Strategy for the Revitalization of the Late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 139: Conquer Jingzhou and Pursue the Victory

The west gate of Jingzhou City, shrouded in darkness, was in chaos. Shouts, screams, and the sounds of swords clashing mixed together. The burning fire plates on the city walls reflected the figures of the Qing soldiers fighting.

The fierce artillery fire from the Ming army in recent days had already caused panic among the Qing soldiers in the city. They witnessed the powerful artillery of the Ming army bombarding the city walls again and again, and their hearts were filled with fear and despair.

The Ming army's siege troops' river-filling operation during the day completely shattered the last bit of hope in many people's hearts. Zheng Siwei suddenly summoned a group of officers in the middle of the night, which further disrupted the morale of the troops in the city.

So, dozens of Qing soldiers at the west gate took advantage of the opportunity when most of the officers were summoned away by Zheng Siwei, and immediately linked up without any discussion or testing.

You have to know that many of them are Han Chinese from the north, who were completely led by Zheng Siwei to surrender to the Qing Dynasty and have little loyalty to the Qing court. In such a situation, how could they be willing to fight to the death with Zheng Siwei?
Moreover, the Ming army’s artillery was so powerful, and they had an advantage of dozens of times in troop strength. They were no match at all. How could they defend Jingzhou City?

Not to mention, at this time, the Qing soldiers in the city had already known that it was the Ming Emperor who was leading the army in person. That was a god of war that even the Tartar princes could not defeat. How could they possibly deal with him?

Zhu Cilang's series of victories in Jiangbei quickly spread to Huguang as he led his army on a westward tour. Even the Qing army in Jingzhou City had heard of it.

The appeals he had Liu Fangliang arrange to appease the Qing army were not in vain. Furthermore, these Qing soldiers now believed in Zhu Cilang's benevolence and righteousness, and as long as they surrendered, they would be forgiven.

After all, instead of waiting to die here, it is better to give it one last try. Maybe they can still survive. Now they have no choice but to believe in Zhu Cilang's benevolence and righteousness.

However, this group of rebellious Qing soldiers did not have strong appeal because they had no middle-level general to lead them. After they killed the servant left by Zheng Siwei to monitor them on the west gate tower and several soldiers around the other side, they were immediately counterattacked by other Qing soldiers.

In desperation, this group of soldiers who lacked organization and command could only set fires everywhere while the main force of the Qing army around them had not arrived yet. At the same time, they rushed into the gatehouse and lowered the drawbridge. There were even more than a dozen people who wanted to go downstairs, open the city gate, escape from the city and surrender.

At this time, Li Laiheng, wearing armor, was patrolling the newly dug trench outside the west gate moat at night. He heard the noise coming from the tower and immediately realized that there was unrest in the city. He personally organized his troops and sent someone to report to Li Guo.

Originally in history, this young general who persisted in resisting the Qing Dynasty in Kuidong and was called "Little King Chuang" was not lacking in battlefield experience. He quickly summoned hundreds of soldiers and horses left behind in the trenches, then stood behind the shield cart on the edge of the moat with a spear in hand, observing the situation at the west gate tower.

In the darkness of night, he stared at the direction of the city gate with sharp eyes. The Ming army soldiers who quickly gathered behind him all gripped their weapons tightly and also stared at the direction of the city gate.

Li Laiheng was unable to tell for a moment whether it was a trap set by the Qing army, and the moat had just begun to be filled, so they had no way of crossing the river without a boat.

Suddenly, a loud friction sound came from the direction of the city gate, and the heavy drawbridge slowly opened, and then quickly dropped with a "bang".

Seeing this, Li Laiheng was shocked. He knew that the opportunity had come!
"Brothers, follow me and charge in!" He roared, rushed out with a shield in hand, and was the first to rush onto the suspension bridge. Seeing this, the Ming army soldiers behind him rushed to the city gate like a tide.

Inside the city gate, a group of rebel soldiers with white strips tied to their left shoulders were engaged in a fierce battle with Qing troops who had arrived from other areas to quell the rebellion. They had no manpower left to open the gate. On the city walls, swords flashed, blood and flesh flew everywhere, and the cries of killing shook the heavens.

Although Zheng Siwei had summoned most of the military officers, his trusted officers were still patrolling the city at night to guard against night attacks by the Ming army. Now these people were rushing to quell the rebellion with the Qing troops around the west gate.

However, at this time, many Qing soldiers became deserters in the chaos, or even joined the rebel forces. This meant that even though they were only facing dozens of rebels, they were still unable to quell the rebellion.

Hundreds of Ming troops led by Li Laiheng quickly rushed across the suspension bridge, like a tiger descending from the mountain, unstoppable. The soldiers in the front carried ladders and set them up quickly, and the soldiers following behind held up shields and began to climb the city one after another.

"Kill! Take back the city wall!"

"Hurry, hurry, kill all these traitors!"

"The Ming army is coming to kill us! The Ming army is coming to kill us!"

"Don't let the Ming army enter the city, don't let the Ming army enter the city!"

There were bursts of panicked shouts from the city wall. Although some Qing soldiers had already noticed the Ming army's attack on the city, they had no troops to stop them. In fact, the number of deserters increased further because of the Ming army's attack.

Li Laiheng led the way and climbed the ladders with his personal guards. He quickly took advantage of the opportunity when the Qing army was in chaos on the city wall and could not stop them, and climbed up to the top of the city wall with shields in hand.

After he climbed over the parapet, he resolutely rushed to the front, charging left and right at the Qing soldiers in the melee, constantly stabbing with the spear in his hand, invincible, killing the Qing soldiers and making them fall to the ground, and their army was in disarray.

At the edge of the city wall, hundreds of Ming soldiers bravely climbed up one after another. Many Qing soldiers who reacted quickly rushed to the wall and fought desperately. The sounds of swords clashing, screams, and shouts were intertwined, and soldiers from both armies kept falling down in pain.

But the Qing army was just a spent force at this time. The vanguard led by Li Laiheng was unstoppable and quickly occupied the west gate tower, then quickly controlled the streets near the gate and opened the gate.

Soon, the Ming army soldiers gathered outside the city poured into the city and started to pursue the fleeing Qing soldiers. For a time, the city of Jingzhou was filled with the sound of killing, the sky was full of flames, and the fighting was everywhere.

Zhu Cilang, who was in the camp outside the city, was surprised to learn that the west gate had been breached. He immediately dispatched troops to reinforce the Ming army at the west gate of Jingzhou City. The Ming army in the central camp quickly assembled and rushed towards the west gate like a tide.

At this time, Zheng Siwei was still arranging the tasks of feigning surrender and breaking out for his trusted officers. Hearing the noise coming from outside, he sent someone to inquire and found out that the Ming army had actually attacked the city.

He originally wanted to lead the troops to counterattack, but when he led a group of soldiers out of the camp and saw flames rising from the west gate, he knew that the situation was hopeless, so he led the remaining troops to break out.

However, at this time, not all of his trusted officers were loyal to him. Soon some of them rebelled during the breakout and lured the Ming army that had rushed into the city.

After a fierce battle, Zheng Siwei was finally captured alive by the Ming army. Most of his so-called personal soldiers were also captured, and not many of them fought to the death.

At the same time, as soon as Li Qifeng received the news, he led the personal soldiers and servants of the prefectural yamen and rushed directly to the north gate, trying to break out from there.

But as soon as he left the city, his army was immediately dispersed by the Ming cavalry ambushed outside the city, and he himself was surrounded by the cavalry led by Ma Jinzhong.

"Damn it, if you don't put down your weapon, I'll chop you to pieces!" Ma Jinzhong saw the big fish and immediately rode up, cursing angrily.

Li Qifeng's face was pale. He looked back at Jingzhou City and knew that the situation was irreversible. Finally, he sighed, dropped his weapon and surrendered. A Ming army soldier immediately stepped forward and put a knife to his neck.

In the darkness of the night, Jingzhou City was still in chaos. Most of the Qing soldiers were awakened by this sudden change. Their first reaction was to put on armor, pick up weapons, and want to climb the city wall.

However, as the Ming soldiers charged and shouted "Those who surrender will be spared", these Qing soldiers, seeing that the situation was hopeless, laid down their weapons and surrendered. Several Eight Banners soldiers who were supervising the army in the city still resisted stubbornly and were eventually killed by the Ming soldiers.
As the night fell, the eastern sky turned pale. Inside Jingzhou City, the fighting gradually subsided. Teams of Ming soldiers were still cleaning up the battlefield and counting the Qing soldiers who were escorting the captives out of the city.

The Battle of Jingzhou ended prematurely, in a way that was beyond everyone's expectations. With the cooperation of the anti-Qing troops, Li Laiheng seized the rare opportunity, and the Ming army captured this strategic town at a minimal cost.

Soon, inside Zhu Cilang's imperial tent, Zheng Siwei and Li Qifeng both knelt on the ground, their bodies shaking uncontrollably.

Beads of sweat kept appearing on Zheng Siwei's bald head. This general of Jingzhou, who had been arguing with Liu Fangliang on the city wall a few days ago and was so arrogant, was now like a lamb to be slaughtered, with fear and despair in his eyes.

"Your Majesty, please spare my life! I was confused for a moment and was blinded by greed, so I surrendered to the Qing dogs. I beg Your Majesty to have mercy and spare my life!"

Zheng Siwei wept bitterly, kowtowed repeatedly, and though blood oozed from his forehead, he remained oblivious, begging for mercy. Li Qifeng, on the other hand, collapsed to the ground, no longer able to even beg for mercy, and simply kept mumbling something.

However, when Zhu Cilang heard Zheng Siwei's plea for mercy, his face was as dead as water. He looked down at the two men condescendingly, without a trace of mercy in his eyes.

"Ha!" Zhu Cilang sneered, his voice filled with deep disgust: "You betrayed your master for glory, sold out your country for profit, and now you have the nerve to beg for mercy?"

"Your Majesty, I know I was wrong. I am willing to make meritorious contributions to atone for my sins!" Zheng Siwei said quickly, "I know the Qing army's deployment, and I can even act as an insider for Your Majesty and help you capture Wuchang in one fell swoop!"

"Your Majesty, I, a guilty subject, am willing to make meritorious contributions while serving my sentence!"

When Li Qifeng heard the word "Wuchang", his originally depressed face suddenly brightened up. He struggled to get up and shouted at the top of his lungs:
"If I, a guilty minister, knock on the gate, Tong Yanghe will certainly not dare to refuse. Then I, a guilty minister, will be able to open the gate and welcome the royal army into the city..."

"Ha, ha ...

"Do you think I will believe your nonsense?" He said, and his eyes suddenly swept across the generals standing in front of him, finally landing on Li Guo, Gao Yigong, Tian Jianxiu, Liu Fangliang and others, and waved his hand.
"Li Guo, Gao Yigong, Tian Jianxiu, and Liu Fangliang, I leave these two men to you. Let's settle all our past grudges at once. I don't want to see them again."

"I obey your order!" Li Guo, Gao Yigong, Tian Jianxiu, Liu Fangliang and others all clasped their fists and accepted the order.

"Your Majesty, spare us! Your Majesty, spare us!" Zheng Siwei and Li Qifeng wailed in despair.

"Drag them away!" Li Guo gave an order, and the soldiers of the imperial camp guarding inside and outside the tent immediately stepped forward and dragged the two men out of the tent.

A hint of ferocity flashed in the eyes of the other three. They had long wished to tear the traitor Zheng Siwei into pieces. As for Li Qifeng, they would just consider it a gift from His Majesty.

After more than half a month of siege deployment and operations, they have all been conquered by Zhu Cilang's powerful army and powerful artillery and the imperial ambition to lead the army in person. Now seeing the Qing army in the city rebelling, they are even more convinced that Zhu Cilang is the one destined by heaven.

After all, Li Guo and Gao Yigong were both helpless in facing Jingzhou City, and the Qing troops in the city repeatedly provoked them. But as soon as Zhu Cilang arrived, the situation immediately changed drastically, and even the Qing soldiers in the city rushed to rebel.

This must be destiny!
Zhu Cilang looked at them and nodded secretly in his heart. He had no doubt that under his leadership, these brave generals would become the backbone of "expelling the Tartars and restoring the country."

At the same time, seeing the Qing army in Jingzhou City rebelling, Zhu Cilang became even more confident in Wang Deren's previously expressed willingness to rebel.

It seems that the political influence brought by his previous victory in Jiangbei and his personal expedition is spreading rapidly!
After Li Guo, Gao Yigong and others dealt with Zheng Siwei and Li Qifeng, Chen Fu had also eliminated the remaining soldiers and defeated generals in Jingzhou City. Zhu Cilang led a group of generals and Du Yinxi, and began to deploy the next military operation directly based on the map in the prefectural office.

In front of them was a map of Huguang filled with small flags representing the Ming and Qing armies, clearly showing the current war situation. This was also an innovation brought about by Zhu Cilang.

Zhu Cilang's gaze swept across the sand table and finally stopped at Wuchang, which was a strong military town heavily guarded by the Qing army. It was a thoroughfare connecting nine provinces and had a crucial strategic location. It was also a strategic location that he had to recapture in the next two years.

However, with Zhu Cilang's current strength, he would definitely not be able to capture Wuchang City, but the various prefectures west of the Han River were places he could completely pursue and recapture.

Under his deployment, Gao Yigong, Zhang Nai, Dang Shousu, Lin Yangcheng and others stayed in Jingzhou, while Li Guo, Liu Rukui, Ma Chongxi, Tian Jianxiu, Liu Fangliang, Yuan Zongde and others led troops to attack everywhere. Zhu Cilang wanted them to recover as much lost territory as possible as quickly as possible before the Qing army reacted.

As for Du Yinxi, he stayed alone after the meeting because he had more important things to do.

"Zhong Yan, now that Jingzhou City has been captured, after this expedition to recapture the various prefectures of Chengtian, I intend to reward the soldiers who broke into the camp and take inventory of the troops so that we can better plan our subsequent deployments."

Zhu Cilang looked at Du Yinxi who was standing respectfully before him, and then continued to instruct:
"I'll leave the matter of counting the troops to your care. If there's any resistance from the soldiers, I'll personally resolve it!"

"Your Majesty, I obey your command." Du Yinxi bowed and accepted the order.

Two days later, the bright yellow dragon flag on the top of Jingzhou City fluttered in the autumn wind. Zhu Cilang stood on the top of the city, wearing military uniform, gazing into the distance with a sharp gaze.

At the foot of the city, in front of him, were more than 20,000 soldiers who were ready to go and in high morale. Most of these soldiers had been equipped with weapons and armor shipped from Changsha City, and their momentum was far greater than before.

Amid the rumbling sound of war drums, Li Guo, Liu Rukui, Ma Chongxi, Tian Jianxiu, Liu Fangliang, Yuan Zongde and others mounted their horses and led their respective armies, like giant dragons, marching towards the cities of Chengtian Prefecture on the west bank of the Han River.

Due to Zhu Cilang's careful deployment, the Qing troops in the east and north did not know that Jingzhou City had been breached by the Ming army at this time, and their defenses were not strict. Moreover, the troops were basically concentrated in a few key prefectures and cities, and the defenses of various prefectures and counties were actually empty.

The Ming army was unstoppable and invincible. The Qing army in western Hubei was completely wiped out in the Battle of Jingzhou. The Qing defenders in the counties and prefectures west of the Han River were unable to resist the Ming army's offensive and surrendered one after another. The Ming army's flags soon flew again on the city walls.

Seeing that the situation was very good, Li Guo immediately led his army northward to Xiangyang, hoping to try his luck and seize the northern gateway of Huguang.

However, Xiangyang was a strategic location in Huguang, easy to defend but difficult to attack. The Qing government stationed heavy troops here. There were even nearly a hundred Eight Banners soldiers in the city to supervise the battle, and the city defenses were rebuilt.

Faced with such a strong city, Li Guo had no heavy artillery and could not capture it at all. After leading his army to besiege for two days, he saw that he could not gain any advantage, so he immediately sent troops north to capture Gucheng, Baokang, Nanzhang and other county towns.

Of course, Zhu Cilang does not have the strength to manage these cities for a long time now, but he has no intention of leaving the population and fields in them to the Qing army. These buffer zones between the two armies must be deserted.

At the same time, the army led by Tian Jianxiu and other generals marched eastward, recovered a large amount of lost land in Chengtian Prefecture, and even crossed the Han River to recover several counties on the east bank, including Jingling and Hanchuan.

They also did not encounter any effective resistance from the Qing army. In fact, the Qing troops stationed in some cities even joined forces with the local gentry and surrendered the city anyway.

Under Zhu Cilang's repeated instructions, the soldiers of each camp commander maintained strict discipline and did not harm the civilians, just like the Shun army during the "Establishment of the Xiangyang Government" period.

Of course, they were originally that army. Now that they came back, they quickly gained support from the people and gentry in various places. Wherever they went, local powerful clan leaders and militiamen would join the team.

The Ming army's successive victories greatly boosted the anti-Qing morale in Hubei. Those gentry and powerful people who were not willing to surrender to the Qing Dynasty rose up one after another, responded to the call of the Ming Dynasty, and jointly fought against the Qing army.

In fact, they initially thought that the Shun army had returned, so they led their fellow villagers to rise up in rebellion, and then they saw a group of old acquaintances holding the Ming flag.

However, as long as they are these people, they are all trustworthy, not to mention that they are under the banner of the Ming Dynasty, which is simply impeccable!
You know, after more than two years of governance, the Dashun's appeal in these places is far greater than that of the Ming Dynasty. However, the Ming Dynasty has been in power for nearly three hundred years and still holds a very high status in the hearts of local gentry.

At this time, Zhu Cilang was in Jingzhou City, always paying attention to the changes in the war situation.

While deploying troops to ensure sufficient manpower on the front lines, he also sent out civil officials to recruit gentry and appease the people, relocating the local population as quickly as possible to prepare for the resumption of production in Jingzhou, Chongqing and other places in the future.

However, seeing the continuous reports of victory coming back from the front, Du Yinxi, who was preparing rewards and counting troops in Jingzhou City, was the first to become restless.
"Your Majesty, our army's morale is high and the Qing army is losing ground. This is a great opportunity to recover lost territory." After reading the victory report, Du Yinxi immediately said to Zhu Cilang:
"I believe that now is the perfect time to seize this victory and mobilize the army from northern Jiangxi to advance westwards, retaking the entire Huguang region in one fell swoop. Even if important towns like Wuchang and Xiangyang prove difficult to capture, we can still use heavy artillery to storm them."

After hearing this, Zhu Cilang shook his head and said:
"Zhong Jian, what you said does make sense, but our current military strength is limited. With tens of thousands of troops moving, food and fodder are also relatively tight, so it is not appropriate to expand the battle line excessively.

Henan, Shaanxi and other places now have Eight Banners troops stationed there. If they go south and gather the troops scattered in various prefectures and cities, it may be too late and they may be defeated one by one by the Qing army.

Moreover, once Dorgon knows that I have recovered Jingzhou, the main force of the Qing army will soon move south. Chuangying, Zuozhen, and even my Palace Army will need to be reorganized and trained to restore their combat effectiveness.

Otherwise, with the current strength of the various armies, it would be difficult to fight a decisive battle with the main force of the Eight Banners. Therefore, we must first consolidate the areas we have recovered and wait for the right time to advance."

"But..." Du Yinxi hesitated to speak. He just felt that Zhu Cilang was too cautious.

"Even if these places are temporarily recovered, they will not be able to be defended as long as the main force of the Qing army moves south. The most important thing now is to enhance the combat effectiveness of the army." Zhu Cilang then said.

"Besides, I have been leading my troops to Jingzhou for almost a month. Zheng Siwei, Li Qifeng, and even Tong Yanghe must have already requested assistance from Beijing. The Qing army in the north may arrive soon."

Du Yinxi had overlooked this crucial variable and immediately clasped his hands together and said, "I understand. Your Majesty is wise!"

Zhu Cilang nodded after hearing this. The anti-Qing struggle was a protracted war, requiring careful and steady progress to achieve ultimate victory.

"I hereby order that all officers and men must strictly observe military discipline and not disturb the civilian population. All burning, killing, and looting are strictly prohibited! Those who violate this order will be executed on the spot!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

As Zhu Cilang expected, Li Guo's army, which was leading the siege of Xiangyang at this time, soon encountered the vanguard of the Qing army coming from Nanyang. This was the army of Aljin from Shaanxi and Gao Di from Henan who joined forces in Dengzhou and marched south.

Faced with the Eight Banners, Li Guo did not dare to continue dividing his troops. He knew that the troops under his command could not defeat the enemy on the plains. He immediately led his troops to retreat to Nanzhang to support Gucheng, Baokang and other counties that had just been recovered.

At the same time, Li Guo also quickly sent Tang Ma to convey the military information of the Qing army reinforcements heading south to Tian Jianxiu and others, and asked for help from Zhu Cilang in Jingzhou City.

(End of this chapter)