Strategy for the Revitalization of the Late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 207: The Panicked Qing Army

With the sufficient preparation of the Five Army Headquarters, the military meeting of the "Northern Expedition" was quickly concluded. Chen Fu and Gao Yigong immediately set off, leading their personal guards to leave Yuezhou and return to their own defense zone.

Generals Ma Shixiu, Jin Shenghuan, Li Guo, Liu Rukui and others from the Zuozhen and Zhongzheng camps followed closely behind, heading north to Xiangyang, Chengtian and other places where the army was stationed, and began to mobilize troops and prepare for battle.

The troops deployed by Chen Fu and Gao Yigong in southern Sichuan and Chongqing were now ready to go, because there was no need for the Palace Front Central Army, Palace Front Left Army, Heavenly Cavalry Army, and Beijing Camp to make a long journey, and they had already started the transportation of food and fodder and the conscription of civilians early. These two armies could march north to attack the Qing at any time.

According to the deployment of the "Northern Expedition", their actions should attract the attention of the Qing army stationed in Baoning Prefecture before the "Eastern Army", and then the Eastern Army will launch a surprise attack on Xiangyang and Nanyang to disrupt the judgment of the Qing army.

Now, the Palace Front Central Army, the Palace Front Left Army, the Heavenly Cavalry Army, and the Beijing Camp have been resting in Yuezhou Prefecture for more than ten days. They are waiting for the supplies and conscripted laborers for the Northern Expedition to arrive. The Northern Expedition will begin in mid-to-late March.

That morning, in the Tianwu Left Camp garrison, three miles southeast of Yuezhou City, more than two thousand soldiers were singing military songs at the top of their lungs. The golden sunlight shone on every soldier's face, and the entire barracks was filled with an excited atmosphere.

The order to go to war from the Five Military Commandery has been passed down, and today is their last day in this barracks. These soldiers, who have been waiting for the Northern Expedition to destroy the invaders and have been idle to the point of being sick, are all extremely happy, and their joy is beyond words.

After all, the amount of training they were doing now was nothing compared to the initial training session, so they were naturally full of energy but had nowhere to vent it.

However, the army could go out at any time, and Zhu Cilang could not let them train at full strength, otherwise when they needed to march quickly, the soldiers' combat effectiveness would be greatly reduced.

Of course, before going on the expedition, Zhu Cilang also issued a special order to the Ministry of War to allocate special subsidies, which were organized by the Military Affairs Department and Logistics Department of each camp to purchase meat and vegetables to reward all the soldiers.

You know, in the monotonous and depressing environment of the military camp, every soldier is actually under high pressure, and appropriate intervention and relief must be carried out, otherwise unrest is very likely to occur.

Zhu Cilang, a man from later times, paid more attention to the mental health of soldiers than anyone else of his time. He even ordered the training corps to try to organize various exercises in the barracks and adapt interesting military songs. He particularly supported innovations that integrated training into exercise and requested that these contents be included in the "Recruit Training Manual."

At this time, Zhao Zhengdong was standing on the observation deck of the barracks with his two captains and four centurions, looking at the soldiers who were singing. He cursed, "It's so fucking ugly," and then burst into laughter.

He was promoted after the "Battle of Wuchang" and had stayed in Yuezhou for a period of time before that. At that time, Zhu Cilang personally issued an order to transfer officers at the rank of Qianzong from various armies to the newly opened "Ming Dynasty Officer School" under the Military Academy in Yuezhou Prefecture to study, and at the same time assist the Five Army Governor's Office to improve the "Officer Manual" and "Recruit Training Manual".

Zhao Zhengdong was born as a leader of track trackers. He was eloquent and had rich combat experience. During the review process of the two manuals, he had a heated debate with other officers. Due to his outstanding performance, he was promoted as an exception and became a member of the reviewing officer group, participating in a series of more complicated tasks.

Now, thanks to their joint efforts, the "Officer Academy" has completed its first round of reforms, and Gu Defu has benefited from it, becoming a reserve officer. Zhao Zhengdong also participated in the compilation of the "Officer Manual", and the help he provided to him was naturally immeasurable.

However, with the start of the Northern Expedition, most of the instructors with rich combat experience returned to their respective battalions. The Officers' School could only maintain the most basic operations at this time. Under Zhu Cilang's orders, it was checking for omissions and summarizing work experience.

If the Ming Dynasty wants to complete the modernization of its army, it must be brave enough to try, and it must try on the basis of actual combat, and be mentally prepared that the reform may not show results in the short term, only then can it be successful in the end.

Standardized training methods, professionalization of officers, and standardization of weapons and equipment are the most basic requirements for mass-producing a uniform and powerful military.

During his time at the "Ming Dynasty Military Academy", Zhao Zhengdong gradually mastered the key points of handling official documents and was very adept at handling interpersonal relationships in official circles. He is now highly appreciated by his superiors and will be further promoted after this war.

As the soldiers injured and killed in the "Huguang Campaign" and the "Wuchang Battle" were gradually properly arranged, under the personal supervision of Zhu Cilang, their retirement and pensions were handled in an orderly manner. The soldiers in the army all developed an unprecedented sense of belonging and honor to the barracks and the Ming Dynasty.

After all, the benefits of being a soldier are real and visible. Not only do you have high pay and status in normal times, but after being injured and discharged, you can also be arranged to work as a soldier instructor in workshops, trading companies, and village forts according to specific circumstances. If you have military merits and are allocated dozens of acres of land, you can also ask tenants to farm it.

For those who were the only son in the family, or had many children, even if they died on the battlefield, the court would help raise their children. It could be said that the court was responsible to the end, which they had never dared to think about before.

With such generous treatment, the army became the most coveted career not only for the hungry people in the mountainous areas of Yunnan and Guizhou, Huguang, Zhejiang and Fujian, but even in Jiangxi and Nanzhili, everyone was scrambling to join the army, fearing that they would fall behind.

You know, this is not just a matter of good treatment and high income. The spiritual construction of the army, which Zhu Cilang has always attached importance to, also played an important role in it.

After a series of supporting policies, the current military discipline of the Ming army can be described as excellent. Being a soldier is no longer a hopeless and dead end, nor is it a dead "soldier" in the eyes of the people. Instead, it has become an honor, a hero in the hearts of the people, and everyone yearns for it.

The military households whose families were settled in villages and forts in various places were the best guarantee for a prosperous life for the family. In various places, there was even a trend of marrying daughters to the sons of military households.

After Zhao Zhengdong finished laughing, he immediately instructed the officer beside him:

"Damn it, stop singing after this one. What's the point of a bunch of goose-voiced men singing? After they finish breakfast, let them go back to the barracks and prepare for tomorrow's march."

"Yes!" An officer behind Zhao Zhengdong immediately bowed and clasped his hands.

Zhao Zhengdong paused and continued:
"Today, it's not just them. We can't relax either. Tomorrow, the entire battalion will be heading north. We must strictly follow the battalion commander's orders and arrange all specific matters. This time we're traveling north by ship, so please take good care of those soldiers who are seasick and find a way to help them adapt to the environment on board."

Now, the time for the army's northern expedition has been set. If nothing unexpected happens, it will basically be after the temperature has completely warmed up. The Qing court has actually noticed this.

After all, both sides had a tacit understanding of a war of this scale, but the Qing court had no way of knowing the specific troop movements and deployments.

According to the plan of the Five Military Commandery, these troops will set out and sail north, and will temporarily station in Chengtian Prefecture, on the one hand to wait for the action of the Western Route Army, and on the other hand to adapt to the water environment. After the army surrounds Xiangyang City, they will go directly upstream along the Baihe River to surround Nanyang. Waterways are still the most important marching route for the Northern Expedition Army.

As the officers under Zhao Zhengdong came out one after another to give orders, the soldiers quickly stopped and marched in rows.

Gu Defu was naturally among the officers who died. After he was promoted to the position of captain, he had been working diligently and following Zhao Zhengdong even more closely. Some time ago, in order to have a son, he even got special permission from Zhao Zhengdong to run home to hug his wife every night, which made the whole battalion envious.

Among the officers of the same period as him, there were some who eventually became soldiers in local camps. Those who took up posts with their families were also properly settled by the Ministry of War and basically no longer had to risk losing their heads in the future.

After all, with the situation having developed to this point, Gu Defu had no doubt that the Tatars would be defeated. The soldiers in those local camps were weak in combat, so there was naturally no need for them to go north to help in the battle.

Of course, he also knew that the salaries of officers in the local camps were much lower than those of the captains of the Palace Army, and there was no room for advancement. However, apart from these, there didn't seem to be any disadvantages.

Gu Defu was thinking about all these messy things in his mind, and he was a little distracted as he directed the soldiers back to their respective barracks. After giving instructions to several of his flag commanders, he went outside alone to smoke a cigarette.

After completing the training, the soldiers all changed into new uniforms. The uniforms of the musketeers, combat soldiers, and cavalrymen were of different colors, making them easily recognizable. When they were lined up, they were neatly arranged and looked very energetic.

After these more than 2,000 soldiers had tidied up their barracks, checked their equipment, and sorted out other supplies in the barracks according to the battalion commander's deployment, they quickly returned to their respective barracks in an orderly formation, ready to rest until the evening before starting the evening's departure banquet.

"We're getting ready to go, Lao Gu. How many Tartar heads do you think we can chop off this time?"

Hu Laoqi was also outside the barracks at this time, watching the soldiers who were coming into the barracks one after another. He was smoking and talking with Gu Defu, with a big smile on his face, looking eager to try.

"I'm afraid we won't have many Tartar heads to chop off this time. With hundreds of thousands of troops marching north, not a single one can be given." Gu Defu sneered and said with some emotion:
"Those new recruits are all just bastards. You know what I mean? When the battle breaks out, they'll probably be even more fierce than us. They'll probably chop off the Tartars' heads."

After hearing this, Hu Laoqi couldn't help but frown for a moment. He didn't know why Gu Defu suddenly wanted to scold those bastards. The other party was not usually that kind of person!

"Hey, Old Hu, what's that phrase called? 'A beast isn't afraid of a tiger, right?'" Gu Defu took a deep breath, looking as if he was racking his brains but couldn't remember. "Damn it, it's called 'a newborn calf isn't afraid of a tiger!'" Hu Laoqi finished, then burst into laughter. "Hahaha, hahaha, Old Gu, you even got third place on the test and won a fifty-tael reward."

Gu Defu felt a little uncomfortable when he heard this, but he was not the kind of soft persimmon that would be manipulated by others, so he immediately said:
"You son of a bitch, you're just teasing me. If you're capable, go take the test and get the fifty taels of silver reward."

When Hu Laoqi heard this, he became a little dispirited. Of course he wanted a reward so that his son's marriage would be more glorious, but up to now, including the military merit rewards, he had not saved up 50 taels of silver. He had originally wanted to find an opportunity to go out and have fun in the future, but now he has completely lost interest.

Of course, this is only temporary. In the melting pot of the army, his interest will soon be restored.

"Why are you afraid of not having money? When we conquer Xiangyang and Nanyang, recapture Beijing, and kill all the Tartars, will you still be afraid of not having money?"

Although Hu Laoqi was stubborn, his face was filled with infinite longing as he spoke, and he quickly added:
"Those Tartar dogs are like grasshoppers after autumn, they won't be able to jump for many more days. We will definitely win this Northern Expedition. When the time comes, we will kill them all, and then we brothers will retire and return to the village to serve as peasant soldiers and officers. You are more promising than me, maybe you can go to the county town and become a general!"

"Old Hu, you are really daydreaming. Being an official? Where can you get an official position?" Although Gu Defu felt proud when he heard it, he still shook his head and sneered:

"Do you really think it's that easy to be an official? By then, we can be instructors in the village, which would be great. However, after we finish this battle, we will probably go straight to Beijing. By then, we will have killed all the Tartars and there will be no more fighting."

"It would be great if this war really didn't end. We could pack up our weapons, go home to farm, and enjoy the peaceful and prosperous times we've fought for. What a beautiful life that would be!"

As Hu Laoqi spoke, his face was once again filled with longing, and he said devoutly:
"Under Your Majesty's rule, the world will surely be peaceful and prosperous. Furthermore, the grain tax per acre in the village is not much. We can at least be allocated 50 acres of high-quality farmland. How much grain can we produce every year?"

Now, among the armies of the Ming Dynasty, from the generals to the ordinary soldiers, no one has any doubt that they can win, and no doubt that the Tartars will be defeated, and that everyone can live a good life after retiring.

They all believed that the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Cilang, could not only lead them to defeat the barbaric and brutal Tartars, but also create a great prosperous era. This had become the belief of the entire army.

In contrast, at this time, in the northern provinces, on the city walls of various prefectures, and in the major military camps, whether they were real Manchu soldiers, the Eight Banners of Han, bondservants, or Green Camp soldiers, whether they were Manchu nobles or ordinary bannermen, they all seemed to have lost their previous confidence in victory.

This is the change that Zhu Cilang brought to the world. The myth of the invincibility of the Eight Banners Army of the Qing Dynasty has been broken by him!

At this time, on the battlefield front, in the Nanyang City, which had barely recovered its vitality in the past two years due to the governance of Dashun, the bustling streets were now deserted, and the doors of the shops on both sides were all closed, and even the windows were broken.

Due to the large number of Qing troops stationed here, as well as the famine and commercial decline caused by rising food prices, this transportation hub connecting the Central Plains and Huguang has completely lost its vitality and has become a huge barracks.

At this time, the Dongting Lake Navy had already moved north and captured the large and small ferry crossings north of Xiangyang City, completely cutting off the waterway from Nanyang to Xiangyang. They left thousands of soldiers and more than 50 warships of various sizes in the river, patrolling day and night and harassing the city from time to time. This caused the Qing army in Nanyang City to be in a panic, seeing enemies everywhere, and there was no peace for a single day.

If it were not for the fact that the major water systems were not connected further north, the Dongting Lake Navy's attack target would not have been limited to Nanyang. The so-called navy of the Qing army had long been wiped out by the Dongting Lake Navy. Now the Ming army was completely in an empty land in the Han River basin, and they had fired artillery at Nanyang more than once to show their military power.

Of course, the waterway in the upper reaches of the Baihe River is very shallow, and the warships sent by the Dongting Lake Navy are not the main force, but the threat to the Qing army is not small, and even very deadly.

Because, for the Qing army, the attack of the Ming navy on its transportation lines was the most fatal. This required the Qing army to take a detour to allocate food and military supplies, and rely more on land, which greatly increased the cost on the road.

As the Ming army's activities in Nanyang Prefecture became more and more frequent, uprisings broke out in various parts of southern Henan. Many people, under the leadership of gentry, chose to go south after the uprising and become part of the northern expedition, waiting for the battle to recover Henan.

For this reason, Gao Di, the highest-ranking general of the Green Camp stationed in Nanyang, had to ask Dorgon to increase the Green Camp garrison in various cities in southern Henan, and at the same time request the other side to send additional Eight Banners soldiers to assist in the defense.

In fact, as civil uprisings continued in the northern provinces, the Qing army had to increase its military investment. The additional expenses of each province had to rely on the heavy taxes levied by the local governments, which in turn led to more violent civil uprisings.

However, as the main battlefield shifted to the Central Plains, the entire south was not successfully captured. The financial pressure on the Qing court was very great, and it was actually helpless to let the local governments raise food and wages on their own.

Dorgon even wanted Wu Sangui, Shang Kexi, Kong Youde, and the Green Camp troops stationed in Shaanxi and Gansu to raise their own food and wages locally, but he finally gave up because of Meng Qiaofang's dissuasion. Shaanxi and Gansu were then coordinated by Meng Qiaofang, while Shang Kexi and Kong Youde were allocated by the Ministry of Revenue.

After all, if Wu Sangui was allowed to stay, it would still be a relief. Kong Youde and the Green Camp troops left behind in Shaanxi and Gansu could raise their own military pay and defend their territory, which would certainly save a lot of military expenses. However, doing so would be tantamount to allowing the other side to secede. The Qing court could not let go easily until the very last moment.

They wanted the Han generals to work harder and fight against Emperor Ming. Increasing their full strength could certainly facilitate this, and then they could reap the benefits. But if these Han people turned against them, the situation would be even worse?

It was not just Meng Qiaofang who expressed concern about this action. Yue Le also wrote to Dorgon. Although he did not dare to say it explicitly, he hinted at it meaningfully.

After all, Wu Sangui's actions behind the scenes did not escape his eyes.

But Yue Le was not sure about the direction of the war. Li Dingguo and Liu Wenxiu had killed Wu Sangui's secret envoy, which meant that cooperation was impossible. But Wu Sangui's intentions were still unclear to him.

Wu Sangui also heard some rumors through the news sent back by Hu Xinshui. However, Wu Sangui's influence in the Qing court was not great, and he could not exert much power to influence or push this matter further.

But after learning about this, he changed his mind and realized that if the Qing Dynasty lost the battle, it would probably perish. He became more eager to move closer to Nanjing.

You know, as Zhu Cilang's "food war" gradually took effect, food prices in northern provinces soared. Even in the grain-producing areas of North China, food prices were more than doubled compared with previous years.

Under such circumstances, because the war was imminent, the Qing court did not reduce the additional corvee labor at all, and it even became absolutely non-negotiable. In order to raise war resources, it even began to target the bannermen, and it could be said that it would use every possible means.

In other words, Dorgon and other Manchu princes and nobles once again exposed their true colors when they were outside the Great Wall. The entire Eight Banners were actually nothing more than their slaves.

At this time, not only ordinary Han self-cultivating farmers, but also the Eight Banners soldiers had little grain left after paying taxes. If they wanted to maintain their lives, they could only "borrow" from the nobles in the banner.

Therefore, the Manchus and Guizhous, who were originally big slave owners and had accumulated countless properties and lands, started a new round of land annexation at this time when the Qing Dynasty was in crisis. Not only did their wealth not decrease sharply due to the unfavorable war situation, but a lot of it even increased.

Those bannermen who had originally made huge profits by exploiting the Han people's bondservants also lost the property they looted due to the two previous military failures. The bondservants in their families suffered heavy losses. The men were all fighting outside, so they had no spare energy to farm, and the harvest naturally became a problem.

Many of the bondservants in the families of the Eight Banners soldiers had suffered heavy casualties in the previous two wars. This time when they went south, they no longer planned to bring the bondservants with them, for fear that the labor force in their families would be lost.

In order to defeat the Ming army, Dorgon issued several orders, asking the Eight Banners Army to intensify their training and stay in the barracks day and night, which made them unable to take care of the fields at home.

This is not the most important thing. Because of the lack of manpower, the bondservants in their families have to serve in various military workshops, and the shortage of manpower in various places is getting worse and worse.

However, this war was not entirely bad news for the Qing army.

As the battlefield shifted to Henan, Shandong, and Shaanxi, these Green Camp soldiers and Eight Banner soldiers from outside the Great Wall or northern provinces no longer suffered from plagues in the army in the summer and large numbers of soldiers lost their combat effectiveness as they did in the south.

But from the time Dorgon received the urgent military reports sent back by Gao Di in Nanyang and Yue Le in Xi'an, to the time when the various Eight Banners armies in Beijing were regrouping and preparing to march south, the panic within the Qing army had not been alleviated at all, and the morale of the two previous southern expeditions was gone!

(End of this chapter)