Strategy for the Revitalization of the Late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 175: Counterattack on Another Battlefield

"Bolo is such a coward! He led so many troops north, yet he just stayed in Xiangyang, watching those Nikans wreak havoc in Yunyang without doing anything!"

In the Qing camp near Daorenji, in Dorgon's central army tent, Tan Tai saw that Dorgon's face was not right. After cursing, he immediately asked for orders:
"Regent, I request that our troops march north to establish the Qing Dynasty, capture and kill the Wang brothers, and cut those traitors into pieces!"

After receiving the news of the rebellion of the Wang brothers in Yunyang, Bolo immediately sent a horse to deliver the military report to Dorgon at an accelerated speed of 800 miles. Duoduo, Tan Tai and other Qing generals also learned of the bad news.

Dorgon was originally trying to divide and win over the opposition in the army and organize troops to attack Yuezhou. After killing the chicken to scare the monkey, he was about to succeed.

After all, after Bolo was transferred away, Duoduo was unable to hold on alone. Many Manchu nobles who were originally hesitant, seeing that the situation was not good, turned to support Dorgon, and Duoduo soon could not hold on.

But as Bolo did not dare to delay for a moment and reported the news of the fall of Yunyang, even Dorgon himself knew that under such circumstances, the possibility of him concentrating his troops to besiege Yuezhou was very slim.

This not only means that after the Qing army withdrew its troops to the north, it no longer had the strength to besiege Yuezhou while maintaining the food supply. What had a greater impact was the determination of the generals of each banner in the Qing army. Duoduo would undoubtedly receive unprecedented support.

The Qing army has never been united, and the conflicts of interest between the various banners are still very serious at this time. If Dorgon wants to gain continued support, he must use both kindness and force.

But the premise of combining kindness and severity is that he can win victory after victory on the battlefield, which is the foundation of all political actions. Otherwise, Dorgon will inevitably face countless opposition.

"This can't be entirely blamed on Bolo. The Ming Emperor is so treacherous. With the Wang brothers rebelling this time, who knows if there might be a large Ming army ambushed near Yunyang City? If we rashly march north, we might not be able to quell the rebellion, and we might even suffer heavy losses again."

Duoduo immediately said that he was not only doing this to protect Bolo, but also to create a glorious image of himself as a person who protects his subordinates. This is also the basic quality of being a political leader.

"Yunyang City is easy to defend but difficult to attack. Going north from Xiangyang is a long journey with steep mountains and steep waterways, not to mention the terrible weather right now. Bolo can't possibly build much siege equipment in a short period of time. What's the point of leading his troops north in such a hurry?"

"Prince Yu, you..." Tan Tai hesitated to speak, secretly glancing at Dorgon out of the corner of his eye, and the words were on the tip of his tongue, but he swallowed them back in the end.

"Okay, stop arguing!" Dorgon finally spoke. If Duoduo wanted to protect Bolo, he naturally had to protect Tan Tai as well, otherwise people's hearts would fall apart faster.

"Regent, Emperor Ming has already succeeded in Yunyang. Next, he will definitely attack our food supply at all costs. With only the few troops that Bolo took away, I'm afraid we will be unable to defend ourselves." Duoduo had no intention of giving Dorgon a break, and said immediately.

"The Ming army is not that capable. If Bolo really works hard, the Ming army will never dare to move south from Yunyang easily." Dorgon shook his head and denied it.

"But Xiangyang is always in danger. If Emperor Ming launches another surprise attack, the consequences will be unimaginable." At this time, Nikan also began to persuade Dorgon.

"If our army continues to linger in Yuezhou, it will be difficult to quickly march north to reinforce Xiangyang. Not to mention Xiangyang, even Jingzhou will probably be difficult to reinforce quickly within two days."

After Nikan, Manchu generals such as Tunqi also spoke out. After hearing the military intelligence from Bolo, they all lost confidence in Dorgon's plan to capture Yuezhou.

After all, if Emperor Ming could take action in Yunyang, he would probably be prepared in other places. If they continued to lead the main force of the army and stay in Yuezhou, other places would definitely be difficult to defend.

Dorgon actually knew this. When the military report from Bolo in Xiangyang reached him, he knew that the situation was irreversible.

However, no matter what time it is, he cannot show his weakness. The more anxious everyone is, the more he has to act like everything is under control so that he can continue to hold the initiative.

"Hauge has now reorganized the troops in Shaanxi and stationed them in Hanzhong. If nothing unexpected happens, he will soon march south. If he can defeat Zhang Xianzhong in Sichuan and capture Chongqing, the Ming Emperor's defense line in Huguang will be in jeopardy."

It seemed that Dorgon had been prepared for this. Even Hauge's series of actions in Hanzhong, Shaanxi, seemed to be part of his plan.

"This prince insists on attacking Yuezhou, not out of a momentary impatience, nor is it a disregard for the overall situation. Emperor Ming has now concentrated almost all of his troops. Holding on to Yuezhou, Jingzhou, Changsha, and other places will surely not last long. He is simply relying on the geographical advantage to hold on."

However, Duoduo did not give him face, and then laughed coldly a few times and said:

"Prince Regent, the Ming Emperor has already deployed tens of thousands of troops in Chongqing. After Hauge defeated Zhang Xianzhong, can he still march south and capture Chongqing?
I've said it before, don't underestimate Emperor Ming. If we can truly trap him, even if the siege results in over ten thousand casualties, it will be worth it as long as we can win. But right now, we simply can't encircle Yuezhou City."

"Prince Yu is right. It is impossible that Emperor Ming did not think of defending Chongqing to the death. Hauge has few elite troops under his command, and Wu Sangui and the Green Camp Army in Shaanxi cannot mobilize their entire army. Even if Chongqing is surrounded, it may not be captured in a short time." Tunqi said on the side.

"The most important thing now is to capture Jingzhou. If we can capture Jingzhou, it will not be difficult to retake Yunyang. If Hauge can capture Sichuan, we can also make the Ming army in Chongqing have no way to retreat."

Seeing that the time was almost right, Duoduo did not choose to press Dorgon step by step, but gave Dorgon a way out. He did not have great political wisdom, but he had a lot of clever tricks, so he naturally would not push Dorgon to the limit at this time.

"If we don't surround Yuezhou, the army will gather in Jingzhou, and Emperor Ming will also harass us." Tan Tai pretended not to understand and immediately objected.

"That's great. Haven't we been waiting for Emperor Ming to come out of the city all along?" Duoduo said immediately.

"Prince Yu is right." Dorgon heard this and immediately backed off and said slowly:

"Given the current situation, the Ming Emperor must have made preparations in various places. Even if Yuezhou City is besieged, the Ming troops from various places can be mobilized to respond. If this continues, the entire war situation in Huguang will inevitably gradually deteriorate.

But if our army turns to capture Jingzhou, echo Sichuan, and then break through the entire defense line deployed by the Ming army in Huguang, it might be a better option."

"The Regent is wise. The army should march north to Jingzhou without delay. Please make arrangements early. The Ming army in Yunyang will surely take action soon." Duoduo continued.

Not only that, Nikan, Tunqi and other Manchu generals also spoke out one after another, asking Dorgon to speed up the deployment of the withdrawal of troops. They were all worried that Dorgon was just pretending to agree, and even worried that if the withdrawal was too slow, Emperor Ming would react and send troops to harass.

At this point in the situation, Dorgon could no longer delay or negotiate in the face of the reactions of his generals, so he immediately began to deploy his troops to withdraw and prepare to attack Jingzhou.

Now, at least he is not completely at a disadvantage. If Jingzhou can be successfully captured, the situation in Huguang will still turn around.
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At the same time, Zhu Cilang in Yuezhou Prefecture also quickly received the news sent by Li Guo from Jingzhou that the three brothers Wang Guangen, Wang Guangtai and Wang Chang had raised the flag of rebellion in Yunyang, successfully captured Yunyang City, and instigated rebellion in Zhuxi, Zhushan, Fangxian, Yunxi, Shangjin and other counties in Yunyang Prefecture.

The Qing army's rule in these places was not very solid, and the Wang brothers had been operating in the local area for several years. In addition, civil servants such as Xu Qiyuan had been killed when various tribes rebelled, so they quickly took control of the situation.

After receiving accurate military intelligence, Zhu Cilang immediately began to make new deployments. If he wanted to force Dorgon to withdraw his troops, he could not only launch a counterattack in Huguang, but also launch a new offensive in Jianghuai and even along the Shandong coast.

At this time, the troops in the south who were supporting the king had also gathered one after another. Li Banghua presided over the war in Nanjing. The time was not yet ripe for the land army to launch a counterattack, but the navy could start the action at any time.

Zhu Cilang originally wanted to wait until the land army was assembled before launching a full-scale counterattack to deter Dorgon, but given the current situation, it is not impossible for the navy to take action first.

Of course, during this process, Zhu Cilang also had to send troops to reinforce Yunyang, and he had to send the most elite troops under his command to ensure that he could launch actual harassment on the Qing army in Xiangyang Prefecture.

As Zhu Cilang's imperial edict reached Nanjing, Li Banghua, after finalizing the battle plan for the counterattack against the Qing army, Huang Fei and Zhang Mingzhen were also ready. They began to lead the navy, setting sail from Zhoushan and Chongming, and launched attacks on Qingzhou, Leiden, and even Tianjin.

Huang Fei commanded a feint attack from the north in the direction of Tianjin and Leiden, aiming to tie down the Qing garrisons in the various prefectures to the north of Shandong. At the same time, he would dispatch troops northward to harass the Qing army at critical moments, thereby maximizing the stimulation of the Qing army.

Huang Fei's northern offensive is the key to this counterattack, and the Yangtze River Navy under his command is the most powerful of the three navies in the south of the Yangtze River. It is far superior to the Zheng family's Fujian Navy that is currently stationed in the south of the Yangtze River and the Zhejiang Navy that has just been assembled under Zhang Mingzhen's command.

In fact, before this, Huang Fei had already begun harassing the Qing army in the open sea. After several previous failures, he and Zhang Mingzhen were very confident that they could achieve fruitful results this time.

This time, they also planned to make a "feint to the east and attack in the west" between Haizhou and Leiden to attract the attention of Ajige's army.

At the beginning of this war, Huang Degong repelled the Qing army led by Ajige once again, but as Ajige gradually gained a foothold in Huaibei, Haizhou was once again besieged by the Qing army and eventually fell.

Ajige brought in dozens of red-coated cannons, which was more than enough to capture the small city of Haizhou, but it took more than a month. By the time he captured Haizhou, he was no longer able to attack other cities in the Huaibei area. Moreover, it was impossible to capture cities like Huai'an and Xuzhou with only dozens of red-coated cannons.

However, Huang Fei's real target was Tianjin. This was Zhu Cilang's intention. If he didn't attack there, Dorgon would definitely not be nervous.

As a young man, Huang Fei followed his uncle Huang Long to fight against the Qing army in Liaodong. In the sixth year of the Chongzhen reign, Huang Long was killed in a battle with the then-late Jin army at Lushunkou. Because of this relationship, Huang Fei was able to inherit Huang Long's power and subsequently changed his surname to his mother's.

After suffering heavy damage, Dongjiang Town quickly became useless in the following period of time.

However, Huang Fei's official position was not affected. He was promoted from garrison commander to deputy governor, commander-in-chief of the navy to support and suppress the rebellion, and admiral of the navy in Guanliao, Tongjin, Huaihai, and Jiangzhen.

He was very familiar with the hydrological routes in Guanliao, Tongjin, Huaihai and other places.

This feint attack on Leiden seemed to be to cover Haizhou's action, but Haizhou's action was also a feint. Huang Fei's real purpose was to cover the army's offensive on Tianjin. Even the navy that Zhang Mingzhen had transferred from Zhejiang would participate in this battle.

Huang Fei and Zhang Mingzhen immediately began to act after receiving the counterattack order from Zhu Cilang from Yuezhou Prefecture.

Zhu Cilang did not give a clear and specific time for the battle, but only asked them to make enough noise in Leiden, Tianjin and other places during February to delay the Qing army in Jiangnan and disrupt the layout of the Qing army in Huguang.

As Huang Fei and Zhang Mingzhen led the navy to launch operations along the coast of Shandong and northern Zhili, Zhu Cilang's army sent through the west of Jingzhou also began to take action, taking a two-pronged approach.

Although Xiangyang City is not as big as Wuchang, it is equally difficult to attack and requires a lot of preparation. Therefore, the battle plan finally given by the "Five Army Commandery" was mainly based on harassment, and all siege operations were just bluffs.

According to the final battle plan formulated by the "Five Military Commandery", Zhu Cilang sent the ace troops of the Palace Front Army - the Tianwu Left Camp and a thousand-man headquarters of the Tianqi Army, and the combined forces marched north to Yunyang.
They will arrive at the foot of Yunyang City before sunset on the fifth day of their departure. After a short rest, they will begin to move towards Xiangyang, especially using cavalry to control several mountain passes in the east and harass the connection between Xiangyang and Dengzhou.

Of course, the troops Zhu Cilang dispatched this time were not many. In Yunyang and other places, the Green Camp Army under Wang Guangen's command would serve as auxiliary troops. After they summoned various troops, there were still more than 2,000 troops.

In addition, Wang Guangen also recruited more than 3,000 local laborers. When he rebelled, he controlled most of the warehouses in the city, and there was still enough food and grass in the city.

The "Yunyang Uprising Battle" went very smoothly. Relying on the Wang family's many years of operation in the local area, Zhu Cilang successfully seized this strategic hub and quickly annihilated the Eight Banners Army guarding the city.

But Bolo was no fool. He led thousands of Eight Banners troops northward and had an absolute advantage in manpower. He quickly took control of the Green Camp troops in the city. It was impossible for Zhu Cilang to use the same trick again.

Now, the Ming army has no internal support in Xiangyang City, only the powerful enemy Bolo. Even in Wuchang City, there has been no news of Wang Tizhong, who is eager to try.

However, Zhu Cilang was not too disappointed. He did not expect to always win by clever means. After all, real strength was still the key to success in a war.

Moreover, he believed that as generals such as Huang Degong, Gao Jie, Huang Fei, and Zhang Mingzhen made progress in the south of the Yangtze River, the rear of the Qing court would soon fall into chaos, which would shake Dorgon's determination to fight a tough battle with him in Huguang.

In fact, with Dorgon's current strength, it is entirely possible for him to capture Jingzhou, recapture Yunyang, and regain the initiative on the Huguang battlefield, but the power struggle within the Qing Dynasty forced him to hesitate.

What Zhu Cilang had to do was to facilitate the occurrence of all this, and make preparations in advance based on the possibilities he had predicted in advance, to ensure that he could quickly seize the opportunity when these accidents occurred and expand his battlefield advantage through local victories.
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On January 25th, at 2:00 p.m., the Tianwu Left Camp army set out from Yilingzhou City and began its march northward to Yunyang City. The dirt road from Yilingzhou City to Maoer Pass was filled with the rumbling sounds of horse hooves and footsteps.

The scouts of the Tianwu Left Camp were already very powerful, and now with the support of the Tianqi Army, they have further expanded their alert range, making it impossible for the scouts sent by the Qing army from outside Jingzhou City to get close.

Zhu Cilang acted very quickly and sent troops before Dorgon withdrew his army from Daorenji and Linxiang City. This enabled his troops to avoid harassment from the Qing cavalry.

The Qing army outside Jingzhou City was short of troops and could not deal with the "Zhongzheng Camp" army while harassing Yiling Prefecture. The few scouts they sent out were even attacked by the Tianqi Army.

Today, a considerable number of the war horses ridden by the Tianqi Army soldiers were captured in the previous battles in Jingmen Prefecture and Jingzhou, and they are all high-quality horses.

The Tianqi Army marched northward along the Xiangxi River Valley and soon arrived at Xingshan. After the Tianqi Left Army also arrived at Xingshan, the commander Wu Ge sent a bureau of cavalry to assist the scouts in their operations to ensure that there were no ambushes of the Qing army on the road ahead heading north to Maoer Pass.

From Yiling Prefecture to Yunyang in the north, the mountains are high and the roads are dangerous, so the march is very slow and it is easy to be ambushed by the Qing army on the road. Zhu Cilang does not intend to let them march quickly. The key is to complete these hundreds of miles safely.

Wu Ge stood on the left side of the valley, looking at the map in his hand with no expression on his face. Their marching route was not simple. After passing Maoer Pass, they had to continue north along the mountain road. The road became steeper the further north they went.

Moreover, the mountain roads here were extremely narrow, and neither they nor the Tianwu Left Camp carried baggage to ensure speed. After all, in such terrain, if they were ambushed, it would be difficult for the army to see each other from front to back.

Of course, Wu Ge was very confident in the Tianqi Army. After so much reconnaissance, they knew that the Qing army had no ambushes that could hide there. Moreover, the terrain here did hinder the Qing army, making it difficult for the Eight Banners to move easily.

Wu Ge looked at the map in his hand, quickly put it down, and turned to look towards the northeast. The map was not clear, so he had to send troops to continue exploring.

Soon, three scouts rode their horses towards him from the dense woods. They were the people he had sent out to explore the way. It seemed that they had not encountered an ambush by the Qing army, which meant that the road ahead should be very safe.

At this time in the Xiangxi River Valley, the soldiers of the Tianwu Left Camp were resting. Some auxiliary soldiers carefully unloaded their weapons and armor. They followed the army northward, and their mission was to carry armor, ammunition, food for the march, and equipment for camping for the soldiers.

In fact, in the lower reaches of Xiangxi, the Dongting Lake Navy still dispatched a small number of transport ships, but in order to avoid exposing the whereabouts of the army, these ships ultimately only assisted in transportation for dozens of miles and stopped at Xingshan.

At this time, Zhao Zhengdong was in the team of Tianwu Left Camp heading north. He looked at the flag of Tianwu Left Army flying in the wind in front of him, and his heart was extremely excited. Gu Defu was still following his men.

In the Battle of Jingzhou, he and Gu Defu both made considerable contributions, but because the war was urgent, although the Military Affairs Department had recommended him for merit, the commission had not yet been given.

In this battalion-level troop mobilization, as the captain, he was naturally clear about all the arrangements of the army.

However, he felt very relaxed at this moment, without any pressure at all.

Going to Yunyang to deal with the Qing army, although far away from the main force of the army, in Zhao Zhengdong's opinion, there would not be much danger. He knew that there were only a few thousand Tartars in Xiangyang City, and they had already lost their strategic offensive capability by defending an area as large as Xiangyang Prefecture.

Thanks to the Ming army's military system reform and officers' strategic and tactical education, Captain Zhao Zhengdong had a basic understanding of the overall situation of this battle and even the entire battle situation in Huguang.

This is not a general discussion. It includes the basic understanding of the enemy and our own forces, the basic terrain of the combat area, and the basic force deployment in various regions.

This is the officer reform that the Ming army is currently carrying out. The purpose is naturally to improve the tactical level of mid-level officers and cultivate their strategic thinking. Zhao Zhengdong is in charge of three or four hundred people and can play a very important role on the battlefield.

You know, fear often comes from the unknown, and giving full play to the subjective initiative of grassroots officers is the key to solving the problem of the entire army being defeated on the battlefield due to poor command in this era.

After more than half a year of hard work, Zhao Zhengdong had no problem recognizing basic characters. But this wasn't enough. If he wanted to continue advancing, he needed to learn how to fight.

If one wants to become a higher-ranking officer, or even a battalion commander, this is as important as making great achievements on the battlefield.

Soon, the battalion commander sent out the Tangma, and the military bugles of various departments and bureaus were heard, echoing in the valley. Zhao Zhengdong listened to these familiar sounds and looked up to the north. The valley was not very curved, but it was blocked by hills not far to the north.

With the sound of military bugles, the various units of the Tianwu Left Camp set off again. Zhao Zhengdong looked at Gu Defu's back and murmured:

"This war should be over in two or three months. Once the Tartars retreat, I'll have to find a wife for Xiao Gu!"

He had heard that the imperial army in the east had begun a counterattack in Jiangnan, and was full of confidence in the upcoming war.

(End of this chapter)