Strategy for the Revitalization of the Late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 241 The Disagreement between Dorgon and Dodo

Dorgon was originally mobilizing troops in northern Zhili, preparing to send reinforcements to Shaanxi immediately after repelling Zhang Mingzhen and waiting for Delekhhun to report back the good news of blocking the Ming Emperor.

But soon, he received the news that the Qing army was defeated in the night attack and Xiangyang City fell in the Prince Rui's Palace in Beijing. He then transferred the troops originally used to reinforce Shaanxi to Kaifeng in central Henan, and the two Henan prefectures were on standby.

Dorgon originally thought that Xiangyang City was impregnable and could be defended for at least half a year, so he mobilized troops early in advance. He wanted to take advantage of the time window when Zhu Cilang failed to attack Xiangyang City, mobilize troops from the Central Plains to the west, reinforce Shaanxi, and force the Ming army to retreat.

The situation in Shaanxi was now critical, but the Qing had no troops to send.

However, the situation in Xiangyang eventually developed in the worst direction, and Dorgon now had no choice but to accept reality.

After putting down the military newspaper in his hand, Dorgon opened the handwritten letter sent by Chen Tai from Nanyang City, then stood up and paced around the room, even frowning.

Now, Zhu Cilang has temporarily dispatched tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians, dug deep trenches on the south and east sides of Nanyang City, built high walls, and even built a siege fortress on the north side of Nanyang City, as if to cut off the entry of reinforcements from outside the city.

Delekhun suffered a great defeat in his night attack, but Zhu Cilang's army did not suffer heavy losses and just needed to rest and recover.

Therefore, he simply surrounded Nanyang City, but had no intention of continuing the attack. Even the Tianqi Army and the Palace Front Left Army that were originally sent north would not stay outside the city for a long time.

But from Dorgon's point of view, it was difficult for him to be sure whether the other side would transfer troops from southern Henan to the north, so he did not dare to withdraw troops from Ruzhou Prefecture, Henan Prefecture and Kaifeng Prefecture.

After all, if he transferred troops from these places to support Shaanxi and Henan was directly captured by the Ming army, the situation within the entire Great Wall would be completely ruined, and he, as the regent, would be fully responsible.

This was absolutely unacceptable to Dorgon.

Moreover, for the current overall situation, Henan's strategic position is no less than that of Shaanxi. In fact, in the long run, for this war that is almost a foregone conclusion, Henan is more important to the Qing Dynasty than Shaanxi.

Therefore, no matter from which angle he considered it, Dorgon could not take the risk of mobilizing the Eight Banners Army in Henan to advance westward.

Otherwise, once Kaifeng, Ruzhou, Henan Prefecture and other places were penetrated by the army deployed by Emperor Ming in southern Henan, the situation in the entire north would completely collapse, and then northern Zhili would be in danger.

Thinking of this, Dorgon stopped pacing and sat back in his seat. He quickly wrote a secret letter and prepared to send it to Ajige.

He did not dare to mobilize the troops in Henan now, but deployed them in Shandong to replace Duoduo to guard against the Ming navy and Ajige's troops in Jiangbei. He could no longer keep the entire army in Shandong.

Ajige's battlefield adaptability and war command level are far superior to Dodo, so he naturally becomes Dorgon's only choice for mobile troops.

It is not easy to send a large army to reinforce Nanyang and contain the Ming army. If too few troops are sent, not only will it fail to play the corresponding role, but it is also very likely to be defeated by the Ming army in one fell swoop, which is not worth the loss.

You must know that the more than 10,000 elite soldiers under Ajige's command have not yet fully recovered their combat effectiveness. They are mostly used to tie down Zhu Cilang's army and force it to not attack the city with all its strength.

And as Chen Tai said to Dorgon in the letter, if troops were to be dispatched south to reinforce, the most core place would still be Nanyang. If Nanyang could not be defended, the entire Henan would be in danger.

But the most critical factor in the Henan war was Emperor Ming Zhu Cilang, which was also emphasized in the secret letter that Dorgon sent to Ajige.

"Delekhun actually dared to launch a night attack outside the city. He's simply courting death. Now the defenders of Xiangyang have been completely annihilated. Zhu Cilang has already sent a general to lead the troops to dig trenches and build walls outside Nanyang City. It seems he's planning to transfer troops from other places to the north to assist in the battle."

Duoduo held the military newspaper in his hand and, without paying any attention to Dorgon's expression, he just sang along on his own, obviously intending to make things difficult for Dorgon.

"Dodo, are you done? What else do you want to say?" Dorgon frowned and asked in a cold voice.

The war in Henan was already enough to make him anxious, and now Duoduo was adding to his troubles, which was simply unreasonable.

"The Ming Emperor has now gained an absolute strategic advantage in Nanyang Prefecture. As long as our reinforcements don't arrive within three months, he will surely capture Nanyang City. We must quickly mobilize troops from Shandong and Northern Zhili, or launch a counterattack in Nanyang and annihilate the Ming troops besieging the city. Otherwise, we will be unable to contain the Ming troops in Huguang."

Seeing that Dorgon was angry, Duoduo began to analyze the situation seriously, but he suddenly stopped while speaking, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.

At this time, the Qing Dynasty not only faced the difficulties of troop deployment, resource allocation, and how to decide on wars in various places, but also needed to judge whether these wars were worth fighting.

After all, in the current situation, the Ming army is getting stronger and stronger, while the Eight Banners Army has lost more than half of its troops. It is unknown whether they can continue to stay in the interior.

"Prince Regent, ever since I read the military reports from Delekhun and Chen Tai, I've been unable to sleep these past few days. Shaanxi, Henan, Shandong—everywhere is a major threat. The Ming army is now unstoppable. I really don't know which one to attack first or which side to guard against!"

Duoduo seemed to be here specifically to cause trouble for Dorgon. He paused, then continued:

"It's impossible for us to send troops on three fronts at the same time."

After listening to Duoduo's analysis, Dorgon was a little bit unbelievable. In his mind, the other party had always been a very aggressive and underestimated person, and a very reliable person, but now he had become calm.

"Of course I know that an all-out attack is not advisable. Even if we can't hold on to the interior, there's no need to fight those ignorant Nikans head-on." Dorgon narrowed his eyes and then said:
"But if we can fight for it, we will fight for it. But there are some places where we have to fight and we have to fight."

"That's right!" Duoduo nodded.

"But when a large army fights, what they fight for is money and food. Emperor Ming is different from Chongzhen. If we retreat outside the Great Wall, we will definitely not be able to defeat the Ming Dynasty inside the Great Wall. This is due to money and food, not because our Qing Dynasty is not strong.

If the Ming court had no internal troubles and no incompetent ruler, how could we, with just one corner of the country, fight against the world? You and I are not immortals, this is absolutely impossible. We must not retreat outside the Great Wall until the last moment.

The expression on Dorgon's face immediately became resolute, and he quickly added:

“Moreover, if the situation in Henan is unstable, and money and grain are not flowing smoothly in Shanxi, Shandong and other places, the military supplies in the Central Plains will be difficult to supply, and the situation on the entire southern battlefield will inevitably be turbulent.

The majority of troops deployed along the Central Plains defenses are Han Chinese, and ultimately, they cannot be fully trusted. If the situation in Henan truly becomes uncontrollable, they will undoubtedly sense that something is amiss and develop other plans. After all, we cannot boast a powerful navy like the Ming Emperor, with unimpeded access to the seas, untraceable movements, and the ability to easily replenish supplies.

"The navy is easy to deal with, it can't cause much trouble!" Duoduo interrupted again.

In fact, Dorgon had been hesitant because the strength of the Ming court had made him nervous and fearful. The Ming army had now defeated the main force of the Eight Banners on the front battlefield.

This was an unprecedented blow to Dorgon and even the entire Eight Banners Army of the Qing Dynasty.

"But if the Ming Emperor takes Henan, he will surely continue northward, perhaps even marching directly north to capture the capital. If the Ming navy captures Leiden, it would not be difficult for them to advance and cut off the canal."

"That's right. We were in Leiden and were planning to deploy some troops." Duoduo nodded in agreement.

"This is all we can do for now. The Ming Emperor is very powerful. Even if he sends another large army south, it will be difficult to defeat him in a short time. Now we can only take it one step at a time. If we can defeat the Ming army northward, perhaps the situation can still be salvaged."

Dorgon was not someone who could not see the situation clearly, but he had no choice.

"If Shaanxi could still be saved, the situation would not be so bad." Duoduo then said.

Upon hearing this, Dorgon forced a smile on his face and said:

"Then it depends on the situation in Nanyang. If the situation in Nanyang deteriorates further, the Ming Emperor will definitely take advantage of this opportunity to take over the entire Henan Province, and even the area south of the Yellow River. With the current strength of the Ming army, this is absolutely possible."

Duoduo nodded as he listened. He was far inferior to Dorgon in analyzing the situation. He looked at Dorgon, whose face was grim and obviously irritable, and swallowed his saliva and said:
"However, if we really can't break the deadlock in Nanyang, we probably shouldn't waste any more time. We must find a way to withdraw to the border areas of Northern Zhili, Shaanxi, Shandong, etc. We still have a million nikans captured outside the border areas. It will be enough for us to sustain ourselves for a few years."

After hearing this, Dorgon was suddenly shocked. He finally understood why Duoduo was acting strangely today. It turned out that he had long wanted to give up everything inside the Great Wall. What he had just said to him was just an attempt to cover up his mistake.

"Why, you want to negotiate with Emperor Ming?"

Dorgon had actually thought about restarting peace talks with Emperor Ming, but he was worried about bringing shame upon himself, especially affecting his political reputation. In the end, he did not discuss it among his ministers, and no one knew about it except a few senior officials in the court.

Duoduo saw Dorgon's reaction, then clasped his hands and said:
"The Ming Emperor now controls the entire south, which is a rich and densely populated land. He can harvest a large amount of food and military supplies every year. He also has hundreds of thousands of combat-ready soldiers under his command. At the speed at which the Ming Emperor trains his troops, he will surely be able to train 100,000 new troops in a year. By then, the number of cavalrymen in the field alone will probably exceed 50,000.

By then, I'm afraid it will be impossible for us to fight against them. The Qing Dynasty no longer has the strength to fight, Prince Rui, you must know this."

After hearing this, Dorgon did not say anything, but continued to stare at the map hanging on the wall.

He no longer dared to think about peace talks, but withdrawing directly from the Great Wall would be no different from committing suicide. However, Emperor Ming was indeed too powerful. If the Northern Expedition was launched next year, he actually had no confidence to resist.

In other words, the reality did not allow Dorgon to make any choice. As long as he wanted the Qing Dynasty to continue to exist, he had to choose to hold on to the interior of the country. Otherwise, what could he use to fight against the Ming Emperor?

I can only say that Duoduo’s thinking is too simple!

Moreover, Dorgon did not dare to withdraw from the border, otherwise he would be the first to die.

The person who killed him is most likely Duoduo.

He didn't believe that his little brother would be so kind to him.

However, the main dilemma Dorgon is facing now is not this. He just needs to be wary of Dodo, Ajige and others.

The most important thing for him now is to win the battle. As long as he can win the battle, the situation will change, he will survive, and the Qing Dynasty will not perish.

"What's the current situation in Xi'an?" Dorgon did not answer Duoduo's question, but changed the subject and asked directly.

Duoduo knew what Dorgon meant by asking this question. His prestige in the army was still very low during this period, and he did not dare to defect directly. He said with some discouragement:

"It's estimated that the Ming army will capture Xi'an in less than two months. There has been no news from Meng Qiaofang for a long time. After the news of the Ming Emperor's victory in Xiangyang reached Shaanxi, many local Green Camp troops and officials were won over by the Ming army. The situation in Shaanxi will soon be out of control."

Dorgon was actually very helpless about this, but he could only hope that Meng Qiaofang would hold on a little longer and buy him more time.

"The most important thing now is to win in Nanyang or on the Jiangbei battlefield. As long as we win the battle, all other problems will be solved."

"Dorgon, are you really going to turn around and attack Jiangbei?" Seeing this, Duoduo couldn't help but worry. He had heard the news a long time ago and was not optimistic about this strategic change.

"Jiangbei is not easy to attack. There are many rivers and fortresses there. Our troops can't get through at all. It's better to continue attacking Huguang than to attack Jiangbei!"

How could Dorgon not know this? He just shook his head and said:
"The main force of the Ming army is still in Huguang. Huguang is absolutely impossible to capture."

"But the Ming army has so many soldiers and horses. Although they may not be good at field battles, they are more than capable of defending the city." Duoduo immediately retorted.

"What do you mean?" Dorgon asked impatiently. "No matter what, I must send troops to disrupt the Ming army. We can't let them go, or Shanxi and Shandong will be in danger."

When Duoduo heard this, he seemed to understand something, but also seemed not to understand, and he didn't know what to say for a moment. But he knew that no matter what it was, it seemed to be in vain, and he didn't think it was useful at all.

Seeing this, Dorgon continued:
"The Ming Emperor is now strong in military power and will absolutely not tolerate the Qing Dynasty interfering in Jiangbei. If we want to attack Jiangbei, the Ming Emperor will definitely not sit idly by."

(End of this chapter)