Strategy for the Revitalization of the Late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 220: Lure the Enemy South
Inside Dengzhou City, Zhu Cilang looked for a long time before finally putting down the military report he had just received. He looked up and looked around. The generals of the Palace Army, the Left Town Army, the Right Town Army, and the Heavenly Cavalry Army had all gathered in the room, waiting for his orders.

Ever since Dorgon led the main force of the Eight Banners southward, quickly passing through the Fangcheng Pass and entering Nanyang City, the balance of forces between the Ming and Qing forces in Nanyang Prefecture was instantly reversed. Zhu Cilang was forced to quickly withdraw his troops, and the central army headquarters was subsequently moved to Dengzhou City, which was separated from Nanyang City by five rivers.

At this time, the Five Military Commanderies and generals of each army had gathered in Dengzhou City. Outside the city, only Tian Jianxiu and Ma Shixiu were commanding the troops and presiding over the defense against the Qing army in the direction of Nanyang.

Because of the obstruction of the Baihe River and its tributaries, as well as the mountain range to the west, the cavalry from Nanyang could not easily attack Dengzhou City. Moreover, the geographical location of Dengzhou City was very clever, nailed between Xiangyang and Nanyang Prefecture, connecting the two places.

Although Zhu Cilang could not concentrate his forces here to fight a decisive battle with the Qing army, he could use it as a transit station and buffer zone to serve the strategic goal of delaying the main force of the Qing army.

Of course, Zhu Cilang would not defend Dengzhou directly, nor would he engage in a decisive battle with the Qing army outside the city. Dorgon was unable to deploy his troops quickly due to the obstruction of the river. This was the so-called decisive battle. As long as one side was unwilling, the other side would find it difficult to achieve its goal.

Zhu Cilang had actually made arrangements, and the army would soon continue to retreat until it reached the city of Xiangyang. He would be in Xiangyang to make room for Dorgon's army to line up, but by then, it would not be so easy for Dorgon to retreat to Nanyang.

At this time in Xiangyang City, Lekedehun and Shang Kexi had been silenced by the artillery fire. Although they still had strength, outside Xiangyang City, there were more than 10,000 elite soldiers of the Loyalty Camp led by Commander Li Guo, and they were no match for them.

Of course, if the main force of the Eight Banners led by Dorgon and Ajige arrived, there would still be thousands of elite Qing troops in Xiangyang City, and they would not be so timid, but they could not be so arrogant now.

However, the terrain near Xiangyang City is open and the river network is dense, so the Qing army can easily encircle them. If two armies with a total of nearly 200,000 armored soldiers were to line up in close combat there, they would probably have no choice but to go to war directly.

After all, in that situation, no one would be willing to withdraw voluntarily. Leaving their backs to the enemy would be tantamount to seeking death.

Zhu Cilang would need to retreat further at that time, but he could not retreat too quickly. He had to hook Dorgon and make him continue to pursue him. This was the most difficult part.

In other words, if a decisive battle with Dorgon took place in Xiangyang, the Ming army would ultimately have no choice but to choose the Han River basin, relying on the barrier of the river and the cover of the navy, and gradually consume the Qing army on the plains along the river.

But this was not the outcome Zhu Cilang wanted, nor was it what Qing generals like Dorgon and Ajige hoped to see. They all hoped to leverage their cavalry advantage and achieve a quick victory. Furthermore, the Ming had a naval advantage in Huguang, so Dorgon might not have dared to engage in a fierce battle with the Ming army in the Han River basin.

"Everyone should be familiar with the actual combat effectiveness of the Eight Banners led by Dorgon and Ajige. Moreover, Dorgon and Ajige are both experienced generals, especially Ajige, who is quite difficult to deal with."

Zhu Cilang paused, then slowly said:
"I have called everyone here today to hold this military meeting to determine the army's next strategy. We cannot continue to waste time in Nanyang Prefecture like this, otherwise the situation on the battlefield may deteriorate. The mountains to the west are not difficult to circumvent, which is quite disadvantageous for us."

The Five Military Commanders' Office and the generals of each army in the house were all quietly listening to Zhu Cilang's orders. After the victory of the "watershed battle", the morale of the Ming army was further boosted, and Zhu Cilang's authority was further consolidated.

As the main force of the Qing army moved south, small units of the Ming and Qing armies began to clash frequently. The Palace Army, the Left Town Army, the Right Town Army, and the Tianqi Army did not dare to take it lightly. The main force of the Eight Banners marching south was far stronger than the current Ming army.

The army marching south under Dorgon and Ajige was actually nearly 10,000 more than the Five Military Commandery had originally estimated, and their offensive was quite fierce. Under such circumstances, how to fight further, when to retreat south, and when to escape the Qing army became issues that the Ming army had to quickly adjust and decide.

"Although the strength of Dorgon's Qing army was somewhat beyond expectations, it was generally within the expectations of the Five Military Commandery. Dorgon has now sent out a detachment, hoping to first stabilize the left and right wings, capture Neixiang, Xinye and other cities, and then directly encircle them.

Although he is making good progress now, if I do not wish, with our current military strength, Dorgon and Ajige do not have the strength to move freely across so many rivers and lakes."

This time, Zhu Cilang did not let the generals of the Five Military Commandery or Chang Denggui preside over the meeting. The war situation seemed critical and chaotic at this point, but in fact it was basically clear. The so-called chaos, after all, was only for those who were not firm enough. Zhu Cilang knew very well what he wanted!
"My original plan was to retreat in order to advance, luring the main force of the Qing army to our pre-determined battlefield, and then continuously engaging and depleting it until the Western Route Army completes its mission to recapture Hanzhong. Therefore, for at least the next month, we must lure the Qing army south, giving Dorgon and Ajige no chance to react."

"The Qing army had just suffered a great loss at the watershed, and they must be angry now. Judging from the performance of Dorgon and Ajige during this period, they have a strong desire to attack. As long as there is an opportunity, the two will definitely take the initiative to lead the troops to attack." Chang Denggui explained on the side.

Upon hearing this, Lin Changfeng immediately joined in, saying slowly, "Admiral Chang is right. These Tartars haven't suffered a major setback since their southward advance, and they're extremely arrogant. They'll pounce at the first opportunity. Furthermore, Dorgon and Ajige, relying on their large cavalry, pursue us relentlessly every time we attack. It seems the 'Watershed Battle' wasn't enough of a blow for them."

The other generals in the room also expressed their opinions. The Qing army had always looked down on the southern soldiers. The sense of superiority and confidence accumulated year after year had gradually recovered with the Ming army's active retreat and their small victories in the Nanyang Basin.

After all, Yue Le's troops were completely annihilated because they were attacked in the valley. This victory certainly played a huge role in spreading the reputation of the Palace Army, but many Eight Banners Army officers and soldiers, led by Ajige, were not convinced by the result of this "watershed battle."

Moreover, under the deliberate guidance of Dorgon, Ajige and others, this trend of thought was prevalent in the Qing army at this time, and played an indelible role in restoring the military morale.

After listening to the opinions of his generals, Zhu Cilang nodded and continued:
"When I led the army south under Yue Le, I had not actually thought of giving Dorgon a good punch in the face before the confrontation. Now, after delivering that punch, I have retreated a step and withdrawn my troops to Dengzhou, forcing Dorgon to give chase.

At the same time, he will continue to maintain his arrogance, thus concluding that I dare not fight him. But if I can only make him angry, then this one punch will not be enough to completely change the Tartar's arrogance, and it is irrelevant. In fact, it is actually beneficial to us. Zhu Cilang knew that only if the Palace Army could openly defeat the main force of the Eight Banners would Dorgon, Ajige and others believe in their strength!
"Dorgon and Ajige are bound to fight a big battle with us, especially Dorgon. If he hadn't suffered the defeat in the previous 'watershed battle', it would have been fine. But now that he has, if he doesn't fight this battle, he will probably find it difficult to convince the people."

Zhang Huangyan shook his head, laughed coldly, and then continued loudly:
"The Tartars have come all this way with an army of nearly 100,000 men. Isn't their goal to destroy us in one battle? If we don't fight this battle, wouldn't Dorgon and Ajige have come here in vain?"

"That's right. The Qing court is currently deploying troops in Jiangbei, northern Sichuan, and Nanyang. Given the northern region's financial and population base, the situation is undoubtedly strained. Dorgon led the main force of the Eight Banners southward. The food and fodder he consumed along the way was likely painstakingly plundered. If they can't win this battle, the Qing court will likely collapse."

After all, this battle was a must for the Qing court.

In this era, the biggest constraint on the scale of war was actually money and food. The Qing court had only barely managed to gather enough money and food for the southern expedition after plundering the northern territories. They simply could not follow Zhu Cilang's strategy of taking things step by step.

Originally in history, even though the Qing court occupied Jiangnan, Jiangxi, Jianghan and other important financial and tax areas, in order to meet the financial and food needs of fighting on two fronts, it had to repeatedly pretend to negotiate peace and appease the Zheng family, and then willingly fell for Zheng Sen's trick of recuperating and accumulating strength. In essence, it was all about money and food.

However, the Qing army under the command of Dorgon and Ajige was indeed powerful. The commanders of each unit and the commanders of each battalion had considerable disagreements on when to retreat south, where to confront each other, and how to consume this powerful army!
You know, these are 50,000 Eight Banners vests, which they have never seen before!
Zhu Cilang glanced at the generals in front of him, then reiterated the core points of this military meeting and slowly said:

"Therefore, the most critical thing now is to find a way to lure Dorgon and Ajige to lead their troops across the river and into Xiangyang. But they are not that stupid. If we withdraw our troops directly south, Ajige might be fooled, but Dorgon will definitely not follow us south."

"Dorgon and Ajige will probably find a way to outflank us and attack us proactively. We just need to go with the flow, pretend we can't react quickly, and give them hope. We'll definitely be able to lure them into a successful attack. By then, Dorgon and Ajige will probably think they've masterminded it, and attack even more boldly."

Chang Denggui has been on the front line all this time. In fact, he often thinks about this problem. He often pulls himself out of the situation and puts himself in the shoes of Dorgon, Ajige and others. Although this is quite difficult for him, it gives him a lot of inspiration.

He had been with Zhu Cilang for so many years, so he was naturally very clear about Zhu Cilang's strategic intentions, so he immediately grasped the core points of this military meeting.

"Go on!" Zhu Cilang looked at Chang Denggui and said expectantly.

"Your Majesty, I am thinking that if I were Dorgon or Ajige and wanted a decisive battle, I would definitely send a small force to sneak across the narrow river upstream. That is where our defense is relatively weak, and we can take the enemy by surprise.

"Besides, as long as we can use the cover of darkness to sneak across the hills and dense forests, it should be extremely difficult for us to detect us. We only need to deploy two or three thousand soldiers upstream and then find a way to build a temporary pontoon bridge. Then, we can support the troops on the north and east banks, and the main force will be able to cross the river easily." Chang Denggui cleared his throat and continued.

"What Admiral Chang means is that we pretend that we didn't notice it, and let the Qing army send troops to cross the river and station on the south and west banks to give them confidence?" Lin Changfeng suddenly realized.

"That's right. Chen Tai must have hidden some boats in Nanyang City. When we first besieged the city, there were no loot around. He's such a meticulous person, it's impossible for him to have no preparations. These boats are the key to holding back our navy."

Chang Denggui smiled complacently and said:
"The navy of Dongting Lake is so strong that it is impossible for the Qing army to force a crossing directly. However, Dorgon will definitely send troops to test the waters and see if he can cross the river from upstream. As long as he can succeed, we will pretend that we are unable to react in time, and he will definitely think that he can succeed.

This is the best solution for the Qing army. Dorgon and Ajige will definitely send troops to give it a try no matter what! "

"Admiral Chang is right. In this way, Dorgon and Ajige will definitely not suspect that Your Majesty is deliberately luring the enemy. They may even think that they have seized some opportunity to fight." Li Guo also spoke in support.

Zhu Cilang agreed after hearing this. On the battlefield, all sorts of tests and strategies were deployed one after another. Chang Denggui's deduction made perfect sense.

However, he still turned his head to look at Zhang Huangyan, the newly promoted commander of the Five Armies Commandery, and asked:

"Zhang Huangyan, what do you think?"

Zhang Huangyan was suddenly called upon in full view of the crowd. His expression was very calm, without a trace of surprise. He seemed to have already made up his mind. He just cupped his hands and said calmly:
"Your Majesty, I also think Admiral Chang is right. This is the best option for Dorgon and Ajige. They cannot help but be tempted. They must be biding their time now."

As the two heavyweight generals Li Guo and Zhang Huangyan expressed their opinions, and with Chang Denggui's prestige in the army, other generals also spoke out and expressed their support for this strategy.

"Well, that's right!" Zhu Cilang nodded in agreement after hearing Zhang Huangyan's statement, and then said, "Then I will let those Tartars cross the river and wait for Dorgon and Ajige to catch up. It would be best to throw some baggage to them, otherwise Dorgon, that old fox, will probably not be fooled!"

(End of this chapter)