Strategy for the Revitalization of the Late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 235: Unexpected Reversal

After hearing this, Delekhhun thought Shang Kexi had been inspired by him and immediately nodded in approval:
"Shang Kexi, I was right about you. If you win this battle, the entire Huguang region will be your fiefdom in the future."

"Beile." Shang Kexi's heart trembled after hearing this. "I thank Beile. I will never forget your kindness in promoting me."

He had originally held a shred of trust in what Delekhhun had said, and was still hesitant before the Ming and Qing dynasties. After all, he wanted to abandon the dark and join the light, but he didn't know what the Ming emperor's attitude would be. He had no chance to contact the other party before, and he didn't dare to contact him rashly.

But now, Delekhhun actually made such an impossible promise to him, basically treating him like a three-year-old child, or he didn't think that he could come back alive after this battle.

You must know that the Qing Dynasty has never relaxed its policy of controlling the Han people. It is impossible for them to dominate the world alone, even in such a critical moment as now.

This is the reason why Deleke speaks too much and will inevitably make mistakes. If he had not said these words, Shang Kexi might still have some nostalgia for the Qing Dynasty, but once these words were spoken, the situation was completely different.

If the Qing Dynasty is now in full swing and does not guard against the Han people, then the entire Huguang fiefdom as a price is enough for Shang Kexi to personally lead his troops to charge into Zhu Cilang's central military tent ten times or even a hundred times.

But the current situation is not like that at all!

"Shang Kexi, I knew you had great ambitions. I was right about you! If we win the battle tonight, the momentum of the Ming army will be halted, or even collapsed. By then, it will not be long before the Ming emperor withdraws his troops." As Delekhun spoke, he began to exaggerate again.

"Don't worry, Prince. I, Shang Kexi, have fought all my life. The sword in my hand is not boasted. I will give the Ming army a hard time tonight!" Upon hearing this, Shang Kexi immediately bowed his hands and clasped his fists, vowing.

Shang Kexi is certainly not a fool. The atmosphere has gathered here, so he has to say this, otherwise Delekhhun will detain him in the city. Now is the perfect opportunity for him to turn things around by going out of the city to command the battle.

Soon, as Shang Kexi went down from the top of the city wall to personally deploy the troops, Xu Erxian returned with military reconnaissance, and the Qing army's attack was further adjusted. The Qing army in Xiangyang City was quickly divided into three parts.

Xu Erxian and Zharkana, a lieutenant under the command of Delekhhun, each led over a thousand elite soldiers and horses, and under the cover of the sheep and horse wall outside the city, they quietly sneaked out through the small gates on the west and south earth walls of Xiangyang City. Shang Kexi soon followed suit, leading his troops out of the city in the same way.

However, Shang Kexi's speed was much slower. He waited until the two troops had quietly crossed the moat before he led the real main force of his night attack and left the city through the small gate in the south.

In fact, Delekhun was still leading the last main force of the Eight Banners Army in the city waiting for battle. Once Shang Kexi succeeded, he would quickly lead his troops to attack and expand the results of the battle.

After the Ming army gained the upper hand, Zhu Cilang directly ordered the army to set up camp about seven miles away from the south wall of Xiangyang City, which was quite close, in order to provoke the Qing army in the city.

The Qing troops from the east and west, led by Xu Erxian and Zarkana, surrounded the camp from the outside respectively, trying to avoid the checkpoints deployed by the Palace Army outside the camp and bring the troops to a position closer to the Palace Army camp.

In fact, after more than ten days of mutual probing and reconnaissance, the Qing army had basically figured out the outposts deployed by the Palace Army outside the camp.

However, the Palace Army was already a mature army and had a plan to deal with this. Even if the army's deployment was basically figured out, it would be impossible for the Qing army to avoid being discovered by surprise, and it would be almost impossible to directly sneak into the camp.

You have to know that the outposts outside the Palace Army have different deployments every day, with various possible random combinations, and there is no statement that cannot be repeated. It is impossible for the Qing army to fully understand it.

As expected by Xu Erxian, Zharkana, and the others, their vanguard was spotted by the hidden sentry before they even approached the Palace Army's camp. The sentry reacted quickly, firing a warning arrow. The Palace Army soldiers stationed in the trenches outside the main camp also sprang into action.

In the blink of an eye, the two armies engaged in a fierce battle. In the western camp of the Palace Army, hundreds of soldiers were sent to assist in the battle according to the plan to prevent night attacks.

"With such a small number of troops, it seems that the Ming army didn't notice that we were going out of the city for a night attack." Xu Erxian turned his head to look at Zarkana beside him and whispered.

"As soon as the Ming army's reinforcements arrive, you will immediately lead your troops to break into the Ming army camp from the outside. Leave the Ming army here to me." Zarkana nodded and gave the order immediately.

After the Qing army was sure that they would be discovered by the heavily guarded Ming army no matter what, they simply took advantage of the situation and sent a small force to launch a surprise attack, passing on false military information to the Palace Army sentries in the checkpoints. After the Palace Army in the main camp relaxed, they launched a surprise attack to gain the upper hand.

The Qing army on the south side of the city was doing the same thing, but they had to wait until the palace troops in the western camp were basically mobilized before taking action.

Since setting up camp, the Palace Army had maintained a tight internal defense and a loose external defense. Each unit remained strong, with ample manpower and a swift response. Although they were temporarily blinded by the Qing army, who were taking advantage of the cover of darkness, this did not affect their overall defensive deployment.

This is the absolute advantage in military strength. Shang Kexi and Delekhhun need to be cautious and maneuver when using their troops, but Zhu Cilang does not need to do that at all.

After hearing the noise, he even felt a little happy. He immediately threw off the quilt, stood up, and asked his personal guards to put on their armor. As the commander of an army, wearing armor and patrolling the camp at this time to remind the soldiers to be vigilant and not let down their guard was a good way to boost morale.

"His Majesty!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Cilang nodded to the guards beside him and said, "Put on your armor immediately!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Upon hearing this, the personal guard skillfully put armor on Zhu Cilang. The other people who were originally outside the camp also quickly entered the tent.

Zhu Cilang was actually a little anxious at this time. The Qing army had not taken any action, and a direct attack would result in considerable casualties. However, many generals could no longer bear it and asked to dig trenches and build trenches to cut off the Qing army's breakout route and trap the Qing army in the city.

They knew that Zhu Cilang would not give in, so they naturally had to settle for the next best option.

When Zhu Cilang put on the gilded chain mail, Lin Changfu came hurriedly outside the tent as usual, bowed and said, "Your Majesty, everything has been arranged!" "How many troops did the Qing army send, and what is the situation in the west?" Zhu Cilang asked immediately.

As he was putting on his armor, the shouts and cries from the west grew louder and louder, which immediately made him alert. Although he had waited for this day for a long time, he was also very worried that his deployment was wrong and that the Qing army would take advantage of it.

"In reply to Your Majesty, there are now several hundred Qing troops attacking from the north and south sides of the western camp. Their manpower is insufficient, and our army has been prepared. Your Majesty does not need to worry at all." Lin Changfu reported word by word.

When Zhu Cilang heard that only a few hundred Qing troops were harassing him, he didn't elaborate further, and a hint of disappointment appeared on his face. The Qing troops were too few, and even if they were completely wiped out, they would not be able to shake the defenders of Xiangyang.

As for Lin Changfu, he was not good at speaking. At this time, he was standing outside the big tent, listening to the friction sound of armor plates coming from all around him, and looking at Zhu Cilang's expression, he couldn't help feeling a little uneasy, but since His Majesty didn't say anything, he didn't dare to speculate anything.

However, he finally couldn't help himself, paused, then quickly stepped forward, bowed his waist and clasped his fists, and said: "Your Majesty, the Tartars probably didn't send out their main force for this night attack."

But unfortunately, just as Lin Changfu finished speaking, the whistling sounds of countless arrows were heard from the east and west sides of the southern camp of the Palace Front Army. The battle situation outside the entire Xiangyang city changed in an instant.

However, when Zhu Cilang heard the whistling sound of the arrows being fired, and realized that this was a large-scale night attack by the Qing army ambushed in the city, a smile appeared on his face. He was waiting for the Qing army to attack. With his current deployment, he would definitely have no problem dealing with thousands of Qing troops at night.

"Pass on my military order. All troops should attack according to the prepared anti-night attack plan." Zhu Cilang made a prompt decision, his face showing excitement that was hard to conceal.

"Also, tell Chang Denggui and Lin Changfeng not to lead their troops here. Instead, take your most elite troops directly to the front lines and annihilate all the Qing troops that leave the city. No mistakes will be made."

The generals of the Five Army Commandery had already prepared several plans for the Qing army's night attack in Xiangyang City. Zhu Cilang relied on his superior military strength and cavalry to defend against the Qing army's night attack and launch counterattacks step by step.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Zhang Huangyan, who had just arrived, immediately accepted the order and sent out the horses to gallop towards the camps where the troops were stationed.

At this time, Xu Erxian had already followed Shang Kexi's plan and led his main force to bypass the hundreds of soldiers who had just raided the Ming army camp, and attacked the western camp of the Palace Army from the side, but he was bluffing and did not really attack.

He knew that Zarkana would be slower, and his purpose was to let him take the lead and attract all the Ming troops in the camp to his side. He was not stupid.

Looking at the continuous sounds of musket explosions from all directions, the clusters of orange-red flames, and the wailing of the vanguard soldiers who were shot and fell, this Qing army's night attack troops slowly retreated after leaving behind more than a dozen corpses.

The Palace Army had mobilized tens of thousands of civilians to set up a strong camp, and the defenses were very solid. Even if Xu Erxian attacked at night, he would have to pay a huge price to achieve a breakthrough.

Moreover, the Qing army's main attack direction was not in the west, and Xu Erxian did not have many cavalry under his command. His troops had only more than a thousand people, and there were only more than three hundred cavalry.

You know, without the mobility advantage of cavalry, it would be wishful thinking to break through the arrow towers in front of the palace and the barricades at the camp gate to block the attack by the spearmen and musketeers.

After all, even if it was a cavalry, after rushing into the camp of the Palace Army, they would soon be attacked from all sides. The Palace Army also deployed chevaux de frise in the barracks, and the combat soldiers and musketeers would use it as cover, and arrows and lead bullets would be continuously shot at them.

In other words, the Qing army would be blocked by the camp no matter what. If the night attack could not be unexpected, it would definitely not be as smooth as expected.

On the other side, Zarkana led his subordinate Bayara to supervise the battle personally. After a while, he killed several vassal soldiers who retreated before the battle. He was engaged in a fierce battle for the camp with hundreds of palace army musketeers and archers who rushed out hastily relying on the protection of the outer fence of the camp. The two sides kept exchanging deaths around the outer fence of the camp.

The Eight Banners soldiers under Zarkana were all elite soldiers. They were well-prepared and had a local advantage in manpower. Soon they broke through several fences.

However, just as these Eight Banners soldiers rushed in from the overturned fence, they were met with countless stabbing spears, and were soon stabbed to death on the fence that had just been pushed down, and were unable to make any further breakthroughs.
At the same time, the southern camp of the Palace Army was under fierce attack by thousands of vassal soldiers led by Shang Kexi. The more than one hundred Palace Army soldiers outside the camp were caught off guard and were quickly defeated. In the end, only less than thirty defeated soldiers broke through the siege and retreated towards the camp.

But Shang Kexi was not unable to completely wipe out this ambush of the Palace Army. He did it on purpose. His purpose was to seize this opportunity to give the Ming army time to react, and then send an envoy to meet the Ming Emperor.

After all, he was very clear about his own strength. Even if he could use the retreating Ming army's defeated soldiers to break through the Ming army's camp, or even disrupt the enemy's defensive formation at the camp gate, in the end he would only delay the enemy's counterattack.

Shang Kexi knew very well that even if he managed to break through the Palace Army's camp with only these two thousand soldiers, he would be hard-pressed to win if the enemy reacted. Since he was determined to turn the tables, he had to conserve his strength as much as possible.

At this time, inside the Ming army's tent, there was a more intense sound of horse hooves and shouts, and the main force of the Ming army in the camp had begun to move.

Shang Kexi was shocked when he heard this, and suddenly realized something. He immediately ordered his troops to advance. Although he did not want to fight to the death with the Ming army, the reaction of the Ming army was beyond his imagination. Looking towards the camp gate, there was already chaos there, with people shouting and horses neighing everywhere.

Zhu Cilang stood outside the tent, listening to the various noises coming from not far away, a slight smile of joy on his face. The night raid he had been waiting for for over half a month had finally arrived, and now all the troops were following the plan and reacting promptly.

As several Tangma who had come to report military intelligence retreated, Zhu Cilang vaguely sensed something strange. It seemed that the Qing army's offensive was slower than expected, or in other words, this was not the speed of a night attack, especially the Qing troops that appeared to the north of the camp.

"Lin Changfu, go outside and see whether the Qing army will attack or not." After thinking for a moment, Zhu Cilang finally gave the order.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Lin Changfu accepted the order and immediately led several soldiers from the imperial camp to retreat.

But as soon as he retreated, he immediately came back, followed by a Qing army officer who claimed to be Shang Kexi's confidant.

(End of this chapter)