Strategy for the Revitalization of the Late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 116: Fraudulent Peace
In the Qing army camp, after the military meeting ended, the plan for the army to withdraw northward was basically decided, but the issue of who would stay behind to lead the troops and cover the rear remained unresolved.

At this time, Duoduo was unable to control the Manchu nobles under his command, and even Tulai was unwilling to accept this kind of mission, which could cost his life if he was not careful, without sufficient benefits.

After all, at this time, if one were to pursue fairness by drawing soldiers from each flag and temporarily forming a rearguard army, they would ultimately suffer a crushing defeat.

After these few months, Duoduo and a group of Manchu nobles have become very clear that the enemy they are facing now is no longer the Ming army that collapsed at the first blow in the field battle.

After everyone else left, Duoduo sent someone to call Bolo back. He actually had another way, but there were so many people around that it was not convenient for him to say it.

However, after listening to Duoduo's so-called "brilliant plan", Bolo was hesitant to speak. He finally understood why Duoduo called him alone. If this was leaked, he would be in great trouble and might even be dismissed and investigated.

"Your Highness, if the Regent and the Emperor knew that we were secretly negotiating peace with Emperor Ming, regardless of whether it was a ploy to paralyze him, we would be held responsible!"

Bolo's face was filled with horror. He had not expected that Duoduo's fear of Emperor Ming had reached such an extent that he was desperate enough to do such a thing and even drag him into it.

"Even if this matter is to be done, it must be reported to the court and wait for the decision of the Regent and the Emperor. Otherwise, it would be an act of usurpation."

Duoduo stared at Boluo with a gloomy look in his eyes. He didn't let out a breath until Boluo felt a chill on his back. He said coldly:

"The emperor has no right to make decisions on this matter. Ultimately, it was Dorgon who made the final decision. If we talk about usurping power, it was Dorgon who truly overstepped his bounds."

After hearing this, Bolo's face became even more horrified, and the corners of his mouth twitched slightly, he seemed to want to say something but stopped himself. He knew Duoduo was really anxious, otherwise he wouldn't say such nonsense. This was not his character. Only Ajige would be so reckless and speak without considering the consequences.

Seeing that Bolo remained silent, Duoduo sighed and said:
"This matter is urgent to begin with. We only have ten days to retreat north. If we wait until Dorgon makes a decision, our army will probably have already retreated to Guide. By then, the Ming Emperor will be blocking our way at every turn. How many soldiers will die?"

"Can"

Bolo wanted to say something, but when he thought of the performance of the Fengyang Ming army in previous battles and the increasingly violent riots in Shandong, Henan and other places, he became speechless.

Moreover, Tang Ma just reported that several Ming troops numbering thousands appeared in Huai'an and Xuzhou. One of them seemed to be preparing to join forces with Huang Degong's troops operating in Bozhou, most likely to completely cut off their food supply.

Duoduo was afraid of the Ming Emperor in his heart. In fact, he was also afraid. Not only them, but also the officials who stayed behind in Shandong, Henan and other places were also restless after learning that Jinxiang City was captured in one day and the Ming court had tens of thousands of troops in Yanzhou. Requests for help came like snowflakes.

And Bolo now knew that the Ming army in the west had also been prepared. He had read the report sent back by Ajige and never expected that even Oboi's army was almost wiped out.

Ajige was originally the last hope of the entire eastern army, including himself, but this hope has now been completely shattered.

Duoduo and Bolo were both well aware of these things, and Ajige did not hide them. Although he wanted to make fun of Duoduo, he still put the overall situation first at this time, revealed his plan, and asked Duoduo to withdraw his troops when the time came.

"If we continue to delay like this, thousands of soldiers will surely be lost. By then, will our guilt be lessened?
Bolo, don't forget, if we withdraw, we won't be able to hold any of the prefectures we conquered with great difficulty in Jianghuai, and we'll even have to hand over Guide and Yanzhou."

Seeing that persuasion failed, Duoduo switched to intimidation. In fact, he saw that the generals in the army were gradually growing afraid of Zhu Cilang and the Ming army, even including Tulai. He just wanted to save something.

After all, the southern expedition to the Ming court had been futile and resulted in the loss of many soldiers and generals, so none of them could escape punishment in the first place. In this case, if another three to five thousand soldiers were lost, it would not be as simple as a salary fine or a reduction in rank.

"That's not the same thing. Your Highness is right to use the pretext of peace talks to deceive the Ming Emperor and buy time for his troops to withdraw. While the Ming Emperor may have luckily achieved a few victories, his own strength is weak, relying solely on those few city walls. If he were to leave the city walls, ten thousand Qing soldiers would be enough to wipe out his entire army."

Faced with Duoduo's relentless pressure, Bolo had no choice but to point out the other biggest problem of the other party's so-called brilliant plan. He was originally worried that Duoduo would bear a grudge against him for this and did not want to point it out, but now it seems that if he doesn't point it out, he will not be able to stop the other party's actions.

"But this would be a case of trying to cover up one's own faults. The Ming Emperor might not have been sure when we would withdraw. If Your Highness had just sent someone to negotiate secretly, he would have immediately understood and launched a surprise attack."

But Duoduo did not listen to the problems pointed out by Bolo, and he chose to insist.

"That's not important. The most important thing now is to paralyze Emperor Ming and make him relax. We just need to buy a few more days to slowly withdraw the baggage, and with the cavalry at the rear to cover the rear, the army can evacuate safely without losing any more soldiers.

Furthermore, negotiating peace is no small matter. The Ming Emperor must also know that as long as I show enough confidence, he won't necessarily disbelieve me. The Ming Emperor is a wise man, but wise men are the easiest to deceive. He will surely, like you, Bolo, assume that I dare not act on my own, and thus misjudge. This is my opportunity."

Seeing that Duoduo was still stubborn and even said such ridiculous words, Bolo did not show any surprise. Instead, he retreated to advance and tried to distance himself from the matter.

"Your Highness, we should consult with Tulai on this matter. Ultimately, it will be Tulai who will lead the army to the rear. Emperor Ming will discover our actions sooner or later. Regardless, this matter requires careful consideration."

After hearing this, Duoduo understood what Bolo meant. His prestige had been greatly reduced due to his previous misjudgment. Now, not only Tulai, Nikan and others, but even Bolo was unwilling to cooperate with him.

"Tulai will not agree. I am looking for you because I think you are different from others. This is just a strategy to paralyze Emperor Ming. As the saying goes, all is fair in war. Why bother with those so-called rules?

Let alone peace talks, even if the Emperor and I agree to divide the country by the river, what good will that do? When the army withdraws north, what evidence will the Emperor have to prove that this was the agreement between the Emperor and me?

Looking at Duoduo's crazy look, Bolo didn't want to talk anymore. The crime of "negotiating peace privately" was already serious enough. If he really wanted to divide the country by the river or even the river, his future would definitely be ruined.

He knew that as long as he was careful enough, Emperor Ming would not be able to prove anything, but he was also clear about the conflicts between Dorgon, Dodo and Ajige. Many things did not require any evidence at all.

But the more Bolo acted like this, the more Duoduo insisted. He firmly believed that his strategy would work, and he also believed that Dorgon would not be able to make things difficult for him because of it.

If this plan succeeds, the army will not have to lose thousands of soldiers. If nothing is done and the army withdraws quietly, Emperor Ming will certainly block them at every step, and the final loss will be unavoidable.

To Dodo, this was a completely obvious choice, and he had no idea what Bolo was worried about.

In the end, because Bolo refused to cooperate, Duoduo had no choice but to send his confidants to capture three Ming court county officials who had previously surrendered, enter the city to deliver a letter, and contact Zhu Cilang.

At the same time, he also began to deploy the army's retreat. Using the earth walls built on the excavated trenches as cover, he quickly withdrew the baggage originally placed there back to the camp.

These are the keys to the Qing army maintaining its combat effectiveness. If Duoduo withdraws without taking anything, his army will no longer have the ability to launch strategic offensives until it replenishes its supplies.

Zhu Cilang in the city also soon received the letter of peace sent by Duoduo. At this time, he was arranging a plan for the army to pursue the enemy based on the intelligence obtained by the scouts.

After Ajige failed in his attempt to persuade people to surrender in northern Jiangxi, he basically gave up his plan to lead his army eastward and take Nanjing directly.

He had originally planned to defeat Li Zicheng, capture Wuchang, and then immediately lead his troops back north. However, after receiving Duoduo's military report, he thought he had a great opportunity to pick up, so he turned back. However, he never expected that the Ming army in northern Jiangxi, which had been frightened and fled by his defeated general Li Zicheng, was still a hot potato.

When Ajige was chasing Li Zicheng, he saw the impregnable and heavily guarded Jiujiang City and knew that the Ming court had been prepared. However, he did not take the so-called commander-in-chief He Tengjiao and the commander-in-chief Zuo Liangyu seriously at all.

But he had no intention of storming such a fortified city, especially since his army had already exhausted themselves after a thousand-mile trek and months of pursuit. If he couldn't storm the city or force its surrender, this battle would be a difficult one.

Therefore, Zheng Siwei and Wang Tizhong became the vanguard of the Qing army, but they were not reliable at all and lost the first battle.

By now, the army that Ajige had originally planned to send to Jiujiang City for a feint attack had already been in place. In order to save face, he still asked Zheng Siwei and Wang Tizhong to organize several violent attacks to provoke the Ming army in the city.

After all, Oboi suffered heavy casualties and the Qing army lost face. Even if Ajige wanted to withdraw his troops, he had to first demonstrate to the city of Jiujiang and appease the people. Otherwise, after he withdrew his troops, the situation in Wuchang and northern Huguang would be difficult to control.

After He Tengjiao, Zuo Liangyu and others fought an ambush, they were busy trying to take credit for the victory. They did not pursue the victory at all and directly retreated to several fortified cities in northern Jiangxi.

This left Ajige and a number of Qing army generals helpless and they could only provoke outside the city, and then the defenders in the city used firearms to counterattack from a distance.

After all, only if the Ming army goes out of the city to fight will they have the opportunity to use their military strength to defeat the enemy. But now the Ming army is defending themselves and has no intention of fighting a decisive battle except sending out the navy.

So, Ajige took the opportunity to boost the morale of the army, and after deploying the defenses of Wuchang, Jingzhou, Xiangyang and other places, he immediately returned north.

It took more than a month to get from Wuchang to Jiujiang, and it’s getting late!

Of course, not everyone in the Qing army suffered losses in the "Battle of Nankang". Zheng Siwei and Wang Tizhong both gained a higher status because of Oboi's defeat.

At this time, they had already shown signs of putting aside their past grudges. They sang the same tune and were eager to try, forcing Ajige, who was preparing to retreat north, to promote them and allow them to expand their troops.

He Tengjiao was constantly reporting these military intelligence reports. Although Zhu Cilang did not understand all of them, based on the troop movements reflected in the military intelligence, he had roughly determined the overall situation in the west.

In addition, Gao Jie and Huang Degong in the north also achieved remarkable results. Although Jining Prefecture, where the Qing court left thousands of soldiers and horses to garrison, was not captured for the time being, Yutai County and Chengwu County were successively recovered.

Under such circumstances, Zhunta stationed in Guide did not dare to act rashly. Gao Jie and the Shandong rebel army did not wait for the expected Eight Banners soldiers, and their morale was greatly boosted. At the same time, they also received food and manpower support from local gentry.

Zhu Cilang mobilized two battalions of elite troops to the north for support. Gao Jie and Huang Degong both received assistance. The momentum of the army in the north became increasingly powerful, and Zhunta repeatedly asked Duoduo for help.

In the report sent back by Lu Zhenfei, Zhu Cilang clearly felt the anti-Qing will that had not yet died out in Shandong and Henan, as well as the panic-stricken expressions of the officials sent by the Qing court when facing the rebel army that was supported by a large field army and had a lot of weapons and armor.

In the original history, there were constant uprisings in Shandong, Henan and other places. In many places, the activities of the rebels were completely ended only after the Qing army killed all the rebels. Finally, the Qing court sent trusted generals to lead tens of thousands of troops to garrison the local areas, and felt at ease.

In Shaanxi, Shanxi and other places, there had been no anti-Qing uprisings simply because the local military leaders assisted the evil. When those military leaders saw the true face of the Qing court and began to take action, these two places also saw continuous anti-Qing uprisings.

However, these independent rebel armies were soon defeated by the Qing court. Some of the remnants retreated into the Qinling Mountains and eventually became part of the "Thirteen Families of Kuidong", persisting in resisting the Qing for twenty years.

Now, seeing the rapid development of the rebel army in Shandong and Henan, Zhu Cilang's confidence was also boosted. He raised a banner to rebuild the Ming Dynasty in Nanjing.

However, whether in northern Jiangxi or Shandong, the armies formed with the old-school military leaders as the core are still engaged in various open and covert struggles. Gao Jie and Huang Degong are relatively restrained under the emperor's feet, but they also have their own thoughts.

"Duoduo should be withdrawing soon. The peace talks have definitely not been approved by Dorgon. He is playing tricks on me." Zhu Cilang raised the corner of his mouth slightly and laughed coldly:
"It's only been a few days since He Tengjiao's victory report arrived. The horses Ajige sent couldn't have traveled that far. It couldn't have taken more than ten days to get from Beijing to Fengyang and back. It's impossible. It seems he's really anxious."

"Your Majesty, although this is a feint, it can also be used to create an article." Zhang Huangyan suddenly stepped out of the group, clasped his hands and said to Zhu Cilang:

"Duoduo must have done this secretly. Most of the Qing army probably doesn't know the inside story yet. If we take the initiative to publicize it, it will definitely cause a significant blow to his prestige in the army."

"How is it possible that Duoduo did it alone?" Chang Denggui asked doubtfully.

After all, in his opinion, such a thing should be done with the support of at least some people in the army, otherwise once the truth is revealed, Duoduo will be finished.

"Even if he is not the only one who is in charge of this matter, as long as the soldiers in the Tartar army do not know about it, it will still affect the morale of the Tartar army once it spreads." Zhang Huangyan then said.

Zhu Cilang nodded. Zhang Huangyan was very keenly aware of this due to his duties, and he agreed with it very much.

"You are right. The more cautious Duoduo is, the more I will strip him of his prestige and make him lose his prestige. The Qing army will then completely lose its composure.

In addition, interrogate the three messengers sent by Duoduo and inquire about their backgrounds, and at the same time, find out the current morale of the Qing army. If these three were originally Ming officials who defected to the Qing and betrayed their country, they should be beheaded immediately and hung on the city wall for public display.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Shixian immediately bowed and replied, "The three men were being held by the Jinyiwei and the first round of interrogation had already begun. From their mouths, we could dig out a lot of the latest military intelligence."

Afterwards, Zhu Cilang began to discuss the military deployment for a full-scale counterattack, and Chen Fu introduced the army's counterattack plan.

After receiving Zhu Cilang's eye signal, Chen Fu immediately picked up the slender bamboo stick on the table, looked around, and then pointed at the map while explaining loudly:

"According to the latest feedback from the soldiers who have fled to the city, the food and ammunition in the Qing army camp can only last for more than 20 days. Due to the continuous rain in recent days, there has been an epidemic in the camp where the civilians are concentrated. The Qing army is now in a panic.
Now, based on the military intelligence we have gathered and after previous demonstration and discussion, the time has come to launch a counterattack. The goal of this counterattack is to kill two to five thousand Qing troops, consume the limited Qing army's manpower, consolidate the results of the Jianghuai defense battle, and further destroy the fighting will of this Qing army heading south.

Our army's comprehensive counterattack will be divided into three phases to ensure that we can achieve the greatest results with the least losses, while also avoiding the Qing army's counterattack.

The first stage was to target the earthen wall built by the Qing army outside the city. Through continuous probing and raiding at night, the strength of the Qing army behind the earthen wall was determined, thereby obtaining the progress of the Qing army's retreat and determining the timing of the counterattack.

At this time, the Qing army still deployed its main forces in the trench positions outside the city. The combat at this stage was based on small-scale raids, requiring a quick victory, no lingering battles, and no major wars. At the same time, the last batch of rockets in the city would be used to interfere with the Qing army and reduce casualties caused by the Qing army's counterattack.

The second stage was to make sure that the Qing army had begun to withdraw its troops from the trenches, and then take advantage of the chaos during the Qing army's retreat to launch a large-scale surprise attack, causing a major defeat for the Qing army.

During this stage, the various troops in the city took turns to attack, taking advantage of the chaos as much as possible to kill and injure the Qing army, especially those Eight Banners armored soldiers, in order to arouse the soldiers' rebellion and accelerate the Qing army's retreat.

The third phase is to force the main force of the Qing army to abandon its baggage and retreat, followed by a decisive battle with its rearguard troops. At this time, the navy will be mobilized to assist in the battle, so as to prevent the main force of the Qing army from taking advantage of its mobility and fleeing north.

(End of this chapter)