing, and many northern provinces were short of troops, or even had no troops at all to defend them.

The only force to maintain order was the local government officials, specifically the county and state yamen runners.

At this time, the people in the north were also in a state of panic, and many officials had abandoned their posts and fled. It was still unknown how many of the yamen runners and officials would remain loyal to the Qing Dynasty.

As a result, many areas in Anhui, Henan, and southern Shandong, which are close to the south, were without government offices.

With no one in charge of maintaining order, public security declined in stages, and countless bandits, rebels, and rioters emerged under the banner of uprising. The further south one went, the more chaotic things became.

In this situation, the Qing Dynasty lost not only the south, but most of the country. Their strategic retreat extended to the Beijing area, and they were almost completely powerless to fight back.

Meanwhile, Fujian, the only remaining stronghold in the south, was already surrounded by the Ming army on three fronts.

Time slowly passed until December 17th.

It's almost the end of the month.

The Ming army in Zhangzhou attacked and captured cities and territories along the way, breaking through Quanzhou and Putian, and approaching Fuzhou.

They even stationed themselves in Fuqing County, waiting for Lao Zhu's main force.

Zhu's side also launched a swift offensive. After capturing Wenzhou Prefecture in Zhejiang, they continued south, conquering Fuzhou Prefecture and joining forces with Feng Sheng, Lan Yu, and others to launch a pincer attack on Fuzhou Prefecture from the north and south.

At the same time, Fu Youde and his men also broke through Yanping Prefecture and captured Nanping City. With almost no obstacles, they moved eastward to Minqing and threatened Min County.

By the 19th, the Ming army had surrounded Fuzhou on three sides and slowly arrived outside the city.

At this time in Fuzhou, Fujian, Prince Jingnan Geng Jimao, Governor-General of Fujian and Zhejiang Li Shuaitai, Admiral of the Navy Ma Degong, Deputy Commander of Fuzhou Ayushi, and others led the remaining 70,000 to 80,000 Qing troops to huddle inside the city.

Of the 140,000 Qing troops, at least 40,000 to 50,000 have now dispersed. In addition, the local garrison troops were deceived by their superiors and were annihilated by the Ming army, a truly tragic sight.

Upon seeing the Ming army's overwhelming advance, opinions within the city were divided.

Geng Jimao and Ma Degong wanted to escape by boat, while Li Shuotai and Ayushi wanted to hold the city and wait for reinforcements.

In fact, they generally understood that there would be no reinforcements.

After all, more than two months, almost three months, have passed since the Battle of Chongqing, the Battle of Jiangning, and now.

If there were truly reinforcements, Beijing would have sent a large army long ago; it wouldn't have been delayed until now.

However, Ayushi and Li Shutai were a Manchu and a Manchu Han Chinese Plain Blue Banner, respectively, and were loyal to the Qing Dynasty, so it was impossible for them to escape in a sorry state.

Moreover, in the Battle of Xiamen last year, the Qing Dynasty's navy was almost completely annihilated by Zheng Chenggong. Only now have they trained a force of more than 10,000 men. If they were to go to sea and fight Zheng Chenggong's fleet, they would be doomed.

However, as the Ming army drew ever closer and news of the complete annihilation of Qing troops in various regions continued to arrive, Li Shuotai and Ayushi began to waver and ultimately decided to escape by boat.

They possessed a large number of ships in Fujian. In order to suppress Zheng Chenggong, the Qing government built thousands of ships in shipyards in Fuzhou and other places, and deployed numerous cannons on the shore.

On the 19th, when scouts discovered that the Ming army vanguard had crossed the Min River, breached the fortifications outside the city, and was less than 20 li away from Fuzhou, Li Shuaitai and his men finally decided to abandon the city!
Fuzhou city could not possibly house so many troops; most of their forces were outside the city. When faced with a Ming army with such martial prowess, they were almost no match for them, and defending the city would have meant certain death.

So they left the city without stopping and had their soldiers board the ships immediately.

As the year draws to a close, the temperature is cold and the weather is gloomy.

Actually, Fujian was experiencing continuous rain a few days ago, which is a common occurrence in Fujian.

The roads become difficult to travel after rain.

Even so, the Ming army still managed to reach Fuzhou without any obstacles.

On a mountain about 20 miles outside Fuzhou city, a drone was seen overlooking the city despite a level 4 or 5 sea breeze.

Old Zhu stood atop the mountain, the wind whipping his robes, two strands of white hair at his temples swaying gently in the breeze.

"The Tartars have run away."

Looking at the footage from the drone, Zhu Yunfeng casually remarked, "Just as expected."

"Ah."

Old Zhu pondered for a moment and nodded, saying, "Countless Tartars have escaped these days. If we want to annihilate them all without harming the civilians, then this is the only way."

If they wanted to attack Fuzhou directly, they could have acted swiftly. However, they pressed forward relentlessly, constantly putting pressure on the Qing army in Fuzhou.

This was naturally done to force the Qing army in Fuzhou to go to sea.

The Battle of Chongqing annihilated the Qing army, but it also killed many civilians and laborers who had been conscripted by the Qing army.

In the Battle of Jiangning, Liu Liangzuo was executed by slow slicing, and the Qing army in the city was emptied. However, during the bombardment of Nanjing, some shells landed in the residential area of ​​the city, killing some Nanjing residents.

Whether in ancient or modern warfare, it is common for civilians to be accidentally injured.

Many of these incidents were not even accidental.

The Manchu Tartars carried out massacres in various parts of Jiangnan, leaving cities completely deserted when they fell.

When the Japanese pirates invaded, they burned, killed, and looted everywhere. The 300,000 deaths in Nanjing were only the number counted; many more were lost to history.

Squid were no pushovers either, although they didn't kill millions or even tens of millions of Han Chinese like the Manchus and Japanese pirates.

But they are heading in that direction, seemingly poised to slaughter the two million local residents.

The Ming army naturally wouldn't target civilians, but even artillery could plow through the ground during a siege. Moreover, many Qing soldiers escaped during the Ming offensive.

Qing generals couldn't easily escape; they were too conspicuous. But ordinary Qing Green Standard Army soldiers could simply strip off their uniforms, change into civilian clothes, and blend into the civilian population—they were virtually impossible to catch. From Huguang to Liangguang, and then to Jiangnan and Jiangxi, countless Green Standard Army soldiers who had committed numerous crimes during the massacres transformed themselves into civilians to evade capture.

Therefore, Zhu De really needed to come up with a plan to annihilate the Qing army in Fuzhou.

The solution is to send them out to sea.

We arrived at sea.

Since there were no civilians and no way to escape, there was naturally no possibility of accidentally harming civilians or the Tartars changing clothes and fleeing.

Seeing that the Qing army had fallen into the trap, Zhu took out a walkie-talkie and said, "Continue the advance and force them to go to sea quickly."

"Yes."

A reply came from the other end of the walkie-talkie.

Immediately afterwards, the three Ming armies quickened their pace and moved closer to Fuzhou.

Almost half an hour after the Tartars boarded the ship, the Ming army appeared in the distance.

Realizing that the Ming army was arriving too quickly, Li Shuotai and his men disregarded everything else and ordered the ships to set sail.

They had anticipated that they might not be able to hold Fuzhou, so they moved a lot of supplies onto ships early on, leaving only half a year's worth of food in the city.

Otherwise, given the Ming army's offensive and the Qing army's indecisiveness, they might not even have had a chance to transport supplies before being surrounded.

About two quarters of an hour later, the mighty Ming army had arrived outside Fuzhou City.

But what they saw was a scene of countless ships sailing south down the Min River.

"See Your Majesty!"

The three Ming armies converged outside Fuzhou City.

Old Zhu's carriage, protected by hundreds of guards, also arrived outside the city.

Surrounded by mountains and plains, countless Ming soldiers slowly arrived, and Fuzhou City and its surroundings were already engulfed in the flames of war of the Ming Dynasty.

Fu Youde, Feng Sheng, Lan Yu, Tang Shengzong, Lu Zhongheng and others gathered and came to pay their respects in front of Old Zhu's carriage.

Accompanying him was Zhang Huangyan, who cautiously observed the founding emperor. Seeing the dignified look on Zhu's face, he became even more convinced of his authority and respectfully paid homage.

"Well, let's get flat."

Old Zhu stepped down from the carriage and strode to the banks of the Minjiang River, gazing at the great river to the south.

It was just past noon, and although the weather was gloomy, countless boats could still be vaguely seen on the distant river, sailing away into the distance.

"How's the setup going?"

Old Zhu asked.

Feng Sheng replied, "Your Majesty, I have already dispatched all the mortar units to the ships, and Zheng Chenggong's troops have blocked the estuary."

"Yes, don't let a single Tartar ship escape. I want them to drink their fill of the ocean."

"Yes."

"Ancestor, the drone footage has been transmitted back."

Zhu Yunfeng was holding a tablet, which was connected to a power bank and had 100% battery.

Old Zhu took the tablet and saw a scene of the vast river on the screen.

The Minjiang River's lower reaches have a wide estuary, ranging from four or five hundred meters wide in some places to two or three kilometers wide in others. The river surface is turbulent, with boats of all sizes navigating the waves.

Looking down through the high-definition camera, one can also see that on a ship in the center of the fleet, many people dressed in the attire of high-ranking Tartar officials are standing on the stern deck, looking smugly towards the city of Fuzhou.

"Ming Nie still wants to catch us? Dream on."

"What a pity for Fuzhou."

"Given the current situation, we need to leave first before we can talk about anything else."

Geng Jimao, Li Shuotai, Ayushi and others discussed it extensively.

"Ugh."

Geng Jimao suddenly looked dejected and leaned on the railing, saying, "We can't get ashore along the southeast coast now. We'll probably have to drift at sea for months before we reach Shandong."

"It would be good if we could get back alive. Who would have thought that Ming Nie would suddenly have so many troops and so many powerful firearms?"

"That's true, but I don't know what the imperial court will do."

"It was previously said that Zheng Sen may have purchased new cannons from the Franks, which are extremely powerful. If the imperial court can also purchase them, it may not be without the ability to fight."

"By the way, speaking of this..."

Ma Degong frowned and said, "The Ming traitors have suddenly gained momentum. I'm not worried about anything else, but I'm worried about that bastard Zheng Sen. What if they block our way at the estuary if we go out to sea?"

"We only decided to go by sea at the last minute, and they may not be able to send ships."

Li Shuotai comforted him, saying, "Besides, I heard from those who came here before that Zheng Sen's army is currently in Taiwan, and the sea breeze is strong recently, so he won't be able to come over so soon."

"I hope so."

As the naval admiral, Ma Degong naturally had these concerns, but there was nothing he could do about it.

Li Shuotai encouraged them, saying, “Gentlemen, we are already fortunate to have withdrawn safely from Fuzhou. Let’s not think about anything else and just wait on the ship. In the previous battle in Chongqing, the terrain was unfavorable to us. There were many mountains and dense forests, and the cavalry could not fight, which led to our crushing defeat. Once we reach the north, the terrain will be flat, which will be the battlefield for our Great Qing. If they cross the Yangtze River and approach Henan, I believe the court will definitely gather a large number of cavalry. Even if their artillery is powerful, it is not as fast as horses. When they get close, they will only be slaughtered.”

"Yes, their artillery is indeed powerful, but I just don't believe it. Do you think their artillery can grow legs?"

"That's right, once we get close, the Eight Banners of our Great Qing Dynasty are invincible!"

"Then we'll definitely teach those Ming barbarians a lesson."

Several Manchu generals spoke in turn.

They had never actually witnessed the power of rifles; they only knew from scouts that the Ming army always used cannons to blast open the city walls and storm in whenever they attacked a city, so they had no idea that the Ming army had guns.

For a time, it did somewhat shake up morale, allowing these senior generals to still hold a sliver of hope for Beijing.

"Yes, that's good. Once we get back to the North, everything will be alright."

Geng Jimao was also comforted and gained a little more confidence. Looking at the direction of Fuzhou City that had disappeared in the distance, he said, "Let's go to the bow of the ship. Once we're out at sea, we'll be free from all constraints."

The group reached the bow of the ship, where the rolling river flowed in the distance, and a large island could be seen in the distance. That was Langqi Island, which is also the sea outlet of Fuzhou!
Almost the instant the fleet arrived at Langqi Island, all the Manchu troops suddenly felt a sudden stillness in the air.

Everyone felt as if their heart was being squeezed.

The pupils suddenly dilated.

In the distance, towards the downstream estuary, in the bay east of Langqi Island, stretching seven or eight kilometers from Langqi Island in the north to the mainland in the south, countless ships were floating on the sea.

The ships were packed together, lined up neatly, completely blocking the estuary, as if they could not advance an inch.

That moment.

The Manchu Tartars felt suffocated.

Look behind you again.

The vast Ming army had also caught up and blocked them in the river channel at the estuary.

they.

surrounded.

(End of this chapter)