Strategy for the Revitalization of the Late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 224 Military Situation in Hanzhong

The two defensive camps of the Tianqi Army and the Dianqian Central Army were located in the hills about ten miles south of Lumen Mountain. To the west was the wide Han River. The main force of the Dongting Lake Navy had retreated south, which was enough to provide protection. To the east was the remnant of the Dahong Mountain, which stretched for dozens of miles, making it difficult for the Eight Banners to pass through and move quickly.

Further south, under the cover of countless low hills, is the newly built water pass east of Yicheng County. At this time, a batch of grain and fodder shipped from Hanyang is being unloaded. The Ming army's logistics supply line is now almost unaffected by the Eight Banners.

Yicheng was now both the Ming army's frontline logistics center and a key garrison. Even the water gate east of the city had been taken over by the Dongting Lake Navy to prevent surprise attacks by the Qing army. No matter how powerful Dorgon and Ajige's armor was, they could not dominate the water.

Since Zhu Cilang had gone to great lengths to lure the Qing army to Yicheng, he was fully confident of this battle. He did not need to fight a decisive battle with the Qing army, but wanted to delay until the Western Route Army captured Hanzhong. Then, when the Qing army retreated, he could pursue it and weaken the Eight Banner Army's strength.

Therefore, his deployment remained the same. The tens of thousands of troops that had previously withdrawn to the two wings would continue to harass Xiangyang and Shuanggoukou areas when the two armies confronted each other, destroying the Qing army's logistics supply lines and forcing Dorgon to divide his troops for defense.

Now, Huguang has become the home ground of the Ming Dynasty, and the Qing army is fighting completely on the outside. As long as Dorgon and Ajige cannot quickly defeat the main force of the Palace Army, they will have to face such problems.

What Zhu Cilang needs to do is to be on high alert and not reveal any flaws.

At this time, Chang Denggui was riding a horse and standing on the hill on the eastern foot of the remnant of Dahong Mountain. He had just finished inspecting the fortress on the mountainside and was preparing to patrol the bunker at the foot of the mountain in front. It was the outpost of the northern defense position and was of vital importance.

The hills to the north and east of the Dahongshan remnant were not very high, and the terrain was far from steep, but they were covered with dense vegetation. Although the Ming army had already begun to cut down the vegetation, they could not cut it all. They could only open up open space near the garrison and obtain fuel.

At this time, the flag of the central army in front of the palace was flying high in the large military camp on the mountainside. The vanguard battalion was divided into several groups, each stationed on four hilltops. Several trenches had been dug around these camps. The Ming army also used the houses in the deserted villages at the foot of the mountain as building materials. The fortresses and camp walls built on the mountainside and the top of the mountain were very strong.

Even if the Qing army sent out its main force to launch a surprise attack, it would be difficult to capture the city in a short time without using artillery. It can even be said that there is no possibility of capturing the city in a short period of time.

As long as the Ming army occupied these key positions, Dorgon and Ajige would have to send troops to attack, or when the army was in a decisive battle, send troops to cover the flanks of the formation to prevent the Ming army from deploying troops in this direction.

Otherwise, the initiative on the battlefield would be completely in the hands of the Ming army. In this way, whether to fight the so-called decisive battle or not would be entirely up to Zhu Cilang, unless Dorgon and Ajige dared to take the risk of going south.

In other words, before the formal decisive battle, the Qing army would certainly find ways to capture the Ming army positions south of Lumen Mountain and the remnants of Dahong Mountain in order to gain strategic initiative, but this was something Zhu Cilang would never allow.

When Chang Denggui finished inspecting the bunker at the foot of the mountain, it was already evening. The sky did not get dark quickly at this time of year. He saw through the telescope the endless stream of Eight Banners cavalrymen to the north, and his own cavalry to the south. They were equally magnificent, and he felt a little emotional.

The cavalry of the Ming Dynasty now has the strength to compete with the Eight Banners Cavalry, and such a change happened in just four years, and he was an important participant in it.

Now, Chang Denggui is the commander-in-chief of the Palace Army, second only to the emperor. He not only has wives, concubines, and children, but also thousands of houses and lands. He also commands tens of thousands of the strongest army in the world. This often makes him feel like he is dreaming, and everything is too good to be true. Especially when he thinks about the future success of the Northern Expedition and the restoration of the Northern Capital, he is even more excited and excited.

You know, when he escaped from Beijing four years ago, he just didn't want to surrender to the bandits. He couldn't even defeat the bandits' cavalry, let alone the Eight Banners. He never thought he would end up like this...

At this time, two horses suddenly came galloping from the hilly mountain road in the north, their hooves raising clouds of mud and dust. They passed through the wooden boards set up on the surrounding trenches and quickly rode in front of Chang Denggui. The "clattering" sound of the horses' hooves pulled him out of his confused and blurred memories.

"Reporting to the Admiral, the Qing army in the north has not yet made any moves. The number of scouts is only maintained at a defensive level. It is estimated that there will be no action in the next few days."

"I understand. Keep observing. Once the Qing army starts sending out more scouts, report back immediately." Chang Denggui paused, then gave another order: "Send out a few more scouts to the east. Be careful of the Qing army's tricks."

"Yes!" The two Tangma responded with a bow.

When the two Tangma rode north, Chang Denggui raised the telescope again, but the sky gradually darkened and the vision quickly became pitch black.

Then, escorted by his personal guards, he rushed back to the Ming army camp outside Yicheng overnight, ready to continue his inspection.

Zhu Cilang did not intend to defend the city completely passively. Inside and outside Yicheng, at least half of the troops, led by the main camp of the Palace Army, the Palace Right Army, the Heavenly Cavalry Army, and the Loyal Camp, were deployed across the wilderness south of Yicheng. To the east of Yicheng was the Han River, and to the west were rolling high mountains. These two served as cover, making the Ming army's camp very stable.

Among all the armies, the Loyalty Camp was the weakest, and most of them were placed in the city by Zhu Cilang. He planned to use this army as a reserve force. Tian Jianxiu's right army was deployed in the west, and at the same time, a combat battalion would be sent from the central army in front of the palace to assist in the defense.

The mountainous terrain of Yicheng is quite suitable for the defense of a large army. Dorgon and Ajige, the two main generals of the Qing army, would certainly not launch an all-out attack when the Ming army completely controlled the hills on the east and held the initiative on the battlefield. Not to mention that Yicheng is located in a location with dense rivers and lakes, which is not suitable for cavalry combat at all.

Zhu Cilang hoped that before the real battle, he could rely on the geographical advantages to consume the Qing army's troops, especially those places that were easy to defend and difficult to attack, which would save him precious manpower and keep it for the real decisive battle.

Moreover, Dorgon and Ajige had to find a way to win the war with the least casualties. After all, the Qing army currently had only tens of thousands of horsemen, and it was impossible to consume them on a large scale.

However, Dorgon and Ajige were not pushovers either. In just two days, they mobilized tens of thousands of forced laborers on their way south and set up more than a dozen continuous camps on the plains south of Lumen Mountain.

Dorgon had originally stored a large amount of supplies in Nanyang City and Xiangyang City, and the military equipment such as caltrops, ghost arrows, etc. needed for setting up camp and outer defense were also complete. He also sent two generals, Tan Tai and Kakamu, to assist Ajige in presiding over the outer defense construction of the new camp, trenches, earth walls, and even the ambush troops on the periphery. He required them to personally inspect and patrol to ensure that there were no omissions.

The Qing army certainly had its own comprehensive system for setting up camp, defending and attacking, and it was no less impressive than other armies of the era. However, compared to the systematic training and streamlined camping of the Palace Army, it was already far behind, especially due to the lack of various auxiliary tools for camping. Ajige was naturally unwilling to fall behind at this time, and he was even more reluctant to allow Dorgon's confidants to interfere too much with his subordinates. Therefore, he personally inspected the camp and, building on the work of Tan Tai and Kakamu, continuously proposed new requirements, not only to make the camp more secure, but also to strengthen his prestige within the army.

Since the main force of the Qing army entered the wilderness, the scouts of both sides have been fighting several scout battles around these hills and the surrounding deserted villages. Each time, the battle lasted until dark. Neither side allowed the other to cross this natural dividing line and scout out more detailed military intelligence.

However, Zhu Cilang remained very calm in the face of the 20,000 to 30,000 Qing troops gathering in the north. There was no sign of him wanting a decisive battle. Although the scouts and cavalry sent by the Tianqi Army and the Xiaoqi Army to assist in the battle were very aggressive, they were very restrained.

At this time, Dorgon actually secretly sent out a detachment to lead the troops to attack southward in a roundabout way, aiming to block the Ming army's retreat to the south, cut off the Ming army's retreat, and even block the latter's food supply, but they were all repelled by the Tianqi Army.

At this time, Dorgon and Ajige did not dare to disperse their troops easily and launch a surprise attack on the Ming army from behind, otherwise Zhu Cilang would be secretly happy. He could send troops to annihilate them completely or severely damage the corresponding Qing army.

Moreover, the Ming army's food supply mainly relied on the navy, but the Ming army's naval advantage was something the Qing army could not defeat for a long time, so they could only find ways to harass.

However, Dorgon and Ajige originally had the advantage in military forces and thought that their troops were more powerful. Although the Qing army knew that harassment would have little effect, they still sent out two or three thousand elite troops in order to provoke Zhu Cilang and force the latter to fight a decisive battle with them.

Zhu Cilang went to great lengths to get Dorgon to lead the main force of the Qing army south. He did not take this harassment seriously at all. Even when he sent troops to drive them away, he specifically ordered his men to show mercy to maintain Dorgon and Ajige's confidence in the combat effectiveness of their own army.

He knew very well that the more the Qing army moved, the more time and energy they would consume, so he could delay time without spending much manpower.

In the government office in Yicheng, Zhu Cilang was thinking about the current situation. The unpredictable situation on the Hanzhong battlefield was what was most concerning him at this moment.

"If we win the battle of Hanzhong, it will be much easier for us to pursue Dorgon's rearguard. By then, the ones left behind in Xiangyang will definitely be Lekedehun and Shang Kexi!"

Zhu Cilang suddenly sighed. One of his strategic goals in this Northern Expedition was to take advantage of Dorgon's withdrawal and the fact that he had no worries, while the Western Army was capturing Hanzhong and recovering Shaanxi and Gansu, to fully capture Xiangyang City and make preparations for the subsequent Northern Expedition.

"Once the main force of the Qing army withdraws, Shang Kexi will be nothing. I can deal with him. When Admiral Chen and General Gao recapture the entire Shaanxi, the Qing army will find it difficult to take care of both ends. Without reinforcements, the fall of Xiangyang is just around the corner!" Lin Changfeng didn't take Shang Kexi seriously at all and said with complete disdain.

Zhu Cilang simply chuckled after hearing this. Lin Changfeng had changed somewhat over the years, becoming more restrained in his speech, but he remained the same. However, this also made him particularly popular among the soldiers.

The other generals present were not worried about Shang Kexi and Lekedehun at all, and nodded in agreement.

"That's right. If Your Majesty didn't want to fight, we could gather all our troops and fight Dorgon and Ajige!"

"But the timing is still not right. While our cavalry is not inferior to the Tartars, we are still outnumbered. If the valley wasn't perfect for cavalry formations, the Heavenly Cavalry and the Valiant Cavalry would have struggled to defeat Yue Le at the watershed."

"That's true. If we rashly engage in a decisive battle with the Qing army now, the casualties will surely be enormous."

"."

Just as they were chatting animatedly, Chang Denggui suddenly rode back into the city on horseback. After reining in his horse and stopping at the government office, he jumped off the horse without waiting for the guards to come and hold it, and then ran up quickly.

He seemed to have returned from darkness, walking hurriedly, and came all the way to the lobby where Zhu Cilang was, then bowed respectfully.

In fact, Chang Denggui should have returned long ago, but when he left the camp on the east bank of the Han River and the northern foot of Dahong Mountain, he sent out scouts to the southeast to investigate, and indeed he observed the movements of the Qing army.

As he expected, the Qing army quietly assembled a large number of cavalry in the wilderness east of the northern foot of Dahong Mountain. They even sent troops to disperse the scouts deployed by the Ming army in that direction, intending to launch a surprise attack.

"Your Majesty, the Qing army has dispatched over a thousand cavalrymen to the southeast. The scouts I had previously deployed outside our positions have all been driven back by the Qing army, and we are currently unable to detect any military activity in that direction."

"Are Dorgon and Ajige planning to launch further circuitous attacks?" Zhu Cilang looked at Chang Denggui, narrowed his eyes, and asked, "Are there any further movements from the Qing troops in the north?"

"Tangma just sent a report that scout encounters are still happening from time to time in the north, but everything else is calm and there is nothing unusual." Chang Denggui bowed again.

"Ajige should be making a feint to the east and attacking in the west. He doesn't need to act at this time. He would not make such a mistake by attacking our fortress position near the mountains at night where he cannot see the traps outside." Zhu Cilang said immediately.

"It seems that the Qing army still relies on roundabout tactics and needs to force us to fight." Lin Changfeng also agreed.

Zhu Cilang nodded and immediately ordered:
"Military reports from Hanzhong should arrive soon. For now, we must act accordingly. We must remain constant in the face of change and wait for news from Hanzhong before making any decisions. All units must follow the plan formulated earlier by the Five Military Commandery and must not escalate the fighting."

"Yes!"

(End of this chapter)