Strategy for the Revitalization of the Late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 132 The Difference Between Having and Not Having His Majesty

Du Yinxi acted quickly. After arranging all the affairs of Changsha Prefecture and Yuezhou Prefecture, he immediately rode north to Jingzhou with dozens of personal guards.

He naturally knew that this was very dangerous, but apart from his battalion and Wu Jinxi's militia, Hunan currently only had the Pianyuan battalion and some chieftain troops in western Hunan. The troops were seriously insufficient and their combat effectiveness was even more worrying.

In other words, if he led his troops north, Yuezhou and Changsha would be unable to be defended, and the rebel army would most likely take advantage of the situation and invade. Zhu Cilang would soon arrive in Changsha, and he would never allow such a thing to happen.

Moreover, through observations during this period, especially after several rounds of negotiations with Hao Yaoqi, Wang Jincai, Liu Tichun and others, Du Yinxi also realized that whether it was Gao, Tian Jianxiu, Yuan Zongde, Zhang Nai and others, or Li Guo and Gao Yigong, they actually had no opinions of their own and were unable to unify the entire army.

Otherwise, Hunan would have been ruled by the Chuang army by now. He saw through this and decided to go to the meeting alone to recruit the "tiger" Li Guo.

At the same time, Li Guo and Gao Yigong had never expected that Du Yinxi would dare to go north with only a few dozen personal guards, and stand in front of the camp, openly demanding to enter the camp to discuss important matters.

At first, Li Guo doubted that this was not the real Du Yinxi, but after calling Tang Ma, who had been passing on military intelligence many times, to confirm it, he found that it was indeed true.

When Gao Yigong heard that Du Yinxi came on horseback instead of by boat, he couldn't help but feel a little surprised. At the same time, he was also certain that Du Yinxi was an official who got things done.

After all, riding a horse is bumpy and riding a boat is comfortable, but the journey from Changsha to Jingzhou is more than 500 miles, and galloping on horseback is much faster than riding a boat. This shows that Du Yinxi is not a person who lives a life of luxury.

Li Guo and Gao Yigong discussed it and immediately decided to welcome Du Yinxi into the camp. The siege of Jingzhou was now in trouble. They couldn't take it, but they didn't want to retreat. In fact, they also wanted to hear what the other side had to say.

Moreover, the Ming Emperor was about to arrive. If Gao, Tian Jianxiu, Zhang Nai and others were trapped in Changsha and Yuezhou and could not be taken away, they could hold Du Yinxi hostage and perhaps they could negotiate with the Ming court at that time.

Although both sides do not trust each other very much, they each have their own difficulties. Now they are facing the same enemy - the Qing army, and they actually want to unite.

In the original history, after Gao returned to Li Guo and Gao Yigong's camp, he could not trust the Ming court because of He Tengjiao's previous exclusion, and showed his intention to show goodwill to the Qing court. However, in the end, the matter came to nothing because he could not accept shaving his head.

From this we can see how low the morale of the Dashun generals was at that time, after they lost their core leader Li Zicheng and their country was destroyed by the Qing army a year later.

Du Yinxi led dozens of personal guards and rushed into the Shun army camp. He went straight to the point and expressed his intention to recruit generals such as Li Guo, Gao Yigong, Liu Rukui, and Ma Chongxi.

Li Guo and Gao Yigong naturally would not express their attitudes immediately, and the two sides would just engage in a tug-of-war.

The courage and determination shown in Du Yinxi's words and deeds made several Shun army generals in the big tent admire him very much. They were also in urgent need of identity recognition and did not show much hostility.

However, the Ming and Shun factions were at loggerheads not long ago, and the trust issue between the two sides remained a hurdle in reaching an agreement. Moreover, Li Guo repeatedly used the excuse that Gao was not in the army, important matters were difficult to decide, and it was not in accordance with protocol to request a postponement of the appeasement.

Du Yinxi naturally guessed what Li Guo was really thinking, but by now Zhu Cilang was probably already leading his army through Pingxiang and into Changsha Prefecture. He then bowed to the south and said respectfully:

"Madam Gao is currently in Liuyang. Your Majesty will be receiving her soon. I have come here in person to invite the two generals to Changsha to meet Your Majesty."

"Governor Du, are you threatening us?" Gao Yigong could no longer sit still after hearing this. He frowned and said coldly:
"If anything happens to the Queen, there's no telling what the 100,000 soldiers under my command might do!"

Li Guo also heard the threat in Du Yinxi's words, and then he said sternly:

"If Governor Du hopes to scare me, Li Guo, with this, he will be greatly disappointed. My Dashun army still has hundreds of thousands of troops in the south and north of the Yangtze River. If it weren't for the need to avenge the late emperor, I would be marching south and sweeping across Hunan at this time. What can Governor Du do?"

"That's right. If you want to scare us and force us to surrender, it is absolutely impossible. Stop daydreaming." Liu Rukui also refuted immediately.

"If you push me too far, I will tie you up now. Then we'll see if Emperor Ming dares to act rashly." Ma Chongxi threatened.

Of course, they weren't truly determined, nor did they intend to kidnap Du Yinxi; these were merely negotiating tactics. If they had acted docile and accommodating from the outset, they would have been the ones to suffer in the end.

Most of these generals of the Shun army came from the lower classes, some were private salt dealers, some were bandits, and they did all kinds of things, and they had their own set of rules for survival and game.

Under the Ming Dynasty system, among the peasant army, except for deserters, those like Li Zicheng who were born as postmen were even a minority. Niu Jinxing and Song Xiance, who were scholars with narrow vision, were considered high-level talents.

"Humph, since I dare to attend the meeting alone, why should I be afraid of your threats?" Du Yinxi sneered, and then said:

"Furthermore, do you really think that the new emperor of the Ming Dynasty is such a despicable person? Would he capture a woman to threaten you and force you to surrender?"

"That's hard to say. When have you officials ever counted what you say?" Ma Chongxi tilted his head and sneered.

But Du Yinxi completely ignored him, and immediately turned towards the south where Zhu Cilang was, clasped his hands together, and said respectfully:
"Your Majesty has come with a large army, not to deal with you, but to deal with the Qing army. You cannot capture Jingzhou City, but Your Majesty can. You cannot defend the thousands of miles of mountains and rivers in the north, but Your Majesty can.

Your Majesty's meeting with Madam Gao is nothing more than a monarch meeting with his subjects to discuss the great cause of resisting the Qing Dynasty. If you generals think this is a threat, aren't you too narrow-minded and cowardly? "

"On what grounds?" Li Guo frowned, his mouth twitching slightly. "How many troops did your so-called Majesty bring with him? How dare you make such arrogant statements? Just relying on the tens of thousands of defeated soldiers of Zuo Zhen?"

Gao Yigong was also very angry when he heard this, and said with a stern face:

"If that's the case, Governor Du must persuade your Majesty. Even if all the tens of thousands of troops from Zuo Zhen arrive, I can still destroy them all in one battle."

Du Yinxi heard this and shook his head helplessly, then held his head high and puffed out his chest, as if he had been prepared. He looked around at the four people in front of him and said in a resounding voice:

“Duoduo defeated your so-called million-strong army, but in Jiangbei, your Majesty led the army and killed and wounded tens of thousands of them, forcing them to flee in panic.
Ajige led you from northern Shaanxi to Wuchang, winning nearly twenty battles in a row, but was stopped by Zuo Zhen at Jiujiang. Oboi personally led a large army to attack, and you barely escaped with your life.

"Your Majesty has already led a large army to Changsha and can march north to Yuezhou at any time. I dare to disregard my own life and death and come to your camp in person at this moment!"

After Du Yinxi's loud roar, the tent fell into complete silence.

Li Guo, Gao Yigong and others were not well-informed about the military situation and had no idea that so many things had happened in places outside Shaanxi and Huguang. When they suddenly heard about it, they found it unbelievable.

In fact, it was not just them. Even Tian Jianxiu and others had been fleeing all the way and had no idea about the military situation in other places. They even sent out Tangma to conduct reconnaissance and investigation, which was something they only started doing after the situation became stable recently.

This is why Zhu Cilang had to put so much effort into rebuilding the Jinyiwei. Otherwise, he would be deaf and blind, and would know nothing about the situation in other places except the three acres of land at the foot of the imperial city.

You must know that the Manchus, who had always been regarded as barbarians by the Ming Dynasty, had to send secret scouts ahead of them before every battle since Nurhaci. Therefore, they were often able to bribe soldiers and even generals within the Ming army, making even early sieges easy.

And now, for Li Guo and Gao Yigong, the most incredible thing is actually the battle record of the Ming army as described by Du Yinxi. They couldn’t beat the Qing army, so how could the Ming army beat it?

How can this be? This is absolutely impossible!
Not only that, they now even suspect that Jiangnan has been captured by the Qing army, and that the Ming Emperor fled here this time just to recruit them and bluff!

Du Yinxi saw that no one spoke, and their expressions kept changing. He roughly understood what was going on, and then he said:

"Whether you believe it or not, you will be able to make your own judgment when His Majesty leads the troops here."

"Are you really going to Jingzhou?" Li Guo narrowed his eyes, already somewhat shaken.

The fact that Emperor Ming personally led the army to fight didn't sound real at all, but if it was true, then what Du Yinxi just said probably wouldn't be false.

"My lord, don't trust this old guy. He is afraid that we will kill him and wants to scare us." Liu Rukui said immediately when he saw this.

Ma Chongxi also didn't believe it. If the Ming army really had such combat power, would they have lost the world?

"Yes, this old man is definitely bluffing us. The Tartars are so strong, we can't defeat them, so how can the Ming army in Jiangnan win?"

"I remember Liu Fangming saying that Gao Jie, Liu Zeqing, and the others had all fled to Jiangbei, along with Huang Degong, who was already there." Gao Yigong looked at Du Yinxi with a look of suspicion. "These troops are not strong enough to stop the Tartars, nor to defend the city. There must be something fishy going on."

"Ha, ha, ha ha ha, Zuo Zhen's tens of thousands of troops were no match for you before, but now it may not be the case." Du Yinxi suddenly laughed after hearing this.

"The Qing army was able to defeat the Ming Dynasty before, but from now on, this will no longer be possible. This is the difference between having Your Majesty and not having Your Majesty!"

Li Guo, Gao Yigong and others looked at each other in confusion when they heard this. Looking at Du Yinxi's determined expression, they were already worried that something like this might happen.

Du Yinxi looked at the changes in their expressions and then changed the subject, bringing the topic directly to the most pressing matter facing Li Guo and Gao Yigong. He said:

"You are all aware of the current situation in Huguang. If we cannot recapture Jingzhou before the main force of the Qing army moves south again, you will either head west into the mountainous areas of western Hubei, or head south to defend Yuezhou.

"You don't want to choose two? But with only four generals and their troops, without your Majesty leading the troops and supporting them, and without the red cannons, can you capture Jingzhou City?"
.
"Don't worry. Without the red cannons, the rebels won't be able to capture Jingzhou City. When the food and grass around them run out, Jingzhou City will naturally be relieved." Tong Yanghe said to the worried Wang Tizhong after reading the military reports sent back from Jiujiang and Yuezhou.
"The Ming troops in Yuezhou and Jiujiang were mobilized simultaneously, most likely to encircle and annihilate the rebels who had entered Changsha. After Li Zicheng's death, the remnants of the rebels continued to flee south, and there must have been tens of thousands of soldiers and horses. It was impossible for the Ming army to allow this army to remain in Changsha.

It seems that the Ming army's strength in Hunan is indeed not strong, otherwise there would be no need to mobilize the troops in Jiujiang. No wonder the rebels have already occupied Songzi, but Du Yinxi has not made any move. It turns out that there are no troops to send.

It's a pity that Prince Ying has already led the main force back north. Otherwise, we could have taken advantage of the opportunity to attack Jiujiang and succeeded in one fell swoop. Then, we could have cut off Emperor Ming's retreat and attacked Jiangnan from two directions, and our great plan would have been accomplished."

Tong Yanghe hadn't been able to conceal the movements of Zhu Cilang and Wu Jinxi's troops. His Eight Banners soldiers were quite capable of scouting military intelligence. Furthermore, he was a veteran of the Qing army, and his dispatch to garrison Wuchang was a testament to the Qing court's trust in him.

Wang Tizhong originally saw Emperor Ming personally visiting Jiujiang and leading a large army westward, and thought that the enemy was going to launch a roundabout attack and break through Jingzhou. He was very worried about the safety of Wuchang City. But now, when he heard this, he was relieved.

"Who says it isn't? If Prince Ying were here, I would have led the troops to rescue General Zheng. Unfortunately, we can't even protect ourselves now!"

Tong Yanghe knew what Wang Tizhong was thinking, but he did not want to take the risk to save him, so he said immediately:

"Wait a little longer, wait a little longer. As long as Prince Ying leads his army south again, these Ming troops and bandits in Huguang and Jiangxi will no longer be a problem.

Now, let them fight each other, and when the time comes, both will suffer losses. No matter which side wins, its strength will be greatly weakened. By then, I am afraid that we will not need Prince Ying, and we can conquer Jiangxi and Hunan."

"Your Excellency is right. Now Wuchang is in our hands, and Jingzhou and Xiangyang are also in our hands. The Yangtze River is completely defenseless. It is only a matter of time before Jiangxi and Huguang are taken!" Wang Tizhong bent his waist, lowered his eyebrows and flattered.

In his opinion, the Ming army was not difficult to deal with. It was just that Ajige had no will to fight. As long as the Qing army put all their efforts into the fight, the Ming army would surely be defeated.

Tong Yanghe nodded. He had sent troops to investigate the terrain of Wuchang, Jingzhou and Huangzhou during this period, and also collected maps that the Ming army had lost. He soon understood the importance of Wuchang's strategic location.

Of course, as long as one of the three cities of Jingzhou, Xiangyang and Wuchang is in the hands of the Qing Dynasty, the situation will be favorable to the Qing Dynasty.

Although the Ming army was stationed in Yuezhou and Jiujiang, and even fortified the city and increased the garrison, this was just like the Shanhaiguan Pass without the Liaoxi Corridor. The Qing army could break through and enter the pass by taking a slight detour.

Now, the only thing Tong Yanghe was worried about was Zhu Cilang. He knew that the other party had defeated Duoduo, or more precisely, defeated Bolo, Tulai, Nikan, Zhunta, Tunqi and other powerful generals.

Although the Ming army was not strong, if it had a wise ruler to command it, it would probably still be able to fight a few battles, especially since the latter had already proven his strength on the battlefield.

Thinking of this, Tong Yanghe immediately ordered:

"However, the Ming Emperor is indeed difficult to deal with. We must be cautious and not reveal any flaws that could allow the Ming Emperor to seize control. We must continue to conduct reconnaissance in Jiujiang and Yuezhou. If there are any new Ming army movements, report them to me immediately."

"Yes, my lord!"

At the same time, Zhu Cilang, personally welcomed by Qin Yiming, quickly led the cavalry into Changsha City, and then personally led Lin Changfu, Wang Yuncheng and three others, along with more than a thousand cavalrymen, to review the troops stationed inside and outside Changsha City.

With the support of Du Yinxi, the combat effectiveness of the standard battalion trained by Qin Yiming was not strong, but it was better than that of ordinary militia. With sufficient food, armor and weapons, and the support of Qin Liangyu, the combat effectiveness of his personal army was quite good.

After Zhu Cilang found out the details of the Ming army in Changsha, he basically gave up hope on Wu Jinxi's Yuezhou militia camp. As for the local camp soldiers led by Huang Chaoxuan, Zhang Xianbi, Liu Chengyin and others, their strength was only about the same as that of the governor's camp.

He was even somewhat relieved. If Li Zicheng had not died in Jiugong Mountain, Hunan would have been ruled by the Shun army. Even if Ajige withdrew his troops northward, Jingzhou, Chengtian, De'an, and even Xiangyang would have been recaptured by the Shun army.

After all, Ajige was exhausted when he chased Li Zicheng to Wuchang. Even if Li Zicheng had not died in Jiugong Mountain, it would be impossible for him to cross mountains and rivers and chase him all the way, and then wait until June or July when Li Zicheng fled to the Xiangjiang Plain before taking action.

After expressing his relief, Zhu Cilang made a prompt decision and sent Wu Jinxi, who had been waiting in Changsha, back to Yuezhou. At the same time, he ordered the other party to withdraw the militia camp back to Yuezhou City.

These troops are simply unable to stop the Shun army from the east. If a conflict breaks out between the two sides and they are defeated, he will have to allocate money and food for reconstruction, which is totally not worth the loss.

At the same time, Zhu Cilang handed over all the local troops gathered in Changsha to Qin Yiming, while he was waiting for the troops of the Palace Army and the Left Town to arrive.

Zhu Cilang's confidence in coming to Changsha in person to recruit the Shun army and to march north to recapture Jingzhou all came from these tens of thousands of troops.

Soon, Chen Fu led the palace troops to Changsha first, followed by Zuo Menggeng, Ma Jinzhong, Jin Shenghuan, Xu Yong, and Li Guoying, who also arrived with their troops on the same day.

After Zhu Cilang arrived at the rear of the army, he sent Qin Yiming to contact Hao Yaoqi, Wang Jincai, and Liu Tichun, three Shun army generals with heavy troops under their command. On the other hand, he arranged for the army to rest for two days to recuperate.

When Hao Yaoqi and Wang Jin heard that Zhu Cilang had arrived in Changsha and wanted to summon them to an audience, they could no longer contain their excitement and hurriedly followed Qin Yiming with several hundred cavalrymen.

However, Liu Tichun had some hidden thoughts. He did not trust Qin Yiming's words. After discussing with Hetian Jianxiu and asking Gao for instructions, he finally stayed in the camp.

After all, if Hao Yaoqi and Wang Jincai, the two generals who currently control most of the Eastern Army's troops, were to be killed, with his strength, he could at least hold on for a while, and the army would not collapse immediately.

Tian Jianxiu summoned all the generals a few days ago and wanted to retreat north immediately. Liu Tichun also expressed his support and planned to take his troops north. Hao Yaoqi and Wang Jincai were hesitant, as they had already negotiated the terms with Du Yinxi in private.

However, Wu Jinxi and Qin Yiming had made preparations early in the morning, and Hao Yaoqi and Wang Jincai came out to dissuade them at the critical moment, so they ultimately failed to successfully break camp.

Among the conditions that Du Yinxi offered to Hao Yaoqi and Wang Jincai, the most crucial one was to ask them to help keep Gao Shi, Tian Jianxiu, Zhang Nai and others and their army in Changsha to accept amnesty.

Zhu Cilang summoned Hao Yaoqi and Wang Jincai directly to the military camp in Changsha City. At this time, he had ordered nearly 20,000 troops in Changsha City to assemble and prepare to break camp and head to Liuyang.

They were secretly surprised to see the neat formation and brand new look of the Zuozhen troops who had already entered the military camp. Finally, when they saw the Palace Army gathering in the parade ground, they were even more shocked, especially the more than a thousand cavalrymen who were lined up.

Hao Yaoqi and Wang Jincai were both veterans of the battlefield. They could see that the Zuozhen troops were no longer the same as they were half a year ago in Wuchang, where they retreated without a fight and were in disarray. The Palace Army was even more powerful, which amazed them.

However, before they could calm down, Qin Yiming led the two of them into the imperial tent where Zhu Cilang was. Except for Zhu Cilang, Chen Fu and Zhou Shixian, everyone else in the tent was their acquaintance.

When Hao Yaoqi and Wang Jincai entered the big tent, they both clasped their hands and lowered their heads slightly. They glanced at Zuo Menggeng, Ma Jinzhong, Jin Shenghuan, Xu Yong, Li Guoying and others standing respectfully on both sides, with fully armed soldiers behind them. They felt a little nervous.

Amidst the shouts of summons, the two men knelt before Zhu Cilang and shouted in unison with trepidation:

"The guilty generals Hao Yaoqi and Wang Jincai pay their respects to His Majesty. Long live His Majesty! Long live His Majesty! Long, long live His Majesty!"

Zhu Cilang did not put on airs. He stepped forward and helped the two men up. He looked very friendly, and was the epitome of a wise ruler who treated people with respect. This made Hao Yaoqi and Wang Jincai secretly breathe a sigh of relief.

After all, they were all rebels, and since it was their first time meeting the emperor, they were inevitably nervous, and even completely unsure. Zhu Cilang saw their worries, so he was so friendly.

After helping the two men up, he looked at Hao Yaoqi, then at Wang Jincai, and then turned and walked back to his original position. However, he quickly turned around again and looked at the generals in front of him. His gaze stopped at Hao Yaoqi, and he smiled faintly:
"Hao Yaoqi, speaking of which, we have quite a history! If I remember correctly, when I first broke out of the capital and passed through Qingzhou, you led your troops to garrison Jinghai and sent a cavalry of over a hundred men southward!"

(End of this chapter)