Strategy for the Revitalization of the Late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 226 Life and Death Decision
Now, Dorgon, Ajige and other Manchu nobles and generals were most worried about the disloyalty of the Green Camp soldiers in the army.

Ajige opposed a rash retreat to the north, in fact, to a large extent, he was also worried about this.

You must know that of the 100,000 Qing troops marching south, the Eight Banners Army accounted for only more than half. Whether they were attacking or retreating north, these Green Camp troops were an indispensable force. If a large number of them rebelled, any originally impeccable plan would be ruined.

But Dorgon could no longer care about so many things at this time. He certainly knew that withdrawing troops would definitely cause a large-scale rebellion among the Green Camp soldiers, but Hanzhong was already in danger. If Shaanxi was lost, the Qing Dynasty would really be finished.

It's not that he was unaware of the importance of Shaanxi, but Hanzhong was a natural fortress where one man could hold the pass against ten thousand, and northern Sichuan had already been slaughtered. He had never expected that the Ming army could organize such a powerful offensive.

However, Ajige was not as afraid of Zhu Cilang and the Ming army as others, and he still insisted on his own ideas.

"As long as nothing unexpected happens, when we launch our attack, the Ming Emperor will be defeated and the Ming army will collapse!" Ajige said with a determined look. He turned his head to look at Dorgon, his face still showing a look of determination:
"By then, we can recapture the entire Huguang region, and even Jiangxi, without any problem. The Regent will also have made an invaluable contribution. As for the Ming army in northern Sichuan, they have been unable to capture Hanzhong for a long time. Upon learning of the Ming Emperor's defeat, they will surely collapse without a fight."

"The Ming army in northern Sichuan is just a detachment. Once it gets involved in a protracted battle, it will be at a disadvantage and the defeat will be difficult to reverse." Chen Tai also did not support a direct retreat to the north. After listening to Ajige's words, he nodded slightly, but after looking at Dorgon, there seemed to be some worry on his face again.

"That's right. Judging from the military intelligence sent by Meng Qiaofang, the Ming army has gathered tens of thousands of troops in northern Sichuan, and Baoning is already in the hands of the Ming army. We must be careful, Hanzhong may be breached by the Ming army at any time."

"Chen Tai's worries are not without reason. Although there are troops stationed in Hanzhong now, the main force is Wu Sangui's vassal troops, and there is also a Han Eight Banners." Upon hearing this, Kakamu also said:

"Hanzhong can only restrict the main force's advance. If Gao Yigong and his men were to launch a surprise attack, the mountains are quite high and stretch for hundreds of miles, allowing small units to pass through. If the Ming army tried to play any tricks there, Meng Qiaofang, Li Guohan and the others would be completely unaware."

Although Li Guohan and Wu Guogui have temporarily defended the Hanzhong Basin, they will definitely not be able to rest easy after Baoning is captured by the Ming army. Since Yue Le and Wu Sangui's main forces have been lost, the Ming army has the upper hand. The Qing army can only be said to have gained a local advantage. This is why Dorgon is so nervous.

"We can't control the situation in Shaanxi. As long as we hold Hanzhong and Xi'an, we don't care how many hilltops the Ming army occupies. When our main force returns north in triumph, we can send out thousands of armored soldiers to wipe them out in one fell swoop. The area around Xi'an is flat and the Ming army has no chance of stopping our Qing cavalry."

Ajige still had a look of disdain on his face, and sneered at the Manchu nobles and generals who opposed him staying in Huguang to fight the decisive battle:

"If the tens of thousands of troops deployed by the Ming Emperor on the plains are defeated, even if the Ming army in Shaanxi achieves a great victory, will they have any other choice but to retreat south?"

"The current strength of the Ming Emperor is far greater than his. Especially the Ming army's cavalry formation, its power should not be underestimated. The terrain near Yicheng is so bad that if we are not careful, we may suffer the same fate again."

After hearing what Ajige said, Dorgon narrowed his eyes and warned directly:
"Ajige, this is completely different from our usual cavalry charge. Once the Ming army forms a cavalry formation, even the Eight Banners will find it difficult to match them on the plains. If you underestimate the enemy, your fate will definitely not be any better than Yue Le's!"

Unlike Ajige, Dorgon did not believe that the conditions for a decisive battle were objectively in place at the moment.

You know, the Ming army still occupies the hills on the northern foot of Dahong Mountain, and relies on the navy to firmly cut off the Han River. It also deployed harassing armies on both wings early, forcing him to allocate nearly 10,000 troops for defense.

Under such circumstances, Dorgon even felt that his decision to lead the entire army south and his fear that the Ming army would escape, so he sent Yue Le to lead reinforcements, was too optimistic, even a little ridiculous.

After all, if Emperor Ming took the initiative to attack now, he could naturally concentrate his forces and win easily, but this is simply impossible!
If he continued to attack, the troops deployed on the front line of the decisive battle by both the Ming and Qing sides would actually be evenly matched.

Of course, Dorgon and Ajige had sufficient confidence in the Eight Banners, so subjectively, they thought that being evenly matched was already an advantage, and they even felt that a decisive battle would be very beneficial to them.

"The Ming army cannot form a cavalry formation, and even if they can, I have a way to deal with them." Ajige said confidently. He is still persisting, even though others have already begun to think of retreating.

"When you were in Nanyang, you, the Regent, said the Ming army's cavalry formation was nothing special. The plains surrounding Yicheng are vast. Although the Han River divides the east and west, there are no river valleys nearby. Our cavalry can easily circle to the two flanks and directly cut the Ming army's so-called cavalry formation in half."

"Ajige, you think too simply." Dorgon shook his head and directly refuted: "The Ming army will definitely not fight a decisive battle with us in the short term. I have now figured it out. This is clearly a trap set by the Ming Emperor, and we have all fallen for it."

"If Emperor Ming doesn't fight, I will force him to fight!" Ajige continued to speak and wanted to argue.

Now, this dispute is no longer just about whether to fight or retreat, but also about the political differences between Dorgon and Ajige.

"How long do you want to stay in Huguang?" Dorgon retorted sharply, pausing for a moment before immediately saying:

"Under normal circumstances, why would I, Dorgon, fear a bloody battle with those Nikans? When have the warriors of my Eight Banners ever been afraid? But now the terrain is completely unfavorable to us. It's not because I lack confidence, nor am I frightened that I am so cautious and hesitant. The situation is truly different."

As Tan Tai, Kakamu and others heard the two men's increasingly intense tone, they all wanted to step forward to dissuade them, but they looked at each other, not knowing what to say. In the end, they could only keep their mouths shut and swallow back all the words they wanted to say.

Seeing that he could not convince Ajige, Dorgon gave up trying to persuade him and directly adopted the method of voting by the generals of each banner, hoping to use the majority to overwhelm the minority and re-establish his leadership.

Although many people in the Qing army had complaints against Dorgon because of the recent unfavorable war situation, at this moment, they finally chose to support the other side.

After gaining the support of most of the generals, Dorgon sighed deeply and continued, "After our army retreats north, we won't have to worry about those Nikan soldiers. Right now, the only ones we can rely on are our Manchurian armored soldiers. When the time comes, we only need to send three to five thousand armored soldiers to intimidate them and buy them enough time."

As Dorgon gained the upper hand in the army, Ajige soon lost the command he had just gained. In the political struggle, he was no match for Dorgon.

However, Dorgon's withdrawal did not expose his position directly. He even took advantage of the fact that the Ming army had no reinforcements to send troops to occupy more deserted villages and hills in the south, and took advantage of the situation to push the front line to the west foot of the Dahong Mountain.

In this way, the Ming army would naturally think that the Qing army would choose to take the initiative to attack in this battle, even though the terrain there was not entirely conducive to the performance of cavalry.

As a result, the Qing army's scouts became more active in these places and attacked frequently, but the Ming army did not show any weakness. The two sides fought each other in the wilderness, constantly exchanging deaths, and no one gained the upper hand.

However, since the two camps on the northern foot of Dahong Mountain in the east and several positions near the camps were still in the hands of the Ming army, the Qing army did not dare to carry out its harassment in depth.

However, in the current chaotic situation, the fierceness of the Qing army's offensive did indeed exceed Zhu Cilang's expectations.

The situation in Hanzhong was not clear, which made it difficult for him to judge Dorgon's decision. He could only observe the opponent's battlefield command and infer the latter's strategic intentions.

Moreover, he now needs to buy more time for the Western Route Army. To do this, he must delay the Qing army's retreat to the north as much as possible. Otherwise, the Western Route Army's plan to recapture Shaanxi and obtain horse-breeding land for the Ming Dynasty will completely fail!
In other words, Zhu Cilang must show a stronger willingness to fight at this time in order to delay time.

Information on the battlefield cannot be completely transparent. In order to achieve their strategic goals, both the Ming and Qing dynasties had to constantly release smoke bombs to confuse their opponents.

But before Zhu Cilang took action, just as Dorgon had worried, problems arose within the Qing army.

The Qing army was stationed south of the East Camp in Lumen Mountain. Shang Kexi was riding his horse on a high ground outside the camp. The dozens of cavalrymen around him were all his trusted servants. Hearing the sounds of cavalry fighting coming from the darkness in front of him from time to time, and even the occasional loud explosion, he knew that they were landmines buried by the Ming army.

He is now very familiar with the Ming army's landmines. According to his understanding, the Ming army has improved that thing several times. Although the power has not been greatly improved, the lethality has increased sharply.

After all, landmines are only this size, and their power can't be increased much. The horror of landmines isn't that they can kill people directly, but that the fragments they create can severely injure anyone caught in them.

Although the Qing army has now sent reinforcements to the south and has a great advantage, the scout battles between the Ming and Qing armies will be very fierce at night. Not only the scouts of the Eight Banners Army, but also the Green Camp Army have suffered dozens of casualties in just two days. Shang Kexi's cavalrymen have lost eleven men.

Shang Kexi gazed at the Ming army camp, blazing yellow in the north, and for a moment, he was lost in thought. He hadn't previously contacted the Ming, nor had he expressed to the Ming Emperor the difficulties of his compromise and his indirect approach to saving the country. If he turned against the Ming army now, he probably wouldn't gain anything.

Now, seeing that the situation is getting worse day by day, he is very confused, even a little panicked, and doesn't know what to do!

It is becoming increasingly clear who will win this battle. The rise of Emperor Ming in the past two years is definitely not accidental. Although those Eight Banners are still powerful and still have the advantage on the battlefield, they probably won't be able to jump around for many more days!
However, he could not judge whether the Qing army could continue to dominate Liaodong or even gain a foothold in the interior.

Although Shang Kexi was unable to participate in the Manchu military meeting, he soon heard the news and couldn't help feeling a little worried.

You must know that his troops participated in defending Xiangyang City for several months, launching multiple raids outside the city, and facing several assaults by the Zhongzheng Camp. As one of the main forces of the Qing army in Xiangyang, especially since Lekedehun often used him as the vanguard of the Eight Banners Army, he was quite familiar with the current strength of the Ming army.

His troops were not weak in the Qing army, if the Eight Banners Army was not counted, but they were only on par with the Zhongzheng Battalion.

In other words, if Dorgon and Ajige really led the Eight Banners troops to retreat, it would be absolutely difficult to defend Xiangyang relying solely on his vassal troops and the so-called elite Green Camp troops from the north.

But he also knew that Dorgon was determined to leave and would never stay to fight the Ming army. The Ming Emperor was so cunning that he probably guessed this long ago, and even Xiangyang was already in his hands.

The situation was so critical that Shang Kexi would be caught in a dilemma whenever he thought about these things that could not be verified but were related to his life and death.

But at this moment, he couldn't possibly get in touch with the Ming army, so how to protect himself was a big problem. He didn't want to be buried with these Tartars, but if he made a mistake in judgment, he would surely die.

Moreover, Shang Kexi did not think that he was worthless. He still had thousands of soldiers and horses under his command. If he exerted his strength at a critical moment, he might be able to decide the outcome of a war.

"My king, should we go back quickly? If we are seen by the Tartars, we might be in trouble." The head servant of Shang Kexi looked around for a while, then suddenly leaned over to remind him.

Shang Kexi was already distracted by Ye Feng's words, but being interrupted helped him recover. He nodded and muttered to himself:
"Wait a little longer, wait a little longer. If Dorgon and Ajige can really withdraw smoothly, or if they can strike a direct blow against Emperor Ming, then the situation in Xiangyang might not be so dire."

The head servant didn't hear clearly what Shang Kexi said, but seeing the other party's expression, he didn't dare to persuade him anymore and could only continue to wait.

Shang Kexi pondered for a while, clenched his fist, and then whipped his horse towards the camp. Dozens of servants around him followed him, and the sound of horse hooves spread across the plain shrouded in darkness.
(End of this chapter)