Strategy for the Revitalization of the Late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 219 Post-War Situation

After annihilating the main force of the Qing army in the watershed battle and achieving an unprecedented victory, Zhu Cilang immediately led part of the main force of the army back to Nanyang.

In order to persuade the Ming army in Nanyang and Xiangyang to surrender, while cleaning the battlefield, he also issued a special order to the entire army, requiring the soldiers of each unit to collect the flags, armor, and even corpses of Yue Le, Alashan, Aljin and others.

However, the soldiers of the Palace Army only found the flags and armor of Yue Le, Alashan and other Manchu generals, but did not find those of Wu Sangui and Aljin.

As for Yang Kun, whom Wu Sangui had been thinking about all the time, he had lost his way in the mountain road long ago, and was then ambushed by the central army in front of the palace and was blocked in the mountain road.

As the news of the defeat of the allied forces of Yue Le and Wu Sangui reached Nanyang City, the Green Camp soldiers in the city quickly broke out into riots. Some officers and soldiers quickly rebelled and fled Nanyang overnight.

They originally wanted to open the city gates, unite with the main force of the Ming army in the city, directly recapture the city, or even wipe out Chen Tai's Eight Banners defenders in the city, but they did not succeed.

Although Chen Tai reacted quickly, he still lost some armored soldiers. The morale of the troops in the city was severely damaged because of the defeat of the reinforcements from the north.

The walls of Nanyang City were high and thick. The Palace Army had only taken down the outer fortresses earlier, but had not conquered the outermost earth wall. At this time, a strong attack could not make rapid progress.

Moreover, the main force of the Palace Army had just ended a great battle. Although they won a great victory with few casualties, Chang Denggui still led part of the troops to stay in the north and followed Zhu Cilang's troops back to the south. It is now difficult for them to quickly launch a powerful offensive.

At the same time, the situation in Xiangyang City was not so optimistic. The main force of the Loyal Camp led by Li Guo was certainly capable of fighting, but Lekedehun and Shang Kexi were quite cautious, and he had no chance at all.

What Zhu Cilang really wanted to capture was Xiangyang City. Nanyang City was too close to the Central Plains, and he could not defend it until he was sure he could defeat the main force of the Qing army.

You know, Yue Le did not have enough troops and did not dare to go directly through the Fangcheng Passage, which is why he fell into an ambush. But if it was Dorgon, he would definitely go directly south through the gap in the northeast.

Once the Qing army's cavalry reached a certain size, the ambush used by Zhu Cilang this time would be completely ineffective.

However, Zhu Cilang was also very clear that even if many places could not be defended, they had to take the opportunity to recover them. At this time, Chang Denggui and Lin Changfeng led the army to quickly pursue the defeated Qing army.

The news that the main force of the Qing army under Yue Le was completely annihilated also spread rapidly as Wu Sangui and Aljin's defeated troops retreated from the watershed all the way to Luyang Pass, Lushan, and Ruzhou.

Wherever Chang Denggui and Lin Changfeng's army went, the Green Camp troops, which were left with only the most basic garrison forces, rebelled one after another. The entire Ruzhou Prefecture, and even parts of Henan Prefecture and Kaifeng Prefecture were quickly recovered.

At this point, the Ming army's spearhead was heading straight for Luoyang and Kaifeng, but because the 40,000 most elite main forces of the Palace Army were divided into two parts at this time, the troops in the south did not keep up. The northern route led by Chang Denggui and Lin Changfeng was actually unable to hold on. They only went north to provoke Dorgon.

Zhu Cilang was far from ready for a full-scale Northern Expedition at this time. After achieving his initial strategic goals, he lost the possibility of further progress due to problems with manpower and supplies.

By the time Dorgon received the news of Yue Le's defeat, Chang Denggui and Lin Changfeng had already recovered more than a dozen prefectures in southern and western Henan, and even parts of Henan and Kaifeng. The Ming army had not yet arrived, and many Green Camp troops directly chose to surrender the city.

Chang Denggui did not kill these small military leaders, nor did he deprive them of their military power. Instead, he sent all their troops to the south and selected some of their elite armored soldiers as auxiliary troops.

At this point, Zhu Cilang successfully captured half of Henan without losing his main force, and successfully angered Dorgon.

Now, Dorgon must lead the main army south no matter what, otherwise the situation in the entire north will collapse.

Such results far exceeded Zhu Cilang's expectations. His main force did not suffer serious losses. Not only could the army quickly recover its combat effectiveness, but the gap in troop strength compared to the Qing army was also rapidly narrowed.

Therefore, after receiving the news that Dorgon was leading the main force of the Qing army to accelerate its march south, Zhu Cilang was not worried but happy.

After all, the main forces of Yue Le and Wu Sangui have now had the opportunity to be completely wiped out. Although Wu Sangui and Aljin led more than 2,000 remnants to flee north, they were no longer a force to be reckoned with.

Wu Sangui originally wanted to escape back to Shaanxi to gather his old subordinates, but Aljin did not let him succeed. After controlling him, he handed him over to Dorgon.

However, the troops under Aljin's command had to flee a long distance under the pursuit of Chang Denggui and Lin Changfeng, and their combat effectiveness was almost non-existent. They retreated all the way to Luoyang City before they were able to gain a foothold.

You must know that the Qing army suffered such heavy losses of its elite main force, and the Qing Dynasty had not established a systematic military training system. Even if there were sufficient manpower, it would be impossible to rebuild the army within two or three years.

In other words, with the loss of the Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty, the Qing army has gradually lost the possibility of competing with Zhu Cilang in military affairs.

The Qing army suffered more than 10,000 elite soldiers killed or wounded in the "Watershed Battle", most of whom were from the Eight Banner Army. This was a complete blow to the Qing Dynasty, which had less than 70,000 elite soldiers.

You know, although most of the so-called 100,000 armored soldiers of the Qing Dynasty can be considered elite, there are differences in their combat effectiveness.

Among them, the most elite are undoubtedly the Eight Banners of the Manchus. Now, there are less than 50,000 of them left. The combat skills and battlefield experience of these veterans are simply not comparable to those of the newly recruited armored soldiers.

In other words, for the Qing army, which had not yet established a standardized and professional military training system and even had a big problem with manpower supply, the loss of these veterans not only meant a significant reduction in the strength of the army, but also meant that the foundation of the country was shaken.

Zhu Cilang was completely different. His military system had already been established. After getting rid of the burden in the north, the resources in the southern provinces were enough for him to train a powerful army.

This also means that the time he takes to train new recruits and improve the overall combat effectiveness of the army will far exceed the expectations of all parties.
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Seven days after winning the "Watershed Battle", less than five days after returning to the central army camp outside Nanyang City, Zhu Cilang received news from the Jinyiwei and military scouts in North China, Northern Sichuan, and Northern Jiangsu.

Dorgon's operation of transferring Yue Le to Henan, under Zhu Cilang's advance deployment, has caused an unexpected reaction to the situation in the entire Shaanxi and Gansu region for the Qing Dynasty.

Meng Qiaofang quickly adjusted his deployment. On the one hand, he mobilized the last remaining Eight Banners soldiers stationed in Xi'an and other places to strengthen the garrison of Hanzhong and the defense towards northern Sichuan. On the other hand, he could only withdraw the army originally stationed in Longxi to prevent Ding Guodong's army from withdrawing to ensure the safety of Xi'an City.

At this time, Meng Qiaofang had no defense at all against the Ming army in northern Sichuan led by Chen Fu and Gao Yigong except for defense. He was now surrounded by enemies on all sides.

Moreover, let alone at this time, without a suitable opportunity and the support of the local chieftains, risking crossing the mountains and attacking northern Sichuan would be an extremely unwise move, even a dead end. Meng Qiaofang, the governor of Shaanxi for many years, saw this more clearly than anyone else. The mountains and hills were difficult to cross, as even the most basic food and fodder supplies for the army were difficult to obtain.

Of course, after in-depth discussions with Wu Guogui and others, Meng Qiaofang did not allow the Ming army to have the ability to go north to capture Hanzhong, especially after the Ming army captured Baoning City, they suspended military operations.

You must know that once a military operation of this scale is suspended, the Ming army will find it difficult to continue its northern expedition in a short period of time.

After all, war is a complex system that cannot be fought just by saying it. Food, laborers, and livestock needed to transport supplies all require time and huge financial, material, and human resources.

However, in Meng Qiaofang's opinion, the Ming army in Baoning City did not have such conditions.

If Chen Fu and Gao Yigong were not fully prepared and attacked directly, Meng Qiaofang believed that his current deployment in Hanzhong would be able to resist.

If the other party wants to be fully prepared, they may have to wait until next year or even longer.

Therefore, when Zhu Cilang received the information about Meng Qiaofang's deployment in Xi'an, Hanzhong and other places, especially when Dorgon did not care about Shaanxi at all and went straight to the south to join the troops, he was extremely excited.

He knew that Meng Qiaofang must have been fooled, and Dorgon had also fallen into his trap.

Now, Zhu Cilang in Nanyang has become the biggest threat to the Qing court. The Qing army is defending the two cities of Nan and Xiang, and the soldiers are becoming increasingly exhausted and have long been at a disadvantage.

Dorgon had no choice but to lead his troops southward at a faster pace to support Nanyang, and to recapture the prefectures in southern Henan, western Henan and other places to cover the flanks.

In order to concentrate troops to the greatest extent, Dorgon even drew thousands of cavalry from Dodo's army stationed in Shandong, eastern Henan and other places.

As a result, the Qing court, which was originally in a very passive position in southern Shandong and eastern Henan in North China, suddenly fell into an even more passive situation. The troops deployed by Zhu Cilang in Huaibei were even about to form a military advantage over the Qing army in Xuzhou.

In other words, at this time, the initiative on the Jiangbei battlefield was gradually in the hands of the Ming army.

Dorgon, on the other hand, was determined to speed up his pace of marching south and intensify his offensive in western and southern Henan, repelling the Ming troops defending the prefectures and cities in an attempt to boost the morale of the army.

Zhu Cilang naturally wanted this very much, and in response to the situation, he chose to withdraw his troops from various prefectures, trying his best to block the Qing army while reducing the casualties of the army.

Before that, he still did not forget to order all units to use their traditional skills to fortify their defenses and clear the fields in Ruzhou, Henan Prefecture, and Kaifeng Prefecture, leaving no food for the Qing army.

As the army led by Dorgon crossed six major rivers, quickly passed through the Fangcheng Pass, and entered this basin located in the center of China from the plains north of Nanyang, Zhu Cilang also took the initiative to withdraw his troops southward, all the way to Xinye, before curbing the offensive of the Eight Banners.

Of course, Zhu Cilang did not want to fight a decisive battle with Dorgon. He just couldn't retreat too quickly, otherwise he would be exposed. By then, Chen Fu and Gao Yigong could still take Hanzhong, and Dorgon's reinforcements would probably arrive.

However, he would not just confront the Qing army and put himself in a passive situation. The Ming Dynasty had already taken the initiative on various battlefields, and it was naturally impossible for these places to remain idle.

Seeing the favorable situation, Zhu Cilang immediately ordered Gao Jie and Huang Degong to lead their troops to attack southern Shandong and eastern Henan to recover lost territory. At the same time, they vigorously incorporated the Green Camps in various places to shake the Qing army's rule in the local area.

The two of them quickly wiped out the Qing troops in various parts of southern Shandong. Most of the prefectures and cities defended by the Green Camp soldiers defected. In the entire southern Shandong region, the only cities left were those where Duoduo left his Eight Banners soldiers to defend them.

Duoduo's military strength was almost exhausted at this time, and he had to keep an eye on Kong Youde, so he didn't dare to attack rashly.

The situation has changed now. The more I look at Kong Youde, the more I feel that he will turn his fake play into reality!

Soon, the news of Yue Le's army's destruction and the full-scale attack of the Ming army in the south was spread to Beijing under the secret operation of the Jinyiwei, especially to the ears of Jirgalang, Hauge and Shunzhi.

Seeing the situation deteriorating, the ministers who stayed in Manchuria in Beijing submitted memorials one after another. Hauge and Emperor Shunzhi soon wavered and wanted to recall Dorgon and even the troops from Shaanxi, Shandong and other places.

However, with Jirgalang's return to the court, the Qing court in Beijing experienced a minor disturbance, and with the assistance of Dorgon's confidants deployed in Beijing, the Qing court finally restored stability.

At this time, Dorgon had been in charge of the Qing court for more than four years. He had already centralized power in the army and the court. His confidants were everywhere. Jierhalang also put the overall situation first. It was impossible for Hauge's coup to succeed.

Today, the Qing Dynasty has fallen into a life-and-death situation. The Eight Banners soldiers in Beijing, including the old and weak, are less than 10,000. If the front line cannot be stabilized, Beijing will not be able to hold on.

Of course, after putting down the farce led by Hauge, Jirgalang persuaded Emperor Shunzhi, Empress Xiaozhuang, and a group of ministers. With their unanimous consent, the Qing court began to send the Eight Banners to plunder in the Great Wall, just as they had done before, to further collect food and fodder needed for the war, and to capture Han people as slaves.

To this end, Jirgalang mobilized all the Eight Banners troops in Beijing, even including the bondservants who stayed behind, and began to plunder everywhere, just like when he entered the Great Wall in previous years.

The reason why Jirgalang was able to persuade a number of Qing court ministers and began to plunder northern Zhili was not only to replenish the Qing court's manpower, material and financial resources, but also to turn the north into a scorched earth and prepare in advance to hinder the Ming army's northern expedition in the future.

You have to know that at this time, the Qing court had already prepared to give up its wealth and glory and retreat outside the Great Wall. They had only been in the Great Wall for four years and were not really nostalgic for anything inside the Great Wall.

If northern Zhili was burned, killed, looted, and turned into a wasteland, and the city of Beijing was destroyed, the Ming army would have to take a detour of thousands of miles from Xuanda and cross the grassland where supply is difficult to obtain when attacking the area outside the Great Wall. This would make it difficult for the Ming army to launch a large-scale attack on the area outside the Great Wall within three years.

Before that, the Ming Emperor had to first deal with the relationship with the Mongolian tribes, which was also a time-consuming and laborious task. When the Qing army was at its peak, these Mongols still caused frequent unrest, let alone the Ming court.

Although Jirgalang asked to stabilize the overall situation, he was actually quite pessimistic about the final outcome. This was not only his mentality, but also the general mentality of the entire Qing court after learning that Yue Le's troops were completely wiped out.

(End of this chapter)