Strategy for the Revitalization of the Late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 104 The Time for Battle Has Come
"Back then, in order to gain wealth and glory, Nurhaci not only served Li Chengliang and his son every night, but also coerced many of the tribe's strong servants and confidants to satisfy the dozens of trusted generals under Li Chengliang.

Huang Taiji, like Nurhaci, was a man who violated human ethics and had no moral principles. He and Abahai were of similar age and had been having an affair for a long time. Even after Ajige and Dorgon were born, they still had an affair.

Every time Nurhaci led his troops into battle, he would use the opportunity of calculating the money and food for each tribe to have a secret meeting with Abahai. The fake king Duoduo was created through these secret meetings.

That night, there was a storm with thunder and lightning, Huang Taiji

In the trench, before the Ming soldiers on the wall could finish speaking, shouts and curses broke out immediately. Manchus, Mongols, and Han people would stick their heads out from time to time and take turns shouting and cursing, trying to drown out the voices of the Ming army.

However, Zhang Huangyan was not in a hurry at all. He simply asked the soldier who had shouted until his voice was hoarse to stop, and asked another person to pick up the wooden trumpet and take over temporarily.

This armored soldier named Mo Ying'an is now his top talent. Although he is temporarily being used like a beast of burden due to the shortage of manpower, Zhang Huangyan still treasures him very much.

When the Qing soldiers below grew tired of shouting and fell silent again, Zhang Huangyan immediately asked Mo Ying'an to take over. Although the others could recite the prepared manuscripts, the stories they told always lacked flavor and were unable to expand their thinking in time.

"When Huang Taiji stole the Khan throne, in order to conceal his tracks, he actually wanted Abahai to be buried alive with him. In the beginning, Abahai had seduced Daishan into having an affair with her in order to help him seize the Khan throne, thus clearing the way for Huang Taiji. Of course, he was afraid that this matter would be leaked.

However, things turn around and Dorgon, who learned the whole story, followed suit. Every time Huang Taiji went out, Dorgon would have a secret meeting with Nabumujitai, until a few years ago when Huang Taiji fell ill.

So, the two began to conspire to poison Huang Taiji. Duoduo, who was resentful of Huang Taiji for not recognizing him as his son, also got involved and even bought arsenic himself.

That night, as soon as the third watch drum sounded, Bumjitai got up, poured arsenic into a bowl, scooped a bowl of boiled water and mixed it all together, then brought it to Huang Taiji's room and asked, "Great Khan, where did you put the medicine?"

Huang Taiji said, "It's under my mat, next to my pillow. Take it and mix it with me."

Bumujitai uncovered the pillow, poured the heartache medicine into the bowl, took out the silver hairpin, mixed it with the soup and placed it on the table, then turned around to help Huang Taiji up, letting him lie down with his back against the pillow.

Then he brought the medicine bowl over, supported Huang Taiji with one hand, and held the bowl with the other, like an adult coaxing a child to take medicine, and said, "Khan, it's time to take the medicine!"

Huang Taiji was bewitched by the woman when he heard her words. He was so moved that he almost cried and said yes repeatedly.

These fabricated statements, which were completely baseless but integrated many popular storytelling plots and had endless room for imagination, directly deconstructed all the so-called advanced innuendos and satires that the civil servants and scholars in the city had been pondering for several days.

The Qing army, from its commanders Duoduo, Tulai, Nikan, and Tunqi to the lowest-ranking Eight Banners soldiers and baoyi soldiers, and even the surrendered Ming and Shun armies, may not have truly believed in the idea in their hearts, nor did they care about the so-called "Seven Great Hates" and "Thirteen Sets of Armor Revolt."

But the problem is that this is related to Nurhaci's lofty sense of destiny and the so-called legal legitimacy of the Qing Dynasty. It doesn't matter whether anyone believes in it or not, but it must exist.

Mo Ying'an's crude deconstruction method is inherently absurd and contagious. Most importantly, there are countless similar incidents in reality.

The love between men and women and male philandering were no longer a secret among the Manchu nobles, the literati and eunuchs of the late Ming Dynasty. It was even more common for fathers and sons to share a little girl.

After hearing this, Duoduo naturally couldn't bear it. He rushed to the front of the battle and listened for a while. He was so angry that he saw stars and almost ordered the troops to attack the city.

At this time, even if he was not angry, he had to pretend to be angry. Otherwise, how would those people in the army who had long been dissatisfied with him because of the previous defeats in the war look at him?

As to whether he was Huang Taiji's illegitimate son or whether he participated in feeding the medicine, these are not important. What we want now is his attitude.

The Manchu nobles looked at Duoduo's furious expression, and no matter what they were thinking, they all tried to persuade him not to fall into the Emperor Ming's provocation.

"Emperor Ming has resorted to such despicable means. It seems that he is really helpless in the face of our current orderly advancement.

I've already dug the last barrier to the city, and he doesn't dare to fight back. He's actually organizing his soldiers like a woman, trying to stop us in this way."

Now that Duoduo had a way out, he naturally stopped pretending. Without Zhu Cilang's hearing, he mocked the enemy whom he was very afraid of, and it was almost as if he was unilaterally declaring that he was about to win. Then he immediately told him the countermeasures he had thought of.

"Since he wants to undermine the morale of the Qing army, then I will let him know what it means to undermine the morale of the army. Tulai, you should also find a few loud voices to shout towards the city."

"But regarding the Zhu Ming royal family, we..."

"Don't talk about useless things. Just say that Ajige is about to attack Nanjing and Yangzhou City. We will send people to attack them immediately. This will really undermine the morale of the army. Maybe it will even make some Ming troops lose their fighting spirit and abandon the Ming and join the Qing."

Upon hearing this, everyone agreed that Ajige was now their greatest hope. As long as Nanjing was captured, Fengyang City would naturally fall on its own.

Soon, Tulai gathered several Han Eight Banners soldiers and the vassal soldiers under Kong Youde, and began to shout towards the top of the city.

"Zhu Cilang, without a king or father, fled south alone during the siege. On the way, to satisfy his selfish desires, he allowed his soldiers to burn, kill, plunder, and commit all kinds of evil.

This person is cruel and inhumane. When the city runs out of food and grass, he will definitely cannibalize people to feed his army. If the situation becomes unfavorable, he will abandon the city and flee. If he can abandon his king and father, what about a mere 100,000 civilians?

"Our Great Qing entered the Pass to avenge the Ming. Now we have wiped out the rebels and restored the vast mountains and rivers of the northern border. This fellow did not send a single soldier, but instead killed General Xu Dingguo, who was helping to suppress the rebels. He even provoked the Qing by attacking Geng Zhongming who came south to negotiate peace. This is simply outrageous!"

Several shots were fired from the top of the city wall, and then there was no response. Although more than a dozen people were sent to shout at the same time, they had no loudspeakers, and the sound was still much weaker when it reached the top of the city wall.

Kong Youde actually didn't think this was useful, but since Tu Lai asked him to do it, he had no choice but to obey orders, otherwise if anything went wrong, it would definitely be blamed on him.

"Now, my Prince Ying of the Qing Dynasty has already crushed the rebels and advanced to Wuchang, Jiujiang, Nanjing and other strategic passes. Soon, he will be able to move down the river and take control of Nanjing. By then, the world will be at peace, and Fengyang will become an isolated city."

"Brothers of the Ming army in the city, we are originally from Liaozhen. Have you forgotten the moral character of those civil servants in the court? We can hold out for a while now as we have food, but what will happen if the food runs out in the future?
We were originally from Dengzhou Town, and because of a chicken, the officials beat and scolded us, and even wanted to kill us. You fought bloody battles in Fengyang, but behind the scenes, those officials bullied your wives and daughters. "

After hearing this, Duoduo was finally satisfied. He smiled brightly and then rode back to the camp. He was still waiting for news from Ajige. At the same time, he ordered Tulai to send armored soldiers into the trenches to guard at night to avoid a night attack by the Ming army in the city.

Kong Youde respectfully watched Duoduo leave, and then it was Tulai's turn. After giving him a few instructions, he also went to inspect the other side's camp.

After all the Manchu nobles and generals had left, Kong Youde, a sturdy and strong man, finally straightened his back again. His subordinate Xian Guoan immediately stepped forward and asked:

"My Lord, how long are we going to keep scolding each other?"

"Just keep scolding. Find a few more groups of people and keep scolding. Don't stop until Tulai tells you to stop, or Duoduo will get angry again."

Kong Youde waved his hands and then cursed in a low voice: "Damn it!"

Upon hearing this, Xian Guoan didn't know who Kong Youde was cursing at the end, and he didn't dare to ask. He just nodded vigorously. He was very dissatisfied with Duoduo now. He was not good at fighting and had a bad temper. If the other party was not a legitimate prince, he would have joined in the cursing.

Seeing this, Kong Youde added, "Let's wait until dark. Then we can slowly stop. It's pitch dark, who are we scolding for?"

"Yes!" Xian Guoan said, cupping his fists. "By the way, has the gunpowder from the north been delivered? If we keep fighting like this, we won't have enough gunpowder, and we'll have to learn how to make mines like the Ming army." Kong Youde asked while complaining.

"Not yet. They said it will take a few days. The gunpowder in the camp is enough for almost a month. I heard that Gao Jie and Huang Degong in the north are harassing day and night, so they can't move fast at all." Xian Guoan frowned.

"If we don't attack Xuzhou, we won't attack Huai'an, we won't be able to attack Yangzhou, and even less so Nanjing."

Kong Youde became angrier and angrier as he spoke, but he knew there were some things he couldn't say. He finally sighed and said, "What's the point of fighting Fengyang City, which is neither advancing nor retreating?"

"This Ming Emperor is truly vicious. He's deliberately blocking us in Fengyang, leaving us stranded and caught between a rock and a hard place." Xian Guoan couldn't help but sigh.
"I heard that when they were transporting food and gunpowder south, they encountered Ming army mines and bombs, killing many of their brothers and destroying several vehicles. Now in Shandong and Henan, civilians are everywhere rising up in rebellion, and the whole place is in chaos."

Kong Youde had also heard about these things and had been feeling very uneasy for a long time. Now when he heard such words, that feeling of uneasiness suddenly surged into his heart again.

When they attacked Shaanxi, the advance was as fast as the wind, but it was not like this. He could even vaguely feel that the siege of Fengyang was doomed to fail.

At this moment, he wished that the news of Ajige's capture of Nanjing would come from the south immediately. Even if it was not his contribution, it didn't matter. It was better than following Duoduo now and being frightened.

However, Kong Youde was a veteran in many battles, so he quickly calmed down and turned to look at Xian Guoan and asked:

"It's just a few people killed and a few cars destroyed. It's not a big deal. If Gao Jie and Huang Degong were really capable, they wouldn't have allowed the convoy to go south."

"Your Highness is right." Xian Guoan flattered with a fawning smile.

But he did not think that Gao Jie and Huang Degong were not strong. Zhunta was leading thousands of Eight Banners soldiers to guard the north. If it were in the past, tens of thousands of Ming troops from the mainland would not be enough to fight them.

Back then, when they were fighting in Shandong, they were truly victorious in every battle. The online Guoan had been wondering these days—what on earth had the Ming Emperor used to make these troops so powerful?

However, these are taboos in the military. It's okay to think about them in your mind, but to say them out loud is courting death. Xian Guoan was afraid of being overheard, so he didn't dare say anything more.

"I need the fuse for the mines. Are you sure the supply convoy heading south has it?" Kong Youde asked.

"Yes, Your Highness. I personally sent someone to confirm that the gunpowder fuses shipped from Henan are all top-quality goods."

After Xian Guoan finished speaking, he suddenly showed a worried expression, hesitated for a moment, frowned and asked:

"Your Highness, the mines we've been making lately don't seem to be suitable. The fuse burns too slowly. If we throw them, the Ming army will probably throw them back."

"What does this have to do with us? When the battlefield is blown up everywhere, who can say for sure whether throwing it over will work? As long as there is a sound, it means ours exploded, and the ones thrown back are all from the Ming army."

Kong Youde sneered, his eyes grim as he said, "If we don't make it now, Duoduo will skin me alive, and none of you will end up well."

"Yes, Your Highness!" Xian Guoan also understood this logic. After all, those mines were not for them to use, so it would not be them who would die if they did not explode.

"We can just wait until the Ming army comes out and engage in close combat." Kong Youde turned his head to look at Fengyang City. Whether it was to comfort himself or something else, he shook his head and said:
"As long as we fight in the field, the situation will definitely improve. The Ming army will definitely not be able to defeat the Manchus in the field."

Xian Guoan was convinced of this. Once the Ming army lost the support of the city wall, it would be vulnerable. Then he smiled flatteringly and said:
"The Ming army will definitely come out of the city to fight in the open. Otherwise, we can dig to the base of the wall and blow it down. Then they will have to fight in the open. There is no way they can defeat the Manchus in a field battle. Absolutely not!"

While the two were talking, there was a sudden noise from the northeast of Fengyang City. Three Tang horses took advantage of the Qing army's unpreparedness and broke through.

When Kong Youde looked up, he only saw the blurry jumping horse buttocks in the yellow dust raised by the horses' hooves. The Qing cavalry quickly chased after them, but it was too late.

Soon, as several horses entered the city, Zhu Cilang, who was observing the progress of the Qing army digging trenches outside the city on the city wall and was about to finalize the time for the night attack, finally received military intelligence from Jiujiang.

"Your Majesty, Ajige arrived at Jiujiang with a large army five days ago, with several thousand soldiers at the vanguard. The tens of thousands of troops originally deployed by the rebels in Huguang have all surrendered to the Tartars. I'm afraid Ajige has already obtained the boats needed to cross the river."

"However, Zuo Liangyu retreated quickly. He burned all the food and military supplies in Wuchang that he couldn't take away. He also took away almost all the ships he could find on the north and south banks. They should be able to fight the Qing army on the water."

"That's right, the Qing army is not good at naval battles, and the troops deployed by the rebels in Huguang were previously driven directly by Zuo Liangyu from Huangzhou, De'an and other places to Jingzhou and Xiangyang.

Now, Zuo Liangyu has the support of He Tengjiao, and the two armies have a combined force of hundreds of thousands. It should not be a problem to hold off Ajige for three to five months."

"Zuo Liangyu has always been domineering. I'm afraid he won't listen to He Tengjiao's arrangements. He Tengjiao probably can't mobilize those arrogant and powerful generals under Zuo Liangyu. If they quarrel with each other and don't support each other in the face of a powerful enemy, that would be the biggest problem."

The civil and military officials who accompanied Zhu Cilang to the city wall and who also learned about the military situation in Jiangxi at the first time, began to talk about it in a flurry and were all very worried about the situation in Jiangxi.

Zhu Cilang could also understand them. Duoduo's counterattack against the calls in the city did have some effect after all. They were all very worried that Ajige would really move eastward along the river and take Nanjing directly.

"It seems that Li Zicheng is dead. Even if he is not dead, the main force of the rebels must have been dispersed and can no longer pose a threat to the Qing army. Otherwise, Ajige would never have turned his guns so quickly and attacked Jiujiang."

Zhu Cilang slowly stated his guess, and then without waiting for the civil and military officials in front of him to say anything, he continued:

"He Tengjiao and Zuo Liangyu have several strong cities to rely on. Even if they resist step by step, they can still hold off the Qing army for a month or two. We don't have to worry. If they quarrel with each other and ruin the situation, and fail to hold off the Qing army, I will not let them off easily.

But now, these are not important. Even if Jiangxi cannot be stopped, I still have Meng Weng guarding Nanjing. Even if Ajige leads the army eastward, it can't do anything. Those northern soldiers will definitely be dizzy and unable to besiege the city. In the end, they will have to withdraw in disgrace.

The Qing army has dug a trench fifty steps from the earthen wall. The time has come to fight. I have been suppressing you and not letting you fight. Now it is time to fight. The verbal battles of the past few days are, on the one hand, to disintegrate the morale of the Qing army, and on the other hand, to let them down their guard.

"Your Majesty, I'm afraid the Qing army will be prepared, especially at night. I've tried several times in the past few days, but I haven't been able to reach the trench."

Chang Denggui had been observing the movements of the Qing army outside the city. In preparation for the upcoming night attack, he had sent out scouts many times and found that the latter's defense was very tight every night.

"If we go into battle, we'll have to increase our forces by 2,000 more than originally planned. We'll have to concentrate our attack on one side and conduct feint attacks on the other two. The Qing army has so many troops, even if we attack from three sides, we won't be able to truly disperse their strength."

"Although the Qing army is well-prepared, it is impossible for them to be highly vigilant all the time."

Zhu Cilang nodded in agreement, and then said:

"Now that the time has come, we must fight even with reinforcements, and we must fight beautifully. I want to let Duoduo know that even if I take the initiative to fight, he cannot defeat me. In this battle, I will directly expose his veil and completely destroy his dignity!"

　Thanks to the book friend "Yuekenlu Dazhuang" for the reward.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)