Strategy for the Revitalization of the Late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 14 Put yourself to death and survive

Chang Denggui himself is not a person with a bad temper. On the contrary, after observing him for the past few days, Zhu Cilang feels that he is bold and careful. Not only does he do things in a measured way, but he also knows how to understand his own thoughts. He is a very good deputy talent.

However, Li Jiantai took away the last few thousand elite soldiers of the Beijing Camp who were still able to fight. As a result, apart from capturing a county town of his own, he had no military achievements. In the end, he lost all the remaining elite soldiers of the Beijing Camp. Most of them surrendered to the Shun Army, and a small number became defeated soldiers.

Along the way, the scouts that Chang Denggui sent to scout and provide cover in all directions had already discovered many defeated soldiers of the Beijing camp scattered everywhere, but most of them were infantry, and their numbers were small, mostly in groups of a dozen or so.

Zhu Cilang was already short of food and supplies, and didn't want any accidents to happen, so he never recruited these people, but he scolded Li Jiantai a lot.

So, Li Ge Lao, Li Du Shi, naturally became an old dog, an old man who would never die.
But now, they had obviously encountered a tough opponent. Judging from the fact that the opponent had so many war horses, and was able to make flanking maneuvers and encircle them at such a high level, they should be the elite of the Three Thousand Battalions.

The soldiers of the Beijing Camp gathered by Chang Denggui and Zhou Shixian were indeed the elite among them, but they were still inferior to the Night Soldiers of the Three Thousand Camp.

At this time, black dots could be seen emerging on the horizon in all directions, and the rumbling of horse hooves could be heard faintly. It would only take less than a quarter of an hour for these cavalry to surround them.

But it was not yet dark today, and the chances of breaking out under the cover of darkness were very slim.

"Your Highness, Prince Consort, you go ahead and I'll hold them back."

After hearing what Chang Denggui said, Li Banghua immediately clasped his hands and said:
"Although this group of troops originally belonged to the Beijing Camp, they have now become defeated and are even planning to plunder. Your Highness is the foundation of the country and must not fall into the hands of these defeated soldiers. Otherwise, the consequences will be disastrous."

He knew Zhu Cilang was a man of great courage and determination, and wouldn't be afraid of these fleeing soldiers. However, he also knew that these fleeing soldiers couldn't be easily controlled. If Zhu Cilang's identity as the Crown Prince was exposed, they might immediately surrender and escort the future emperor south, or they might harbor evil intentions and kidnap him to join the rebels.

After all, the journey south was a long one, fraught with danger and obstacles. If they had followed the army south, they might not have been able to maintain their wealth and glory. But kidnapping the prince back to Beijing would have been much easier, and equally a remarkable achievement.

The significance of surrendering to the enemy was completely different with or without merit. Li Banghua didn't dare to gamble on the fall of the capital and the prince's hasty escape, as it would have dealt a heavy blow to people's morale. He would rather die in Zhu Cilang's place.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Shixian quickly agreed:
"Your Highness, Mr. Meng is right. They only have about seventy cavalrymen. If we send troops to stop them, they will definitely not be able to catch up. I will immediately send fifteen horses to ensure that Your Highness can successfully break through."

"Chang Denggui, tell me, given the current situation, can we break through?" Zhu Cilang frowned and tightened the reins in his hand. The horse under his crotch immediately quieted down, and then he pointed directly at Chang Denggui and asked.

Li Banghua was so anxious in the face of such a sudden accident that he lost his composure. Zhou Shixian's military judgment and opinions were not of any reference value.

"If these people are really the defeated soldiers of the Three Thousand Battalion, then they must be the elite of the Beijing Battalion and they must be well-equipped. I'm afraid they won't be that easy to defeat."

Chang Denggui didn't dare to answer Zhu Cilang directly, so he could only evade the question. After all, if it was the elite troops of the 3,000-man battalion, with such a large force advantage, how could they possibly escape?

You have to know that among the more than 100,000 troops in the Beijing Army, although a considerable number of them are sons of nobles and people with connections, after so many years of reform, even if the plague is rampant and the strength is greatly damaged, they can still gather thousands of soldiers who are capable of fighting and thousands of core elites.

Of course, if they were asked to fight a field battle with the main force of the Qing army or the Shun army, it would be too much of a compliment to them, but in such a small-scale battle, even if the same number of elite Shun troops came, it would be difficult to determine the winner.

"I understand!" Zhu Cilang nodded, then immediately raised his hand to stop Li Banghua, who was anxious and wanted to persuade him again. He said with a firm look, "There is no need to say anything else. Although you have only followed me for three days, you should understand what kind of person I am. Even if I can't break out, I will never surrender like this.

But as long as there's a glimmer of hope, I will never give up. Since we're outnumbered in a head-on fight, we should capture the leader first. They'll look down on us in our attire, so this is our chance to turn the tide."

On the way south, if nothing unexpected happens, then something will happen. This is inevitable. Zhu Cilang is not regretting or panicking about it. He is now thinking about how to deal with it and put his life at risk.

If he fought head-on, there was a high probability that his troops would be defeated. Even if he could win by chance, the casualties would definitely not be small, and they might even die together.

Moreover, this is not necessarily a place of death!
The way they were dressed made it obvious that the defeated soldiers mistook them for wealthy officials.

The group of people were dressed in fine fabrics, riding military horses, and escorted by soldiers wearing armor and skilled in archery and horse riding. If they were not dignitaries fleeing south, who could they be?
"Under such circumstances, dividing our forces to stop them is absolutely unacceptable. Just look at the terrain around here. Even if we all attack together, who can we stop? They have an army almost three times ours."

Upon hearing this, Li Banghua, Zhou Shixian and Chang Denggui all looked at Zhu Cilang in great surprise. Faced with such a dangerous situation, because of the inertial thinking formed over the years, their first reaction was to escape. If they couldn't escape, they would split up their troops. In any case, they had to try it no matter what, at least to send Zhu Cilang, the most important crown prince away, so they lost their composure.

But Zhu Cilang, the person who least needed to take risks, first reacted by looking for an opportunity to strike back. Since there was almost no chance of escape, there was no need to try.

Anyway, it's all a gamble. He has already gambled several times since breaking out from the capital, and now he wants to continue gambling. Why not bet on the one with a higher chance of winning?
For Zhu Cilang, showing his strong strength to those defeated soldiers, then trying to negotiate, and then looking for an opportunity to counterattack, is much more likely to win than dividing his forces to block them and then escaping himself.

Once he left, people's morale would surely disperse, and even if he were given fifteen horses, he might not be able to outrun the pursuers.

This is the flat North China Plain. How can Chang Denggui, with only a dozen cavalrymen, stop the enemy that outnumbers him by several times?

"Furthermore, these defeated soldiers may not necessarily be unable to be recruited. Why are they staying here? Why did they become rioters? Isn't it because they didn't join Li Zicheng?
This precisely demonstrates that they are still loyal to the Ming Dynasty. As long as they can regain their confidence in the Ming Dynasty, they may become loyal subjects of the Ming Dynasty again."

Facing such a chaotic situation, Zhu Cilang remained as steady as a rock. His analytical tone was steady and powerful, without a trace of panic. This also greatly boosted the confidence of the other guards who were forming a defense on the periphery.

At this time, their minds were actually blank, but they believed that the Crown Prince Zhu Cilang, who had been guarding them all the way, was their courage.

"Zhou Shixian, Chang Deng, listen to my orders. Lead your troops and horses into battle formation. Regardless of victory or defeat, follow me and you must not lose in terms of momentum."

Zhu Cilang's voice was sonorous and powerful, and his tone was unquestionable. His courage was the morale of his men.

"Mr. Meng, you'll need to test these people's loyalty first. Lin Changfeng, Lin Changping, you will stay with Mr. Meng. If those defeated soldiers dare to act rashly, they will be killed without mercy."

"Yes!" Everyone immediately bowed and clasped their fists to receive the order without any hesitation.

Meanwhile, the rumbling of horse hooves was drawing nearer, and the black spots on the horizon were growing larger. As Chang Denggui and Zhou Shixian began deploying their defenses, the fleeing soldiers quickly formed a complete encirclement on all sides, a process that was remarkably professional.

(End of this chapter)