Strategy for the Revitalization of the Late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 152: Jingzhou in Crisis

The Tangma sent by Dorgon quickly entered Xiangyang Prefecture and delivered his latest military order to Ye Chen, the defender of Xiangyang, and Bahana, the Manchu governor of the Zhenglan Banner who was the first to go south to reinforce Huguang.

With the help of more than 20 artillery pieces escorted south by Bahana, Ye Chen has successively conquered Nanzhang, Baokang and other county towns blocking the north of Jingzhou Prefecture in the past month, and his troops are heading straight for Jingmen Prefecture where Li Guo has stationed a large number of troops.

Of course, this was just what Ye Chen and Bahana said when they reported military intelligence to Dorgon.

In fact, the scouts sent by Li Guo had already noticed the artillery that the Qing army had transported to assist in the battle, and then he immediately ordered the troops originally stationed in the two places to destroy the city and retreat to the south to avoid being surrounded and annihilated by the Qing army.

You know, Bahana not only brought artillery, but also more than 3,000 Eight Banners cavalrymen under his command, as well as more than 4,000 Green Camp troops transferred from Shanxi. This gave Ye Chen enough troops to guard against the counterattack of Li Guo's Ming army in the middle and lower reaches of the Han River, while concentrating his forces to remove obstacles to the southward march towards Jingzhou.

As Dorgon led the main force of the Qing army southward, especially with the change in the Qing army's southern expedition strategy, Ye Chen also had to quickly remove the series of obstacles arranged by Li Guo outside Jingzhou Prefecture so that Dorgon could catch the Ming army off guard.

Moreover, he actually wanted to take this opportunity to replicate the victory of the "Battle of Taiyuan" and add more merits to his promotion.

Ye Chen had already found out that the defenders in Jingzhou City and Yuezhou City were the remnants of the rebel army that had been defeated by the Qing cavalry a year ago, and they were his former defeated enemies.

Therefore, he was very confident in capturing the gateway to Jingzhou Prefecture - Jingmen Prefecture, as well as small cities such as Dangyang and Yiling Prefecture.

During the "Ji Si Incident", the Qing army attacked Yongping Prefecture. Huang Taiji ordered Ye Chen and Deputy Governor Ashan to lead troops to launch a surprise attack overnight and march straight to the city, hoping to win by surprise.

At that time, the Qing army's siege strength was insufficient, and they often had to rely on internal support and surprise attacks to quickly achieve a breakthrough. However, Yongping Prefecture was already prepared at that time.

Facing the fierce counterattack from the city, Ye Chen waited until the panicked Ming army had exhausted all its strength and was finally forced to calm down before he led his elite troops to climb the city with ladders and quickly broke through the city.

Thanks to this achievement, Ye Chen was promoted to the third-class viscount and appointed as the Minister of State Council, ranking among the eight ministers of the State Council at that time. He was at the peak of his career.

Later, Ye Chen's strategic and tactical analysis of the invasion and his performance on the battlefield when leading troops into battle were all outstanding. He was present during the Qing army's attack on Port Arthur, several invasions of the Pass, the conquest of Datong, Anzhou, Baodi, the invasion of Korea, and the attack on Pi Island.

In other words, he is a rare general with great talent. He is very keen and accurate in grasping the battle situation and judging the enemy. He is extremely contemptuous of defeated generals such as Li Guo and Gao Yigong.

Now, after receiving reinforcements from Bahana, he immediately led his troops south and headed straight to Jingmen Prefecture.

This time, he would lead his army to surround Jingmenzhou City before the Ming army retreated. If Li Guo could not resist provoking and led his troops from Jingzhou City to the north to support, then he could completely launch a siege and annihilate the main force of the Ming army in Jingzhou City on the plains outside Jingmenzhou City.

On the official road of Lexian Bridge at the junction of Xiangyang Prefecture and Chengtian Prefecture, Bahana rode his horse past the large army marching south, followed closely by a dozen Bayala horsemen.

The scouts in front had just brought in a report that the vanguard of the army had been counterattacked by the Ming army on the north bank of the Quan River, but they quickly repelled the enemy and were now less than forty miles away from Jingmenzhou City.

When Ye Chen was heading south, he asked the vanguard to eliminate the scouts sent by the Ming army along the way before the main force of the army arrived, so as to block all the latter's reconnaissance activities.

However, under such a blow, the Ming army did not flee directly, and the defenders in the city did not retreat quickly like they did in Nanzhang and Baokang before. Instead, they tried their best to maintain the front line.

This made Ye Chen and Bahana surprised and happy. The reaction of the Ming army this time showed the importance of Jingmen Prefecture. At least Li Guo would not give up this city easily, so the probability of the other party leading troops to rescue was greatly increased.

After seeing Ye Chen's recognition flag, Bahana immediately slowed down his horse and stopped at the side of the official road, on the slope where Ye Chen was standing.

The terrain here is high, and the grass growing around it has turned yellow. Since there are basically fields all around and no tall, lush forests, the view is very wide and you can see the surrounding situation clearly at a glance.

However, further south, there is a large area of ​​hills and slopes, as well as mountains. Although the terrain is not complicated along the official road, it is still necessary to take a detour.

At this time, in addition to the Bayala led by Bahana, there were other Tangma horses delivering military intelligence galloping back and forth on the official road. On the official road, the sound of thousands of cattle and horses' hooves marching forward was endless, raising clouds of flying dust.

When the Ming army retreated southward from Nanzhang, Baokang and other places, they destroyed the official roads used for transporting supplies and artillery, which slowed the Qing army's advance.

Not only that, there was a poorly maintained area ahead. The wheels of the oxcart transporting the thousand-jin cannon had sunk directly into the pothole, temporarily blocking half of the road.

"These damn Nikans have ruined the good roads like this. After we take Jingmen Prefecture, I will definitely arrest them all and send them to repair the roads."

Bahana watched as the army, which was already moving slowly, stopped again. He could no longer contain his anger and cursed:
"There might still be quite a few Nikan civilians in the city. We'll capture them all when the time comes. If the Ming army holds out in Jingzhou City, we'll use them to fill the ditch."

"The vanguard should be less than thirty miles away from Jingmenzhou City now. If nothing unexpected happens, they will be able to reach the river bank north of Jingmenzhou City around evening this evening and eliminate the Ming army scouts along the way." Ye Chen said calmly after hearing Bahana's complaint.

"If we continue to block them like this, I'm afraid we won't be able to reach Jingmen Prefecture by noon tomorrow. If the Ming army in the city makes any move by then, I'm afraid we won't be able to stop the vanguard!"

Bahana frowned as he looked at the slowly moving army. He then looked back at Ye Chen and said,
"The artillery and baggage have already fallen behind. The road south is surrounded by mountains, so we must leave behind a cavalry escort."

After hearing this, Ye Chen turned his head and glanced at the official road ahead. The troops were still moving slowly, but the condition of the road was such that unless they gave up their baggage and artillery, it would be extremely difficult to speed up.

He knew what Bahana meant and that his worries were justified. After Ajige returned to Beijing, he repeatedly emphasized that Li Guo and Gao Yigong were difficult to deal with, and Zheng Siwei's loss of Jingzhou City made the other party's reputation in the Qing army even greater.

However, after this period of fighting with the Ming army, Ye Chen no longer paid so much attention to Li Guo. He knew that the other party had certain strength, but was not strong. He then said:

"The Ming army should not dare to take the initiative to fight outside the city at this time. Not to mention Li Zicheng's repeated defeats in Shanhaiguan, Shanxi, Shaanxi and other places, our Qing warriors have won so many victories in a row before, and the vanguard has already given them a warning. Even if Li Zicheng is not afraid, the defenders in Jingmen Prefecture will not dare to attack.

Moreover, if the Ming army did not have a thousand elite cavalry, they would not be able to deal with our vanguard. Li Guo would know this, and he definitely did not have the courage.

"Those Nikans in Jingmen City are indeed not a concern, but the vanguard troops are not numerous, and many of them are new recruits who have only been trained for a few months. It is hard to say whether they can fight a tough battle.

I heard that when Li Guo was in northern Shaanxi, he fought back and forth with Prince Ying. If he leads his troops to attack early and really brings elite cavalry to attack from Jingzhou in the north, and we are unable to provide support in time, I am afraid it will be disastrous! "

Bahana shook his head. He did not think that Li Guo did not dare to attack. Instead, he was very worried that the other party would seize the opportunity. Ajige's words had a great influence on him, especially since most of the soldiers in the vanguard were his armored soldiers, and those were the guarantee of his power.

"Just in case, we still have to prepare for the worst. The lives of nearly a thousand soldiers are at stake, and we cannot afford to be careless at all."

"Bahana, you're overthinking it. The Ming army doesn't have the strength. Under the current circumstances, it's already difficult to move any faster, unless we order the troops transporting baggage and artillery to stop and let the cavalry go first."

Ye Chen turned his head to look at the large army column that was almost stagnant in the second half, and directly rejected it:
"But you also know that this is not a good idea. There are still Ming troops active in the west. The artillery and baggage are the key to our capture of Jingmenzhou City."

After hearing this, Bahana knew that Ye Chen would not agree with his strategy, and immediately shook his head and said:
"I'm still worried. If the Bayala armored soldiers were to go into battle, there would indeed be nothing to worry about. However, those armored soldiers would probably find it difficult to easily win under the ambush of the Ming army."

After hearing this, Ye Chen narrowed his eyes. After Bahana went south, it did alleviate his predicament of being short of troops, but he also had the intention of competing for his command.

After all, Bahana is a member of the royal family and now the leader of the flag. His future is bright and he naturally wants to achieve great things. At the same time, he is also worried that his strength will be weakened.

After a moment's thought, Ye Chen nodded, then reined in the horse and rode out, saying:

"Go ahead, but you must act according to circumstances. Never underestimate the enemy or rush in. If anything goes wrong, the Regent will not let us off easily."

Upon hearing this, Bahana also turned his horse around and led his Bayala cavalry into the marching column. He took away hundreds of cavalry and continued to head south. Thousands of horse hooves stepped on the ground, raising billowing clouds of dust.
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Meanwhile, inside Jingzhou, Li Guo had received an urgent report from Liu Rukui, the garrison commander of Jingmen Prefecture, informing him that Ye Chen had led the main Qing army from Xiangyang southward. He immediately summoned Ma Chongxi, Zhang Neng, Li You, He Lan, and other generals of the Loyalty Camp in Jingzhou to discuss countermeasures, particularly the drafting of a military report to Zhu Cilang.

"The Qing army's vanguard is estimated to have reached the north bank of the Quanshui River. The main force, led by the Tartar generals Ye Chen and Bahana, consists of four to five thousand Eight Banners armored soldiers, most of whom are in cavalry. They are accompanied by several thousand Green Camp soldiers and nearly ten thousand civilian laborers carrying loads on their shoulders and driving oxen and horses.

If nothing unexpected happens, these troops will arrive outside Jingmen City before tomorrow evening. Ye Chen's army has over twenty red-haired cannons. Without comprehensive repairs and reinforcements, Jingmen City won't hold out for many days."

Inside the General's Mansion in Jingzhou City, standing before Li Guo were all his old comrades from the Camp Clan. After Zhu Cilang had finished rewarding them and confirmed their official positions, these men and horses were once again firmly under his control.

Apart from officials from the Military Affairs Department, the Logistics Department and other offices, the rest of the organizational structure remained basically the same. Even half of the officials from the Military Affairs Department and the Logistics Department were selected from the soldiers in the army.

Zhu Cilang's trust in Li Guo was not betrayed. Both his left army of the Loyal Camp and Gao Yigong's right army of the Loyal Camp carried out the imperial edicts without fail.

With the support of Du Yinxi, Li Guo quickly restored his military strength. The scouts he sent out basically figured out the Qing army's strength in Huguang.

Before the battle, Ye Chen sent out so many blocking troops to prevent the Ming army's scouts from detecting him, and even tried to use some sleight of hand to confuse the Ming army, but it didn't work at all.

"Four or five thousand horsemen? The Tartars have concentrated most of the troops from Yunyang, Xiangyang, and Chengtian!"

"Ye Chen probably doesn't know that we have basically recovered our strength. He must think that we dare not go north to rescue. This is an opportunity. There are many hillsides south of Jingmen Prefecture where we can ambush the Qing army."

"That's a feasible method, but those hillsides aren't spread out widely enough, and the Qing army hasn't come far on their way south. They're still well fed and full of energy. We should probably wait until they're exhausted from attacking the city before luring them out to attack."

"That's right. The Qing army is not that easy to deal with. Moreover, there are 4,000 to 5,000 Eight Banners cavalry. If we rush out rashly and get entangled, the consequences will be disastrous."

"We only have over 2,000 regular cavalrymen now. I think it's best to wait until the Qing army has camped outside Jingmenzhou City to rest and have laid siege to the city for a long time before attacking and luring them in. This way, we won't fail to ambush them and end up falling into a trap set by the Qing army."

"Yes, that Tartar Ye Chen is leading his troops to attack us this time, and he must be wary of us. I think it's best to wait for His Majesty to send troops to support us before we attack. Doesn't His Majesty have cavalry at his disposal?"

"Your Majesty should have reached Jiujiang by now. We should continue to harass Jingmen Prefecture and delay the Qing army's siege. We will surely be able to hold out until Your Majesty leads his troops to support us."

"Don't forget, Dorgon! If another month had passed, he would have already led his army south. It would be best to consult with Your Majesty on how to conduct this battle."

The generals under Li Guo were discussing the matter for a while. The focuses of their arguments were different. Some were afraid of the strength of the Qing army, some wanted to take the opportunity to lure the enemy into an ambush, and some, because of previous failures, did not think that the cavalry in Jingzhou City alone could deal with the aggressive Qing army.

Li Guo knew that their most fundamental mission was to defend Jingzhou Prefecture. However, if Jingmen Prefecture was easily lost, Dangyang would also be difficult to defend, and their route to retreat westward would be cut off by the Qing army.

Everyone in this room was a veteran who had fought for more than ten years. They all knew very well that once the main force of the Qing army attacked, they would have difficulty in counterattacking, and Jingzhou City might not be able to be defended. Taiyuan was a lesson learned from the previous incident.

If Jingmen Prefecture could make the Qing army pay a huge price, then the Qing army would no longer dare to attack Dangyang, Yiling Prefecture and other places easily.

At the same time, Li Guo was facing Ye Chen and the main force of the Qing army that was about to enter Huguang, and he was also very angry. He hoped very much to defeat the Eight Banners Army in a field battle, prove the strength of the Loyal Camp, and avenge the previous shame!
Moreover, the Loyalty Camp had received substantial money and food from Zhu Cilang. Now, when it came time to deploy troops, he would of course also submit a report that would satisfy Zhu Cilang, to prove that he had not received the money and food in vain, and at the same time silence the gossips in the court.

He had long known about the slander and questioning of the Loyal Camp by the dignitaries in the court from the letter sent by Gao from Nanjing, and he was extremely grateful to Zhu Cilang for protecting him.

Therefore, no matter what, even if the Qing army was far more powerful than his own, Li Guo wanted to achieve a small victory to boost the morale of the army and let those so-called famous officials and upright people in the court know that the money and food allocated to the Loyal Camp were used in the right place.

But now, the main force of the Qing army has not yet moved south, and there are only two Qing troops of Ye Chen and Bahana in Huguang. Li Guo saw an opportunity.

"This is indeed a rare opportunity. If we can lure the Qing army into pursuing us and then ambush them in the mountains south of Jingmen Prefecture, even if we only kill a few hundred of their armored soldiers, it would be a great victory.

If the Qing army comes after us, there is no need to worry. This general even hopes that they will pursue us closely, and then they will naturally be unable to return."

Ma Chongxi knew that Li Guo's use of ambush and rearguard tactics had reached an extremely high level. If the Qing army pursued him, they would probably gain no advantage. However, he still had lingering fears about the combat effectiveness of the Qing cavalry.

"If the Qing army really only has 4,000 to 5,000 cavalry, and the siege takes up most of the troops, then only 2,000 cavalry can be used to pursue the enemy south, or even less. We can certainly fight, but I'm afraid it will be far more than that."

Zhang Neng, upon hearing this, also warned, "We can certainly fight, but the safest approach is to wait for His Majesty to send reinforcements. Otherwise, there's a high possibility that even our few cavalrymen will be killed."

After all, they were facing the Qing army, which had won every battle and swept them out of the north in less than a year. Everyone was still very afraid, or rather, they were unsure.

After Ma Chongxi and Zhang Neng finished speaking, the room was silent for a moment, and then someone mustered up the courage and said in a calm voice:

"If we want to completely annihilate this Qing army, we must send out at least five or six thousand cavalry, otherwise it will be difficult to quickly defeat them. Furthermore, the terrain for the ambush must be suitable, otherwise the Qing cavalry can easily break through and escape northward.

If we want to inflict a heavy blow, we'll need at least two to three thousand cavalry, and we'll have to reserve some to prevent the Qing troops outside Jingmen Prefecture from making a detour and encircling us. Otherwise, it's still not safe."

"If you're going to fight, then don't hesitate or look ahead or behind. If you're afraid of this and that, what the hell are you fighting for?"

When Li Guo heard the concerns of his generals, he placed his big hands on the long table, stared at the generals gathered around the long table, and swept his eyes around fiercely, then slowly said:

"We can't completely wipe out this Qing army on our own. What I want to do is to severely damage this Qing army's vanguard before Dorgon leads the main force south, give the Tartars a big show of strength, let them see the strength of our Loyalty Battalion, and at the same time, sweep away the decadence in you and boost your military prestige!"

As soon as Li Guo spoke, the generals in the room fell silent. The room, which had been full of discussion and noise, suddenly became quiet. They didn't actually oppose it explicitly, but they didn't actively support it either.

However, Li Guo originally had a very high prestige. Now, due to Zhu Cilang's arrangement, as the commander of the Loyal Camp, he has a higher rank than Gao Yigong and holds the decision-making power over the garrison in Jingzhou.

But Li Guo was also very clear about what his generals were afraid of, and he was not very firm in his heart - the Eight Banners vests were indeed powerful!
But if by the time Zhu Cilang sent reinforcements, the main force of the Qing army led by Dorgon would probably have already moved south. The news from a few days ago showed that the main force of the Qing army had arrived in Nanyang, but the marching speed was not fast.

After a brief silence in the room, another general spoke up:
"If we send out all the city's most elite cavalry, we must have a capable general to lead them. Otherwise, the situation on the battlefield will be unpredictable. If our ambush troops are entangled by the Qing army, it will be disastrous."

"Jingzhou City also needs to be strictly defended, otherwise if an accident occurs, the consequences will be disastrous. The families of our 20,000 troops are all settled in Lizhou, Changde and other places. Once Jingzhou is lost, the Qing army will move south from northwestern Hunan without any scruples!" Li You, who had been listening to the discussions of the generals on the side, also spoke up.

It was obvious that these veterans wanted Li Guo to give up and reconsider his plan. After all, this was too risky!
If they win this battle, they will certainly be able to avenge their previous defeat, hold their heads high, and gain the initiative on the battlefield. But if they lose, the morale of the army will be shaken, and they may even lose the capital of Jingzhou.

Once they lost the protection of Jingzhou City, their families in Lizhou, Changde and other places would inevitably be threatened by the Qing army, which was something the generals of the Loyal Camp did not want to see even more.

"If we go to war, I will naturally lead the troops myself!"

Li Guo paused after speaking, and looked around again, as if reconsidering the serious consequences of a rash attack. But he also knew that fighting was often a matter of fighting for one's dignity. In many cases, the more afraid you are to retreat, the more you will have no way to retreat. Only when the morale of the army is high can you win.

"But this is a matter of great importance. Whether to fight or not, and how to defeat the enemy, requires directives from His Majesty. Laiheng, you must immediately rush to Jiujiang and report the military situation in Huguang to His Majesty. You must do it quickly!"

"Yes!" Li Laiheng bowed and clasped his hands upon hearing this.

(End of this chapter)