Strategy for the Revitalization of the Late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 234 Everyone has their own agenda
Under the cover of night, the plains to the south and west of Xiangyang City were pitch black. Along the outer earthen walls of the city and around the Ming army camp, countless burning bonfires and lanterns swayed in the wind, flickering.

The soldiers on duty on both sides had their own arrangements. From time to time, they would send soldiers holding torches or lanterns to run and add fuel to the bonfires and fire pans whose fires were weakening. Both sides maintained extremely vigilance, the soldiers were on high alert, and there were constantly patrols holding lanterns and torches to guard against sneak attacks from the opposite side.

At this time, the two earthen walls and the outer city wall of Xiangyang City, and even the inner side of the horse-blocking ditch, were all brightly lit. From afar, it looked like a flame emitting a yellow halo. The Qing army had stored a sufficient amount of firewood in the city, and faced the extravagant defenses of the Ming army, they were not at a disadvantage at all.

But Zhu Cilang had plenty of means, and his methods of dealing with the Qing army were not as simple as using a bonfire.

Under the arrangements of Chang Denggui and Zhang Huangyan, the Rocket Thousand Headquarters of the Palace Front Central Army spent three days formulating a rigorous harassment plan. The key to this harassment plan was a long-range firearm with a range of approximately three miles.

The artillery workshop of the "Yingtian Weapon Bureau" actually started researching it two years ago. Before that, the Palace Army had used this weapon on a large scale in Yicheng to deal with the Qing army camp.

Chang Denggui planned to send two rocket troops on the first night, escorted by a cavalry group composed of elite Tianqi troops to the plains west and south of the city, and at the same time launch a surprise attack on the Qing army in Xiangyang City.

For these rockets that have no accuracy at all, Xiangyang City is a huge target. They don't even need to pay attention to the limited range of the rockets. As long as they can shoot the rockets into the city, the hit rate will be 100%.

After all, once a fire breaks out in the city, or even a large-scale fire, the defenders will never be able to rest well. This will greatly consume their morale. After several times, it will be enough to cause the Qing army's morale to waver or even collapse.

Now, Zhu Cilang had the advantage of cavalry when facing the Qing army in Xiangyang City. Even at night, the Qing army did not dare to send troops out of the city to drive them away.

Moreover, the rockets have an extremely fast firing speed and a long range. The rocket soldiers of the Palace Army are equipped with horses and are very maneuverable and flexible. Even if the Qing army drove them out of the city, the rocket soldiers of the Palace Army would have already moved away.

As for surprise attacks and ambushes, in such a vast plain, the Palace Army took advantage of the cover of night and moved very secretly, making it difficult for the Qing army to ambush them.

However, these are just auxiliary to the overall battle situation.

You must know that the defensive fortifications of Xiangyang City are very complete. There are a large number of cannons on the two earth walls, and the actual attack power is quite strong. Moreover, those French cannons and general cannons can fire as fast as muskets. Shang Kexi's troops are elite troops who use firearms. If you want to break the city, you have to rely on a strong attack.

Zhu Cilang hadn't yet launched his main offensive, unwilling to sacrifice thousands of soldiers just to fill the trenches blocking the horses. The Qing army also possessed a vast number of artillery pieces, and Shang Kexi's vassal soldiers were known for their skill. The bombardment from the Palace Army's artillery was more of a deterrent than a practical benefit.

But this is also the fundamental reason why Shang Kexi is worried that Delekhhun will force him to attack. He must defend Xiangyang and preserve his strength, but he cannot let the other side misunderstand that he is perfunctory in defense, otherwise the final battle situation will be very unfavorable for him.

You know, fighting is not just about fighting itself. Shang Kexi also has to consider the political impact. Dorgon is probably keeping an eye on Xiangyang all the time.

Therefore, no matter what his considerations were, Shang Kexi was unwilling to continue defending Xiangyang. He had long seen that Delekhun wanted to take the initiative to attack, so he went along with it.

At his instigation, Delekhun immediately began to deploy the night attack. After receiving the order for the "night attack", the Eight Banners Army in the city began to check their equipment and complete the mobilization.

In Xiangyang City, many of the Han Eight Banners who had recently been promoted from the Baoyi soldiers were very afraid of this action.

After all, they saw with their own eyes that the most authentic Manchu soldiers could not defeat the army under the Ming Emperor. If these bannermen attacked, wouldn't it be obvious that they were going to be cannon fodder?

The differences between Manchus and Han people were most clearly understood, especially by the Han Eight Banners who were collectively promoted from the baoyi banners by Dorgon in order to win over the people. In fact, they did not completely want to work for the Qing Dynasty.

Many of them just hoped that they could retreat safely to the north, and they would be lucky if they could keep their lives.

At this time, Delekhhun felt inexplicably uncomfortable. The night attack had been planned for the past few days and had already been properly arranged, but he always felt that something was wrong and was very uneasy.

"Beile is very smart. We haven't made any movement in the past few days. The Ming army outside the city has greatly relaxed their vigilance. They would never have thought that we would dare to launch a night attack." Shang Kexi bowed to Delekhhun and reported with a smile on his face.

"With Beile's mastermind in tonight's night attack, the Qing Dynasty will surely be victorious and catch those defenseless Ming troops by surprise."

However, before Delekhhun figured it out, there was no excitement or excitement on his face. After thinking for a while, he suddenly asked:
"Did Xu Erxian encounter any unexpected events during his operation?"

"Don't worry, Prince. The scouts sent by the Ming army to harass us didn't notice anything unusual. Xu Erxian is experienced in the battlefield and will disguise himself very well during the reconnaissance process. It will be difficult for the Ming army to detect them. Even if they do, they will think that we are the scouts who happened to find them there." Shang Kexi replied with a fist salute.

While the two were talking, a loud bang suddenly sounded on the dark plain. After a flash of fireworks, the wilderness returned to its original tranquility. This was a landmine buried by the Ming army, which would be accidentally triggered by some unlucky person every night.

Delekhhun paid no attention to the explosion and continued:

"The outcome of Xiangyang City depends on tonight's night attack. As long as we can hurt Emperor Ming this time, he will have to attack the city no matter what. We must make these Nikans bleed!"

"Don't worry, Prince. This time we can definitely make Emperor Ming scream in despair. This time, I will let them see the strength of our Qing Dynasty." Shang Kexi said confidently.

In fact, after this period of serving and flattering, Shang Kexi had already successfully won the favor of Delekhhun and gained his full trust. Therefore, many of Delekhhun's affairs would be handed over to him.

The same was true for this night attack. Although Shang Kexi was nominally only assisting Delekhun, he actually carried half of the army, which also gave him many opportunities to create chaos.

At this time, after hearing this, Delekhhun nodded. He looked at the Ming army camp in the distance and asked:

"How are the troops participating in tonight's night attack preparing?"

"To reply to Beile, the five armies, totaling over 6,300 men, are all ready. Among them, over 3,700 Manchu soldiers will directly assault the western side of the Ming army camp, where its defenses are weaker, and disguise themselves as the main attack direction to attract the Ming army's attention. At that time, the Ming army will undoubtedly dispatch troops to attack and encircle our attacking army. Then, I will personally lead the troops and launch a surprise attack from the north of the Ming army camp before the Ming army can react, giving them a feint to the east and attacking in the west.

The Ming army might have anticipated a night raid from our main force sooner or later, but they certainly could not have anticipated that the prince would target the Ming emperor's central military camp. By then, the main force of the Ming army outside the city would be thrown into disarray and forced to return for reinforcements, which would be our opportunity.

If the plan succeeds, Beile can lead the remaining 4,000 cavalrymen in the city directly to attack Zhu Cilang's main camp and kill him head-on."

Shang Kexi observed Delekhhun's expression as he reported. He saw that Delekhhun's face had gradually changed after listening to him, and then he continued to add:
But Delekhhun raised his hand to stop him, seemingly hesitant. After all, this was all the field troops he could muster. If anything went wrong, Xiangyang City would be in danger.

He had not originally planned to send out so many troops for a night attack, but under Shang Kexi's instigation, especially the true and false, real and fake words said by the other party at the military meeting, it was really to Delekhhun's liking.

Thus, the final deployment was completed, and it became what it is today. According to this, if there were not so many troops to attack, it would be impossible to simultaneously achieve the goal of luring the enemy and directly attacking the Emperor Ming's central camp.

After all, the powerful combat capability of the personal army under the command of Emperor Ming was witnessed by everyone, and Delekhhun did not dare to underestimate it.

In other words, Delekhun only felt fear when the army was about to attack.

He suddenly thought that if this night attack, which was almost all-out, was successful, it would naturally be the best. The morale of the army in the city would surely be boosted, and the Ming army outside the city would suffer such a heavy blow that it would not be able to take any action in a short period of time. Xiangyang City would definitely be defended.

But what if we lose?
This made Delekhhun very uneasy, but when he thought of the victory, he was full of expectations.

After all, he knew in his heart that if the status quo remained, Xiangyang City would sooner or later be conquered by Emperor Ming.

"The Ming army has already relaxed its vigilance. Our actions tonight are so cautious, there will definitely be no problem." Shang Kexi immediately advised again.

"Emperor Ming has indeed been deceived by this prince, but remember not to be careless." Delekhhun said, suddenly turned around and looked at Shang Kexi, then sighed deeply, and stopped talking.

Seeing this, Shang Kexi felt even more guilty, fearing that Delekhhun would detain him in the city. He immediately bowed and asked, clasping his hands:

"Beile, if you have any instructions, please tell me directly. I will go through fire and water to fulfill them!"

In fact, Delekhhun had already mastered the entire night attack plan. However, he suddenly thought of the most crucial point of this night attack - Ming Emperor Zhu Cilang!

After all, with their military strength, it is unlikely that they can directly defeat the main force of the Ming army outside the city with a night attack.

And this is what Delekhhun was worried about just now.

But if he just wanted to inflict maximum damage to the Ming army, or even scare away the Ming emperor, it would be much easier.

Thinking of this, Delekhhun turned around and gave a wink. All the generals and Bayala guards behind him retreated one after another, leaving Shang Kexi stunned.

When the other party was about to kneel down, he sighed and said, "I'm worried that others are not diligent enough. This is also our last chance. If we send others, I'm afraid they won't dare to really raid the Emperor Ming's central camp with all their strength."

"Beile." Shang Kexi was stunned for a moment, then suddenly his face turned pale with fear. After a long while, he stammered:

"Beile, this servant is willing to personally supervise the battle!"

He naturally guessed what Delekhhun meant, but he still had to pretend, otherwise the other party would definitely become suspicious.

After all, if Delekhhun wanted to plot against him, or even take his life, as long as he was still in the city, he could not do anything at all!
Seeing this, Delekhhun nodded and said helplessly:
"If we win this battle, it would be a cause for celebration. Your achievements will ensure eternal prosperity for your descendants. I will also personally report this to the Regent and request your contribution."

"I will definitely not let Prince down." Shang Kexi gritted his teeth and acted resolute.

However, Delekhhun seemed to be worried about the other party's return, and then said:
"Shang Kexi, do you know why this prince insisted that you personally raid the Ming Emperor's central military camp?"

"My servant is stupid." Shang Kexi naturally pretended not to know and immediately expressed his loyalty:
"I am but a mere warrior. I know Beile appreciates me. No matter what, I will obey Beile's arrangements."

"Shang Kexi, you should know clearly how I have treated you all along." Delekhhun said again.

"What I'm saying to you now is actually just to tell you that I don't trust any of the others. Their abilities are not as strong as yours. Only you can be sent on this mission. This prince will feel at ease."

Shang Kexi's mind, which had been in a state of confusion, suddenly cleared up after hearing this. This Delekehun was simply trying to trick him into giving his life. This was exactly what he wanted. As long as he could leave the city and take his main force with him, he would agree to anything.

Moreover, to a certain extent, Delekhhun's reaction showed that he really trusted himself completely, and Shang Kexi finally let go of the worry that had been hanging in his heart.

So, after listening to Delekhhun's words, Shang Kexi seemed to understand something instantly. He bowed his head again, even forcing tears out of his eyes, and said with great emotion:
"Don't worry, Beile. In this battle, even if I risk my life, I will never let Emperor Ming have an easy time. No matter how powerful his army is, it's nothing but Nikan.

What about the Emperor Ming's personal army? Back when they were outside the Great Wall, weren't they all killed by the Qing imperial guards? I will definitely lead the troops myself, slaughter the imperial guards and cause chaos, and scare the Emperor Ming out of his wits.

(End of this chapter)