Strategy for the Revitalization of the Late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 181 Internal and external cooperation
The Qing army's surprise attack was completely within Zhu Cilang's expectations. He could even guess which direction Tunqi would attack, creating a great opportunity for the latter.

After all, he had done just that when he led his troops to defend the city, and had achieved excellent results. Now, the offensive and defensive positions had reversed, and the Qing army would inevitably do the same. This was not some exclusive secret.

You know, there are no secrets on the battlefield. All we have to do is adapt to local conditions and deal with each matter at hand.

However, the Qing army did not gain any advantage, and the same was true for the Ming army.

Lin Changfeng had just led the army to attack, intending to launch a pincer attack on the Eight Banners cavalry who had rushed to the front of the army, but the latter did not want to fight. After a brief resistance and leaving behind more than a dozen corpses, they immediately retreated, seemingly very afraid of the attack of the Tianqi Army.

But how could Lin Changfeng let them go so easily? He immediately ordered his cavalry to split into two groups to pursue, seemingly not intending to let go of these Qing troops who had left the city to interfere.

When the cavalry he sent out to pursue to the outside of the moat of Wuchang City, the gates of the other two towers in the south of the city suddenly opened slowly. The drawbridge outside the tower had already been lowered by the Qing army on the tower during the chaos.

After the gates of the two city walls were opened, two teams of Eight Banners horsemen rushed out from inside, and the Qing cavalry, which had just been retreating, also scattered to the two wings, attempting to attack the pursuing Tianqi Army from three sides.

Seeing this, Lin Changfeng naturally realized that he had fallen into a trap, but he was well prepared. The sound of horse hooves on both wings of the army behind him soon resounded across the plain, and hundreds of cavalrymen rushed out.

When Zhu Cilang summoned his generals to discuss the strategy of besieging the city, he had already planned everything. Of course, this was not just his idea. Chen Fu, Chang Denggui, Zhang Huangyan and others also guessed that the Qing army would take the opportunity to harass.

Therefore, under the mutual calculation of the commanders of the Ming and Qing armies, the two cavalry units immediately started a chase. The Qing army attacked the Tianqi Army from three sides, while the Tianqi Army fought and retreated, and soon received support from superior troops.

Although Tunqi sent out Bayala, the most powerful soldier in the army, Lin Changfeng soon received reinforcements, and the Ming army had a clear advantage in manpower on the battlefield.

On the plains south of Wuchang City, shouts of killing, the sound of horses' hooves, and the clashing of swords continued to be heard. The Qing army did not dare to pursue them rashly, while the Ming army continued to fight after receiving reinforcements.

The two sides fought for a long time, but neither side could determine the winner. Soldiers kept falling off their horses, and screams of pain and suffering echoed in the air.
Tunqi was standing on the city wall watching the battle. He looked at the battle situation on the plain and could not help but frowning. His face became more and more ugly. The Ming army was well prepared and easily saw through his "three-sided pincer attack" strategy.

However, he also felt very fortunate that he did not seek credit for himself, was careful enough, and ambushed two teams of cavalry in advance. Otherwise, the situation outside the city would have been completely out of control.

Tunqi sent troops to attack at this time in order to undermine the morale of the Ming army. If it backfired, it would instead undermine the already low morale of its own side!

Soon, as the war drums sounded on the city wall, the Eight Banners cavalry who had gone out to harass the city retreated in disgrace towards the city gate after leaving behind dozens of corpses. They retreated all the way to the edge of the moat, entering the range of the city wall artillery, and only then escaped the pursuit of the Tianqi Army.

Lin Changfeng was a veteran of many battles. When he saw the cannons mounted on the top of the Wuchang city wall, he naturally knew that he could not continue the pursuit, otherwise he would become a sitting duck for the Qing army.

Although he was determined to achieve great merit, he had to understand the situation clearly, otherwise he would not have been able to grow into a general who could lead an army.

On the battlefield, the horn for retreating troops soon sounded. When the cavalrymen of the Tianqi Army heard the sound, they immediately reined in their horses, and while guarding against the Qing army's sneak attack, they turned their horses around and prepared to retreat.

Watching the Ming army retreating outside the city, Aljin on the top of the city couldn't help but sigh in his heart and finally breathed a sigh of relief. Tong Yanghe, who had just rushed out of the city, also quickened his pace and quickly walked to Tunqi's side.

"General, what's the situation now?" Tong Yanghe asked hurriedly as soon as he arrived beside Tunqi, with a very respectful attitude.

When Tunqi heard the voice, he did not turn his head to look at Tong Yanghe, the Han general. He continued to watch the retreating Ming army under the city. After a long while, he said slowly:

"The Ming Emperor has brought at least hundreds of thousands of troops to attack the city this time. The Ming troops that just went out to fight are his strongest and most elite troops—the Palace Guards. These Ming troops are even more powerful than we previously anticipated. From now on, we must not leave the city to engage in a reckless battle with them."

The previous strategic mistakes made by Dorgon and Dodo have made the current situation in Wuchang Prefecture much more serious than Tunqi had expected, which forced him to be more cautious.

Tunqi was different from Dorgon and Doduo. Although he also belonged to the royal family, he did not have such great ambitions and was not a radical. Unlike Dorgon and Doduo, he was obsessed with creating opportunities and always took the initiative to attack in an attempt to defeat the Ming army and win a quick victory.

In his opinion, as long as he could hold Wuchang and wait for the arrival of reinforcements from the north the following year, or the defeat of the Ming army, then everything would be fine and no one could find fault with him.

After hearing Tun Qi's words, Tong Yanghe nodded in agreement, and at the same time did not forget to flatter the other party for his brilliant strategy.

As a Han general from Liaodong, he knew the difference between Manchus and Han better than anyone else, not to mention that Tunqi was a member of the imperial clan. From now on, in Wuchang, no one dared to say anything against Tunqi's opinion.

"Emperor Ming seems very worried about being defeated directly by us. He has sent his most elite troops as the vanguard. It is not surprising that they have such a strong force." Aljin paused and continued:
"Right now, we've only managed to draw with the Ming army, which isn't a bad situation. When the main force of the Ming army attacks the city, we'll use the artillery on the city walls to give them a head-on blow."

"You're right. These are definitely the elite of the Ming army. Otherwise, they would never have been able to draw with the elite cavalry under my command." Upon hearing this, Tun Qi also smiled triumphantly, but then he said gloomily:

"However, the morale of the Ming army is indeed quite high!"

After hearing this, Aljin and Tong Yanghe, like the other Manchu and Han generals behind them, looked at each other, not knowing what to say. They knew that the morale of the Ming army was high, but was this a good thing?

Tun Qi raised his eyebrows slightly, took a deep breath, and then said slowly:
"The Ming army has been winning battle after battle since the Regent led his troops to the south. The Ming Emperor must have underestimated the enemy. This is our opportunity. Wuchang City is impregnable. As long as we can hold on for the next few months and strike hard at the Ming army, they will definitely retreat on their own initiative."

"General, you are absolutely right. With our Eight Banners Army here, Emperor Ming will definitely not be able to get even a little bit of his hands on Wuchang." Tong Yanghe immediately complimented again.

While on the south gate wall of Wuchang City, Tunqi, Aljin, Tong Yanghe and other Manchu and Han generals were discussing the current situation with deep worry and confidence, the main force led by Zhu Cilang, with a vanguard of more than 20,000 troops, had already landed and advanced to the plains outside Wuchang City.

On the plains to the north and south of Wuchang City, dozens of large and small Ming troops were entering the preset camps, while hundreds of scouts were constantly moving back and forth on the plains about five or six hundred steps away from the three city walls, whistling and provoking the Qing troops on the city walls.

These Ming army scouts were just like the Eight Banners cavalrymen who once stood under the cities of Xuzhou, Fengyang, Yuezhou, Changsha, and Jingzhou. They were a group of a few or a dozen people, gathering and dispersing from time to time. The artillery on the city walls were all fired with live ammunition, and their shooting was completely inaccurate. There was almost no way to deal with these scattered soldiers.

Tunqi became even more angry when he saw these provocative Ming army vests, but there was nothing he could do. If he sent troops to attack now, he would be courting death, so he had to hold back.

Five or six miles away from the city wall, or even further away, the Ming army, with flags of various colors and countless soldiers, mules, horses and vehicles, were like a tide, pouring in from the shore. Densely packed small groups began to set up camp eight miles away from the city wall.

Further away, on the flat dirt road leading from the north bank of the river to the north and east of Wuchang City, there were endless Ming soldiers, tens of thousands of civilian laborers, and mules, horses, and ox carts, coming in a continuous stream, and there was no end in sight for the continuous team.

Tunqi, Aljin and Tong Yanghe looked at the Ming army in the distance, their faces becoming extremely heavy. It was not that they did not know that the Ming Emperor had so many soldiers, but they were surprised at the other side's mobilization ability.

Such a powerful army could only be compared to the Eight Banners Army. Moreover, how did the Ming Emperor mobilize so many civilians in Huguang Province in just one month?

"Pass on this general's order. All units must be on high alert. There must be no omissions, and we must not let the Ming army take advantage of any loopholes!" Tunqi frowned, then turned to look at Aljin and said:

"Aljin, you must personally deploy soldiers to guard every tower. No mistakes are allowed."

"Zhe!" Aljin responded immediately.

However, the situation did not completely collapse. Tunqi had already learned Zhu Cilang's previous strategy of defending the city, and the plan of "blocking the enemy at every step, building strong defenses and clearing the fields" still played a significant role.

Although the Ming army made rapid progress, the Qing army had already plundered, burned and cut down all the people, food, and trees near Wuchang City, and the Ming army could not obtain any supplies in the surrounding area.

Today, the area around Wuchang City is bare, with white ashes everywhere from burned grass and trees. This means that if the Ming army wants to obtain firewood and horse feed, it must split its troops elsewhere.

The same was true for the wood needed to build siege equipment. The Qing army mobilized tens of thousands of soldiers and horses in the woods and hilltops within a radius of more than ten miles, and it took a month to burn and chop down all the woods. This would greatly delay the Ming army's attack.

Zhu Cilang was not surprised by this. This was just a routine operation of the defenders. If he could do it, the Qing army could naturally do it as well.

He concentrated most of his main forces to besiege Wuchang City, naturally because of the city's vital military strategic position in the southwest region.

By this time, the cities of Wuchang Prefecture were no longer defended by the Qing army. By simply capturing Wuchang City, Zhu Cilang would be able to successfully close the gap in the Yangtze River defense line and truly seize the initiative in the southwest war. "What is the current situation in Wuchang City?"

In the afternoon of that day, Zhu Cilang led the main force of the Palace Army into the Central Army Camp north of Wuchang City. After arranging the deployment of various units during the siege, he immediately summoned all the generals to the Central Army Tent.

"Your Majesty, all the strongholds and watchtowers stationed along the Yangtze River and to the south, north, and east of Wuchang City have been cleared by our army."

Chang Denggui bowed to Zhu Cilang and clasped his hands. After a pause, he immediately continued to answer:

"The defenders of the surrounding towns had already fled into Wuchang City before our army arrived. According to the urgent report Chen Fu just sent back from the east, the towns east of Wuchang Prefecture, including Xingguo Prefecture, are already in ruins.

The Qing troops originally stationed there seem to have withdrawn to Wuchang City overnight, but hundreds of Green Camp soldiers, unwilling to continue aiding the tyrant, fled and are now being investigated.

Chang Denggui, the commander of the central army, still enjoyed Zhu Cilang's trust, and all matters on the battlefield, big or small, would pass through his hands. After answering Zhu Cilang's questions, he continued to report on the latest progress and deployment of the various divisions of the army in Wuchang Prefecture.

Upon hearing this, all the generals, both big and small, in the big tent frowned. Even Zhu Cilang frowned and sat upright, speechless for a moment when he heard what the Qing army had done.

After all, it was not difficult for him to imagine what happened to the surrounding people when the Qing army fortified these places and cleared the fields.

After a pause, Chang Denggui added:
"According to the military intelligence reported by the Jinyiwei and the Night Guards, the garrison troops who retreated into Wuchang City from the various towns east and south of Wuchang Prefecture numbered approximately 10,000. The original garrison troops in the city were nearly 30,000. The total number of Qing troops in Wuchang City should be close to 40,000...

However, the Qing troops surrounding Wuchang City have now been completely eliminated by our army, and all the important transportation routes to the north have also been controlled by our army. Wuchang has become a completely isolated city. It is only a matter of time before we can capture it."

"Lin Changfeng, you led the troops to fight a battle with the Eight Banners today. Tell me what the specific situation was?" After listening to Chang Denggui's report, Zhu Cilang turned his head to look at Lin Changfeng, and his slightly frowned brows relaxed a little.

"Wuchang City is so important. The troops Dorgon left for Tunqi must be the elite of the elite!"

Upon hearing this, Lin Changfeng immediately bent down, clasped his hands towards Zhu Cilang, and said with considerable pride:
"In reply to your Majesty, a considerable number of the Eight Banners cavalrymen I engaged in battle with today were the most elite Bayalas among the Eight Banners soldiers in Wuchang City. These Tartars are extremely formidable, but my Heavenly Cavalry is no less capable than them!"

"The fighting power of Bayala should not be underestimated. The success today is only because the Qing army has been defeated repeatedly and is afraid."

After hearing this, Zhu Cilang immediately stated his own conclusion, but he did not completely deny Lin Changfeng and the Tianqi Army. He then nodded and said:
"It is indeed remarkable that the Heavenly Cavalry Army was able to repel this sudden attack by the Qing army with only double their strength, but we must never underestimate the enemy. The Qing army's power is still there."

Lin Changfeng felt a chill on his back when he heard this. He immediately bent his waist even lower and said, "Your Majesty, I am teaching you that I will never underestimate the enemy or treat the lives of my soldiers as a joke."

As soon as Lin Changfeng finished speaking, Zhu Cilang immediately asked Chang Denggui to report to the generals the military intelligence that the scouts had discovered. Chang Denggui then continued to report:

"I sent several hundred scouts to the city walls today. Although I didn't get a thorough look, the defenses of Wuchang City are indeed as the intelligence sent back by the Embroidered Uniform Guards indicates. The surrounding areas have been reinforced and repaired, using our own methods. The moat has also been widened.

Moreover, I interrogated those Green Camp soldiers who voluntarily rebelled, including two guerrillas and several officers. They all confessed that the situation in Wuchang City was not much different from what we knew. Before withdrawing his troops, Dorgon provided the city with huge reinforcements and countless food and supplies.

Now, there are as many as 50,000 laborers in the city, as well as hundreds of craftsmen, food, firewood and weapons, which are enough to support these tens of thousands of people to defend the city for eight or nine months.

In addition, Dorgon also provided Wuchang City with dozens of artillery pieces. Tong Yanghe had also previously stored a large amount of military equipment in the city, including nearly a hundred thousand-jin cannons..."

Upon hearing this, the generals knew that the upcoming siege would be a fierce battle. The Qing army was so well prepared that even Lin Changfeng, who had always been full of confidence, was filled with worry after hearing this news in person.

Before seeing the heavily guarded Wuchang City by the Qing army with their own eyes, the Ming army leaders looked down on Tunqi and Tong Yanghe because of their previous victories - the Tartars were strong in field battles but absolutely no match for defending a city. With dozens or even hundreds of cannons, Wuchang City could be taken in a few days.

But judging from today's situation, the Qing army was well prepared. After learning that the area around Wuchang City had been burned to ashes, and seeing with their own eyes how Wuchang City had been reinforced by the Qing army, the generals all calmed down.

After all, such a thorough "fortified city" and such a strong city cannot be easily blown open by artillery.

It can only be said that human weaknesses are universal. The Qing army thought that the Ming army was good at defending the city, but was weak in field battles and underestimated the enemy. The Ming army almost did the same and made the big mistake of underestimating the enemy.

"In just one month, they've managed to prepare everything so well. They shouldn't be underestimated!"

Zhu Cilang looked around, sighed slightly, his face tensed, and then said sternly:
"However, now that Wuchang Prefecture has been destroyed by these dogs, even the smoke of cooking has ceased. How could the Qing army not be fully prepared? If I could blow the city open with a few cannons, then the Qing army would not have the strength to enter the pass."

After hearing this, the generals nodded. The strength of the Qing army was still strong and could not be ignored. This was the consensus of the Ming army, but the generals had temporarily forgotten it because of the victory.

"But inside Wuchang City, I have already made preparations." Zhu Cilang said, then suddenly paused, turned his head to look at Zhou Shixian and Liu Tichun, and said:

"Shixian, tell me about Wang Tizhong."

Zhou Shixian obeyed the order and immediately stepped out of the line. He bowed and clasped his hands towards Zhu Cilang and said, "Yes, Your Majesty!"

Inside the big tent, all the generals turned their attention to Zhou Shixian upon hearing this. He paused for a moment, then immediately said, "We've contacted Wang Tizhong recently, but the terms of surrender haven't been agreed upon yet!"

"Does Wang Tizhong really want to rebel?" Zhang Huangyan couldn't help but ask:

"If he wants to rebel, and is putting forward conditions now, isn't he afraid of His Majesty's wrath? Moreover, what conditions does he want? Could it be that this bastard wants His Majesty to make him a prince?"

The other generals in the tent were already skeptical upon hearing this, and almost simultaneously expressed their doubts. They had not heard of this before, so how could they accept it so quickly?
However, Zhu Cilang did nothing wrong in this matter. At that time, the army's confidentiality work was very backward, and this matter was originally very confidential. It could even save the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers at a critical moment. Of course, the fewer people who knew about it, the better.

Upon seeing this, Zhu Cilang's face immediately regained its serious expression. The generals in the tent fell silent upon seeing this, and he then said in a deep voice:

"If Wang Tizhong truly led his tens of thousands of Green Camp soldiers to rebel, opened the city gates, and surrendered Wuchang Prefecture to me, helping me to kill the tens of thousands of traitors and nearly ten thousand Eight Banner soldiers within the city, I could naturally make him a marquis, or even make him governor of a province. So what?"

After hearing this, the generals dared not speak any more, and at the same time, they understood the seriousness of the matter. Moreover, at this point, they had no idea that this was a chess piece that His Majesty had laid long ago.

However, this chess piece is in Cao's camp, but his heart is wavering. He has probably been watching and waiting for the situation to become clear.

"Those Manchus are extremely hateful to our Ming Dynasty, and they put their own interests above the interests of millions of Han people, especially those Han generals who assisted the tyrant in his atrocities.

Twenty years ago, Tong Yanghe and his ilk betrayed the Ming Dynasty. To save their lives, they aided the tyrant. These people must be hacked into pieces and executed by slow slicing. If Wang Tizhong can do this, I have no objection."

Upon hearing this, the faces of the generals suddenly turned heavy. These generals in the tent had basically experienced the entire history of the Qing Dynasty's rampage in Liaodong. Many of them were unknown young generals and soldiers back then, but now they have led an army and become the pillars of the army.

For them, those blood feuds were vivid in their minds and impossible to forget, especially Lin Changfeng, who had killed enemies on the Liaodong battlefield and witnessed the miserable defeat of the Ming army.

"Your Majesty is absolutely right. Tong Yanghe and his ilk aided and abetted the tyrant and killed countless loyal ministers and generals of our Ming Dynasty, as well as civilians. Their crimes are unforgivable and they must be cut into pieces." Lin Changfeng said with an unhappy look on his face.

Zhang Huangyan seemed to suddenly understand, and then said:
"Your Majesty, this plan is truly brilliant. Even if we can't really persuade Wang Tizhong to surrender, or even if we don't really want to persuade Wang Tizhong to surrender, there will be no problem. As long as the news gets out, it will definitely shake the determination of the lower-level officers of the Green Camp Army, especially those Green Camp soldiers to defend the city!

Among the main generals of the Qing army, the Manchus would never surrender, and the Green Camp generals would never surrender unless the city was about to fall.

However, if Your Majesty were to widely publicize such news, then regardless of whether it was true or not, suspicion and estrangement would inevitably arise between the Manchu and Han generals, and even between the soldiers of each army.

"Attacking the heart is the best strategy, that's all. Your Majesty is truly a master of strategy, a master of strategy!"

(End of this chapter)