Strategy for the Revitalization of the Late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 114 Comprehensive Counterattack
Less than five days later, the news of the "great victory in Nankang" reached Zhu Cilang. He Tengjiao proudly reported all his subsequent defensive deployments and vowed to never let the Qing army move further eastward.

The Jinyiwei arranged by Zhou Shixian in northern Jiangxi followed closely and compiled many hidden secrets before and after the "Nankang Victory" battle into a secret report and sent it to Fengyang.

He Tengjiao and Zuo Liangyu's cover-up, as well as the little tricks they did behind the scenes to fight for power and credit, were all in vain.

Due to Zuo Menggeng's selfishness, Ma Jinzhong, Wang Yuncheng, Xu Yong, Li Guoying and others waited and watched. Although Jin Shenghuan had nearly three times the number of troops and occupied the advantage of terrain, the gap in combat power between the soldiers of both sides was too large, and he ultimately failed to stop Oboi's breakout.

This Eight Banners cavalry was attacked from both sides by the five armies of the Ming army, and finally lost only more than a thousand soldiers. Oboi and the more than 300 cavalry who finally broke out fled for their lives and quickly got rid of the pursuit of the Ming cavalry.

Although Ma Jinzhong and Wang Yuncheng saw the opportunity and pursued immediately, they were just pretending to do so in order to avoid being framed by Zuo Menggeng later for not sending troops in time. In fact, they did not give their full strength to the pursuit.

The mountain road south of Mount Lushan is winding and narrow, so Oboi cannot run very fast. However, if Ma Jinzhong and Wang Yuncheng's hundreds of cavalrymen really fight together, they will probably be defeated in no time.

Although they had just defeated the Qing army, it was by a sneak attack from behind, and Jin Shenghuan also lost thousands of soldiers and horses. The image of the Qing army in their minds was still very powerful.

However, after Ma Jinzhong and Wang Yuncheng, Xu Yong and Li Guoying also quickly led their troops to catch up.

They wanted to catch up with them on horseback, kill a few lone Eight Banners cavalrymen, and grab more credit, but Ma Jinzhong and Wang Yuncheng led their troops to block the way and would not let them pass.

The calculations of these two people are very simple - if I can't achieve any merit, then you can forget about achieving any merit either!

But Xu Yong and Li Guoying were greatly encouraged after this battle, as if they were no longer afraid of the Eight Banners soldiers. Seeing this, the two of them directly led their troops to encircle the enemy and did not act with Ma Jinzhong and Wang Yuncheng at all.

However, the final result was no different. Whether it was Ma Jinzhong and Wang Yuncheng who were passively pursuing, or Xu Yong and Li Guoying who wanted to take a detour to intercept Oboi, they only saw the traces of a large group of cavalry galloping past.

As Jin Shenghuan cleaned up the battlefield, counted the spoils and Tartar heads, and sent people to escort the wounded into Nankang City for recuperation, Ma Jinzhong, Wang Yuncheng, Xu Yong, Li Guoying and others also led their troops back to their respective garrisons, especially Zuo Menggeng and Xu Yong who led the Jiujiang garrison.

Then, these heroes of the Ming Dynasty began to argue endlessly about their contributions to the "Nankang Victory". If it weren't for He Tengjiao's suppression, they would probably have started fighting directly.

Despite being surrounded by ten times the number of troops and assisted by the navy, Oboi was still able to break through in the end. The Qing army's vanguard was not completely wiped out. Zuo Menggeng, the commander-in-chief of the army on behalf of his father, had an unshirkable responsibility. Zuo Liangyu, who was coughing badly on the side, was also overwhelmed by He Tengjiao.

After both of them were unable to raise their heads to speak, He Tengjiao, who had been directly squeezed out of the battlefield by Zuo Liangyu, once again gained the upper hand by virtue of his status as the commander-in-chief and began to commend the merits of each unit.

In this battle, Jin Shenghuan suffered the greatest losses. Not to mention the combat soldiers, nearly two hundred of his retainers and cavalry were killed or wounded, which was a serious blow to his health.

Therefore, if others want him to shut up and stop spreading the ugly things they did on the battlefield, they must first satisfy him when distributing the credit.

Although Ma Jinzhong, Wang Yuncheng, Xu Yong and Li Guoying suffered little loss, and the first two even dealt the Qing army the final fatal blow, they did not dare to push the Qing army too far because they eventually let the Qing army escape.

After all, these were all handles. After some questioning and probing, the old fox He Tengjiao saw through all the little tricks in the minds of several people.

So, He Tengjiao took the opportunity to win over Jin Shenghuan, promising him high positions and generous salaries, and promised to immediately replenish him with new soldiers, war horses, armor and weapons as soon as the Qing army retreated. Then he kept a tight control over the other people participating in the war.

Jin Shenghuan was originally still holding a grudge, especially because Zuo Menggeng, the commander-in-chief of the army on behalf of his father, had severely betrayed him. But now that he had received such generous conditions from He Tengjiao, he had no choice but to go along with it and cooperate with the other party's actions.

He hadn't expected to turn a disaster into a blessing. Compared to gaining His Majesty's trust, losing a few troops was nothing. By then, he would surely rise to prominence like Gao Jie and the others.

In fact, this kind of mentality is not only shared by Jin Shenghuan, but also by others. They only have three to five thousand soldiers under their command and have no ability to be independent. All they think about is how to protect themselves in the chaos and how to get promoted and make money.

After this battle, they were all people who had made great contributions, and they had a powerful navy, the natural barrier of the Yangtze River, and several strong cities to rely on. They were very confident that they could defend northern Jiangxi and stop Ajige.

After such a subtle psychological change, except for Zuo Liangyu and Zuo Menggeng, father and son, everyone else also looked forward to the emperor coming in person after the war to reward them according to their merits.

By comparing the reports sent back by He Tengjiao and the secret reports sent back by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Zhu Cilang had a basic understanding of the "great victory in Nankang" and the war situation in northern Jiangxi.

After this battle, the morale of the Qing army must have been severely hit, and Ajige dared not advance eastward rashly.

What is most rare is that after the armies in northern Jiangxi realized that as long as they had the right conditions and were good at deployment, they were fully capable of defeating the Qing army, He Tengjiao's northern Jiangxi defense line would not collapse directly because of the surrender of the generals.

Like Dodo, Ajige has led his army into battle continuously since entering the Pass last year, with only a short rest of a few months. Now they are traveling thousands of miles from north to south, and the soldiers are already exhausted.

If they could win battle after battle without any effort, these troops might be able to hold on. But now they have encountered an obstruction and are stagnant. If they want to attack the fortified city, it will be a different story.

Zhu Cilang judged that the two Qing armies could hold out for two months at most, but would most likely retreat after a month. Ajige had come to take advantage, but if he found that there was no advantage to be gained, he would only sink deeper and deeper, and might even be happy to see Duoduo suffer a setback.

Even if Duoduo couldn't swallow this humiliation and continued to insist outside the city, Zhu Cilang would let Lu Zhenfei continue to make noise in the north to put more pressure on him.

Once the crisis in the west was resolved, Zhu Cilang would have completely gained the initiative on the battlefield. This was not just for this current battle, but also for any future Qing invasions southward, where they would be facing a Ming Dynasty that had already fully exploited its war potential.

At the same time, Zuo Menggeng's operation ended up with more losses than gains, which also gave him the opportunity to quickly dismember Zuo Liangyu's group after the war and complete the thorough reorganization of this large army.

What He Tengjiao is currently doing in northern Jiangxi is just the beginning. Zhu Cilang will never dare to employ those officers and soldiers who have the worst habits of the Ming army unless they are thoroughly rectified.

Whether it is their current performance on the battlefield or their difficult-to-describe operations in history, they perfectly explain why the Ming army was defeated again and again.

After all, no matter how good a military strategy is, it requires specific troops and specific generals to implement it. If Zhu Cilang cannot reorganize this army, his flanks will never be safe.

Soon, Zhu Cilang summoned all the generals in Fengyang City. After a short rest, they were all ready to fight.

During this period, Duoduo continued to organize his troops and continued to siege the city. He also built hundreds of shield carts, which was quite impressive. However, this was all, and the effectiveness of the Qing army's siege was still very limited.

The Qing army's gunpowder artillery shells, as well as various equipment needed for siege, had suffered great damage in the previous night attack. Civilians and surrendered soldiers were also fleeing continuously. The Qing army was very short of manpower and material resources at this time, and could no longer attack the city from three sides at the same time as at the beginning.

"The military supplies that the Qing army brought in ten days ago should be almost used up now. According to the soldiers and civilians who have escaped, the civilians digging trenches and pushing shield carts are now having their rations restricted. If they don't go into battle one day, their rations will be immediately reduced by half. Even if they do go into battle, they will be..." Zhou Shixian reported word for word based on the military intelligence that the Jinyiwei had obtained from interrogating the soldiers and civilians who had defected during this period:

"Also, along the entire Woshui River, I have already sent people to contact Gao Jie and Huang Degong's two armies. They have set up gunpowder explosions in the shallow waters, collapsing many sections of the river and burning eight Qing army grain ships.

Duoduo concentrated his troops in Fengyang City and Guide Prefecture. The forces deployed along the Wo River were very limited and could not defend everywhere. Now his plan to rely on river transportation has been shelved. Land transportation is difficult. If he wants to transport more food and fodder south, he can only withdraw soldiers, laborers, and mules from outside the city and head north.

"In the current situation, Duoduo can either find a way to capture tens of thousands of civilians and continue the fierce attack to try to break the city, or he can only retreat to Henan and deal with the rebels in the north first.

Otherwise, if he continues to consume his forces at this rate, the war situation will only become more unfavorable to him. If he waits until the military supplies and fodder are gradually exhausted, the civilians will starve for a long time, and the rainy season will be humid, and the Qing army camp will surely be plagued by epidemics."

Chang Denggui paused, then clasped his hands towards Zhu Cilang, recalling the latest integrated military intelligence in his mind while continuing to analyze:
"Your Majesty, Ajige is now blocked in northern Jiangxi. He probably doesn't dare to march his army eastward to besiege Nanjing. He doesn't have the strength to do so.

Moreover, he has already occupied Wuchang and half of Huguang, and the remnants of the rebel army have not yet been eliminated. If he dares to besiege Nanjing, these places will inevitably be lost, and in the end, the gains will definitely outweigh the losses."

"That's right. Ajige will definitely not attack the strong city in northern Jiangxi by force. Otherwise, they will have to suffer the same hardships that Duoduo is suffering now. If they waste a month or two, his strength will definitely be greatly reduced.

"Time is on our side now. When the temperature rises in northern Jiangxi, the Qing army will surely be plagued by disease. Even if Ajige doesn't want to withdraw his troops, he won't be able to do so." Chen Fu also spoke up.

He fully agreed with Chang Denggui's idea. Lu Zhenfei had already informed Fengyang of his plan to organize an army in western Shandong to recover lost territory and disrupt the logistics of the Qing army. This made all the generals in Fengyang City very excited.

Zhu Cilang listened to what they said, nodded, and said immediately:

"Duoduo is now at the end of his rope, and it's only a matter of time before he finally withdraws. However, while the rebel army organized by Lu Zhenfei in the north can help contain the Qing army, it will not last long, so don't hold too high hopes.

The most important thing now is how to organize troops and launch a full-scale counterattack when Duoduo retreats north, further depleting the Qing army's forces and rescuing as many civilians as possible."

"If we want to launch a full-scale counterattack, relying solely on Gao Jie and Huang Degong's troops in the Xuzhou-Guide area will probably make it difficult to completely contain Zhunta. The rebel forces in Henan, Shandong and other places may be able to harass the Qing army's food supply routes, but if they encounter the main force of the Qing army, they will definitely not be able to fight. We must further reinforce those areas."

Chang Denggui paused, frowned and said:
"Bozhou, Guide and other places also have the Zhunta army. If we pursue Duoduo's defeated army, we will definitely be met with a joint counterattack from them. Our army is short of cavalry, and the Qing army will always have the upper hand on the plains."

When the topic of the Qing army's pursuit after its withdrawal was brought up, the room erupted in discussion, followed by silence. Although Chang Denggui hadn't finished speaking, his attitude and concerns about the pursuit had already been reflected in many previous military meetings.

Not only him, but also Chen Fu, Hu Maozhen, Bai Yongfu, Tian Xiong and others had different attitudes towards the pursuit. They all wanted to preserve their strength and were more worried about Duoduo's counterattack, especially the latter.

The Qing army always had a huge advantage in military strength, and they were still unsure about the battle on the Jianghuai Plain. If the Qing army launched a counterattack, they might be in trouble.

There are now less than 3,000 combat-capable cavalrymen in Fengyang City, half of whom were recruited along the way. Zhu Cilang is actually exploring the feasibility of a full-scale counterattack.

"This worry is not without reason. Even if Duoduo wants to retreat north, he will definitely not let us go so easily." Zhu Cilang nodded under the gaze of everyone.
"In the previous battles, although our army achieved remarkable results, it also lost thousands of elite soldiers. The Qing army has now strengthened its defensive positions outside the city and is on high alert day and night. If we risk attacking again, the gains will outweigh the losses.

Duoduo must have guessed by now that all our provocations were meant to provoke him, forcing him to attack Fengyang with all his might, thereby wearing down his strength. He will no longer be fooled."

"Your Majesty is absolutely right. I also think that instead of taking the risk of crossing the river to pursue them, it would be better to directly attack the Qing army's rearguard troops. This way, at least thousands of Qing soldiers can be killed or injured." Hu Maozhen asked first.

He was also thinking about the expansion of the army after the war and always wanted to perform well. During this period of time, he participated in so many military meetings and his strategic level has also been greatly improved.

Zhu Cilang nodded and said approvingly:
"You're right. Duoduo will definitely not wait for us to chase him from behind. We don't have the strength to do that. Once we get to the plains, it will be the cavalry's world.

If the Qing army retreats, they will definitely not abandon all the remaining baggage. We still have the advantage of the navy, so we can completely stop the remaining troops left by Duoduo on the south bank, and then kill them specifically.

"The vanguard sent by Duoduo earlier had the support of a steady stream of troops crossing the river, so they could still withstand our attacks. But the remaining troops were already isolated and helpless, and after these months of fierce fighting, I'm afraid they are quite afraid of us."

"Your Majesty is right. In fact, the Duoduo army is still powerful. No matter what the reason for retreating north, they will definitely not be willing to do so. In fact, retreating north is just to lure us to attack."

Chang Denggui, who directly led the Heavenly Cavalry Battalion, was most aware of the strength of his own cavalry, and therefore had always been very conservative about the plan for a full-scale counterattack. Now that military intelligence had arrived from northern Jiangxi, the overall situation had been decided. Seeing that Zhu Cilang was finally going to finalize the counterattack plan, he immediately spoke out:
"If we rashly pursue them, with the current strength of the Qing army, they will be able to repel us with a sudden counterattack. I also think we should not take this risk. It is safest to directly intercept the Qing army's rearguard and kill another one or two thousand Tartars."

"That's right." Chen Fu also agreed with this idea. He had a very clear understanding of Duoduo's cunning and the combat effectiveness of the Qing army.

"Our army is still not strong enough and cannot afford a major defeat. Although we have won several battles in the past, we have suffered heavy losses. Now, there are only about ten thousand soldiers left who can fight in the field."

"Duoduo should soon receive the military intelligence from northern Jiangxi. Once he learns that Ajige is unreliable, he will undoubtedly be extremely anxious. By then, we only need to wait for him to lead his troops in a hasty retreat, and then we can begin our action. This is our chance!"

"The more anxious Duoduo is, the better. The more anxious he is, the more likely he will lose his composure. Your Majesty, we must have Gao Jie and Huang Degong put some pressure on them in the north."

"I believe we can also transfer the Pukou camp and the two camps in the capital northward, secretly transporting them to the north by the navy to support the Xuzhou-Guide line."

Hu Maozhen immediately said, "By then, we will definitely be able to put more pressure on Duoduo and make him think that we are going to intercept him halfway, so he will let down his guard."

"That's feasible!" Zhu Cilang nodded, and then said:
"Ajige is blocked in northern Jiangxi, and Yangzhou City is now very stable. Duoduo's troops are all in Fengyang, and their deployment is entirely under my control. He can't threaten Jiangpu, let alone Nanjing. Troops from these two locations can indeed be mobilized."

Zhu Cilang knew very well that even if Duoduo wanted to retreat, he would definitely want to clean up the mess, improve the morale of the army, and then retreat slowly to avoid losing the remaining baggage and equipment. At the same time, he would seize every possible opportunity to bite him back.

After all, if he could really defeat Zhu Cilang's main pursuing force, he could even turn defeat into victory. An immature military commander like Duoduo was very likely to still hold such an illusion.

Zhu Cilang did not underestimate Duoduo's strength. He was very clear about his own strength and always remembered his strategic goals and the purpose of launching this full-scale counterattack.

As long as he delays a little longer, once the war potential of Jiangnan and even the entire south is developed, the Ming Dynasty will train an elite army of 100,000, and he will be able to afford to lose.

However, when that time really comes, the Ming Dynasty probably won’t lose again!
(End of this chapter)