Strategy for the Revitalization of the Late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 160 Shocking the World
"What? Did His Majesty really destroy the Qing army camp outside Jingmen Prefecture?"

North of Yangshui River in Chengtian Prefecture, beside the deserted earthen wall of Jianyang Town, Li Guo was so shocked that he interrupted Tang Ma's report before he finished listening to it. Ma Chongxi and Zhang Neng beside him also showed surprise when they heard his words.

"Absolutely true, General." The Tangma was suddenly interrupted and could not help but pause, then said:

"Ye Chen's Qing army, numbering nearly 10,000 men, was completely annihilated, with only a few hundred cavalrymen taking advantage of the chaos to escape. Now, north of the Yangtze River in Huguang, apart from the remnants of Bahana's army and the Green Camp garrisons in Yunyang, Xiangyang, and other cities, there are no more mobile field troops."

"The entire army was wiped out?" Li Guo, Ma Chongxi and Zhang Neng exclaimed in unison after hearing this. They looked at each other in silence for a moment.

Such incredible results were completely unbelievable in their subconscious the moment they heard about it. However, this was not external propaganda. This was a battlefield military report sent by Tangma, which concerned the deployment and mobilization of troops in various battlefields in the future. It was absolutely impossible to be false.

Thinking of this, Li Guo seemed to suddenly understand why the Bahana Qing army, which had been aggressive, suddenly retreated northward last night. At first, he thought that this was the other party's strategy to lure the enemy and did not dare to act rashly.

"Bahana's overnight flight is probably related to this." After Tang Ma finished reporting the rest of the military information, Ma Chongxi looked at the snow in the north, then turned back to look at Li Guo and spoke first:

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty actually succeeded. He rushed hundreds of miles and swept through the Qing army camp. He actually succeeded!" Zhang Neng was also amazed and seemed still unable to believe it.

After he learned about Zhu Cilang's plan from Li Guo, he felt that it was too crazy and risky. He was even very worried about Zhu Cilang's safety and wanted to advise him.

But as a subordinate of Li Guo, especially since Zhu Cilang sent him an order to go to war instead of allowing them to discuss it, Zhang Neng had no choice but to follow Li Guo and lead the troops north.

In fact, he was not the only one who was worried in the army. Li Guo and Ma Chongxi, and even Li You and He Lan who stayed in Jingzhou, were not fully confident about this hundred-mile raid.

However, they also knew that the Heavenly Cavalry Army and the Imperial Camp had already headed north, with more than 5,000 cavalrymen, and Liu Rukui was in Jingmenzhou City to support them. Although this battle would not ultimately achieve much victory, there should be no risk of the king being captured or the country being overthrown. At most, the Heavenly Cavalry Army would suffer heavy losses.

But the current results of the battle have indeed far exceeded their expectations. Not only did the Tianqi Army not suffer heavy losses, but it also wiped out Ye Chen's Qing army in one fell swoop, directly reversing the entire Huguang war situation that was originally in a slump, and greatly boosted the morale of the army.

"Your Majesty's reputation as the God of War is truly well-deserved!" Li Guo narrowed his eyes and couldn't help but sigh:
"This time, we didn't rely on powerful cannons, or on defending a fortified city, or on waiting for the enemy to tire themselves out, nor did we rely on a multiplier advantage in troops. Your Majesty simply led a few thousand cavalrymen on a hundred-mile charge, catching the Tartars unawares and annihilating nearly ten thousand Qing troops."

"Even if victory relies on powerful cannons, defending a fortified city, waiting for the enemy to tire, or relying on a multiplier advantage in troops, it is still a tremendous skill. On the battlefield, no matter what means are used, as long as victory is achieved and the enemy is annihilated, that is unquestionable true skill."

Ma Chongxi listened to Li Guo's sigh and shook his head. He was overwhelmed with emotions, then smiled bitterly and said:
"If we lose, no matter what the excuse is, we're defeated. The lost troops can't be recovered. Let alone making a comeback, I'm afraid we won't even have a chance to turn things around."

After hearing this, Zhang Neng's face froze. Ma Chongxi's words brought back memories of his previous defeats. If they had not accepted the court's call for amnesty, and the tens of thousands of troops finally received food and armaments, they would probably not even dare to fight Bahana head-on.

In fact, if it were not for the military intelligence provided by the Jinyiwei and the Five Armies General Headquarters, the remnants of the rebel army who had fled to Huguang would not even know how many troops the Qing army on the opposite side had or the backgrounds of the generals leading the troops. That would have been a confusing battle.

Li Guo knew this very well, and immediately said:
"That's right. The Tartars have these thousand-jin cannons, and Your Majesty has them, too. We just didn't have them before. So, our previous defeat wasn't unfair. But the past is the past, and the present is the present. Now that Your Majesty has them, we have them too. The muskets and artillery in Jingzhou City alone are enough to give those Tartar dogs a hard time. Let's see if they dare to attack us. Your Majesty has won this time, and won so beautifully, it will surely shock the world!"

"Dorgon is about to lead his troops south. After the news of this battle reaches the Qing army camp, he may have to think carefully about whether to continue marching south." Zhang Neng then said.

"Things can't be that simple. Dorgon definitely wouldn't be so courageous." Li Guo shook his head, disagreeing with Zhang Neng's optimistic view. He then said:
"Your Majesty has told us not to engage with the Bahana unless there's any chance of an ambush, and to let them go north. He must be worried about Dorgon's retaliation, and wants us to conserve our strength for the upcoming war."

"That's right. It's impossible that Dorgon would not dare to march south just because a small army was wiped out. The Tartars are not so timid." Ma Chongxi agreed.

Zhang Neng listened to what the two said and nodded repeatedly:
"Your Majesty must be trying to lure the enemy deeper into our territory. Dorgon will not tolerate this. Even though he knows it's a trap, he'll still jump into it."

Li Guo agreed with this. With the situation developing to this point, the initiative in the Huguang battlefield was temporarily in the hands of the Ming Dynasty. He immediately ordered:
"Ma Chongxi, lead a cavalry unit to pursue Bahana. Don't chase too hard, just drive this Qing army out of Jingzhou. Be careful of their ambushes. Fighting in the snowy plains, the Tartars are no worse than us."

After hearing this, Ma Chongxi nodded. Although Zhu Cilang defeated Ye Chen and wiped out the main force of the Qing army outside Jingmenzhou City, he knew the combat power of the Eight Banners.

He did not believe that the cavalry under his command could match the fighting power of the Heavenly Cavalry, nor did he believe that the Qing army was completely vulnerable. The Qing army was still very strong, but they encountered a stronger Majesty and were defeated!
After dispatching Ma Chongxi, Li Guo followed Zhu Cilang's orders and stationed his troops in Jianyang for two days to prevent Bahana from taking advantage of the situation and moving south. At the same time, he sent troops back to Jingzhou to prepare for the reception of the emperor and the arrangements for the settlement of the Jingmen Prefecture and the various divisions of the Heavenly Cavalry Army.
Two days later, Dorgon, who had just led his army into Dengzhou City, suddenly received an urgent military intelligence report from Bahana sent from Xiangyang. Immediately afterwards, Aljin, who was stationed in Wuchang City, also sent people to report the latest military intelligence from western Jiangxi, northern Hunan, and Jingzhou, especially about the troop movements of the Ming army in northern Hunan, northern Jiangxi and other places.

Zhu Cilang's unexpected hundred-mile raid and even more unexpected victory, after fermenting over the past few days, and the series of chain reactions that resulted from it, indeed led to a rapid reversal of the situation in Huguang.

At this time, not only the defense deployments in Jingzhou Prefecture and Yuezhou Prefecture, but also the battle situation faced by He Tengjiao and others in northern Jiangxi were affected.

Upon receiving this military intelligence, Dorgon immediately adjusted the deployment in Huguang. On the one hand, he quickly dispatched troops south to reinforce the Eight Banners soldiers stationed in Wuchang, strengthening the garrison of this strategic and transportation hub and the defense of Yuezhou and Jiujiang. On the other hand, he ordered Wang Guangen and other troops stationed in Yunyang to be vigilant against the Ming army in Xingshan, Kuidong and other directions to ensure the safety of the flanks.

At this time, although Dorgon was very angry, facing the sudden change in the situation, he finally controlled his emotions quickly. As for Zhu Cilang's deployment in Huguang, he still focused on defense.

As Nanyang had been snowing heavily for almost a month, the Qing army's baggage and artillery units were unable to catch up quickly, so Dorgon could only send cavalry south to conduct reconnaissance and harass the Ming army.

However, because of the performance of the Tianqi Army in the "Jingmen Prefecture Raid", he did not dare to send troops south rashly, for fear that the vanguard army would be ambushed by the Ming army again.

Although Ye Chen briefly gained the upper hand in the Han River basin, with the destruction of him and the main force of the Qing army in Xiangyang and the withdrawal of Bahana, the Qing court immediately lost control of the Han River.

Without a suitable opportunity and the support of the locals, a hasty attack on Jingzhou, with its dense network of rivers, would be a dead end. Even the most basic food and fodder supply for the army's southern expedition was impossible to solve.

Dorgon saw this more clearly than anyone else. He had never looked down on Zhu Cilang before, and he dared not do so now.

You must know that in a military operation involving hundreds of thousands of field troops, no problem can occur in any link, otherwise it is very likely to affect the entire system.

Fighting a war, especially a war at the level of destroying a country, is not something that can be fought easily. Food, laborers, and livestock needed to transport supplies all require time and huge financial, material, and human resources.

Before the Qing army entered the pass, every time Huang Taiji launched a major campaign in western Liaoning, he needed to prepare for more than two years, accumulate enough food and grass, restore manpower and livestock, and ensure farming. Otherwise, he would never dare to act rashly.

Now, although Dorgon had received unprecedented replenishment of manpower and material resources, in order to prolong the siege time, he led his army south at this time, and encountered a blizzard, which further slowed down the marching speed, and the southern expedition was inevitably affected.

If he was not well prepared, he could just attack south directly. With Emperor Ming's strength, he could easily resist and even win again. But if he was fully prepared, he could only wait.

Therefore, when Bahana's emergency military report reached Dorgon, he and Dodo, Bolo, Tan Tai and others all expressed their desire to delay their march south.

When Duoduo and Bolo heard the news that Ye Chen's army was wiped out, they immediately acted like a conditioned reflex and advised Dorgon to act cautiously and never fall into Zhu Cilang's trap.

The terrible memories and fears they had when they were in Jiangbei were rekindled as military intelligence from Jingmen Prefecture in the south arrived.

Bolo had originally thought he wasn't that afraid of Zhu Cilang, but he had clearly overestimated himself. He only now realized that his fear of Emperor Ming was deep within his heart, something he hadn't even realized before.

Duoduo was mixed with joy and sorrow. On the one hand, he was worried that Dorgon was no match for Zhu Cilang, especially since the other side seemed to have made up for the shortcomings of cavalry and was able to charge hundreds of miles and defeat Ye Chen. On the other hand, he lamented that he had finally washed away the humiliation he had suffered. It was obvious that Zhu Cilang was too strong, not that he could not fight.

Thinking of this, Duoduo straightened his back instantly. If anyone dared to say that he was incompetent again in the future, he would directly fight back and let the other party lead the troops to fight a decisive battle with Emperor Ming.

However, as the "Prince Regent" of the Qing Dynasty and the commander of an army of over 100,000, Dorgon appeared remarkably calm, seemingly unfazed by this sudden incident. Furthermore, his focus wasn't limited to Huguang, Jiangxi, and Sichuan, which had always been his primary focus. He also remembered the contingency plan Hong Chengchou had previously proposed: to advance through Sichuan and into Yunnan, for a flanking attack.

But the one stationed in Hanzhong and commanding the military in Shaanxi is his political enemy Hauge. Unless it is absolutely necessary, Dorgon does not want Hauge to attack Sichuan, as that will only boost the opponent's prestige.

"The situation has suddenly changed. Emperor Ming has become a serious threat. His troops in Jingzhou must be even stronger. Even if we send a large army to camp at the gates of Jingzhou, without the red cannons, we will not be able to pose a threat and will only tire out the troops."

Five days later, in the government office in Xiangyang City, Dorgon looked at the scouts he had sent out and the latest military intelligence sent by Aljin, and slowly said:

"Li Guo's forces in Jingzhou, Liu Tichun's forces in Yuezhou, and He Tengjiao's forces in Jiujiang all possess considerable numbers of troops, while Emperor Ming's cavalry and personal forces suffered no significant losses in previous battles. These cities are easy to defend but difficult to capture. Unless our main force marches south, we will undoubtedly be at a disadvantage in terms of cavalry."

"Emperor Ming did the same thing when he was in Jiangbei. He fortified the city and cleared the fields. Even if we were alone and had only a grain of rice, we wouldn't be able to find it in the nearby villages."

After listening to what Dorgon said, Duoduo straightened his back and then said:
"Now, Emperor Ming is simply using his old tricks again, but apart from a brute force attack, what else can we do? Even if the army continues to march south, with so many soldiers and horses dispatched at once and no food available in the surrounding area, we have to maintain the food supply route, right?"

With the complete annihilation of Ye Chen's troops, the Ming Dynasty, which had been very passive in both the Han River and Yuezhou directions, had seized the initiative. It not only stabilized the situation in Huguang, but also gained an advantage over the Qing army in Jingzhou, Yuezhou and other places.

At the same time, the vanguards and scouts sent by Dorgon also discovered the news that Zhu Cilang had transferred the Tianqi Army, the Dianqian Army and other troops into Jingzhou and Yuezhou.

Among them, the troops in Yuezhou were mobilized most frequently. Based on the information sent back by the scouts, Aljin estimated that at least 5,000 Ming troops had entered this fortified city, and a considerable number of them were cavalry.

Zhu Cilang transferred a large number of elite troops to Yuezhou and Jingzhou, one in the south and one in the north, which was completely premeditated. This was not good news for Dorgon, and even disrupted his original deployment.

"The Emperor Ming must have guessed the prince's intention and wanted to use the troops from Jingzhou and Yuezhou to disperse our forces, ensuring that we can't besiege Changsha while marching south to Hengzhou to replenish food and manpower."

Bolo then spoke at the military meeting, also using Zhu Cilang's deployment during the Jiangbei War as an analysis:

"If my guess is correct, Emperor Ming will most likely lead his troops in Changsha or Yuezhou. If Emperor Ming is in Changsha, then the situation will be favorable for us. If he is in Yuezhou, then we will be in a dilemma and lose the initiative."

"What do you mean?" Tan Tai asked with a puzzled look on his face.

Although he was very afraid and dissatisfied with Duoduo and Bolo who kept talking about Emperor Ming, he did not dare to underestimate them anymore because the veteran general Ye Chen had been defeated by them.

"If the Ming Emperor leads his troops to garrison Changsha, then we only need to leave a small force in Yuezhou and use the main force to surround Changsha and attack the reinforcements. The Ming army will surely not dare not come to reinforce. The implementation of the final plan will definitely be smoother than we originally imagined."

As Bolo spoke, his eyes lit up, but when he thought of another possibility, which was also the most likely scenario, his eyes dimmed.

"But from what I know about the Ming Emperor, he's probably not the type to retreat to Changsha. Yuezhou is his first choice. The Ming Emperor has an extraordinary strategic vision and strong strategic determination. He must want to lead his elite army to defend Yuezhou, so that we dare not march south to besiege Changsha."

"That's true." Dorgon heard it and then said:
"If Emperor Ming didn't even have this much courage, he wouldn't have dared to attack thousands of miles away, nor would he have been able to destroy Ye Chen in one battle. Moreover, if Emperor Ming led his troops to station in Yuezhou, he could still break out from Dongting Lake with the cooperation of the navy. Even if we broke through the walls of Yuezhou Prefecture, it would be useless."

"If that's true, then Yuezhou City would be impossible to capture. The Ming army can easily transport food and troops into the city by water. Unless the entire Huguang region has been conquered by us, we won't be able to stop the actions of the Ming navy." Tan Tai said in surprise.

"This is what makes Emperor Ming so terrifying. Unlike Chongzhen, he truly dares to lead a large army and defend the front lines." Duoduo then said with a wry smile:

"If we only leave a small number of troops to defend Yuezhou and go straight to Changsha, Emperor Ming will definitely lead the army in the city to fight immediately, just like the attack on Yechen, and kill all the remaining troops without leaving a single one."

In the original history, except for the Dashi Army after entering Yunnan, the Ming troops in the south could not defeat the Qing army assisted by the Eight Banners in field battles. This also made the so-called holding on often mean defending to the death - either hold on or die in battle when the city is broken.

But now, Zhu Cilang has proved his strength with his victory on the battlefield. Although the Ming Dynasty's military strength is still weaker than that of the Qing Dynasty, it is no longer in a state where it can only defend to the death.

In other words, if Dorgon acted carelessly and made strategic mistakes, resulting in huge losses in manpower, the situation on the battlefield could be completely reversed or even directly overturned.

By that time, the initiative on the battlefield was in the hands of Zhu Cilang. As long as Zhu Cilang attacked and harassed, Dorgon would have to fight back. Either he would continue to fight with the Ming army, or he would have to withdraw his troops and mobilize troops to stabilize the situation in Jingzhou, Yuezhou and other places.

Of course, Zhu Cilang would not easily engage in a decisive battle with the main force of the Qing army. He had to concentrate the main forces under his command to be confident enough to defeat more than 10,000 Qing troops in a specific terrain.

Thinking of this, Dorgon couldn't help but get furious because Ye Chen underestimated the enemy and was careless, which led to a surprise attack by the Ming army. His entire army was wiped out outside Jingmenzhou City, and he lost nearly 3,000 elite Eight Banners cavalrymen and lost a good situation.

"Since Emperor Ming has guessed my intention, he must be determined to defend Yuezhou." Dorgon secretly suppressed his restless emotions and said coldly:

"Since that's the case, I will feign ignorance and proceed directly according to the original plan. I will lead my troops south to Changsha and use his tactics against them. When the time comes, Emperor Ming will surely send troops to harass us, and that will be our opportunity."

"Although it is possible that Emperor Ming will be fooled, there are four large rivers between Yuezhou and Changsha in the north and south. Our cavalry is not able to move around easily, so it will be difficult to ambush Emperor Ming." Duoduo reminded him. He always remembered Dorgon's previous ridicule of him.

"If Emperor Ming is not difficult to deal with, there would be no need for me to take action myself!" Dorgon sneered again.

Duoduo did not comment, then said calmly with an expression of indifference:

"If the Regent truly knows that Emperor Ming is difficult to deal with, then he should be more cautious. Don't think that turning the tables is a powerful strategy. Emperor Ming is best at stalking the cicada while the oriole waits behind."

"Prince Yu, stop boosting others' morale and destroying your own prestige." Dorgon suddenly raised his voice and said angrily.

"Your Highness, if we can lure Emperor Ming out, then we won't have to go through the trouble of besieging and attacking the city. We might even be able to accomplish our goal in one fell swoop." Seeing this, Tan Tai quickly spoke out:
"As long as we continue to besiege Changsha, Emperor Ming will surely lose his patience. If he leads his troops out of the city, we will have a chance to stop him on the plains of Yuezhou."

"That's right. As long as Emperor Ming dares to fight recklessly, he will fall into the hands of the prince sooner or later." Seeing this, Bolo also took sides immediately.

With the generals' agreement, Dorgon didn't need to say much. The result of the military meeting was what he wanted. The army continued to march south as soon as the baggage and artillery arrived from the rear.

However, after the battle of Jingmenzhou City, the reputation of the Ming army had spread among the main force of the Eight Banners Army that was marching south, thanks to the spread of news from hundreds of Eight Banners soldiers who broke through the siege.

When Dorgon realized it, he immediately took measures to stop it, but the effect was minimal and the morale of the army had been irreversibly affected.

But this did not affect his determination. After Dorgon led his army into Xiangyang City, he only rested for five or six days. As soon as the snow stopped, he ordered the army to speed up its pace southward.

The generals in the army also supported his plan to go south and besiege Changsha. They all realized that Emperor Ming was not easy to deal with, and if they fought for a moment's pride, they would definitely suffer in the end.

Zhu Cilang naturally wanted this very much. He also followed the situation and withdrew his troops from Jingzhou City in advance and moved into Yuezhou City with the imperial camp. Before that, he ordered the troops in Changsha City, Hengzhou City and other places to be on full martial law in preparation for war, and all the surrounding people were evacuated to western Hunan, the mountainous areas of southern Hunan and various towns.

As the hundreds of thousands of troops led by Dorgon quickly passed through the plains along the Han River and entered Jingzhou Prefecture, the war was about to break out!
(End of this chapter)