Strategy for the Revitalization of the Late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 209: Winning Strategy
North of Xiangyang City, across the Han River, several trenches had been dug across the plain, covered in flags from the Loyalty Camp. North of these trenches, just two or three miles from the outer walls of Xiangyang City, the artillery of the Palace Army was gathering and establishing positions.

The Han River makes a big turn north of Xiangyang City. Because it is located in a plain and the water flows slowly, the river channel here is very wide. Even the narrowest part is more than 500 steps, and the widest part is even close to four miles.

However, precisely because the Xiangyang section of the Han River is located in a plain, the river channel is wide and the water flow is very gentle, when there is no wind and no waves, even a raft can easily cross it, not to mention the giant ships of the Dongting Lake Navy!

In order to intimidate the Qing defenders in Xiangyang City, Zhu Cilang sent thousands of naval forces and hundreds of ships to attack the sandbar in the middle of the river northeast of Xiangyang City, just as Li Guo led his troops to besiege Xiangyang City. In one fell swoop, he wiped out hundreds of Qing naval forces that had been operating there for a long time.

However, this sandbar in the river is not close to Xiangyang City. Although the artillery on the island can bombard the outer walls of Xiangyang City, the attack effect is very limited.

Therefore, Lekedehun, the commander of the Eight Banners Army in Xiangyang, only stationed hundreds of Green Camp soldiers and a few Eight Banners soldiers to supervise the battle on the island. He originally planned to withdraw immediately after the war broke out, but he did not expect that he would be directly wiped out by the Dongting Lake Navy.

The Dongting Lake Navy also relied on this sandbar in the river and the dock facilities on it to attack everywhere, constantly harassing the Qing army's military deployment in Nanyang Prefecture, forcing tens of thousands of Qing troops to dispatch troops and take turns on duty in the entire Baihe, Qingshui, and Dushui river basins, and they were basically seeing enemies everywhere.

Lekedehun stood on the city wall of Xiangyang City. After squinting his eyes at the flags of the Loyalty Camp army fluttering in the wind in the north, he turned his head to look at Shang Kexi who was standing next to him, and then handed the secret report from Dorgon to him.

As the Qing army entered the pass, Dorgon's power grew, and he became the supreme ruler of the Qing Dynasty. Naturally, he did not forget Lekedehun, who had suffered because of him, so he immediately restored Lekedehun's royal status and conferred him the title of Duoluo Beile.

Of course, this included both winning over Lekedehun and compensating his supporter, Lekedehun's elder brother Adali. The most important thing was to show the Qing court that there would be rewards for following his regent Dorgon.

As the war situation changed, the situation in the south became increasingly severe, and Dorgon's authority was damaged. He also accelerated the pace of promoting his confidants such as Lekedehun, and handed over the task of quelling the rebellion in North China and other places to them.

Because of his previous military achievements and Dorgon's appreciation, Lekedehun was soon promoted to Prince Shuncheng and led his troops south to support Xiangyang.

After Shang Kexi respectfully read the secret report and carefully handed it back, he asked:
"Shang Kexi, you've fought the Ming army many times before. You know their strength better than I do. Do you think the regent's strategy of holding firm is feasible?"

"In reply to your Highness, I believe that if the Regent can lead the main force south in time, this matter will be feasible." Shang Kexi paused and continued:

"The Ming Emperor and his so-called Palace Army are best at defending cities. Now, they're exploiting their weaknesses and abandoning their strengths. Leading their troops north is simply courting death. The Regent is using Xiangyang and Nanyang as bait. The Ming Emperor's army will be forced to halt at the city walls. The plains of the Han River are the perfect place for our army to engage in a decisive battle."

After hearing this, Lekedehun picked up the secret report sent by Dorgon and read it, then turned his head to look at the Ming army outside the city and said:

"Aside from the initial small-scale harassment, the Ming Emperor has yet to launch any serious military action. His main force has only just arrived on the south bank. We should have no problem defending Xiangyang for several months. Furthermore, the Ming army doesn't seem determined to fight us to the death or capture the city at any cost.

But the Ming Emperor is very cunning, and now he has the navy at his disposal, relying on the Han River waterway, and he can mobilize troops, horses, and food very quickly. I am afraid that he is doing this deliberately to confuse us and make us let down our guard."

In fact, facing Zhu Cilang's Northern Expedition, everyone from Dorgon, Ajige, Duoduo, Hong Chengchou, Zu Dashou to Lekedehun, Yue Le, Wu Sangui, Shang Kexi and others had reached a consensus: it was necessary to promote a decisive battle on the plains and annihilate as many Ming cavalry units as possible, otherwise the situation would only become increasingly unfavorable.

In other words, the Manchu high-ranking officials had already realized the huge war potential of the Dingwu court at this time. They had to take advantage of their military advantages and take advantage of the Ming army's active attack to launch a swift counterattack in order to reverse the situation, otherwise they would be waiting for death.

But the problem is that the initiative of this war is now in the hands of Zhu Cilang. If Dorgon wants to promote the war, he must first defend the two important military towns of Xiangyang and Nanyang. This is a headache for the Qing army leaders.

However, it was precisely because the Qing court focused all its attention on Xiangyang-Nanyang that Baoning-Hanzhong experienced what Chen Fu had questioned - no movement!
At this time, Shang Kexi continued to analyze:
"Although the Ming Emperor boasts of a 500,000-man army heading north, his actual combat-ready troops are likely no more than 150,000, or at most 200,000. Of these, the truly elite troops, especially the cavalry, likely do not exceed 30,000. As long as the Regent leads his troops south, the advantage in this battle will undoubtedly be on the side of the Qing."

But Lekedehun still couldn't make a judgment, or rather, he didn't dare to make a judgment easily. He thought for a while and said:

"Emperor Ming is not someone who is afraid of a tough battle. If he sees an opportunity, he might really launch an all-out attack. Wuchang City was captured in less than two months. Xiangyang and Nanyang are far less fortified than Wuchang, so I'm afraid they can hold out for even less time."

Although Lekedehun was not a veteran, as a minister of the Qing court, he was actually very clear about how difficult the current situation of the Qing Dynasty was. Although the North also controlled half of the country, its materials and manpower could not be compared with those of the South. If the offensive of the Ming army could not be quickly defeated and the confidence of the army could not be rebuilt, the Qing Dynasty would probably be gone.

After all, the Ming army currently had sufficient supplies, and although its cavalry was small, it was powerful, and it had endless manpower to replenish. However, the Qing Dynasty was becoming increasingly weak, and there were still rising rebel forces in the rear. This had already made the Qing court too weak to fight the Ming army for a long time.

Lekedehun could even see that if this war could not be won quickly, the Qing Dynasty might not be able to survive more than three years inside the Great Wall and would have to pack up and return to its hometown outside the Great Wall. It might even end up being completely wiped out and unable to even return outside the Great Wall.

Now, the only hope of the Qing Dynasty is to rely on its powerful cavalry, just like before outside the Great Wall, to defeat the main force of the Ming army on the plains and ultimately turn the entire war situation around.

"But no matter what, we must defend Xiangyang City. No one will survive if we fight!" Lekedehun thought for a while, finally sighed deeply, and said slowly: "Send someone to report the military situation here back to Beijing immediately."

Meanwhile, in Jinan Prefecture, Duoduo had just received a secret report from Dorgon, instructing him to follow through with his original plan and send Kong Youde to feign surrender to Gao Jie and Zhang Mingzhen in order to confuse Zhu Cilang's judgment.

However, by this time, Kong Youde and the Qing were no longer on the same page. He was always wary that the Qing would directly sideline him because of his poor performance on the battlefield, or use him as cannon fodder in a major war, like Geng Zhongming, who ended up with his head and body separated.

Now, he was sent to the Shandong front, responsible for garrisoning Jinan and Yanzhou. There was almost no threat in the south except the garrison troops of the Ming army, so he felt a little relieved.

But before he could rest assured for two days, Dorgon assigned him a new task: to pretend to surrender to the Ming court. He had originally been thinking about how to play both sides and wait and see, but now it was like someone handed him a pillow when he was sleepy.

However, Kong Youde only had the intention but not the courage, and he dared not act rashly. If he colluded with the Ming court secretly without Duoduo's permission, once discovered, Dorgon would definitely kill him without hesitation and let Xian Guoan, Ma Xiong and others take his place.

After Duoduo summoned Kong Youde to his presence, he immediately said:

"The Ming Emperor has already sent his entire army north. Kong Youde, do you think Monk Lekedehun is so confident that he can hold Xiangyang for three months?"

Kong Youde was stunned for a moment when he was suddenly asked such a question. He had hardly fought against the Ming army since the Huguang Campaign, or to be more precise, since he followed Duoduo's southern expedition. He also didn't know Shang Kexi's situation. How could he judge how long it would take the Ming army to capture Xiangyang?
However, he could actually guess a little. Comparing his own situation, although Shang Kexi's army had rested and recovered for over a year, and had suffered no further losses since the Huguang Campaign, at most, there were only about 7,000 or 8,000 men capable of fighting, with less than 5,000 of them being elite soldiers.

"Your servant, I feel that Emperor Ming's attack to the north is his own destruction. The tens of thousands of defenders in Xiangyang City will surely be able to hold out until the Regent comes south to rescue!" Kong Youde said word by word, feeling very uneasy.

He knew very well that Duoduo must have ulterior motives when asking him this question, but he had no idea what the other party meant. He could only act according to circumstances and find a way to preserve his troops and his life.

"Tell me the truth! I have also fought against Emperor Ming, so I naturally know that Xiangyang cannot be defended for long. What I want to ask is how long do you think Xiangyang can be defended for at most?" Duoduo said angrily.

"If the Prince Regent fails to lead his troops south in time, Xiangyang and Nanyang will likely be quickly captured by the Ming army. The passes near Nanyang will need garrisons to stabilize the surrounding area. If the Ming Emperor relies on his superior military strength and attacks with ten times the number of troops, even if the soldiers fight for their lives, they will probably only be able to hold out for three or four months at most."

In fact, Kong Youde was even more pessimistic. After the precedent of the "Battle of Wuchang", the Qing army no longer dared to underestimate the Ming army's siege capabilities. The only thing they were confident in was their cavalry.

Duoduo actually knew that it would be difficult to hold out for long in Xiangyang and Nanyang, but the Qing Dynasty was now on the defensive. If there were no traitors in the city, Lekedehun and Shang Kexi could really hold on to it. Based on his experience in attacking cities, they could definitely hold on for half a year.

"Although the Ming army's artillery is very powerful, Xiangyang and Nanyang have been reinforced for over a year. No matter how powerful the artillery is, it will not be easy to capture them. We should be able to hold on for half a year." Duoduo said, then suddenly changed the subject and said, "When the time comes, the Regent will lead his troops south. The Ming Emperor will surely sigh in despair and retreat. If you are willing to raise your flag, the Ming Emperor will definitely be tempted and may even see you as the only chance for a successful Northern Expedition."

"But Shandong is not guarded by strong troops now. If Emperor Ming leads his troops north quickly by water, wouldn't it be like entering an empty land?" Kong Youde naturally understood what Duoduo meant, but as an old fox, he still pretended to be confused.

"Hahaha, the Ming Emperor has gone around in circles. No matter how fast he is, can he be as fast as my Qing Dynasty vest?" Duoduo knew what Kong Youde was thinking, and then he said:

"The most crucial issue in this matter is not Shandong, but the Ming Emperor's swift withdrawal. This will give the Regent a chance to win. Although our Qing cavalry is strong, if the Ming army defends itself, it will still be difficult to easily achieve a breakthrough."

"Your Highness wants me to tip off Gao Jie and feign a flag-raising to lure the Emperor Ming into retreating with his troops." Kong Youde looked at Duoduo, his expression suddenly enlightened. "I understand now. This is intended to shake the Emperor Ming's resolve on the battlefield!"

"That's right. Once Emperor Ming encounters setbacks in his Northern Expedition, he will definitely try to find a way to reverse the defeat. As long as we pay attention to the details, there is no need to worry that he will be fooled. He will definitely think that he has found a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and will never expect that he fell into my trap from the very beginning." Duoduo continued.

After listening to Hong Chengchou's advice, Dorgon and Duoduo both concluded that Zhu Cilang was too young and impulsive to fight a war of attrition. Alternatively, Hong Chengchou, drawing lessons from the Ming army's previous defeat in a decisive battle with the main Qing army outside the Great Wall, intended to throw Zhu Cilang off balance.

After all, the Ming army currently has a lot of cavalry and a very powerful navy. If the morale of the soldiers is high, this battle will be difficult to fight, and it will be difficult for the cavalry to make a breakthrough on the plains.

But if Zhu Cilang were to be fooled and voluntarily withdraw his troops, his flaws would be exposed, and the Eight Banners would have room to maneuver.

In other words, Dorgon, Hong Chengchou and others intended to set up this trap to lure Zhu Cilang into it so that they could implement their highly anticipated winning strategy.

As for Zhu Cilang's actions in northern Sichuan, they didn't notice it at all.

Of course, on the battlefield, no one knows whether many things can be accomplished. Even the flaws revealed by the enemy are only valuable if they are discovered. Dorgon is just trying his best to create a battlefield suitable for the Eight Banners to fully display their strength.

Soon, Dengzhou, Neixiang, Xichuan, Zhenping, and even Nanzhao and other counties in Nanyang Prefecture were all on fire. After the main force of the Palace Army moved north, while besieging Xiangyang City and Nanyang City, it also sent out several detachments to recapture the surrounding towns as strategic fulcrums.

The Ming army captured many of these cities without losing a single soldier. In particular, the rebel forces from all over the country began to come down the mountain to reinforce and act as guides, which greatly accelerated the offensive of the Palace Army.

However, except for the Green Camp and gentry who cut their braids and defected as soon as the Ming army entered Henan, most others were watching and waiting for the final result, ready to follow whoever won.

Some of the Green Camp defenders in the various prefectures of Nanyang were still resisting, but facing the powerful Palace Army, without exception, none of them dared to send troops out of the city to harass, and even tried every possible means to prevent the Palace Army from attacking their cities.

The generals of the Green Camp garrisons in these cities, as well as the officials and gentry in the cities, were not actually loyal to the Qing court. It was just that the Manchu cavalry was indeed powerful. They all knew that half a year ago, the Tianqi Army had suffered a small-scale defeat in a battle with the Eight Banners Army. Now that the situation was not finalized, they were worried about the subsequent retaliation of the Qing army and did not dare to rebel openly.

The same is true for many counties and cities in eastern Henan, such as Runing Prefecture and Henan Prefecture, which are ready to move. The Green Camp defenders and officials among them are as still as a mountain. As long as the city is not lost, they will not be guilty. They only need to wait until the situation of the war becomes clear before making a decision.

As time went on, while Lekedehun and Shang Kexi, Chen Tai and Gao Di led their troops to defend Xiangyang and Nanyang respectively, Zhu Cilang did not order the army to attack the cities with all his might in order to avoid heavy losses to the army, which led to a stalemate in the situation.

As a result, the Green Camp defenders and officials in various parts of Henan seemed to have regained their confidence in the Qing Dynasty, and some defenders even began to attack the rebel forces operating outside the city.

However, although Zhu Cilang did not attack Xiangyang and Nanyang with all his strength, he did not take those small cities seriously at all. He did not even send out the Palace Army, but instead dispatched the Right Town troops on the flank to the north to quell the rebellion.

Liu Tichun personally led the troops to attack and demonstrated strong strength in the subsequent offensive. He quickly broke through the two county towns of Yuzhou and Tongbai held by the Green Camp soldiers, causing the confidence of the Qing army, which had just recovered some, to fall to the bottom again.

After Liu Tichun recovered Yuzhou and Tongbai counties and cleared the Qing troops in the city, he was transferred to Ye County by Zhu Cilang. The main force of the Palace Army was still divided into two parts and deployed near Nanyang. The troops of Zuozhen were deployed on the east side of Nanyang. The food and supplies of each part were transported by ships of the Dongting Lake Navy.

Chen Tai in Nanyang City originally wanted to send out scouts to investigate the battle situation in Henan Prefecture in the west, but the Ming army was strong and had sent more troops to defend in advance. Many of the Qing scouts were killed along the way, making it impossible to conduct a thorough reconnaissance, let alone obtain accurate military intelligence.

This was not just a dilemma faced by Chen Tai, but also by Lekedehun. As a result, neither of them was able to figure out how many troops Zhu Cilang brought with him in this northern expedition, and the military intelligence that reached the north was all speculation.

Dorgon is now at a disadvantage, especially since he is on the defensive. Finding out Zhu Cilang's total military strength is very important for him to adjust his future troop deployment and even combat plans.

But facing Chen Tai, the secret report sent by Lekedehun contained vague numbers such as one hundred thousand to two hundred thousand. It was difficult for him to make any reliable decisions, nor could he maximize the effectiveness of his troops!

After all, he couldn't gather an army of 100,000 now. Whether Zhu Cilang had an army of 100,000 or 200,000, his combat deployment would be completely different.

Taking advantage of the opportunity to besiege Nanyang, Zhu Cilang also sent troops and successfully figured out the basic deployment of the Qing army in various places in southern Henan. The Jinyiwei also successfully contacted the anti-Qing gentry who had recently emerged in the area.

Although the Jinyiwei also provided a lot of intelligence about various counties in Henan, it failed to meet Zhu Cilang's requirements, and some of the intelligence was definitely not something that the Jinyiwei's spies could provide.

Therefore, before waiting for the main force of the Qing army to move south, especially before the Qing army in Shaanxi moved eastward, Zhu Cilang had to continuously expand the scope of his military deployment. On the one hand, it was to find out the intelligence in these places, and on the other hand, it was to let things ferment in order to influence Dorgon's judgment and make him mobilize troops from Shaanxi and Gansu.

At the same time, the navy of Zhang Mingzhen and Huang Fei had now successfully harassed Leiden and the Liaohai Sea. Zhang Mingzhen even sent warships to fire dozens of cannons at the Dengzhou city, demonstrating his strong strength and severely hitting the morale of the Qing army in Shandong.

Not only that, Zhang Mingzhen and Huang Fei both sent out small boats, carrying the strongest soldiers in the army, to launch surprise attacks ashore at night. In Shandong, Tianjin and other places, they burned down several Qing army outposts, making the Qing army soldiers on guard along the coast terrified. They saw enemies everywhere, and there was no peace for a moment.

Of course, for Zhu Cilang, what he was most concerned about at this time was the situation in northern Sichuan and Hanzhong.

After the siege of Baoning City broke out, Chen Fu and Liu Wenxiu led more than 10,000 soldiers and horses. After three days of attack, they changed to besieging without attacking, seemingly just to tie down the Qing army in the city. This made Wu Guogui confused, but he had to report to Yue Le in Shaanxi.

Although Yue Le did not think that the main force of the Ming army would march north from Sichuan, he still became vigilant, especially since he quickly determined through the military intelligence transmitted by Lekedehun and Chen Tai that the Ming army in Baoning Prefecture had launched the offensive earlier, and the Ming Emperor was still stagnant in Nanyang Prefecture.

Although he did not understand why Emperor Ming sent troops to attack from northern Sichuan and launched the offensive so early, he recalled Wu Sangui from Longxi and asked him to lead his troops south to ensure the safety of Baoning Prefecture.

At the same time, Chen Fu also sent a large number of troops to bypass the Baoning Prefecture and enter the northern area controlled by the Qing army. They continuously harassed the important strongholds and supply lines of the Qing army on the official road leading to Hanzhong, especially intercepting the latter's scouts, making it difficult for the Qing army to detect the situation in the south, thereby disrupting the other side's judgment.

However, such harassment was soon counterattacked by Wu Sangui. After withdrawing his troops from Longxi, Wu Sangui immediately led his troops south. The army gathered in Hanzhong Prefecture, and the local forces had an absolute advantage. The two sides launched a fierce cavalry battle at the junction of these prefectures, and each lost dozens of cavalrymen.

But Wu Sangui was not planning to march south. His troops were already in Hanzhong and Baoning. This time he marched south more on Yue Le's military orders to investigate the situation of the Ming army, especially to find out the real intention of the Ming army in besieging Baoning.

(End of this chapter)