Strategy for the Revitalization of the Late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 172 The Qing Army's Fear

"Emperor Ming secretly assembled tens of thousands of troops and transported them by sea to the outskirts of Jingzhou. Zhunta and Bahana misjudged the enemy and, taking it lightly, rushed into a decisive battle. They fell into Emperor Ming's trap, and the remaining troops in Jingzhou were completely routed."

Inside the Qing army tent, Dorgon reported the urgent military situation from the front line reported by Tangma with an expressionless face. His tone was very low and one could tell the seriousness of the situation at once. This made all the Manchu nobles in the tent dare not say a word at first.

As soon as these words were spoken, Nikan, Tunqi and other Beile and Beizi, who were originally unaware of the situation, could no longer sit still and all looked horrified.

How is it possible that the Junta tribe was defeated directly by Emperor Ming on the plains outside Jingzhou City?

You have to know that under the command of Zhunta and Bahana, there are thousands of Eight Banners cavalry and more than 2,000 armored soldiers. Those armored soldiers are almost all old slaves who have followed the army many times outside the Great Wall and chopped off the heads of Ming soldiers.

They have rich battlefield experience and their combat effectiveness is not weak at all. Even after being fully equipped, they are stronger than those newly enlisted soldiers.

What was even more serious was that with the defeat of the Dzungar tribe, the entire Huguang war situation that Dorgon had spent so much effort and carefully planned, which had been so good, collapsed in an instant, and the Qing army was already in a dilemma.

However, in just seven or eight days, the situation changed so drastically. Dorgon brought more than 10,000 elite cavalrymen from outside Changsha City. His hope of defeating the main force of the Ming army outside Jingzhou City was instantly shattered!

This almost made Dorgon, who had just received the military report and realized that everything he had done had gone to waste, lose control of his composure. The other Beile and Beizi looked at each other in bewilderment, but did not dare to speak for fear of getting into trouble.

You know, the defeat of the Jungta tribe means that the northern food route has lost protection, the Han River has completely lost its barrier, and Xiangyang, Chengtian, Hanyang and other places will be directly exposed to the attack of the Ming army in Jingzhou.

In this case, Dorgon had to send more troops to Jingzhou, otherwise the Qing army's strategic advantage in Huguang would be eroded step by step by the Ming army from then on.

Although Dorgon led the main force of the Qing army south, his military strength was limited. Even if he wanted to send another troop to contain Jingzhou, he had to consider whether Zhu Cilang would use the same trick again and the objections in the army.

Moreover, if he could not convince the generals in the army to withdraw part of the main force of the Eight Banners originally used to besiege Changsha and head north to Jingzhou, then he could only watch everything he had just imagined happen.

Seeing that Dorgon's face was not right, Tan Tai naturally knew what he was worried about. As Dorgon's confidant, he quickly said:
"Back when Ye Chen was badly defeated in the battle of Jingmen Prefecture, the Regent King warned us to be careful with Emperor Ming and not to engage him lightly in a decisive battle when the situation was unclear. However, Zhunta, believing himself to be a veteran, took it lightly. Now he is simply reaping the consequences.

Now, once the news of Jingzhou's defeat spreads, the Green Camp troops in various places will definitely be shaken. Not to mention other places, even Huguang alone will be full of hidden dangers. If the Ming army wants to recapture Xiangyang, Chengtian, and Hanyang, it will be easy."

"The Ming Emperor is cunning and ruthless. We must be cautious when confronting him. However, at this point, there is no point in saying more. The Ming Emperor may have divided his forces into Xiangyang, Chengtian, and other places, or he may have led his troops directly south and returned to Yuezhou."

Dorgon knew that Tan Tai was speaking for him. With such a "confidant" who could say a few words at the critical moment, it would be much easier for him to maintain his status as regent.

"This point must be investigated clearly. If the Ming Emperor stays in the north, I will capture him alive and cut him into pieces. But if he quietly retreats to Yuezhou Prefecture, then we must recall the army outside Changsha City, otherwise the Han River grain route will be in danger.

Linxiang City has less than 10,000 soldiers stationed there, making it far from impregnable. People are in a state of panic right now. If any further problems arise internally, and I, the king, lead my army north and fail to return in time, there's no telling how the situation will escalate!

Tan Tai's sudden words just now made his attitude very clear. He wanted to find someone responsible for the defeat of Jingzhou. The veteran Junta, who had died on the battlefield, was naturally the best candidate.

After all, although Dorgon was the commander-in-chief of the entire war, in many cases, the defeat was not necessarily his responsibility. Those objective factors and the subjective factors of Junta and Bahana were all points that could be shirked when determining responsibility.

After hearing what Tan Tai said, Nikan, Tunqi and other Manchu nobles were at a loss for words.

Otherwise, they would have openly expressed their dissatisfaction with Dorgon, the regent.

They all knew what kind of temper Dorgon had. If Duoduo and Ajige were here, there might be a good show to watch. But now, no one wanted to be the first to stand out!

Of course, Dorgon still couldn't help but frown at this time. As the supreme commander of the army, it was naturally impossible for him to push all the responsibilities away. It was also his fault for not governing his subordinates strictly and using people improperly.

But now the war in Huguang is so tense, the Ming army is in Yuezhou, Changsha is well prepared, and Jiujiang is not a place that can be easily captured. The war between him and the Ming Emperor is bound to be a protracted one.

In this case, if Dorgon wanted to maintain his power and prevent Duoduo or even Ajige who was far away in Jiangbei from coming to seize power, he had to clear himself.

This is a power struggle. It may seem simple, crude and unreasonable, but the political unwritten rules in it cannot be touched by anyone. If anyone touches it, they will die.

"Then we must also be vigilant in Linxiang, especially those Green Camp troops, closely monitoring them and cutting off the connection between Linxiang City and the Ming army. At the same time, we must also replace the towers with soldiers from various banners. We must not lose the big picture for the sake of small gains."

Nikan then said that although Dorgon was one step behind, Nikan still trusted him more than Duoduo. But Nikan also did not dare to underestimate the Ming Emperor. After so many defeats, he no longer dared to underestimate the enemy.

After hearing what Nikan said, Tunqi naturally knew the other party's attitude. Even Nikan had expressed his position, so he naturally could not fall behind. He then said that he would wait and see.

In fact, after hearing Tan Tai's impassioned speech and seeing Dorgon's response, Tunqi knew that the other party was trying to avoid the main point. However, he still needed to observe the attitude of others before deciding what to say.

After all, he was only a Beizi now, and was not valued. If he wanted to change his current situation, he would have to wait for the right opportunity and join Duoduo or Ajige, so that he could take advantage of the chaos and climb up the ladder.

You have to know that if you want to be promoted smoothly in the officialdom, it depends not only on what kind of results you have achieved, but also on whether you follow the right Big Brother. Otherwise, no matter how hard you work, even if you have established a good mass base, it is often not as effective as a nod from Big Brother.

After all, if you don’t follow the right people, how can you have opportunities, how can you achieve twice the result with half the effort, and how can you produce results quickly?

Tunqi was much more astute than Nikan, so he naturally understood what Dorgon said early on. He also knew that Dorgon had called all the Manchu generals at this time, but not a single Han general, in order to stabilize the morale of the army.

Now, the war situation in Huguang has changed drastically. Although Tunqi is always considering his own interests, he also attaches equal importance to the interests of the Qing Dynasty.

This is actually the reason why the Qing Dynasty was able to defeat the Ming Dynasty in history. Although there were also many contradictions within the Qing Dynasty and the fighting was even more brutal, major issues concerning the life and death of the entire regime were always put first.

After the generals expressed their opinions, Dorgon immediately began to take charge of the overall situation and began to adjust the previous strategies and tactics to deal with the proactive and aggressive Emperor Ming.

Although Dorgon chose to clear himself first, he always remained sober and knew what the most important thing was at the moment.

"Everyone is right. This king agrees. Our most pressing task now is to deal with Emperor Ming. In the battle of Jingzhou, because Zhunta and Bahana underestimated the enemy, all the elite troops I deployed in Jingzhou were lost overnight. This has created a huge loophole in the entire northern battlefield, which must be filled immediately.

We must immediately determine the Emperor Ming's next move. We still don't know how many troops he has deployed in Jingzhou this time, the garrison in Changsha Prefecture to the south, or whether Liu Tichun and He Tengjiao in Yuezhou Prefecture and Jiujiang Prefecture will take advantage of the opportunity to take action.

"The Regent is right. Emperor Ming's strength is probably stronger than we imagined. Otherwise, it would be impossible to defeat the Zhunta army outside Jingzhou City. Moreover, the navy is also very powerful."

Tunqi has always been cautious and careful in his actions. Although he does not have much military information, he has a preliminary understanding of the strength of the Ming army. He said word by word:

"From what we can see now, the Ming army's garrisons in various locations are quite powerful. They can even attack from Jiujiang and Yuezhou simultaneously to the south and east. And judging from the navy, the number of artillery pieces the Ming army possesses in the city is probably beyond imagination."

"The strength of the Ming army cannot be underestimated. Zhunta is quite skilled in fighting, yet he was defeated so easily. Even if the Ming Emperor had twice the military strength, he would never have won so easily."

Nikan spoke more directly, and at this time, he was no longer as arrogant as before.

After all, even Nikan was a veteran of battles. One or two times could be considered a lucky break for the Ming army, but how many times had this happened? He was not one of those old men in the Ming court who only knew how to talk about war on paper.

Seeing this, Tan Tai continued:
"Indeed, the Ming Emperor's repeated displays of weakness were simply an attempt to confuse us and seize an opportunity to regain his strength. However, I never imagined that he could, in just two years, raise tens of thousands of soldiers, amass so much armament, and repeatedly defeat the mighty armies of the Qing Dynasty."

Although Dorgon did not understand how Zhu Cilang did it for the time being, he could only accept the reality for the time being. The power of Emperor Ming had exceeded his expectations, and he even became stronger too quickly, so quickly that it was a little too unbelievable.

"Previously, I deployed my strategies based on the Ming army's inability to engage in field battles. This is how I came up with the method of using thousands of cavalry to contain a single location. But now, it seems that this method cannot continue to be implemented."

This wasn't just Dorgon's misjudgment; it was also a misjudgment of the Ming army by the entire Qing army before the Battle of Jingzhou. "For now, the first thing we need to do is stabilize the situation around Linxiang. From now on, all cities must strictly defend Linxiang. Except for the main army, all city gates must remain closed. No suspicious individuals or soldiers are allowed to enter the city to prevent the Ming emperor from plotting again."

The second is to explore the true strength of the Ming army and determine the current strength of the Ming emperor, especially the direction and purpose of the Ming emperor's deployment of troops, whether it is south or north.

"Should the troops in Changsha be recalled?" Tan Tai asked immediately after hearing this. "No matter how the Emperor Ming plans to deploy his troops, it would be unwise to leave them in Changsha at this time."

Although Dorgon was careless and waited and saw what would happen, he was actually just unwilling to slap himself in the face. After all, it was he who listened to Hong Chengchou's advice and insisted on advancing alone, which led to the current dilemma.

Moreover, if the army withdrew like this, it would mean that his southern expedition strategy had completely failed, and he would be withdrawing north soon. By then, he must achieve some results in Yuezhou and Jingzhou, otherwise he would not be able to convince the people.

But the problem is that the so-called achievements in Jingzhou and Yuezhou could not change the overall situation of the war unless the main force of the Ming army was severely damaged. Even if one of the cities was captured,

Therefore, now that Tan Tai took the initiative to propose, Dorgon just took advantage of the situation and said:
“The road from Changsha to Yuezhou is long and mountainous, with numerous rivers blocking the way. It is very likely that the Ming Emperor would take advantage of this. The two places would not be able to support each other, while the Ming army could attack from both directions at the same time.

Furthermore, the counties along the way, such as Xiangyin and Pingjiang, are currently occupied by the Ming Emperor. If the Ming Emperor needs to destroy the official road, it will be easy. If the road is blocked, he can also make use of the advantages of the navy."

As soon as these words were spoken, all the Manchu nobles understood what Dorgon meant. They immediately offered suggestions and requested that the army from Changsha be withdrawn in advance.

"The Ming Emperor has been victorious so many times that his heart must have grown insolent. When the time comes, the Regent only needs to concentrate his forces and try to lure the enemy into attacking. The Ming Emperor will definitely underestimate them and fall for their trick.

Moreover, judging by the current state of the war, the Ming Emperor is unlikely to be strong enough to engage in a decisive battle with the main force of our Eight Banners. Each time, he attacks a small part of our main army, defeating the larger force with a smaller force. We may be defeated twice or three times, but with the Ming Emperor's current strength, he only needs to be defeated once to lose the support of the people."

Tun Qi seemed to have spotted an opportunity, paused, and then said:
"But now, due to the series of defeats we've suffered, our morale has been shaken. What we need to worry about most is the morale of the Green Camp soldiers. If they collude with the Ming army or desert in the face of battle, it will be disastrous."

"They dare!" Nikan shouted angrily upon hearing this: "If those Green Camp soldiers dare to act rashly, I will kill them all!"

"Nikan, what's the use even if you really kill them all?" Tan Tai shook his head.

"As long as I am here, those Green Camp soldiers won't dare to act rashly. As for Emperor Ming's petty actions, hoping to defeat me with them is sheer wishful thinking!"

Dorgon spoke calmly, as if he didn't care about the loss of troops or the Changsha city at all, and under the current situation, he was very confident in controlling the Green Camp troops.

"Tan Tai, you must immediately send the Tangma to deliver my military order, telling Duoduo to prepare for a retreat. There must be no mistakes. Nikan, you must immediately send troops across the river to investigate the military situation. You must find out the direction of the Ming Emperor's deployment. I will personally command and repel the Ming navy."

"Zhe!"
.
"Boom, boom, boom——"

To the east of Changsha City, at the Qing army's artillery position, with the sound of gold, a burst of muffled thunder immediately erupted. More than 30 red-coated cannons retreated at the same time, and the same number of stone bullets whizzed across the sky and heavily hit the earth wall outside Changsha City.

Most of the more than 30 stone bullets whizzed in and hit the earth wall, and a few hit the city wall of Changsha City, exploding into a bunch of earth flowers on the earth wall and the city wall. Several battlements were smashed, bringing up bursts of yellow smoke and dust.

Along with the sound of heavy objects hitting each other, the outer earth walls and inner walls of Changsha City shook violently in an instant, and the sound of rubble and soil collapsing could be heard everywhere.

The Qing army bombarded the city for several days. Duoduo had accumulated a lot of experience in dealing with this kind of castle after the "Battle of Fengyang". Although the attack still caused heavy losses, the progress was also very fast. The earthen walls outside Changsha City had been severely damaged by the repeated bombardment of artillery.

At this time, bursts of screams and cries of terror could be heard from the Ming army soldiers on the earth wall. Several Ming army armored soldiers hiding behind the parapets were injured by the flying debris when the stone bullets hit them, and were rolling on the ground.

But soon, new bugles sounded on the Qing army's artillery positions. The Eight Banners gunners holding ignition forks bent over again to light the guns. More than 30 cannons fired at the same time on the smoke-filled artillery positions, and then there was a deafening explosion with great momentum.

Duoduo looked at the scene of artillery bombardment and felt a little regretful. Dorgon's order to withdraw troops had already come, and he had to execute it. The entire Jungta tribe was annihilated in the battle of Jingzhou, which once again aroused his fear of Emperor Ming.

Although Emperor Ming was not in Changsha, he had led his army there at some point, otherwise he would not have suddenly appeared in Jingzhou. Duoduo did not dare to relax in the slightest on this point, and was even more unwilling to stay in Changsha to deal with Zhu Cilang.

He knew very well that if he refused to carry out Dorgon's military order, Dorgon would definitely mobilize a large number of troops to the north, regardless of his life or death.

By then, if he led the remaining troops north again, he would probably no longer be able to openly accuse Dorgon of making mistakes, but would have to beg for help like a stray dog.

Duoduo gently patted the mount under his crotch. The rumbling sound of cannons and the pungent smoke made his mount a little agitated. This warhorse had not been with him for long, but it had a very bad temper. If it was not appeased, it would immediately paw the ground with its two front hooves.

Soon, as the Qing army's artillery bombardment continued, more intense screams were heard from the outer earth walls of Changsha City. The flying dust indicated that after the previous half month of artillery attacks, the outer earth walls had suffered severe damage.

Now, although Duoduo was about to withdraw his troops, he still made a gesture of continuing the attack. He believed that these rumbling thousand-jin cannons were enough to scare the Ming army.

Before the "Battle of Jingzhou", in order to capture Changsha City as quickly as possible, Dorgon even prepared more than a hundred iron bullets for each cannon and mobilized 30,000 civilians to mine tens of thousands of stone bullets from the surrounding mountains.

Now, the earthen walls outside Changsha City have been riddled with holes after being attacked by tens of thousands of iron bombs weighing two to more than ten kilograms. However, because the earthen walls built by the Ming army are very thick, there is no sign of collapse or loosening at this time.

Moreover, Changsha City was not a small city after all. Even if Duoduo was powerful, it was impossible for such a large city to be destroyed in just two weeks. Not to mention, each gate of Changsha City had a thousand-jin gate, which was only found in large cities, as well as large-scale moon city, barbican, and towers as layers of obstacles.

After half a month of persistent bombardment by the Qing army, most of the city gates had been destroyed, but the city gate openings had long been completely blocked by the Ming army with bricks and stones.

Du Yinxi had already made full preparations. With the support of the right army in front of the palace, the defenders in the city had nearly 30,000 troops with field combat capabilities. If it were not for the lack of cavalry, the Ming army could even take the initiative to attack and harass.

But now, the battle of Jingzhou changed the entire situation of the war. All the preparations made by the Qing army before were in vain, and Duoduo's original revenge plan was also abandoned.

However, he was not as disappointed as Dorgon, as if he had expected everything to go well. After all, he had said long ago that the Ming Emperor was difficult to deal with, but these people just didn't believe him.

Although Duoduo did not admit his fear of Emperor Ming, he knew in his heart that this fear existed.

"Your Highness, the Ming army in Changsha City seems to have realized that a withdrawal is necessary, and their scout activities are becoming more and more frequent." Bolo reported immediately after returning from the north gate of Changsha City.

After hearing this, Duoduo smiled triumphantly and said, "If that's the case, that's great. I'm actually worried that the Ming army in the city doesn't have the courage to do this!"

At this time, Bolo was also disturbed by the news of the great defeat in the battle of Jingzhou. He did not expect that the Ming army could defeat the Eight Banners Army in a field battle. This completely overturned his cognition and even led him to another extreme.

"Your Highness, we must not underestimate the enemy. We must retreat north quickly and leave enough troops behind to cover our retreat. Otherwise, we will end up like Tulai at Tushan after the Battle of Fengyang."

Hearing this, Duoduo looked at his old partner beside him in disbelief, as if he couldn't believe it. After all, not long ago, the other party felt that the defeat in Jiangbei the previous year was all his fault.

"Bolo, are you scared?"

When Bolo saw Duoduo's eyes, his heart trembled, but he was speechless for a moment.

"."

"The Ming army in Changsha doesn't have that kind of strength. The Ming Emperor is in Jingzhou and Yuezhou, but he can't be in Changsha. What are you afraid of?"

Seeing this, Duoduo couldn't help but sneer in his heart, but he immediately said: "This Ming army is not to be feared. If they dare to leave the city and pursue us, I will make them pay!"

(End of this chapter)